3 Generations Wonderful Cruise April 11-15!!! Updated 8/19!!

[princess22]

Hello Everyone!!! I just got back from a WONDERful Cruise with my mom and daughter! Everything was AMAZING! I plan on starting my TR ASAP and I will give you heads up, I took over 1,300 pictures!

Let me start by introducing the cast!

My mom, Carol. Has not sailed on DCL since sailing the Magic about 11 years ago. She was not impressed the first time we sailed and hasn't been back. She is however an avid cruiser, and cruises at least 4-5 times a year (mainly Princess). I was bound and determined to get her to convert to DCL!!!! :goodvibes

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My DD2 (3 in June) Addison. This is her 3rd cruise, 2nd with DCL! She is my secret weapon to get my mom to fall in love with DCL! She loves the princesses, and refers to my mom as Daisy and herself as Minnie.

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Myself: Stacey. I'm a teacher and a Disney lover. I met my husband, Ryan while working in Tomorrowland and we got married at the Shades of Green this past August. This was my fourth Disney Cruise and have taken several other cruises on different lines, but lately, my heart belongs to DCL!:lovestruc


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Next up: I better get a boarding card #2, or else....

[MagicMe]

Your daughter is soooo adorable! Can't wait to see if you converted Mom to DCL!

[Señor DonDuck]

Signing up.

[KSDisneyDad]

Signing on to find out if your Mom liked DCL convert or not. :surfweb: My MIL is a Princess fan and I don't think she cared for DCL. My DW went with her on a Princess cruise last year and was not a convert as she felt like she brought the average age down about 20 years. To each their own.

[princess22]

Your daughter is soooo adorable! Can't wait to see if you converted Mom to DCL!

Signing up.

Signing on to find out if your Mom liked DCL convert or not. :surfweb: My MIL is a Princess fan and I don't think she cared for DCL. My DW went with her on a Princess cruise last year and was not a convert as she felt like she brought the average age down about 20 years. To each their own.

YAY! I have readers! Thanks guys for joining me! I hope to get this all up while it's fresh on my mind... and it will be worth the wait to see if she converts...:goodvibes

[princess22]

Sunday April 11, 2010- Day 1 Part 1

We woke up bright and early ready to start our four days of much needed vacation!! It was cloudy and gloomy outside, but we weren’t going to let that bring us down! We planned on leaving at 8:15 and Addison and I were ready on time. However, my mom took a little longer than anticipated. We weren’t in the car and leaving until:

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No, don’t worry, it’s not 10:55, but it is 8:39! 24 minutes late! Well, there goes my #2 boarding card!

Addison was so excited on the way. I could tell she wanted to sleep, but couldn’t. She took some pictures on the way, most of which looked like this:

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After our normal game of “Who can spot the most DCL buses” we finally made it to the port!! Now we were really excited!:woohoo:

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My dad dropped us off and planned on spending the day in the area to wave us off. I felt kind of bad for him because we would be having fun and he would just be waiting to watch us go by for all of 2 minutes!? Anyway, it’s a tradition and favorite past time of our family!

We make our way through security and up the escalator where I get handed my boarding card. My mom all excited asks what we got and with a roll of the eyes I say “FOUR!” Thanks mom… I honestly don’t care to be honest with you, but my mom felt really bad. After we checked in, she asked if there was anyway he could find a boarding card 2 for me because she felt bad that she made me late that morning. I told her it was fine, and I think the guy found it very amusing that I gave my mom a hard time over a difference of 2 numbers! He took our boarding card, crossed off the 4 and signed it for us! I thought that was very nice of him!!

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After we checked in, we walked around and made our way out to the balcony to take a few pictures.

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We came back inside and got a snack from the snack bar for Addison along with a new autograph book for her. I had a feeling Mickey would be coming out soon and I noticed a photographer standing there waiting. I went and asked him and he said he should have been out five minutes but the Coast Guard came in for a drill that even Mickey has to attend. Well, just then, guess who came marching out!?

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Yup, Mickey, and we were first in line to meet the Captain himself! (Addison still thinks he drives the boat!)

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It wasn’t long after meeting Mickey that they started boarding. Before I knew it we were stepping on the Mickey Boat and being introduced. This is one of my favorite parts, and secretly, I think my enjoyed it to! I mean how can you not love that special, overwhelming feeling!

We headed to Parrot Cay for lunch and my mom enjoyed her peel and eat shrimp. She was very impressed with the dessert choices. In fact, she called my aunt, who is a travel agent and cruise lover, and commented on how delicious the desserts were and how many choices they had! Score! I’m on my way to getting her hooked!!!

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Mickey even joined us for lunch

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After eating lunch we went to request our dining time be changed to the early seating. We were taking a gamble on this one. We never use the early seating on cruises, but we had a feeling for this one it would be better for us. We were second in line and were put on the waiting list. The gentleman said he would call between 4:00 and 5:00 to let us know if they could change it for us.

We still had 25 minutes until the rooms would open so we went upstairs to look at the Mickey Pool. As soon as Addison saw the splash area, she started taking her clothes off, right there in front of everyone! She was ready! Luckily, I packed her bathing suit. We let her play in the splash area for 20 minutes or so.

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Just after 1:30 we decided to head to our stateroom to check it out and give Addison a nap. One of our suitcases was there already so we went ahead and unpacked it. My mom decided to join Addison in a nap and let me go off and explore the ship, but not before I decorated our door!

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I would like to take this moment to thank all of the Creative DISigners who are kind enough to make the designs for us! I really appreciate all of you guys! Addison and my mom really enjoyed our magnets on this cruise and I had tons of compliments!

Up Next: Will we get our dining time changed!?

[princess22]

Day 1 Part 2:

While Addison and my mom napped, I walked around the ship and took some pictures. Oh, and I almost lost my cell phone over board! I dropped it and it went sliding across under the railing. Close call…

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After walking around for a while I went back to the room to start waking up the ladies for the life boat drill.

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As soon as the lifeboat drill was over, I took our jackets back to the room while my mom and Addison headed upstairs to stake out our spot for the Sail Away Party!

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Here is Addison waiting for the party to start

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People slowly started to join us

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The party finally started:

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Pluto is doing a cartwheel in the background

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I love the excitement you feel when we are counting down and hear the horn at the end! It is so magical, and I had a tear in my eye. I think my mom shed a tear or two also (or is it because she is stuck on a Disney cruise for 4 nights!?):goodvibes

[princess22]

Day 1 Part 3

After partying up on Deck 10, we made our way down to Deck 4 to look out for my dad! I love coming on this deck while we are sailing out, it’s so peaceful. We grabbed some potato chips on our way down and Addison was introduced to a new addiction. All of a sudden, my fruit eating daughter turned in to a chip-aholic!

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My dad is over there, in front of a red car in a dark outfit…

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A Costa ship was in port for the day (closer to Jetty Park)

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Some birds flying around

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My mom and Addison relaxed in the sun loungers…

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And we slowly headed out to sea…

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We realized we should go back to the room and see if our dining time got changed. We got to the room around 5:30 and had no messages, so we started getting ready for the show. Around 5:45 I noticed the message light had started flashing so I listened to the messages and there was a message from the head waiter Karina (loved her!) that she left at 4:40. She told us our dining time had changed and to meet her at Animator’s Palate at 5:45. It’s 5:45 NOW! We hurry up to finish getting ready and run upstairs two decks to meet her. I’m so glad they were able to change our dining time as it really worked well for us on this cruise! We sat with a nice family from Tampa. They had a 3 year old daughter named Madison, she was a cutie!

At diner I had a nice surprise! We just happened to get the same server I had on my cruise in July! What a coincidence! Here is my shout out to Herbert! He is great and he makes sure you are happy!!

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After dinner we slowly made our way to the Golden Mickey’s! I LOVE THIS SHOW! I think it is a great show! Here are some pictures (No flash of course!)

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So, what did my mom think of the show!? She loved it! Another plus for DCL and another step closer to converting!

After the show we went upstairs and got some hot chocolate and sat at a table enjoying our vacation. We went back to our room to find this guy…

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Addison laid in bed (eating chips, a special treat) and watched some Donald cartoons while I read the Navigator for the following day. We eventually turned off the lights and all fell asleep dreaming about what might come our way the next day!

Up Next: Nassau… get off or lay around the pool? Hmm, the Tag Fairy might have that answer!

[not_Joanna_eggs]

:yay: You started already. I'm in!

I so need to go on a Disney Cruise!! (darn RCCL for sending me all those deals :rolleyes1)

The boarding group story is just hilarious. I can so see my mom doing that too...

I love the muster drill photo - how you're blocking your mom not wearing the life vest :rotfl:

Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip!

[PizzieDuster]

Fantastic report so far! I love all the pictures! I really enjoyed your pic of the Freedom of the Seas at the beginning. I found our cabin, can see the people watching the Flowrider (is what we did when we first boarded) and found the "laying out" spot I loved so much.

Keep posting the pictures!

[Cheryl726]

Enjoying your TR and pics, looks like a great girl trip!

[pls3399]

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That's me and my DW sitting to the far left of this pic!

[princess22]

:yay: You started already. I'm in!

I so need to go on a Disney Cruise!! (darn RCCL for sending me all those deals :rolleyes1)

The boarding group story is just hilarious. I can so see my mom doing that too...

I love the muster drill photo - how you're blocking your mom not wearing the life vest :rotfl:

Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip!

You do need to go on a Disney Cruise!!! I'm telling you, once you go you won't want to go back :goodvibes Yeah, my mom eventually put her life vest on, but they didn't make Addison (she was a bit fussy)

Fantastic report so far! I love all the pictures! I really enjoyed your pic of the Freedom of the Seas at the beginning. I found our cabin, can see the people watching the Flowrider (is what we did when we first boarded) and found the "laying out" spot I loved so much.

Keep posting the pictures!

Thanks! I have tons of pictures so there won't be any lack of those! Thanks for reading!

Enjoying your TR and pics, looks like a great girl trip!

It was a great girl trip! Thanks for reading!
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That's me and my DW sitting to the far left of this pic!

That is so funny!!! Maybe I should post it again on that other thread about finding yourself in the crowd!:goodvibes

[Señor DonDuck]

Wow, that's a lot of great pics from your first day. Enjoyed the port shots and got a good idea just how many people attend the sail away party. (yeah, I figured it was really popular, but it's another thing to see the crowds on both decks.). Good stuff!

[Bookwood]

Thanks for the report- so far- I've enjoyed going along on your cruise with you- your photos are fab!

[princess22]

Wow, that's a lot of great pics from your first day. Enjoyed the port shots and got a good idea just how many people attend the sail away party. (yeah, I figured it was really popular, but it's another thing to see the crowds on both decks.). Good stuff!


Thanks for the report- so far- I've enjoyed going along on your cruise with you- your photos are fab!

Thank you guys! Glad people are reading and enjoying it! I'll work on starting Day 2 today!:goodvibes

[lisalisalisa]

Great report. Looking forward to the rest. :)

[iloverags2]

Enjoying your report! I took my mom on a Disney Cruise last October...she didn't know what to expect, but was a converted DCL lover by the end of our trip! Looking forward to reading more!

[princess22]

Great report. Looking forward to the rest. :)

Thank you! Next installment is coming up now!

Enjoying your report! I took my mom on a Disney Cruise last October...she didn't know what to expect, but was a converted DCL lover by the end of our trip! Looking forward to reading more!

I'm glad your mom enjoyed it!! Thanks for reading!:goodvibes

[princess22]

Monday April 12, 2010
Day 2- Nassau

We woke up around 7:30 so we could quickly get dressed and run upstairs to meet the princesses! As mentioned before, Addison is a huge princess fan, her favorite being Cinderella. We got upstairs not too long after 8:00 and the line was already around the corner! Here is Addison patiently waiting in line!

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My mom and I were impressed because while we were waiting some servers came by with coffee and a plate of danishes/donuts! What a nice touch! It was finally our turn to see the princesses!

First up, Snow White!

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Next Up: Belle!

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Then it was time for Tiana. Now, we haven’t seen this movie yet, but somehow Addison knew she had something to do with a frog because she asked me if she had her frog with her! She was also scared of her! She made me go and meet her. I can’t figure out why she was scared, but oh well, nonetheless, I went to meet Tiana with her. I’m going to put my two sense in here, keep in mind I haven’t seen the movie. Tiana was not friendly at all! Compared to the other three princesses she barely said anything and seemed like she was bored and not happy to be there. Maybe that is her character in the movie?? I don’t know, but we weren’t impressed, her dress was gorgeous though!

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And finally, last but not least, Addison’s favorite, Cinderella!

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The straight on shot wasn’t that great today, but I did manage to get one later on in the cruise!

After meeting the Princesses we went to Triton’s for breakfast.

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Oddly enough, on all of our other cruises, we have tons of pictures in the dining rooms, not this cruise. I didn’t take any pictures of food, which I had every intention of doing for this TR. Oh well, I can tell you I had the mermaid breakfast that was waffles with caramel and cream, it is DELICIOUS! By far, the best breakfast I had this cruise!


After breakfast we walked around deck 3 and went up to the Route 66 area. Now, I forgot to mention this before, but as soon as we got on the boat, Addison kept talking about how she wanted to dance! That is what she remembers from our cruise in July is all the dancing she did. This girl is a dancing party animal! When we walked by Wavebands, I believe that is the name, she wanted to go in and dance. So, we went in and let her dance on the stage. There was a guy there who was set up to sell water so I assumed a tour was going to be meeting here soon. He was very nice and let Addison sing on the microphone, she belted out “Twinkle Twinkle little star” to an empty room. Very cute!

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We decided to head back to the room to put on our bathing suits and hit the Mickey Pool. On our way, we had to stop at every window to look outside (this became common throughout the cruise)

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We also had to stop and take a picture with the Ariel statue. Addison has to take a picture every time she goes by it, she did the same thing in July!

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We also ran in to Donald on the way back…

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It was a long walk back to the room…

Coming up: our afternoon on the Mickey Boat!:woohoo:

[iloverags2]

I just love the picture of Addison looking out the window! And love how she has to look out every window...how cute. :)

[Cheryl726]

Interested in hearing what you did in Nassau. You mentioned you were on a DCL in July, do you remember how hot the weather was then? I'd liked to book one for July 2011 but am worried about how hot it will be. Thanks!

Cheryl

[torsie24]

Great TR so far!!!

Addison is such a cutie! What a shame Tiana wasn't friendly, she is very friendly in the movie.

Can't wait for more!

[Señor DonDuck]

Cute pics. The last one is awesome. :thumbsup2

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Addison is so cute! The picture of her on the stage is just adorable! She's definately got the whole "mugging for the camera" thing down.

Can't wait to hear more!

[princess22]

I just love the picture of Addison looking out the window! And love how she has to look out every window...how cute. :)

Looking back on it, it was cute that she looked out the windows, but sometimes I was like, come on we have somewhere to be (I can be commando sometimes!) When I get to the sea day, one of my favorite pictures of the cruise is of her looking out the window!

Interested in hearing what you did in Nassau. You mentioned you were on a DCL in July, do you remember how hot the weather was then? I'd liked to book one for July 2011 but am worried about how hot it will be. Thanks!

Cheryl

I'm about to finish up our Nassau day. We just stayed on the ship and let Addison enjoy the Mickey Pool though. We have been to Nassau a lot and we like to use this day to enjoy the ship. When we went in July it was hot! We stayed in the shade a lot and stayed in the air conditioning! We were sweating at the Sail Away Party and Pirate Party, but it's doable, I wouldn't NOT cruise in July because of the heat. One thing I liked better is the water was much warmer at Castaway Cay in July. I couldn't even get in the water this past cruise because it was too cold!
Great TR so far!!!

Addison is such a cutie! What a shame Tiana wasn't friendly, she is very friendly in the movie.

Can't wait for more!

Thank you! I'm glad to hear she is friendly in the movie, maybe she was just tired, I don't blame her having to be dressed up for 8:30 in the morning!
Cute pics. The last one is awesome. :thumbsup2

Thanks, Donald is one of Addison's favorite, though you can't tell from the picture!
Addison is so cute! The picture of her on the stage is just adorable! She's definately got the whole "mugging for the camera" thing down.

Can't wait to hear more!

OMG, she is such an attention ham! Even just going to McDonalds is a huge ordeal with her! She's a little show off!:goodvibes But I love her!:lovestruc

[princess22]

Day 2 Part 2

We finally made it back to our room and changed in to our bathing suits to hit the Mickey Pool. Addison started out in the splash area.

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_3953.jpg

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_3975.jpg

And then finally moved to Mickey’s ears. She was in her own little world playing some game with imaginary objects. You could see her pretending to carry stuff from one ear to the other and then would pretend throw it across the pool. While she was playing, I was talking to a girl who works in the Kids Club. Her name was Jenny from England and she was very nice! She got a kick out of Addison’s imaginary game, must be an only child thing! She does have some imagination though!

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4024.jpg

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We took a break from swimming and ate lunch. We took turns going in to the Beach blanket Buffet and brought our food outside by the pool. My mom enjoyed her crab claws and I really enjoyed the chicken pot pie that was on the kids buffet line! Addison had chicken tenders which I think she ate every meal except our last one. After lunch we got ice cream, which Addison really enjoyed!

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4058.jpg

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4063.jpg

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_3992.jpg

Here is Addison's "grumpy face"

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4014.jpg

Addison swam for about 20 minutes after lunch and we finally headed back to the room for a nap. My mom was feeling a bit under the weather so she once again volunteered to take a nap with Addison. While they napped I did some more exploring and took some more pictures.

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4069.jpg

There was a nice looking sail boat parked next to us.

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4072.jpg

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4079.jpg

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http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4098.jpg

All in all, it was a great afternoon on the Mickey Boat! Coming up next: Dress Up Night!

[princess22]

Day 2 Part 3

After Addison’s nap we started getting ready for dinner. Tonight was dress up night in Parrot Cay. I still can’t believe I didn’t take any pictures in the restaurant and to warn you, this post will be light on pictures. Dinner was good and afterward we went to Who Wants to be a Mousekeeter.

The Last Song was playing, so my mom planned on taking Addison to see Toy Story while I went to see the movie. I’m a huge Nicholas Sparks fan and was super excited about this movie. I was surprised at how good it was. Normally I don’t like watching movies that I’ve read the book, because I hate it when the change things (Dear John drove me nuts)! But this one was good.

After meeting up with my mom, I found out they never made it to Toy Story. They went to Cinderella’s Ball in the Oceaneer’s Club and went to meet Mickey and Minnie. When I looked at my mom’s pictures of her meeting, I realized she is not the photographer in the family as this is what she had taken…

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/DSC06977.jpg

When we went back to retake it, the cast member had already cut the line off. My mom went over and asked if there was anyway we could join the line and showed her the pictures. The lady was more than happy to let us get in line and retake the pictures, which I thought was nice of her.

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http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/DSC06985.jpg

We also ran in to Cinderella by the aft elevators. As I said before she is Addison’s favorite. Cinderella told Addison she remembered her from the morning and that her dress was beautiful. She told Cinderella “My granddad got it from Tawaiin” it was so cute, these are the moments that I love! Addison also showed Cinderella her “snowflake” that she colored at dinner.

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4117.jpg

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4115.jpg

We went back to the lobby and took more pictures

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http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/IMG_4109.jpg

Oh, and we ran in to Cinderella one more time!

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab313/sburgos25/Mickey%20Boat%20April%20day%202/DSC06989.jpg

We went upstairs and got our nightly hot chocolate and called it a night. We planned on being up early for a beautiful day at Castaway Cay!

We didn’t have as many pictures this night because I took my camera back to the room before the movie and I obviously take more pictures than my mom. I promise you, the pictures will increase for Day 3!

Up Next: Day 3 Castaway Cay!

[jessrose18]

Love the trip report! Looking forward to CC pictures!

[Tarabra]

Love reading this! We were on this cruise too. In fact we are in the far corner at the sailaway party. I'm holding my daughter who is wearing pink Minnie Ears. We have a great pic of DD w/ Cinderella by the elevator too. She was soooo talkative my daughter was very excited.

I thought maybe you'd have some pics of my kids in the Mickey ear on Nassau day, but don't see them.

Can't wait to read more.

[KSDisneyDad]

Great report so far....still waiting for the verdict on whether or not you converted your Mom. Sounds promising so far.

It's funny about the comment regarding desserts on Disney. When on Princess, my DW thought their desserts were horrible. She was so dissappointed that she didn't get "normal" Creme Brulee once on a 15-night cruise. She said she usually skipped the desserts and on DCL we usually get more than one to share. :rolleyes1

We had the same server on our first two cruises. We really have missed him on the last two.

With regards to Tiana. That's too bad. We were just on the Wonder in late March and the princesses are all the "same". My DW was trying to get the princesses to sign a picture frame mat and we didn't have Tiana's, but found her walking around in the hallway with her 'handler' and she graciously stopped to sign my DW's mat and was very friendly.

[silverangel879]

Signing in!popcorn::

Addison is so :cutie:!

[myelton01]

I'm checking in with this one too! It's great to see all the pictures! Wonderful TR! :)

[7500WonderGirl]

I've really enjoyed your report w/ photos thusfar. It reminds me of my very first cruise which was aboard the Wonder. I am subscribing:-)

[jockey]

Really enjoying your report :)

[Tarabra]

Please come back...I want to hear the rest!

[kalikat420]

You take great pics! Looking forward to the rest of your report!

[punch423]

Fun! Great report! Looking forward to hearing/seeing more!

[kmab00]

I'm joining in! We are taking our 2nd Disney Cruise in the fall! Great report so far! Love the pictures and your daughter is such a doll!! :goodvibes

[jjk]

great report looking forward to reading some more :goodvibes

[pixidustmom]

Just jumping in. Enjoying reading your report and seeing all the great pictures. Her pink dress is very pretty.

[princess22]

WOW! Where has the time gone!? I have been super busy this summer and right now I'm in the process of moving. I am determined to finish this TR, so please stick around =) I'm getting on it right now!

Love the trip report! Looking forward to CC pictures!

Those are up next =) Hopefully I won't disappoint...

Love reading this! We were on this cruise too. In fact we are in the far corner at the sailaway party. I'm holding my daughter who is wearing pink Minnie Ears. We have a great pic of DD w/ Cinderella by the elevator too. She was soooo talkative my daughter was very excited.

I thought maybe you'd have some pics of my kids in the Mickey ear on Nassau day, but don't see them.

Can't wait to read more.

That is so funny! I have more pictures of her swimming in the ear so maybe they are in one of the other 50 I took haha!

Great report so far....still waiting for the verdict on whether or not you converted your Mom. Sounds promising so far.

It's funny about the comment regarding desserts on Disney. When on Princess, my DW thought their desserts were horrible. She was so dissappointed that she didn't get "normal" Creme Brulee once on a 15-night cruise. She said she usually skipped the desserts and on DCL we usually get more than one to share. :rolleyes1

We had the same server on our first two cruises. We really have missed him on the last two.

With regards to Tiana. That's too bad. We were just on the Wonder in late March and the princesses are all the "same". My DW was trying to get the princesses to sign a picture frame mat and we didn't have Tiana's, but found her walking around in the hallway with her 'handler' and she graciously stopped to sign my DW's mat and was very friendly.

Maybe she was just having a bad day or wasn't feeling well that week? Who knows, but the funny thing is, over the summer my daughter is starting to like her...

Signing in!popcorn::

Addison is so :cutie:!

Thank you :goodvibes
I'm checking in with this one too! It's great to see all the pictures! Wonderful TR! :)

Thanks! More to come I promise :goodvibes
I've really enjoyed your report w/ photos thusfar. It reminds me of my very first cruise which was aboard the Wonder. I am subscribing:-)
Yay! I love having people read along =)

Really enjoying your report :)

Thanks!:goodvibes

Please come back...I want to hear the rest!

I'm back! I promise I will finish it! I'm now officially a stay at home mom so as soon as the move is complete I will have time to finish (hopefully) haha:goodvibes

You take great pics! Looking forward to the rest of your report!
Thank you :goodvibes

Fun! Great report! Looking forward to hearing/seeing more!

Thanks, more on the way:goodvibes
I'm joining in! We are taking our 2nd Disney Cruise in the fall! Great report so far! Love the pictures and your daughter is such a doll!! :goodvibes
Thanks! She is such an attention ham as well =)

great report looking forward to reading some more :goodvibes

Thanks! Plenty more to come!:goodvibes

Just jumping in. Enjoying reading your report and seeing all the great pictures. Her pink dress is very pretty.

Thanks! I love that dress! My dad got it while he was in Taiwan! :goodvibes

[princess22]

Alright, on with the show!!!

Day 3- My Favorite place EVER (aka Castaway Cay)

So, as I mentioned before, my mom had been on a Disney Cruise years ago, so she knows that Castaway Cay is nice. I just don’t think she exactly remembered HOW NICE it is! I was so excited as this is my favorite place ever! Disney has the best private island by far and I knew this would help converting my mom!

We woke up early and ate upstairs at the buffet. I like eating out back on Castaway Cay, it gets me really excited about what is about to come.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc1.jpg

Now, I’m not a beach person at all! In fact I hate the beach, but there is just something about CC that makes that hate disappear!

After breakfast we made our way to the beach. The plan was to walk all the way down to the far end as I knew it wouldn’t be as crowded! Here are some pictures I took on the way…

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc2.jpg

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After a long walk (it always takes a long time with Addison, she is the kind of girl that always stops to smell the flowers…), we finally made it to our final destination. As we walked on the beach it felt as if we were stepping on to our own piece of paradise. There waiting for us were three hammocks and our choice of chairs!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc9.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc15.jpg

First order of business, relax in the hammocks! As I said before, Addison is very good at playing by herself and can keep herself entertained for hours. So, as she played in the sand, my mom and I enjoyed relaxing in the hammocks. We decided to take turns closing our eyes so one of us was always keeping an eye on Addison.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc14.jpg

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Here is my view from the hammock…

Front

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc10.jpg

Left

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc11.jpg

Right

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc12.jpg

Up

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc13.jpg

Addison even joined in relaxing!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc17.jpg


This is PARADISE!

[princess22]

After some much needed relaxation, we made our way down to the water. I stuck a toe in and it was FREEZING! How on earth were these people getting in the water!?!? Well, my mom and Addison braved it and Addison came and told me “Mom get in, the water is lovely when you get used to it” Yeah, not a chance! I got one of those great chairs and sat just where my feet could get wet!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc25.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc23.jpg




From the following pictures, you can see that it’s already getting busy down the other side of the beach, compared to our still empty side.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc21.jpg

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http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc22.jpg

You can see Pelican Plunge from here… It looked fun but I hate salt water so didn’t even want to try!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc24.jpg

We booked our cruise through AAA and along with an onboard credit, we also had a free float rental on Castaway Cay for each of us. So while my mom and Addison played in the water, I walked over to pick up the floats!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc26.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc27.jpg


Overall we spent a couple hours enjoying the beach and decided it was time for lunch. Addison would also be needing a nap soon so we decided it was a good time to pack up and head to get some grub.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc29.jpg

After lunch we made our way to the location of the Crab Races. On our way, we ran in to Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto getting there groove on.

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http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc30.jpg

Now, if you read my last TR, you know that we lost and I told myself I would be back one day to try my luck again. So, we got to the location early and were the first people there waiting. While we waited one of the cruise staff (mowgli maybe?) brought out one of the crabs. Addison was TERRIFIED!

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They had the boards to sign up on one side of the gazebo and the lady told me they would start signing up with the boards shortly. So, we waited on the side of the gazebo and it was getting very busy! All of a sudden, when it’s time to sign up, she says, line up ALL THE WAY OVER HERE, on the other side of the gazebo! I walk over there, and this rude lady pushed right in front of the lady in front of me! One thing I noticed about this cruise was pushy rude people, same thing on my last Disney Cruise. Maybe I’m just too nice and let people be pushy, who knows?!

Anyway, the lady right in front of me ended up being the last team to sign up. So, I was the first one there, and no luck… Oh well, as before gives me another reason to return.

Addison and I headed back to the ship for her nap while my mom stayed and enjoyed paradise. This was a good sign as I’m making great progress for getting her to like DCL! Here are a few pictures I took on the way back to the ship.

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[princess22]

After showering and a much needed nap Addison and I were ready to get a snack. We noticed Captain Hook was outside before we left our cabin.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc41.jpg

My mom still wasn’t back, so I thought to myself she must love this place as much as I do! Addison and I went upstairs and got a snack and took it to my favorite place on the ship, Deck 4.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc48.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc42.jpg

As we snacked, we watched all the people boarding the ship. Sure enough, off in the distance, we spot my mom!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc43.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc44.jpg

She joined us up on Deck 4 for a snack and drink. While we were waiting for her, Pluto got off the ship to do a meet and great.

Here he is doing another cartwheel! What an amazing dog!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc45.jpg

I took a few more pictures on Deck 4, before we headed to the room to get ready for dinner.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc49.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc46.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc47.jpg

Here is Addison playing with her streamer from the Sail Away Party while we were getting ready for dinner. I think she still has that!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc51.jpg


UP NEXT:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i176/princesspics22/cc52.jpg

PIRATE NIGHT: I have high hopes that this is going to be what pushes my mom to LOVE DCL!

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Yay! Stacey's back. I was so excited when your name popped up in my inbox!

Hope "we're in the process of moving" means Ryan got into a good Residency program :goodvibes

What is it about pushy people on vacations? I think people think they're "entitled" to things because they paid for the vacation - and forget that everyone else is paying to be there too. Yeesh.

Addison is adorable as always. That picture of her smiling in her sunglasses with the ship behind her needs to be in a frame!

Good luck moving - can't wait to hear the rest!

[princess22]

Yay! Stacey's back. I was so excited when your name popped up in my inbox!

Hope "we're in the process of moving" means Ryan got into a good Residency program :goodvibes

What is it about pushy people on vacations? I think people think they're "entitled" to things because they paid for the vacation - and forget that everyone else is paying to be there too. Yeesh.

Addison is adorable as always. That picture of her smiling in her sunglasses with the ship behind her needs to be in a frame!

Good luck moving - can't wait to hear the rest!

Yay!! It's Joanna! How have you been?? Enjoying married life? Yes, Ryan got in to a residency program. Luckily, it's only 1 1/2 hr away from where we are now so I don't have to move too far from my family:goodvibes

I hope to finish this soon =) Any plans to go on a Disney cruise yet? I'm itching to book something on the Dream!

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Yay!! It's Joanna! How have you been?? Enjoying married life? Yes, Ryan got in to a residency program. Luckily, it's only 1 1/2 hr away from where we are now so I don't have to move too far from my family:goodvibes

I hope to finish this soon =) Any plans to go on a Disney cruise yet? I'm itching to book something on the Dream!

All is well in the land of beer and cheese. Married life is... well exactly the same as un-married life, but now I have a title and pretty pictures :laughing:

Yay for Ryan! And double yay for only moving 90 min away - that (hopefully) means you still get the FL discount to cruise more (priorities family-schamly... cruising and Disney all the way!)

Right now we're still trying to squeeze every last drop out of our "free" APs so we're doing WDW a lot, but no cruises yet. I agree, the Dream looks so cool - I'm kind of holding out. Hopefully next year will be the Disney Cruise year!

Now... on with your report so you can get back to your Honeymoon report:rolleyes1

[princess22]

All is well in the land of beer and cheese. Married life is... well exactly the same as un-married life, but now I have a title and pretty pictures :laughing:

Yay for Ryan! And double yay for only moving 90 min away - that (hopefully) means you still get the FL discount to cruise more (priorities family-schamly... cruising and Disney all the way!)

Right now we're still trying to squeeze every last drop out of our "free" APs so we're doing WDW a lot, but no cruises yet. I agree, the Dream looks so cool - I'm kind of holding out. Hopefully next year will be the Disney Cruise year!

Now... on with your report so you can get back to your Honeymoon report:rolleyes1

OMG You're right, I never finished the honeymoon report!:scared1: I forgot about that one!