Brisbanemum
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2013
OMG! I can't believe it! We have officially booked our first ever cruise, and it is on the amazing, magnificent, spectacular, re-imagined Disney Magic.
We are a family of 4 from Australia who have the travelling bug something shocking! There is myself, Ruvae 34, Dh John 37, Ds Sebastian 10 and Ds Jett 7. So far we have visited Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland in California and the overwhelmingly huge DisneyWorld..... so a Disney Cruise was definitely the next on the list
We won't be sailing away until December 14 (2014) but I am absolutely obsessed with planning so I thought a pre-trip report was a great thing to do. Great therapy for us 'over the top' planners
Ok, so where to begin?
On Wednesday 13th of November 2013 at 12:58am I made the momentous leap and booked a 1 Bedroom Concierge Suite on the 7 night Western Caribbean Cruise - Itinerary B for my beautiful family. I had spent the previous 3 weeks stalking the Disney Cruise website trying to find the best time to cruise, the best rates, the best itinerary, the best port adventures, the best ship ect ect Sometimes I was on several times a day, re-reading the same information and changing my mind at least a million times. So you can imagine my husbands' relief, when I finally said "let's just book it right now!" I'm so indecisive (my star sign is Libran and I am constantly weighing up all options for absolutely everything lol), yet the one thing I was sure about was not letting this amazing experience slip through our fingers.
I think it was exactly 12:59am when my brain bombarded me with these questions:-
* Did you do the right thing booking the cruise now, BEFORE airfares??? What if the flights to America don't match up with the cruise date? I think you're a little crazy!
* Have you seen how bad the Aussie dollar is against the US dollar? And it's just getting worse
* Should you really have gone Concierge? Is it really going to be worth the extra money?
* What other expenses will the cruise have? Tipping? Ports of Calls? Photos? Souvenirs? Transport? Onboard Activities? Alcoholic Beverages? Pin Trading?
* What if everyone gets seasick for the entire cruise?
* What if the boys hate being on the boat?
* Was this really the right itinerary? Seriously.....when have you ever wanted to go to Falmouth, Jamaica??? Ummm never???
* The cruise begins 2 days after the boys finish school...... will we need to take them out early? What if the school freaks out because it is Sebastian's last year before high school?
Obviously my mind is a little over dramatic at times (ok, all the time) but I guess that's why I always plan everything so far in advance. At least I know, when the time comes, I will be so prepared for absolutely anything, that nothing will stand in the way of us having a sensational holiday
After a very sleepless night with all those questions swirling in my head, a truly magical thing happened! I discovered DISboards!!!!! (insert 'Hallelujah, Hallelujah' music here) It was the greatest discovery to feed my planning addiction and immediately slowed my racing heart and newly cruise obsessed mind. I now am very happy and confident in our booking choice have even joined a wonderful FE group which is building up our excitement levels even more Our ultimate vacation goal is 1 week Disney Cruise, 2 weeks Orlando and 2 weeks at DisneyWorld. This goal is sadly dependant on flights, AU$ to $US exchange rates and ability to save every extra penny all year. But in saying that...... at the moment, things look 100% on track for our dream holiday
Just under 11 months to go!!!!
We are a family of 4 from Australia who have the travelling bug something shocking! There is myself, Ruvae 34, Dh John 37, Ds Sebastian 10 and Ds Jett 7. So far we have visited Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland in California and the overwhelmingly huge DisneyWorld..... so a Disney Cruise was definitely the next on the list
We won't be sailing away until December 14 (2014) but I am absolutely obsessed with planning so I thought a pre-trip report was a great thing to do. Great therapy for us 'over the top' planners
Ok, so where to begin?
On Wednesday 13th of November 2013 at 12:58am I made the momentous leap and booked a 1 Bedroom Concierge Suite on the 7 night Western Caribbean Cruise - Itinerary B for my beautiful family. I had spent the previous 3 weeks stalking the Disney Cruise website trying to find the best time to cruise, the best rates, the best itinerary, the best port adventures, the best ship ect ect Sometimes I was on several times a day, re-reading the same information and changing my mind at least a million times. So you can imagine my husbands' relief, when I finally said "let's just book it right now!" I'm so indecisive (my star sign is Libran and I am constantly weighing up all options for absolutely everything lol), yet the one thing I was sure about was not letting this amazing experience slip through our fingers.
I think it was exactly 12:59am when my brain bombarded me with these questions:-
* Did you do the right thing booking the cruise now, BEFORE airfares??? What if the flights to America don't match up with the cruise date? I think you're a little crazy!
* Have you seen how bad the Aussie dollar is against the US dollar? And it's just getting worse
* Should you really have gone Concierge? Is it really going to be worth the extra money?
* What other expenses will the cruise have? Tipping? Ports of Calls? Photos? Souvenirs? Transport? Onboard Activities? Alcoholic Beverages? Pin Trading?
* What if everyone gets seasick for the entire cruise?
* What if the boys hate being on the boat?
* Was this really the right itinerary? Seriously.....when have you ever wanted to go to Falmouth, Jamaica??? Ummm never???
* The cruise begins 2 days after the boys finish school...... will we need to take them out early? What if the school freaks out because it is Sebastian's last year before high school?
Obviously my mind is a little over dramatic at times (ok, all the time) but I guess that's why I always plan everything so far in advance. At least I know, when the time comes, I will be so prepared for absolutely anything, that nothing will stand in the way of us having a sensational holiday
After a very sleepless night with all those questions swirling in my head, a truly magical thing happened! I discovered DISboards!!!!! (insert 'Hallelujah, Hallelujah' music here) It was the greatest discovery to feed my planning addiction and immediately slowed my racing heart and newly cruise obsessed mind. I now am very happy and confident in our booking choice have even joined a wonderful FE group which is building up our excitement levels even more Our ultimate vacation goal is 1 week Disney Cruise, 2 weeks Orlando and 2 weeks at DisneyWorld. This goal is sadly dependant on flights, AU$ to $US exchange rates and ability to save every extra penny all year. But in saying that...... at the moment, things look 100% on track for our dream holiday
Just under 11 months to go!!!!