Flights are booked! Now what?

To be more correct, I should say then what since I have done this already. Alright, so we have tickets. Next on my list? Book our cruise. Yes, we decided to go on a cruise. No, neither of us have been on one. So, I began by doing some research. To make a long story short, I looked at what options were available based on when we wanted to go and decided on which sounded the most fun and feasible.

Our decision:

Miami to Key West to Nassau, Bahamas!

The internet is a wonderful thing. With that being said, I was able to find a large amount of information about cruises, destinations, and the different cruise lines. It is all out there, just waiting for someone to read it. So I read it. Confident with our decision, I booked our flights. You can read about that here.

I took a similar approach when it came to finding a good deal on the cost of the cruise. I did not sign up for any alerts for the cruise though. Frankly I am not even sure that is an option. I stalked some of the common travel sites and took a mental note of their pricing trends. I waited to purchase our cabin until a couple of weeks before the departure date. This saved us over $300! No kidding! As the departure date gets closer, the cost went down. Make sense right? The cruise line wants to sell as many cabins as possible so they lower the price to attract more people. Exactly why I waited and boy did it pay off! Life lesson: Do your research, watch for trends and save yourself money!

We are flying into Miami the night before the cruise departs so I also booked us a hotel room near the port. We will be getting in pretty late so I chose a simple, inexpensive room at a well-known hotel chain. Most importantly, I made sure that the hotel provides transportation to the port.

I will be sharing more details about the sites that I booked through and the cruise line after we get back! I’m preparing my post  about the cute little travel journal I plan to use to remember all of the fun that we are going to have so watch for that soon!

I’m excited about my latest purchase for our trip!

I’m in bag love!! I purchased it from Etsy and opted not to get it monogrammed because I felt like it would be too busy.  I couldn’t decide between 3 bags so I jumped on Skype with my friend, Dr. J. Without hesitation she agreed that this should be the one. I can’t wait for it to arrive! My goal is to get the most out of the carry-on so that we only have to check one bag. I researched size requirements specific to the airlines that we will be flying with and used that to search for a bag. When you search for carry-on, the results are most often the boxy, stiff shell luggage pieces with the wheels. Mmmm…NOT what I have in mind. So, I changed my search to weekend or weekender bag. Much better!

As I mentioned, monogramming was an option that I decided not to take advantage of. The link to the Etsy listing is here. I am not endorsing this seller in any way. I am simply providing the information on where I purchased the bag. It should be here within the next couple of weeks so I will definitely share my experience.

We are taking this show on the road! A few days ago I booked flights for my hubby and I to go on a trip to celebrate our one-year anniversary. Needless to say, it is crazy how fast this first year has gone. We never went on a honeymoon so we want to make the most out of this trip. We want to make the most without spending the most! Obviously!

My theme for planning this vacation: Making the most without breaking the bank.

So, I began by signing up for price alerts on flights and got a wonderfully awesome deal on our tickets. I started out stalking sites every night after work to check prices. Then I got smart, signed up for alerts and hit the jackpot. My goal is to continue to get great deals and save as much money as possible. While I want us to have a great time, I don’t want us to get in over our head. The name of the game will be to stay realistic and plan to have a great plan. That’s where I am at now. I’m researching and planning so that we can minimize surprise expenses.

I know that traveling is a hobby for a lot of people. I don’t think that we have enough extra time and money to make it a frequent hobby, but I’m excited to go on this trip.  I’m up for the challenge to plan out first big vacation while staying within our budget.

What travel advice do you have to share?