When Magic Turned Scary: Our Family's Norovirus Scare on Disney Wonder

We were supposed to be living the dream. My husband Mark, our two kids Emma (8) and Jake (5), and I had been counting down the days to our seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Disney Wonder for months. Everything felt magical from the moment we stepped into Port Canaveral—the white ship gleaming in the Florida sun, the excitement in the air, Cast Members in their perfectly pressed uniforms greeting us with genuine smiles. Emma was wearing her new Cinderella dress, and Jake had his Mickey ears on before we even made it through security. This was supposed to be the vacation we'd been saving for all year. The first two days were absolutely perfect. We had conquered the pool decks, caught the Broadway-style shows in the Walt Disney Theatre (the production of "Beauty and the Beast" was incredible), and even managed to snag a last-minute dinner reservation at Palo, the adults-only Italian restaurant. The kids loved the Navigator's Deck with all the interactive activities, and I'd successfully avoided the kids' clubs just long enough to feel like we were bonding as a family. The Wonder felt like the right size—big enough to have everything you could want, but small enough to not fee…