Midway through 2005, mom and dad got all of us together and let us know they were thinking a family trip to Florida would be fun. Maybe go to Disney World... as Tony (big cousin) and Rosie were old enough to truly enjoy such a trip. At that time, mom and dad were the only ones in the family that had ever been on a cruise. (You'll understand why I mention this in a bit.)
Somewhere during trip planning, dad discovered Disney Cruise Lines and a 3-day itinerary that would depart Port Canaveral, FL on Saturday and return on Wednesday; stopping in Nassau, Bahamas and on Disney's private island - Castaway Cay, Bahamas. As a surprise, he booked the trip for us, figuring we could take the cruise and still make it back to port to enjoy some time at the parks. Needless to say, most of the adult children weren't entirely thrilled about this idea.
Why? Well.. think about it. Your most vivid memory of a "boat" from childhood is a small vessel that can cruise along on the river. Far too small to spend any length of time aboard comfortably. We were envisioning being stuck in a tin can on the water with nothing to do. So, of course, we were dragging our feet and trying to convince our parents the extra expense wasn't entirely necessary.
After months of doing everything in our power to convince mom and dad to change the plans and spend more time on land at the parks; and dad standing his ground and trying to convince us we'd have a great time; we begrudgingly gathered in Orlando the night before our scheduled departure aboard the ship. The weather was not cooperating, delaying most of our party in Dallas until the wee hours of Saturday morning. Needless to say, 8am came pretty darned early. Rob and I made our way to their hotel, our bags in hand, and the family began the van drive to Port Canaveral.
Bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, we arrived at the terminal - where we stopped at the Disney port terminal. Fatigued apprehension quickly gave way to giddy, childlike anticipation as we made our way into the terminal and checked in... once we caught a glimpse of the Disney Wonder, and the characters milling about... all bets were off. All of us were like antsy two year olds as we waited, rather impatiently, to board.
Trivia: Disney Cruise Lines is the only cruise line that has permission from the coast guard to paint their life boats yellow instead of orange. So, you pull up to the terminal and there is this massive black and white cruise ship with ornate yellow decoration on the forward hull and a character or characters hanging from the aft. Within each of their ships, there is a character statue in the atrium. The Disney Wonder being their second ship, the character was Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
Thus began a whirlwind vacation. We did as much exploring of the ship as we could in a short little trip. We also got to explore Nassau (I personally loved this island... it was charming, despite being a bit dirty). Then had a relaxing day at Castaway Cay (which we all loved... what a pristine island in the middle of nowhere!) It was sad to wake up the next morning and have to debark the ship after breakfast.
The Pirate Party was something to note. We weren't sure what to expect from it for this cruise, as it was our first. We got a deck party that was incredibly choreographed... and ended in a fireworks display. It did not disappoint.
Trivia: Disney Cruise Lines is the only cruise line that has permission from the coast guard to launch fireworks from their deck while at sea.
It is indescribably amazing to wake up and wander about on deck and run into your favorite Disney characters - the ones you've spent a lifetime admiring from afar. Disney Cruise Lines makes them real - you can touch them... intermingle with them... it's truly magical (even for adults). For those who don't have kids... who may be thinking there are too many kids on a Disney Cruise for their tastes... surprisingly, you hardly noticed the kids. I mean, you'd think you'd be tripping over them at every turn, but there are so many activities for the kids, you hardly ever see them. Disney has taken the time to make sure that there are plenty of things to do onboard for all of the guests, not just the youngest.
We concluded the trip with a day at Walt Disney World and Thanksgiving at the Vistana Resort my mom and dad own. After three days of being pampered aboard a pristine ship, with friendly cast and crew members... Walt Disney World was enjoyable - but it paled in comparison. It was very sad to have to leave my family and return home... to the cold Minnesota winter.
