40 is a FANTASY! Chunkeymonkey & Chubbyhubby STAR WARS cruise and POLY Feb 2016 TR Link Added!!

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Hi! Saw your post on another cruise thread and decided to come over! I've read your past TR and enjoyed them. I turned 30 this year and celebrated on the Dream but I wish I could have done the Fantasy…guess I'll have to wait until 40!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi! Saw your post on another cruise thread and decided to come over! I've read your past TR and enjoyed them. I turned 30 this year and celebrated on the Dream but I wish I could have done the Fantasy…guess I'll have to wait until 40!!

Hi Megan! I posted on your TR too! It is making me so excited for our cruise! Thanks for reading! I'm sure you'll find your way on the Fantasy before you turn 40! I felt like my 30s just went by so quickly...I hope the next 10 years do not, LOL!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

PTR Update 1/21/2016: Picture this....

30 days until Cruise on the Fantasy!
37 days until WDW Vacation!

Just a short update but can't believe it's my 30 day mark today! Technically it is 29 days if I count in the day we fly down to Florida the day before the cruise! Let the official countdown begin!



I'm so excited yet I feel like I have so much to do. The packing and getting everything together is going to take some time. I haven't even finished my spreadsheet/schedule for my park plans yet! Gulp. Oh and this weekend there's supposed to be a HUGE snowstorm. I guess I'll use the downtime at home to get things organized for the trip. I have a few surprises in store that I won't reveal until my actual TR!

On another note, I have pre-ordered Memory Maker for the WDW portion of our trip and bought the all digital photo package for the cruise! The memory maker was a no-brainer...I've had it for our past 3 trips and it will be nice since it's just DH and I - we will have pictures together instead of taking each other's picture.

The cruise picture package on the other hand...it was super expensive at 295.95 for a 7 night cruise!!! I resisted and said no I'm not buying it but you all know that my sister LOVES her pictures and she kept begging and begging. She claimed 295 divided by 3 people isn't that bad...which it isn't but it's still the principal of it. On our last cruise in May I did not like any of the pictures that the photographers took! I felt like the ones from my camera and iphone were much better. I am hoping that the photographers are better on the Fantasy. There are 2 reasons I finally caved: 1) It is fully refundable if you don't like your pictures. So I'm actually almost sure I will be doing this before the last night of our cruise! If I end up liking one or two pictures I'll just pay for those pictures separately. and 2) Star Wars Day at Sea...may be some good photo ops here so just in case... It is cheaper if you preorder the package so we'll be saving 10% by pre-ordering and every little bit in savings counts with Disney!


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[valerie160]

So much fun! Following along! Can't wait to see what you think about the SW cruise. My husband wants to go so bad!

 

[chunkymonkey]

So much fun! Following along! Can't wait to see what you think about the SW cruise. My husband wants to go so bad!

Thanks and welcome!! I'm sure I'm gonna LOVE it! Can't wait to share my experiences!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Congrats on your countdown!! I loved your TR from the Magic!! Is there a reason you do the cruise first and WDW second? Have you thought about doing the land portion first and then the cruise? I'm assuming cruise this year first because of your birthday!!????

 

[kastoney]

The Star wars menus all sound delicious. Can't wait to see how well you did at guessing what the rest of the chunky crew will order. Side note I'm actually pretty shocked at how inexpensive the alcoholic drinks are. We've only ever done one cruise and have never been back, largely because our bar bill was $800 : ) The disney prices seem much lower than I recall.

On the opposite side of cheap, I have no words for the price of the photo packages. How can a cruise be more than twice what a disney vacation photo package is. Seems crazy.

Love all your door decorations. How fun!

Hope you all escape the brunt of the snow storm. We've got 4 inches already and another 24+ hours to go, so things aren't looking so well in DC.

 

[ursalita]

Still looking out for perfect shoes!

The struggle is real.



I love the ones you chose. I only recently heard about the sketchers here on the DIS. Last time I wore my running shoes for comfort but it became a problem when it rained. I might have to look into these. And I love that style of fit flop. I have weird feet so most flip flops don't work for me but this style would probably work. Do you find the soles really comfortable? I thought my Oofos flip flops worked well last time but I'm always on the lookout for more options.

Here I am babysitting her this past weekend and of course I gave her everything I'm not supposed to, like a giant cookie. Bad auntie.

That's what aunties are for.

There's supposed to be a huge snowstorm in the northeast this weekend...yikes! Is it Feb 20th yet?

Stay safe!

Just a short update but can't believe it's my 30 day mark today! Technically it is 29 days if I count in the day we fly down to Florida the day before the cruise! Let the official countdown begin!

The cruise picture package on the other hand...it was super expensive at 295.95 for a 7 night cruise!!!

Wow, that's a lot! I had similar concerns about the regular Memory Maker. I thought that a lot of pictures I took with my camera were better than the ones the PP photographers took. But in the end it came down to my being in the picture so I would definitely purchase it again. Luckily you can do the pre-purchase for the reduced price. I really don't think I could pay $300. I'm with you.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Congrats on your countdown!! I loved your TR from the Magic!! Is there a reason you do the cruise first and WDW second? Have you thought about doing the land portion first and then the cruise? I'm assuming cruise this year first because of your birthday!!????

Thanks! Yes I've definitely thought about parks first then cruise but because of timing and the cruise dates it just worked out that we cruise before the parks. There are pros and cons of both but so far we are happy with cruising first...most people are sad when they have to disembark but we are excited to hit the parks running! Some people say that they'd rather wear themselves out at the parks then have a relaxing cruise. That works too but I think I'd prefer to relax first since after working full-time and traveling to FL, sometimes the last thing I want to do is wake up early enough for 8am EMH rope drop!

The Star wars menus all sound delicious. Can't wait to see how well you did at guessing what the rest of the chunky crew will order. Side note I'm actually pretty shocked at how inexpensive the alcoholic drinks are. We've only ever done one cruise and have never been back, largely because our bar bill was $800 : ) The disney prices seem much lower than I recall.

Wow 800 bucks...just between the 2 of you? You must have had some fancy bottles of wine...or a lot of it!
We will be bringing 2 bottles of wine on the cruise with us this year. That's more than enough for me and DH. CS doesn't drink wine. I do want to try some of the special drinks too. And yes they were cheaper than I expected them to be! But I would say the alcohol level in them is pretty tame. However I think regular cocktails like martinis and drinks on the rocks will be a little pricier. I also think it's based on if you order top-shelf or not. I did not hang out much at the bars on the Magic but I'm definitely gonna check out the adult area on the Fantasy! It looks amazing!

On the opposite side of cheap, I have no words for the price of the photo packages. How can a cruise be more than twice what a disney vacation photo package is. Seems crazy.

I know right? I am so annoyed by it, and I'm fully expecting to request a refund for our purchase. I just don't see ourselves getting that many (good) pictures on the boat as the parks.

Love all your door decorations. How fun!

Thanks!

Hope you all escape the brunt of the snow storm. We've got 4 inches already and another 24+ hours to go, so things aren't looking so well in DC.

It's snowmageddon here! I hope everything is ok where you are! I definitely think this is the most snow I've seen in 3 years.

The struggle is real.

#firstworldproblems

I love the ones you chose. I only recently heard about the sketchers here on the DIS. Last time I wore my running shoes for comfort but it became a problem when it rained. I might have to look into these. And I love that style of fit flop. I have weird feet so most flip flops don't work for me but this style would probably work. Do you find the soles really comfortable? I thought my Oofos flip flops worked well last time but I'm always on the lookout for more options.

Thanks! The fipflops are really comfy because of the thick sole! I have slightly flat feet and it really helps!

That's what aunties are for.

Yeah my sister shakes her head at me all the time. I have no willpower when it comes to cuteness!

Stay safe!

Thanks! We have about 20 inches right now. It's crazy!

Wow, that's a lot! I had similar concerns about the regular Memory Maker. I thought that a lot of pictures I took with my camera were better than the ones the PP photographers took. But in the end it came down to my being in the picture so I would definitely purchase it again. Luckily you can do the pre-purchase for the reduced price. I really don't think I could pay $300. I'm with you.

Yeah...it's nuts. I will see if it's worth it, but based on my last experience with cruise photos, I'm not so sure!

 

[bcwife76]

Less than a month to go!!!!!

 

[kadrachb]

Oh and this weekend there's supposed to be a HUGE snowstorm

Just think of yourself on the cruise while shoveling out... that's what I'll be doing tomorrow, thinking about WDW! We got about 28 inches... and I even went back home this weekend so who knows when I'll be able to get back to my university (which got about the same amount I did).

 

[Dugette]

Just got all caught up on your plans. Everything sounds AMAZING! Can't wait to live vicariously through you on this trip.

 

[Elevationist]

30 days until Cruise on the Fantasy!

AHHHH! I can't believe you're under 30 days now! You can countdown in weeks instead of months! How exciting!!!!

I haven't even finished my spreadsheet/schedule for my park plans yet!

Slacker.

The cruise picture package on the other hand...it was super expensive at 295.95 for a 7 night cruise!!!

Say whaaaaat! That's crazy! (But I probably would have bought it, too!)

Star Wars Day at Sea...may be some good photo ops here so just in case... It is cheaper if you preorder the package so we'll be saving 10% by pre-ordering and every little bit in savings counts with Disney!

Okay, that's a VERY good point!

 

[soniam]

Have you read this review yet? Youuuuu are gonna haaaave fuuuun (in a sing-songy voice)

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneycruiseline/review-star-wars-day-at-sea-part-1/

EDIT: Her review wasn't the most exciting, but I think you will enjoy it, especially since you can now set expectations better.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Have you read this review yet? Youuuuu are gonna haaaave fuuuun (in a sing-songy voice)

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneycruiseline/review-star-wars-day-at-sea-part-1/

EDIT: Her review wasn't the most exciting, but I think you will enjoy it, especially since you can now set expectations better.

Thanks for that!! I've been reading up on everything I can find! I can't wait until this weekend when the people from this week's sailing can finally upload their pictures. I am wondering if things will steadily improve on subsequent sailings. Not that I really care, I'm pretty excited about it all. I've been working on an outfit to wear...it's gonna be a surprise, but I'll say that it's a classic character, not someone from the new movie.

 

[soniam]

Thanks for that!! I've been reading up on everything I can find! I can't wait until this weekend when the people from this week's sailing can finally upload their pictures. I am wondering if things will steadily improve on subsequent sailings. Not that I really care, I'm pretty excited about it all. I've been working on an outfit to wear...it's gonna be a surprise, but I'll say that it's a classic character, not someone from the new movie.

I think DCL will start doing more themed cruises. The Frozen ones were pretty popular, and the Star Wars ones seem extremely popular, bookings-wise anyway. Maybe they will do start doing them to coincide with new movie releases, like Toy Story. Can't wait to see what the cruise is like for you.

 

[LizardQueen8]

Just back from my Star Wars cruise! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer!

 

[LindseyJo22]

Man, I got behind on the Dis and you are so close now!!! I'm excited for you Plus, I need TRs to read between now and May Everything you have planned sounds so fabulous - and it seems like the Star Wars theming is going to be wonderful on the cruise So much fun!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I think DCL will start doing more themed cruises. The Frozen ones were pretty popular, and the Star Wars ones seem extremely popular, bookings-wise anyway. Maybe they will do start doing them to coincide with new movie releases, like Toy Story. Can't wait to see what the cruise is like for you.

That would be fun. I hope they continue the Star Wars cruises though. Seems like a theme which could hold a lot of interest for a long time!

Just back from my Star Wars cruise! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer!

OMG How was it!?! Was it everything you had hoped it would be? What was your dining rotation and did you like it? Did you dress up? I'm wondering how early I should get dressed up on SWDAS. I was thinking after breakfast and then change into regular clothes right before dinner (my costume is a bit binding so I don't think I want to wear it all day). Sorry for the bombardment of questions. Will you be doing a trip report?

Man, I got behind on the Dis and you are so close now!!! I'm excited for you Plus, I need TRs to read between now and May Everything you have planned sounds so fabulous - and it seems like the Star Wars theming is going to be wonderful on the cruise So much fun!!

Thanks!! I'm so excited! Will get my Trip Report up and running as soon as we get back!

 

[LizardQueen8]

OMG How was it!?! Was it everything you had hoped it would be? What was your dining rotation and did you like it? Did you dress up? I'm wondering how early I should get dressed up on SWDAS. I was thinking after breakfast and then change into regular clothes right before dinner (my costume is a bit binding so I don't think I want to wear it all day). Sorry for the bombardment of questions. Will you be doing a trip report?

I had a great time! I don't know if I'll be in any hurry to cruise again, but I loved doing the DCL thing once. We had RAERAAE, so we were in Animator's Palate for SWDAS. But honestly, we weren't in love with the main dining experience, mainly because of how long it took, so we only ate at Animator's and Royal Court. I just wore a Star Wars t-shirt on Star Wars day, but my friend did get fully dressed up. I was up and wandering around decks 3 and 4 by around 9:30am, and SO MANY PEOPLE were already in full costume. My friend chose to get in and out of costume multiple times throughout the day, so she was in costume for each of our meet and greets and then for dinner. We both went casual for the fireworks (I just swapped out my t-shirt for a Darth Vader long sleeve ). I'm not sure if I will do a trip report or not, so ask as many questions as you want! I am more than happy to go into as much detail as you need!