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Did I Tell You I Booked A Disney Cruise?

4/18/2023

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Since the world closure in 2020, I've had at least 3 DCL cruises booked then cancelled. The 9-nighter (2021) was cancelled. I believe it was reduced to 7- then just flat out canceled.  The Wish (2022) sailing I had booked, we cancelled because we just don't care for the itinerary, so rebooked for 9-night Southern Caribbean (2022)- we cancelled due to restrictions still being in place. 

Now that ALL restrictions are finally lifted AND the addition of a 10-night Southern Caribbean itinerary, - we decided to get back to cruising.  
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Why Did We Choose Another Disney Cruise?
I looked at other cruise lines- really, I did. The one I was most interested in and that we WILL sail on if we cancel this trip- is Norwegian Cruise Line.  For a cruise with a family- this seems the best fit for us, besides DCL. Maybe one day we'll do an Ama Waterways, or some other river cruise, (Viking is adult only- so maybe one day) but our daughter is coming & we want her to have plenty to do. 

I could probably get more bang for my buck on Norwegian in regards to room and balcony upgrades or even concierge- for what or close to what we pay for our deluxe ocean view with balcony on DCL- but it boiled down to ports of call.

I decided upon returning to DCL simply because of this itinerary. We want to travel to the Southern Caribbean. We want to visit these particular ports. 
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This particular itinerary, along with only 2 others, makes a stop at BOTH Castaway Cay and Disney's new island, Lighthouse Point.  This is the first year for guests at Lighthouse Point. Hard to pass that up.

That being said- I will NOT hesitate to cancel this cruise if we are not happy with our June 2023 Walt Disney World redemption tour. Fingers crossed that we have a magical return visit.  Otherwise, Norwegian Cruise Line, it is.
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Time to Talk Dining

4/12/2023

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Hard to believe it is already time to do dining bookings for our upcoming Disney redemption trip. Of course, in the past, we did this task at 180 days out and now it is at 60 days. Frankly, an improvement in my mind, as booking dining 6 months away always seemed ridiculous. Who honestly wants to think about dinner in 6 mos when likely you don't even know what you want tonight. 

So anyways, today I will work through our plans and get settled on where we want to go during our shorter than usual stay. For starters, I'm leaning towards not putting a lot into planning dining this trip. I don't want to feel over-planned. I'd rather this trip be a kind of let's just see how it goes. To be honest, we were so disappointed during our last trip, that I'm not willing to go all in on this trip. Having said that, I do have some places in mind that I will be reserving.

So to start, I want to go to some places we've never been like The Garden Grill in Epcot.  I have sent many happy clients here, but we've never gone there ourselves.  Seem low key and the food looks like our kind of meal. I'd also like
to take advantage of our location at The Contemporary & return to Chef Mickey (maybe??) and try their new family steak house, Steakhouse 71.  I also would like to try the new BBQ restaurant in Hollywood Studios, Roundup Rodeo BBQ.  

​When planning dining I start with the current Park Reservations/park plans- and work around where we will be each day at meal time. The Park Reservation system (which I am NOT a fan) dictates which park you go to each day or the park you START in if you have Park Hopper. Currently, you can't HOP until 2PM (which I also do NOT like- look Disney- I'm PAYING to HOP- I should be able to hop as I please, when I please- see Universal park-to-park- no restrictions, easy peasy)  Sorry, I digressed. 
So the plan for now is as follows:

Park Reservations/Plans
Day 1- Magic Kingdom/Park Hop to ??
This day is still questionable to me. We will be up & traveling SO early- that I'm not sure how long I'll be interested in staying awake. For now- I plan to book Steakhouse 71 for early dinner, then return to MK.

Day 2- Animal Kingdom/Park Hop to ?? 
This will be a quip trip to AK in the AM to ride Flight of Passage, Safari, & Everest- Full Disclosure- if at 7AM, I am unable to secure an Individual Lightning Lane experience early enough in the day for Flight of Passage, we will go to a different park entirely and not visit AK this trip.  Park hop to HS to eat at Roundup Rodeo BBQ, maybe even hit up MK for fireworks.

Day 3- Epcot/After Hours- HS 
This will be a leisurely day as far as not trying to break world records getting to the park SO early.  We'll get to Epcot when we get there & dine at Garden Grill. Night time is After Hours at HS- so I will be trying to pace myself for the late night ahead.


Day 4- Magic Kingdom/After Hours- Epcot
Again, we'll see how we feel after the late night- may just get to MK when we feel like it and have a quick service lunch. Also- may book Space 220 Lounge in Epcot before After Hours begins, just to check it out. It's not really our type of dining, but I've been told the experience is worth trying out.

Day 5 - Departure Day
Maybe Chef Mickey breakfast before we have to leave for the airport.

Everything above could change between now and 6AM on booking day. I am my own worst client.

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    Author

    Andrea Greene
    ~Wife
    ​~Mom 
    ​~Travel Agency Owner
    ~Vacation Planner
    ~Loves All Things Disney

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