A Gaggle of Band Geeks on a NYE Dream FINISHED! 2/28

[glennbo123]

What an awesome morning -- tap class with the Dance Captain, then Princess Minnie (with no line, no less), followed up by pool time...nice! I love Shae's reaction to seeing Minnie.

 

[micandminforever]

Great picture of Princess Minnie and Shaelyn.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Getting all caught up! Love the pictures of Shae with all the princesses.

What a great New Years Eve. It looks like so much fun! Will have to add that to our Disney Bucket List.

Tap class--would have never thought of that! Looked like fun. Disney really does have everything.

Loved the expression when Shae sees Princess Minnie!! Too cute.

 

[Sooze]

What an awesome morning -- tap class with the Dance Captain, then Princess Minnie (with no line, no less), followed up by pool time...nice! I love Shae's reaction to seeing Minnie.

By this time of the trip, we were really feeling comfortable with how this cruising thing works! It was great to find fun things on the Navigator, and even greater to bump into unexpected things like Princess Minnie with no wait!

Great picture of Princess Minnie and Shaelyn.

Thanks! They were a perfect pair!

Getting all caught up! Love the pictures of Shae with all the princesses.

Thanks for not giving up on me! The princess meet and greet in the lobby was so beautiful! One of my favorite parts of the cruise, for sure!

What a great New Years Eve. It looks like so much fun! Will have to add that to our Disney Bucket List.

We loved it so much, we booked another NYE cruise for 2013/2014... come on and join us!

Tap class--would have never thought of that! Looked like fun. Disney really does have everything.

There was so much more, too! It just took us a few days to realize how very much was going on. The best part was... you could choose to go crazy and do all of these things, or you could choose to do none of them! Loved this vacation!

Loved the expression when Shae sees Princess Minnie!! Too cute.

Wasn't that fantastic!? I think we were looking at the pictures I had taken during tap class, so I just happened to have the camera out. Priceless!

 

[jwwi]

Wow, so many fun updates. Looks like a great place to "ring in the new year"! Shae looks so cute in all the princess pictures.

 

[howlongtildisney]

After going on the Big Red Boat back in the 90s, I thought I wouldn't be into cruising ever again. But you guys make it look like so much fun! I'll have to give it a go at some point - DH really wants to do an Alaska cruise, but I think we should put that off until the little man is a little older.

 

[Sooze]

Wow, so many fun updates. Looks like a great place to "ring in the new year"! Shae looks so cute in all the princess pictures.

Thanks for checking back in! The New Year's Eve update was extra fun to relive. What an amazing evening!

After going on the Big Red Boat back in the 90s, I thought I wouldn't be into cruising ever again. But you guys make it look like so much fun! I'll have to give it a go at some point - DH really wants to do an Alaska cruise, but I think we should put that off until the little man is a little older.

We were talking about an Alaskan cruise, too! But definitely when the kids are old enough to appreciate the landscapes and tours. Your little guy would LOVE the Disney ship and Castaway Cay! Hope you can give it a shot in a few years.

 

[Sooze]

We all retreated to our cabins to prepare for the Pirate evening. It was hard to pull ourselves away from our big porthole windows as the sun set was just so unbelievably beautiful. Being from Indiana, we have plenty of flat land to watch the sun set behind, but NOTHING compares to the sun setting over the wide open ocean. I mean, you could see the exact moment that the sun disappeared. I can’t put into words how stunning it was!

Soon we were all decked out in our pirate gear. No, not the typical Captain Jack costume, or pirate wench get-ups. Our gaggle was going to spend the evening in CUSTOMIZED pirate gear! A year or so ago, I stumbled on the DISigns section of the Disboards. My life was changed! Did you know there are people on these boards who create personalized images for you…. For FREE!!?!?! All they ask for is thanks. You download their artwork to your computer, print it out onto iron-on transfer paper, smack them on a shirt, and VOILA! You have a pulled-together, customized look for your whole family or group! I try to have shirts made for just about every trip now! Would you like to see our pirate stuff?

Here is our family, who kicked off the evening meeting with Jack Sparrow! LOVED HIM!

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(I also got bandanas and earrings from Oriental Trading Company) The ship provided bandanas, too, which was cool. (Shae chose to wear her ship-provided bandana instead of the ones I bought)

This evening, we were dining again at Animator’s Palate, but instead of New Year’s Eve craziness, we got to experience the actual show designed for this restaurant. The theming was superb… hints of art-inspired items were everywhere. From the displays on the walls, to the paintbrush-shaped butter knives, we really enjoyed this meal!

Soon, Crush was visiting people around the room. We were so excited for him to reach us, and eventually he was picking on our matching crew.

Shae completely approved of this dining experience. I think it was our favorite!

Made was still performing magic tricks… boy, would we miss his crazy antics!

When we had finished up, we decided to get some group shots with the Photopass folks that were around that evening. These are two of my FAVORITE shots from the whole trip!!

And this one is THE BEST picture from the whole vacation. This pretty much sums up who we are!!

Up next was the pirate show and fireworks display on deck. On our way upstairs, we saw Tinkerbell set up in the lobby. Shae rushed over to thank her bestest tooth fairy!

I love how TALL Shae looks in this picture because Tink is super short!

We aarrrrrged along with with Pirate show (that we barely watched because we were all being too silly), and we oohed and ahhed at the fireworks.

It was SUPER fun having fireworks in the middle of the ocean, but when you are used to the HUGE spectacles that Disney World puts on, it’s hard not to compare them.

Shae was begging to head back to the Oceaneer Club and Tyson was ready to head out on his own again. So I soon found myself partying and dancing on deck with LVD, CVD, and a bunch of fun pirate CMs!

LVD and I had a good time harassing CVD. She is a young, gorgeous college girl, who was enjoying the sights and actions of the young, gorgeous CM guys! I’m sure she wanted to crawl into a ball and get away from her mom and me, but she played along and we had a fun evening!

We all got a kick out of this adorable older gentleman who was ROCKIN’ it OUT at the dance party!

Soon, it had gotten much too late. Time to gather the children and head to bed. Tyson and I went to pick up Shae and the Oceaneer Club was EMPTY! So we spent a good amount of time playing with the awesome digital floor they have.

I had fun too! The mode the floor was in was like a giant spin-art machine. When you’d step on it, a new color would emerge from the contact point and spin into the floor. So cool!

This evening was filled with so much laughter and fun. We tried hard not to think about the next day being our last. Thankfully, we still had the entire day at Castaway Cay to help us feel better!

 

[micandminforever]

What a great way to welcome the New Year. Your gang made a great group of pirates in the pictures. The shirts were a great addition to the fun.

 

[Sooze]

What a great way to welcome the New Year. Your gang made a great group of pirates in the pictures. The shirts were a great addition to the fun.

Probably the best New Year's Eve I've ever celebrated!

 

[glennbo123]

I was going to say that this was the best chapter yet, but probably if I looked back there are several others to give this one a run for its money, so I'll just say that I loved this chapter! Another great evening.

This sunset picture is fantastic!

On our way upstairs, we saw Tinkerbell set up in the lobby. Shae rushed over to thank her bestest tooth fairy!

I love how TALL Shae looks in this picture because Tink is super short!

And the standard, super-cute pose!

 

[Sooze]

I was going to say that this was the best chapter yet, but probably if I looked back there are several others to give this one a run for its money, so I'll just say that I loved this chapter! Another great evening.

Well, I can understand how you'd forget what happened in previous chapters, since this report has taken me 10 months to write!!!

This sunset picture is fantastic!

I still want a real camera... and to know how to use it... I can only imagine the sunset pictures I'd get then.... but THANKS!!

And the standard, super-cute pose!

But of course!

Thanks for finally taking me off of page 6. I had been there forever!

 

[Sooze]

We were up bright and early on the next Castaway Cay morning. We had an appointment with a boat, the water, and a big ol’ parachute!! YES! Parasailing day!!

Good morning, you gorgeous ship, you!

I took a moment to study this sign that told about the damage cause by Hurricane Irene. I also took it because my mom’s name is Irene…. And that is just funny!

Our first stop was bringing Shaelyn to Scuttle’s Cove, as she was too young for the parasailing adventure. We took advantage of the tram, which was basically empty! MUCH better than walking!

Thought I’d catch a shot of one of the family beaches before the families arrived.

Look at that sky! It was a GORGEOUS day!
After easily sending Shaelyn off, I decided to walk back to the location where we caught our excursion boat and took advantage of the stunning views of the Dream. Enjoy!

A look back at one of the beaches:

I took this picture to show you the location of two of our family’s rooms! See the HUGEST balcony with a medium-huge balcony just above it? That was Uncle Ralphie and Dez’s state room. The medium-huge balcony just above it belonged to Dean, Adrianna, and Abby. Those guys sure lucked out with the most spectacular verandas! WOW!

We met up with the DVD family, who would be joining us for parasailing, and after getting all of the instructions we needed, we found ourselves piling onto a little boat and sailing out into the beautiful blue waters.

Continued in next post

 

[Sooze]

Tyson and I just so happened to be sitting in the “You’re first” seats, so before I even had a chance to get nervous, I found myself strapped in with my son in front of me. The guide told us all that we had a choice of landings when we were done… we could have a ‘dip’ where our toes would go into the water, we could have a ‘splash’ where we would go into the water up to our waist, or we could go for the ‘dunk’ and be fully submerged. I asked for the splash, and Tyson was fine with that! So off we went. The ride up was unbelievably smooth. Once we were airborne, I was taken to a whole other world. It was SO peaceful!! Not scary at ALL! I could’ve stayed up there all day. But, we had to take turns!

Lucky for Tyson, there was an odd number of people on the boat, so he got to go again with his daddy! I was able to get the camera out for this one and take some great shots.

Matt and Ty’s “Splashdown”!

Coming in for a landing:

This was flawless, by the way. When I was coming in for my landing, it was smooth as silk. You simply put your feet on the deck of the boat and there you were!

They made it!

What a great father/son moment! And I just LOVE this picture with the Dream in the background, and sheer happiness on their faces!

We had another couple on the boat with us who took their turn. I grabbed a shot of the LVD and her beautiful children while we waited.

And another shot of the Dream.

Soon, CVD and her big brother were strapped in and on their way. Here are proud mom and dad leaning in for a family shot! (Those are their kids flying in the air!)

EVD was torturing his little sister by asking the guides for a DUNK. You can see the fear in CVD’s face!

Come on! Dunk us!

But the guide was kind to CVD and just give them a splash! Relief!

Up next, mom and dad! Have a nice flight!

YA HOO!!!!!

I took about a million pictures of them in the air, which I won’t torture you with, but it was just so beautiful! The colorful sail, the perfect sky, and that ship… that picture-perfect ship in the background. This is a mental image that will NEVER leave me!

Here’s where things got hilarious. Since the guide didn’t give in to EVD’s dunking requests, EVERYONE was pushing for DVD and his wife to be dunked, except the wife of course! She was yelling “NO DUNKING!!!!” but we thought for sure they were going under! I’m guessing the guides on this boat had already experienced the wrath of a woman who is dunked when she doesn’t want to be, because they did NOT dunk them!! Ah well… LVD was saved!

DVD is STILL trying to make them dunk her!

I think LVD is thanking the guide profusely here!!

Don’t you just love this family shot?!

They returned the favor:

This excursion was one of the absolute highlights of my entire vacation. I would do it again in a heartbeat!!

So with that out of the way, and whole day ahead of us… how would we spend our last day in paradise?!

 

[micandminforever]

After seeing your pictures. I am ready for a cruise and parasailing. The pictures are beautiful. Lucky Tyson to be able to go two times.

 

[glennbo123]

What fun! It looked like such a great time. I've never done parasailing, kind of fearing the fly-by-night outfits that offer them. But maybe on a Disney excursion I could trust them.

 

[Sooze]

After seeing your pictures. I am ready for a cruise and parasailing. The pictures are beautiful. Lucky Tyson to be able to go two times.

It was the vacation of a lifetime, for sure! Glad you are enjoying them!

What fun! It looked like such a great time. I've never done parasailing, kind of fearing the fly-by-night outfits that offer them. But maybe on a Disney excursion I could trust them.

Eek... I guess I just assumed (and you know what that means), that we'd be completely safe with Disney. Thankfully it was a perfect experience!

 

[Sooze]

Tyson was filled with joy after that amazing parasailing adventure! After we got off the boat, I went to Scuttle’s Cove to pick up Shaelyn. We spent the next few hours on the family beach playing in the water and sand. I took advantage of our 2-day rental package and grabbed some snorkeling gear. I headed out into the snorkeling water and had to overcome a bit of fear to make myself breathe through the snorkeling-tube. Once I got comfortable with it, I spent a good hour in absolute heaven; just me, the sounds of paradise underwater, and the views of fish, plants, and other Disney goodies. It was another one of my favorite moments of the trip.

Lunch today was an absolute BLAST! It is the tradition of the DVD family to have a Connect Four tournament on New Year’s Day. Since their family had been considerably extended this year, they decided to have a LARGE tournament with all of us! It started on the ship with a full bracket of competitors. Taunting was rampant, and soon, the bracket had whittled down to the few remaining competitors. The Connect Four rack found its way to the BBQ stand on Castaway Cay, and we spent our lunch watching CVD and EVD in the final round. Seriously, these two were INTENSE!!!

CVD ended up victorious, which was quite the upset! Unfortunately, I have no photo or video documentation of this event, but it was crazy and fun!!

Soon, the adults all headed to Serenity Bay. Shae was begging to go back to Scuttle’s Cove, and, actually, so was Tyson. I wasn’t sure about his ability to go in there. He was 11, and right at the age that bordered between ‘kid’ and ‘tween’. The CMs told us that he could come in, but he would then be registered as a ‘kid’ and could no longer access the ‘tween’ clubs on the ship. He decided he was okay with that, since this was our last night, and he had most definitely maxed out the ‘tween’ club! So off we went to Scuttle’s Cove.

On our way, Shae decided she was ready for the “Bahama Braids”. There was no wait, so we jumped in. I was in awe as I watched the lady meticulously put Shae’s hair into the tiniest braids I’ve ever seen! The end result was beautiful!

As soon as the kids were settled in Scuttle’s Cove, I was off and running to Serenity Bay! We still had the whole afternoon and I planned on relaxing like a boss!!

This area of Castaway Cay is unbelievable. When you go out into the water, you can walk dozens of yards out and still be on firm sand. There are shells everywhere to explore, and explore I did. I found some beautiful, old and tattered conch shells and spent a good hour just wading out in the ocean.

The rest of the crew was getting busy with the Corona! And some of them had been doing so for a few hours. So, let’s just say, it was a very … uh… FESTIVE… mood on the beach! The beach was also quite empty, and we sat far away from whoever was there, so it was definitely a GOOD TIME!

Here are some shots from our adult gathering:

A very happy Adrianna!

Dean is thinking, “I’m gonna pay for this later”…

Laughing at the crazy adults. (CVD was not quite yet 21. So she made for a good spectator!)

Lots of laughter!

Here’s when things started getting super bonkers. Dean and Uncle Ralphie headed back into the water to act ridiculous. We all laughed so hard, our sides hurt!

It was refreshing to sit and relax and enjoy adult time. But soon, the sun started setting, and we knew the end was near… We all soaked in the setting several times as a group before we gathered our things and sulked back to the ship. Believe it or not, I actually got my shells back on board without question. Please don’t scold me for breaking the rules about bringing Castaway Cay back on the ship with me…. I seriously didn’t read any of the rules about it (even thought they were everywhere). The DVD family tried to bring a shell on board and had it confiscated as they were entering the ship. I guess the CMs checking me in were in a good mood. I didn’t even try to hide the shells, because I seriously didn’t know they were illegal!

We got cleaned up and dressed for dinner. In our cabin, we got word (maybe from the TV?) that the ship was going to be heading through some rough waters on the way home to Port Canaveral this evening. Nothing to be alarmed about, but be prepared. Ugh… ok….

Boy, did we ever feel it!!! During dinner, we could DEFINITELY feel it! The ship was quite bumpy. Nothing scary, just very noticeable. And our friends that consumed quite a few Coronas this afternoon? They were feeling it, and then some!

Shae’s not feeling it. She’s too busy stirring her coffee with an appropriate pinkie!

We said our goodbyes to May and Made. What a SUPERB serving team they were!

That night, we had planned on meeting everyone in the “D Lounge” for karaoke. Unfortunately, many folks from our group were not feeling so hot. The beverages from the beach and the jolting of the ship were not working out for them! Beauty and I did manage to sing “Pirates of the Caribbean” together, which got a nice response from the crowd. But this evening was short-lived. We all needed to get our luggage ready and get to bed. We had an early departure the next morning. ((sad face))

The evening was a rough one for me. While the rest of my family fell quickly asleep to the rocking and bumping of the ship, I couldn’t do it. We were in the front of the ship, which was plowing right into the rough waves, so the sound of crashing waves were loud and unrelenting. I tried to enjoy it, knowing we were perfectly safe, but you know what your mind can do to you! After a few hours of eluding sleep, I finally had the brilliant idea to put headphones on and listen to music. BINGO! That did the trick!

After a few short hours, it was time to wake up and face that fact that we were leaving…

I’ll cover the short, sad departure in a brief final post!

 

[micandminforever]

Shaelyn's “Bahama Braids” are so cute on her. I am glad your group were able to get in some adult time, but boo to the rough waters that followed.

 

[Sooze]

Shaelyn's “Bahama Braids” are so cute on her. I am glad your group were able to get in some adult time, but boo to the rough waters that followed.

I still have a reader!!! That's amazing considering my last update was in OCTOBER!!!

Thanks for sticking around!