Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise, Day 15 – The End, The Numbers, And A Final Word

Screen Shot 2015-05-31 at 10.04.36 AM

Our alarm went off at 7:30 for our 8:00 debarking time. We didn’t go to breakfast because we’d said our goodbyes to our servers the night before and we wanted to avoid the awkward, “we’ve already said goodbye yet here we are again asking for a coffee refill” scenario. Ever since last night’s it’s been hard to avoid the acute sense of dread over the vacation ending, but now it’s time to focus on getting home and on the future unmitigated joys of unlimited high speed internet.

What I wish I would’ve known before this cruise:

1. The room service is 24 hours a day and mostly free (except for things like water bottles, and M&Ms). The pizza, burgers, chicken fingers, soup, etc is included in the price of the cruise, and room service is the perfect solution to those last night hunger pangs.
2. Popcorn to eat (for those viewings of Teen Beach Movie) is available through room service.
3. The breakfast buffets are always better than the served brunches.
4. I wore 1/3 of what I packed, because of the easy access to a laundry room on board. (And, as I mentioned, we had 4 suitcases for our five person family! However, we did buy a suitcase in Copenhagen to get our shopping home.)

Tip: If you are an adult and don’t like the dessert options, you can always order a Mickey bar!

Here are the final numbers:

1.5: the number of months we’ve now spent on the Disney Magic
15: the total number of books we read
11: how many gin rummy tournaments we held
5: how many loads of laundry we did
15: the number of Mickey bars David French consumed
300: the number of flights of stairs we each traversed over the 15 days, which is equivalent to about three Empire State Buildings. (We took a vow never to take the elevator while on the ship.)
3,988,319 the number of times we heard “Let it Go” as well as the number of times we loved it

Many people say they aren’t “cruise people,” which may or may not be an accurate way to divide humanity up into sub-categories. (I prefer “people who like Barry Manilow and people who do not.”) I think the Disney cruise specifically is an amazing way to spend time in a non-stressful, generally internet free environment with loved ones. The Disney cruises do not have casinos, are friendly, and are not overrun with Spring breakers looking for hook ups. (Camille and I almost went down to the bar where they had their “singles events” just to see what type of people would be looking for other singles on Disney cruises… and to count how many sets of Mickey ears we’d see going into the lounge. However, we decided it would be cruel, so we didn’t go. Perhaps there is a thriving singles population where “Little Mermaid” enthusiasts can find each other. Part of me hopes so.) The bottom line is that it is a very family-friendly way to spend time together, and I can’t imagine anyone that wouldn’t enjoy one.

We flew to Chicago from Copenhagen and are now sitting in Midway airport awaiting our final flight home. Naomi has been the most amazing traveler ever – she’s had three international flights and has been amazing on every single one.

Thanks for coming alongside us on our Disney cruise adventure!!!

Read the complete series:

Day One, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: Anchors Away

Day Two, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: Medical Evacuation

Day Three, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: College Admissions Conversation?

Day Four, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: The Gut Punch of New York

Day Five, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: Day at Sea

Day Six, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: Nova Scotia

Day Seven, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: I Didn’t Know Cinderella Was Real

Day Eight, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: The Worst Thing About This Cruise

Day Nine, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: Three Racial Moments with Naomi

Day Ten, Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise: Frozen’s “Freezing the Night Away” and Internet Withdrawal