Imaginationsetfree's AMAZING solo cruise PTR! About This Page:

[Imaginationsetfree]

Hi, everyone! I (finally) booked my cruise last night, so I thought I'd get the excitement going with a pre-trip report! I'm so excited! The cast of characters is as follows:

Me: Imaginationsetfree. 26 years old and lover of all things Disney.

And...that's it! The idea for this solo trip has evolved over quite some time, so I'm so excited that I'm actually booked and planning everything! I took my first solo trip to Disney World last year - I decided that after having a pretty tough year that I needed a chance to get away from everyday life. So, I took a glorious two week trip to Disney World. I was a little apprehensive at first, but I couldn't have been happier that I did it. I loved doing what I wanted, whenever I wanted! It was exactly what I needed. Once I got back, I started daydreaming about my next Disney trip (hey, it's the only thing that can get me through my post-Disney blues!).

Originally, my sister (who is a former cast member and came with me a few years ago on my first Disney trip in 15 years) and I had tossed up the idea of doing a land and sea Disney vacation sometime in 2010. We had talked about it, but it ended up not working out. I had done a lot of cruise research, so I still considered doing it. I was a little more apprehensive about cruising alone - I wasn't sure if that was going a little too far out of my comfort zone by doing it. But I thought a lot about my previous solo trip, and also had a good conversation with a friend who has done TONS of solo travelling. His basic advice was "If you really want to do something, you have to be willing to do it yourself. It's the only way you will truly get to see and do everything you want in life."

I took his advice, and started "pre-planning" my Disney cruise solo trip. I did a lot of research, and finally decided that (a) I wanted to travel sometime during the winter (because the Caribbean is so much more appealing when it's freezing cold!) and (b) that I wanted to take the Western Caribbean cruise. Going on that, I decided on the February 20, 2010 Western Caribbean cruise. I also decided that I wanted to take a week following the cruise, and spend it in Disney World. (hey, if I'm travelling solo, I want to do EVERYTHING!)

The next challenge was facing the fact that I knew exactly what I wanted, but had to wait to book. My work has us "bid" for time off, meaning that I had to wait to be sure my time off would be approved before I could cast anything in stone. I am NOT a patient person, so I tried my hardest to wait while in the meantime keeping myself occupied reading the trip reports here.

Finally, I got the glorious email from work - PTO bidding had opened up, and before I knew it, I had my time off for the cruise approved! I have to wait a bit longer before I find out if the week after the cruise is approved, but I decided that I would take the cruise regardless of whether or not I can take the week in WDW afterwards. I emailed a travel agent, and before I knew it, I was booked! February 20, Western Caribbean, cat. 12 stateroom. Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!

So, now that the big planning/booking is out of the way, there's lots of little planning still to do. Here's what's coming up:

Palo reservation: Another bit of overcoming the "should I do ____ as a solo traveler?" I was a bit concerned that the atmosphere of Palo would be a bit too sophisticated and romantic for me alone. After thinking, I decided that if I can get a reservation I'm going to go for it. A solo trip is not for deciding whether or not you should do something - it's for DOING what you want!

Shore excursions:

Key West: no plans to book anything here - I want to do some sightseeing, but it's all stuff I can do on my own. I plan to visit the Southernmost Point, the Key West Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters Museum (I love lighthouses), and also plan on stopping in to the Hard Rock Cafe to add a pin to my collection.

Cozumel: I'm tossing up a few ideas here. I started thinking about XCaret, but decided against it. Now I'm thinking about just doing the beach break and a little shopping. I'm thinking it would be nice to get off the ship for a bit any enjoy the beach, but also get back to the ship early enough to enjoy it during the slower time.

Grand Cayman Island: Dolphin extreme swim.

Castaway Cay: Cataway Cay 5k (I'm a new runner, working through a "Couch to 5k" program), and then just looking to relax -chill out at Serenity Bay, get float rental, etc.

Thanks for everyone who's still reading! Stay tuned to find out if I get all my Palo/Shore excursions booked, and if I end up with week 2 in WDW!