I have cruised 5 times.
Bahamas, Caribbean, Mediterranean, South Pacific and Alaska.
We’ve cruised with Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Holland America.
But there are still so many more cruises I want to do.
And so many more cruise lines to explore.
They all offer something unique and different.
Why do we love cruising so much? Could it be 24-hour access to delicious food without having to lift a finger to cook? Or perhaps the free kids club so Josh and I can enjoy a romantic holiday too? Or maybe it’s the fact that I only unpack once yet I can see multiple cities, countries and even continents. There’s so many reasons to love a bigger-than-life ship sailing to dreamy destinations.
In fact, we love cruising so much we are heading out to our next dream destination: Hawaii! Starting off in Los Angeles, we’ll be sailing for 15 days in November/December with Carnival!
Can you imagine?
15 days of no cooking, no cleaning, snorkelling, swimming, tropical beaches, volcanoes and luaus!
You want to come, right?

Time For The Big Announcement
Well, what if I told you October is “Plan a Cruise Month” and the cruise industry is launching their annual #CruiseSmile campaign. A simple yet exciting sweepstakes offering you the chance to win a cruise vacation each week during the month of October.
What?! Do you need to re-read that?
Yes, I said they are giving away a cruise each week during the month of October.
There are 31 unique cruises to choose from and a total of 4 cruise packages being given away over the 31 days of October.
How To Enter #CruiseSmile
To enter, simply upload your “cruise smile” selfie at www.CruiseSmile.org and share the entry with friends.
For more chances to win, post your photo on Twitter and/or Instagram using #CruiseSmile and #sweepstakes and share your #CruiseSmile with friends to earn even more sweepstakes entries.
And then come back every day to the CruiseSmile website to discover the new, amazing cruise vacations on offer with the #CruiseSmile themes.
You can get all the terms and conditions on this sweepstake at www.CruiseSmile.org

And… More Prizes!
If you are really keen to hear more about cruising then join me for a 2-hour Twitter party where you will have a chance to win:
- American Express Gift Cards
- MSC Cruise Bathrobe and Candle
- Gift Bag of prizes from Cunard Cruise Line
- $50 American Express Gift Card from CroisiEurope
- Anthem of the Seas Gift Bags from Royal Caribbean
- Carnival Cruise Lines Prize Pack
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Time: Noon - 2 pm EST | 9 – 11 am PST | 2 – 4 am Wed Oct 12 Sydney, Australia (check your timezone here)
Hashtag: #CruiseSmile #sweepstakes
Follow: @CruiseSmile
Will I see you there? It would be great if one of our amazing Travel With Bender readers won some of the prizes… not to mention a cruise! Wow!
I would love to hear if you’ve been on a cruise in the comments below. Which cruise line? Where did you cruise to? Perhaps I’ll add it to my dream cruise list.
And don’t forget to enter #CruiseSmile now!