A secret cruise and then the Fantasy!

Lizzards

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Hello everyone..... or no one if no one reads :scared:....I have been on the disboards for a couple of years now. I love reading trip reports and getting tips and living through others vacations. As are most friends on these boards, I have a planning problem. I am a planner and a re-planner and an over planner. I have not sought help for my problem nor am I in denial of my problem. I just love planning and organizing my vacations....not my closets.....but my vacations for sure.

There are four of us in our immediate family: My DH who has been a DL pass holder almost as long as me, my DD 8 an aspiring gymnast that has breathed Disney since birth, my DS 6 who wants to be Indiana Jones when he grows up, and me closer to 40 than 35 and avid Disney fan. I have had a DLR pass since 1996....yes the year I graduated from high school....and never looked back! We live about an hour east of DLR so we go at least twice a month to the happiest place on earth. Both of my children had their first visits at 6 weeks old.

Here we are on the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train in May 2016. My husband had a conference in Orlando so of course we went!!!!! (the family in the last car is us)

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So that is a little bit about us....now onto the juicy pre trip stuff!!! We cruised the Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy in June 2015....wow!!!!! Best Vacation Ever!!! So relaxing and fun and amazing. This past summer we took on Aulani in July 2016.....WOW...amazing and awesome too! So it came time to decide how to spend summer vacation 2017.....something Disneyish possibly....of course. We all voted for another cruise! So I booked us on the Western Carribbean Disney Fantasy sail date 5/27/17.

However, waaaaayyyyyy before we decided to do that, DH and I decided to book a secret cruise with our friends. There are a few cruises out of San Diego each year as the Wonder positions and repositions itself for Alaska. It is about a 2 hour drive to the SAN Diego port. Our friends wanted to do a Disney cruise without the flight to Florida and being on ship for 7 nights (what is wrong with them??? Just kidding) so they asked if we would like to do a 2 night cruise to Ensenada on the Wonder? Don't have to ask us twice!!!! Of course!!!!! It sails Mother's Day Weekend 5/12/17. We decided to keep it a secret from the kids and surprise them when we get to the port!

So there it is in a nutshell...our secret cruise which leads up to the Fantasy. Oh and after our time on the Fantasy, the kids and I will stay in Florida for another week and take on The World. DH has to get back to work but the kids and I will be on summer break! My mom is going to fly out and spend the week at Disney World with us. We are staying Club level at the Contemporary.

With a little over 4 months to go, it is time for the planning to begin....well more planning!!!!
 

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Let's break down where we are going on these cruises:

2 Nights Ensenada
7 Nights Western Caribbean - Cozumel, Mexico
Falmouth, Jamaica
Grand Cayman Islands
Castaway Cay

The plan for the 2 night is to stay on board and not sleep! Ha ha It will be such a fast trip and I know we will just want to enjoy the Wonder. So, we will not bother getting off in Ensenada.

My plan for the Western Carribbean ports:

Cozumel: the Cozumel Beach Break which includes a trip to the Playa Mia Water Park. This looks like a place my kids will thoroughly enjoy. I think it will be great to have a large water play and swim area. I know there isn't much swimming space in the ship's pool so this gives an opportunity for my kids to really swim.

Falmouth, Jamaica: I think we will do the Bobsled and Dunns river Falls. I know my kids will love the bobsled ride! Any advice on this excursion would be appreciated!

Grand Cayman: stay on ship

Castaway Cay: super fun beach day! Cabana would be awesome but I know they will all be booked. So we will just enjoy all Castaway Cay has to offer. Such a fun place! I know it will go by too fast.

So I need to do a little more research on Jamaica. I want to make a good excursion choice for us. I feel pretty confident about what we are going to do in Cozumel.

Next update will be on my special, customized trip items. I shopped on Etsy and everything should be shipped and delivered soon!!!!!
 
Soooo all my items from Etsy came in!!!! Everything came out great. If you are not aware, there are a lot of great vendors on etsy that do personalized, Disney items for cruises of park visits, etc. Now some of you may actually be talented enough to do these things yourself, but I just didn't get the crafty gene. Everything I touch or glue or paint turns to........myuck. (That might be a made up word).

I got the fabulous door magnets for our stateroom! So fun!

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These came out so cute! I love them!

Next I picked out these great shirts for my kids. They love personalized items, so I know they will enjoy wearing these during our trip. Here is my son's shirt:

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Is that so cool? I just love it! Here is my daughter's:

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Super fun! Sorry about my photo taking skills. They are lacking like my craft skills. Thankfully my DH is an awesome photographer so he captures all of our important moments.

The last two items I got are just my absolute favorites. These are going to look so great on the cruise. I will probably use them for a sea day and semi formal night.

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Aren't these great?! They will look fabulous in photos and be so fun to have on the ship. I am so pleased with how my items came out.

Definitely can feel the excitement. Tomorrow marks the 4 month mark to boarding the Fantasy....which means our secret cruise is only a couple weeks closer than that! Yippee!

Ok next post I will go over our travel plans and the logistics of getting to where we need to be!
 

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TRAVEL PLANS

Now that we are just 4 months away, it seems the planning is on downhill speed!!! I can't believe it!

So, for our 2 night secret cruise we are actually going to use a limo service to get to the port. It will be a fun surprise for the kids, and it is nice not to have to worry about parking at the port, etc. Since we are traveling with another family, we will be splitting the limo cost in half which makes it really affordable. It is about a 2 hour drive from our home, so the plan is to leave about 9:00 am and arrive at the port around 11:00 am. Then we will be there and ready to go as soon as we are allowed to board. The cruise is only two nights, so we need to enjoy every moment possible on that ship!!!!!!!

Our cruise on the Fantasy requires a little more travel planning. The cruise leaves on May 27, 2016 (YIPPEE). Since we live on the West Coast in sunny Southern California, I don't want to risk traveling in on the day we disembark. I am not missing that boat!! So, we will be flying direct on Delta the day before, May 26, 2017. Our flight leaves out of LAX (Los Angeles) around 9:30am, and we land in Orlando around 5:30pm. We are going to be staying right in the Hyatt at the airport. Having younger children, I find this option so nice. Once we land and gather luggage, there is no more traveling that day to be had. We can just check in and walk around the airport shops...eat dinner...etc. I know it isn't glamorous, but it is super convenient and really nice to have with the kids. I have arranged for us to take Disney Transport to and from the port on the following morning. BONUS!! Since we are staying right at the Hyatt MCO, our luggage is magically collected and delivered to our stateroom on board. Say what????!!! Awesome perk!

On that fateful day, June 3, 2017, when we have to get off of the FANTASY, the kids and I will head on a Magical bus to the Contemporary for our week at the world. My husband will head out on a bus to the airport to return to reality and work. My mom will be flying into Orlando that same day direct from LAX, and she will take a Magical bus to the Contemporary!!

It is nice not to have to deal with a rental car at all during the two weeks. We get to be driven/bused around which is fine with me!! One of the things I love about Disney.
 


Confession time….so I have begun packing for the trip……… in my head!! I know I have a vacation planning and over-organizing illness…I already admitted that. In any case, I don’t think it is too early to begin mentally packing and list making.

Since I will be gone for two weeks, I do need to be somewhat organized, which led me to a recent realization…..I WILL HAVE TO DO LAUNDRY ON VACATION!!! Say what???? I know millions have forged this road before me and done laundry and survived. And I do laundry almost 365 days per year, so I don’t want to do it on vacation. It is one of my vacation rules! However, it seems a little crazy to pack clothes, pajamas, underwear, etc for 2 full weeks. I have never been gone this long before…let alone with children. So, I think it is best (and realistic) to plan to do laundry. I am thinking I will plan to do it after we disembark and get to the Contemporary Hotel. I don’t have tickets for or plans to go to the parks that day. We just have a dinner reservation at Disney Springs, so it seems like it might fit into that day ok. What do you think? Anyone care to weigh in on the riveting topic of laundry??? These are the things that I think of!


Well moving on from laundry, each person will carry a backpack and carry-on suitcase onto the plane. Then, I will need to check the big mama suitcase…possibly two. I probably sound like an over-packer….which means I probably am. But I like to be prepared!!!!! I know it is another illness….over-packing, but I am ok with it.

My kids backpacks will hold:
Travel toys/games/entertainment for the 5 hour plane trip
Headphones
Snack pack
Reusable water bottle
Wipes-regular and antibacterial


My backpack will hold:
Cruise docs and Excursion paperwork/WDW Papers
Passports
Wallet
Reusable Water Bottle
Make-up
Snacks
IPhone
Ipad mini
Reading Book
Advil-Adults/Kids
Motion Sickness pills just in case

My back pack is my purse for the duration of our trip. I will need it for WDW and excursions. I plan to pack a cross-body or something similar to have to carry around the ship…not a big backpack all of the time. Something that can hold my phone and wallet easily and keep my hands free.

My DH can put whatever he desires in his back pack…or he may not even carry one at all. Since he won’t be taking his laptop to work on, he won’t really need a backpack. I will find something for him to carry on!!! LOL


Now as far as a packing list here is what I have sorted out to pack in the suitcases:
Super cool personalized Cruise shirts and clothing items
Pirate attire for 4 people
Formal night attire for 4 people
Bathing suits 3 for each person- pool and beach days-2 for each person may work ok
6 Outfits for 4 people (Shorts and shirts mostly)
Exercise outfit for hubby and me
Pair of jeans for each person (I am assuming it will be too hot that we won’t need more than that)
Sweatshirt/Jacket 1 for each person
Pajamas - 3 pair for each person
Underwear
Socks
Hats
Toiletries
Hair items
Shoes
Medicines

I am sure there are some things I have forgotten, but I can add them to the list as they come to me. At least I have a starting point!
 
Packing for our 2 night secret cruise should be super easy! There isn't much to take just the following:

Pirate Attire
Personalized cruise shirts to where for embarkation
2 outfits for each person
Pair of pajamas for each person
Jacket for each person
Underwear
Toiletries
Make-up
Shoes

And I think that is about it. Don't have to worry about flying or fitting everything in a carry-on or laundry while gone!
 
So, I fit in a little shopping yesterday and picked up two dresses and a bathing suit for me for the trip!! Yipee! I found some great deals at Kohls!! I seem to not be able to post pics correctly.....so I need to consult a technical expert (AKA DH) and figure out how to properly post pics on here. I just realized none of my other photos are showing up. So Sorry! I will try to get it fixed and show you my cute formal/semi-formal dresses!
 


Brief update!!! Checked in for the 2 night secret cruise...got an 11:00 am port arrival time! Awesome! With such a short time on board, every minute counts. Our friends got the same arrival time. Sweeeeet!
 
So I have been so busy with life! Work and life!!! Since my last update, I was able to check in for our 7 night Fnatasy cruise. I got a 10:30am port arrival time which is awesome!! We can just get up and get on one of the first buses from the airport and be on that ship in no time. So exciting!

I also spent this last weekend at the DLR. we stayed at the Grand because my husband had a conference directly in the hotel. It was lovely, but so crowded in the parks. Thankfully, we are annual pass holders so we know how to function and still have fun in a crowded park. It was super nice to get a Disney Fix. They have a model of the Fantasy in the hotel lobby. We enjoyed looking at that and dreaming about our upcoming cruise!

So I have picked up some items for my kids travel backpacks. It is amazing how some new inexpensive items, like books, drawing pads, games,etc can keep your kids busy while flying or airport waiting. My kids really enjoy discovering what is in their travel backpack besides the boring essentials. I found these awesome books at Target that are completely empty. They are small bound books...about 16 pages I think. My kids love to draw and are both very artistic. So I thought it would be a fun idea for them to draw each day on one page. They can pick a favorite memory from that day and then at the end of our trip, they will have this awesome memory book. The blank books were only $3 for 4 in the package. I know my kids will be thrilled about writing and illustrating their own vacation story.
 
Howdy all.....checking back in with my trip plans. I have all of my excursions set up and scheduled. We are not doing any excursions on our 2 night cruise as I said before. We will just stay on board and enjoy. As for the 7 night, we will do the following:
Cozumel - Taking a taxi to Playa Mia Beach water park. Bought the tickets for the park from their website directly. Taxi to the location should be about $15 based on research.
Grand Cayman - Staying on board. Aqua duck. Take advantage of a little less crowded ship.
Falmouth, Jamaica - Private tour arranged with SNL Jamaican Tours. Found him here on the disboards. Great reviews and ratings. He will pick us up at the port and take us to the bobsled location and the zip line. He told me it would take about 6 hours to complete both activities.
Castaway Cay - enjoy the island and beach FUN FUN FUN!

The other thing I picked up today was medications for the trip. I know that sounds kind of random but it is an expense I can do now instead of right before my vacation. Since we will be on the cruise and I have children, I like to be prepared. I know you can buy medications or get access to them, but I prefer to have my own on hand.....peace of mind I suppose. Anyways, hopefully, I won't have to use anything on vacation that I bought, but just in case I am ready. Following is a list of the items I got. I will load these into a ziplock and pack it at the bottom of mY suitcase:

Tums
Advil (adult and children's)
Benadryl
Cough medicine
Dramamine (adult and children's)

I just find it is good to have these basic Meds when away from home. And if I don't use any of it, they can still be used back at home if necessary.
 
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Spring break folks! Yeah! That means we are down to the final quarter of the school year and the downhill run toward our trips! We are spending a few days at Dland for our spring break. It is so nice to be here and unplug from our usual crazy schedule. I haven't done too much trip planning lately. My fast pass window for our WDW portion of the trip opens up soon, so that is in the horizon. Very exciting to get those set. I have learned that Pandora opens up about a week before we arrive. Super awesome we will get to see it! Well maybe.....see how the crowds are for that.

In any case, I was just checking in. The next thing on my trip preparation list is formal wear and our pirate gear. I would like to have that altogether and ready for packing.
 
So........I got my cruise docs in the mail today for the "secret" cruise!!! YEAH!!! It is getting so close, and I am so excited to see my kids reaction. When you get the docs, it just makes it feel so real. Who is with me on that?!

Our 2 night sailing on the Wonder is........(drum roll please)........23 days away!! How is that possible?
Our 7 night sailing on the Fantasy is....(drum roll please)......38 days away!!! What??!! It always feels so far and now it is just around the corner.

Since I last posted, my Fastpass window for the WDW portion of the trip opened up. I hopefully made good choices on the scheduling of things. It is still so odd to me to plan that far out. I am a DLAND girl so we go that day or that afternoon and see where the wind takes us. Such a different animal at the WORLD. We will be there for 7 days/7 nights. I have the following parks planned:

Day 1 Hotel check in after getting off of the Fantasy...check out Disney Springs...dinner reservations there....laundry day too
Day 2 Magic Kingdom!! Be Our Guest lunch and 1900 Park Fare Dinner over at Grand Floridian
Day 3 Epcot....Rose and Crown Dinner reservation...perhaps midday break for resort pool..
Day 4 Blizzard Beach for half the day and Epcot for late afternoon/evening...Frozen ride Fastpass on this day...Coral Reef dinner reservation
Day 5 Animal Kingdom...Fastpass for one of the new Pandora rides....Hoop De Doo Dinner Revue/Show
Day 6 Hollywood Studios....Lunch reservation at Prime Time Cafe....evening is open????
Day 7 Magic Kingdom....gotta finish the trip off at this place....

At this point, I have piles for packing. Mostly, items I use for vacations only and don't want to forget. And of course, I might have a few lists around to keep me on track. As I said before, I have never gone on such a long vacation, so I am a little overwhelmed about the packing. I have also started figuring out household/business needs for while I am gone. Get all of the bills paid, what to do with the mail, all of these details.....
 
Yesterday, I took my mom shopping for the Walt Disney World portion of our trip. I wanted her to have new outfits to wear while on vacation. It is a big deal for my mom to go on this trip with the kids and I. She is very nervous about flying and is a home body....so traveling all the way to Florida from California on an airplane is a HUGE deal!!!! Anyways, it was fun to get her new clothes and see her excitement for the trip. She has been to Disneyland since its opening year, so it will be cool to show her Walt Disney World. I think she is most looking forward to seeing the Bear Country Jamboree again. We lost that at Dland to Winnie the Pooh several years ago. I tried to get my mom to go on the cruise with us too, but she said there was no way she could get on a boat and be out in the middle of the ocean. LOL In any case, she has some wonderful new clothes and a new suitcase for WDW.

So, I think this weekend I will pack up our pirate gear and personalized name cruise shirts. I can do all of this in front of my kids because they will think it is for our "big trip"....not knowing they will be stepping aboard the Wonder in just a few weeks. I like to use packing cubes. For me, it just keeps the suitcase neater and it is so nice to just pull out a cube for a person or for Formal Night and have everything together. I highly recommend them for your next trip. It is also a nice way to store/repack dirty clothes...keeping them away from clean clothes. I only started using packing cubes a couple of years ago and now I am hooked! It seems a little early to begin packing but my life (like so many others) is just jam packed. We own our own business and my daughter competes in gymnastics...to name a few things. This is my last "free" weekend before the secret cruise, so I need to make good use of my time by getting organized and packed some.

It is coming so quickly and I am just so excited!!!
 
I am so excited for your mom and her new outfits. :jumping1:

Did you get her some packing cubes as well? I love them myself.
 
Newest update.....got my cruise docs for the 7 night cruise. Yippee!!! I also pulled out the suitcases from the closet. It is getting real now. One month from today we will be on the Fantasy....ahhh vacation and relaxation. Now I have to get myself in gear and focus on our business, so I can enjoy this vacation. I still need to close out March and April accounting.
 
Mickey mail today!!! We received our luggage tags for Magical Express. These will actually be used by my mom for her trip from LAX to Orlando to the Contemporary.

I can't believe we will be on the Wonder in one week. My kids still have no idea about this surprise cruise. Going to be great to see their reactions and disbelief at the reveal. We have transportation for all 8 of us to the port and home again. On our way home we are going to stop for Mothers Day brunch at the Mission Inn in Riverside CA. It should be a lovely Mother's Day weekend. There is a storm getting ready to move into Southern California, but it should move through before we step foot on the Wonder. Checked out the 10 day forecast for Ensenada and high is 80! Ahhh perfect weather for our San Diego 2 night cruise.
 
Thanks for the suggestion! I ordered her some and they arrived today!
Don't know about packing cubes. Sounds interesting.Do u have a link to check it out? In past sometimes I use the larger ziplock style clear bags - i like to be able to see everything
 
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