Madzac
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2008
Welcome to my first DIS trip report! I am so excited to share the story of our fantastic first ever Disney cruise
what a vacation!! It was beyond amazing and we had a fantastic time! I always write up a post trip report but decided I would share this time around as I so appreciated reading the reports here before our trip!
Who: Me,Tracy- Disney lover and planner who loves everything and anything Disney. DH, Adam- is learning to put up with Disney for my sake. Once every 3-4 years is enough of a park vacation for him, but he was up for trying a cruise. DD11, Maya- Disney lover like her mama, she could go to Disney every other week if you let her. DS8, Tristan, my high maintenance child, who loves roller coasters and rides and games, but is looking forward to seeing what a cruise is all about. DS5, Josiah, also a thrill ride lover, but adores all the characters and so excited. DD2, Tessa, our very attached toddler who has a recent fascination with all things princess.
When: June 14-20, 2013
Where: We drove from Iowa to Chicago and flew into Orlando. We spent one night with my cousin who lives in the Orlando area, one night in Melbourne, and then 4 nights onboard the beautiful and amazing Disney Dream.
How this trip came to be: We just had a week-long vacation to WDW last October. I had figured it would be some time before we were able to make it back. In December I had a nice surprise of getting a big check for money that was back owed to me from when I was a resident. We debated a very short time with what to do with this money be practical or pretend it never came and sock it into a wonderful vacation. I have ALWAYS dreamed of doing a Disney cruise but did not figure there was any way we could afford it. Well suddenly we had this unexpected money which was enough to cover a whole trip!
We contacted a wonderful lady I had met through my October DIS group who is a travel agent. Having never cruised I knew we would need some help in what to book and any advice possible. Katrina had great advice on what rooms to book, and in less than 24 hours we were booked for June 2013! We had initially planned to just book inside cabins to keep cost down, but we wouldnt have been able to choose our rooms which was important since we didnt want to be on two totally different decks. So we ended up booking two Cat 9B rooms, midship, deck two.
Over the months that followed I did lots of research on cruises and arranged for rental car, accommodations before, and some special things we could do on the ship. I enjoy planning almost as much as the vacation! I read all I could about it, and joined my cruise meet thread on the DIS board. I even ended up being in charge of the fish extender exchange on board! We anxiously awaited the day to arrive!
Who: Me,Tracy- Disney lover and planner who loves everything and anything Disney. DH, Adam- is learning to put up with Disney for my sake. Once every 3-4 years is enough of a park vacation for him, but he was up for trying a cruise. DD11, Maya- Disney lover like her mama, she could go to Disney every other week if you let her. DS8, Tristan, my high maintenance child, who loves roller coasters and rides and games, but is looking forward to seeing what a cruise is all about. DS5, Josiah, also a thrill ride lover, but adores all the characters and so excited. DD2, Tessa, our very attached toddler who has a recent fascination with all things princess.
When: June 14-20, 2013
Where: We drove from Iowa to Chicago and flew into Orlando. We spent one night with my cousin who lives in the Orlando area, one night in Melbourne, and then 4 nights onboard the beautiful and amazing Disney Dream.
How this trip came to be: We just had a week-long vacation to WDW last October. I had figured it would be some time before we were able to make it back. In December I had a nice surprise of getting a big check for money that was back owed to me from when I was a resident. We debated a very short time with what to do with this money be practical or pretend it never came and sock it into a wonderful vacation. I have ALWAYS dreamed of doing a Disney cruise but did not figure there was any way we could afford it. Well suddenly we had this unexpected money which was enough to cover a whole trip!
We contacted a wonderful lady I had met through my October DIS group who is a travel agent. Having never cruised I knew we would need some help in what to book and any advice possible. Katrina had great advice on what rooms to book, and in less than 24 hours we were booked for June 2013! We had initially planned to just book inside cabins to keep cost down, but we wouldnt have been able to choose our rooms which was important since we didnt want to be on two totally different decks. So we ended up booking two Cat 9B rooms, midship, deck two.
Over the months that followed I did lots of research on cruises and arranged for rental car, accommodations before, and some special things we could do on the ship. I enjoy planning almost as much as the vacation! I read all I could about it, and joined my cruise meet thread on the DIS board. I even ended up being in charge of the fish extender exchange on board! We anxiously awaited the day to arrive!