Embarking on our Cruise (post 2 in our cruise series)

The day of embarking (aka getting on the ship) we were picked up by Disney transportation via the Magical Express at our resort. This is an extra fee, but sine it was our first cruise and we were already staying on Disney property we felt it would be the best choice for us. I'm all about keeping the Disney magic going as much as possible AND I'm all about easy.
The pick up process was soooo easy. That morning bell services took our luggage. We kept our carry on bags (same as you would if you were flying - important items like medications, identification and cruise documents, and possibly a swimsuit)
We were given a pickup time with our transportation papers and were to wait for the bus at the lobby waiting area. Our pickup time was 11:00am. When we arrived at the lobby we were greeted by a cast member specifically there to escort us (and the other cruisers) onto our bus to the cruise port.

 The ride to the port seemed quick because of the on board entertainment. It is so exciting to see the ships docked at port in the distance.

There's no mistaking the Disney cruise ships.

When you arrive at the terminal it was a quick walk through security, similar to that at the airport. Disney times their transportation port arrivals so that it doesn't get too crowded.
We presented our cruise documents and proof of citizenship, they gave us our key to the world cards and a navigator for the afternoon/evening activities. Then we made a quick stop at the kids club reservation counter (we pre-registered our daughters online) it was just a check in and they received their magic bands for on board tracking.

At Port Canaveral you walk through the Mickey tunnel and on to the ship.
I read as much as I could find ahead of time for what to expect when we first board the ship and still it was so magical, majestic and a little overwhelming.
Our first task was to get lunch at Cabanas. Because we didn't board until after 1:00 pm, we wanted to make sure we got lunch before they stopped serving it. We really weren't cutting it close, but we didn't know that. Everything does shut down at 4:00 pm for the muster drill.

Finding Dory themed walls at the entrance to Cabanas

So many delicious choices

 After lunch we wandered about the ship until it was time to go to our designated station for the mandatory muster drill (the location is printed right on your key to the world card)

After the drill we headed to the upper decks for the Adventures Away celebration.

     

Such a fun, exciting send off! 

click here to read my first post in the cruise series

My First Disney Cruise, post one

My family recently went on our first Disney cruise. It was actually our first cruise of any type/brand. I'll be sharing all the details with you in several, hopefully organized, posts.
I will be happy to answer any questions about our trips and the planning process, just post it in the comments.

Post one - decisions and planning
I'm not a novice to Disney trip planning, but I've never planned  for a cruise. Haven't even considered it, really, it was kinda a dream. I didn't think my husband would ever want to take a cruise - it's just not his kind of vacation (or so he thought). I also thought my kids would be bored with it - stuck on a ship, no rides, no multi-park visits (I was wrong).  Everything I had read about a Disney cruise said it was pure magic, with a price tag to match. So yeah, I thought "just a dream" not an option for us.

Admittedly, the cruise was first my husbands idea, sort of. Yeah I dropped hints that someday I think I'd like to take a cruise. I mentioned how so many of our friends and family had taken Disney cruises and LOVED them. But I never said to him "I think we should take a cruise" or "what do you think about a Disney cruise vacation?". So I guess my husband listens to me more than I give him credit, because he heard those hints. Out of the blue he texted me one day - look at these deal on a Disney cruise, want to go? Um yeah! Are you kidding me?!
This was late November and that "deal of a price" was for a cruise in late January/ early February! What?! How am I supposed to plan for that? I live in the world of 180 days dining reservations and 60 days fastpass+ planning.
Not the case for a cruise (although I have read that the earlier you book, the better the price, not so sure that's always true, it's probably a seasonal rule) We did base our date choice by the availability of  'main dining'. We knew we wanted to eat at the earlier seating vs. late at night.
Other than that choice, there really wasn't any other decisions I needed to make! We didn't have a stateroom preference, we were going with least expensive for our first cruise which meant inside stateroom. We weren't going to take any excursions, they are an additional cost. There were still  some available to book, had we wanted to though.
Because Disney cruises have 'rotational dining' (I'll explain that later, probably in another post on the dining) there's no dining reservations to be made.
 All the on board activities can't be booked until you're actually on the ship. We did sign the girls up for the kids clubs ahead of time, which isn't necessary, but can be done any time before you embark to speed up the registration process.
We didn't have passports! I admittedly panicked (a lot) about this. My husband checked into it and because we were taking a cruise that left the U.S. and returned to the U.S. only stopping in the Bahamas, we were ok with just photo ID and our birth certificates. Yep, I still was panicking that it wasn't going to be OK. My research said those two proofs of citizenship were enough for a Bahamian cruise. Because we were sailing just 60 some odd days from the time of booking I didn't think we had time to get passports. So until the time of check in at the port I prayed all I read was correct and we would be allowed to board.
Obviously it was, or I wouldn't have a trip to tell you about. But always check with the current laws and regulations.

So the short version - we found the dates and itinerary we wanted on the Disney cruise website, my husband called and spoke to a Disney agent (we could have booked straight from the website, but he had a couple questions for them) booked our cruise and paid for it in full (that close to departure required full payment, if you book earlier you just need to place a deposit).
I took care of the rest online later - Set up your Disney account (which we already have) sign in with your registration confirmation number and then you can do the online check in, decide if you want Disney transportation to the port, register your kids for the kids clubs and book excursions...

Next post Embarking (aka getting on the ship)

I'm Still Here, I'm Just Not All There

I'm not saying I've lost my mind ;) just that I've been so busy I may have forgot where I placed it!
Me and my family just got back from another vacation at Disney World last week (and I can definitely say that is my most favorite place on Earth)  If you're a friend of mine on facebook you have already seen many of the pictures.
Here's a couple of my favorites:

 My Cheshire Cat ear hat!

Marlee just loves to pose for the camera!

 Relaxing at the pool

 The really awesome kiddie pool at our resort...really awesome in so many ways. The girls loved it, it had 2 fun water slides just right size for them. The water wasn't deep at all, only like 6" max so they could play all they wanted and mom and dad could play too or just sit back and watch  :)

 Kevin isn't crazy about having his picture taken (hence no smile) But as you can see, I don't care I'm taking his picture dang it!

 Amazing dessert from Tutto Italia in the Italy area of Epcot. I have mentioned that I love food before, right?

 Kevin and the girls right after riding Star Tours...twice (it's a really fun ride)

 Mickey ice cream bars...the perfect snack to cool off with.

We joined Mickey and Minnie for some Halloween fun at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, a special event held select nights in the Magic Kingdom. It was so much fun, I recommend if you get the chance to do it, GO! A really magical experience - but I think everything Disney is magical :)
I'm not going to make any promises - because I don't like to break a promise, but I'll try to be back soon with some crafty goodness to share or at the very least, some craft related news!

Back from Vacation

Hey everyone, I'm back from my trip but still can't get into the swing of things. Is it possible to have jet lag if you've only flown from Florida to Ohio?
While at Disney World we went to Epcot, which was holding their annual Flower and Garden festival and WOW how beautiful it is. All the different plants, flowers and topiaries. It was a treat for the eyes and the nose :) It also gave lots of inspiration for some projects using Prima flowers. While the Epcot Flower and Garden festival will come to an end soon this month, the beauty of Prima's flowers will last forever (and you gotta love that!)
So I'm sharing with you some of my family's vacation pictures until I can get my butt in gear and make a project.