DISNEYMOMTO1
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2006
Warning: Very long, as we had such a marvelous time I want to re-live every moment writing this!
Finally! Its my turn to write a trip report! After seven months of planning, it is happening to us! Let me first just say thanks to everyone on the DIS Boards for their tips and suggestions! We booked in February and I checked the boards AT LEAST twice a day! I love reading the trip reports and thought I would take a stab at it. I still have one suitcase left to unpack and have been doing laundry since yesterday afternoon dreading going back to work in the morning and need a break already.
Cast of characters: Me (39) and DD Baylee (age 7 turning 8 on the cruise). A bit of background on us: I am a single mom, newly divorced; however, have been separated for quite some time. We hadnt been on vacation for five LONG years. Baylee was at Disney World on her 3rd birthday, but doesnt remember it. It was time for us to FINALLY do this. I have been talking for a couple years about a Disney cruise but alas, being a single mom the funds are never there. Ive been saving forever, it seems!
When it was time to book, I wanted to book the Western because I really wanted to do Grand Cayman. After checking the dates, prices, etc., I thought it would be a marvelous idea to take Baylee for her 8th birthday, which is October 2. So I ended up booking the Eastern instead and I lucked out because it was the cheapest week, price wise! Well, except for it being hurricane season and all! I also booked the cheapest room, a Category 12. I was hearing stories on the boards of upgrades but didnt hold out much hope for that. We hadnt been having good luck lately, but as I was to find out, our luck would be changing!
I thought wed go down a day early and spend the day with my ex-in-laws who havent seen Baylee in 3 years. My ex and I have a very amicable relationship for the sake of Baylee, and his parents are no exception. Ive always gotten along well with the in-laws. They live in Tampa, and said that they would love to pick us up at the airport and spend the day/evening with us and drop us off at the ship Saturday morning. I made reservations at the Doubletree Cocoa Beach and they got a room along with my exs sister (who Baylee adores), who also lives down there.
In June, we took a weekend and went up to the North Shore (Duluth, MN) to visit my sister and her family. My sister and I decided to go to the casino that night (I hadnt been in a couple years). Like I said before, I am on a budget and had to save, save, save! My sister wanted to take me out because it was divorce day, the day it was final. The first $20 I spent DING DING DING, I hit the royal flush on a poker machine and won $1,400! Paid off the cruise, put some $$ down on our shipboard account and saved some for airfare! Woo hoo! Pixie dust already!
I waited and waited for low airfare from Minneapolis, but started getting nervous in July when prices werent coming down. I wanted to fly non-stop with Sun Country, but when it came time to book, they were $100 more! Yikes I was on a budget! I would rather spend that $100 on the ship! I ended up booking with Air-Tran Airways. Non-stop on the way down and one short stop in Chicago on the way back. Then I priced airfare a week before cruising and Sun Country was $30 cheaper than I paid. You just never know, but I didnt want to take any chances.
A month out from our cruise, Baylee and I made the requisite 30-day chain. She was so excited she could spit (as was I). My favorite commercial is the Disney one where the kids are too excited to sleep. Mom goes to bed and asks dad if hes awake, to which he replies, Im too excited to sleep. That was definitely us! I know I was driving my co-workers crazy and had a countdown at work posted in my cube LOL. They were definitely ready to get rid of me! Baylee and I scoured the DIS boards reading trip reports, looking at pictures and imagining the food we were going to eat! We both are chocoholics! I went on a diet and lost 31 pounds, knowing that I was going to gain a few back on this trip! I called Shirley at the Perfect Gift and ordered Baylees birthday basket (which I managed to keep a surprise) and informed her Baylee loved all things Tink just like every other little girl under 10 (and maybe over, I think). Since the cruise was her birthday present, I thought it would be nice to have a little gift waiting for her when we got there that she could open.
I had been checking the cruise site daily for our room assignment (who am I kidding, I checked it daily just to look at it), and one morning it was there! We had been upgraded to a Category 9! A couple weeks later, we received our docs and it was there in black & white Category 9. I actually got teary-eyed (I am such a sap as you will soon find out). More pixie dust for us! This was actually going to happen, wasnt it? We were actually going to put away our cares for 7 glorious days on the Caribbean and think of no one but us! The Just Me and You Cruise was born!
Next up, overcoming our fear of flying, the in-laws and embarkation
Finally! Its my turn to write a trip report! After seven months of planning, it is happening to us! Let me first just say thanks to everyone on the DIS Boards for their tips and suggestions! We booked in February and I checked the boards AT LEAST twice a day! I love reading the trip reports and thought I would take a stab at it. I still have one suitcase left to unpack and have been doing laundry since yesterday afternoon dreading going back to work in the morning and need a break already.
Cast of characters: Me (39) and DD Baylee (age 7 turning 8 on the cruise). A bit of background on us: I am a single mom, newly divorced; however, have been separated for quite some time. We hadnt been on vacation for five LONG years. Baylee was at Disney World on her 3rd birthday, but doesnt remember it. It was time for us to FINALLY do this. I have been talking for a couple years about a Disney cruise but alas, being a single mom the funds are never there. Ive been saving forever, it seems!
When it was time to book, I wanted to book the Western because I really wanted to do Grand Cayman. After checking the dates, prices, etc., I thought it would be a marvelous idea to take Baylee for her 8th birthday, which is October 2. So I ended up booking the Eastern instead and I lucked out because it was the cheapest week, price wise! Well, except for it being hurricane season and all! I also booked the cheapest room, a Category 12. I was hearing stories on the boards of upgrades but didnt hold out much hope for that. We hadnt been having good luck lately, but as I was to find out, our luck would be changing!
I thought wed go down a day early and spend the day with my ex-in-laws who havent seen Baylee in 3 years. My ex and I have a very amicable relationship for the sake of Baylee, and his parents are no exception. Ive always gotten along well with the in-laws. They live in Tampa, and said that they would love to pick us up at the airport and spend the day/evening with us and drop us off at the ship Saturday morning. I made reservations at the Doubletree Cocoa Beach and they got a room along with my exs sister (who Baylee adores), who also lives down there.
In June, we took a weekend and went up to the North Shore (Duluth, MN) to visit my sister and her family. My sister and I decided to go to the casino that night (I hadnt been in a couple years). Like I said before, I am on a budget and had to save, save, save! My sister wanted to take me out because it was divorce day, the day it was final. The first $20 I spent DING DING DING, I hit the royal flush on a poker machine and won $1,400! Paid off the cruise, put some $$ down on our shipboard account and saved some for airfare! Woo hoo! Pixie dust already!
I waited and waited for low airfare from Minneapolis, but started getting nervous in July when prices werent coming down. I wanted to fly non-stop with Sun Country, but when it came time to book, they were $100 more! Yikes I was on a budget! I would rather spend that $100 on the ship! I ended up booking with Air-Tran Airways. Non-stop on the way down and one short stop in Chicago on the way back. Then I priced airfare a week before cruising and Sun Country was $30 cheaper than I paid. You just never know, but I didnt want to take any chances.
A month out from our cruise, Baylee and I made the requisite 30-day chain. She was so excited she could spit (as was I). My favorite commercial is the Disney one where the kids are too excited to sleep. Mom goes to bed and asks dad if hes awake, to which he replies, Im too excited to sleep. That was definitely us! I know I was driving my co-workers crazy and had a countdown at work posted in my cube LOL. They were definitely ready to get rid of me! Baylee and I scoured the DIS boards reading trip reports, looking at pictures and imagining the food we were going to eat! We both are chocoholics! I went on a diet and lost 31 pounds, knowing that I was going to gain a few back on this trip! I called Shirley at the Perfect Gift and ordered Baylees birthday basket (which I managed to keep a surprise) and informed her Baylee loved all things Tink just like every other little girl under 10 (and maybe over, I think). Since the cruise was her birthday present, I thought it would be nice to have a little gift waiting for her when we got there that she could open.
I had been checking the cruise site daily for our room assignment (who am I kidding, I checked it daily just to look at it), and one morning it was there! We had been upgraded to a Category 9! A couple weeks later, we received our docs and it was there in black & white Category 9. I actually got teary-eyed (I am such a sap as you will soon find out). More pixie dust for us! This was actually going to happen, wasnt it? We were actually going to put away our cares for 7 glorious days on the Caribbean and think of no one but us! The Just Me and You Cruise was born!
Next up, overcoming our fear of flying, the in-laws and embarkation