I remember my first cruise. I was seven years old. We were at my family's old condo in Haines City, Florida, and I don't think I knew until the day we got in the car that we were going on a cruise. Even headed to port, I remember not really knowing where we were going. And then my parents told us we were going on a Disney Cruise, and I remembered seeing the segment on Disney Cruises at the end of the Walt Disney World promotional videos my sister and I would watch over and over again, so I kind of knew what was about to happen. It's funny how I'd never really thought about this before today, but looking back, I'm pretty sure my parents pulled off the "surprise vacation" with a Disney Cruise.... I hope our reaction was okay. I remember being really excited, but I was never the type of child to jump up and down with joy (I actually had a friend tell me recently, "Victoria, I feel like most of the time, you're really happy, but your expression doesn't always show it." "Oh, that's terrible - I should smile more." [flashes fake grin] "No, not like that.").
There I am in my favorite dress with a brand new Minnie Mouse plush that my dad had just bought me... not smiling -
Our first cruise rookie experience is a vivid memory for me. It was lunch time, and we had gotten to Port Canaveral, but hadn't stopped to eat lunch, yet. We continued into port and were at the first security checkpoint when my mother asked if we'd be able to eat once we got on the ship or if we should turn around and find a McDonald's and come back after we'd eaten. "Oh, no - there's plenty of food on the ship! Once you get on board, go to the top deck and find a buffet!"
