lindaso
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
- Messages
- 713
Welcome to my trip report. I have written a few other trip reports here on the DIS and at TourGuideMike.com. I will confess that I am a very long-winded trip reporter. I warn you now, you will get every detail I can remember. Thus the keeping it real title
we are a real family on vacation and I will report it as such. You are free to turn back
dont say you werent warned!
Cast:
Linda (40, OMG did I just type that??)
Chuck (40)
Stephanie (11)
Tommy (9)
Kevin (6)
Our cruise buddies:
Marie, Chris, Marissa (11), Christina (11) & Nicholas (7)
Kristin, Keith, Florence & Kaitlyn (6)
Our story begins on November 5, 2006. Yes, 2006. We are on the Disney Magic, about an hour after pulling out of Key West. My husband, his skin a clammy mixture of green and gray, turns to me and says, I hope you enjoy this cruise because I am NEVER doing this again.
[Insert evil witch laugh here]
Fast forward to early 2008. I am walking 5 miles every day with my neighbor, Marie. Her friend Kristin has just gotten back from a week on the Disney Magic and has convinced Marie to book a cruise for January 2009. We spend a good portion of our walk every day talking Disney Cruise. I feel like an alcoholic helping someone plan a frat party.
Time goes by and we eventually stop talking about DCL, until one day in the fall when Marie mentions that her sister is canceling the cruise. Her girls wont have their cousins to play with. I cant take it anymore. The pull is just too strong. I mention that maybe Ill look into booking the cruise. That maybe it wont be too expensive and that maybe, just maybe, I can talk Chuck into taking another cruise.
Of course I turn to the internet, where on earth did I get information from in the last century? The price is very expensive, especially since we need two rooms. Again Im frustrated by the fact that traveling with 3 children is so much more difficult than 2. Marie is saving by putting Nicholas in with Kristins mom, Florence. Hmm, does Florence want to take Kevin too? I consider that for all of 2 seconds before realizing that aint happening.
I send an email to Small World Travel and receive a quote from Josephine very quickly. I approach Chuck with the idea and he actually considers it. Wow, didnt see that coming. He loves his wife and he loves his children and he wants to make us happy. He remembers something about worshipping toilet bowls but its hazy and distant in his brain. The pain and suffering is remote. He remembers Castaway Cay and how much he loved it there. Cruising to Chuck is like childbirth to mothers you remember that it hurt but the feeling and the details have vanished from your memory and youre left with only the good stuff.
Im just happy that he didnt run from the room when I mentioned it. He spends some time looking at our money situation and making calculations. We did not rebook onboard last time and we have no discounts available to us. We need 2 rooms b/c the Category 4 family suite is crazy expensive and wed rather have the extra square footage and two bathrooms. We would love a veranda. Yes, we certainly would love a veranda. Josephine emails back with the price of 2 veranda rooms and I choke and sputter on my keyboard. Josephine also provides us with the price of two Category 9s on deck 2, just like we had before. While pricey, I do not need an AED to recover from reading the email.
Two days go by and Chuck is still wavering. There are no connecting Cat. 9s available but it is late September of 2008 and the stock market is crashing more and more every day. We know people will be canceling who plans a cruise in this crappy economy?! (Thats rhetorical!) Josephine writes back and says connecting rooms became available rooms 2622 and 2624. I stare at the monitor. NO WAY!! Those are the exact same rooms we had last time. Its a sign!! A sign from the Disney Gods that we are supposed to take this trip! I call Chuck at work and he agrees. We put a deposit on our credit card and we are officially booked on the Disney Magic Western January 24-31st!!
Up Next preparations and travel day.

Cast:
Linda (40, OMG did I just type that??)
Chuck (40)
Stephanie (11)
Tommy (9)
Kevin (6)
Our cruise buddies:
Marie, Chris, Marissa (11), Christina (11) & Nicholas (7)
Kristin, Keith, Florence & Kaitlyn (6)
Our story begins on November 5, 2006. Yes, 2006. We are on the Disney Magic, about an hour after pulling out of Key West. My husband, his skin a clammy mixture of green and gray, turns to me and says, I hope you enjoy this cruise because I am NEVER doing this again.
[Insert evil witch laugh here]

Fast forward to early 2008. I am walking 5 miles every day with my neighbor, Marie. Her friend Kristin has just gotten back from a week on the Disney Magic and has convinced Marie to book a cruise for January 2009. We spend a good portion of our walk every day talking Disney Cruise. I feel like an alcoholic helping someone plan a frat party.
Time goes by and we eventually stop talking about DCL, until one day in the fall when Marie mentions that her sister is canceling the cruise. Her girls wont have their cousins to play with. I cant take it anymore. The pull is just too strong. I mention that maybe Ill look into booking the cruise. That maybe it wont be too expensive and that maybe, just maybe, I can talk Chuck into taking another cruise.
Of course I turn to the internet, where on earth did I get information from in the last century? The price is very expensive, especially since we need two rooms. Again Im frustrated by the fact that traveling with 3 children is so much more difficult than 2. Marie is saving by putting Nicholas in with Kristins mom, Florence. Hmm, does Florence want to take Kevin too? I consider that for all of 2 seconds before realizing that aint happening.
I send an email to Small World Travel and receive a quote from Josephine very quickly. I approach Chuck with the idea and he actually considers it. Wow, didnt see that coming. He loves his wife and he loves his children and he wants to make us happy. He remembers something about worshipping toilet bowls but its hazy and distant in his brain. The pain and suffering is remote. He remembers Castaway Cay and how much he loved it there. Cruising to Chuck is like childbirth to mothers you remember that it hurt but the feeling and the details have vanished from your memory and youre left with only the good stuff.
Im just happy that he didnt run from the room when I mentioned it. He spends some time looking at our money situation and making calculations. We did not rebook onboard last time and we have no discounts available to us. We need 2 rooms b/c the Category 4 family suite is crazy expensive and wed rather have the extra square footage and two bathrooms. We would love a veranda. Yes, we certainly would love a veranda. Josephine emails back with the price of 2 veranda rooms and I choke and sputter on my keyboard. Josephine also provides us with the price of two Category 9s on deck 2, just like we had before. While pricey, I do not need an AED to recover from reading the email.
Two days go by and Chuck is still wavering. There are no connecting Cat. 9s available but it is late September of 2008 and the stock market is crashing more and more every day. We know people will be canceling who plans a cruise in this crappy economy?! (Thats rhetorical!) Josephine writes back and says connecting rooms became available rooms 2622 and 2624. I stare at the monitor. NO WAY!! Those are the exact same rooms we had last time. Its a sign!! A sign from the Disney Gods that we are supposed to take this trip! I call Chuck at work and he agrees. We put a deposit on our credit card and we are officially booked on the Disney Magic Western January 24-31st!!
Up Next preparations and travel day.