Hi everyone! I've had lots of fun the last week or two reading all your posts.  My fiance and I haven't actually booked our first cruise yet (gotta wait for a tax refund to do that) but we're planning on going on the Paradise in late October/early November '09. We'll be celebrating our wedding which will have taken place at a simple Justice O' Peace earlier in the year. We'll be traveling with the four of our kids who are still at home and any of the other three (plus their significant others) who are grown and may or may not be able to come.

My plan (and please tell me if you think it sounds tacky) is to mail wedding announcements telling friends/family that we have been married in a small private ceremony and inviting any of them to come celebrate with us on the cruise at their own expense. My hope is that this will allow Kevin and I to have a honeymoon which includes the kids and anyone else who feels they can come while costing less and being less stressful than a traditional ceremony/reception/honeymoon.

I have lots of questions: We have my son who will be almost 11 at that time and my daughter who will have just turned 12. Will they be safe if they venture out on their own on the ship? Will they have fun/be entertained in the kid's club? We also will be traveling with my son and my fiance's daughter who will both be 16 then. I'm not so concerned with them as they are older and tend to pal around with each other pretty well, but I of course want them to have fun too.

My fiance and I are the party-type. I don't believe we usually offend anyone, but we do like our drinks and music and food and are looking forward to having time separate from the kids but we want them to be entertained in their own way as well.

I've read about the Jeep tour in Ensenada. Has anyone gone on it? Is it worth the money? How much does it cost?

Will it be warm enough to swim in November? What is the approximate cost of a pedicure or massage in the spa? Is there volleyball on board?

We'll be driving to LA from Oregon since it's cheaper than airfare and we'll have four drivers to be able to trade off. How hard is it to get to the port?

Sorry about all the questions. LOL I'm just very excited and only beginning to plan my/our first cruise.

I don't know about the kids routine, I'm sure other people who were silly enough to take them can help you.  The invitation idea sounds ok to me but I am far from MIss Manners.  again, ask around.  I see kids around the ship about that age.  There is also Camp Carnival which is free.  Kids also do the karaoke in the evening with the big people.  There are clubs for kids of those ages but I have no experience.  If they are staying in the main areas I wouldn't expect any problems.  The free pizza and ice cream should keep them busy. 

Carnival gets a cut on the excursions, on the excursion page you will get an idea of jeep trip, I think it's about -50-75 pp.  I drive down from Redding, mapquest it and it is pretty easy (it's right next door to the queen mary).  Parking is 12 each day but the lot is right there.  Check in early if you drive and you will be drinking and eating by noon.

Thank you John. I'll mapquest it when the time is nearer, it helps to know it's right next to the Queen Mary as I was looking at hotels in the area and that was one landmark that was mentioned several times  so now I know those hotels are near as well. :)

Went on Paradise with the family last July, since it was summer plenty of kids.  My 11 & 13 yo neices had fun.  The younger one karaoke'd with her aunts & older cousins  every night.  When my daughters were that age we gave them the run of teh ship, only rule was to be dressed and at dinner.

Swimming.  Well Carnival uses sea water in the pools and it's not heated.  Sea temps that time of year there will probably be in the low 60's.

Like John stated parking is easy, the directions on Carnival's website of how to get to the port are spot on.  From OR take I-5 south to I-710 south and follow the signs to the Queen Mary.  Do NOT stay in San Pedro and be wary of some parts of Long Beach.  We usually stay up by Disneyland due to large choice of lodging and dining then drive the 20 miles to the port on the day of sailing.

Sounds fun, I'm jealous.

Thank you Boatwrench. I especially appreciate the advice on places to avoid! Some of the reviews of the hotels were scary and made me wonder about the areas they were in. I'm sooooooo looking forward to this!! It's hard to keep it secret from the kids, and it's still a long ways away!!!  LOL

The kids will love it.  I take my son every year.  He is 11.  He has a blast.  There are always a lot of kids on board.  There are the kids clubs which are great. They do tons of fun things like scavenger hunts, and dances and parties.  They can check themselves in and out if you let them.  They also have a sleep over for an additional fee.  There's an arcade, and a karaoke lounge.  There's tons of food at all hours of the day and night.  The kids love it. 

The port is really easy to get to.  I only live about 15 minutes from Long Beach, I used to live in Long Beach.  There are nice hotels right nearby including the Queen Mary.  You guys will have a blast!

 My wife and I jsut got married this past January (1/6/08) aboard the Carnival Pride.  The price of the wedding (which was wonderful and included everything) was about $1500 but I think they have cheaper packages.  At any rate, we sent out invitations to all of our friends and family telling them that we would be getting married aboard the cruise ship and would sail immediately after the wedding on our honeymoon.  We let them all know that they were welcome to join us at their own expense.  We ended up with over 10 cabins of people sailing with us on our honeymoon from both her and my families.  It was fantastic.  We all had dinner together and our families got to know each other, and we still had time for ourselves.  I would recommend getting married aboard a cruise ship and then cruising for the honeymoon to anyone.  

I have been to Ensenada several times, but have not done the Jeep tour.  I have heard that people have enjoyed the horse riding excursion.  The excursions are a little bit pricey, but what the heck, you are on vacation.  My wife had a pedicure the last time we sailed and she paid almost 3 times what she pays back home.  It is all up to you and what you want to spend.

I think all of your kids will enjoy the cruise.  There is plenty for them to do.  From what I have previously seen, most kids meet other kids and they pal around.  When we got married we had two nieces and nephews ranging in ages 8 - 18 on the cruise.  They had a good time and were ready to go again.

 Since you are driving from Oregon you might consider arriving the day before and spending the night somewhere.  You can Google "Cruise and Park Hotels in Long Beach, Ca" and come up with a list of places that you can spend the night before at and they will let you leave your vehicle parked at the Hotel/Motel while you are on the cruise.  Some provide a shuttle to the cruise terminal, others will give you a voucher for a cab.  We are cruising on the Paradise the day after tomorrow (10/27/08) and are spending the night prior on the Queen Mary.  We told them we were cruising on the Carnival Paradise and got a rate of $119 per night.  Follow the directions that Carnival has on there website and you should have no problems.  

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and enjoy planning and going on your honeymoon cruise.