A 30 ROCK (-'n'-Roll) Cruise! ~30 IS the new 20~

[ickletarakins]

EDIT, 5/24/2010: Welcome to our pre-cruise TR...followed by our ACTUAL TR! To begin at the beginning...

Basically, we leave a month from today, and I'm too excited to wait until AFTER the cruise to start posting about it

First...an explanation of the title is in order! Basically, this cruise is my DBF's 30th birthday present. Although he won't turn 30 until a few days after we return, due to other plans we had for Memorial Day weekend, this cruise had to be a sort of pre-birthday birthday celebration. You know, life gets in the way when you're an adult

I have actually been on three cruises in the past, but despite being a pretty big Disney nut...none of them was a Disney cruise! Go figure. DBF, on the other hand, has NEVER been on a cruise...period! And speaking of that whole being-an-adult thing getting in the way...well, due to a slight lack of available vacation days, we could really only do a 3-day cruise. I have to admit that I looked into Royal Caribbean at first ...but I think I knew from the start that it would always be Disney. So I took a deep breath and coughed up the extra couple hundred bucks a person, figuring that the adults-only pool, jacuzzi, restaurant (Palo, I mean), and fact that we can bring our own alcohol on board (to an extent) would make it worth my while

So back in late February, we booked our 5/20 departure on a 3-day Bahamas cruise, Disney Wonder style. And some friends even decided to come with, although I'm admittedly hoping a couple others jump the gun and show up last minute, as well

But for now, the cast is as follows:

Myself, Tara, 27
DBF, Steve, 29/30
DF, Jonathan, 27
And DF Jennifer (Jonathan's GF), mid-20s (no, I don't know her exact age, bad friend, I know)

So this is the beginning of the beginning...our pre-cruise trip report, that is!

 

[Dack48]

I'm looking forward to it!

 

[ickletarakins]

I'm looking forward to it!

Hey there, lurker ...haha

 

[verygfy]

I'm in!! Can't wait to hear all about it

 

[Cheryl726]

Sounds great! You will love the adults-only areas, especially Serenity Bay--enjoy!

 

[ickletarakins]

Once upon a picture:

That's Jonathan (DF) on the left, Steve (DBF) in the middle, and myself (Tara) on the right. I actually haven't met Jonathan's girlfriend Jen yet and can't wait to do so on this cruise! Anyway, this picture was taken in February of this year. We were in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and the Superbowl! Yes, it was crazy, insane, and fun, and it was actually just a couple weeks later that I decided on this Disney cruise and begged Jonathan to come with...because he's one of our best friends and a vacation just isn't the same without him!

 

[miztigg]

Cant wait

 

[Dack48]

Awwww! Tara, you made my day! :-D

I am sure I will find out how to post picutres on this thing someday....

29 more days!!!!

 

[Tink rules]

I'm in!!!

 

[ickletarakins]

Awwww! Tara, you made my day! :-D

I am sure I will find out how to post picutres on this thing someday....

29 more days!!!!

Haha it's super easy...you just need the image location URL (when you right click on a picture, anywhere online including FB, it's in the properties) and then you click on the "add picture" button at the top of the reply and voila! a picture in a post

And P.S. You know we love you!

 

[ickletarakins]

Okay--so now that we'd booked our cruise (only 2 weeks between the deposit and the final payment--talk about bad timing, ugh), it was time for the planning stages! I was told that Palo was a must, and DF wanted to go to Atlantis. On top of that, DBF's only request was that we go snorkeling.

Now, I've been snorkeling all over the Caribbean. Jamaica (bleh), Antigua (amazing), Belize (nothing special), and Roatan Island (the best!). Something tells me that the Bahamas simply can't match the reef snorkeling near Antigua and Roatan, and that the less-traveled waters around Castaway Cay will probably be preferable to snorkeling around Nassau. By power of elimination, I chose to book the early Seahorse Catamaran excursion at Castaway Cay. This will give us a couple hours of [hopefully more intense than the right-off-the-beach] snorkeling and leave us with lunchtime and a couple of relaxing hours after that on Castaway Cay.

We did make other plans (for Palo and a Nassau excursion) immediately after paying the final payment, but those plans evolved over time and I'll post about them another time

 

[Tink rules]

Tell DBF that there are other fun things to snorkle to see at CC...

Like the Mickey statue out in the lagoon and I do believe that there is one of the submarines from 20,000 leagues out there too...

 

[ickletarakins]

Tell DBF that there are other fun things to snorkle to see at CC...

Like the Mickey statue out in the lagoon and I do believe that there is one of the submarines from 20,000 leagues out there too...

Weelll...we tend to be the more adventurous type and after discussing the options, decided that the catamaran was the way to go this time around...especially as he's never been snorkeling. He likes Disney, but he's more into the idea of seeing fish than Mickey statues, I guess

If all goes well this may not be our last Disney Bahamas cruise anyway...I see some great prices for this fall so if they can give us some good options for re-booking on the ship

 

[Tink rules]

Tell him when he's finished with the fish... he can go find Mickey!!!

& I believe that the current on board booking is 1/2 price deposit, 10% off and on board credit (OBC)...

& you WILL want to rebook.. it's just that good.

 

[ickletarakins]

& I believe that the current on board booking is 1/2 price deposit, 10% off and on board credit (OBC)...

& you WILL want to rebook.. it's just that good.

I figured as much! We have some pretty exciting stuff going on later this year, though...and a severe lack of vacation days...so we may not be able to do a re-book. Ohhh to be independently wealthy and not have to work...

 

[Tink rules]

Book a "dummy date" in the future... even if it's 2011... that way you an move it to another date and get the benefits.

 

[JenGC]

Book a "dummy date" in the future... even if it's 2011... that way you an move it to another date and get the benefits.

So you CAN move it if you need to (i.e. sickness etc)! That's good to know. I might keep that in consideration when we thinking of re-booking

 

[Tink rules]

I don't think you can move it after final payment. If you get sick.. that is what Trip Insurance is for.

 

[Jennifer48]

I'm in! Can't wait to hear all about it Tara!

 

[ickletarakins]

I'm in! Can't wait to hear all about it Tara!

Thanks! Glad I've hooked some people

And I'm originally from CT! When I did my first internship at Disney, my roommate was from Methuen. We still keep in touch, albeit sporadically as that internship was in 2001