My First Disney Cruise by Hazel Anderson
I want to tell you about my sneaky husband and our first Disney Cruise. My husband and I met late in life. He had never been married and I had been in 2 bad marriages that left me with two children. So I was on my own for about 15 years with the kids, thinking I would never have another husband and didn’t want one. But then an Angel came into my life that was willing to accept my kids - my daughter was married and had a child and my son had just turned 18. I married a wonderful man who turned 45 while we were on our honeymoon at Disney World. My daughter thought that it was ridiculous for old people to be spending a honeymoon at Disney World with Mickey Mouse. I thought it was wonderful. I had waited 40 years to meet my hero Mickey.
My husband was good with surprises. Every year for our anniversary we would go on vacation for a week, and I never knew where we going. I would pack my suitcase and get in the car. He would tell me once we had reached our destination. I had never been much of any place in my life, but my husband grew up traveling. We had discussed going on a cruise for our 10th anniversary. Then on our 8th anniversary my husband told me we were going to Disney World for 2 weeks to use our annual passes. On the way down he told me we were going to stop at The Kennedy Space Center. That sounded good since it was all new to me.
Just before we got to the Space Center he made what I thought was a wrong turn. Then he said “Since we are this close, let’s go look at the Cruise Ships”. We pulled into the parking lot and the guard asked if we were there to board the ship. I thought he was going to be in trouble for telling a fib when he answered “Yes”. Then he reached under his seat and handed me a small box with a ribbon on it and said “Happy Anniversary Sweetheart”. Within 10 minutes I was getting out of the car and entering the terminal. A woman asked me for a birth certificate or passport and I just looked at her in a daze. Then my husband walked up, reached into his bag and handed her what she needed. We boarded the ship minutes later and I still wasn’t sure what was going on.
The next thing I knew my husband hands me his cell phone and says “Call the kids because you can’t use the cell from the ship and we will be back in 4 days”. When I asked him where we were going he replied “The Bahamas”. When we first arrived on the ship we were sent towards a dining room where there was the nicest buffet I had ever seen. So for the next four days (I was still in shock for the first three), we dined, danced, watched movies and stage shows and had a ball.
When we got to Castaway Cay we viewed the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. They had a Bar B Q on the Beach with fresh fruits, burgers, ice cream, and cold drinks. It was a great lunch. We could have gone back to the ship for lunch if we wanted because the ship was parked right there. The only people on the island besides Disney employees were the passengers on the ship – no sharing with other cruise lines. There were also some gift shops on the island and we went snorkeling, bike riding and then went to the ‘Adults Only’ part of the beach – no kids. The water was so calm and a beautiful blue.
It was a wonderful trip. My husband thought that by surprising me on my eighth anniversary he wouldn’t have to take me on our 10th but what he didn’t expect was the fact that I loved it so much he had to bring me back again and again.
First Time Cruisers | Russell@reahma.com, December 5, 2009 4:15 am