So we booked the cruise!

After much discussion and trepidation, we made the decision and booked a cruise.

A little background is in order.

I will celebrate a milestone birthday on February 18.  Yes, I will reach the half-century mark in 2010.

I have one daughter in college, and one who will graduate from high school in June and start college next fall.  I am facing an empty nest and the next phase of my life.

I will also, G-d willing, celebrate my 5 year mark in February -- 5 years since my cancer diagnosis, five years since my surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

And I am celebrating the rebirth of an old relationship.  I would never have believed it.  My significant other is my ex husband.  for purposes of this blog I shall call him "King Arthur", after the T.H. White book, The Once and Future King.  We got engaged on 2/14/86, and our very bitter divorce became final on 2/14/96.   Until quite recently we hated each other, but in the last few years we've become friends....and now lovers...once more.

So a few weeks ago, I turned to King Arthur and said "I want to go away for my birthday.  I want to celebrate it someplace that is NOT HERE."

New York can be horrible in the winter, I am not a snow person.

So we discussed Orlando, FL (I am a Disney freak!).  We discussed Cancun.  We discussed Acapulco.


And then we settled on a cruise.


We're sailing on the Carnival Valor on 2/14.  It's a seven day cruise from Miami to the Western Caribbean.  Ports of Call include Grand Cayman, Belize, Roatan and Cozumel.

We put the deposit down today.

This is not our first cruise.  The king and I took a cruise on our honeymoon.  We did a four day cruise to the Bahamas on the Premier Cruise line in 1987. The ship (billed as The Big Red Boat)  sailed out of Port Canaveral, visited Nassau and a small private island called Salt Cay, and then returned to Port Canaveral.  The package also included admission to the Kennedy Space Center, hotel accommodations on International Drive and three-day admission tickets to Walt Disney World (there were only 2 parks at the time, the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT).  Premier was the official cruise line of WDW at the time, it was prior to the existence of the Disney Cruise Line, so we sailed with Disney characters. 

And neither of us has been on a cruise since.

though I have been to WDW again.  Many times.  In fact, I've become a little obsessed with Disney vacations.  So a cruise will be a welcome change.

So I joined Cruise Critic.  And felt instantly at home -- it's just like all those WDW planning boards I've joined over the last 10-11 years.

So now the real planning begins.

I am so excited.