Is it real or is it a Dream? Setting sail July 20, 2014

[mommadeb]

Well, hello everybody!! This is my first PTR as it's our first cruise. I beg for your forgiveness up front if I meander, drift, ramble, or just plain lose myself in this LONG journey to Port Canaveral.

Cast of Characters:
So you're wondering, "who are these people?" Maybe not, but I'm going to tell you anyway!

I'm Deb, and I'm a momma. (Thank you, Captain Obvious!) I am also an aircraft engineer where it's my job to tell people how to fix their broke airplanes and a graduate student at Wichita State.

The girls are:
Alexia (dd9)- my 4th grader who loves soccer, purple, and Jesse from Toy Story.
Ella (dd7) - 2nd grader, gymnast, and lover of all things Minnie Mouse.

This is us on last summer's quick vacation in the Colorado Rockies.

After the big hail storm in Denver (in June, I think) I pulled the short straw and had to go visit a few damaged planes. The boss was nice enough to let me drive out and take the girls along.

Why are we here?
I have known for years that I wanted to go on a Disney cruise. Made a sign for my dream board to go with it.

The date in the bottom left corner says I made it in June 2008. And that we were going to sail in 2010

Yeah...that didn't happen.

Until this point it has been just a dream. But as I was looking for vacation ideas a few weeks ago, the dream popped back up, and I decided it was time to make it a reality!

So we're going on a 4-night Bahamian cruise on the Disney Dream. As the title says, our sail date is July 20, 2014.

17 months. 525 days from today.

All y'all are going have been on 2 more cruises by then and be completely sick of me.

 

[mommadeb]

The road to...Passport City

I already have my passport as a requirement for work, so it's just the 2 kiddos that I'll be dealing with.

Taking the first step in what could be a long journey in getting passports for the girls. I sent off an order for copies of their birth certificates. Long story short: we had a small fire in the house we had lived in for 4+ years. All if my important papers were in a filing cabinet in the basement room next to the fire source. Everything was ruined...not by fire, but by water. So it's time to replace them.

There have been lots of threads in the last week asking "should we or shouldn't we?" I guess I'm a member of the should club. I'd rather have them and never need them than need them and not have them.

Why make a big deal about it? Apparently both parents have to sign off on the passport application. You can have the absent parent fill out a form, or you can have a really REALLY good excuse for his absence. Going to try to get their dad to fill out the form first. But since he refuses to speak civilly to me....

Let's cross our fingers for no drama!

 

[JILL34]

You may want to check but I was told we did not have to have passports going on Our Disney Cruise to the Bahamas

 

[mommadeb]

Thanks. I totally understand we don't have to have passports. However, I'd rather have them and never need them than need them and not have gotten them.

Getting them also opens us up to more options in the future.

 

[krdotson]

Congratulations on your future Disney Cruise!! Looking forward to hearing all about your pre cruise excitement.

 

[mommadeb]

Oh how I would rather be on that big, beautiful ship today! We've had somewhere around 15" of snow in the last 2 days and I'm over the shoveling. It's supposed to snow again on Sunday. I know, you guys in the NE are saying "Boo Hoo! Get over it." But I'm a weather wimp!!

Anyhow, the pointn of today!! I got cruise mail! Lookie what the mailman brought for us from Etsy.

I'm so excited! Yes, there are still 513 days until our cruise. We'll get there...eventually! And maybe without too many more weeks like this one between now and then. I like snow, but don't like all the work that comes with it. And truth be told I like warm weather a whole lot better!

 

[dreamer2014]

We are going on our first cruise August 14, 2014 on the Dream. I've been driving my family nuts with my excitement even though it's so far away. I look forward to keeping up with your experiences in anticipation!