My family never had much money growing up. I had three siblings and when I was really young we lived on a small farm in the middle of nowhere. After I got a little older we moved and my dad became a school bus driver and my mom worked for a gas station/restaurant/hotel. We just never could afford to take a real vacation when I was little. I didn't ever think too much of it. We would take a small trip every few years and we always had a good time.

One day when I was a junior in college I was looking at vacations on the computer (not that I was really planning on going, but I was just looking for the fun of it). I came across cruises and saw how affordable they could be. I was like, wow, maybe we can make something happen here and go on a real vacation and see a little bit of life outside the USA. I called my mom and ran the idea by her. Surprisingly she quickly jumped on board with the idea and soon we started looking at cruises and dates. We ended up booking a cruise with Carnival. A five day cruise departing from Miami and making stops in Jamaica and Grand Cayman. I was so excited!

As it got closer and closer to our cruise things started going wrong. My friend I wanted to bring with me canceled. She had school stuff going on and decided she couldn't leave. My mom's friend got sick only a few days before we had to go. It seemed like maybe this wasn't going to be as great as I though. I started to worry.

Once we got to Florida things started to look a bit better, the weather was great and I started thinking of the places we were going to go and the things we were going to do. I didn't want anything to get my spirits down. I wanted this to be a great vacation!

We got on the ship and my excitement rose! Our room was nice and I liked my bed. I couldn't wait for the ship to start moving. The next morning the water was a bit rough. One of the ladies with us ended up feeling too sick for breakfast and later that day I started to feel it too. I barely got out of bed that day. I didn't want to move. The water was so bad the waves were hitting out cabin window! Even staff on the ship were getting sick. :( They ended up canceling both of our destinations and redirecting us to Mexico and the Bahamas.

I know this all sounds horrible, but it was one of the best vacations of my life! Mexico was beautiful! I got to snorkel for the first time in my life and my mom and I got to drive around in the cutest little dune buggie. The beach was amazing and the food was so good. The food on the ship was amazing and each night the staff would put on a little show and dance to a song for us during our meal. One night we sat with some other guests and made some great conversation. I got to drink pina coladas (non-alcoholic) whenever I felt like it. I got my first professional massage, which felt so awesome! I got my hair cut right on the ship!

The vacation may not have been anything like we planned, but sometimes that is okay. I went with some great people and stayed open minded and I could not have asked for a better vacation. Can not wait to go again.