Which Disney Princess are YOU?

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere.

I want it more than I can tell...

--Belle from Beauty & the Beast

We attended the opening night of our community theatre's production of this musical last week, and I was struck by the longing in Belle's first aria. This girl had plans. She had dreams. She wanted to wring every drop of joy from life she could.

She reminds me of me.

Fortunately, my dreams of adventure are about to come true. Only a few more days until we launch ourselves into the blue and head across the North Atlantic on an iconic ship. Cunard's Queen Mary 2 may be our mode of travel, but it's also a destination in itself. I can't wait to share the delights of this very British voyage with you. I'm expecting some variation of Downton Abbey afloat. Rest assured, I'll keep you updated.

Yes, we have HUGE suitcases!

This week, we've begun to pack in earnest. I've made a list of outfits based on the number of nights, and the dress code for evenings, but it's not quite complete. I'll post it once I have it all nailed down. The DH brought a folding table in from the garage and we're beginning to assemble everything in one place before we break out the suitcases.

We're trying to spare Mack and Charlie for as long as we can. Our dogs don't seem to notice things piling up in the office, but a suitcase nearly sends them into spasms. Fortunately, #2 Daughter is our designated dog-nanny, so we know they'll be well cared for while we're gone.

If they look spoiled, it's cuz they are!

The DH took a suit, a blazer, three pairs of trousers and a tie with an unfortunate tomato sauce stain to the dry cleaners yesterday. They'll all be ready after 5 today. His tux is still in the dry cleaner bag from after our last trip. He's been practicing with his bow tie.

Evidently, it's not quite like riding a bicycle!

We don't need any special vaccinations for this trip because we had Hep A, typhoid, and tetanus shots before our 2018 World Cruise. There is a warning of a measles outbreak in both Britain & Norway, but I had measles as a child and was vaccinated for rubella years ago. The DH had his MMR in 2017. After my experience with shingles in May, the DH rolled up his sleeve for the new Shingrix shot. He had the booster yesterday. I'll wait until after we return to take mine. I want to be sure the shingles are completely out of my system before I reintroduce even a non-live virus version of them.

We've chosen and booked our excursions. I'll share a bit about those in another post. We could have waited until we were on the ship to decide on our port activities, but there's always the risk that something we want to do will be sold out. Plus, it's nice to have as much paid for as possible before we embark.  Once again, we are sticking to our cruise line's offerings. Some travelers swear by independent tours, but frankly, I've had nightmares about running down a pier as my ship is pulling away. Knowing that, if something happens, the ship will wait for passengers who are delayed on one of their tours is a big plus. It makes my days ashore so much more enjoyable and stress-free.

It feels as if we've been waiting forever for this voyage, but now it's hurtling toward me. And while I go through all the final preparations for our cruise, I realize afresh how blessed I am. My heart is singing like a Disney princess.

PS. Now it's your turn. I've already revealed that my secret Disney princess identity is Belle. What's yours?