The DO's and DON'Ts ....

Of Cruising...(in my opinion)...
We went on our first cruise a couple of weeks ago and it was a NICE, RELAXING, time-away, esp. so because we had no kids! So...

DO go on a trip without children once in a while. We did miss our kids near the end, but this time together -without interruptions or distractions -was really needed and therapeutic. We saw other couples on board with strollers and crying babies and thought -wow, so glad that's not us. Thanks to our family who watched our little ones!

DO go with someone else though. Particularly someone you enjoy being with and talking to. We went with Marty's sister and her husband-who live in California and we don't get to see them often. I 'm so glad they came. It made the trip more exciting and fun. At dinner each night we sat together, just the four of us, and had a GREAT time. I looked around at other 'couples' (just 2 people) and they just looked bored and ran out of things to talk and laugh about.
DON'T order wine unless you realize it's going to be an 'extra' charge on your bill...ALL drinks are NOT included. (Russ posed for this picture actually to be funny. He knew 'his' drink each night would cost him (but it can really add up fast.))
DON'T go on a Mexican cruise when there is a pending swine-flu pandemic. We only stopped at ONE port in Catalina Island. I was 'grateful' we didn't stop in Mexico (Ensenada) but it made for 2 whole days on a ship.
DON'T sign up for an 'onshore excursion' (thru the cruise line) unless you know it is impossible to do on your own when you get off the boat. We went kayaking, which was AWESOME, but we paid a hundred dollars to do it. When we got off the boat we realized we could rent our own kayaks for 40 bucks for the same amount of time! Yes, it was nice to have a guide tell us the history of the Island and paddle around with us, and we got a really yummy cookie/snack halfway through. But in the end I would have rather paid less than 1/2 the price and made my own experience.
DO dress up for the dinners. We always sat in the restaurant for dinner each night and it was really nice. There is one night where you can dress really formal. We didn't go all out but still wore a dress. The other nights I wish I'd have brought nicer shirts to wear to dinner instead of a bunch of T-shirts.
DO keep covered. It's nice to lay out in the sun and relax/read, but I've learned the hard way about protecting my skin. A little sun is nice but too many people got fried on board. I wish I could go back in time and chill out about being so tan. Believe me 3 surgeries and melanoma cancerous moles later...I am an advocate about being careful in the sun.
DO try the slide - just once. We did but the boys were too chicken. It was ICE cold sea water! Not what I was expecting.
DO bond as much as you can with your hubby. It's a special time to be without little ones.
DON'T get 'accidentally' pregnant weeks before the cruise. It doesn't make for the most comfortable of times on ship. AND the food doesn't have quite the glorified affect as everyone tells you it does with the underlying 'yuckies' lurking. Seriously sometimes when I think about the food on board I want to puke and it's not because of the food; it's the fun of pregnancy.

Yeah - big surprise for us but we are, of course, excited.