Who Needs A Vacation????
Length doesn't really matter for me, I just prefer 5 days because it's the most bang for your buck.
**** I AM AN OH SUPPORT GROUP LEADER ****
WHY I CHOSE DS: No dumping. Highest percentage of weight loss, Best long term results, Won't regain weight! Eat normal sized meals, 96% diabeties, 90% high blood pressure, 80% sleep apnea cured. I 
MY DS!
My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four unless there were three other people. ~Orson Wells
**** I AM AN OH SUPPORT GROUP LEADER ****
WHY I CHOSE DS: No dumping. Highest percentage of weight loss, Best long term results, Won't regain weight! Eat normal sized meals, 96% diabeties, 90% high blood pressure, 80% sleep apnea cured. I MY DS!
My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four unless there were three other people. ~Orson Wells
**** I AM AN OH SUPPORT GROUP LEADER ****
WHY I CHOSE DS: No dumping. Highest percentage of weight loss, Best long term results, Won't regain weight! Eat normal sized meals, 96% diabeties, 90% high blood pressure, 80% sleep apnea cured. I MY DS!
My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four unless there were three other people. ~Orson Wells
Just some thoughts.... you'd likely get more attendance on a 5 day rather than a 7 due to the price difference. You can get a 5 day for the low $300's per person, whereas a good 7 day is mid/high $400s+++ and that's for Carnival only, forget the other lines lol. IMO a 5 day is the best value vs. a 3-4 day.... a 3-4 day is only a little bit less per person than a 5 day. You could probably include New Orleans as a departure port because it's just as far driving-wise as Port Canaveral.
If you need any assistance let me know. I'm an anal planner and loooove cruising! I suggest cruisecompete.com for rate shopping and cruisecritic.com (it's a forum loaded with advice, much like OH, and it's super active).
I will be looking into a group discount. Also will try to arrange a meet n greet w/ the ship staff. Not sure if there is a minimum for this, but they did one for our cruisecritic group and it was nice.
Only issue is losing a few pounds so I can get a cute passport picture.
**** I AM AN OH SUPPORT GROUP LEADER ****
WHY I CHOSE DS: No dumping. Highest percentage of weight loss, Best long term results, Won't regain weight! Eat normal sized meals, 96% diabeties, 90% high blood pressure, 80% sleep apnea cured. I MY DS!
My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four unless there were three other people. ~Orson Wells
I checked out cruise compete. It seems like you put in your info and they refer you to different agents. I would rather book directly w/ Carnival or with a local TA. A few dollars saved in my opinion wouldn't be worth putting all our money at risk. If I were just doing a trip for me I would consider it, but not for a group.
I have only been able to save $25-50 w/ a TA compared w/ directly w/ the ship, so it's not worth the risk, especially w/ the economy being unstable. What if we book w/ some company in Utah for example and they go out of business in 4 months. We'd just be screwed.
I also found that sometimes if you book w/ a TA it's harder to get price adjustments if there is a price drop. Also some lines like NCL won't give you credit toward their past guest program if you book w/ a TA.
I will look into every angle to make sure we're getting the best deal for our money. Also thinking of May or June in case people want to take their kids. Also they won't need to worry about getting kids back and forth to school if they're out of town for the cruise.
So far, it seems like Carnival is offering the best prices. Plus they have more sailings out of the closer ports. We'd have a more options if we sailed from Miami or Fort Lauderdale, but that won't work for everybody's budget. We would save if we carpooled and drove a few hours instead of flying. Also some people are afraid of flying :-).. So if it's close by we'd have the option of driving or flying depending on the individual's preference.
I am really excited about this!! I am also planning a Mediterranean cruise for me and my son for next year. The only cure for post cruise withdrawals is to plan another cruise!
We are going to have so much fun!
