****I was invited to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Land and Sea Celebration conference. I paid a conference fee to attend. I received a discounted rate for my stay. All opinions are my own. I have not been compensated or asked to post about Disney.****
February was a big
month for me I recently had a milestone birthday my family and I visited London
and Paris and I got to go on my very first cruise. Yes the very first, I have
never been on a ship before (well if you count the Queen Mary.. but that was
docked and did not go anywhere) and my very first cruise was going to be a Disney Cruise! As part of the
Disney Social Media Moms Conference, there would be fun on land and a great
adventure on sea. One of the things I have always wanted to do is go on a
cruise, and this was a big thing for me to have this dream come true.
Since
this was my first cruise I was a bit concerned, what to pack? Will I get sick? How
will the experience with the ship be? I was nervously exited, but I should not
have worried, I was traveling with my mom a seasoned cruiser and Disney had
everything planned. Before I knew it our land portion of the conference was
finished we were set to leave our wonderful stay at Disney’s Coronado Springs and head on to the bus to set off the cruise
terminal.
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Photo credit: "Disney, Photographer: Alex Mirabal". |
As we filed into the
bus, it really hit me I was headed to a Disney Cruise, the ultimate of all
cruises! I have heard such great stories of families traveling on Disney
Cruises, and the magic they experience. I knew this was going to be a cruise
like no other (well I had no other, but I knew if I had others in the future
this would be the high water mark that other would have to try to live up to)
an adventure with mother and daughter filled with fun and magic. The ride from
the resort to Cape Canaveral took about an hour, not bad at all. Then before I
knew it we well pulling into the cruise terminal and you could see her, The
Disney Dream!
Arriving and being processed
at the terminal was pretty easy, we were there early and the lines weren’t long.
When we checked in we were each given our “Key to the World” card, this
card would have all we needed for the cruise, use it to charge, use it to get
on and off the boat, to open your stateroom. This card was one of the most
important thing you needed on the cruise. The longest we waited was to board
the ship, we were in boarding zone 4. When you check in you get a zone and
board accordingly, from zone 1 on.
The
announcement said “Zone 4 boarding” and my heart was fluttering with
excitement, just one more line and we were on the ship. As soon as we crossed
the dock and were boarding we were asked how we would like to be announced, and
then they greeted us via the microphone by name while a crew of cast members
applauded us as we boarded, it was a magical beginning to the cruise. The main
staircase and area of the boat was breathtaking. The chandelier oh it was so beautiful,
my pictures do not do it justice the color was so vibrant and the whole area
looked so regal.
What was the first
thing we did as soon as we boarded the cruise? Well we ate of course! I have
heard stories about the abundance of food on a cruise, and boy those stories
were true! We headed right off to the buffet at Cabanas for lunch.