Oh No! Not another first time cruise! -- Pre Trip

[micandkay]

Well, we'll be partying on the Wonder, it seems.

Still wondering how we went from one free birthday day to 5 nights at WDW and 3 nights at sea.

It started on Disney.com. I was planning my day at Disneyland and throwing around ideas for my DD's 18th birthday. When we got to the cruise page her eyes lit up as she mentioned that a cruise would be nice. Next thing I know, we've put a deposit down and we're making plans.

So now here we are, more than five months out still, writing our first pre-trip report for our first cruise.
We're doing the land & sea package with 4 nights on land (but added a pre-day to make it 5) and 3 nights at sea. We'll be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside. Stayed there once before and loved it. We'll be sailing September 17-20. At WDW Sept. 12-17.

The Cast:

Me (50, will be 51 by then)
DD (turning 18 on the 18th of Sept, so second day of cruise)

Funny side note:

DD was feeling down and I wanted to cheer her up by making a payment on the cruise. Two hundred dollars seem about the right amount to assure her we were really going. I was filling in all the payment info and feeling very pleased with myself and her surprise when I read the final payment page. The balance due was $0.00. OMG, I had accidentally paid off the entire cruise!?! I had the money available but didn't intend to pay until the final due date in June. A quick transfer of funds though and we could excitedly say "We made our final payment!"

Some other random info:

We are really hoping to be able to do FEs on this cruise. So far there has been a brief mention of it on the Meet thread, but no real plans. We still have 5 months to get it organized, though.

We've already started making plans for what excursions we would like to do and whatnot. I'm thinking of either the Glass Bottom Boat or Harbour Tour in Castaway Cay and definitely want to do the Sea Lion Encounter in Nassau. DD is probably doing the Sea Lion Encounter as well, and wants to try Parasailing and/or snorkeling at CC. If anybody has any experiences + or - with these excursions, we'd love to hear.

So I think that's enough info for now. I'll try to update regularly as things progress, and DD may post her side of things from time to time. Thanks for reading!

 

[mousetravel]

Still wondering how we went from one free birthday day to 5 nights at WDW and 3 nights at sea.

Subscribing! I know what you mean. I'd like to plan just a birthday day at WDW for my DD's birthday, but I KNOW I'd end up going overboard and add something onto it. So for now, I'm staying away from that plan!

 

[micandkay]

So yesterday (Tues.) we went to Disneyland for my free birthday day. We just went for the day. I work for an airline so it's easy to just fly up in the morning, spend the day in the park, and fly home that night. It's been several years since I've been and I forgot how much fun the Disney experience can be. Really got us in the Disney spirit, so now we're even more excited for WDW/DCL in September. Had a good time, and got to ride all the things we wanted. Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, Tiki Room, Indiana Jones, Buzz Lightyear. Those were the rides that made the "must do" list for the day. We got all of them done, and DD also rode Splash Mountain and Space Mountain and a 2nd time on IJ without me. She has discovered the wonders of the single rider lines. Much faster than the 60 minute wait for Splash. I watched some of the parade, as well. It was interesting. Had strangers telling me happy birthday all day, because of my birthday pin. Overall, a fun day. We tried to shop for Pirate stuff for pirate night, too, but didn't find anything. I'd forgotten how expensive the parks can be. Really makes us rethink our food and souvenier budget.
I love the Matterhorn/Bobsleds, and will never stop going to Disneyland, but I love how much more WDW has to offer. The added cruise should make this even more special/exciting.

Been talking to my friends at work, and now I've gotten many of them wanting to cruise as well. We're already planning our 2nd cruise, as well. Plan to rebook on board. Thinking about a 7 day, either eastern w/Tortola or Western. Or maybe a b2b on the wonder. Any thoughts?

We're doing pretty well so far with saving up for all the extra stuff on the crusie. We each made envelopes for all the things we need to pay for. Like Tips, Food, Souveneirs, Excursions, Spa, Next Cruise Deposit for me. DD has Food, Souveneirs, Excursions, and Pre-Trip to buy stuff like shorts and a new bathing suit or whatever else she decides she needs.

I'll update again soon. Thanks for reading.
Less than 5 months now

 

[MegaMouseHouse]

Well, we'll be partying on the Wonder, it seems.

Still wondering how we went from one free birthday day to 5 nights at WDW and 3 nights at sea.

It started on Disney.com. I was planning my day at Disneyland and throwing around ideas for my DD's 18th birthday. When we got to the cruise page her eyes lit up as she mentioned that a cruise would be nice. Next thing I know, we've put a deposit down and we're making plans.

So now here we are, more than five months out still, writing our first pre-trip report for our first cruise.
We're doing the land & sea package with 4 nights on land (but added a pre-day to make it 5) and 3 nights at sea. We'll be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside. Stayed there once before and loved it. We'll be sailing September 17-20. At WDW Sept. 12-17.

The Cast:

Me (50, will be 51 by then)
DD (turning 18 on the 18th of Sept, so second day of cruise)

Funny side note:

DD was feeling down and I wanted to cheer her up by making a payment on the cruise. Two hundred dollars seem about the right amount to assure her we were really going. I was filling in all the payment info and feeling very pleased with myself and her surprise when I read the final payment page. The balance due was $0.00. OMG, I had accidentally paid off the entire cruise!?! I had the money available but didn't intend to pay until the final due date in June. A quick transfer of funds though and we could excitedly say "We made our final payment!"

Some other random info:

We are really hoping to be able to do FEs on this cruise. So far there has been a brief mention of it on the Meet thread, but no real plans. We still have 5 months to get it organized, though.

We've already started making plans for what excursions we would like to do and whatnot. I'm thinking of either the Glass Bottom Boat or Harbour Tour in Castaway Cay and definitely want to do the Sea Lion Encounter in Nassau. DD is probably doing the Sea Lion Encounter as well, and wants to try Parasailing and/or snorkeling at CC. If anybody has any experiences + or - with these excursions, we'd love to hear.

So I think that's enough info for now. I'll try to update regularly as things progress, and DD may post her side of things from time to time. Thanks for reading!

We will be getting off the cruise ship the day you get on. We will try and leave lots of pixie dust behind for you and leave good weather for you at Castaway Cay. (two of my friends and I are going on a mom only trip, we have dubbed it the "Momcation" ) It sounds like you guys will have a great time on your WDW and DCL vacation.

 

[micandkay]

Still almost 4 and a half months to the trip and we added another day and planned two special events on the land side. Just found out that "Night of Joy" and "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween" will fit into our trip very nicely. This vacation is getting so long I'm beginning to think we need to move to Florida.

Thought we had our flight arrangements all settled but that has fallen through as well. It's kind of hard to plan when you work for an airline and everything is standby.

We've started talking about our dining plans. The list of restaurants is getting longer, too. Can't wait until we can start making reservations.

 

[MomlvsGoofy]

Can't wait to read your TR so far so good.

 

[micandkay]

Still 3 months to go and we had finally saved all the money we needed. Only thing left was the VERY expensive, in room, birthday party that I wanted to surprise my daughter with. Plenty of time for that. Or so I thought. Life is full of twists and turns and now, we're having to start saving all over again. I posting from a brand new computer. That is thanks to an ancient graphics card and a really nasty virus. Took half of everything I had saved, but it was worth it. Couple of more paychecks and we would be back where we started. DD would get the new computer she wanted instead of the party. A few days later I noticed the house wasn't very cool. Living in the desert, this isn't a good thing so I called the repair people thinking they would add a little coolant and we'd be good to go. It's been nearly a week and we're still waiting for a new coil. The labor alone will take everything else we've saved.

We're not giving up, although, overtime is now my new best friend.

 

[micandkay]

It's been a while since I posted last. Sorry, but time has a way of moving faster than expected. We booked our dining at our favorite Disney World restaurants. We were excited to learn that Liberty Tree Tavern is serving dinner during Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween. Also dining at Primetime Cafe in Hollywood, La Cellier in Epcot Canada and House of Blues in Downtown Disney. Was glad to find out that Disney Dining could book that as well. Thought I had to call them directly.

Time came and we booked our excursions. Parasailing for DD, manicure and pedicure for me and harbor cruise for both. DD is having second thoughts about parasailing. Anyone out there try it already?

We finally got our passports, too. Got all the check in done with only one hitch. Cause we're traveling home standby, we're not sure when we're leaving. I just picked a flight so we could get the info in the system. Lots of people on our meet thread so we should have friends before we even board the cruise.

Yeah for birthdays, Disney and fish extenders!

 

[micandkay]

We finally got our room assignment. We're in cabin #2542 which means (if I'm reading the ship layout right) that we're in a cat 9. Was afraid to hope for something with windows. We are sooooo excited. An ocean view, right below water level. What more could you ask for. Thirty-one more days 'til we leave. We're getting more excited every day!

 

[Waltworshiper]

Congrats on the upgrade!