I’ll post some thoughts and photos in a separate thread and link it here!
I still have all my notes and photos from the Fantasy and Wonder to do the same. 
But I can prioritize the Treasure.
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Our family’s last cruise of 2025 is almost here!
I can’t believe it rushed here. I’m currently working from my in-laws house to have access to a working laundry machine to finish up our trip laundry so I can finish packing tonight, because tomorrow I have no time, and we leave Wednesday to meet our Destiny, find our fate on the Maiden Voyage of DCL’s newest ship!
Here are the plans in their latest form (I still have to buy tickets to watch Wicked: For Good the day we get off the ship, but that should be THE only thing I have to arrange or do). And now for me to step away from the keyboard so I can go switch the laundry!
Destiny Bookings & Excursions
November Arrival Day & Post-Cruise UOR Plans
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This is the one I am most excited for!!! I can’t wait to hear all about it!
Do you have anymore cruises planned for 2026?
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I am so excited for it too! But also so nervous that we will actually make it, I’ll be so much happier come Wednesday night once the plane takes off.
We do have 2026 cruises! I’ll start a 2026 thread probably in December, but I’ll spoil it and say they are both 4 night Bahamian cruises (so no really exciting ports). First one is the Destiny (this time with a crew of cousins) in June. The 2nd in October with just our family on the Fantasy for Halloween on the High Seas.
I know the Destiny in June itinerary stops are Nassau and Castaway. I don’t remember what stops exactly are the Fantasy one, but we’re mostly excited for that one for the Halloween (our original cruise plan was to do a Halloween cruise & we’ve yet to make it on one, so that will be full circle). Also, we let the kids vote between that Fantasy Halloween on the High Seas or a 5 night on the Magic that potentially would become a Marvel Day at Sea cruise and they voted unanimously for the Fantasy because it’s sooner & they liked the Halloween. DH & I probably would have picked the one more night on the Magic. 
My plan right now for 2027 is to do the 10 day S. Caribbean on the Magic in July (if the Magic repeats it’s usual route of the last few years), because I want longer than 4 nights going forward.
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Yeah doing just 4 days is going to be tough for me now 
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I believe it! We did 7 nights on the Treasure and we were like, why haven’t we always done this? And then we tried to book something at least 7 days for Fall/Winter 2026-27 and there was nothing that wasn’t an astronomically priced Christmas or New Year’s cruise that we could do with the kids’ schedule, so we’ll have to stick to summer (and go less which is ok with us).
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Oooh, I had forgotten you’re going on the maiden voyage of the Destiny! And so soon!! I have really been wanting to go on this ship (I still really want to do the Treasure, but as much as I want another 7 day cruise, that length of time plus travel to and from has been difficult to figure out with my family), and so we ended up booking it for December! I am SO excited! I am also trying to have a slight balance between spoiling myself with the media cruises and going in not knowing things. We’ve been on the Dream and Fantasy so it’s our first time on a Wish class ship, and we’re all so excited.
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I am in this weird place because usually at this point of my trip planning I’ve watched a BUNCH of reviews about the food, navigating the ship and watch any vlogs that are recent for the same itinerary & ship (or similar to it) but the only stuff that exists is the preview cruise stuff and I am trying NOT to watch to much, but at the same time find myself wanting to see it too! I have watched any videos of just walking around the atrium, or some of the specific themed spaces, but if they start showing any piece of a show or entertainment, I skip/scroll (i.e. Loki, Maleficent, Cruella each have bits they do in different spaces on the ship, there’s one bit of sailaway show they did that I spied that I immediately closed out of bc if that happens on the maiden voyage I want that to be my eye’s first time seeing it to be in person, the midnight goodnight kiss in the atrium or any of the new dinner show at the Pridelands).
And have you heard of the Dr. Facilier… I’m not sure what to call it, experience, show, interaction, secret lounge/meeting? I only know where to go to look for it and that the line is long and they don’t allow any recording or photos of it, but I think we will try that out at some point, if we can. And I also told my family I’m making the Sanctum my residence, so if they can’t find me, look there. It looks so cool!
I like different things about the different classes. I do prefer the Dream/Fantasy overall BUT what the Wish class ships get right, they hit out of the ballpark, so I love them too.
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It looks sooooo cool!!
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Real talk: Real life is lifing a bit too real here.
We’re all ok and I am going to keep repeating the mantra we have been saying to ourselves since middle of October “We’re going to make it!”
And truly we are ok, it could still be so much worse, but I don’t think I’ve ever had so chaotic a pre-trip experience as these last few weeks (maybe even months).
All this to say, the sail away on Thursday is going to be all the sweeter for it!
And then in case you care for details of the schtuff, here’s what’s up.
We leave tomorrow night Wed Nov 19.
My 2 older kids have kept us on our toes with long and late nights every Mon-Thur since fall break (mid-October) between their respective school’s fall theater department show AND student gov charity drives to raise money for the holidays (and for both the hours outside of school go towards a grade in class).
The last show wrapped up Saturday & tonight is that cast party that I volunteered to help plan & will be at all evening. The kids each have after school student gov duties this week to help as much as they can for the charity drives before they leave.
So I have known since early October that I needed to be majority packed by Nov 17.
Nov 7-8-ish our washing machine broke.
The soonest a new machine could come was today (the 18th) and it wasn’t even one I really wanted or liked or was even that good a deal AND I wouldn’t at all have had the time to catch-up AND do trip laundry AND pack without cloning myself.
So DH & I said, never mind that, let’s order the one we want that actually comes much later (the day after we get home).
So since the 9th I have been a laundry nomad, prepping what loads to wash 2-3 days in advance, stressing to the kids how much they need to know at least 2 days in advance of any specific articles of clothing they may need and giving the deadline of last Saturday for me to know exactly what they needed washed for the trip so we could arrange to do laundry at relatives homes Sunday & Monday.
We got through that. All the laundry was finished yesterday afternoon at my in-laws house with me rotating loads between meetings while working at their house. And last night I got every last outfit assembled, rolled and got the bags prepped for last minute additions that can be done Wednesday between the end of school & taking off for the airport.
And then his morning happened. My FIL helped us today by taking the elementary kids to school so DH & I could get started on meetings/work by 8am instead of 9am. And he took our car (to avoid playing car seat shuffle).
While he was stopped a red light in front of the school waiting to turn right to the side street where the drop-off parking lot is located, a driver coming the opposite way, fell asleep at the wheel, hit a pole and rebounded into our car. The crossing guards at the intersection and the decent number of parents who witnessed were immediately checking on the driver and the crossing guard yelling to be loud enough wake her.
The driver woke startled and started maneuvering out. We are unclear if she started hitting other cars but there were at least two other cars working to block her in so she couldn’t flee. But she did get out and fled the scene. The witnesses say she was clearly not in her right state of mind.
Luckily no children were crossing and there were enough adults in a good presence of mind to keep kids from using that crosswalk closest to that pole cleared and other parents who were on the Sky bridge above got kids down from the bridge quickly and also got pictures of the car clear enough to identify the vehicle.
Our car is also mostly fine. The passenger door won’t open because the frame is bent blocking it from extending out. But other than that, the car is drivable and still safe.
So now we wait for the police investigation. At the scene they did say the other vehicle is registered to a trust that is out of state (and its plates were of a neighboring state). So it’s not going to be easy or clear cut. But we’re ok.
And then while I was typing that out 2 hours ago….
The power went out at my in-laws and we couldn’t get any phones to work for our laptops to hotspot off of and the outage was saying it would be off until 1:30 so we picked up and headed home.
Insurance has been called and they have all the info we do about the car and incident. And I turned my out of office on and used a sick day to deal with this because what in the mercury retrograde is all this???
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Oh my Thor!! That’s a lot to deal with while trying to get ready for vacation!! Glad everyone is okay and hope the stressful stuff is out of the way now 
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Big. Big. Cross country HUGS
I’m so sorry.
All of it.
And yes. The trip will be that much sweeter. 
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So sorry to hear about this! Hope everything works out ok.
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Wow! That’s a lot. Glad everyone was safe after the accident. Wishing you a wonderful, relaxing vacation. 
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Gracious!! I definitely think you need to run away for a bit!
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Thanks all for the good thoughts and hugs and letting me vent.
Last night when I tucked my oldest into bed and we were talking about logistics for today, we had this moment that we both actually believed our mantra of this month: “We’re going to make it!”
Our plane is taxiing for takeoff and just left the gate (coming from MCO). So it just has this last leg to get to us. And we’re in the endgame for packing and getting out the door to meet it!
Excited to go meet our Destiny!
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Wow you will need that cruise after everything you’ve been through. I hope it’s all smooth sailing from here on.
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What a wild month! So glad everyone is safe and that it seems you are indeed going to make it.
Can’t wait to hear what you think of the Destiny. I watched Mammoth Club’s sneak preview of the Lion King themed dining room and wanted to immediately book a trip 
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I hope your travels went well and you have the best time on your maiden voyage!!! 
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Thank you! So far, so good.
We are eating breakfast at a Starbucks inside a Publix in Ft. Lauderdale close to the port. We’re so close!
We can get on the ship in 3 more hours!
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