Dreamer Dreaming of the Dream with Dreamers

[Plaid Princess]

Hey Cruise Peeps! I figured I would give this trip report thing a try, since I've benefited from them so much myself in the past! Bear with me, as this is my first one!

I've actually been booked since last year, however I've tried to keep myself away from the boards until I was within a year of my sail date because I'm having major cruise withdrawals!

But now I can't take it anymore and I'm in crazy planner mode!

Hubby and myself will be cruising on the Oct. 2 sailing of the Dream. I'm particularly excited about his cruise, because I'm going as part of a reunion! During my time working for Disney, I had the wonderful experience of being a part of the Dream Squad during the YOMD. And on this cruise, "Dreamers" from WDW and DLR are going to be having our Dream Squad Reunion.

In addition to that, two of our best friends are joining us as well for their first cruise!

Hubby and Me on the Magic:

In the past, we've cruised inside staterooms and veranda staterooms, so for this cruise we're trying out our first ever porthole room!

Unfortunately, this has caused us a bit of stress already because when we picked out our stateroom last year, we thought: "How fun to have a forward facing cabin!" So we went with one of the forward cabins... prior to the ship being completed, and way prior to the reviews coming out.

So as soon as pictures started trickling out I found a few of the cabin we had painstakingly selected (Seriously, it was a big deal). That's when I discovered that the cabin has a not so subtle slope on the porthole wall. This is a particular problem because hubby is 6'8" and I am 6'2". So there is a very real problem of us smacking our heads on the wall, and we won't even be able to get near the window without ducking a lot.

So over the past few days hubby and myself have taken turns calling the poor DCL planners and trying to get our cabin switched. No luck so far as our category is sold out, so we may have to resort to upgrading.

We did learn that we had the option of putting bed extenders on the bed since we're over six feet tall, which was a great tip from DCL!

So that's where we're at right now! Hoping to learn more about the Dream as more TR's come out!

 

[Plaid Princess]

Well, I've been terrible about updating this, but I have a good excuse! Hubby and I have been putting all of our energy for the past couple of years into finding employment back home on the West Coast, and in April I was offered a job in So. Cal.

So, taking a leap of faith I loaded everything I could into my car and drove from FL to CA. Hubby remained in FL, hoping to push through a transfer from WDW to any Disney position in CA. One long month after I relocated, he got the call that his job had opened up in Anaheim (A huge relief, as there are only 5 positions of his job in CA!) and he packed up the rest of the house and followed.

So the past couple of months have been dedicated to packing, unpacking, and house hunting! However now the piles of boxes are deminished enough that I can get on with my planning and disboarding and not feel too guilty.


So on that note, I have just used the points accumulated on my Disney Rewards to pay off my cruise!

Of course now I have to rethink my entire plan for getting to the port, as I've always been spoiled with living 40 min away in the past. Now I have to start hounding travel sites for cheap airfare.

Fortunately, I was able to score a great rate at the Marriott Grande Vista on a 2 bedroom villa for DH and I to share with our friends the night before the cruise. So that's out of the way. Now I just need to decide on how to get to port. I still think I want to drive, as the idea of taking the Cruise Transfers just stresses me out to the max.

But that's about it for now!

 

[makewifehappy]

We did learn that we had the option of putting bed extenders on the bed since we're over six feet tall, which was a great tip from DCL!

I want to know how the bed extenders work. My wife is only five foot three, but I am also six foot eight. I never even knew that this was offered. I wonder if it was ever offered for the Magic...

 

[Plaid Princess]

I want to know how the bed extenders work. My wife is only five foot three, but I am also six foot eight. I never even knew that this was offered. I wonder if it was ever offered for the Magic...

Yeah, we had never heard of them either, the CM in the call center enlightened us. I don't know if its available on all cruises, or just the new ships, we never thought to ask on previous cruises. Just give the call center a ring and ask to add it to your reservation.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Well, after a few weeks of watching airline websites, I finally booked our flights back east. I was hoping to pay less for them than I did, but things seemed to keep going up in price, so I just pulled the trigger.

Hubby is flying in a week early so he can spend some time with my FIL, and I'll be flying in 3 days early. We're both taking the opportunity to visit family and friends that we never really got to say goodbye to after our shotgun move.

But anyway... I went with my tried and true favorite: Southwest airlines. I love them, they're one of the only airlines where hubby and I can nearly guarantee getting and exit row or similar. A BIG deal for two big people, our very kneecaps are at risk in a regular seat.

Plus I love that their tickets are completely flexible. We fly pretty frequently, especially during basketball season, so in the event of something horrible happening we'd not lose the use of the tickets. The free checked bags doesn't hurt either, especially with my overpacking abilities! Oddly enough, I usually travel with just a small carryon, but I have NOT mastered that for cruising yet. Guess I'll just have to keep practicing...

 

[Plaid Princess]

Came home today to find Cruise Documents in the mailbox!!!! 33 days to go!!!