It's Probably Too Early, But...

I'm sure it's way to early to be cruise planning, but I can't help myself. And from the look of the Ning forum, it looks like there are others like me out there. Yes, I wish they would release the themes already. Yes, I wish we knew what our activities were. Yes, I wish that I could be certain that Donnie would be delivering room service to our cabin one night...but, I digress.

There are probably some productive things we can be doing aside from speculating about themes and what-not.

I know I already have a passport. So, check that off of the list. But, if you don't have one, I'd suggest getting one.

I also have a place to stay the night before the cruise. Luckily, on of my oldest and dearest friends lives in Fort Lauderdale and is kind/crazy enough to let three girls descend on him for a night. I am sure that we will owe him lots of beer.

Flight arrangements. This is the trick. Book now? Book later? When will it be cheaper? I've been watching the flight prices and they just seem to be going up, up, up. Except for Virgin America, whose rates seem to be flat except for when they send out specials via email. Thanks to KTSummer, I've found useful tools such as Kayak and Bing Travel. So, until I can see more of a pattern or Virgin America opens up booking for May 2011, I am in a holding pattern.

I have also created a cruise budget. Without going into too many specifics since everyone's means are different, I have taken the total amount of the cruise (plus port fees and taxes, minus the $300 deposit), the amount I'd like to take on the boat for spending, an estimate of what I will pay for a flight, and what I'd like for spare cash as a float - for pre-cruise shopping, unexpected costs, etc. I divided the total by 35 (how many weeks we had at the time of booking) and made that my budget to save per week.

I've also been researching for general cruise information. Cruise Critic and the Carnival website have been very helpful. You can get an idea for sea-sickness remedies, what to pack, and more. Some people's packing lists are over the top, but who am I to judge?

While all of this is doing more to stoke my excitement rather than quell it, it's still a lot of fun! Besides, I figure, the more I prep now the less stressed out I will be later. Then, as soon as I step on that boat, I can just relax and let the good times roll. Err...float.