A Little Something to Remember Our Trip

I picked up a little something to remember our trip...

Dooney & Bourke Disney Fantasy

Inaugural Cruise Tote

The pictures don't really do this bag justice! I love the colors and that it has the Fantasy and the Wonder (the two ships we've sailed on) prominently on both the front and the back. 

My only gripe is that it's missing the stitched leather Dooney & Bourke logo that is on the prototype pictures:

So, after speaking with several people at both Dooney & Bourke and Disney Merchandising, I'm going to send it in for "repair." Disney Merchandising offered to replace the whole bag, which is not what I wanted due to placement. Dooney & Bourke offered to take the bag I have and stitch the logo onto the bag. The only catch is that I would have to wait until the end of July, because their repair shop closes for a month. 

So, I'll have to miss my beautiful tote for a little while, but I think it will be worth the wait!

Disney Fantasy Stateroom 8086

Marc and I were totally impressed with our stateroom! It was beautiful and extremely clean. And those extra square feet made the stateroom feel so much bigger.

We were located on the 8th deck right off the midship elevator, which made everything on the ship easy to access. The drink station was just a few floors up, and since the restaurants and theaters are either forward or aft, everything was a quick walk. The midship elevators also seemed less crowded than the forward and aft elevators. 

The Best-Dressed Door

We loved the beds on this ship!

The Fold-Out Sofa and Chair

The Verandah

Closet Space

And More Closet Space

One Side of the Split Bathroom

The Other Side of the Split Bathroom

The New Rounded Showers

Loved the Rainfall Shower Head!

Looking Back from the Other Side

We think this was a bunny. (?)

A Monkey?

It's all in the details! Pillow in the morning...

Pillow at night!

The Back of Our Stateroom Door

I think having a Category 4B stateroom has really spoiled us! We loved the space, and so much more, we loved the location!

Think We Have Enough?

We have a plan for this candy! It's going on the cruise with us, and we're planning to snack on it while watching movies!

One of Marc's favorite things to do is watch movies, and he's in luck, because the Buena Vista Theater on the Disney Fantasy plays first run movies as well as Disney classics. What does that mean? We're going to be watching a few! And what do you need at every theater besides popcorn? Candy!!!

Marc has his list all made out, and of course, it includes The Avengers. (We haven't had time to see it since it opened, and now I'm glad we didn't!) We'll also still be on the ship for the PremEAR of Brave, Disney's newest movie. I'm sure we'll go to the 12:01am showing since all we're planning to do that day is lounge at Castaway Cay. I'm so excited!

Our Fish Extender

One of my friends makes and sells fish extenders. As soon as we booked the cruise, I contacted her to see if she would make a customized one for me. I found one that I liked on the internet, and she worked with me to change a few things that I didn't like. 

She was slammed with last-minute orders for June! However, she came through for me, and I met her in Athens to pick it up last Saturday. She did an awesome job! 

Our Fish Extender

And Just When You Thought...

There couldn't be more magnets...We made more!!! 

Marc and I were bored yesterday so we decided to try making Disney characters using my Cricut machine. I think they came out really cute!

After Marc got bored, I kept making more magnets. This time I used my "Life's a Beach" cartridge and made beachy stuff. And then I ran out of magnets so I think we're finished!

Fish Extender Gifts - Part 2

Last summer, Marc and I found these whiteboards at Staples for $1.00 each. We decided to buy 40 of them to put away for future fish extender gifts. I used my Cricut machine to cut out the waves and cruise ships, assembled them, added Mickey heads, and laminated them. 

This is the finished gift:

So, guess how many staterooms are in our fish extender group? Exactly 40! Seems like this cruise was meant to be!

Magnets, Magnets, and More Magnets!

The night we booked our cruise, I started making magnets for stateroom door. Millie, one of the nice ladies from DisBoards, has a 4shared account with all kinds of graphic designs. I saved some of the ones I liked, then I used PowerPoint to personalize them. It was so easy, and I think they turned out really cute!

I'm not planning to put them all up at once. (We are so not THOSE people!) I have different ones for Pirates Night and Castaway Cay, and I plan to rotate those in and out. Come to think of it, maybe I should have made some for Formal Night and Semi-Formal Night. Oh well, there's always next time!


These are my absolute favorites!

They're all packed away and ready to go! I think we'll have a very well-dressed door!

Fish Extender Gifts - Part 1

One of the things we missed out on during our first cruise was participating in a fish extender group. A fish extender is a pocket or set of pockets that hangs from the fish outside your stateroom door, like so:

Then, you exchange gifts with other passengers in your fish extender group. There are no rules about what should be given or when so you never know what you'll get. (Think stocking stuffers on Christmas morning!) Some people give stateroom gifts, some give to each person in the room, and some give only to the kids. Some people only give one gift during the cruise while others give a few gifts or even something every day. 

So, Marc and I have decided to do two small gifts and one large gift for each stateroom. (Keep in mind that we've only known about this cruise since May 8 so we needed to choose simple gifts that didn't require a lot of time!!!)

For the first gift, we decided to take it easy. I've been experimenting with making subway art since January and finally found a photo-editing program that I love called PicMonkey! I started off with a blank white picture and added text and stamps until I came up with this:

Then I saved it to my trusty Pink Piggy and ordered some prints from Sam's Club. (A mere 13 cents each! Well, the ones I actually paid for. I got 25 free prints with my order!) I stopped by Hobby Lobby on the way and bought some bright card stock mats and magnetic tape. All that was left was the assembly.

The finished product...Disney Fantasy Subway Art Magnets!!!

Our Home Away from Home

This will be our home away from home for one glorious week in June! We will be sailing on the Disney's newest ship, the Disney Fantasy.

Disney Fantasy

The Bow of the Ship

The Atrium Lobby

Because Disney Cruise Line offered a great deal on staterooms with verandahs, we'll be staying in a Class 4B stateroom on the 8th Deck. This is bigger than the stateroom we were in on our Disney Wonder cruise so I can't wait to see what it looks like!

Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom 

with Verandah

We're also excited to try out the AquaDuck! Hopefully, the lines won't be too long.

AquaDuck 

Our last port during the cruise will be at Castaway Cay. The last time we were there, it was a little too cold and windy to be able to enjoy the water. This time, though, it will definitely be warm enough!

Disney Fantasy at Castaway Cay

We are really looking forward to enjoying our home away from home!

And Another Excursion Booked!

We're going snorkeling! 

Marc and I are going to do something that we've never done. We're sailing on a catamaran from St. Thomas to St. John, and then we're going to snorkel. 

Since we're in St. Thomas for such a short time, we decided to book our excursion at this port through Disney Cruise Line. It's a little bit of added insurance that if for some reason we're running late getting back to the ship, they won't leave without us. Wouldn't want that to happen!

We booked the St. John Champagne Catamaran Sail and Snorkel. We'll get to take a short ride on an open-air safari vehicle to a marina. Then we'll sail for about an hour on a catamaran from St. Thomas to St. John where we'll get to snorkel and explore a coral reef. We can also choose to swim or take a dingy to the beach. Fun stuff! On the sail back, you get champagne, fruits, cheeses, breads, and crackers. 

I'm so excited about being able to not only sail and snorkel but to be able to see the islands. My camera is going to get a workout!

I Can't Believe We Just Did This!

We booked a cruise on the Disney Fantasy next month!!!

Marc and I had been looking at July cruises on the Disney Dream and had narrowed it down to a 5-night Castaway Cay double-dip. We weren't thrilled about going back to Nassau, but we really needed to get away. The past few months have been so hectic (and emotional!) that we needed the break!

So, tonight I got an email about a FANTASTIC(!!!) deal for the Disney Fantasy. We could book any stateroom room with a verandah, excluding concierge and suites, for a really great price. I was on the phone for almost an hour, but we were able to book a 7-night cruise for the same price as a 5-night cruise. The best part? We're going to St. Maarten and St. Thomas/St. John!!! 

Let the obsessive planning begin!!!

Life List for Traveling

Some people have a bucket list. I prefer to have a life list...things I want to do over the next few years. I've been adding things to a list for a little while and crossing things off when I've accomplished them. One of the themes that stands out the most is travel.

So, here's my life list for traveling:

1. Visit all 50 United States.

I'm a little less than halfway there!

2. Take an Alaskan cruise.

Marc has been to Alaska, and after 

seeing his pictures, I want to go to!

3. Take a cruise on all four Disney ships.

We've already sailed on the Wonder.

4. See the Grand Canyon.

The immensity alone would be worth it.

5. See the fall leaves in Maine.

I've been in New England during the fall, 

and the leaves are stunning!

6. Go to Disneyland/California Adventure.

To see where it all began.

7. Drive Route 1 from Florida to Maine.

We've driven parts of it here and there,

and there's no better way to see the East coast.

8. Visit the Neuschwanstein Castle.

It was the inspiration for Sleeping 

Beauty's castle in Disneyland.

9. Visit 10 different countries.

(Two down, eight to go!)

10. Visit six continents.

(Sorry Antarctica, but I'll have to take a pass on you!)