Hey folks, soon we will be heading out for our adventure. Many thanks to all the help here on this and other boards. Didnt have to post a lot of questions, just had to use the search box and most everything got answered. I hope that you find this TR helpful, interesting and maybe a bit amusing. Im not a writer and Ive never done a full TR before, so apologies up front. But, because of all the help that can be gleamed from these boards I thought that I would at least pay the tab, so to speak. This might get a little long, but sometimes context is necessary to really appreciate the whole story. 
A little back ground, (okay, maybe a lot) first before we launch.
Like many of us that come to these boards, I love Disney. I know that it is now a enormous corporate monolith, but I was so taken as a child to watching Walt on TV every Sunday night, and the things he showed me every week was truly magical (warning, I like using that word). Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto in a good cartoon, can make me laugh just about anytime. I knew all the words to the Mickey Mouse club theme before I could say prayers at night. My oldest daughters, first toy was a stuffed dooh (Pooh), that I had bought long before she came along. Disney World for me is the one place that I can be a kid and not worry about whos looking and whos disapproving.
In 1990, I met my DW. I was immediately taken by her and we became best friends before anything else happened. Since I had been married (badly) before, it took me seven years after we first met, to get to the point where I was able to make that type of commitment again. Thank goodness, she stuck around all that time waiting for me to get off the pot.
Since neither of us had large families, we didnt really want to put a lot of money into a big wedding. Instead, we decided to do something for just us. I really fell in love with the idea of walking out on a beach, saying our I dos and then going for a swim or something. DW was game as she really didnt want to be stuck with her very dysfunctional family at any type of event where alcohol might possibly be served. After some research we decided on the Bahamas as the site for our wedding. Before that, though, I had a bit of surprise. (I swear, I will get to this decade, just hang in there). Yes, we also booked a several days in the World. It was a great time. We stayed at Dixie Landings, before it was no longer PC to call it that. We rode on Mr. Toad and in Poohs honey pot. Sang Its a Small World until we were insane. Drank our way around the World Showcase at Epcot and so on
..On our last night before boarding our flight to Nassau and after a great meal at the Yachtsman Steak house, I suggested a walk around the docks of the Yacht Club to stretch our legs, then up to the back gate at Epcot for Illuminations. On the way, we happened to meet up with Captain Jeannie who just happened to be starting up one of the pontoons that had been moored near by. I asked the good Captain could we possible have a ride up to Epcot? Her reply, at the amazement of my then finance was
for you sir, on this magical night, it would be my honor to have you aboard my modest vessel. DF stood there with mouth wide open, and hey, I was pretty blown by that myself. I paid for the cruise when I booked our trip and had secretly met with Jeannie right before we went to dinner to set things up
.As we cast off, my DF still stunned that we had just walked on board and was about to go cruising. Magic my dear, just go with it
Off we go, up the lake towards MGM. Just as we passed the Tower of Terror (I love how it looks at night), Captain Jeannie killed the engines. With the opening music of illuminations in the back ground, I got down on one knee and pulled out an engagement ring, that for months, I swore to DF, that I couldnt afford, and proposed. Magic moments at their best. After a few pictures by our Captain and a toast, we cranked up and headed down to the bridge for the rest of Illuminations. I wont bore you with the rest, only to say that dreams come true, if you believe. Ten years later, the magic in that moment is still in our lives and is still a key part of our marriage. 
Also, about 30 little English granny types have pictures of our wedding in their beach pictures.....
Since that time in 1997 in the Bahamas, we had settled down, built a couple of houses and had 2 beautiful daughters. My girls are the center of our universe. They are bright and beautiful and full of wonderment.
Both are unique and magical and have been since they day they came into our lives. DW 1 is athletic, strong and a tom boy, but is the first to come to someones rescue when they are sick or injured.
DW2 is all girly-girl with pink princesses; makes birthday cards for every friend and family member and thinks Dale Earnhardt Jr is the greatest guy ever (next to daddy). 
At ages 7 & 6 they are already Disney vets and have been to Disney World 4 times. My favorite picture that sits on my desk is the three of us underneath the Big Hat at MGM, taken by a passing stranger that thought it was cool that a dad would be taking his two little girls over to Als Toy Barn, to get Buzz and Woodys autograph instead of watching a ball game or hitting a golf ball. My favorite life moment was sitting cuddled with my two little princesses and my big princess on the sidewalk in the shadow of Cinderellas castle, looking up at the sky while Wishes exploded all around us. (Yes, it was a teary moment) And while I cherish every second with them, I know that our time together is limited, so I strive to make every one of those seconds rich and meaningful. Thats the sort of thing you think about sitting out on the back porch in the quiet end of a very long day.
Fast forward to January 2006. (See, at least we are in the right decade). I knew that our 10th anniversary was coming up in October 2007. My brain went into planning mode. What could I do, that would be special and really mark the occasion. What to do (Think Pooh, think!!). Ah hah, lets go to Disney World right. Thats creative; we just were there in the spring of 2005. Hmmm, how about .hmm Bahamas, Disney, Disney, Bahamas ...ding ding ding ding.. Disney Cruise!!!!
After some Googling and the customary reading of boards (this one, Passporters, AllEars, all the groups that had helped in the past.), I had a plan of action and a theme. We were going to recreate that time in October of 1997. A trip to Disney World, followed by a trip to Nassau!! Yes, now we are talking. But when? Disney in the summer would be brutal. October (our Anniversary) would not work; as I didnt want to take the girls out of school (1st grade teachers can be tough and scary). Next possibility would be their spring break. Easter, no not Easter, Easter crowds are as bad as summer crowds. Well, lets at least see...
yikes, sticker shock! Does the term premium season mean second mortgage? After many iterations in a spreadsheet
there
.I had it pretty much worked out. I would make a deposit, and then I would make a payment a month until my yearly bonus in August and pay off the balance. This would be all out of my pocket, and no house funds would be used. Since it was premium season time, there wasnt a ton of difference between doing a separate booking and a land/sea package (although I wouldnt do it that way again). Since I wasnt saving much of anything I decided to take advantage of Dreams Unlimited $100 ship board credit. At least I will get some satisfaction getting something extra in the deal. After few clicks at the Dreams Unlimited site, I was booked! Three nights at the Poly (a new spot for us) and 4 nights on the Wonder in a Cat 6 (cabin 6060) with a balcony. Yea me!!! Now, how was I going to spring it on the family? Again, this is where these boards come in so great. I found the Pay if forward thread and the really wonderful Diser, VerandaMan. VerandaMan graciously offered to send the family a postcard from Castaway Cay (from Mickey even) announcing that we would be cruising in April. (Thank you so much VerandaMan!) If this worked out, the card would come just in time for Mothers day. Well timing isnt everything and it was apparent that the postcard wasnt going to make it, so I had to improvise. I created my own card using various pictures and graphics, gleamed from this and a couple other boards. I made my own Mothers Day card and surprised not only DW, but DSs with a big announcement that we would be on the big vacation next year. Yea Dad ROCKS!!! 
VerandaMans card came later, with a great Mickey signature, we used this card as our official notice that we would be cruising.
Before we get to April 2007 (and I promise that we will), we had to get through the rest of 2006. For a while, I thought that it might not actually happen. First, in May right after my Mothers day announcement, we rushed DW to the hospital and into emergency surgery.
Things were pretty serious for a while (make those arrangements type serious) and for a while, we had a tough time, but with some faith and quite possibly some magic things turned around. Then, one late night in June, the phone rang. It was one of those calls that we all know that it will be bad when you pick it up. It was. It was my mothers nursing home calling to let me know that she had passed away. She had been sick for a long time, and while she was finally at peace, this was still a very hard thing for us to deal with. As an only child, all arrangements fell on me to complete and resolve. Thankfully, I had planned for this for sometime, and everything executed just as planned. But I was still shaken pretty badly. I thought I had braced myself for this, but really I dont think anyone is really ready for the passing of a parent. While things recovered slowly, August rolled around, and it was time to pay off the cruise with my bonus. I felt really great when I pulled up my spreadsheet every month and recorded my payments. August 15th was bonus day, and I was all set to make the last payoff. That is, until I met with my boss and got my yearly evaluation. I was stunned and shocked to find out that my boss didnt think much of the job that I had done. 
She became my boss in January as I was planning our trip and we never really communicated all that much. In our weekly meetings she never seemed interested in what I was doing, my projects or me in general. However, I was getting tons of support from my peer managers and my direct reports. I felt that everything was just fine up to the time we met. Needless to say my bonus came in way shorter than I had expected. This put the magical journey so carefully planned, in major jeopardy. After all that had happened in the previous months, the thought of cancelling this trip really had me sick beyond words. Of all the things that had happened this year, the one thing that made it mostly tolerable was thinking about this vacation and what it meant to me and to the family. Determined as Elwood P. Dowd, I vowed to make this right. I would find a way to pay this thing off, and not take money out of our savings to do it. I continued to brown bag lunch. I sold a collection of old books that I had from a long time back. I found a job at local grocery and moonlighted at night until I had made up the difference. Mission accomplished!! Our trip is paid for!!!! 
Oh and one last major life altering event, before we close .Two days before Christmas, I fired my boss. After 16 years with the same company, I was done. Basically I told her exactly what I thought, that she didnt value the job I did or me as a person. The conversation then turned personal, but end the end, I felt really okay about it. On January 15th, I walked out the front door of the company, and havent looked back!
So there we are sportsfans! Tomorrow we board our flight, and head to the World, then to the Cruise. We even tacked a few extra days in to cover Sea World and some time at Universal as the kids are starting to get big enough to go. I hope that I havent bored anyone with this little tome. I hope you, as I do, feel sometimes that how and why behind a story is equally as interesting as the main course. I will do my best to capture the essence of our trip, the highs and the lows, the good and the bad. All wrapped up in the magic of Walt and sprinkled with that magic dust that only a true believer can have.
See you real soon!!
J-Lat
A little back ground, (okay, maybe a lot) first before we launch.
Like many of us that come to these boards, I love Disney. I know that it is now a enormous corporate monolith, but I was so taken as a child to watching Walt on TV every Sunday night, and the things he showed me every week was truly magical (warning, I like using that word). Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto in a good cartoon, can make me laugh just about anytime. I knew all the words to the Mickey Mouse club theme before I could say prayers at night. My oldest daughters, first toy was a stuffed dooh (Pooh), that I had bought long before she came along. Disney World for me is the one place that I can be a kid and not worry about whos looking and whos disapproving.In 1990, I met my DW. I was immediately taken by her and we became best friends before anything else happened. Since I had been married (badly) before, it took me seven years after we first met, to get to the point where I was able to make that type of commitment again. Thank goodness, she stuck around all that time waiting for me to get off the pot.
Since neither of us had large families, we didnt really want to put a lot of money into a big wedding. Instead, we decided to do something for just us. I really fell in love with the idea of walking out on a beach, saying our I dos and then going for a swim or something. DW was game as she really didnt want to be stuck with her very dysfunctional family at any type of event where alcohol might possibly be served. After some research we decided on the Bahamas as the site for our wedding. Before that, though, I had a bit of surprise. (I swear, I will get to this decade, just hang in there). Yes, we also booked a several days in the World. It was a great time. We stayed at Dixie Landings, before it was no longer PC to call it that. We rode on Mr. Toad and in Poohs honey pot. Sang Its a Small World until we were insane. Drank our way around the World Showcase at Epcot and so on
..On our last night before boarding our flight to Nassau and after a great meal at the Yachtsman Steak house, I suggested a walk around the docks of the Yacht Club to stretch our legs, then up to the back gate at Epcot for Illuminations. On the way, we happened to meet up with Captain Jeannie who just happened to be starting up one of the pontoons that had been moored near by. I asked the good Captain could we possible have a ride up to Epcot? Her reply, at the amazement of my then finance was
for you sir, on this magical night, it would be my honor to have you aboard my modest vessel. DF stood there with mouth wide open, and hey, I was pretty blown by that myself. I paid for the cruise when I booked our trip and had secretly met with Jeannie right before we went to dinner to set things up
.As we cast off, my DF still stunned that we had just walked on board and was about to go cruising. Magic my dear, just go with it
Off we go, up the lake towards MGM. Just as we passed the Tower of Terror (I love how it looks at night), Captain Jeannie killed the engines. With the opening music of illuminations in the back ground, I got down on one knee and pulled out an engagement ring, that for months, I swore to DF, that I couldnt afford, and proposed. Magic moments at their best. After a few pictures by our Captain and a toast, we cranked up and headed down to the bridge for the rest of Illuminations. I wont bore you with the rest, only to say that dreams come true, if you believe. Ten years later, the magic in that moment is still in our lives and is still a key part of our marriage. Also, about 30 little English granny types have pictures of our wedding in their beach pictures..... Since that time in 1997 in the Bahamas, we had settled down, built a couple of houses and had 2 beautiful daughters. My girls are the center of our universe. They are bright and beautiful and full of wonderment.
Both are unique and magical and have been since they day they came into our lives. DW 1 is athletic, strong and a tom boy, but is the first to come to someones rescue when they are sick or injured. DW2 is all girly-girl with pink princesses; makes birthday cards for every friend and family member and thinks Dale Earnhardt Jr is the greatest guy ever (next to daddy). At ages 7 & 6 they are already Disney vets and have been to Disney World 4 times. My favorite picture that sits on my desk is the three of us underneath the Big Hat at MGM, taken by a passing stranger that thought it was cool that a dad would be taking his two little girls over to Als Toy Barn, to get Buzz and Woodys autograph instead of watching a ball game or hitting a golf ball. My favorite life moment was sitting cuddled with my two little princesses and my big princess on the sidewalk in the shadow of Cinderellas castle, looking up at the sky while Wishes exploded all around us. (Yes, it was a teary moment) And while I cherish every second with them, I know that our time together is limited, so I strive to make every one of those seconds rich and meaningful. Thats the sort of thing you think about sitting out on the back porch in the quiet end of a very long day. Fast forward to January 2006. (See, at least we are in the right decade). I knew that our 10th anniversary was coming up in October 2007. My brain went into planning mode. What could I do, that would be special and really mark the occasion. What to do (Think Pooh, think!!). Ah hah, lets go to Disney World right. Thats creative; we just were there in the spring of 2005. Hmmm, how about .hmm Bahamas, Disney, Disney, Bahamas ...ding ding ding ding.. Disney Cruise!!!!
After some Googling and the customary reading of boards (this one, Passporters, AllEars, all the groups that had helped in the past.), I had a plan of action and a theme. We were going to recreate that time in October of 1997. A trip to Disney World, followed by a trip to Nassau!! Yes, now we are talking. But when? Disney in the summer would be brutal. October (our Anniversary) would not work; as I didnt want to take the girls out of school (1st grade teachers can be tough and scary). Next possibility would be their spring break. Easter, no not Easter, Easter crowds are as bad as summer crowds. Well, lets at least see...
yikes, sticker shock! Does the term premium season mean second mortgage? After many iterations in a spreadsheet
there
.I had it pretty much worked out. I would make a deposit, and then I would make a payment a month until my yearly bonus in August and pay off the balance. This would be all out of my pocket, and no house funds would be used. Since it was premium season time, there wasnt a ton of difference between doing a separate booking and a land/sea package (although I wouldnt do it that way again). Since I wasnt saving much of anything I decided to take advantage of Dreams Unlimited $100 ship board credit. At least I will get some satisfaction getting something extra in the deal. After few clicks at the Dreams Unlimited site, I was booked! Three nights at the Poly (a new spot for us) and 4 nights on the Wonder in a Cat 6 (cabin 6060) with a balcony. Yea me!!! Now, how was I going to spring it on the family? Again, this is where these boards come in so great. I found the Pay if forward thread and the really wonderful Diser, VerandaMan. VerandaMan graciously offered to send the family a postcard from Castaway Cay (from Mickey even) announcing that we would be cruising in April. (Thank you so much VerandaMan!) If this worked out, the card would come just in time for Mothers day. Well timing isnt everything and it was apparent that the postcard wasnt going to make it, so I had to improvise. I created my own card using various pictures and graphics, gleamed from this and a couple other boards. I made my own Mothers Day card and surprised not only DW, but DSs with a big announcement that we would be on the big vacation next year. Yea Dad ROCKS!!! VerandaMans card came later, with a great Mickey signature, we used this card as our official notice that we would be cruising.Before we get to April 2007 (and I promise that we will), we had to get through the rest of 2006. For a while, I thought that it might not actually happen. First, in May right after my Mothers day announcement, we rushed DW to the hospital and into emergency surgery.
Things were pretty serious for a while (make those arrangements type serious) and for a while, we had a tough time, but with some faith and quite possibly some magic things turned around. Then, one late night in June, the phone rang. It was one of those calls that we all know that it will be bad when you pick it up. It was. It was my mothers nursing home calling to let me know that she had passed away. She had been sick for a long time, and while she was finally at peace, this was still a very hard thing for us to deal with. As an only child, all arrangements fell on me to complete and resolve. Thankfully, I had planned for this for sometime, and everything executed just as planned. But I was still shaken pretty badly. I thought I had braced myself for this, but really I dont think anyone is really ready for the passing of a parent. While things recovered slowly, August rolled around, and it was time to pay off the cruise with my bonus. I felt really great when I pulled up my spreadsheet every month and recorded my payments. August 15th was bonus day, and I was all set to make the last payoff. That is, until I met with my boss and got my yearly evaluation. I was stunned and shocked to find out that my boss didnt think much of the job that I had done. She became my boss in January as I was planning our trip and we never really communicated all that much. In our weekly meetings she never seemed interested in what I was doing, my projects or me in general. However, I was getting tons of support from my peer managers and my direct reports. I felt that everything was just fine up to the time we met. Needless to say my bonus came in way shorter than I had expected. This put the magical journey so carefully planned, in major jeopardy. After all that had happened in the previous months, the thought of cancelling this trip really had me sick beyond words. Of all the things that had happened this year, the one thing that made it mostly tolerable was thinking about this vacation and what it meant to me and to the family. Determined as Elwood P. Dowd, I vowed to make this right. I would find a way to pay this thing off, and not take money out of our savings to do it. I continued to brown bag lunch. I sold a collection of old books that I had from a long time back. I found a job at local grocery and moonlighted at night until I had made up the difference. Mission accomplished!! Our trip is paid for!!!! Oh and one last major life altering event, before we close .Two days before Christmas, I fired my boss. After 16 years with the same company, I was done. Basically I told her exactly what I thought, that she didnt value the job I did or me as a person. The conversation then turned personal, but end the end, I felt really okay about it. On January 15th, I walked out the front door of the company, and havent looked back!
So there we are sportsfans! Tomorrow we board our flight, and head to the World, then to the Cruise. We even tacked a few extra days in to cover Sea World and some time at Universal as the kids are starting to get big enough to go. I hope that I havent bored anyone with this little tome. I hope you, as I do, feel sometimes that how and why behind a story is equally as interesting as the main course. I will do my best to capture the essence of our trip, the highs and the lows, the good and the bad. All wrapped up in the magic of Walt and sprinkled with that magic dust that only a true believer can have.
See you real soon!!
J-Lat
Have a magical and wonderous trip.
Wow! I felt it all and will eagerly be waiting for your TR!! 
We are in Nassau, I want to see it from my veranda. I paid for a veranda and I want to USE IT. Not just peer through the obstinate piece of glass. Okay so the port at Nassau (and Nassau in general) isnt anything to get all worked up about, but hey! We are here and as far as Im concerned, its the best place to be right now. That is if I could get the @#$#$ door open. Another call to Stateroom Services
.yessir, its a sliding door, you have to pull the handle down
.Errr. After another round of door orientation, Stateroom Services agrees to dispatch someone to show me how to open it (I swear it is exactly what she said). 
In the meantime it was time to get the troops moving. DD2 was up and ready, so we left DW and DD1 to get ready and we headed up to deck 9 for some buffet. Beach Blanket Buffet is really good with lots of choices. I got DD2 set up and headed over to the omlet station and placed an order. We found a seat outside under the awnings. It was a little bit cool and overcast which I thought might cause a bit of a problem today. We finished breakfast as DW and DD1 were just coming though the buffet, so I took DD2 down to Shutters to look for our pictures and then over to Micky Mates and Treasure Ketch for a look around. We had to meet at WaveBands shortly to start our excursion. We all hooked up in front of WaveBands. Make sure if you go on any excursion, you have your tickets. If not, you will be sent off to get them. Wavebands was pretty full as we entered and found a seat. And who would be helping organizing things. Yes, our now favorite cast mate Lucy Jo all bright and perky early in the morning. The Dolphin excursion was pretty popular as there were about 125 people in the club by the time we got ready to go. Basically you had to make sure you had your tickets and wavier before coming into the club. The wavier basically stated Disney was off the hook if the Dolphins decided to do something rude, or if the tender boat went for a dive etc. But if you didnt have it, you either had to fill out one, and incur the wrath of Lucy Jos partner in crime (Kim this time I think). If you didnt have your tickets, you had to go get them. After standing in line to turn in the form, you got a Simba sticker (encounters and swimmers) or an Ariel sticker (observers). Then you moved over to another line which is run by the Dolphin Encounter people to get a wrist band and turn in your tickets. While this seems complicated Kim and Lucy Jo did a good job of keeping everything happy and light. I loved it when a lady in front of me in the wristband line didnt have her tickets. She said she had sent her daughter to get them. 
Kim, didnt hesitate to have a bit of fun with the lady and send her to the back of the line until her daughter returned with the tickets. I love it when people who think that they can circumvent the rules, get whats coming to them. 
We were very lucky. We were the last family on the platform to do the encounter, so we got the whole platform to ourselves. Meaning, we didnt have to do much of anything embarrassing in front of people we might see later. 
We got in line and got both sets done. The girls shots were great, 
and the shots of DW and I, well
.
lets just say the shots of the girls were GREAT!
Eric, the head server stopped by a couple of times to make sure things were good, and to remind us to hang around for the show. We also chatted about his time on the Wonder and his career with Disney. (He started at Epcot at the French Pavilion) I found him really engaging and interesting. We also talked some about the new ships coming online. The new ships are a great interest to a lot of the crew and it seems that they know about as much as the public about what routes and ports the new ships will take.
Okay time for a rant here. There IS a dress code for meals in the main dinning room (albeit fairly relaxed). This does not mean that you have to wear a suit, tie, or even nice pants. However, wearing a sleeveless shirt, and providing those around you with a great view of hairy pits on a grown man, is NOT the most appetizing thing. Also, could ya leave the baseball caps back in the room too? Im as causal as the next guy and had to do some digging to come up with a shirt that had buttons, but cmon. Next time put on your best Jeff Gordon Tee and leave the Yankees hat in the room dude. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
