Disney Cruise (con't)

DAY THREE

We woke up Tuesday morning at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. They had a 5K, so Seth and I ran that. This was our first time doing a 5K together! I did the whole thing without stopping and under 30 minutes, which was my goal. Seth NEVER exercises and still beat me! I accidentally added an extra 1/2 mile by missing the last turn, but that's neither here nor there. Seth still would have beat me!

 The weather at Castaway Cay was not pretty! After the 5K, we went back on ship, changed, and met up with my parents and the kids. It was super windy and chilly by then. We dropped the kids off at the kids' club on the island, which was a giant sandbox that suited them perfectly. My dad and Seth ate at the barbecue and we all just wondered around. 

 It was so windy that all excursions were cancelled.

I would love to go back! Looks like great beach potential 

 We ended up going back to the ship and hanging out. The kids did some kids club activities and Adelyn swam a little. Honestly, there's so much to do on the ship that the bad weather really had no bearing on our fun!

Bathing suited folks in the background? Lifeguard ready for snow skiing? 

This night was Pirate Night. We had fun getting into our pirate attire!

 Even Rex played along! The earring and bandana do-rag on my dad cracked me up!

 Dinner at Animators Palatte!

 Seth being silly. And probably in pain!

 The staff wished me Happy Birthday a night early :)

 Towel creation

 We went to the deck party and danced with all of the other pirates

 Adelyn made so many friends on this trip. Here she is dancing with a girl she met at the pool

 Mickey zip lined across the ship!

That night, my mom stayed in our room and Seth and I went out. We went to the Irish pub and had a drink and enjoyed some music. Then we watched a game show (How Well Do You Know Your Mate?). It was hysterical! Ask me why if you see me in person. Then, Seth signed up for a whiskey tasting so we went to that. Again, there is SO MUCH to do on this ship... for all ages! We had a fun date night!

DAY FOUR

 The next day (Wednesday) was my birthday! We went to breakfast at Lumiere's. It was awesome! Adelyn let me wear her crown. 

 We signed up for Meet and Greets at the beginning of the cruise. We still waited in a little line, but it could have been way worse had we not had our assigned time. 

 Storm Trooper, meet Cinderella

 Adelyn is holding Rapunzel's hair

 Rapunzel and Prince Star Wars

 James didn't complain once about the princesses! 

Adelyn was stroking Belle's dress and said it was "so soft"

James talked SO much to Elsa

 They love Frozen!

 Birthday girl had to get in!

 Seth and the kids went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the THIRD time.  

 My mom and I took advantage of an adult activity: Coaster Making. We glued tiles in fun patterns to make coasters. It was oddly relaxing and fun to do something with just my sweet mom

 GORGEOUS sunset!

 We took the kids to the Kids Club for dinner and we got ready for our adult meal at Palo (the adult only restaurant)

 Such a fun birthday dinner! The food was absolutely amazing! Our waiter was a little too "there" but he did meet our every single need! He even gave Seth 2 entrees since he was torn between lamb and Osso Bucco. 

 Another birthday dessert!

 We picked the kids up and took them to the last show. Seriously, the shows every night were outstanding! Afterwards, they wanted ice cream. Why not at 10 pm?!?!

Our last night on the ship's towel creation

Disney does no wrong. Even our departure morning was smooth sailing. We ate an early,  lovely breakfast and were in our car with our luggage by 9:30 a.m. I was sad it was over. The good news? We booked another cruise! If you book while on the ship, you get a discount and have 24 months to set your date. Why not? 

 We spent Friday at The Kennedy Space Center. It was incredible!

 Seth and my dad sliding down

 We took a bus ride and James fell asleep in Nana's lap

 The kids are touching moon rock

 We thought we'd only be here a couple of hours but there is so much to see! I encourage everyone to check it out!

We drove back home after that and arrived around 10:30 pm. I honestly didn't feel like I needed a vacation from the vacation. I rarely feel that way upon return from any trip. I can't wait for our next Disney Cruise!

Disney Cruise

We went on a 4-night Bahamian Disney Cruise (on the Magic cruise ship) with my parents February 7th-11th. This was a generous gift from my parents for Christmas (we chipped in a small portion). I feel like the unofficial spokesperson of Disney Cruises. It was one of the best trips I have ever been on! I am posting too many pictures below. :)

On Saturday afternoon, we made the 8 hour drive to Orlando and arrived at our hotel around 10 pm. My parents stayed at the hotel next door. 

DAY ONE

That morning, we were SO excited that Cruise Day had finally arrived....hence, the handstand shenanigans! My parents hopped in the car with us and we drove 45 minutes to Cape Canaveral. 

Check-in was a breeze and they snapped our thumbs up picture upon entering The Magic

We ate a delicious buffet lunch at Cariocas and then headed to the deck for the send off party. A fruity cocktail was in order!

The kids jammed out with their streamers to the fun music and energetic staff

It took us no time to find Eye Scream, the soft-serve ice cream machine that's always available.  

We were able to get in our rooms shortly after that. It was actually bigger than I expected. When I unpacked, we had drawers we didn't even need. The couch folded out into a comfy bed for James and each night they pulled down a comfy bed for Adelyn from the ceiling. There is a curtain on either side that pulled shut to create a separate bedroom. It was just right for our family of 4. 

I created these magnets to distinguish our doors. 

My parents room was not too far down the hall. This made it super easy for the kids to easily scoot down there :)

We checked out the Kids Club. They had several different rooms. This particular room was for animated drawing. The table was lit beneath and kids could trace Disney characters. 

We ate at Lumiere's for dinner that night. 

James enjoyed his Mickey Mouse ice cream

 This was Super Bowl Sunday! My parents live near Charlotte, so of course we had to cheer on the Panthers! My dad is a huge fan, so they bought us all Panthers shirts. One of the bars had a Super Bowl party and we watched for a bit. My mom and I left early so we could take the kids to see a Cinderella musical. 

Our towel snake with Disney chocolates

Adelyn was obsessed with her top bunk bed. One day she even asked the staff to leave it down!

DAY TWO

We ate breakfast on the deck and enjoyed the wide open ocean. Then, my mom and I did a quick workout at the gym. Later that morning we arrived in Nassau. My parents (and the kids) had never been. We booked zero excursions because we wanted to truly experience the ship, but we did explore Nassau a bit just by walking around. 

I love the colorful buildings and had to snap a shot of these two from our veranda. 

My parents with the kids as we enter Nassau

My family

Nana and Grandeddy

When Seth came here as a kid they drank Goombay Punch. He bought a 6 pack and shared it with the kids.

Locals were CONSTANTLY in your face asking you to buy this and that. "Let me braid your pretty girl's hair", they said..... so we did. 

I think it looked pretty cute! I need to find someone near me to do it again. She kept the braids for about 2 weeks. Her hair was out of her face, yet still "down" (as she prefers to wear it)

My parents stayed a little longer in Nassau and we headed back to the ship to enjoy the pretty day poolside.

My honey and me

They almost always had a Disney movie on the big screen near the pool. Adelyn parked herself in the corner and enjoyed the show. This is the life!

James snuggled up with my mom when she returned. He ended up taking a nice nap in a lounge chair. Again....this is the life!

Of course, we got some ice cream after swimming. As you can see, the kids have their fleeces on. This was the warmest day we had, but when you got out it was definitely chilly. The pool was heated. The only swimming I did was the Aqua Dunk and the hot tub. Adelyn was too scared but Seth and I thought the Aqua Dunk was awesome! (It's a water slide that drops you from the top of the ship to the bottom)

We headed back to the rooms to shower up for dinner. Adelyn sat on the veranda and read for a little while.

Sometimes they can be so sweet with each other!

 This was the "dressy" night....although nothing is mandatory. Here's our family selfie from our veranda 

 Pretty girl posing

 Cheers, Mom! We ordered a fun cocktail at Animators Palette. 

 We didn't buy the overrpiced "professional" pictures they offered. Instead, I took pictures of the pictures, so the quality is not good of the next few. Here are my dad and James at dinner. 

 My girl and me

We ate at 5:45 each night so were done fairly early. We dropped the kids off at the Kids Club and wondered around the ship with my parents. We did the cheesy photographs and cracked up at the poses they have you do!

We picked the kids back up and went to see the Tangled musical. All of the shows were phenomenal! I am amazed they're able to house that much talent and scenery on a ship! Adelyn bumped into Rapunzel on the way out. 

We hit the bed after the show. The kids loved seeing the towel creations each night! 

I'll stop now and will continue with the second half in a separate post. Stay tuned!