Well, you've made it this far so you must be at least SOMEWHAT interested in going on a cruise! If you haven't thought hard about going on a cruise in the past, now is the time to start thinking about it. After all, everyone deserves a great vacation and some fun. Well, we're trying to make 2013 the year to get fun...done! We'll keep it simple to start. Check out a couple videos below that we rounded up on YouTube and have a look at a few of the things that a cruise can offer.

Interested now? Ok, keep reading.

So, first thing's first...

What exactly IS "Family & Friends 2013 - A Dream Vacation"?

Well, that's three questions to answer.

First, long story short, we went on our first cruise in 2006 and were immediately hooked on cruising. To date, we have been on 4 cruises and have visited 11 different places and countries in the Caribbean. A cruise is a great way to see many different places, and experience the great things they all have to offer.

We decided to attempt to put together a cruise, and invite our family & friends to join us, for three main reasons.

1.) Family: In the over 8 years that we have been together, our families have never even met. Also, no one in either of our families has ever been on a cruise, much less, the Caribbean. We figured this would be a great opportunity to have a type of "Family" vacation. Something that neither of us has done in many years and allow our families to experience something new.

2.) Friends: We've made a lot of great friends over the years. Some local, some not so local. It seems all the great times we have had with friends over the years, is just never enough.

3.) We've found that each cruise we go on, we learn a little more about cruising and additional, potential value in it. Recently, we learned that a "Group" qualifies for some pretty nice "Perks", and overall better pricing. More about these "Perks" later.

Second, we are planning this cruise for 2013. Yes, that is a long time from now. Are we nuts planning this vacation this soon? Not at all.

1.) 2013 will be here before you know it. Trust us.

2.) There needs to be a bit of planning on our part to make all this come together, as we will potentially be large enough to be considered a group, and receive the "Perks" that come with being a group.

3.) By selecting a date this far out gives everyone ample time to consider, and save for this "Dream" vacation AND allows payment intervals to be spread out, making this vacation more affordable to even more of our family and friends.

Third, we are calling this a "Dream" vacation for a couple of reasons.

1.) We hope, if you join us, this will be as much of a "Dream" vacation for you, as cruising in general over the past several years has been for us.

2.) We are strongly considering planning this vacation aboard the Carnival ship that is named "Dream". While we have not ruled out other ships or itineries, this ship will be the likley candidate, and sails out of Port Canaveral, Florida, which is about an hour from Orlando. There is one other, just announced, candidate. When this vacation takes place, Carnival's newest, "Dream" class ship will be the Carnival "Breeze" which will sail out of Miami starting in 2012.

Meet Carnival "Dream", the ship you could be calling home for a week.

A cruise is by far, one of the best vacations either of us has been on. We have gone to places like Disney World and Las Vegas as well. While all of these were great vacations in themselves, cruises offer a little bit of everything, and something that everyone can enjoy, regardless of age.

Our goal is NOT to put together a group of people that will spend every waking moment together on vacation. We expect you to go and explore the ship and the ports of call on your own, and do the things that YOU want to do. We will be doing our own thing and if we run into you on the ship, or on an excursion, great! If not, we'll assume that means you're having a great time...somewhere. If our plans conincide and you want to get together for dinner or a drink, go to the piano bar, the dance club, or the theatre for example, that's also great. In addition, if all goes well, we WILL be planning a one hour, open bar private party or two, during the week for our "Family & Friends". These parties are the only organized events for the group that we are planning and it would be appreciated if you stopped by for a drink, say hello, tell us how you've been, and how you are enjoying your vacation so far. These private parties fall under the "Perks" category again because we are cruising as a group. As we said before, more on the potential "Perks" for group cruisers later.

One final note about this vacation as a whole. We can not be held accountable for any misfortunes you may experience on, or leading up to this vacation. This includes, but is not limited to such things as weather, reservations of any kind, missed flights, shore excursions, additional fees, or transportation to name a few. We recomend you consider the various insurance options for the various components of your vacation if you desire peace of mind. This website has been designed for information purposes only, and to be merely a guide with suggestions on how to make your vacation a great one. We will share all the information we have about this vacation, and offer suggestions based on our past experiences. We will attempt to answer any questions you have, or direct you to the best of our ability, to where you can obtain an answer.