@ariane37 helped us pick an excellent location for our rooms!
Glad you guys liked them and made use of them!Our MerryTime Cruise dry erase boards were from our most wonderful TA!! Jimmy liked leaving messages on Grandma and Grandpa's board, especially!
Thanks It is my absolute favorite piece of Christmas decor for traveling!! It's inflatable (obviously), so super easy to just deflate and pack flat in the suitcase. We've done several WDW trips over Christmas, and this is the one thing that always goes with us, so I was SO excited to use it for our cruise door, too.How did you hang your wreath? It is so cute!
It really would have been fine with us if he didn't like the club, but he ended up having such a great time there! He loved the luau with Stitch, and had me checking the Navigator for the entire cruise to see if that event would pop up again. He was SO excited that they finally offered it again on our last day! The only thing I wish is that they provided pictures of him participating in the activities. It sounded like he had such fun interactions with some characters. Pics would have been awesome to have!A good start to your cruise! Glad your DS got over his crankiness and enjoyed the sail away party. We did a Disney cruise many, many years ago - when it was called the Big Red Boat. I envisioned our boys spending a lot of time in the kids club. They went for a few events but were more comfortable being with us - which was fine. I was happy for you to hear he loved the club!
He was totally worth the wait, and that was definitely the longest we waited for any characters on the trip...well, besides Santa. Does he count as a character?Great pics with Captain Mickey!
Love your dress- what a great deal!
The Christmas tree lighting sounds so fun! The characters look so festive!
Sounds like a great first day/night on board!
I've caught up over here! So excited to read about a Disney Cruise! I've definitely been thinking a lot about doing one of these so I'm loving how you are being as detailed as you can. It looks so much fun despite of all the boarding procedures. Also, that character dance party looks like exactly what I need in my life once this quarantine is over.
Can't wait to hear about the rest of your cruise!
I wish you had been able to take your cruise, too!!! We definitely have the itch to book another oneIt truly makes me happy to see all your photos and smiles! And it makes me truly wish we'd been able to take our cruise on the Dream last month. But plenty of time for that All the "extra" Merrytime merriment really seems worth it!
The Princess Gathering also made my Mom really happy because there is no one she loves more than Princess Tiana! (She rivals your fandom, @PlutosRHM55 !!) Her favorite place in the whole wide world is New Orleans, so she just loves talking all things NOLA with Tiana, gumbo, beignets, etc!
As we were getting closer to our sailing date, I wondered if they'd be in their new ensembles, too! I was kind of disappointed to see them in their regular outfits. Maybe that will change once the ships begin sailing again!Also, it's surprising Anna and Elsa were still in their old outfits, everywhere else they've switched (except FoF). Interesting...
They are so gigantic and gorgeous!! I recommend you sail on the Wonder because the Tiana vibe is MAJOR!! You get to meet her at Tiana's Place on board. While we're at it, you should probably sail out of New Orleans, too. Two birds, one stone!Those in front of the ship though are so nice. I can only imagine how those ships look in person.
It was SO beautiful out there in the mornings!! We ended up doing this every morning of our tripWhat a peaceful way to start the day! So cute that both you and your mom had the same idea!
So many great character meets!
I don't blame you for being a little nervous, but I'm glad you were able to explore a little!
We certainly were busy on our short little cruise!! There was SO much to do, plus the addition of the Merrytime events, that we literally did not stop running. Well, maybe we stopped for a few minutes, or drinks, here and there, LOLI feel like you guys packed so much into your cruise already and it's only day 2!
I'm not sure when we'll all feel safe cruising again but I'm definitely booking a Disney cruise asap lol.
I don't blame you for feeling uneasy in Nassau. My friend and I went to Atlantis a few years ago and I started to feel bad we weren't truly experiencing the local culture but we felt very ambushed also when we left the resort.
One of my favorite parts (and the boys' least favorite!!!) was taking family pictures before/after dinner. You will notice their faces tell the story of their delight with the whole process
Also, can I just brag about my awesome deal on that dress I'm wearing!! I found it at Five Below, on the clearance rack, so it cost me a whopping $2.50!!!
I actually got a little nervous as we sat in the theater waiting for the show to start. The seas were a little rough, and it was really noticeable here,
Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Chip and Dale dispersed through the crowd and were dancing and having a blast! There were no lines being formed, but they would pose for pictures if you could get them to notice you and give a quick pose.
I peeked around the corner and saw that my Mom had had the same idea as me this morning! (Note, she had her blanket, too! #LikeMotherLikeDaughter)
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The Princess Gathering also made my Mom really happy because there is no one she loves more than Princess Tiana!
We docked at Nassau at some point during all of the excitement of our morning, so after breakfast we'd be able to go ashore. Truth be told, I didn't really have a great desire to go ashore at Nassau, based on my previous experience, but my Mom and Dad really wanted to check things out.
We decided to snap some pictures of our beautiful vessel and walked all the way down to the end of the dock. She really is magnificent!
Whoopsie!but more importantly so my Dad could purchase a bathing suit and rashguard shirt, having realized the day before that he neglected to pack them both before leaving Chicago!! OOPS
And yet... I find it amusing that you were all listening to Mickey and Minnie in the middle of the Uni store. Did you get any dirty looks?I had completely forgotten I scheduled a character call for the morning of our cruise! We stood there in the middle of the Universal store on speakerphone hearing Mickey and Minnie tell us how they couldn't wait to cruise with us later today It was such a fun surprise!
I totally get that. I'm sure I'd be the same.Mom was VERY nervous about being late to the terminal,
Oh, dear.were given Boarding Group 2!!! I was SO excited and couldn't believe our good luck My Mom and Dad were given boarding group 12, and she was very upset about it.
Glad that worked out.When they called boarding group 2, we headed into the line with my parents right alongside. The CM who my Mom had talked to waved her on through with us, so I guess we had a little pixie dust right off the bat.
mmmm...the boys were checking out the REAL gingerbread house! It smelled so good,
You look great there, Jackie! Very regal. (And happy!)
Oh dear.people were getting hangry, and our lunch was not super pleasant! My Mom and Dad were bickering about something...diet Coke, I think. Jimmy was whining because it was "too cold" to sit outside.
Ohhhh... so that's where it came from.( @chunkymonkey didn't name me Chunkylite for nothing!)
he would most definitely be spending time there (like it or not, kid!)
That's great! Glad that worked out so well.(and spoiler: Jimmy had THE BEST time in the club. He never wanted to leave when we came to get him, and always begged to go back as soon as we were done with whatever we picked him up to do!)
Oh! Cool!The stations are awesome because all you do is stick your hands in and they are automatically washed and soaped inside!!
Wow! That sounds so great!We made our way over to the stairs and headed to our rooms on deck 6. @ariane37 helped us pick an excellent location for our rooms! We were mid-ship and just a few rooms off from the stairway/elevators. We didn't hear any noise from the elevators or people passing through the hallways throughout the trip. The best perk was that our rooms were connecting, and our stateroom host was even able to fold back the wall between our verandas to make it feel like ours was twice as long.
That blanket alone was worth the $70ish pricetag. The back side is plush sherpa deliciousness!!!!
Oh, dear...One of us wasn't acting very magical! His "feet hurt" from "all that walking" we were making him do. He was very dramatic at the start of this trip, let me tell you!
Well, that's unfortunate. You could've done that on your own with a map.this tour was just not what we thought it would be. We were thinking it would be more about the ship itself, a little information and exploration to get you excited about the days ahead. It was really more of a walk to the theaters, "yep, these are the theaters, and there are shows here." Walk to the adult district, "yep, these are the bars. You drink here." It was about 45 minutes or so without much other information or interesting facts to be found, which was kind of a bummer.
I put my sweatshirt on him and basically shoved him onto the dance floor. You WILL enjoy your vacation, kid!
Once those magical entertainment folks took the stage and everyone's favorite Fab 5 crew joined them, all his crankiness was gone, and my most magical boy had returned!
Looking forward to this.One of my favorite parts (and the boys' least favorite!!!) was taking family pictures before/after dinner. You will notice their faces tell the story of their delight with the whole process
So nattily dressed.
Wow! What a steal! Nice going!Also, can I just brag about my awesome deal on that dress I'm wearing!! I found it at Five Below, on the clearance rack, so it cost me a whopping $2.50!!!
Nice!the maitre d' saluted Jimmy (who insisted on wearing his Captain hat everywhere on this cruise!)
That's awesome!!and yelled, "El capitan!!" To which every server standing there did the same. Jimmy felt SO important, LOL. He strolled in like he owned the place, as we were led to our table.
Well, that's unfortunate. Can you request tables? Or are you at the mercy of the host/hostess?One downside to our tables on this cruise was for some reason we were seated at the furthest back corner, almost tucked out of the way from everything. We didn't get a real view or good feel for Enchanted Garden or Royal Palace.
Glad that worked out. I'd be nervous about that too.I had been a little nervous about whether we would be sitting with another family, and whether that would be awkward. Conversation didn't always flow smoothly, and the younger son had a couple of mild meltdowns, but in all honesty, it was pleasant enough chatting with them.
Awww...(Spoiler: one night, we let Jimmy stay in the kids club for dinner, and they pouted through the entire meal because "they missed him.)
Nice shot of you guys. Nice dress!
I'm seeing a trend here...But, one thing that's for sure, I did order a Miller Lite with dinner and was pleased it was an aluminum pint.
So... did you?The seas were a little rough, and it was really noticeable here, since the theater is at the front of the ship. The curtain was really swaying back and forth, and I worried for the first time that I might suffer from some sea-sickness.
I hadn't realized it was going to snow, so that was a really magical moment for me, and of course I was crying because it was all so magical!
Jimmy was bound and determined to see them all. I just tried to keep up with him! He was giving them all hugs and getting a little dance in with each of them, too. This was one of the very best moments of the day.
So... what is it supposed to be?
He sure looks cozy up there. Bet he loved that.