What could possibly be better than going to Disney World or Disneyland? Going on a Disney Cruise. Just imagine if you combined the over-the-top experiences & once-in-a-lifetime memories that only Disney can give you with sailing, sun, and sand. I have been on three of them, and hopefully, it will be four this coming summer! Kids of all ages and adults, yes, you read that correctly, find themselves falling in love with Disney all over again the minute the ship leaves the dock! Here's a list of things that only true DCL lovers will understand:

Before The Cruise:

1. You are counting the days until your cruise starts:

2. You look like this when you get to pick out your Port Adventures online:

3. You spend your free time daydreaming abut things like exactly how your stateroom door is going to be decorated:

4. The week of the cruise is finally here and you start packing:

5. You couldn't be more ready.

6. And then the day finally arrives. Your day of embarkation is here.

7. You can hardly sit still on the bus ride to the port:

8. And it gets even worse when you are waiting for your embarkation number to be called:

9. Then, all of a sudden your family is being introduced by one of the cast members and you're finally walking into the atrium of your home for the next 7-10 days.

During The Cruise:

10. You use every opportunity to use the excuse, "because I'm on vacation!"

11. Two words: The AquaDuck

12. You truly believe that wherever you go in life, it should have a Fourth Deck:

13. You know all the Disney music that they play onboard by heart:

14. You take the lack of internet access as an invitation to just disconnect from the world and find that it's almost therapeutic.

15. You always feel special when your waiter/waitress remembers your drink order or how you like your food prepared, so they become an honorary member of the family by the end of the week.

16. You want to take every last H₂0+ soap, shampoo, and conditioner provided in the bathroom:

17. Coming back to fluffy new towels, a freshly made bed, and chocolates on your pillow is the only thing you could ask for after a long day on land or at sea:

18. Oh yeah, and Castaway Cay. Enough said.

After The Cruise:

19. A few days before you're scheduled to disembark, you slip into your "final days of the cruise" funk:

20. Then the day of disembarkation comes and it hits you:

21. You sit on the sad bus back to the airport and think about how much you're going to miss it:

22. Mostly, you're just going to miss how Disney makes you feel:

23: But you're quickly reminded that it's only a matter of time before you're starting the countdown to your next cruise!