Disney Dream January 2012

Prior to our cruise, we spent a week at Ron Jon's Resort in Cocoa Beach, FL. The pools were amazing, but the resort itself was back off the beach with a pretty good walk to get to the surf and sand. Being late December and early January, the average temperatures were in the mid 70's and lower 80's, which to me is a bit chilly to swim. The hot tubs became our friend!

After all the excitement leading up to our cruise, it was time to embark on a 5-night voyage on the Disney Dream. This was a new ship to us, and a pretty new ship in the fleet. I started getting nervous when I saw the weather forecast. I kept thinking it was going to change. I felt, sure that going to the Bahamas would be warm! Plus, we were leaving from FL. Well, the day was here to embark. It was in the 30's! Burr! I was not ready or prepared for this type of cold. After all, we were going on a cruise. A quick trip to Walmart to get toe-socks was a must on our to-do list, and boy was it worth it!

We checked in at the terminal and met some of our favorite Disney friends while we waited to board. The lines can look intimidating, but they move fast. This is your first photo op, so if you get the photo package (see the section on Photo Tips) these pictures will be included. Of course, you can always bring your own camera and the photographers will be happy to snap some memories for you.

It was time to board! You show your Key to the World card and scan it before getting your pre-cruise photos taken. You have the option to skip this line if you do not care to have your photos taken.

Then, we are given a warm welcome...one of my favorite parts of our cruises!

Our Pre-Cruise Photo

Notice the winter coats, sweatshirts, and toe socks. It was a cold start to our cruise.

We spent about an hour walking around the ship and taking as many pictures as I could. Oceaneers Club was open for open house and registration so we took our daughter in there and she had the entire place to herself! We already had her registered in the terminal so there was nothing we needed to do officially.

Lunch at Cabanas for Emily consisted of fruit, fries, and chicken tenders.

After eating lunch at Cabanas, we attended the mandatory muster drill and then headed out to the deck party to celebrate Sailing Away. My favorite part of the Sail Away Party is the ship's horn. Amazing!

Discussing what to do tonight.

The three of us at Cabanas.

The sailing away party is always a blast. Here's a tip for you...get there as soon as you can after the Muster Drill if you have little kids. They will want to be up close to the stage in order to see it and all the characters. The deck fills up so quickly. Bring your cameras but keep them at a height that 

Enjoy the video I made about our cold cruise! I'll be back to tell all about the excursions we went on and if they are worth the money.

Welcome to my Disney Cruise Line Blog!

***THIS BLOG IS A WORK IN PROGRESS BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH I WANT TO SHARE AND I WANT TO DO IT THOUGHTFULLY AND COMPLETELY. BEAR WITH ME!

Check out this amazing video to get your Disney heart pumping!

Hello! My name is Stephanie Inch and I am a Disney fanatic. Even more, I am a Disney Cruise Line fanatic! I was hooked after my first cruise in 2009. I have taken 8 cruises on Disney Cruise Line and one NCL cruise. I have sailed on a 3-night Bahamian on Wonder, 5-night double-dipper at Castaway Cay and Nassau on the Dream, 7-night Western Caribbean Easter cruise on Fantasy, 7-night Eastern Caribbean Easter cruise on Fantasy, 2 back-to-back 3-night then 4-night Bahamian cruises on the Dream, one of which was a Merrytime Cruise over Christmas Day. We are Castaway Cay Gold members, own points with the Grand Floridian Resort with Disney Vacation Club, and have been to Walt Disney World at least 10 times.

In this blog, I will share some of my favorite moments, secrets, and tips with you. I will write about each holiday cruise we have taken, information about the ports of call we have visited, photo tips, ship information, and our favorite places to eat around the ship. You will learn about formal night and semi-formal night, and my favorite...Pirate Night! Get information on character greetings and so much more! I hope you enjoy what you read.

How We Became Obsessed With DCL:

In 2009 I was invited to go on a Disney Cruise to celebrate my in-laws 40th wedding anniversary. When my husband threw the idea at me, I immediately was concerned about seasickness and feeling cramped on a "boat". One of the best and life-changing decisions I ever made was to agree to go. It was a short 3-night cruise to the Bahamas. It was the trip of my life (so far). We were Disney Cruise Line rookies. We didn't know about pirate night, formal night, what we should take with us, etc. It's amazing how quick you can learn in the experience, and all the vocabulary associated with sailing (port arrival time, starboard, portside, aft, forward, muster drill)! My daughter was chosen as a VIP (now called "Magical Family") and got a special photo session and meet and greet with the characters on the last night in Studio Sea on the Wonder.

We decided to book another one for two years later, saved up, and made it happen. Our second cruise was a 5-night to the Bahamas on the Disney Dream. After our 2nd cruise, we realized we couldn’t wait two years to cruise again, so we booked a 7-night the following Spring Break on Disney Fantasy. We cruised Fantasy two spring break's in a row. Following those cruises we decided to do a back-to-back over Christmas on Disney Dream. The first part, my daughter knew about, the second leg was a surprise. The following August, we embarked on another back-to-back on Disney Dream. We planned to just do a quick 3-night getaway, but the cruise was so magical, we inquired about staying on for the 4-night that followed. At first, there were no staterooms available, but Kevin Irish in guest services made it happen. Out of 8 cruises, we were chosen as a magical family on 6 of them. We have a 7-night scheduled for December 16, 2017 and are counting down the days!