Hello JTrue24:
We're from Waynesville MO, about 2 hrs away west on I44.
We just booked this cruise; couldn't resist the great last-minute deal. Also we're suffering from cruise-withdrawal having returned from a fantastic RCL Panama cruise a month ago!
Congrats on your 10th; Kathy and I have been married for 26 yrs. Our only regret is that we didn't start cruising sooner! We are definitely cruise addicts and we are also scuba divers. If you are divers, we'll be happy to tell you some great contacts we have at these ports, we are fairly familiar with these ports of call if you aren't. Except for MoBay; we've only been there once before.
Also you might want to check in with the roll call group on cruise critic.com if you haven't already!
We are driving to New Orleans; probably driving to Jackson MS the first day, then into the port on the 29th. Wish we knew of some way to save the parking fees, but hey...as they say in Jamaica...Let it go, Mon!
Hope to see you aboard.
Bill & Kathy