Hi everyone, I just posted my pictures and tried to be as detailed as I could. There are 274 pictures! Let me know what you think! The link is below.

http://community.webshots.com/user/dianafern1

OMG Diana...they are beautiful (the pictures too!) And yes...I meant your family!

Ok with A'ndrea writing our "travel guide" I now elect you for the photos we need. I guess we can split it 3 ways. I haven't decided what my part is yet...but I will let you guys know!!!

I haven't even reached your 100th photo yet...but I had to let you know how awesome they are. You take wonderful pictures and thank you so much for the descriptions. I can't wait to show the boys! Chris looks so much like my Kyle...of course Chris is much tanner. Remember I am pretty sure Casper was a relative somewhere in my background!!!

Well back to your photos...can't wait to see the rest!

Diana, What a great family and just an outstanding array of pics.

We will be on deck 5, port side near the Atrium.

I can't wait, in fact, DH as said he thinks he may have to sedate me between now and sail day.

And the information, tips, and pics from all the great folks here have really been helpful, but also added to my anticipation.

Oh me, oh my, why can't the days fly..... !!

Gosh, thank you for those photos! Of course your kids are adorable, but you are totally adorable too, haha! Those pictures make me even more excited now, if that's even possible!
I cannot believe I'm going to have my own pictures to post in just a few weeks!!!

I finally made it through ALL the pictures! Mark says to say thank you...now he can stay home - he's seen it all!

I am trying to talk him in to that group cruise on the new ship in 4/2009. The Carnival Splendor looks like it is going to be awesome!

Michele, I am glad you enjoyed them. I had you in mind as i took a few. I know how frustrating it was looking for pictures of the ship so I thought of taking pictures of places I couldn't find. The only place I couldn't take pictures of was of Camp Carnival. It was for the privacy and safety of the children. I hope you saw the picture of your deck. I couldn't find the number of your stateroom so I took one of the deck anyways. Let me know what you think of the rest of the pictures and if any questions arise.

hey I want to join the group cruise. give me the details. We were thinking of doing the splendor. As a matter of fact we were just talking about it.
Reminder wear lots of sunscreen. We bought spf 50 and still burned. that is why we are so red and tanned. Keep reapplying it too.

Diana - I knew that picture of Deck 5 was for me!!! You rock Mark was thought was so cool of you! When I got over to Mark's work to pick him up yesterday I made him look at the pictures. It was funny-he noticed all the things I thought of that reminded you guys of us. When Rick was checking himself out in the mirror with the lifejacket...that would be Mark! WE HAVE to take a cruise together!!!

Check out "the other" site under Carnival...and the link is there. The actual price for a balcony is like $200 cheaper than what I just paid and taxes, etc are already included. You get $100 onboard credit, Champagne & chocolates, and a Cocktail Party! I know...that sold it for me! By the way...your choice of drinks on the cruise WAS FABULOUS!!!!I could almost taste them all! I believe the dates are 4/26-5/3 2009. If you call the guy before the 20th of this month the deposit is only $25 per person...next deposit not due until I think 10/2008. That would be $225 each. Let me know what you and Rick think - the trip is actually over Kyle's 15th birthday and a month after my 40th...so it would be fun!

I do like what you guys did in Cabo...you fit in ALOT...I am worried that Lover's Beach will be too rough for Tyler and snorkeling may be a problem. I have to look into that more. My excursions are falling apart...Mark decided he wants to fit in some golf with Kyle. Like I can fit that in! Geez! I have emails out everywhere trying to fit it in at our stop in Mazatlan - we'll see!

Still have my list of questions going...I will put you to work later answering them all - I better get some work done this morning!

I thought of another question!

In Mazatlan, when you had the buffet - what kinds of food were there?

And when you had your beach time there, was there any place to rent boogie boards or other toys? Or was it just a place to sit in the sun and play a little in the water?

Thank you!

Michele - I was just able to log on. My dad is now in a rehabilitation center so I was there all day yesterday. I am off to disneyland today. The cruise sounds great. I am seriously thinking about doing it. I will look at it and talk to Rick. I sounds like a go though. I will keep you up to date. If we plan on doing it I will make reservations tomorrow for sure.

I also forgot to mention:
Sail and Sign Account - check it every morning or night. We put a check mark on every receipt that we checked so there would be no surprises at the end. Many people wait until the end of the cruise and have to make adjustments at the last minute. We kept hearing people called to the purser's desk on debarkation morning.

Hi Cynthia,
We had the buffet in Mazatlan. We did the shopping lunch and beach tour through Carnival. The buffet was excellent. It was mexican food. They also had dessert. It was flan which is a custard. The beach was great and they had lots of toys to rent there including parasailing. Reminder: If you are doing this excursion, the umbrellas and palapas fill up quickly. Take a blanket or extra towels to sit on.

Thanks! We love mexican food and I was hoping that is what it would be - it seems like it obviously would, but one never knows! And I love flan, so Yay!

Exactly what date is this cruise in April? I already have another cruise booked for January on the Spirit(to prevent the cruise withdrawals, haha) but this April one sounds lovely also.

17 more days until we're on the Pride! Yikes!

Hi Diana, Welcome home! Beautiful family, you have.

You took great photos. All of your shots encompassed every aspect of your cruise. You even got pictures of Long Beach Terminal, coming and going.

I'm so happy that you enjoyed Pride. What was the average temps. at your ports for July? I'm curious because in February it was around 80 degrees. Was it also hot and humid while on the ship and cruising to the ports?

I am so glad to see that you, personally, did the waterslide. I was not going to miss that. I wanted to experience it with my girls too.

Did your sons enjoy themselves? And, how did Camp Carnival work out for your youngest?

A'ndrea

Diana - Let me know what you guys decided. Mark didn't say "No" it was more of a "You know cruising is what I like for a vacation...so do what you want to do"! Ummm I didn't hear no in there...so I will take it as a "go ahead!". I was going to give the guy a call and get some more details. Will email you if I find anything else out before I hear back from you. I am glad your dad is recovering and I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

I have my list of questions almost ready for you!!! Get ready for them

Cynthia - The cruise is on the new ship the Carnival Splendor and it's a group cruise April 26th - May 3, 2009. 600 and some days away...but it sounds fun. You can find details on another cruise board called Cruisecritic.com. Lots of nice people like you find here.

Thanks Michelle! I actually do follow CruiseCritic a lot - but my favorite people are here.
I don't think I can make the 2009 cruise, I will still be working on my Masters at that time and I don't think I have a break that week - DRATS!

Diana I also send thoughts and prayers to your dad and to you. I lost both my parents two years ago. Thanks to my inheritance we can go on vacations now for the first time in our lives but I would give everything up to have my parents back. On the other hand, my parents took two cruises to Alaska in their last couple years and had the time of their lives. So I know they are happy for me and my family, and that they would approve of our vacation choice.

Okay, no more sad talk! Back to happy-happy Mexican Riviera fun-in-the-sun cruise ship talk! I'm leaving in 16 days! I'm going to pass out with excitement before I embark!

Cynthia, 16 days !!! How exciting !!!

We still have to wait a bit longer, but hoping the time will fly.

I wonder who is going on Sunday and whether the web-cam will be up so we can watch them leave?

Cynthia, thank you for your encouragement. It was hard to leave him and go off on a cruise but it did renew me so that I could come back and help take care of him. He just got out of the rehabilitation center today. I will be spending next week in L.A. to take care of him while my mom is at work.

soda cards They are called Fountain Fun Cards. They didn't charge me taxes while in port so I bought them on the lido deck next to venus pool. There will be a table set up there. They will add the 15% gratuity when you purchase the card. The card for each child is $28 plus gratuity each came out to $32.20. I didn't buy the adult card.
Also, I went into the casino and they gave me a lanyard. I had my sail and sign card punched along with my son's fountain fun card. My teenager got his own. He had his sail and sign card along with his soda card.

It's good to know about the lanyard, I was thinking about getting something like that before we left. It will be more convenient to get it onboard, and it's nice to know I won't have to carry a purse around! And I won't have to worry about the teens losing theirs every 2-3 hours!
I have been trying to calm down about this trip and get some actual work done around the house but the closer it gets the less I can do!

At this point Bwood, time will definitely start flying for you! I need time to slow down so I can be sure to enjoy every minute of the cruise!

Hi Andrea,
The ports were hot and humid but I had been there before so I expected it. It was actually not as hot as it had been when I was in P.V. 3 years ago. I bought my boys those spray fans as bon voyage gifts through Carnival so they helped tremendously.
My youngest loved Camp Carnival. We planned our activities with his so that he was able to enjoy the activities he liked while we enjoyed ours. He usually went in the evening after dinner while we were at the shows. During the day he picked the activities he wanted because he wanted to play at the pool. I also payed the extra $6.00 an hour on nights when we wanted to do specific things. They had fun activities planned during the slumber party time which is after hours so that was fine with him.
As for my teen, we met up with some cruise critic.com fellow cruisers and they had a teen son. Both our boys hit it off and before we knew it they had a group of about 9 kids. We saw them maybe twice a day for dinner and bed.

Cynthia, the lanyards in the casino are free. they also have some at the gift shop at via veneto where all the shops are. They have a plastic pocket and it hangs around your neck. These are $3.50 and they say camp carnival. I don't know how old your son is but my teen did not want to have a camp carnival lanyard around his neck. The casino lanyard was perfect because it clipped to his belt loop and went straight into his pocket. I did the same. They also have the water proof cases.
Oh, if there will be times when you might need cash. Example: horse races -to bet on the horses and during talks they will say show me a Ben Franklyn to win a prize. The person that runs up with the bill first gets the prize the speaker is holding.