Katrina Wilson
After a year of payments, coordination with a group, and plenty of YouTube videos for first-time cruisers, my husband and I finally set sail with 12 of our friends.
We booked an eight-day Carnival Cruise over the Thanksgiving holiday to celebrate our friends Tai and Darien's wedding anniversary. My husband's birthday also coincided with the trip, so we were happy to agree to the celebratory cruise.
After coordinating our excursions, activities, and outfits for months, here's how it went.
The cruise cost $2,050 for the two of us. But additional fees, like paying for gratuities in advance, were $500, which brought that total to $2,550.
Our round-trip flights to our port in Florida were originally $1,450. But we had $500 in credit-card rewards, so that total came down to $950. Since we flew in a day early, we had to book a hotel, but with Hotels.com rewards, we got a $125 room for $17.
Before the trip, we also spent $250 on items to make our cruise more comfortable, like bucket hats, magnetic charging pads, outlet strips, sunscreen, and a cross-body fanny pack.
In all, the two of us spent about $3,800, or $1,900 a person.
When my husband and I boarded the company's Vista ship, I was a little bummed I didn't see any holiday decorations.
But we were just happy to be with everybody because it had been about two years since we saw half of the friend group.
That night's main event was my husband's birthday dinner at Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse. The establishment was upscale in our eyes, so we dressed up, and it was phenomenal.
Katrina Wilson
Our server took care of us by helping us pair wine with our food, staying attentive, and singing "Happy Birthday" to my husband the soulful way (à la Stevie Wonder). It was just so refreshing being around someone with her energy, and the food was well-seasoned and succulent.
We ended the evening on the lido deck because my husband wanted to see the stars.
The ship's Thanksgiving dinner, unfortunately, didn't tickle our fancy.
The food options — which included turkey, green beans, cranberry dressing, ham, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie — didn't give any nostalgic holiday feelings. They felt a little too fancy, and I wished it had been kept simple.
I didn't partake, but my husband said his turkey with green beans was also a little dry.
Our group of 14 preferred eating at the ship's Horizons restaurant.
My husband and I got a nice sushi-boat appetizer that was artistically crafted and tasted good.
Katrina Wilson
Everyone wanted to take pictures of it before we dug in.
When we're at home, I hardly ever watch movies. But it felt good to lay in bed on the cruise and watch films I hadn't seen in years.
We even went to the onboard IMAX theater and saw the new "Hunger Games" movie for $17 each.
My husband and I happily nudged each other a few times to say, "We're watching a movie in a theater on a ship," because it was pretty surreal.
Katrina Wilson
Our cruise director, Lawrence, was top-notch and kept us energized and entertained throughout every activity.
The ship had shuffleboard, lido-deck games, and trivia, and there were even opportunities to participate in or watch the ship's version of popular game shows like "Deal or No Deal" and "Family Feud."
The latter offered two versions — kid-friendly and adult — and it was my favorite to watch.
We also loved the ship's karaoke. It was great seeing everyone sing and dance without a care in the world.
I thought I could belt out Whitney Houston's "I'm Your Baby Tonight," but boy, was I wrong. I struggled (and laughed) my way through the song, but I had a good time on stage.
There were so many activities we couldn't attend them all, but now we know more for next time.
Months before the cruise, Tai told all of us to wear green for one of the cruise's elegant nights, where passengers are encouraged to dress up in formalwear.
Katrina Wilson
Our uniformity was beautiful, especially since green was part of the color scheme for her wedding.
Getting dressed up with our friends was a great way to honor the couple on their anniversary.
It was great to see everything come together after all the planning that went into this vacation. The day we disembarked from the ship, we even caught the crew putting up holiday decorations, which was a win for me.
I got to live a summer lifestyle while folks back home dealt with cold temperatures, so I think the cruise was totally worth it.
I'd be happy to do it again for future holidays.
