The entire CRUISE is my guilty pleasure! From the moment I set foot on the ship, I am treated like royalty. I don't cook or clean. To us, the MDR food is wonderful. Although we're pretty low-maintenance passengers, the staff has always done out of their way to take care of us and make us feel special. Beyond that, there are several things we can't wait to do/experience each cruise. Although they might seems piddly to some, and most likely not exactly what your post was asking for, they are things that we really look forward to and make us feel "on vacation:"
1. I love to arrive at the cruise terminal as early as possible to read the navigator and just soak-in the ambiance. Our last cruise, we stayed at the Hyatt in MCO airport and were on the first Disney Transport to the port in the morning. I was the first one through security. I rode the escalator up and it was like magic. As I rose, I began to see 2 cast members standing at the top of the escalator welcoming us and waving their Mickey gloved hands. The beautiful, empty terminal room came into view - almost like a surreal dream. It was amazing to see it totally empty except cast members. It was totally awesome!
2. My eyes mist up and I feel a great swell of gratitude and contentment come over me when they announce, "Disney Fantasy, welcome the Hain family!"
3. We head to guest services to take care of any details then head straight upstairs to the buffet, which is usually just opening up. We fill up the thermo-mugs that we brought with us with pop and grab a table outdoors against the railing so we have an amazing view of the area and can feel the sun on our faces (we're from Michigan, so in the winter, warmth from the sun feels absolutely luxurious!), and tie the food bag on! DH LOVES the peel & eat shrimp, DD loves the chicken tenders & mac 'n cheese, and I pretty much graze on everything!
4. Once the rooms open up, we quickly unpack & sometimes we order the "All Hands on Deck" cheese platter and some Mickey bars. Mickey bars are on of the highlights of any
Disney Cruise or trip to WDW for DH, so we'll have them several times during a cruise, and DH even requests them for dessert in the MDRs sometimes!
5. We pretty much stay up on deck through the whole sail away party & until we are well out of the harbor and into open water. One of my favorite moments of the entire cruise is when they blow the ship's horn the first time and I hear, "...when you wish upon a star...." Makes me cry EVERY time! It causes me to reflect on how incredibly blessed we are to be happy & healthy, and financially to be able to take these wonderful vacations. When I was a child, we grew up happy (single mom, 3 kids), but financially my family was near poverty, so we would never have been able to even THINK about a Florida vacation, let alone a Disney Cruise. I am so grateful!
6. If we will be booking a placeholder during the cruise, I will look through the navigator and will find the very first time that the booking desk will be open. I will arrive there 15-20 minutes prior and wait for the CM to arrive. I like to have that checked off my list and done before the lines get longer later in the cruise.
7. We usually to go to the pirate buffet after fireworks. It only lasts 45 minutes, so you not only need to know that it's going on (I wasn't even aware of it on our first cruise!), but you need to be prompt or you miss out! DD loves to eat turkey legs! ARRRGH!
8. We do an excursion of some sort in every port we visit - at least the first time we visit it - because we feel its good to explore a bit and experience the local culture. (We may not do excursions in Nassau again, because we've "been there, done that")
We've never: done the spa, played bingo, gone to Palo or Remo, gotten a Cabana etc. which for many might be their "guilty pleasures", but we have no desire to try. Like I said, we are truly happy being on the cruise.
(look, I think that person is removing their clothes while hanging out on the veranda)
