Two 20-somethings take on the Eastern Caribbean (Or reasons we are thankful to go DCL without kids)

[Flipflopgirl27]

Hi y’all

After reading so many wonderful trips reports on this thread, I decided to share my experiences on the July 16th Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. I hope you enjoy reading this cruise report! So, without further ado…


Two twenty-somethings take on the Eastern Caribbean… (Or the reasons we were thankful to take a Disney Cruise without children)


Now, do not get me wrong, I love children. I teach first grade and I look forward taking my future children on DCL. I looked at couples who navigated their families on this trip with awe and respect. You guys are my heros. We also had plenty of friends and family who thought it was rather weird for two 24 year olds to travel on a Disney cruise alone. So, it became our running joke to count all the reasons we were thankful to take a Disney Cruise without children.


So who are these two twenty-somethings cruising without children?

Well there’s me, Sam. I love all things Disney and have a well-established relationship with my inner child. As mentioned above, I have spent my whole life in Maryland. This cruise was a wonderful way to celebrate the completion of my first year teaching. I survived (I’m not sure how), but I drank plenty of well-deserved drinks on this trip.

Then there’s my boyfriend of almost 8 years, Josh. Josh works in the tech industry. He tolerates my obsession with Disney, usually with a slightly bemused look on his face. However, he is well-versed in relaxing and savouring delicious food, which is perfect for a week long cruise.

So… how did these two twenty somethings end up on this lovely cruise?

It all began two years ago. I had never cruised before and, after some poor experiences on Carnival and Royal Caribbean, Josh had sworn off cruising. Therefore, I was surprised when Josh and his mother gifted me a ticket on their family’s 4 night Bahamian cruise on the Magic. It was an amazing gift.

To no one’s surprise, we were hooked and I started dreaming of our next cruise the minute we left the ship.

Fast forwarding to October 2015, we were celebrating our 7th anniversary. We were having a lovely dinner at the Melting Pot when Josh handed me my gift. I unwrapped the package and there was….a new iPhone box.

I sat there pretty shocked. I really don’t care for electronics (unlike my tech obsessed boyfriend) and I couldn’t believe he would spend 600 dollars on me.

Obviously noticing my shocked expression, Josh encouraged me to open the box. He had that slightly bemused look on his face.

So I open it up and there is a cute origami boat. Josh proceeded to tell me he had booked us an Eastern Caribbean cruise in July. I think I cried tears of joy into our chocolate fondue. It was the sweetest, most ridiculous gift I had ever received. I am so blessed (and a bit spoiled).


So began the 9-month journey to our cruise. It was the hardest year of my life and this countdown was the only thing that kept me going.


And, before I knew it, it was time to pack our bags and set off on our adventure.

 

[starousse]

Joining in

 

[SonyaShay]

I am here to read along! I don't comment much but I read all trip report updates!

 

[CupcakeLisa]

sound like it is going to be a great adventure

 

[Flipflopgirl27]

Welcome cupcakelisa, sonyashay, starousse! Thanks for joining!

 

[Flipflopgirl27]

Reason #1 – Navigating an airport is stressful and boring enough with two adults.

Our adventure started the Friday before our cruise (July 15). After much discussion, Josh and I decided to fly down on JetBlue the day before and stay at the Hyatt in the Orlando Airport. The decision saved us money and eased my fears of missing the “Mickey Boat”. It ended up being a smart decision since this was when the Southwest fiasco occurred.

We arrived at BWI and found out our flight had been delayed. This was reassuring because the line for security was massive! Thankfully it only took around 15 minutes. We had planned to eat at the Orlando airport, but decided it was better to eat a lunch at the Green Turtle in BWI while we waited. We enjoyed our very Maryland meal of chicken fingers and crab dip flatbread with tons of Old Bay. Then we strolled to our gate and began the wait.

After what felt like forever, we were finally able to board! JetBlue was wonderful and gave complimentary movies and future flight coupons to make up for the delay. At this point, I was not worried because I was going to be in Orlando in two short hours!

The flight was very uneventful. I am usually very uncomfortable when flying because of ear pressure issues. However, this flight was practically pain free! It helped being distracted by our free movie, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2”.

By the time the movie ended, we were starting our descent, around 9:00 pm. We had a smooth landing, but we flew parallel to an intense lightning storm. It was so cool to watch the storm develop next to us, rather than above us. We easily got off the plane, collected our luggage, and checked into the hotel.

Reason #2 – We could get in the pool as late as we wanted!

With our late flight, staying at the MCO Hyatt was a wonderful idea. The hotel and its rooms are gorgeous. The room was very large and the bed was amazing! It almost rivaled our bed on the Fantasy. I highly recommend this hotel. However, I would reserve a room early. I managed to get our room for under $200 after taxes and fees, but I found that cost went up quite a bit when I checked again in June.

It was 10 pm when we finally were settled in our room. Imagine my surprise when I looked out our window and saw we were right next to the pool! (We were on floor 6) I was too excited to go to bed, so we ran out and stuck our feet in the pool. This was a terrible idea since the water was so high; my shorts were immediately soaked. However, I decided I was an adult and I could do what I want on my vacation, so I was going to go swimming (and you know, because the pool didn’t close until 11pm). Josh decided to watch me with that bemused look on his face as I swam around. The water was the perfect bathtub temperature and I was the only one in the pool for the entire hour. It was my idea of luxury.


Before I knew it, the 11 o’clock hour was upon us and it was time to get out of the pool. It was a nice treat, even though I may have spent precious time in the morning using the hair dryer to try to finish drying my swimsuit.

We finished organizing our checked bags and carry-ons for the cruise and drifted off to a blissful sleep.

Up next! Time for the "mickey boat"!

 

[Bettyscruise]

We two sixty somethings, on a childless cruise in September, will enjoy reading of your adventure. So far so good...

 

[WDWChloe]

We'll be two twenty somethings in September! Eastern Caribbean too ^_^ enjoying your TR!

 

[Madzac]

Following along! We were on the same cruise with you... missing it so much!!!

That lightning storm was something else! We did one day at Magic Kingdom before our cruise and they closed a lot of things down for a bit and delayed the electric parade because of it.

 

[RMaas1]

Joining in, Go Ravens!

 

[ZFamily5]

Joining in! Did you do tour the Baths in Virgin Gorda? If so, I think our family was right behind you going through the caves!

 

[egesicki]

Following! We've been on the Dream and Wonder, Magic coming up in November, and would love to book something on the Fantasy. Of course when the new ships come out I'll have to try those too!

 

[tink1970]

DH and I are 50/40-somethings and often cruise DCL without DD (15). So you are not alone...there is just something about Disney's cruise ships that has worked magic on my formerly cruise adverse DH! We just returned from the Dream for our anniversary trip and are headed to Europe next summer. Looking forward to reading more of your report

PS Bless you for teaching. I couldn't last a day in a room full of 6 and 7 year olds!

 

[franandaj]

We are two folks who could both have AARP memberships (if we wanted) and have been on 8 Disney Cruises! Our next is an EB Caribbean on the Fantasy in February, the last ship (of the current fleet) to cross off our list. I've been looking for Trip Reports on this itinerary.

Your post about the Hyatt reminded me that I need to take care of that, and hopped over to their website and my jaw dropped! $350 per night it was only $189 when we stayed there before our cruise on the Dream. I think we may need to formulate another plan.

 

[EpicBilynn]

Following along! Cruising with two friends in September next year and we've been considering flying out the day before or the morning of. I'm going to look into the Hyatt and keep an eye on rates.

 

[cheermom2four]

Following!!! DH and I went on our first Disney cruise without our kids and boy were we glad we did!!! It was so relaxing and we really didnt notice all the other kids. This next one coming up in September we will be bringing our two youngest (yikes) so it will be a whole different experience.

 

[Flipflopgirl27]

Reason #3 - We can take our time getting to the "Mickey Boat"

It was finally time.



After reorganizing my bags another dozen times, fretting over my outfits (“You are getting on a boat, does it really matter what you wear?”), and bouncing around the hotel, we were finally ready to leave. Josh was extremely nervous about leaving our luggage in our room and called down to the front desk to confirm pick-up. There was no need to be worried; the gigantic cart was coming around as we left.

Now, you know those Snickers commercials about being hungry? Yeah, that’s me. So, I knew there was no way I would make it until lunch without food. Thankfully, Orlando Airport has a Chick-fil-A before security. I highly recommend getting there early because the line got enormous right after we arrived. I was sad there was no chicken-minis, but we left happy and full. We headed down to Disney Transportation around 10 AM. We were not in a particular rush to be the first ones on the boat, since we enjoyed sleeping in on the first full day of vacation. There were three buses lined up, so we waited around 10 minutes before we boarded an empty bus.





Disney Transportation was the most stress-free and economical choice for two adults, but it is not a very comfortable option. Josh is 6’2”, so we crammed in our two seats. However, I did not care. I had my Mickey cartoons and I knew what was waiting for me at the end of this trip. The ride was, thankfully, uneventful. I started getting excited as I started seeing waterways and boats. I knew we were close to the coast. Then, that beautiful ship came into view.




I felt like the time between seeing the ship and driving into the port took forever. However, I am just impatient and it probably took 5 minutes in reality. I do love how smooth Disney made it the check-in process. Everyone flowed from the bus to security, to the check-in desk. The port was already bustling and packed, but I knew it was close to the first group being called to board. While the returning passenger line was fairly short, I was amazed at the “first timers” line. It was massive. No wonder Disney can keep raising their prices!

We (and by we, I mean, me) had forgotten to print the cruising documents prior to the website closing for our cruise. Josh made plenty of jokes at my expense. However, thanks to a last minute search on DISboards (bless this site), I knew the check-in attendant would print them for us. So, if that happens to you, don’t worry- Disney will take care of you!


I liked leaving the “returning passenger” line because it dumps you out right at the entrance to the ship. We waited for a few minutes and browsed our first Navigator. We had boarding number 6, which was quickly called. We crawled through the gangplank, and we got our picture taken, and we had finally made it to the Mickey Boat!!!

However, we had a problem. Josh and I are not married and therefore, have two separate names. What family name would they announce when we board? As we waited, we tried every combination of our first and last name. So, we settled on, “The Skywalker family.” We giggled, the cast members laughed…it was a wonderful start.

Reason #4 - We can run errands on the first day together without worrying about who will take the kids to the pool

Upon boarding, we had a plan: tasting, kid’s club open house, and dining changes. We were not particularly hungry with Chick-fil-a still in our stomachs, so we would wait on food. So we went up to Deck 4 to La Piazza to register for some alcohol tastings. On our Bahama cruise, we barely had time to breath, let alone attend a drink tasting. However, at the start of our 7-day voyage, we felt like we had all the time in the world. (Believe me, I felt very differently on Day 6). We knew we wanted Mixology, but we did not want it to interfere with our Palo reservation tomorrow. So we selected a 3pm Mixology class in Meridian on our second sea day. I encouraged Josh to look over the menu and see if there was another class he wanted. The Mojito and Caipirinha class caught his eye. I was disappointed to see it only offered on Castaway Cay. I did not really want to give up our time on my favorite destination, but Josh rarely asks for anything, so I agreed. We swiped our card (which is too easy) and we were on our way. We still were not particularly hungry, so I pulled Josh to the Kid’s Open House.



Can I just say I am envious of all the kids that get to cruise Disney and enjoy that magical club? I would have never left as a child. My favorite was the automatic hand-washers. I want one in my house. You just slide your hands in and whirling brushes scrub and rinse your hands for you. I may have washed my hands 4 times while we were at the club.



After we went to change our Remy reservation and ensure we had a private table for dinner at Royal Palace. The staff easily made the changes with minimal wait. As we were waiting, I glanced a little closer at my Key to the World card and realized my name was spelled wrong! So we had to add another stop to our list and go to guest services.

At this point, it was around 1:20, so we decided to make our way up to our room, 6570. They were late opening the rooms and I started to feel sick and claustrophobic. More people kept pouring out of the elevators and there is only so much room in-between the two hallways. We waited until 1:45. However, when the rooms finally opened, we didn’t have far to walk, we were the first door!

The room was lovely and everything we have come to expect of Disney. We had a beautiful big balcony and the bed was heavenly. We are looking into buying that bed when we move out. I was worried about the noise level being right off the elevator lobby, but we rarely heard excessive noise. It was wonderful to be so close to the stairs and elevator, especially coming back exhausted from port days. A note to anyone looking at this room, we did have lifeboats directly below us, but we didn’t mind. We still had amazing views everyday. I would go back to that room in a heart beat.

 

[Flipflopgirl27]

Following!!! DH and I went on our first Disney cruise without our kids and boy were we glad we did!!! It was so relaxing and we really didnt notice all the other kids. This next one coming up in September we will be bringing our two youngest (yikes) so it will be a whole different experience.

You're so close! Have fun! I can't wait to take future children on the cruise, but I'm blessed for the time alone right now!

 

[Flipflopgirl27]

Following along! Cruising with two friends in September next year and we've been considering flying out the day before or the morning of. I'm going to look into the Hyatt and keep an eye on rates.

Welcome! I've done both. I'm thankful for the good deal, because I felt much more relaxed flying in the night before. When we flew in the morning of, I took a long nap after lunch! But either way, it's just good to be on a Disney cruise!

 

[Flipflopgirl27]

We are two folks who could both have AARP memberships (if we wanted) and have been on 8 Disney Cruises! Our next is an EB Caribbean on the Fantasy in February, the last ship (of the current fleet) to cross off our list. I've been looking for Trip Reports on this itinerary.

Your post about the Hyatt reminded me that I need to take care of that, and hopped over to their website and my jaw dropped! $350 per night it was only $189 when we stayed there before our cruise on the Dream. I think we may need to formulate another plan.

I hope you love the Fantasy and the Eastern Caribbean. It was so relaxing. But 350 for the Hyatt is ridiculous! We paid about $189 as well! However, there are some other hotels nearby with shuttles that were affordable. Hope something works out for your guys!