Let's Plan Alaska.....

So....I've been home for about a week now.  I'm caught up with laundry and the house is relatively clean.  I finished my Hawaii photobook.  I am going to tackle a major task starting tomorrow - painting our master bedroom...so...what to do in the meantime? 

Well, I miss Hawaii and I need to stop dwelling on that, so on to something different.  Let's start planning our trip for next summer! I've got to figure out money now anyway, because I need to plan our budget to determine how much to put away each month to have it all ready come next August.

So....here goes:

We are going on a Disney Cruise for 7 nights, so I started there. Looked at the itinerary and figured out how much our extra onboard expenses will be.

• All meals are included - but you are expected to tip heavily at the end of the cruise - so I researched and found the recommended tip amounts for restaurant servers and also housekeeping service- DONE!
• Room service is also free - but expected to tip a small amount for each order - calculated that - DONE!
• The cruise line does a great job of taking pics wherever you are and suckering you in - well, you know how much I love pictures......the last two cruises we did with Disney, we bought A LOT of their pics.  So....researched how much the pics could cost for certain packages on a 7 night - DONE!

We will be sailing out of Vancouver, British Columbia and hope to arrive a few days early and explore....so...need a hotel and a rental car!

Well, I called Disney Cruise Line because they always have certain hotels that they use for pre and post cruise options and usually the rates are cheapter then booking yourself.  They told me the 3 hotels that they will be using next summer and the rates.  So...now to pick one and add it to our cruise reservation. - ALMOST DONE! :)

Rental car - we want a car for the pre-cruise adventure in Vancouver.  Called the Vancouver sites for Budget and got the info about pick-up and drop-off , as well as rates.  We want to pick up at the airport and drop off at the cruise port the day before we cruise out.  Found out it is doable and fairly inexpensive. Not reserved yet, probably won't do that until Feb. or March, but I've got the rates and info. - DONE!

One of the fun things about going on a Disney Cruise is decorating your cruise door.  The doors are metal and if you print out your graphics on magnet paper, it works great.  We did it for our 4 night cruise 2 years ago and everyone loved it! For the 3 and 4 night cruises, not many people do it.  But for the longer cruises, most doors are decorated and it adds to the Disney Fun.  So....... laugh if you want, but I started designing some of our door magnets.  I won't print them till next spring or summer, right before our cruise, but why not start playing now and save them. :)

Here they are, so far:

If you are impressed, don't be! I am not creative enough to do this by myself.  There is a place where Disney fanatics (like myself) chat and post helpful hints and ideas.  There is one whole section devoted to cruise door designs.  You can "borrow" them and then make them your own.  All I did was add the names and change the date on the top picture.  So fun!!!

Still have to budget for the excursions at each port we stop at in Alaska, but those prices won't be released by Disney till probably around December.  Exact airfare isn't out yet either, but I priced a dummy trip for next June, so I have a pretty good idea of what it will cost.

So....this is what I do.....I start a year out and "dream" about the next BIG vacation.  It makes me happy and we usually end up having a pretty good time because of the info that I can find out by starting this early.

I am not recommending this strategy for anyone, but if you share a passion for traveling and planning as I do and like to dream and learn about places far away, then ask and I'll share more secrets! :) 

So, the planning has started and the budget is almost complete.  Only 379 days till we cruise! 

I'm off to think about painting our bedroom!  That is, until I need my travel/planning fix.......