Category Archives: Disney Cruise Line

Just Back Trip Review – Highs and Lows of our Disney Land and Sea Adventure

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Good Gracious! Raymond and I are still exhausted! But very pleased with the heaps of happy memories we amassed on our Disney Land and Sea vacation. We thought of the 9-day trip in terms of phases. Phase 1: Vancouver, Phase 2: Disney Cruise on the Wonder, Phase 3: Disneyland. Today my goal is to put together my initial thoughts on the trip overall. (There will be detailed posts for every phase later.)

Just Back Trip Review – Highs and Lows of our Disney Land and Sea Adventure

Vancouver was great! The weather? Not so much. That didn’t keep us from enjoying an entertaining, educational, and delicious food tour on Saturday. Sunday was our anniversary, so we spent the day at a leisurely pace. Originally, we’d planned on either biking around Stanley Park or visiting Granville Island’s marketplace. The rain made both of those sound unenjoyable, so we strolled around in the rain, stopping to eat at Cardero’s on the harbor. We’d eaten here once before with Megan and Joseph prior to our Alaskan cruise in 2011, so we enjoyed happy memories along with a light lunch. Dinner that night was a fancy one at Notch8 in the Fairmont Vancouver just a few blocks from our hotel. Fantastic meal!

We crossed the street late Monday morning and stepped aboard the Disney Wonder. Since repositioning cruises tend to sometimes offer (relatively) bargain prices, Raymond had booked concierge stateroom 8044 for our anniversary celebration and the experience did not disappoint. I’ll fill you in on all the concierge details later but getting on the ship first to enjoy a special lunch in Tiana’s Place was fantastic and kicked off the cruise in a special way.

Tuesday, we docked in Astoria, Oregon. We had no idea what to expect from this little town of 10,000. The early weather predictions showed a huge chance of rain, so we were overjoyed when the day turned out to be sunny! We had a 3-hour bicycle tour planned from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. This turned out to be a perfect way to enjoy this port of call. Astoria is charming, the ride along the waterfront was flat, and the folks we met were as friendly as could be. I can’t decide what was my favorite part of the day but seeing sea lions for the first time was amazing.

Wednesday and Thursday were at-sea days. Raymond and I spent a lot of time in the fitness center trying to mitigate the accumulation of cruise food and beverage calories. We took a spin class both days and found Nicholas from South Africa to be an excellent (and challenging!) instructor. As a bonus, we also had some excellent whale-watching opportunities in the fitness center since it’s at the top of the ship and has huge windows.  We dined at Palo (adults-only restaurant) for both dinner and brunch, enjoyed two different beverage-tasting seminars, saw a movie, drank lots of coffee in Cove Café, and had a wonderful time!

Friday, we arrived in San Diego. We managed to get off the ship, Uber to the car rental place, pick up our ride, drive to Anaheim, drop our bags at the hotel, and enter Disney’s California Adventure before lunch!  Thus, Phase 3 began earlier than expected and with the most perfect weather imaginable. Once at Disneyland, we made the most of every minute!

I have so much to share with you!  Were mistakes made?  Yes, two major ones that resulted in (relatively minor) unhappiness.  We found so much to love about every aspect of this vacation and would do it all over again (with a couple of important modifications).  I’ll cover everything in detail, so please stop back by over the next couple of weeks.

Now?  I’m still catching up on sleep!  But I’ll be back soon and hope you will be too!

Disney Cruise Fun – Postcard Recipe Exchange

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You may have heard of Fish Extenders and those unofficial, Secret-Santa-like gift exchanges happening on Disney Cruises everywhere.  Our family has enjoyed joining Fish Extender groups in the past and plan to participate again some day.  On our upcoming trip, I decided to join an exchange group that requires a lot less preparation and barely takes up any room in my suitcase.

Disney Cruise Fun – Postcard Recipe Exchange

You can search Facebook and find at least one cruise group to join for your sailing.  I found a great group this time with an excellent moderator who goes above and beyond to get members involved and excited about our cruise.  The moderator(s) usually organize some group events and meet-ups for the trip and also create exchange groups for interested parties.

I indicated early on that I’d love to be part of a postcard recipe exchange.  This involves getting some local postcards, adding a recipe to the back and keeping up with a list of cabin numbers to which to distribute these during our cruise.  In return, I’ll get about 11 new recipes to try and see postcards from all over.  Fun, but also very simple.  My kind of thing!

Here’s what I’m giving out…

I had some leftover postcards (from a previous cruise).  I ordered them with my own pictures on the front and one of my all-time favorite recipes – Maui Potatoes (served long ago at ‘Ohana in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort) – printed on the back.  This time I wanted to add a bit more Louisiana flair to my exchange offering.  I found some small, but extra-adorable Louisiana postcards to go with the recipe ones (ordered from Zazzle).  I punched holes in the corners of the cards so I could tie them together with green ribbon.

To the ribbon, I also tied a tiny bottle of Tabasco sauce.  Am I advocating adding hot sauce to Maui Potatoes?  No, I’m advocating adding hot sauce to everything! Seriously, it’s what we do here in Louisiana.  Eggs, pizza, pasta, salad, sandwiches, gumbo, jambalaya, soups, stews…just about everything tastes better with a dash or three of Tabasco!  We go through a big bottle every couple of months.  Want to really experience a taste of Louisiana?  Grab your own bottle and get to sprinkling that tangy, peppery, spicy deliciousness on your favorite dishes.

If you’re going on a Disney cruise, I highly recommend joining an exchange group.  If you’re coming to Louisiana, I highly recommend a visit to Avery Island (an easy drive south from Lafayette) to see firsthand how Tabasco is produced.  You won’t be disappointed!

 

Disney Planning – Disney Cruise West Coast Land & Sea Adventure

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We love Disney Cruise Line and we love Disney theme parks – There’s nothing better to us that a vacation that combines them both!  What better way to celebrate wedding anniversary #29 than by sailing on the Disney Wonder before heading to Disneyland for the very first time.

Disney Planning – Disney Cruise West Coast Land & Sea Adventure

This vacation was a bit unexpected.  I was in the early stages of thinking about what we might want to do for what has become an annual anniversary getaway.  I’d been imagining Hawaii or maybe someplace else tropical that would not put us too much at risk of yet another hurricane season vacation disaster.  Unbeknownst to me, Raymond was busily shopping the Disney Cruise Line website.Disney Cruise Line / Ship

I remember bringing up the aforementioned potential tropical destination while he was typing away on his computer.  He suddenly got excited about the prices for a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to San Diego on the Wonder…so excited, in fact, that before I knew it, he exclaimed, “These prices are awesome!  This sounds fun!  I’m booking it!” (Okay, if you’ve ever met Raymond, you know he’d never speak with all those exclamations…It’s called artistic license.  I can’t help myself.)  And boom!  Part one of our vacation was in the bag.  We’ll sail from Vancouver for a four-night cruise with a stop in Astoria, Oregon before arriving in San Diego.

Now it was my turn to plan.

I didn’t waste any time.  Researching our options for getting to Anaheim from San Diego and places to stay at Disneyland, I decided on a rental car and a Good Neighbor hotel.  Three-day Park Hopper tickets will hopefully allow enough time for a decent first visit.  Our hotel is within walking distance of park entrances.

I took to Twitter for dining suggestions and booked reservations for breakfast at the Plaza Inn, lunch at Blue Bayou, and dinners at Napa Rose, Carthay Circle, and Steakhouse 55.  I realize there are incredible quick service choices and I know we’ll want to give some of those a try too.

So, it seems like we’re all set.  The biggest challenge so far is packing for both cool and warm weather in one vacation.  My suitcase is nearly packed and I’m proud to say I didn’t go overboard.  (Give me a shout if you’d be interested in what I packed an/or wore for this trip.)

Having never been to Disneyland, we would welcome your suggestions for what you consider the most important things for us to see and do!  Rides?  Attractions?  Snacks?  Shows?  What do we need on our must-do list?  I feel like a complete Disney rookie this time!  If you’ve got tips, I want to hear them.  We’re leaving in just a few days, so please leave your thoughts in the comments or over on Twitter or Facebook.  Thanks in advance for your help.  Can’t wait to tell you all about it when we get home!

 

Disney Cruise Line Stateroom Details

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We were so excited on our first few Disney cruises, we barely noticed anything about our staterooms except the basics. Our biggest takeaways from the accommodations on those trips was, “The beds were so comfortable!  The split bathroom was so convenient!”.  Occasionally these days, Raymond and I travel alone on Disney Cruise Line and we’ve adopted a more leisurely attitude.  This has given us ample time to notice and appreciate the special touches that make Disney Cruise Line magical.  I spent extra time taking lots of pictures so I could specifically share with you…

Disney Cruise Line Stateroom Details

Plenty of Storage Makes Unpacking a Breeze – Even our biggest suitcases fit under the bed, so there’s absolutely no reason not to make use of the ample drawer and closet space. Unpacking completely makes us feel more at home and keeps our cabin looking much neater overall.

Lots of Signs Keep You Safe and Informed – The number of signs around a Disney stateroom is almost comical. The one I appreciate the most is the one that reminds me to step UP to enter the bathroom.  I still stub my toe sometimes, but that’s because I can’t see the sign in the dark.

Clever Disney-on-the-high-seas Touches – The towels, shower curtain and room décor are always in keeping with the theme. Those H2O bath products always bring on that official “I’m on vacation” feeling.

Lampshade Map – I can’t believe I just noticed this one on our last cruise. It’s clever and adorable and SO Disney!  Seriously, if you haven’t taken a moment to admire it, you can’t appreciate its absolute perfection.

Stateroom Host’s Magic – We almost always see our stateroom host in the hallway (and they call us by name!) and never in our stateroom, but no matter how long we’ve been gone or what time of day it is, our cabin always looks fresh and clean. Room service dishes placed in the hall disappear almost immediately.  At the end of a long day on shore, it’s incredibly nice to return to a room that looks as good as it did on arrival day.   Every evening without fail, a new towel animal awaits with chocolates and Personal Navigators for the next day’s activities.

There’s a lot of magic aboard Disney Cruise Line and staterooms are no exception!  Have you sailed on a Disney cruise?  What did you like most about your stateroom?