Disney Cruise Vacation

Well we are back in the "real world" now (cooking, cleaning, laundry, work...yuck!)
The trip was amazing! I'll try to be brief, but there is so much to tell, and Laurin could add pages and pages.
We arrived in Port Canaveral in time to walk on the boat and start our vacation right away. Our cabin wasn't huge by any means, but there was plenty of room for everything. Mickey (or one of his representatives:-) had delivered gift baskets for Laurin (Sand toys and treats) and for Ron (bag, t-shirt and treats for his birthday). We checked in to the Kids' club and could tell that would be a big hit with Laurin. There was something scheduled for her from 8 am to 2 am everyday. She would only have to be in the room to sleep.
We received a message that our dining table was switched and that turned out to be the best thing on the cruise. They matched us with a family with a 10 year old (just turning 10 on the trip) girl. Alyssa and Laurin had a great time together, and Ron and I truly enjoyed hanging out with Rich, Stormy and 2 year-old Abby. I think we will all have new pen pals in Florida.
The cruise had plenty of activities to keep one busy, but there was also time for relaxing and reading. They offered Disney style Shows almost every night and even played "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" for us...that had only been in the theaters a week or so. Great to have connections. The weather was great. A little rocky at the start, so Ron and Laurin experienced a tiny bit of seasickness, but it wasn't too bad. As the days passed, we kept hearing of Hurricane Omar from the Captain and Crew. Turned out that Omar cancelled our stop in St. Thomas, but in true Disney fashion they went right with Plan B and we headed to Nassau. That turned out to be another good change in that we were closer to Castaway Cay so we got more time to spend there on the last day of the cruise. For those who don't know, Castaway Cay is Disney's private island and it was Amazing! Beautiful beaches, clear blue water, plenty of chairs and shade (needed by me). Definitely the perfect ending to a perfect trip.
We had to be off the boat by 9:00 am on Sat. morning, so we headed right to the Dolphin Hotel at DisneyWorld. That was an incredible place to stay as well, but we were all still remembering the Boat so being at the hotel was kind of a let down....even though we were still at Disney.
The days at the hotel were spent relaxing more and then on Sunday evening we went to the Magic Kingdom for "Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween Party." We got to Trick or Treat at Disney....how cool is that?! The park stayed open until Midnight and there were lots of fun activities.
Monday morning, Ron started his conference so Laurin and I went to Hollywoood Studios on our own. Had a great time riding the new Toy Story Mania ride, but the High School Musical show wasn't playing so I was a bit disappointed. Also, the Backlot Tour was having technical difficulties so we didn't get to do that ride either.
Laurin and I came home Tuesday evening and Ron stayed to finish the conference. He got home Wed. evening.
Now Ron and I are catching up with work, Laurin is catching up with school and we are looking at pictures to remind us of our great vacation.
We highly recommend the Disney Cruise and in fact, already made reservations for a 10 day cruise in Dec. 2010. Check your calendars to see if you are available Dec. 29, 2010 - Jan. 8, 2011 and join us!