How to take a cruise.
It made me
Relaxed 
"Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun. We took a Disney Cruise so there were lots of activities for the kids. 4 days was too short. If I could do it again, I would have taken a 7 day cruise."
How I did it: Booked online. We also did the package with Disney World. If I had to do it again, I'd skip Disney World and just do the 7 day cruise. Plan to spend a lot more than you think you will, especially if you accept the multitude of drinks offered on board (ummm...they tend to interfere with your judgement);)
Lessons & tips:
- Plan ahead for activities. We missed the biggest party on the boat because one of the kids was overtired.
- Plan shore excursions ahead of time. For instance, book in advance if you want to swim with dolphins. We did, but there were a lot of people who couldn't do this because they didn't book in advance.
- Be open to those "cruise moments". I had an image in my mind of a perfect moment: standing on deck and night, dressed up, wine glass in hand, looking at the starry sky and full moon. This scene actually happened -- but only for about ten seconds until one of our fellow cruisers we met came by with his beer saying, "hey, buddy...how's in going". So much for romance:)
