I received this mailer in 2016 and thought that it would never be a possibility… On Sundays I like to share ways that you can save on your Walt Disney World vacation. This week, I’m going in a different direction. I want to encourage you to plan the vacation of your dreams, whether it’s to Walt Disney World or Timbuktu. Life is short, don’t keep putting it off.
This past week I did something that I’m still surprised about. I booked a week-long cruise on the Disney Fantasy. It’s a Star Wars Day at Sea cruise, which I’ve wanted to do since I first heard about them. This cruise is way out of my budget, but my family and I found a way to make it work.
As hard as 2020 was for everyone, 2021 has been much worse for me. In February both of my parents were placed in hospice care. We dropped everything and headed to my childhood home in Massachusetts. My mom passed away a few days later, and my dad in May. We buried them together on their 64th wedding anniversary. While this was the hardest thing that has happened in my life, there have been other hurdles and losses this year. My family and I need something fun to look forward to.
I’ve been on two Disney cruises, but those were both work related. That is not a complaint, those were two of the best trips that I’ve ever been on. Still, there was a lot of work involved. There were times when I was expected to be at a certain place at a certain time. I needed to do a lot of writing. I had to get the pictures to the wonderful woman who was posting everything onto the website back home. While there was downtime, there were things that I wished that I could have done but they never happened because there wasn’t enough time. Please don’t think I’m complaining, I’m not. I know that I’ve been blessed. My point is that a working vacation isn’t a relaxing vacation.
That said, I’ve been a Star Wars fan since 1977. My parents dropped my friends and me off at the local theater countless times. Once my sister got her license she would drive and go with me, as long as I would buy her ticket. I think I spent all of my babysitting money that year on the movie! All these years later, I still love Star Wars. It’s the perfect escapism for me, and believe me, right now I need to escape.
I shared in a different post that I plan to make a reservation for the Galactic Starcruiser when those open up, that hasn’t changed. I’ve cut corners and saved to make sure that I’ll be able to do that. I’m beyond excited about the possibility. But this cruise is going to be different.
My husband isn’t a huge Star Wars fan, but he does love cruising. Since our daughter (who is a Star Wars fan) will be going as well, this will be a wonderful, relaxing family vacation. We’ll have one day of Star Wars fun, and six days of the rest. I know that there will be restrictions in place to keep people safe from COVID-19, and I don’t care. If I have to wear a mask indoors, get a booster, and sail away without the party that is fine with me. If that is what it takes to be able to cruise again, I’ll do it. I’m not putting this off until things are “normal” again.
What does this have to do with my Sunday Savings Series? If you have a dream vacation that you’ve been putting off, I’d like to encourage you to somehow make that dream come true. This year has been a reminder to me that life is short. We booked this cruise in honor of my parents. I think that they would be thrilled that we’ve made these plans. Family was everything to my parents, and I know that they would be happy that we’re planning the family vacation that we’ve wanted to take for years.