PTR 7/8/12: It all started with a Dream that became Magic!

[Laurie12820]

Hi there! My name is Laurie, I'm 28 and I'm a cruise fanatic!

The rest of my crew includes my husband Jerry, also 28, and our beautiful daughter Cassie who is 2 1/2 years old.

We are from Massachusetts and looking forward to our first family cruise!
That's right, this will be Cassie's first cruise EVER!

So, you're probably wondering what the title means...I've been "Loyal to Royal (Caribbean)" since I began cruising back in 2002. Ever since then, I have been fascinated with cruising, cruise lines, cruise ships...pretty much anything cruise related. When Royal Caribbean launched the Freedom of the Seas, they made a stop in Boston and I dragged DH up to Boston just to see her! So, when we heard about Disney's new ship, the Dream, I just had to see her when we were in Florida last June. I had been reading about the new ship and all of the wonderful amenities it would have. During my reading and researching DCL I read that the Magic would be making NYC it's home port for a portion of 2012. We were thinking of taking a cruise in 2012, but didn't really have the extra money to fly to FL. So, I thought, why not cruise DCL out of NYC?! I knew I'd have to work on DH a bit. He likes Disney, but he's hesitant to cruise with anyone other than RCCL. With all of this excitement, I planned a drive to Port Canaveral last June while we were vacationing in Vero Beach just to see the Dream. She was breathtaking!

As soon as we saw her we knew that cruising on the Magic would be a fantastic idea! As soon as we got home from FL, we logged onto the DCL website and booked a 5-Night New England/Canada cruise on the Magic. I was beyond excited! We hadn't cruised since I was 9 weeks pregnant back in Jan of 2009. So, this is how it all started with a Dream, that became Magic for us!

 

[Laurie12820]

Meet the Crew
99 Days
71 Days
36 Days to Go!
Fish Extender​

 

[Laurie12820]

101 Days to go! Kind of like that great movie, 101 Dalmatians! Post for today is: Meet the Crew!

Laurie: Wife, Mom and Teacher by day
Favorite Disney Character: Tinkerbell
Favorite Disney Movie: Tie between The Little Mermaid and Aladdin

Jerry: Husband, Dad and Technology Whiz
Favorite Disney Character: Sorcerer Mickey
Favorite Disney Movie: Aristocats

Cassie: Daughter and Active Toddler
Favorite Disney Character: Tigger
Favorite Disney Movie: I don't think she sits still long enough for any of them. She's a fan of Disney music though!​

 

[Laurie12820]

Mickey Mouse called us today to help kick start our massive countdown we made! DD loved hearing Mickey's voice on the phone. She kept asking if we were going on the Mickey boat today, but, we had to explain to her that we needed to fill the countdown in first. Her reaction was priceless! We'll be heading to Target later to use our RedCard 5% off perk on some Disney gift cards to help pay off the cruise. Less than a month until we can book Palo and the Nursery!

 

[Laurie12820]

71 days to go! Our countdown is filling up! Cassie reminds me every day that we need to put a number up, it is too cute!

The biggest news of the day is..............
We applied for Cassie's passport! Should be here within 4-6 weeks!

Things are becoming more and more official!

In the past few days we have secured our boarding time: 11:30-12:00; we have booked a Palo dinner and a few hours of Flounder's Reef time for Cassie.

We are debating getting a couple Rainforest passes for ourselves and a few more hours for Cassie in Flounders.

 

[Cheryl726]

Hello neighbor (from RI here!) You will have a blast on DCL. They are so good to the kids, we don't have experience with the nursery but Oceaneer's Club and Lab is filled with things to do! I haven't read a New England TR before so I"m looking forward to your details.

 

[Laurie12820]

Hello neighbor! We are so excited for our cruise!

 

[Laurie12820]

We are waiting with baited breath to hear how the first cruise out of NYC went. Although they didn't go to Canada, we are interested to hear about parking/embarkation/debarkation/the terminal, etc.

In other news, Cassie's passport arrived within a week and a half of applying for it!

I have created a Disney-esque outfit planning sheet. I want use to be color coordinated for dinner and prepared for Pirate Night and Palo. Here it is:

Here is what I have left to do:

• Organize Magnet Documents
• Print Magnets
• Make FE Gifts
• Coordinate Dinner Outfits
• Get Pirate Outfits
• Get a Passport Holder
• Buy Disney Magic Vinylmation to have signed at Guest Services
• Buy Photograph Package
• Determine what to do in Port
• PACK!

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

Well Laurie (my name, too!), you are showing yourself to be a very talented DIS/DCL addict as well! I can't wait to hear your reaction to DCL as compared to your RCCL cruises. Of course, sailing with a little one makes it very different, too. We are coming up on our first ever cruise but I'm already addicted. I promise to do some sort of TR so that all you NY-Canada cruisers can see what it was like for us! We sail on June 17th, the second Canada cruise to go out!

 

[Laurie12820]

Well Laurie (my name, too!), you are showing yourself to be a very talented DIS/DCL addict as well! I can't wait to hear your reaction to DCL as compared to your RCCL cruises. Of course, sailing with a little one makes it very different, too. We are coming up on our first ever cruise but I'm already addicted. I promise to do some sort of TR so that all you NY-Canada cruisers can see what it was like for us! We sail on June 17th, the second Canada cruise to go out!

YAY! I've been reading your PTR and will be waiting to hear all about your cruise!

 

[Laurie12820]

A very talented co-worker of my Mom's offered to make our FE for us. I showed my Mom a picture and had asked if she would do it, because she can sew, but she showed it to her awesome co-worker who said she'd do it for her! She totally nailed it and it is adorable! Here it is!:

 

[Laurie12820]

22 days to go and we are getting soooooooo excited! I'm sure I've gone overboard but I've already started planning out our outfits. Both day time and dinner time! It's mostly my DD's and my dresses for dinner. We need to do some shopping for DH! Here are some pictures:

Embarkation day:

Embarkation Day Dinner:

Another Dinner:

Our Palo Night:

Dinner:

Last Dinner:

In addition to our Palo dinner, we have now secured reservations for Palo tea. I've always wanted to do a high tea, especially on a cruise ship! I just hope DD will enjoy the nursery and not be bored to tears. She'll be a month shy of 3!

We still don't have a plan of action for the port days. We are just going to play it by ear.

Can't wait....only 22 more days!

 

[Laurie12820]

Just finished printing and cutting out the magnets. Thank goodness for being a teacher and having Summer vacation. It took me a couple of days to organize, size, print and cut these out!

Captain Mickey:

Pirate Mickey:

Sorcerer Mickey:

Minnie!:

Statue of Liberty Minnie:

The rest of the magnets:

Just need to say thank you to all of the wonderful DISigners who created a lot of these magnets!