Our Disney Cruise Vacation of a Lifetime!

I’ve dreamed of taking a Disney cruise for as long as I can recall dreaming about vacations. Last year, Dave, Mason and I were watching the travel channel and the making of the Disney Dream, Disney’s largest cruise ship. They shared how the ship was constructed in two pieces in two separate places and when the time came to put them together, it was critical that the two pieces fit perfectly. It was fascinating to see engineering on such a massive scale create something so luxurious. The program went on to share all the attention to detail in the staterooms, the Walt Disney Theatre, the movie theatre, and the many clubs for both adults and kids. When we saw the AquaDuck - Donald Duck’s water slide that takes riders out over the ocean, we were all Ooohing and  Ahhhing, well, Mason and I were, Dave was less than impressed. I said to Mason, “We could go on a Disney cruise” and he lit up! I made up my mind that I would look into what it costs and if it were affordable, I would make my 2014 real estate goals to pay off any credit card debt and pay for a family vacation on the Disney Dream. When I called to get pricing, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the three of us could take a 4 night cruise in an upgraded stateroom for $2200.00. We picked our dates, I put down a deposit and plans were in motion. 

That dream with a bit of action turned into reality! We just returned from the cruise in the Bahamas and I have to say, this experience so far exceeded my expectations. The ship was gorgeous, it looked just like it looked on the program we watched on the travel channel. Our stateroom was completely comfortable - from our beds to the way it was completely dark and night, and amazingly, it was totally sound proof. The only time we could hear our neighbors was if we were both out on our room decks with our doors open. Mason’s birthday was acknowledged numerous times with a birthday cake, a card and certificate, and our housekeeper even gave him a Disney plush toy from one of his favorite Disney cartoons. Our dining room staff stayed with us the whole trip as we moved between the different dining rooms, it impressed me to no end that these amazing people could remember our names, how we like our coffee or tea, and so much more! The whole cruise was non-stop activity, there were things to do from 7:00 AM until 1:00 AM for both adults and kids. Mason had more freedom than he’s ever had in his life. He had on a bracelet that was preprogrammed so he could come and go from the different kids clubs, to the swimming pools, the water slide and the movie theatre and we didn’t have to worry about him getting in trouble. Dave and I had as much fun as Mason and maybe even more! We saw the live shows - they were as good as live on Broadway, we saw a movie, took in a comedy show, sat in the adults only hot tub that has a glass bottom and side so you sit in it and you are looking into the ocean from two sides! As a family we played “So You Think You Know Your Family?” a live game show, Dave and Mason played MidShip Detective, an interactive mystery game using the artwork on the ship and we participated in the live deck parities with music, drama and fireworks. What we know for sure is that it would be impossible to have done everything that was available for us to do!  We had a day in Nassau and another day on Disney’s private island Castaway Cay, both days were fun and brought activities all their own. We were all sad to see the cruise come to an end, but we had two more days planned in Orlando. It turned out that Mason and I both caught a bit of a belly bug so we had some down time. We stayed at a water park resort not too far from the airport so we just took it easy and laid by the pool for a few days before heading home and back to real life. I can’t say enough good things about our Disney cruise experience, even Dave who wasn’t all that excited about the trip to begin with said he had a really good time, he even went as far as to say he would like to take another cruise sometime. All in all, the vacation of a lifetime!