Disney Cruise!

Finally, the screen I've been waiting for on my countdown app!

I've never considered myself a cruise person. Having never been on one, sure, I don't really have much to compare it to. But being stuck on a boat? With all those people? And what about those horror stories you hear of everyone getting sick? Yeah, it's never really appealed to me.

Enter our neighbors, who have recently become Disney Cruise professionals! After hearing story after story of their amazing experiences (and knowing there is no way we're taking our kids to the Disney parks any time soon) we started wondering... Next thing you know, we had signed ourselves up for a Fall Break cruise to the Bahamas on the Disney Dream. The countdown was on! I spent basically all summer working on cruise details, joining various Facebook groups (there was even a group for our specific itinerary and it was cool to get to know some people and have a place to share ideas), and planning Fish Extender gifts.

Fish Extenders are this whole thing where you join a group of ten or so staterooms, and then get little gifts for everyone. During the cruise, you hang a special bag with pockets outside your door on the fish-shaped hook, and then the people in your group leave little presents throughout the trip. It's like putting a stocking up at Christmas time. It's certainly not mandatory, but it adds a little something magical to your trip. Of course I just had to participate, and I knew I had to get it all done this summer because once school started, I wouldn't have time to think about the cruise at all!

And then, the hurricanes hit. I knew Harvey wouldn't be a problem, and Irma was too early to affect us (although there were fears the Disney Island, Castaway Cay, would be damaged). Jose spun himself silly in the Atlanta before getting close. But Maria. Oh, Hurricane Maria. Our FB group was hot with speculation, concern, prayer. After watching anxiously, things appeared to be okay and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Anyway, all that to say, after weeks of cruise gear growing on the dining room table, we finally had our princess costumes, pirate outfits, Fish Extender gifts, and luggage packed and stuffed in the car, ready to go! After a quick stop in Peachtree City to celebrate Annie's birthday, we hit the road Sunday morning for the long trip to Port Canaveral.

We're on vacation!

We stayed the night at a hotel just minutes from the port; we even had dinner there the night before we sailed off. The entire hotel was packed with fellow cruisers. Annie made quick friends with the family next to us for breakfast who had been on the cancelled Hurricane Irma cruise - they were just happy to be sailing! After we couldn't stand the wait any longer, we headed to the port.

Let me tell you, Disney has this thing down to a science. A well-organized smooth science. Everyone is assigned a specific port arrival time to keep the lines from getting clogged. We checked it, used our new passports for the first time, and after hanging about the terminal for a bit (it was crowded but not unmanageable) we were finally given the go ahead to take our turn.

I'll admit, I teared up just stepping onto the ship. I have such a nostalgic connection to Disney from my childhood. I used to say I was going to marry Mickey when I was little, or work at Disney World. My brother and I made it a mission one summer to watch every single Disney animated classic movie. Plus this was such a big trip, had been planned for so long, thought about so hard... When we announced as we walked on board, "Welcome to the Loughman family!" and we walked through a line of clapping Disney cast members into this huge beautiful atrium... it was an emotional experience.

Minutes away from stepping foot onto the ship!

From endless previous discussions, we knew the first thing the kids wanted to do upon boarding was head to the pool deck. And why not? We were on board before noon but our room wouldn't be available until 1:30, with luggage delivered even later. So we had our swimsuits on under our clothes in preparation. Day one is a great day to hit the pool as well, because the ship won't be fully boarded until 3 p.m. or so. Might as well grab a spot on deck while it's less crowded, right?

I'm on a boat!

The girls immediately wanted to try out the Aqua Duck, a water slide that wraps all the way around the ship. Annie was juuuust tall enough to ride, which was awesome! I had already emotionally prepared her for not getting to go, but perhaps turning four two days earlier gave her the extra bump she needed! We rode the slide, found the much-anticipated free soft drinks and ice cream machine, and had a blast.

View from the Mickey Pool! See the water slide wrapping around the ship?

Waiting for our turn on the slide!

Matt and Annie on the Aqua Duck!

Violet on another slide.

Next we decided to grab lunch. I'd gotten an insider tip that rather than eating at the buffet on the pool deck, we could have a sit-down table-service lunch at Enchanted Gardens, one of the ship's restaurants. It remains one of the highlights of our trip. Something about being just the four of us, in this beautiful restaurant (think greenery, cobblestones, a fountain), being served a lovely lunch complete with the girls' first Mickey Bars for dessert... After the crowds getting on the boat, waiting for the slide, navigating the elevators - it was a beautiful oasis of calm in our day.

Family Selfie

We were finally able to check out our stateroom and unpack our bags. One of the first things on the list was decorating our door. Yes, to make it cute. But more importantly, so we'd be able to find it again in a hallway of identical doors! We met our stateroom host, the person in charge of making sure we were taken care of the whole trip (and the person who'd be making those cute little towel animals for our bed every evening) - Mr. Goodluck.

See the Fish Extender hanging by the door?

We visited the kids club area during their Open House hours, went to the required muster drill (safety briefing), and watched the Sail Away Party from the pool deck, where Mickey and his gang come out singing and dancing. Then it was time to get dressed for the show - The Golden Mickeys! - and dinner. At this point, the ship was rocking pretty steadily. Whether it was due to rough post-hurricane seas or the speed of our travel, there was significant motion. People were stumbling in the hallways and the curtains were swaying. It was clear pretty quickly that Annie wasn't feeling good. We arrived at dinner, met the very nice family with two girls we'd be dining with each night, and were basically in crisis management mode with two exhausted girls. Dinner that first night was pretty much a bust. Matt ended up leaving with a crying Annie and Violet and I were out before dessert. Once both girls were asleep, Matt and I ordered dessert via room service and were happy to call it an early night as well, with promises from Mr. Goodluck that the motion of the ocean would by done by morning. He was right!

Family picture on the balcony!