My So-Called Fangirl Life

Cruise 2012

6/7/12 - 6/11/12

Port of Miami, FL to Half Moon Cay, to Key West, FL

Carnival Destiny

I never thought I'd ever go on a trip like this by myself. Pairing up with people I'd only met online (we did meet once before this cruise...see previous chapter if you wish), was unthinkable. But it was something I wanted to do so badly. And, not long before she passed away, I discussed it with my friend Melissa. She basically told me I'd be stupid if I didn't go for it. So when she died, that sealed the deal for me. That's what it took for me to realize that life is too short to not enjoy it. And trust me, ever since then, I have enjoyed it thoroughly.

But first, I needed a roommate(s).

New Kids have this website/fanclub dubbed BlockNation. I had chatted with a girl on there named Tiffany, who lives near Nashville, and we kind of clicked because we were both mothers with four children. She was married, and I was newly divorced (praise Jesus). But we had both gone to the reunion show in Nashville, separately, and talked about that and how we'd love to go on a cruise. I crept on her page and saw that she had also been speaking with a girl from Alabama, named Traci, who had also been at the same show.

We were expecting a cruise announcement any day, so we started to seriously consider going. We were both down for it, but we knew a cabin would be slightly cheaper if we shared a quad with two more girls. So we decided to tweet that we were looking for roommates.

It was so funny because I was at work and Tiffany tweeted about it and I didn't realize. So when I got in the car to head home, a girl named Morgan had tweeted me saying that she and her sister were interested. The fact that I didn't know Tiffany had already said something about it made me question how this girl even knew that I was looking for someone. I think I replied something like, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you find out I was looking for roommates?" I felt stupid for asking, but I was confused.

She said that she saw a tweet about it. I messaged Tiffany and finally figured out what was up. I replied to Morgan that I was sorry, I didn't realize Tiff had already posted it. Anyway...that's how we ended up rooming with Morgan and her sister, Whitnie.

Traci was planning on rooming with her mom. And then Heather came along. She was planning on signing up for the roommate match program, where they pick a roommate for you. I think she had already been Twitter friends with Morgan, because they lived near each other. All I remember is my first interaction with her was during a conversation we were having about moving to Utah and becoming Donnie Wahlberg's "Blockhead Sister Wives." Lololz. You just had to be there. Also, in case you're not one of us and don't know, we Blockheads (or BHs) are also referred to as sisters because of a song Joey wrote called Five Brothers and a Million Sisters.

So that was settled. We had roomates, friends, and deposits, and we were ready.

I will never forget when the cruise went on sale. I was at work, and it was an insane day. There was no way I could help try to reserve a cabin, so it was left up to Tiffany and Morgan to grab a spot. And after like 45 minutes Tiffany finally let me know they were successful. It may have been even longer than that. I just know I was a mess not knowing.

The next step was booking a flight. Holy crap. I'd never been on a plane before, so I freaked out just thinking about it. But I was determined that I was going to fly rather than make a 14 hour drive. I kept an eye on prices, and when they seemed reasonable enough, on Valentine's Day, I bought them, and I even had some rewards points on my credit card and got $100 off. Traci and I have since then become money saving queens when it comes to travel expenses. A fangirl's gotta do what a fangirl's gotta do. I'm determined to write a blog about our tips and tricks one day.