Mickey Boat!

Our biggest summer adventure occurred in July, when we enjoyed a cruise to the Bahamas aboard the Disney Dream.  That vacation completely lived up to expectations...and boy, did we have time to build up some expectations.

We booked the room back in February and the kids had been looking forward to it ever since.  I finally made Will a paper chain (like Christmas) so he could count how many days were left instead of repeatedly asking us to tell him.  The excitement wasn't limited to the kids, either--I ran in the Daytona Firecracker 4 miler the day before we left and had one of my fastest runs ever.  It was a beach run in 80+ degree heat with no shade, so I'm pretty sure my vacation excitement accounted for my (relative) speed:

(Okay, so yes, it was a really small race with only about 150 people.  But still--I was 30 seconds away from an age group medal!  Which is probably the closest I will ever get.)

So anyway, we were all sooooo ready to leave when Sunday, July 8th, finally arrived.  It was actually an easy vacation departure compared to catching a flight--we are only an hour's drive away from Port Canaveral, so we had a leisurely breakfast, finished packing, and hit the road.

Getting close:

The screaming and pointing (by the kids...and maybe me, too) started right about here:

Boarding the boat was like boarding a Disney ride--nice and streamlined, although with a much shorter wait.  After direction from about 3 or 4 smiling cast members, the kids and I hopped out with our carryon bags and checked in at the terminal, while John parked the car.  We all met up and boarded the boat.

We went through a little greeting line of Disney Crew Members, and then right into the lobby of the ship.  The kids were waaay impressed and wanted to check out every little thing...

We then headed to the kids' club area to get the children registered.  One perk of the Disney boat is that they have designated kids-only play areas complete with supervising counselors (like included babysitting).  Kids have to be at least 3 years old and potty-trained (we used that as a bribe for Anna) to go into the Oceaneer Club and the Oceaneer Lab.  We weren't sure whether our kids would go for it, but decided to try it out.

We were walking down the corridor toward towards the Oceaneer Club when Anna spotted a familiar face...and started running down the hallway to greet...

Snow White!

Trust me, there were big smiles...just not for the camera!  Anyway, Anna was super excited to have her very own princess escort into the kids area:

Snow White introduced Anna to all the play areas, and then headed off on royal business.

The kids thought the Oceaneer Club was awesome.   It had lots of play areas, including a Monsters, Inc. play floor and a replica of Andy's room from Toy Story:

After we finished the kids' registration, we went to check out our cabin.

The balcony was the best part. :-)

We changed into swimsuits, and then headed to the lifeboat drill.  

When that was finally done, we went to the pool deck to try out the pools and slides.  Anna begged to try the Mickey slide, and she just barely made the height requirement, so I let her go.  The first time she came down like this:

But she hopped out grinning and yelling, "Go again!", so no harm done. 

Second time was better:

Will decided he wanted to go, too:

Playing in Nemo's Reef:

Anna had fun dancing at the Sailing Away deck party:

Streamers and characters:

Waving good-bye to Florida:

The 5 day cruises have 3 different musical shows and a pirate-themed night.  The show our first night was "Villains Tonight," a cute show featuring a bunch of Disney villains.  After that, we headed to the Royal Palace restaurant for dinner:

Our waiter transformed Anna's napkin into a bird:

We were pretty exhausted at this point, and Will asked if he could put his head in my lap during dinner.  I asked him if he wanted dessert, and he said he was too sleepy (!!), and he was snoring in my lap within seconds.  While they were serving dessert to the rest of us, Will fell out of my lap and onto the floor--I thought for sure he would be upset, but he just curled into the fetal position and kept snoozing:

Anna was just getting her second wind, so we walked around for a little bit while John took Will to the cabin.  Anna spied Mickey and announced that she needed to give him a hug:

Waiting to see Pluto:

Pretty bright-eyed for 10:00 pm!

I finally talked Anna to going back to the cabin.  I discovered my spot in the bed was taken:

I should mention here that one cool feature of our room is a pull-down berth--we showed Will online and he was so, so, sooo excited about having his own top bunk.

It even had a cute little Peter Pan constellation above it:

Anyway, Will was so zonked that John was afraid to put him up there for fear he wouldn't know where he was and roll off during the night.  So guess who got to sleep in the top bunk?

Actually, first I had to sleep with another child...

...who didn't want to sleep by herself:

And eventually I climbed up top (which Anna was probably happy about--looks like I was hogging the covers).  It wasn't too uncomfortable, but I recommend the big bed for anyone over about 12 years old. :-)

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I snuck out early the next morning and headed down to the jogging track on Deck 4.  Early morning is definitely the best time to explore the ship--all the main areas were deserted except for other joggers and cleaning crew.  I ran a few miles, watched the sunrise, and drank my coffee while watching us approach Castaway Cay.

Then I ran back to wake the kids up so they could watch us approach the island, too:

Castaway Cay is an island in the Bahamas that is owned by Disney, and is used as a stop for all the Caribbean cruises.  It has a few beaches, some water play areas, a biking trail, and 2 open air restaurants where a BBQ lunch buffet is served.  We spent the day playing on the beach--no pictures, because I didn't bring my phone or the camera off the boat!

After we'd had our fill of the sun, we headed back to the boat.  John and Will went off to activities in the D-Lounge family area, and I eagerly stayed to supervise Anna's nap.  Why so eager?  Well, because the Disney cruises have an on-demand TV channel that is full of classic Disney movies.  And by classic, I mean shows like The Gnomemobile, The Apple Dumpling Gang, all of the Herbie movies, as well as a lot of animated movies, including Cinderella, Snow White, and Alice in Wonderland.  So while Anna snoozed, I settled in to watch The Parent Trap II.  Yes, in my mind, it is a classic.  It is sad how many lines in that movie I know by heart.

The show that night was a cabaret show that I didn't think would interest the kids, so we explored the ship while playing the Midship Detective Agency game.  To play the game, we picked a mystery to solve at the registration desk on Deck 5 and grabbed a card with a QR code on the back.  Throughout the ship, there are lots of animated pictures that come to life when you stand in front of them (way cool), and the game involves going to several of them and "unlocking" a clue with the card.

Confusing?  Here's Will unlocking one clue:

These were two animated pictures of pirate ships.  The pirate ship in the picture on the left would fire at the one on the right when you stand in front of them.  But when it detected the Detective Agency card, a badge appeared.  Once the picture recognized Will's card, he had to undue some bolts--which he did by moving the wrench in the picture with motions of the card:

We were trying to find some stolen Dalmations...and he found one in this picture:

Some of the pictures gave him clues about who committed the crime (we had a dossier of Disney criminals), so by the end we were able to narrow it down to one culprit and solve the mystery:

We ran all over the ship to find all the pictures and had a great time.

We went back to the room to find a new towel animal and chocolates:

We all changed for dinner...which involved a change into pajamas for Will and Anna, because they attended Pluto's Pajama Party in the Oceaneer Club that night.

A few pictures on the promenade deck before dinner:

Dinner was at Animator's Palate:

The restaurant was lined with screens and characters from Finding Nemo cruised through them during the dinner.  Crush, the sea turtle, also came by and interacted with some of the diners (similar to Turtle Talk at Epcot).

Counselors from the kids' club came to the restaurant to collect all the kids to go to the Pajama Party, and Will and Anna happily joined them while John and I enjoyed a quiet dessert.  After dinner, we went to one of the lounges for a drink and then went out onto the bow of the ship for a "king of the world"moment.  I must have watched too much Titanic anniversary coverage back in April, because I also found myself nervously scanning the dark for icebergs.  Off the coast of Florida.  In July.  I mean, you can't be too careful!

About that time, I got a text letting me know that Will had fallen asleep in the kids' club, so we went down to pick him up.  We found him sound asleep on a bean bag in front of a movie screen, while Anna was jumping around the Monsters, Inc. room.  Who knew she was such a night owl?!

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On the morning of Day 3, I left for coffee before John and the kids woke up.  From the previous morning, I knew the ship would be quiet, so I took my camera to get some pictures of the ship itself.

The Donald Duck pool:

The shallow Mickey Pool:

"Funnel Vision", showing movies poolside throughout the day:

The AquaDuck water coaster (Will's favorite):

The Mickey slide (Anna's favorite):

Our corridor:

Our cabin:

The kids woke up in time to watch us "park" the ship in Nassau:

After breakfast, Anna and I discovered that there was a princess gathering in the lobby...so of course we had to say hello to them before disembarking in Nassau.

Snow White recognized Anna and thanked her for coming to visit:

Quick hug with Belle:

Some conversation with Cinderella:

Smiles with Princess Tiana:

Anna didn't recognize Ariel, but she didn't seem too offended:

One funny thing: while Anna was meeting the princesses, a woman behind me leaned forward and asked, "Is your daughter's outfit an Oliver and S pattern?"  I said that yes, it was!  She was debating about buying some of the new patterns, so I pulled Anna back over so she could get a better look at the pants.  That gave me a laugh and I had fun telling John that I was not the only sewing nerd on the ship.

We booked a semi-submarine excursion in Nassau.  A ferry took us to the semi-submarine anchored in the harbor, and on the way we had a good glimpse at the front of our ship:

We boarded the boat and climbed down into the submarine part of the boat:

We cruised along looking at sea turtles, barracudas, and even a small shark.  I got a little seasick from the rocking motion of the boat, so I was glad when it was time to head back to shore.

We took a stroll around Nassau, and then went back to the boat to get ready for the Pirates IN the Caribbean night.  Our room attendant left us bandannas on the bed:

I had some me-made pirate costumes for Will and Anna to wear:

(Anna's skirt is the free Oliver + S Lazy Days skirt pattern, made with 2 layers.  I traced a pair of Will's  PJ's to make his pants.)

The kids with Pirate Mickey:

We fed the kids a quick meal and then checked them into the Oceaneer Club.  John and I had reservations for dinner at Palo, one of the adult-only restaurants on board.  It was really, really good; by far the best meal we had on the boat.

After dinner, we collected the kids and took them to the pool deck to watch the fireworks:

On returning to the room, we found a towel monkey and some gold chocolate dubloons:

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Day 4 was our day at sea.  I thought that mean we would be sailing but there's not much distance between Nassau and Castaway Cay, so they just parked us somewhere out in the ocean for the day.  I got up early to run, and then we all headed for an early breakfast and were poolside before 8 am.  That was good planning on our part--we had the pool almost to ourselves, and Will and I were able to be in the line for the AquaDuck right when it opened and rode it 3 times before the lines got long.  He rode a few times with John, too:

After lunch, Will and I went to a workshop where we learned how to draw some of the Disney characters:

Will is a perfectionist when it comes to his artwork and he was upset his Minnie didn't look exactly like the instructor's, although I think it is really good for a 6-year-old!  I was wishing I had had this workshop before I attempted Anna's birthday cake.

I took Will to the room to nap with John and Anna, and then headed back downstairs for a cooking demonstration and a towel-folding workshop.  Can you tell what I made?

I took all the animals back to the room and lined them up to impress Will when he woke up:

Dinner was formal attire and the show was The Golden Mickeys, a musical with an Oscar theme.  Anna got all dressed up for the event:

And then she had some unprincess-like fun in the arcade:

After the show, the kids asked if they could go to the Oceaneer Club instead of dinner with us, and we agreed (after feeding them from one of the quick-service restaurants).  So John and I had another peaceful dinner.  John finally ordered one of the sundaes he'd been eyeing...I think this one was bananas foster:

Right before dessert, I got a text letting me know that Anna had had a potty accident and needed a change of clothes.  I ran to the kids' club, asked for the Cinderella-who-peed-her-pants, switched her into pajamas since it was getting late, and then went back to finish dessert with John.  

I knew that the real Cinderella would be available for pictures after dinner and had planned to get a picture of both princesses.  I did get the picture...

...but it didn't turn out quite like I had envisioned!

Anna spoke to Cinderella for a few minutes--I couldn't hear them so I'm not sure if she told Cinderella what happened to her dress, but Cinderella kept nodding very sympathetically.  Somehow I doubt she could empathize with Anna's particular issue, but maybe she's spilled coffee on her dress before?  :-)

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Day 5 found us back in Castaway Cay.  This time I took some pictures of the crew docking the boat; it's a neat process:

Check out the chain of people pulling on the rope:

Breakfast with Mickey waffles:

John and I booked a kayak and nature walk excursion on this trip to Castaway Cay.  We had a Bahamian tour guide on the nature walk and my respect for her increased ten-fold when she dove into the bushes to grab this creature:

We kayaked for about 30 minutes around the edge of the island and saw some large stingrays and a nurse shark.  Then we beached the kayaks and swam for a little bit (with me keeping an eye out for any larger cousins of that nurse shark), and then kayaked back.

John and I tried out the water slides, then went to pick the kids up from the Castaway Club (the Oceaneer Club equivalent on the island).  Our ship-issued cell phones didn't work on the area of the island where we'd been kayaking, so we didn't find out that Anna had had another potty accident during lunch until we picked her up.  I was worried the staff would think I was lying about her potty-training skills, but luckily Anna is little Miss Congeniality.  When we arrived, she was the only kid still eating lunch and apparently 3 counselors had volunteered to stay and watch her, so she had lots of attention.  She was singing to them and feeding them her french fries when we got there.

Anna and I went back to the boat for naptime:

John joined Anna for a nap, and Will and I wandered around for awhile...

...and decided to do another drawing workshop.  This time, Will decided to get creative and turn his characters into mazes:

I realized at this point in the trip that I had waaaay more photos of Anna than Will, so I told Will he needed to pose for some pictures.  He said he wanted me to take his picture playing shuffleboard, so we headed to Deck 4...

...where we waited FOREVER for some Italian dudes to finish their game.

We finally got a court to ourselves and played a few games, and Will did indeed pose for some photos. I am going to call this series "Shuffleboard: The Agony and the Ecstasy":

 Will even volunteered to pose with Mickey:

Once Anna woke up, we ordered room service milk and cookies and watched Finding Nemo for the fourth time of the trip:

We went to the "Believe" musical (I got all teary, John thought it was cheesy), took some photos on the staircase, and enjoyed our final dinner:

Then we went to our room to change into swimsuits.  Will was super-excited to find a cobra snake on the bed:

I read on one of the cruise reviews that you can drop off items to be signed by the Disney characters at guest services, so I made pillowcases for the kids and dropped them off the first day, and they were returned to us the last night with the signatures of the characters:

We all wanted to squeeze the last bit of fun out of vacation, so we changed into swimsuits and enjoyed a few last AquaDuck rides and swam almost until the pools closed at midnight.

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One perk of having the late dinner seating is that we also had the later breakfast time on the last day, so we went down for breakfast at 8 am and then began the disembarkation process.  We followed the crowd through customs, hopped in our car, and arrived home around 10:15 am.  Pretty painless.

We really had such a good time and enjoyed every minute of the trip.  The kids are still talking about the Mickey Boat and can't wait to go back, so we told them to start saving their pennies.  Maybe Alaska in 2014? :-)