We Booked Our HONEYMOON!!

We did it, we did it, we did it!!! After last week's post about the Mediterranean cruise, we started checking out all our options, to see what was out there. We found the most AMAZING cruise, even better than the Royal Carribean one!!

We'll be sailing on the Celebrity Solstice, a ship that hasn't even launched yet- first sailing is in December. We saw the itinerary, loved it, and decided to call our friendly AmEx travel agent to get some more details... and then she told us that the cruise was about 80-85% sold out ALREADY! A year ahead of time!! Apparently it's because it's a new ship. So, we threw that notion of "letting it sit for a few days" and "not making any rash decisions" out the window, and booked our cabin on the spot! It might have just been the sales lady trying to get a sale (well, probably), but if the price drops, any new promotions (ship credits, coupons, etc) come up, etc we automatically get those benefits. Basically, we were able to lock our cabin and the price in, but if it drops, we'll get the lower price! Also, we have until April to change our minds for a 100% refund. Awesome!! Last but certainly not least, AmEx is running a promotion where on certain cruises (ours!), we get a 5 night all-inclusive stay for FREE at a five-star resort in Mexico- the Pacifica Bonita, in either Cabo San Lucas or Mazatlan. All we need to pay for is airfare!!! So really we're getting two vacations for one!

We had several requirements for our honeymoon:
1. The ability to either relax on a beach or go exploring
2. All inclusive
3. Romantic, something that's not typical (Mexico, Hawaii)
4. Somewhere we neither of us had been
5. A trip that allowed us to have a few "down days" after the wedding
6. An adventure of a lifetime!

Say hello to our wonderful 10 night, all inclusive Eastern Mediterranean adventure to come, leaving Friday, July 17th and returning July 27th, in Rome:

Rome, Italy

Messina, Sicily, Italy
Athens, Greece

Mykonos, Greece

Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey

Rhodes, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Naples/Capri, Italy
Rome, Italy

We'll be sailing on the Celebrity Solstice, a new ship that's launching in December. There aren't a lot of pictures of it yet, but here's an artist's rendering:
A sneak preview of the ship, while it's being built.

The ship website (ahh, it's so beautiful!).

We chose Celebrity for a few reasons: better price, better itinerary (less at-sea days- I hate those!), and more geared towards couples (less kids to steal prized pool chairs!!). The travel agent laughed when we told her that the only cruise we had been on was on Carnival... apparently we're in for a real upgrade. We'll have a beautiful deluxe veranda room with a balcony! Hopefully once it sets sail I'll be able to find more pictures... I'm stuck with virtual 360 views right now.

Next- the resort stay that we got for free! A 5-night stay at the Pueblo Bonito Luxury Hotel and Resort, in either Mazatlan or Cabo San Lucas. We're thinking about sneaking a long weekend away when we're getting really stressed out about wedding planning, say, in May or June?

Overall, we are SO excited!! I really wanted to go to Spain, but we weren't able to find a trip that fit our schedule and needs, so Spain will have to wait for another trip.

Does anyone have any tips for traveling in that area?