Dining Magic

It all starts with black & white

As previously mentioned, our first night on the ship called for us to eat in Animator’s Palette.  For those of you who haven’t sailed with Disney Cruise Line before, or if you have but have only sailed on the more recent ships (Disney Dream or Disney Fantasy), the three dining rooms onboard the Disney Magic are Animator’s Palette (A), Parrot Cay (P) and Lumiere’s (L).  Disney Cruise Line revolutionized the industry back when the Disney Magic was first introduced by offering “rotational dining”, whereby each night you eat in a different restaurant/dining room.  You either have the main (early) or second (late) seating, and each night you and your wait staff, move to another location.  How neat is that?!  That’s pretty neat.  We were on the second seating, and our rotation was A, P, L, A, P, L, A.  And with the information about Animator’s Palette only undergoing the beautiful transformation from “black & white” to “color” on your first time dining in that location, we absolutely had to eat there the first night.  Plus we wanted to be able to meet our table mates as well.  

Animator's Palette soon after we arrived

The transformation has begun

Traveling without children meant that we would be eating with other guests, for certain.  We would either be with 2, 4 or 6 other guests.  We ended up at a table for 8, so 6 other guests.  None of them had children.  There was one couple - also traveling without their children, and then two pairs of women, each traveling separately but with a friend.  As it turned out, too, our table was filled with travel professionals!  You can imagine then what a good amount of our table conversation throughout the week consisted off – especially on that first night.  But throughout the course of the week we had such a good time getting to know each other better, sharing life stories and just laughing and laughing.  That definitely was something we would not have experienced had we brought the children along on the voyage.  Instead of mixing and mingling with 6 other adults, we would have most likely been situated at a table for 6, with an empty chair throughout the week. 

Derrick & Dennis

Dennis, our server, and Derrick, our assistant server took fantastic care of all of us throughout the voyage.  They sure made each meal fun, interesting and quite enjoyable.  We learned that Dennis had been with Disney Cruise Line since its’ inception, and in fact was on the inaugural crew for the Magic – and despite offers, has never transferred to another ship.  He really enjoys the smaller, more intimate feel of the Magic, vs. the grander scale of the Dream and the Fantasy.  He has considered the Wonder, but really loves the Magic.  Derrick, on the other hand, had only been with the line for about 7 months and does want to sample other ships when he is able to at some point in the future, but until then really enjoys working onboard the Magic.

My lovely bride's appetizer:
Sesame-flavored Rock Shrimp &
Caramelized Onion Cheesecake

Confetti Tomato Salad

The rotational concept really does add a lot to the overall cruise vacation experience, in my opinion.  First, you get to sample the various designs and stylings of each dining room that the imagineers went to great lengths to include when crafting the ship; and then you also get the fun and vibe that each location brings, through different costumes for the servers, music and overall ambiance.  Plus the menu selections vary somewhat based on the individual dining rooms as well.  Having cruised before (just me, not my lovely bride), I enjoyed that my server in the dining room kind of knew by the end of the cruise what I wanted to drink – but onboard the Disney ship – WOW – by the second day Derrick, was bringing us the correct beverages, and by the third night Dennis was intuiting what each guest at the table would enjoy best from the menu selection.  He had a pretty darn good accuracy rate too after just a couple of meals – well over 60%.  By the last couple of nights he was 100% correct, from appetizer selection, to entrees and dessert.  It was almost fun to “test” him and see how he would do. 

The artwork over our table
by the end of the meal

The artwork over our table
when we sat down

Dessert Trio Sampler (I didn't get a
dessert menu picture, so I can't
tell you exactly what these are)

I have more to share on the dining aspect, but am going to save those things for another entry.  So for now, I bid you adieu, or as Mickey likes to say, see ya real soon!

Until next time,

 

A Magical Stateroom

Upon boarding the ship, the beautiful Disney Magic, it was truly magical to hear our name announced in the Central Atrium.  As we had been working our way up the gangway to the ship’s entry, while we didn’t quite know what exactly what we would do at first, I had read in the “Personal Navigator”, the daily newsletter given to us while still in the terminal, that until 3:30 pm we could talk with the Dining personnel regarding any changes we’d like to make.  We had a dinner reservation for Palo – for the very first night – which I was not overly thrilled about.  But it was the only one that I could get when I made the reservation.  Nothing else was available through the online system.  Even when I phoned to talk to someone, that’s “all” they had. 

I had also previously heard that Animator’s Palette undergoes a beautiful transformation from “black & white” to “color”, but only on the first evening you dine in that restaurant.  As luck would have it, we were scheduled to dine in Animator’s Palette that evening, except for the fact that we were going to Palo.  Our first destination was Rockin’ Bar D, right there on Deck 3, just forward of the Central Atrium, where we could ask about reservation changes.   “No problem”,  “whatever you want”,  and “when would you like to dine with us?” were the wonderful phrases that Palo’s manager had to say when we inquired.  Not only did he say these things, but he gave us multiple time options when we said we would like to switch it to the second night.  Now that was a wonderful beginning to our cruise!  

It was now about 1:15, and we could not access our stateroom until after 1:45, and we both realized that we were feeling a bit hungry.  We’d eaten at around 9:00, and with the various swirl of activity to that point hadn’t really paid attention to the feeling until now when we were finally able to start to relax.  So our next destination was up to Deck 9 and Topsider’s Buffet.  We enjoyed a nice meal and some time to just sit and relax, as multiple servers came to our table trying to get us to purchase the refillable beer mug (we don’t drink) or the water package.  We’d already purchased water, so we didn’t need more.  Finally it was 1:45, and time to head down to see if our room was ready. 

As we worked our way around Decks 9 and 10, trying to figure out the deckplan, we enjoyed seeing the main pool area, the Mickey pool, and the adult pool near the Cove Cafe, as well as finding the Vista Spa, where we were invited in (I say that loosely, as it was hard to say no to all the smiles and charm being poured out) for a tour of the spa.  (I’ll share about the spa later in the updates).  We also got a tour of the terrific gym they have onboard. 

Finally we found our way down to our stateroom.  We were on Deck 2, in a Deluxe Oceanview stateroom.  When I first learned the placement of our room prior to sailing, I wasn’t all that thrilled about being “way down” on Deck 2 – but as the week wore on, I grew to really love where we were located.  I’ll talk about that later.

So I titled this entry “A Magical Stateroom”;  which is of course a play on the ship’s name, but also a little bit of reality as to what we felt about that room.  In and of itself, it’s just a room on a ship, with no balcony or private verandah – just a window looking out to sea.  BUT, and the big BUT here – is that that room, was enormous.  I’ve been in Oceanview rooms in the past, on other ships from other cruise lines – and WOW, this room was like night and day from those other ships and lines.  It was HUGE as cruise line staterooms go.  (Remember this was our first Disney Cruise Line voyage), so we were definitely impressed with what we were getting. 

Upon entry, the bathrooms (yes plural) were on the left, and the huge closest on the right.  There is a split bath situation with the first room having commode and sink with a neat little corner shelving unit – and the other bathroom having a tub (with shower) and another sink.  Certainly the tub wasn't large enough for an adult to enjoy a bath, but great for families traveling with small children who take baths instead of showers!  Immediately my lovely bride determined that we would have a his & hers bathroom situation for getting dressed for dinner, etc.

Beyond the bathrooms was the bedroom portion, with a dresser and a cool storage unit made to look like an old-fashioned steamer trunk standing up on its’ side.  There’s a night table with lamp on each side of the bed, which can be separated into two twin beds when guests are traveling together who don’t normally share a bed. 

 Beyond the main sleeping area is the sitting area, which of course is a sleeper sofa or a secondary bedroom area when traveling with children or if you just have 3 or 4 guests who want to share a single room.  There is a curtain to divide the two spaces.  The sitting area included the vanity table/desk area, with additional storage drawers.  But the best part of the sitting area is the enormous window.  It is circular in shape, but not just a mere porthole, it’s double to triple the size of a typical porthole window.  We had a great view! Sure having a balcony would have been even nicer, but with the size of the window, the room didn't really feel constrained. We were able to see a lot from that window. 

The décor of the room of course is a “Disney”.  We had the typical above-bed artwork found throughout the ship, but also had a piece of concept art on the wall, created by legendary imagineer Marc Davis for Disneyland back in the ‘60s for the last attraction that Walt Disney had been supervising before his untimely death, “Pirates of the Caribbean”.  Additionally the room sported a photo of Walt & Lillian Disney on deck of a ship that they sailed on to Europe back in the ‘50’s. 

Moments ago I mentioned that during the week we grew to really love our location, on Deck 2.  A big part of the reason that we liked it so much was that we were Mid-ship. Not only were we Mid-ship, but we were also just a few doors away from the Mid-Ship elevators.  Now normally I don’t recommend to clients being right near the elevators, but wow, it was great to be able to quickly head up the stairs to Deck 3 and all of the fun and excitement that was found there, or to head down our corridor in either direction to get the Forward or Aft elevators or stairs for things that were going on in those areas on other decks.  Because we were right below the Central Atrium, getting back to our room was very quick and easy any time we needed Guest Services, were in the Atrium or up to Studio Sea (just off the Atrium on Deck 4) for activities, or in the shops on Deck 4.  It’s a personal preference I know, but I just loved being right the heart of it all, rather than stuffed up on an upper deck away from it all – which is where I was on my last cruise.  This location just really fit my preferences a lot better. 

So there you go, our Magical room, with more to come in the next update. 

Until next time,

A Not-So-Magical Beginning

Setting sail on board the Disney Magic began for us in Galveston, TX – or at least – that’s where the cruise voyage began.  But let me take you back just a little before the actual departure day.  For you see, the voyage, with my lovely bride, actually began about 2 months ago when I first presented the opportunity to sail with Disney Cruise Line to her.  Indecision was the word of the day, along with a number of other words – trepidation, uneasiness, and an overall sense of uncertainty.  This went on for several weeks until just before the absolute cut-off day where a decision must be rendered and given to Disney in order to secure ground transfers from the airport and purchase airfare.  That was 3 weeks prior to the sailing – so for roughly 5 weeks there was a virtual, mental game of ping-pong taking place in our household.  Finally the decision was made, and there was no turning back.  It was to be a couple-voyage, and not a solo trip.  :-)

Once the airfare had been secured, and the ground transfers arranged, now came my bride’s largest conundrum – finding the right clothes to wear and bring on board.  The concept of “Formal Night” just threw her for a loop.  You see my bride doesn’t wear dressy clothes unless she absolutely has to.  She is very much a shorts & a t-shirt, or jeans and a sweater gal.  In the 18 ½ years we’ve been married – she’s probably only worn a dress the equivalent of a month’s time.  I LOVE it when she does get dolled up, but it just doesn’t happen very often.  So it was a quest for her to find something appropriate to wear.  And that filled the next 3 weeks, between clothing, footwear and accessories.  Phew – I’m glad that’s over, and she has something already to wear again the NEXT time we cruise together.   :-)

Our flight plan was with Southwest Airlines, so we had to fly in to Houston Hobby airport, which is better since it’s located on the southern side of Houston, and closer to Galveston.  We had the Disney transportation, which in Houston is not a nicely identified bus as they have in Orlando, but still quite functional and comfortable.  They did play the standard onboard video however, which once we got going, was quite enjoyable since we had not previously experienced that particular onboard video before.  But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.

We knew that we had to be onboard the ship no later than an hour prior to departure, and the various flight times out of Indianapolis weren’t super conducive to that, so we were scheduled to fly on Friday night.  Our kids were not going with us, so they needed to be dropped off where they were going to be staying.  The eldest attends the local public high school (he’s a junior), and the other two are still home-schooled.  So there were inherent scheduling differences built in to our child-care situation.  So the two younger ones stayed with another home-schooling family (who happen to be the best friends of the two youngest anyway, so that was really cool), and our eldest stayed with another family who we’re good friends with (their son is a senior).  So there was some good compatibility vibes going from the get-go.

As soon as school was out for our eldest, we drove over to the house where the younger ones were going to be staying.  It was going to be a nice time of about 15 minutes in order to be able to say goodbye, etc – but as we drove up to the house.  Note I said WAS.  Ridiculous how your best laid plans can go haywire at the last minute, isn’t it.  Sure enough, as we pulled up in front of their house – my Jeep got a flat tire.  There must have been something in the street, because it just blew the air out so quickly with such a loud hissssssssss!!!  Ugh.  My wife pulled up in her van just as I was getting out of my vehicle, and yeah, suddenly instead of a nice farewell, it became a mad rush to change the tire to put the “donut” tire on.  I DID NOT have time for that!!!  We had already cut the time to get to the airport close enough, but now this.  I was frantic, and not very happy at all.  Both boys sprung in to action to help move the luggage around while I quickly worked to jack up the Jeep and make the switch.  Let me tell you this, I have changed many a tire in the past 26 of driving, but never once has it been done as quickly as I did it that Friday afternoon.   As soon as it was done, I quickly went in their house to wash up, and we were hugging, kissing and saying goodbye as we drove off headed for the airport.  WHAT a “fun” way to start a trip!

After the then near-frantic drive to the airport (45 miles on the spare tire), and fear of being late, we arrived at the airport only to learn that the plane we were waiting on was delayed due to weather.  Fair enough, and sighs of relief all around.  I had planned on getting dinner in Chicago (yes, we had to fly north to ultimately go south), but with the delay I suggested we just get it there in Indy.  Finally after nearly 30 minutes of waiting beyond the scheduled boarding time, the sighs of relief began to disappear.  Once again the anxiety began, as the originally scheduled hour and a half layover time was shrinking away.  Upon boarding, we got comfortable in our seats, and awaiting the door being closed, and the requisite safety announcements.  But they didn’t happen for quite some time.  Soon the Captain came on announcing there was some sort of delay that would keep us at the gate for a “few more minutes”… which quickly turned into 20 minutes.  Ugh.  By this time we knew we would be running between gates.   Sure enough, we landed at 7:10pm Central Time – 5 minutes AFTER our plane was supposed to take off.   And the worst part of it was that they parked at A19, and we had to run over to B18.  We were not happy, but set out on our way to see if there was any possibility that our plane was still there.  Thank goodness we had made the decision to fly in the night before! 

After lots of running and weaving through the crowded airport, we finally arrived at our gate, and praise the Lord, the plane was still there.  There was a large number of passengers from our first flight onboard the plane, all huffing and puffing as we had done.  Wow.  We were able to sit down, but sadly not together.  We both ended up in middle seats in different rows, but I was just behind my lovely bride, so we could at least chat from time to time.  She read, and I worked on my computer catching on some business things since it was a WI-FI enabled flight.  But we had to wait once more before we could taxi and take-off… we all wanted our luggage to be transferred too.  :-)  Finally we were in the air, and on our way to Houston!

I had selected a hotel moments from the airport, and not having a bus transfer until 11:00 in the morning, we were able to have a leisurely morning enjoying breakfast in the on-site restaurant.  With just a 4 minute shuttle ride back to the airport, we were there with plenty of time to spare.  I checked us in with the Disney cast member wearing that ubiquitous 4 fingered white glove, and sat down to wait until they called us.  It was only a wait of about 10 minutes, and we were soon herding our way over to the bus with about 70 other people.

The ride to Galveston was quite pleasant, and the stresses of the prior day were finally washing away.  Soon we were pulling in to the port area, and saw the beautiful red stacks, white middle and black underbelly of the Disney Magic sitting in the port just waiting for her next load of eager passengers.

 

The unloading of the bus was fairly quick, and the short walk inside the terminal was brief.  The line for the security checkpoint went smoothly, and soon enough we were in line to check-in!  How exciting.  The Cast Member was so pleasant and so excited for us.  Her name was Eva, and told us how envious she was of us, since she still hadn’t been on a cruise – not a Disney Cruise – but any cruise – and she’s worked for the company for 10 years!   After taking our pictures for the Key to the World cards, and processing our passports, she then gave us our boarding group number (16) and directed us to the chairs over to the side to wait for the announcement that we so wanted to hear – when we could board!  And our wait was extremely short, as just as soon as we sat down did they announce on the PA system that groups 1 through 17 were able to board!  It was time to go!

We went through the last portal on the lower level of the terminal and worked our way up the escalator to the gangway.  We had our picture taken, and then we were on our way inside the beautiful ship’s Central Atrium.  Ahhhhh, despite all of the mishaps and frustrations of getting there - it felt so good to be on board that ship. 

Until next time,

 

A Magical Overview

Sailing with Disney Cruise Line has been a dream of mine for many years, and last week it came true.  My lovely bride and I set sail out of the port of Galveston, Texas on a Western Caribbean cruise itinerary on the Disney Magic, the original ship in their fleet.  It was a 7-night itinerary sailing south through the Gulf of Mexico to the largest of the Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman – then on to Costa Maya, Mexico, followed by Cozumel, Mexico before returning once again to Galveston.  The sailing included two full at-sea days, then three port days, and finally another at-sea day.  I know many of you readers have sailed with Disney before - but we hadn't - so bear with me as I go through and share all about OUR voyage and some of the experiences we had, and memories that we made.  For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of sailing with Disney Cruise Line - or this particular itinerary or ship - hopefully it will be of some benefit to you.  And of course, again, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a travel professional, and would be more than happy to help you get booked onto the Disney Magic (or one of their other ships) if you are interested in sailing with them in the future.  But aside from that comment, the rest of these DISNEY MAGIC entries will simply be our experiences and memories - with some personal opinion thrown in from time to time.  And, my lovely bride has even consented to provide a guest feature with her own view of the voyage.  So be sure to watch for the female point of view in the days to come.   

The Disney Magic originally set sail at the end of July 1998, and has been sailing all over the world in the 14 years since she first set sail.  Just as Disneyland, Walt’s original park, was a proving ground for theme parks yet to be built in the years and decades following his death, the Disney Magic has been just that for the fleet of Disney ships.  It certainly has some great things going for it, as well as some flaws /drawbacks that have been modified or improved on the Wonder, Dream & Fantasy.  But for a first time sailing with Disney Cruise Line, we were very pleased to begin our DCL career onboard the beautiful Magic. As my lovely bride stated on Facebook to a friend asking about our trip, “Disney’s ship lived up to its’ name…Magic.”  

There are just so many things to talk about regarding the cruise, I simply cannot do it all in writing.  So I will be breaking it down into various categories – food (yes, I've even got a whole lot of "food porn" - we got pictures at just about every meal), entertainment, port adventures, transportation, shipboard amenities, fellow passengers, deck parties, Fireworks at Sea, the ship itself and more.  We took well over 1,500 pictures during the week, and I will be sharing a good number of them, but of course not all of them.  We had such a good time, and cannot wait to be able to return to the sea and sail once again with Disney.

During our sailing, we enjoyed the food and their legendary service; we really enjoyed their stage productions; the spa; the adults-only areas including the pool, hot tub and after-dinner entertainment in Rockin' Bar D.  They provide a wide array of port adventures, and the crew does an absolutely amazing job with entertainment for both kids and adults alike.  For too long I've heard from friends and clients alike that Disney Cruise Line is really only for families traveling with kids - but - that is hands-down, absolutely NOT TRUE.  We sailed without our kids - and had a simply marvelous time.  There are so many terrific things/areas just for the adults, which totally debunk the myth that Disney is just for kids.  I'll share more about that soon.   

Until next time,

The Clock Struck Midnight...

So our cruise on the Disney Magic came to an end this morning. Our beautiful trip to the "ball" is over, but as they say onboard the memories will live forever. I took hundreds of pictures throughout the week, as well as tons of notes... so be sure to check back throughout the weeks for reports about our Western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston! 

More to come... 

Sunday Spotlight - Disney Magic

© Disney

Disney Cruise Line_® boasts four majestic, family-friendly ships in its’ fleet, which first set sail in July 1998. 

The Disney Magic, is the original ship in the fleet, and had its’ maiden voyage July 30, 1998.  It is a ship that takes guests of all ages to exotic destinations in the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Northern Europe, as well as Canada and Mexico.

The ship blends the classic beauty and grace of the “golden era of ocean travel” with all the modern luxuries, technology and comforts that make cruising a pleasure.  This ship itself is 20 feet longer than the infamous Titanic, and can transport 2, 400 passengers.  Back in 1998 Disney Cruise Line received special permission from the government to allow it to have bright yellow lifeboats, a la Mickey Mouse’s shoes, instead of the normally required bright orange. 

© Disney

Onboard guests can delight to a wide array of dining and entertainment options.  The Magic incorporated a fun new, rotational dining system when it premiered, that allows guests to dine each of the themed dining rooms on board:  Lumiere's, Parrot Cay and Animator's Palate.  Each night, as guests rotate to another restaurant, their table mates and wait staff remain the same which allows for a greater deal of familiarity. The ship includes highly seasoned chefs, and the wait staff is very efficient and quick with their service. By keeping the same wait staff as guests rotate around, they are able to quickly learn guests names and remember beverage choices and whether you like coffee, tea or something else with dessert or not.

Like almost all of the large cruise ships, onboard entertainment includes shows in the beautifully appointed Walt Disney Theatre,  some of which, have been nominated, or have won, multiple awards.  There’s also a movie theater, The Buena Vista Theater, showing both first-run and classic Disney movies.  First-run films are typically the same Disney movies that are currently in theaters on land.  There’s also a large, 24x14 foot Jumbo LED screen on the ship’s forward funnel known as FunnelVision which is used in various ways during deck parties, such as the Sail Away Party.   Deck 10 features the Wide World of Sports deck, offering basketball, foosball, ping-pong and workouts.  And of course there are the pools.  Youth activities, nightclubs and lounges add a lot more fun to the entertainment offered onboard the Disney Magic.  And, weather permitting, Disney Cruise Line pioneered fireworks at sea, and is the only cruise line to do so, all starting on the Disney Magic.

Watch for more detailed information about the Disney Magic in blog entries yet to come.  Ahoy mateys!

The MAGIC Begins NOW

It has been a LOOOOOONG 55 days since I was first able to book my sailing on the Disney Magic leaving out of Galveston, TX for a 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary – but the day has finally come!!!  My lovely bride and I are currently in Houston, TX, getting ready to head back over to the airport to catch our bus down to Galveston.  We’ll soon be going through the boarding process, and then heading across that gangway onto the beautiful Disney Magic, the first vessel in their fleet.  How fitting that this, our first Disney cruise, is aboard their first ship.  Just as our first Disney theme park experiences were in the original Magic Kingdom – Disneyland. 

© Disney 

Full disclosure, of course, I am a travel professional selling through my franchisor, CRUISE PLANNERS, and from time to time do include information about my services in my blog posts.  This is a business research and building trip.  It is a FAM, or familiarization trip, offered to travel professionals so that we might experience first-hand the ships & itineraries for ourselves, so that we can then have a better understanding of what we sell – and of course, to be able to sell even more of it.  But beyond the deeply discounted price, there are no special perks that I’m receiving as a result of going on this voyage. With all that said, I am so very excited about this sailing.  I have expectations certainly, but am excited to watch and see how the stories I’ve been told; the research I’ve done; and yes, even the information that I’ve shared with my clients ) comes to life for my lovely bride and me.  So I’m trying to put off any pre-conceived notions or ideas about the legendary service, the food, the accommodations, etc, etc and just see how it all plays out for us.  

Our western Caribbean itinerary includes stops in Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel.  We’ve picked out some fun-sounding port adventures, and we are excited to get out and explore a part of the world that we haven’t personally been to yet.  The best part is that we’re doing it together.  (The last adventures I went on were solo, so it will be nice to share this with her as well).  Another fun thing is that we are – gasp – NOT taking the kids along.   What with school schedules and all, we just had to leave them at home.  Ah the joys of being a travel professional and having to work on a cruise ship! ;-)

So, I will be sharing about this experience in the week ahead, but really not until AFTER we return home again.  I will be taking lots of pictures, and documenting our journey.  Lots of information will be coming here in stopher’s stuff.  I’ve pre-loaded several items to broadcast throughout the week while we’re on board.  Hopefully you’ll enjoy those, and then return to read more about our MAGICal adventure thereafter.  I do try to include a variety of  information on this page.  Yes, it’s heavily Disney, but there are other nuggets about cruising, and other destinations as well.  So thank you, stopher’s stuff readers for stopping by and checking out what I have to share.  I know that some of it won’t appeal to all of you, but hopefully most of you will find something appealing and then tell your friends about me as well. 

In the meantime, I'd love it if you would like my Facebook page, or follow me on Pinterest, or on Twitter, or circle me on Google+ or simply check out my websites:  www.neverlandadventurestravel.com  and www.neverlandadventurescruises.com.  

October is National Cruise Vacation Month!  The cruise lines are offering some of the BEST deals of the year throughout the month, but the absolute best deals will be offered between October 21-27 - National Cruise Vacation Week!   You can learn more about that here. As a member of CLIA (Cruise Line International Association), I have access to all of the different lines and their specials.  So if you'd like to go somewhere in the months ahead and need some help with it all, I'd be delighted to help you out.  

Until next time,

The Excitement is Full Blown

What an exciting day today is!!  The excitement has been building and building, but by today it is absolutely full blown - I'm absolutely ready to burst!  My lovely bride and I are busily scurrying about with final last minute preparations, as we fly to Texas tonight in order to head out on our western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Magic!  If you can't tell yet, we are so excited. Just like those old Walt Disney World tv commercials that showed a family trying to sleep the night before... and it's the parents who are more excited than then kids - that's me right about now.  

There’s been a lot of things going on as I’ve been preparing for this journey.  But now it’s finally here!  Stay tuned to stopher’s stuff, as there will some great photos and information about the sailing soon. 

Until next time,