Arizona Travel Agent
In November 2003 my wife Anne and I visited Hawaii for the first time – what better way to see the Hawaiian Islands than by cruise ship? We thought a cruise would be a good way to sample four of the major Islands (Oahu, Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui). We also stayed two precruise nights at a Waikiki resort. Despite a rare storm that caused us to miss two of the Islands (Kauai and Maui) we still enjoyed this cruise very much and we want to return!
In the late summer of 2003 I had the opportunity to take the trip I had been dreaming about for years – a 7 night Alaska Cruise. I had been to the interior of Alaska in 2002; my 2002 trip made me want to take a Alaska cruise even more.
In May 2003 my wife and I took a 3 night Disney cruise that I had won in a Disney travel agent sales contest. While thrilled to be taking my third Disney cruise, a few questions immediately popped into my head: 
Would a 3 night cruise seem too short? I’m used to 7 night cruises! How would the Disney Wonder compare to the Disney Magic? The latter ship I had cruised on twice before, but this would be my first time on the Disney Wonder. We had already visited the two ports on this cruise (Nassau and Castaway Cay) – would we find new and exciting things to do on this cruise?
My family had been to Disney World and on the Disney Cruise before, so in February of 2003 I decided to take them on a different type of vacation. We visited Disneyland for 5 days, followed by a 7 night Mexican Riviera Cruise on Princess. This would be our first Princess cruise, and as a travel agent I wanted to see how their kids programs compared to the excellent ones Disney has. Also we were excited to try out a new ship on a new cruise line with a new itinerary for us! Rather than give a day by day account of this cruise, I will tell you about the different parts of our cruise in this report: Disneyland Portion, Our Stateroom, Recreation And Activities Onboard, Itinerary and Ports of Call, Cruising With Kids, Dining, Entertainment, and Embarkation/Disembarkation.
We have taken our nine year old twin boys (Andrew and Josh) to Disney World every year since they were four years old. This year we decided to do something different – a 5 night trip to Disneyland followed by a 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise on Princess Cruise Line. In this report I will describe the Southern California portion of our trip. I will also describe our impressions of the different attractions we saw at Disneyland compared to similar attractions at Disney World. I’ll include some tips we discovered that may help you on a future Disneyland trip.
Can two adults enjoy a 7 Night Disney Cruise without their kids? This is the question my wife Anne and I set out to find the answer to when we took the 7 Night
Western Caribbean Cruise on the Disney Magic from November 9th through November 16th, 2002. We had taken the Disney Cruise before, a 3 night Disney Magic Cruise in May 2000, with our twin sons (they were 6 years old in 2000). This time we were interested to see how the longer 7 night cruise would compare to the short 3 night cruise, and what activities were available exclusively for adults. Below I will give the highlights of our trip, day by day. I have included some recommendations (preceded by the words “TIP”) throughout the report.
In the late summer of 2002 I went on a Alaska Land tour with a travel agent group, and I had a great time! The tour was run by Princess Cruise Lines. Princess offers land 
tours as add-ons to its Alaska cruises (a combination cruise and land tour is called a “cruise tour”), or you can do a land tour only.
This is a review of my family’s first Disney Cruise and first cruise ever that I wrote in 2000 before I was a travel agent. This trip got us hooked on cruises and we have taken many since then!
Before we even dreamed of owning a travel agency Anne and Tim Larison loved taking their twins Andrew and Josh to Disney World every year. This report is one I wrote back in 1998 – we still smile when we read of the boys adventures on this first trip. I hope you enjoy it, too – Tim Larison