Disney Does it Right: Cruise with Disney

I've been home from our most recent family vacation for less than a week and I'm already ready to return! Our trip started with a one day trip to visit Magic Kingdom. We've been there a few times over the past few years, but since we were headed to Florida to take a cruise on the Disney Fantasy, we figured we might as well add in a day at the park.  When checking into our resort (Disney's Port Orleans Riverside), we were given Magic Bands (a new technology being tested in the parks and hotels).  It makes getting fast passes, entering into the parks, purchasing food, merchandise and so much more a breeze!  I absolutely loved them... technology at it's best.  

After a fun day in the park, we were off to the Disney Fantasy and a 7-Day Western Caribbean cruise.  Our itinerary included Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Disney's private island Castaway Cay.  The weather was PERFECT.  I'm happy to say I was able to work on my tan...now if I could only keep it!  The ship itself is beautiful, the Disney detail throughout is amazing. We had a deluxe family stateroom (sleeps 5). It was spacious and all three of our children had their own bed. Our days were filled with activities on board for the kids, alone time for the adults, visits to 4 different beautiful beaches, delicious food & shows at night.   The restaurants all had their own theme and were incredible.  The servers follow you throughout the week so even though you are visiting a different restaurant, you have the same waitstaff. They get to know what you like and it's nice to build a relationship with them.  By the end of the trip, they have what you want on the table before you even ask. They even cut our kids food....talk about service!  

There were literally NO complaints from anyone.  It was a trip we will not forget and I hope we can get back on a Disney ship again in the future.  My conclusion: you may pay more for a Disney cruise but you aren't going to be disappointed.  They are going to make sure you leave there wanting to come back.  Now on to planning the next vacation......

Cheers to all things travel!
- Andrea Norfolk