Inspiring Your Next Cruise:

Excursion Guides & Specialty Dining Reviews.

We cut through the noise, curating the best shore tours, all-inclusive day passes, and food experiences to inspire your next adventure.

Meet Your Guides: From Empty Nesters to Experience Curators

We’re Mike and Kristina, the Gallivanting Souls. We’re passionate travelers who understand that planning a vacation for a family or group is a job! Our mission is to inspire and empower every traveler to discover the best dining and most memorable excursions without the stress.

Our journey, from raising a family to embracing the empty nest, has shaped our expertise in planning trips for diverse groups—from romantic getaways to complex, multigenerational family vacations. We’re here to share the insider knowledge that makes travel truly special.

Our Expertise: Beyond the Ship’s Rail

We believe the best memories are made off the ship and around the table. Our content is laser-focused on the two most important parts of your cruise vacation:

Bolt Roller Coaster is an excursion on the Carnival Mardi Gras. The first roller coaster at sea!

1. Thrilling Shore Excursions & Day Passes

Forget the crowded cruise line tours. We find, vet, and review the best independent shore excursions, private charters, and all-inclusive resort day passes (like ResortPass and RIU Palace) to guarantee a high-value experience in every port. We help you plan the port day that everyone will love.

2. Mouthwatering Meals & Specialty Dining

Food is culture. We provide in-depth guides, reviews, and tips for navigating both the onboard specialty dining (beyond the buffet!) and the hands-on culinary experiences—where the best food is made with the ones you love. We ensure every bite and every shared cooking memory contributes to an unforgettable experience.

This picture is from Carnival Mardi Gras on our first transatlantic cruise, where we did the Orient Unknown class with Carnival Kitchen. We have also done the Carnival Kitchen Pasta Fun Class. You can read about our experience making pasta in this post: What you need to know about the Carnival Kitchen Pasta Fun Class.

Our Resources & Insider Content

We work with travelers and brands to deliver high-quality content that streamlines the travel process:

  • Shore Excursion Breakdowns: In-depth reviews for independent tours in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Spain.
  • Specialty Dining Guides: Honest reviews and tips for maximizing your onboard dining experience.
  • Cruise Logistics & Tips: Practical advice for everything from packing to onboard budgeting.
  • Cabin & Resort Visual Tours: First-hand looks at cruise ship cabins and in-port resort day pass amenities.

Cabin & Resort Visual Tours

Partner With Us & Reach a Passionate Audience

 Connect with our highly engaged audience of travelers and food enthusiasts.

The Gallivanting Souls, Mike & Kristina pose at the staircase on Elegant Night.

Gallivanting Souls offers tour companies, restaurants, resorts, and tourism boards a unique opportunity to reach a dedicated audience that values authentic travel and culinary experiences. We have a proven track record of creating successful campaigns that drive engagement and deliver results.

We offer a range of partnership options tailored to your needs, including honest reviews, sponsored blog posts, UGC photos and videos, and dedicated content for TikTok and Instagram. We work closely with our partners to develop customized campaigns that meet their specific needs and objectives.

To discuss a collaboration, please email us at [email protected]

What our audience says

Kristina made our first family cruise with Carnival a breeze! They helped us find the perfect ship with activities for all ages, from poolside games for the grandkids to exciting shore excursions exploring Mayan ruins. We all had an unforgettable time!

The Miller Family

My husband and I finally took that empty nest escape we’d been dreaming of, thanks to Gallivanting Souls! They planned a fantastic Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean with the perfect balance of relaxation and adventure. We snorkeled in crystal-clear waters, enjoyed delicious food, and created lasting memories together.

Sarah & David L.

We were dreading the logistics of planning a multigenerational group cruise, but our travel agent, Kristina took care of everything! Our Carnival Cruise to the Mexican Riveria was amazing – the kids loved the water park, and we adults enjoyed relaxing on the beach. It was the perfect way to reconnect as a family.

The Rodriguez Family

Gallivanting Souls isn’t just about the cruise – they helped us discover hidden gems in the Caribbean on our Carnival adventure. We booked an incredible shore excursion in Belize that took us to the ancient Mayan ruins of Altun Ha with the legendary King David as our guide! Our family hasn’t stopped talking about our day exploring the ruins and learning about Mayan history from such a knowledgeable guide. King David even hooked us up with the best local chicken dish we’ve ever tasted, and he knew all the best spots for capturing amazing photos. It was a truly unique and unforgettable experience!

Lora & Michel W.

After the kids left for college, I decided to treat myself to a solo cruise. Gallivanting Souls recommended the perfect Carnival “Fun Ship” itinerary and connected me with a wonderful group of fellow travelers. I had an amazing time exploring new destinations and making new friends.

Tanya P.

Kristina has been helping us with our travel plans for some time now. All we need to do is tell her where when and for how long we want to stay, and she does the rest.

Being that Kristina is a seasoned traveler, she always finds fun things to do, that others may not know about. She has developed friendships with the people she has done excursions with and can be in contact with them regarding trip planning and fun activities.

We recently went on a 7-day cruise to Mexico, on Carnival Cruise Lines.
We arrived the night before departure, and Kristina had booked us a lovely room at the Westin Hotel. The hotel was very close to the Port of Long Beach, which made it easy to get to the ship with plenty of time to spare. Knowing that things have been taken care of is a relief, and gives you peace of mind to start enjoying your vacation.  All you need to do is pack your bags and show up.

While we were in Port, in Porta Vallarta, Kristina arranged to rent us a 38ft sailboat, with a full crew to transport us across the bay to a hidden cove with waterfalls and sandy beaches. This was by far my favorite part of our trip. This is the extra level of effort that we have come to enjoy working with Kristina.

Debbie & Tim Knoeb

Speciality Dining and Food Reviews

What Gallivanting Souls shares

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Our Travel Gallery

These photos of are a reminder of some of the amazing places that we been and the people we’ve met!

Altun Ha Structure B-4 from Plaza. Family waves atop of structure
Sailboat Navegante at sunset on Banderas Bay photo provided by Renta Segura. Gallivanting Souls chartered this beautiful sail boat on a recent trip to Puerto Vallarta.
What to wear on elegant night when its your anniversary gown and tux
Four guest and crew of Navagante sailboat
Mike on one of his empty nest adventures, Captains a sail boat in Puerto Vallarta, MX
woman in a blue shirt sits on rocks gazing at a huge Mayan ruin near Yucatan, MX. Gallivanting Souls visited Progresso on Carnival Valor.
Teleferico, a cable car in Puerto Plata, offering stunning views of the city and surrounding mountains
Man Enjoys Ocean Cay, Private Island of MSC Cruise Line** A man stands on the beach of Ocean Cay, the private island of MSC Cruise Line, taking pictures of the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship. The man is Mike, a travel blogger and founder of Gallivanting Souls. He is enjoying the beautiful scenery and taking in the sights and sounds of this amazing destination. **Here are some specific changes I made:** * I removed the phrase "of the Gallivanting Souls" because it is redundant. The phrase "travel blogger and founder of Gallivanting Souls" already implies that the man is Mike. * I added the word "private" to the location of the island to give readers more information about Ocean Cay.
Majahual, Mexico
Sunset sailboat ride on the Navigate
Man and woman ride on a trike motorcycle on tour in Cozumel with Trikes Cozumel
A Woman in a blue shirt and glasses holding sloth at Daniel Johnson's Hangout. Holding a sloth might be a bucket list activity while in Roatan. The woman holding this sloth is Gallivanting Souls, Kristina.
Calle Ocho Rooster
Family of adults jumps up and down in front of Mayan Ruins at Altun Ha. This is the Gallivanting Souls family and our family cruise that stopped in Belize.
Mike and Kristina holding a stingray underwater during a Carnival cruise in the Caribbean.
3 men act goofy at the Colomitos waterfall on a Navagante sailboat tour. One of these goofballs is Gallivanting Souls, Mike.
A brass colored sculpture sits in the town square call the monument fo the old shoes, Cartagna, Colombia. To show you how large this shoe is, Gallivanting Souls Mike stands inside of the old shoe.
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