Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere

Day Bag /deɪ bæɡ/   1. A flexible container of fabric or nylon with comfortable straps, measuring no larger than 22 inches wide, 14 inches high and 9 inches deep, carrying only the essentials passports or other allowed proof of citizenship, travel documents, completed and signed cruise documents, medication, valuables (jewelry, cash, purse) Disney Cruise Line Packing 101 2. A schoolbag or backpack of everything and anything that is not replaceable and a vacation essential. 3. An enormous load perfect for dad to schlep around all of the fun things you might use the first afternoon of vacation, including but not limited to: swimwear sunscreen cameras chargers phones, anything your kids can't cruise without (favorite snack or their stuffed bear, for example) necessary toiletries (contact lens solution) makeup sail away party items or anything else you don't want tossed around 4. Your lifeline until luggage magically appears midafternoon or early in t...

Disney Cruise Line Pronunciation /ˈdɪzni  kruːz  laɪn/ Noun 1.) A magical sea voyage, especially taken for the pleasure of enjoying a wonderful award winning vacation. 2.) A fantasy often appearing on a Disney fan's bucket list, right under "spend the night in the Cinderella Castle Suite." 3.) A dream come true.  A helping hand before you set sail on your first cruise! If you've decided to pull a fairy godmother and Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boo this fantasy into being, let's start you off with a few helpful hints: What I wished I knew before my first cruise: Top Ten Things to Know Before Your First Disney Cruise Top 10 More Things to Know Before Your 1st Disney Cruise Another 10 Things to Know Before Your 1st Disney Cruise Embarkation Day 101 Everything that happens between hopping a shuttle to the cruise terminal and dinner the first evening. Debarkation Three different ways to exit your cruise, from the speed demon to dragging your feet. Wh...

One of the biggest advantages of a Disney Cruise Line vacation is that you can meet the princesses, enjoy water slides and soak up the Disney magic almost without waiting in lines. Almost. What if you wanted to avoid almost every crowd or line on your fantasy vacation?  Wow! Can I get my other two wishes, too? That dream can come true too!  1.) Timing is Key This is a simple tip of being where everyone wants to be (on the Aquaduck, visiting Mickey Mouse and boarding the ship) when all the other people are doing something else. Embarkation For boarding day, you select a port arrival time somewhere between 10 AM and 3:30 PM. If you show up with the crowds before boarding the ship begins (between 11 AM and noon) there can be a bit of a back up at the check-in desks and at the very least crowds. Show up before your selected port arrival time? I wouldn't recommend it. While Galveston enjoys plentiful seating, the terminal itself is bare bones. At Port Canaveral...

Who wouldn't love an upgrade? Moving from an interior stateroom to a verandah or from a verandah to a concierge suite doesn't have to be only a Dream.  Live the dream. Upgrading is easier than you think! The question, of course, is when and how exactly to score an upgrade. Before the Sail Date There are two ways to score an upgrade in advance of packing your bags. 1.) Pixie Dust! Imagine logging in to your reservation one day and the stateroom number doesn't match your memories. You go to look up if they've moved you down the hall to an identical porthole room. No, the room is up a deck and seems to be a verandah stateroom. That can't be right. That's not what you paid for so you call up Disney Cruise Line only to find out "Surprise!" they've sprinkled pixie dust on your stateroom and you will be enjoying ocean breezes from the privacy of your very own verandah at no additional cost. More often you will shift staterooms to one withi...

The first time we took the plunge (so to speak) the ship looked beautiful, the staterooms comfortable but would "rotational dining," prominently featured in the Disney Cruise Line planning DVD live up to the Disney magic? Besides, what is rotational dining? Do I need to make ADRs? What about snacks, room service, and coffee? Rotational Dining   n. an innovative and unique dining plan where a family and serving team rotate to each of the three main dining rooms together and in turn so that you can experience each of the different restaurants. Main Dining or Late Dining? During booking, the option to select either the main or late seating for dinner pops up after you enter your cruiser information. During each dinner seating the Walt Disney Theatre hosts the evenings show so while main dining enjoys dinner then a show, late dining enjoys the early show followed by late dinner. This is really a matter of personal preference. Late diners enjoy t...

With so much riding on picking out the perfect vacation (time, stress, money) it always made sense to me to stick with what we knew. Growing up, our vacations alternated between Walt Disney World and beach condos. Until one day, during my junior year of college when I agreed to chaperone a high school Europe trip. That trip taught me many things, but mostly that I wanted to see more than just a part of this world. As a fan of all things pixie-dust related, I wanted to follow Disney and set to sea with the newest cruise ships. How do I go from my beloved home away from home at Walt Disney World without finding myself adrift? The "fish out of water" feeling sent me straight to the DVR/library/discussion boards/Google for more information. Armed with entirely too much information, much of it contradictory opinions on what I "must do" for a fabulous first cruise, I finally shipped out on my first cruise. Guess what? We didn't do most of the things on ...

Since I am blessed to enjoy Disney Cruise Line (DCL) coming back to our neck of the woods , I've had several people ask me how DCL compares to a Walt Disney World family vacation. Picking between two beautiful family friendly resort vacations? Sounds difficult, but we'll press on. #firstworldproblems Energy Walt Disney World is a kinesthetic experience, with average walking distances of five to ten miles per day depending how active you are and which park you tour. I highly doubt you'll walk that much on a day at sea. (Unless you're crazy like me and have to get your run in before dawn.)  Similarly in the parks everything is going all the time, if you or your child are overwhelmed by activity and get easily overstimulated. Cruising tends to attract and invite more of a relaxing day at the beach vibe. There are extremely active shore excursions and activities (dawn basketball anyone?) available too, but it is not overwhelming or inescapable. Somewhere in th...

Now it's time to say goodbye... Whether you call it disembarkation, disembarkment, debarkation, going ashore, or just going home, it still is  my least favorite part of vacation. Yes, all good things come to an end, but how exactly do you say see ya real soon on a cruise? The answer is, it kind of depends how much of a rush you are in to leave the ship. I'm Late! I'm Late! If you absolutely must be the first person off of the ship, pack all of your luggage the last afternoon or evening, but do not place it in the hallway. Express walk off means carrying your own luggage. If you would like to eat prior to debarkation, main seating diners may be able to eat a rushed breakfast in the main dining rooms or you enjoy the buffet at your leisure. (Please remember to take your luggage with you. Once you leave your room , your stateroom host will begin cleaning for the next guest.) Meet in the lounge with the other Express Walk-Off guests and leave the ship before m...

If you're like me and find yourself wanting to change your reservation there is are a couple quick and easy ways to do it. My first choice in this situation is to call up Disney Cruise Line directly. They can be easily reached at (800) 951-3532 on weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST and 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the weekends (also EST). Unfortunately, if you're using a travel agent, all adjustments must be made through them rather than Disney whether by phone or computer. Breakfast and coffee non-optional. Let's pretend for some reason (like, say, the recent release of the 2015 holidays itineraries jamming the phone lines or a sudden severe bought with laryngitis) you would rather adjust your dates or rooms on the computer. It is easy, peasy to adjust your cruise vacation yourself. All Castaway Club Members: 1) Sign into the Castaway Club (Castaway Club link at the top of Disney Cruise Line's website ) and click on "View Your Cruises." 2) Select...

Although I've already blogged over a dozen tips and tricks to save a bundle on your cruise, what about ways to totally blow your budget unintentionally? I'm not talking about splurging on a cabana massage or swimming with the dolphins. I'm talking spending (way) more than you have to on things that are unnecessary and in a few instances spending some cash in order to give Murphy the boot (or just keep from missing an awesome experience!) Skip Trip Insurance What's the worst that could happen? It's not like we could possibly miss our travel window and the ship would sail without us. It's not like I'd ever break my leg and need to pay to be airlifted off of the ship. It's not like I could have a relative get sick and need to reschedule at the last minute. Besides, aren't we trying to save money? The truth is once you are within 15 dates of your sail date any cancellation will mean a total loss of the cost of the vacation. This falls under th...