Posts in Globetrotter
Travel Reflections - Purpose In How We Travel

Allan and I recently celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a visit to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, for the first time! Canada is so close to us here in New York, yet it took us visiting more than 30 countries before we got to Canada. In reflecting on our anniversary trip, I’m led to share a deeper message that I receive from this experience, rather than writing a typical blog that provides a play-by-play of all we did during this particular trip. That said, for those interested in seeing those details, the video play-by-play of our weekend is available at My Cruising Family on YouTube and is linked here.

I’ve wondered and asked God about how in the world telling people about cruises and travel is glorifying onto Him. How is this a ministry? Well, dare I say that this trip highlights some of the answers to that question, at least a bit, for me.

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How We Spent Christmas In Dubai

As promised in Part 1 of this two-part blog series, I will share here in Part 2, where in Dubai we stayed after our MSC World Europa cruise, what we did in Dubai on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and the pricing for our round-trip Emirates flights between JFK and DXB, as well as pricing of other elements of this first UAE trip for our family of 5.   

Day 4 of the pre-inaugural MSC World Europa sailing was also Christmas Eve, and on that day, our family of 5 disembarked in Dubai where we would spend another two days before flying back to New York. Prior to leaving the United States, we booked our transportation from the cruise port to our post-cruise hotel, but with stops at the Dubai Miracle Garden and the gold souk in between, since we would disembark the ship early in the morning, and hotel check-in times are usually in the afternoon. In full transparency, the night before getting off the ship, I received communication from the ground transportation company through WhatsApp messages confirming our cruise port pickup. However, at some point during the WhatsApp communication, when the company “realized” that we are a family of 5 with luggage, the company stated that the transportation that I already booked from the cruise port would be too small to accommodate all of us and our luggage. Even after I explained that 2 of the 5 of us were small children, the company insisted that I would need to book a separate van transport from the cruise port to the hotel, and then, the initial car that was reserved for us could pick us up from the hotel to take us to the Dubai Miracle Garden and the gold souk. There was a lot of back and forth with this on the night before disembarkation, which honestly annoyed me

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Organized Travel Goals

Do you have a list of places that you desire to see? If you don’t yet have such a list, why not create one?

On September 8, 2017, I published a blog article, entitled: “Organized Island-Hopping and Further Globetrotting,” where I talk about how my travels started and mention my goal of visiting every Caribbean country. In that blog article, I share my checklist for this goal. I find it is important to have a checklist for achieving certain goals in life, and for this goal it’s sort of easy to see why a list is helpful. Anyhoo… I am writing this revamped article today because I am super close to achieving this huge goal that I’ve had for years, and I’m excited!

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African-American Family, African-American Travel, African-American Vacation, Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, B.V.I., Bahamas, Barbados, Bequia, Black Family, Black Family Travel, Black Family Vacation, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, BVI, Caribbean, Caribbean Cruise, Colombia, Cuba, Curacao, Family Travel, Family Cruising, Family Vacation, Globetrotter, Globetrotting, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Island Hopping, Island-Hopping, Islands, Jamaica, Land Vacation, Martinique, Pointe-a-Pitre, Punta Cana, St. Barth, St. Barthelemy, St. Barts, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, St. Vincent, SVG, SXM, Tortola, Tours, Tour, The Grenadines, Travel, Travel Planning, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.V.I., US Virgin Islands, USVI, Vacation, Vacation PlanningPeta-Gaye Danielvisit the Caribbean, island hopping, island-hopping, island hop, visiting Montserrat, visiting Montserrat from Antigua, visiting Dominica, visiting Dominica from Puerto Rico, visit Montserrat, visit Dominica, visit Haiti, visit Curacao, visit Bonaire, visit Aruba, visit BVI, visit B.V.I., visit the British Virgin Islands, visit St. Barthelemy, visit St. Barth, visit St. Barths, visit St. Barts, visit Anguilla, visit SVG, visit S.V.G., visit St. Vincent and the Grenadines, visit Saint Vincent, visit St. Vincent, visit Martinique, visit Grenada, visit Trinidad and Tobago, visit Trinidad, visit Tobago, visit Guadeloupe, visit Cuba, best way to visit Cuba, visit the Bahamas, visit Turks and Caicos, visit St. Lucia, visit St. Kitts and Nevis, visit St. Kitts, visit Nevis, visit St. Martin, visit St. Maarten, visit Sint Maarten, visit Saint Martin, visit Honduras, visit Grand Cayman, visit the Cayman Islands, visit Cayman, visit Barbados, visit Antigua and Barbuda, visit Antigua, visit Barbuda, visit the Grenadines, visit the Dominican Republic, visit La Romana, visit Punta Cana, visit Jamaica, visit Negril, visit Ocho Rios, visit Kingston, Jamaican travelers, Jamaican globetrotter, Jamaican cruiser, Jamaican blogger, Jamaican vlogger, Jamaican gyal, Jamaican girl, Jamaican Family, Caribbean family, Barbadian family, Jamaican family, travel goals, family travel goals, #familytravel, #familytravelgoals, #travelgoalsComment
Video Recap: St. Maarten - Anguilla - St. Barth

This week, we got around to uploading our video coverage of our recent St. Maarten - Anguilla - St. Barth adventure!  We did not share every single moment in video or photo because we truly do believe in the full experience of getting away from the day-to-day and spending time together as a family, which means that we will not always have a camera rolling.  That being said, I hope that what we have captured and what we share with you here is inspiring and helpful.  

Here's our recap!  

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How To Island-Hop In The Caribbean

I had already visited a number of Caribbean countries, as well as Honduras, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Germany prior to making the decision that I want to visit all countries in the Caribbean before venturing back to Europe or elsewhere.  So, how will we island-hop around the Caribbean? 

It is, of course, no secret that My Cruising Family loves to cruise.  However, we do enjoy other modes of travel too.  In fact, our most recent family vacation was not our typical cruise, but rather, it was a land-vacation that, by the grace of God, and with intentional planning, we managed to turn into an island-hopping experience. With catamarans, speedboats, and ferries to many neighboring islands, St. Maarten/St. Martin is perfect for those who desire a land vacation, but also want to explore other islands.    

Cruising may seem like the most obvious answer to those who want to island-hop, but

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Updates: The Whirlwind of Juggling as a Mompreneur

This blog post is yet another untraditional post in that it is more of a personal note to those of you who have been following My Cruising Family’s journeys thus far, and who have come to expect regular blog posts.  It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post as life has been feeling like a whirlwind.  Whew!  

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A Shore Excursion Fail

On March 19, 2018, my mom, my husband, our 7-year-old son, our 3-year-old son, and I happily got off the ship at our first port-of-call on our 14-day MSC Fantasia Caribbean cruise: St. John’s, Antigua!  We thought that, on that day, we would experience the most amazing adventure to start out our cruise, but it turned into a disappointment. Of course, as in most disappointing life experiences, there is a lesson, and as such, I am writing this blog post to share the lesson with you. 

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CRUISE REVIEWS: OUR FAMILY'S MSC FANTASIA CRUISE

This was my second MSC cruise and my seventh overall cruise.  However this was the 1st time that we had booked a 14-day cruise!  Yes, FOURTEEN DAYS!  My mom, my husband, my 7-year-old son, my 3-year-old son, and I sailed together on the MSC Fantasia, from March 18, 2018 to April 1, 2018, roundtrip from Guadeloupe to Antigua & Barbuda, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, the Dominican Republic, St. Kitts & Nevis, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, and Grenada, with multiple stops in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Kitts & Nevis.  We had two Fantastica balcony staterooms on Deck 10, right next to each other: 10208 and 10210.  We loved our clean and spacious staterooms!  We booked this cruise for the amazing itinerary!  I was a bit disappointed when a portion of the itinerary changed – the initial itinerary included Tortola, British Virgin Islands; Dominica; and St. Maarten/St. Martin.  After the damage caused by the 2017 hurricane season, those three ports were removed from the itinerary, and, instead, an extra stop in St. Kitts was added, as well as a stop in La Romana, Dominican Republic.  We made the best of it!  Truly, the itinerary was still FABULOUS!  We had a wonderful time!  The crew and staff that we dealt with the most, which were our room steward, wait staff and other dining room staff, and the photo team were consistently pleasant and really made this voyage GREAT! 

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Making The Best Of A Family Cruise To Cuba

On the 6-month anniversary of the existence of this blog, My Cruising Family has decided to share a blog post that combines our review and our tips/advice from our most recent cruise.  It had been my intent to share a review of our first Cuba cruise soon after our return to the United States, but those plans changed after the unexpected loss of my brother the day after we returned from that cruise. 

My Cruising Family visited Cuba for the first time in October 2017, via cruise ship.  The Norwegian Sky, to be specific.  After eventually sharing our photos and stories of the amazing time we had during our cruise, a number of people have asked us for recommendations on how to make the best of a visit to Cuba, especially with two young children.  Here are some of our recommendations. 

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CRUISE REVIEWS: Our Family's MSC Divina Cruise

Although this was my 5th cruise, this was my first MSC cruise, and I loved it.  My mom, my husband, my 6-year-old son, my 2-year-old son, and I sailed together on the MSC Divina, from March 25, 2017 to April 1, 2017, from the Port of Miami to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Nassau.  We had two Bella staterooms on Deck 8, one room across the hall from the other: balcony stateroom 8251 and inside stateroom 8253.  We had a wonderful time!  The crew and staff were generally very helpful and cheerful.  Our stateroom steward, Lynyrd, was excellent in keeping our rooms in order and providing any requested services, such as

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Make Planning A Cruise A Breeze

While juggling life’s demands, planning a cruise can seem like an unnecessary use of your time, or like a luxury that you can live without.  This working wife and mommy – yours truly – is quite familiar with the day-to-day juggle, and I am also quite familiar with the tools that can make planning a cruise a breeze! 

So, what are some of the things that go into planning a cruise? 

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Getting To and From Guadeloupe

Our family is looking forward to cruising from Guadeloupe on our most port-intensive cruise yet, so I was quite concerned when I realized that the round-trip cost that I was finding for flights between New York City (NYC) and Pointe-a-Pitre (PTP) was over $2000 per person!  That doesn’t include checked bags, and we are traveling as a family of five! 

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Caribbean, Caribbean Cruise, Cruise, Cruising, Diverse, Diversity, Family Cruise, Family Cruise Line, Family Cruising, Family Travel, Family Vacation, Globetrotter, Globetrotting, Island Hopping, Island-Hopping, Islands, Land Vacation, MSC, MSC Cruise, MSC Cruises, Travel, Tours, Tour, Shore Excursions, Shore Excursion, Tropical Cruise, Vacation, Vacation Planning, Flights, Pointe-a-Pitre, PTP, JFK Airport, SXM, Air Antilles, Norwegian Air, JetBlue, Guadeloupe, Guadeloupe Cruise, Kids Sail Free, Martinique Cruise, Martinique, Travel PlanningPeta-Gaye DanielPointe-a-Pitre, PTP, Guadeloupe, JFK Airport, Norwegian Air, Air Antilles, JetBlue, Spring Break, Airline, Airlines, Flight search, Guadeloupe flights, SXM, Martinique, MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises, Guadeloupe Tourism, Caribbean, Tropical Vacation, Family Cruise, Family Vacation, Family Travel, Black Family Cruise, Black Family Travel, Black Family Vacation, African-American Family Travel, African-American Family Cruise, African-American Family Vacation, Trinidad Cruise, Grenada Cruise, Dominica Cruise, Martinique Cruise, Barbados Cruise, St. Lucia Cruise, Cruise to Guadeloupe, Cruise to St. Lucia, Cruise to Barbados, Cruise to Trinidad, Cruise to Tobago, Cruise to Trinidad and Tobago, Cruise to Grenada, Cruise to Dominica, Cruise to Martinique, Cruise from Martinique, Cruise from Guadeloupe, Fly to Guadeloupe, Fly to Martinique, cheap flights, how to get to Guadeloupe, Southern Caribbean Cruise, Southern Caribbean, MSC, MSC cruises, MSC Fantasia, MSC PoesiaComment
Myth vs. Truth: What Will You Believe?

We've probably all heard one or more of the following seven cruise myths, and unfortunately, such myths have kept some folks away from a spectacular vacation.  I am writing today to shed some light on a number of negative things that have been said about cruising.  Let's spread some truth, debunk some myths, and hopefully inspire someone to explore the awesome world of cruising!  

Myth #1:

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Organized Island-Hopping and Further Globetrotting

I am Jamaican-born and first visited the United States when I was four years old.  Then, after years of visiting the United States during Easter and summer vacations, I officially moved to New York, U.S.A. in 1991.  I then visited Jamaica regularly during school vacations. 

Being born and raised in the Caribbean, I am well aware of the beauty and diversity that the Caribbean holds, and while I know that a number of Caribbean islands, including my homeland, are tourist hotspots, I also know that there are a number of lesser known islands that offer much to be experienced. 

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Why Cruise?

Why cruise?

For our family, the answers are simple, and can be summed up in one word: value

As a mom, I value family time.  As Peta-Gaye, I value travel.  I have been blessed to merge these two values into one amazingly convenient experience over and over again through cruising.  With deals like MSC Cruises’ Kids Sail Free, and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Free-At-Sea Offer/3rd and 4th Guests Sail Free, the overall cost of a cruise for a family of four or five can be quite affordable, and certainly valuable if one thinks of all that family will be receiving during the cruise. 

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