Hello everyone! 6 of us girls went on the 3 night Carnival Cruise to Ensenada, where I did NOT get off the boat- I was there to relax, read, and chill.
1) Carnival impressed us! FORGET YOU PRINCESS, I will be sticking to Carnival and Disney until further notice!
Why...
1) the Food was amazing- everywhere (except room service, skip that)!
2) our Cruise director led amazing lobby parties every night
3) Stand-up Comedians you see on Comedy Central, doing multiple shows each night.
4) RELAXATION to the max!
5) the Club.. yes I went clubbing. By that I mean I sat with my glass of wine and chair danced to some amazing music- alone! My buddies all went to bed.
6) the naps where children cannot interrupt me!
7) The waterslides looked amazing, going in early March = too cold!
8) the Library! I found Girl on the Train, and read it in 4 hours! Bring a book, and swap it out with another!
9) Dinner dance parties while you eat.. GREAT music.. everyone is in a good mood!
10) Rooms are ready super early! We walked on with luggage and got to our rooms.
The bad:
1) The coffee- omg bring a FRENCH press and your own grounds! DO NOT miss this vital step! I got off the boat and went running to a Starbucks!
2) Room Service.. just head to the buffet
I highly recommend this for girlfriends, families, w/kids, or your spouse! There is something for everyone on the boat! I did not get off in MX, there was nothing I needed to see in Ensenada. Many did and they mentioned it was easy to get places from port.
Go Carnival! I can't wait to take my hubby!
Sorry I have no photos- really, I went to relax. Naps daily, in bed 10pm.. read a novel.. people watched, danced... and ate way tooo much!
-Find your joy,
Auggie
As always I explain our my family spends 25K a year on vacations while still have a $630 a month daycare bill.
1) Working REWARDS!
a) Disney Chase Credit card. 2% back. Use if for EVERYTHING except 3 things. We have one of us cruise for free on Disney every other year. AND Disney Vacations are 6 months 0 % interest.
b) Costco Citi card! We make over $1500 a year back from 2 cards and the Executive Membership. That cash (sent as checks you cash at Costco registers) is used to pay for our entire Carnival Cruise this spring break!
c) Alaskan Airlines Credit Card- companion fares, free baggage, miles.
d) EBATES! In 8 days I have made $63 in cash and $30 is pending travel. You start at the EBATES website and simply shop like normal online. The referral link within Ebates makes you money.
ex: Amazon says "hey EBATES send me people to shop" Ebates loads up the % back and posts it. You start on Ebates and click the Amazon link, it sends you to Amazon KNOWING you will earn cash back. You shop on Amazon like normal (be sure to stay in that referral link) and BAM % back in your EBATE account the next day. It is THAT easy!
Cash is sent to your Paypal account (or paper check) every quarter. This alone pays for our spending money for our Thanksgiving Cancun Trip. Here is my snip-it proving what I have earned and (promise, legit)! And the link to sign up.
Below in the photo #1) All money made on Ebates to date (8 days people)! #2) My last PayPal deposit. #3) how I earned cash back on shopping.
LINK to sign up: https://www.ebates.com/r/OOGIEN3?eeid=28187
2) We do not have car payments. Hubby drives a 2003 Accord, me a 2010 Swag Van we paid off in 2 years (hence, didn't travel much those years).
3) Our mortgage is lower. We are both full time educators and could have afforded over 2K a month on a mortgage, instead we opted for a cheaper home for a cheaper mortgage.
4) Shop travel deals online during good sales. Our entire April spring break Carnival cruise is $1400 for all of us. Our Alaskan Cruise we got the alcohol package for FREE when we upgraded to a Balcony (which I had always wanted). In Mexico always Kids Stay FREE deals.
5) YNAB! You Need a Budget is an online cloud budget tool. It is budgeting on steroids! You have to account for EVERY penny! I have been using YNAB for 5 years and I am able to FULLY fund my vacations thru budgeting each month. I set aside 2k a month for travel, this tool allows me to budget monthly and set goals. It tells me what we spend the most money on (ahem, food and shopping) and allows us to have discussions about habits we NEED to change to reach our goals. They have amazing training videos, and a FREE 30 day trial. Try it, no obligation (it is better than MINT which I used for 2 years and EveryDollar). Try it here: https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=G6Kp8nTV4XKAQNSX&utm_source=customer_referral
Travel on Everyone!
1) Carnival impressed us! FORGET YOU PRINCESS, I will be sticking to Carnival and Disney until further notice!
Why...
1) the Food was amazing- everywhere (except room service, skip that)!
2) our Cruise director led amazing lobby parties every night
3) Stand-up Comedians you see on Comedy Central, doing multiple shows each night.
4) RELAXATION to the max!
5) the Club.. yes I went clubbing. By that I mean I sat with my glass of wine and chair danced to some amazing music- alone! My buddies all went to bed.
6) the naps where children cannot interrupt me!
7) The waterslides looked amazing, going in early March = too cold!
8) the Library! I found Girl on the Train, and read it in 4 hours! Bring a book, and swap it out with another!
9) Dinner dance parties while you eat.. GREAT music.. everyone is in a good mood!
10) Rooms are ready super early! We walked on with luggage and got to our rooms.
The bad:
1) The coffee- omg bring a FRENCH press and your own grounds! DO NOT miss this vital step! I got off the boat and went running to a Starbucks!
2) Room Service.. just head to the buffet
I highly recommend this for girlfriends, families, w/kids, or your spouse! There is something for everyone on the boat! I did not get off in MX, there was nothing I needed to see in Ensenada. Many did and they mentioned it was easy to get places from port.
Go Carnival! I can't wait to take my hubby!
Sorry I have no photos- really, I went to relax. Naps daily, in bed 10pm.. read a novel.. people watched, danced... and ate way tooo much!
-Find your joy,
Auggie
As always I explain our my family spends 25K a year on vacations while still have a $630 a month daycare bill.
1) Working REWARDS!
a) Disney Chase Credit card. 2% back. Use if for EVERYTHING except 3 things. We have one of us cruise for free on Disney every other year. AND Disney Vacations are 6 months 0 % interest.
b) Costco Citi card! We make over $1500 a year back from 2 cards and the Executive Membership. That cash (sent as checks you cash at Costco registers) is used to pay for our entire Carnival Cruise this spring break!
c) Alaskan Airlines Credit Card- companion fares, free baggage, miles.
d) EBATES! In 8 days I have made $63 in cash and $30 is pending travel. You start at the EBATES website and simply shop like normal online. The referral link within Ebates makes you money.
ex: Amazon says "hey EBATES send me people to shop" Ebates loads up the % back and posts it. You start on Ebates and click the Amazon link, it sends you to Amazon KNOWING you will earn cash back. You shop on Amazon like normal (be sure to stay in that referral link) and BAM % back in your EBATE account the next day. It is THAT easy!
Cash is sent to your Paypal account (or paper check) every quarter. This alone pays for our spending money for our Thanksgiving Cancun Trip. Here is my snip-it proving what I have earned and (promise, legit)! And the link to sign up.
Below in the photo #1) All money made on Ebates to date (8 days people)! #2) My last PayPal deposit. #3) how I earned cash back on shopping.
LINK to sign up: https://www.ebates.com/r/OOGIEN3?eeid=28187
2) We do not have car payments. Hubby drives a 2003 Accord, me a 2010 Swag Van we paid off in 2 years (hence, didn't travel much those years).
3) Our mortgage is lower. We are both full time educators and could have afforded over 2K a month on a mortgage, instead we opted for a cheaper home for a cheaper mortgage.
4) Shop travel deals online during good sales. Our entire April spring break Carnival cruise is $1400 for all of us. Our Alaskan Cruise we got the alcohol package for FREE when we upgraded to a Balcony (which I had always wanted). In Mexico always Kids Stay FREE deals.
5) YNAB! You Need a Budget is an online cloud budget tool. It is budgeting on steroids! You have to account for EVERY penny! I have been using YNAB for 5 years and I am able to FULLY fund my vacations thru budgeting each month. I set aside 2k a month for travel, this tool allows me to budget monthly and set goals. It tells me what we spend the most money on (ahem, food and shopping) and allows us to have discussions about habits we NEED to change to reach our goals. They have amazing training videos, and a FREE 30 day trial. Try it, no obligation (it is better than MINT which I used for 2 years and EveryDollar). Try it here: https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=G6Kp8nTV4XKAQNSX&utm_source=customer_referral
Travel on Everyone!
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