Introductions.

[Aislinncursala]

Hi I live with DH in Largo for 5 years now, originally fm NYC & LI for first 33 yrs, then to NE - Portland ME for 5 then to Boston (DH's home) for 21. First cruised at DH beseeching three years ago (I didn't want to go); he says he created a monster, ha! I've now been on 6 cruises. DH will only go once a year. Last one solo inside cabin w the Largo Travel Club (25 ppl) was great, my third time with them. I'd go on my own in a sec w the right price. Florida is great for last minute, FL resident rates & eligible for Sr now also. Have extended family duty at the moment but looking to May for a last minute Caribbean or Bahama. Hope to do a looong cruise trip next year either Trans-Atlantic and Baltic Sea or Ft L to Vancover and Trans-Canadian RR trip. We'll see but meantime I'm thinking of a b2b whenever I can either 5+5 or 6+8 depends on price. Nice to see this group getting going. We are a nice swath from east coast to west coast of Central FL. Bon Voyage!!

[scgamecock]

Hey everyone! I'm William from Panama City. Ya, ya - I know that's not Central Florida, but I'm down there a lot. Usually due to cruising. I'm divorced, no kids and I love cruise travel. I am a supermarket manager for Winn Dixie. Been there forever, so I get a lot of vacation time and I spend most of it at sea.

Thanks Tricia for getting this forum going.

[pcrum]

Hello:

I'm Pam, a Tampa native, but now live in Orlando by way of England. My DH is Norm and although he was born in Ohio, he has lived in FL since 3rd grade. We love to cruise and have 17 year old boy/girl twins who have also caught the cruising bug. I think Carnival is our favorite, but we have cruised several different lines (see signature). My DS would love to do Disney on one of their new ships, but looking at the prices...oy vey! It's hard to spend that on a 3-4 night cruise when you can easily cruise for 7 or 8 nights on other lines for the same cost.

Trisha, I enjoyed your review, "Shy Girl Goes to Sea." Guess you are not so shy anymore...look at you starting this entire thread!! Looking forward to chatting with other central FL cruisers!

[GottaLuvCruising]

Hi Sunshine Sailors!

Thanks Tricia for setting up the sub-forum!

I'm Janet in real life (but "Trixie" at work and in Las Vegas...long story). Buddy & I recently celebrated our 39th anniversary. We have three grown kids, one amazing granddaughter and too many spoiled cats. We live in Kissimmee, but are from Maine originally. Retirement is on the horizon and we can't wait to spend summer & fall at our camp in Maine, but winter & spring down here (preferably Cocoa Beach).

I hope we can pull off a get-together!

[ChefSusan]

Hi Tricia thanks for setting this up!

My name is Susan and my DH is Cary. Married since 2003 - Cary's been in Florida since 1992, I moved down here right after we got married. I'm retired, Cary's a Flight Attendant with Southwest Airlines. Cary's originally from Boston, MA, and I'm originally from the Paramus, NJ area. We live in Riverview and absolutely LOVE to watch the ships sail off from Channelside!

My first cruise was on Carnival Holiday waaaaaay back in 1993, second one was on Legend in 2009 and we've been hooked ever since! Hit platinum on Magic last May (we are STILL talking about that cruise one year later!!!), Cary hit platinum when we were on Paradise last month.

What keeps us going back to Carnival is the itineraries, the fantastic people we have met over the years, and of course the ships! We have at least two cruises on deck - Glory to Canada August 11th (anyone want to join us?) followed by Breeze to Grand Turk, La Romana, Aruba, and Curacao early January 2013 (miss the Bloggers by two weeks!).

Always willing to help fellow cruisers out, never a bitchy answer to a question, and always courteous, as you never know!

[Cruisecrzy3]

Hello new friends! Was thrilled when I ran across this thread...thanks Tricia, awesome idea! I'm Anita and my DH is Chuck. We're originally from Ohio but it's been so long now I think we almost qualify as "native". DH moved down in 1978 and I arrived in 1981. The amazing/amusing thing....we met here.

I'm in the insurance industry (please don't kill the messenger...lol) and DH works retail. Frankly I'd rather be in the travel industry! As you can see with my cruising history below, I've been on several cruises, mostly with my mom. Sad to say she left us last summer and I had to find another cruise buddy. I had to keep cruising because we loved it so much (& I couldn't give up both). DH decided he wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately it was over the weekend when Hurricane Irene came to play. We were on the Sensation passing by Freeport as Irene was paying a visit. He was sicker than a dog . Figured that would be it for cruising. He shocked me by saying he wanted to try again and so we did this past Feb. Needless to say it went well as he'll be going again next Jan.

I think our own crusing parties sound fantastic! We don't mind driving to Orlando, Port Canaveral, sounds great. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Oh and a word to Tony....beware of location when you purchase your home....certain areas of Florida (especially in Pasco county) have extremely high homeowners insurance rates!

Chat with you all soon!

[חשמלאי-מוסמך]

heya all,i'm guy from toronto canada,loving life and more to come

[maxandmolly]

Hello all! Nice to see a local contingent here. I'm Laura, mid 30's, I live in Lakeland-dead center between Orlando & Tampa. So of the cruise I just booked leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale. But, nothing out of Tampa or Port Canaveral fit what I wanted, when & in my price range. This will be my second cruise. My first was Half Moon Cay & Nassau on the Fascination out of Jax in October '10. My cabin buddy from that cruise is longer available so I'm going solo on this one. I leave November 25th on the Carnival Freedom for Key West, Grand Cayman & Ocho Rios. It's six months away but I'm counting the days!

[TriciaEMTB]

Originally Posted by maxandmolly

Hello all! Nice to see a local contingent here. I'm Laura, mid 30's, I live in Lakeland-dead center between Orlando & Tampa. So of the cruise I just booked leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale. But, nothing out of Tampa or Port Canaveral fit what I wanted, when & in my price range. This will be my second cruise. My first was Half Moon Cay & Nassau on the Fascination out of Jax in October '10. My cabin buddy from that cruise is longer available so I'm going solo on this one. I leave November 25th on the Carnival Freedom for Key West, Grand Cayman & Ocho Rios. It's six months away but I'm counting the days!

I'm leaving the 25th too but out of Miami for Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman and Roatan.

Welcome. We are kind of dead here unfortunately.

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[maxandmolly]

Originally Posted by TriciaEMTB

I'm leaving the 25th too but out of Miami for Cozumel, Belize, Grand Cayman and Roatan.

Welcome. We are kind of dead here unfortunately.

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That's ok, I'm highly entertaining! I looked at that cruise, it looks great but out of my price range unfortunately. My friends took one with those ports out of Tampa for their honeymoon and had a great time.