My dh and I will be taking our first cruise to celebrate his birthday/our anniversary. Really looking forward to the shipboard experience. Will be in NOLA for a few days before and after the cruise to see the sights. The Drury Hotel looked like a good place so booked to stay there. Flying in from the Canadian prairies via Denver!  I'm interested in "chatting" with others who will be aboard on this cruise. We plan on seeing the Mayan ruins on the off-ship excursions in Progresso and Cozumel.

This should probably be linked to the roll call with the the date October 17, 2008 - I think the OP meant October 17, 2009.

I am going on this cruise with my dtr and 2 nieces. This is all of ours 1st cruise. 

Hi capicone! This is our first cruise too! I am also on both roll calls- Carnival and Cruise Connections. Should be a fun time! Chat with you later on this roll call or Cruise Critics roll call.

I will be going to the myan ruins in september i will post how it is once I see them.  No one else has responded to my question regarding how that excursion is.  Anyone out there have the 411 on the myan ruins.  Fantasy was the first ship I cruised on.  It is a small ship but has recently been renovated so will be nicer.  I will be going on cruise 6 in September I just love them.  My favorit cruise so far to date was on carnival triumph going to ocho rios, caymen islands, and cozumel.  I also enjoyed an eastern caribbean on Victory to st thomas, st Marteen and san juan.  St Marteen is absolutely gorgeous.

We will also be taking this cruise to celebrate our anniversary.  We are planning to do the zip line excursion in Cozumel and possibly touring the ruins from Progreso.  We vacationed in New Orleans a couple of years ago so we aren't going to be staying this trip.  We are taking an early flight on the 17th and a late one of the 22nd so that we have time to hit a couple of our favorite spots before and after the cruise.  It would be great to "know" some other people going on this cruise before we get there! 

Hi HDP! Wonderful to hear from another anniversary cruiser! (It will be our 20th Anniversary- my how time flies!) Also my husband has a milestone birthday to celebrate- but I won't say which one! We hope to see the Mayan ruins also- perhaps Chichen Itza and/or Tulum. Having a hard time deciding which tour to take. We are looking forward to exploring the French Quarter in New Orleans before and after we cruise. Looking forward to chatting with you and others in the future! 

Hello all! This is mine and my future husbands first cruise/honeymoon! To say that we're both exceptionally excited would be an understatement! Were getting married on October 10th so that'll give us a little time to get prepared AFTER the wedding as opposed to rushing around to get packed beforehand. We definitely wanna see Chichen Itza in Prog and were lookin into good places to go snorkeling in Coz. With the on-board activities Ive been told about AS WELL as some killer sight seeing to be done in Mexico, were expecting this to be an awesome trip! 

~Ashley and Ronnie

Hi Everybody! I'll be on this cruise also. I took my very first cruise on the Carnival Conquest March 9,  2003 so this will be my second. My first cruise was just me and my mom, it was her first too. She cruised again and took this same cruise (her and my dad) on the Fantasy back in August 2007 and she loved it so I'm gonna give it a go. However, this time we're taking ALL of our family so there will be quite a bit of us. Me, my hubby and our kids... my brother, his wife and their family... my cousin, his wife and their family... My mom & dad and a few of their friends... an uncle, another cousin, my oldest nephew and more still to come. My husbands birthday is October 15th but my son's 15th birthday is October 17th, the day we set sail so we're planning to have a good ol' time! To say that we are ALL excited is a complete understatement. I hope to cross paths with ya'll! 

Hi to Ashley and to msann74! It seems cruises are good places to celebrate birthdays/ anniversaries or what have you! Looking forward to chatting with you in the days to come! Only 3 months till we fly to NOLA!  Cheers from Canada!

Hello joanh! Thanks so much for the warm welcome. My name is Tiffanni. I too look forward to chatting with you as we approach our HIGHLY anticipated cruise in October. I am so pumped up it's unbelievable. I've seen so many pictures, videos, reviews and more. I can't wait, teeheehee.

It's almost here! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tiff 

Hi Tiffanni! I am counting down the days till we leave- really looking forward to seeing New Orleans as well as the Mayan ruins in Mexico- just have to decide which one(s) to see. I too have been looking at pics, reading reviews, and writing down advice on what to bring so I will be prepared to have a GOOD TIME! Talk to you again soon!

I know just what you mean joanh. We're just as excited about seeing New Orleans. We're planning to arrive in New Orleans Thursday night, the 15th of October, so we can spend all of Friday in New Orleans. We're planning to visit the Aquarium of the Americas and maybe the Insectarium and then after we're gonna go find some real New Orleans gumbo and let the kids take in the town. Have you ever been to New Orleans? If so, any suggestions on places to eat with the kids? This will be our first time there. =0)

Tiff 

Hi Tiff- it will be our first trip to New Orleans also- so can't advise on what to see or do- so sorry. We are arriving on Thursday also and staying after the cruise until we fly back home on Sunday. Perhaps other posters familiar with New Orleans can advise us on the best things to see and do.

 Hi again! Just checkin in with everyone... 68 Days and counting!!! Were so excited!