IT'S MY 50th BIRTHDAY & WE ARE GOING ON A DISNEY CRUISE!!!

So...........apparently I am going to be 50 years old on May 15th

50????   How in the heck did that get here so fast??

 I was just 25 a little while ago...........



Rather than dwell on it, and dread it, we booked a cruise!!

Now I have something to look forward to, and I have actually been excited for my birthday to get here

I have taken 6 cruises, and all of them have been with Carnival Cruise Line.

This time, we are switching it up and we booked on:

And, we didn't book just any Disney ship (they have 4),

we are booked on the:

It's one of their newer and bigger ships!  OOOhhhh! I'm so excited!

3 years ago, my sister Lisa and I watched the Disney Dream pull into Nassau Bahamas and turn completely around right in front of us. 

We decided right then that we definitely wanted to cruise on that ship, it looks magnificent! 

And now that time has come!

I have to admit, this vacation has been a mess to plan. It was supposed to be a much bigger vacation to Disney World, but Moving to Maryland and our finances have turned this into a much different vacation than I had originally planned. We are just juggling way too much these days and something had to give. 

I don't get to go to Disney World, this time, but I will work on getting a Disney World vacation as soon as things calm down for us (and as soon as I get a job so I can pay for it!)

For now, I'm happy with a 4 day cruise and a short trip to my happy place in Ft Lauderdale after the cruise. 

Cruising with me this time will be:

My husband -----who is actually looking forward to this cruise, even though he will admit that cruising isn't really "his thing"

My Mom---- She's 83 and she loves Disney! She is so excited about this cruise

My sister Lisa----- She also admits that cruising isn't "her thing", but she is a Disney lover. She is very much looking forward to cruising on this ship.

My son Chris and his fiance Mariah---- This will be Chris's 2nd cruise and Mariah's 1st. These two will have the time of their lives on this vacation! I am so excited to see Chris and Mariah and spend some time with them, I haven't seen them since mid-January. I think this is the longest I have ever gone without seeing Christopher in his entire life. I am missing him!

So, there are 6 of us going and we are all adults.

NO KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!

A Disney cruise with no kids??????? 

Why would we do that?? 

Well for one thing, this is my 50th birthday and I don't want to spend it chasing kids. I want to relax.

For another thing, Disney is REALLY REALLY expensive. 

Really expensive. 

I agree it would be fun to bring Mariah's little son along, I just love that boy! But he's only 3 and Disney charges full fare for kids.

I don't see any reason to take a 3 year old on an expensive vacation that he will most likely not remember. There will be plenty of other cruises in our futures, and we will bring Nik when he is a little older and can appreciate it and remember it. 

For this cruise, it's just us adults.

Look at the lobby on the Disney Dream, it's amazing and it's not just for kids!

There are plenty of adult only areas on the ship. 

There are adult bars, and here is a pic of the adult only pool area. 

Does that count as a swim-up bar? I have always wanted to go to a swim-up bar, and it's on my bucket list. That water looks ankle deep though so I'm not sure if it counts.

We decided to book a suite for this cruise, and that means we have access to the concierge lounge.

The concierge lounge is right across the hall from our cabins on the ship. It will be staffed with a concierge team, they have a bar in there, and a spread of food that changes throughout the day. I think we will all enjoy this perk, but I especially think this will be good for Mom.

She turned 83 last October and she just doesn't get around as well as she used to. She is still mobile, but she is slow and she gets tired easily. She may not want to run around exploring the ship with us.

The concierge lounge will be a great place for mom to go to sit and relax (instead having to sit in her cabin). She can get coffee, food, or anything from the bar. The concierge team will make sure she has everything she needs on this cruise. 

Here is a pic of the concierge lounge:

And a pic of the sundeck for concierge guests:

Tim and I, Chris and Mariah, will share a 1 bedroom suite.

Lisa and Mom will have a smaller room that connects to our suite. 

Here is Disney's floor plan for the 1 bedroom suite: 

Since Disney is so expensive, we picked a shorter 4 day cruise that will stop at 2 islands in the Bahamas.

We will leave from Port Canaveral on Monday May 9th, and we will be back into Orlando on Friday May 13th.

Our first stop will be Nassau, Bahamas. This will be my 3rd time there. We will do some shopping and have lunch while we are there. We plan to stay pretty close to the ship in case mom gets tired.

Our second stop will be at Castaway Cay, Bahamas. This is Disney's private island. This will be a beach day for us, and we plan to go to the adults only beach for part of that day.

This cruise also has 1 sea day so we can explore the ship and enjoy some of the shows, activities, and character meet-n-greets.


Here is a picture of the Princess gathering in the lobby:

Oh my goodness! The Princess gathering!!!!! I can not wait to meet Belle!!! And Ariel!!!

This will be so fun!


Disney has a pirate night on every cruise. All of us (except my sister) will be dressing up in our best pirate costumes and going to dinner, and then to the pirate party on deck.

I hear there are fireworks from the ship that night, and I think we can watch them from our balcony.

On Friday, after the cruise is over, most of us (except Timmy, who has to get back to Maryland to work) are renting a car and driving 3 hours south to Ft Lauderdale.

We are going to spend a few days at my newest favorite Resort called Lago Mar.

I love this place and I really just want to relax and soak up some sun on the beach or at the pool for the weekend. I'm glad my family will be there to enjoy it with me.


My daughter Cody was supposed to be joining us for the weekend at Lago Mar. Now she is doing her own internship on a river cruise so she won't be able to come. We will miss you Cody!

On Monday, May 16th our trip will be over. I'll come back to Maryland refreshed and relaxed, and I'll be 50 years old. YIKES!

I really can't think of a better way to turn 50 though.

I want to end this post with a few pics of some Disney cruise food:

I love Mickey waffles, and I will be eating these every morning!

Here is part of the buffet on the ship:

Dessert display at the buffet:

Here is the Enchanted Garden restaurant on the ship:

This restaurant is called Animator's Palate:

And this one is called Royal Palace. I think this is where we will have our formal night dinner on the ship.

I'm almost all packed and I'm ready to go! We leave very early on Mother's Day morning for Orlando.
Its nice that I'll get to spend Mother's Day with my mom. 

Instead of dreading it, I'm counting down the days till my 50th birthday!!!!

8 days to go!!!!!!!