Escape from Real Life to Paradise: A New Trip with New Memories - Completed 4/3

Hi,
I just found your new trip report. I read along with the last one and I can't wait to hear about all of the fun you all had!

Diane
 
Subbing in! DS is so cute and I can't wait to read all about your cruise! BTW I love Friendly's and my fave is the honey BBQ chicken melt. So yummy!
 
High fives on the parking spot and being #3! Ooooh!! So close now! You guys must have been bursting with giddy-ness!! :goodvibes

Yes, so ready! The 30 minutes we spent waiting in the terminal seemed like an eternity.

Can't wait for more!! Your son is so sweet. My DS is also adopted and the biggest blessing in my life. Of course, he's an adult now and has his own family--Disney people one and all!

:goodvibes

He is an incredible blessing and growing so fast. We transitioned to a big boy bed last night and I can't believe we are already at that point. Thanks for joining in.

Joining in too! Wow, I can't get over that view you had in your pre-cruise room. We stayed at the Ron Jon Cape Carib some years back, pre-cruise, and while you could walk to the ocean, we had no view of it at all. Great deal!

It was a great deal. The negative was that we were about 30 minutes away the morning of the cruise, but it wasn't a big deal for us.

Your son is adorable. I bet he had the time of his life. :)

There is nothing quite like seeing that ship for the first time, especially knowing you will be on it soon.

Great photos! Can't wait for the next installment.

He had a great time! So much different than our trip we he was a year younger, but that is one of the joys of Disney. A new trip every time they get older.

I'm in!! I love it!! Your family is gorgeous and that little boy already stole my heart..I have a house full of girls. What a cutie! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks. He is great!

Hi,
I just found your new trip report. I read along with the last one and I can't wait to hear about all of the fun you all had!

Diane

Thanks for coming along!

Subbing in! DS is so cute and I can't wait to read all about your cruise! BTW I love Friendly's and my fave is the honey BBQ chicken melt. So yummy!

Thanks for joining. That sandwich was great, I loved it!
 
Sorry it is has been a few days you all. We had a very busy weekend. We went to my wife's 10 year HS reunion on Saturday and then spent Sunday putting together a "big boy bed" in DS's room. We moved out the crib and dresser and moved in the bunk bed. DS loved it and slept just fine in the new bed last night. Between this and potty training the last few weeks have been a little crazy, but both being teachers the summer is a great time to do this stuff. On with the report!

Sunday, June 22 - Part 2 - Tears for Mickey

As we were waiting to board the ship Mickey came out for a meet and greet by the model ship. I wasn’t planning on battling the crowds to see him at this point, but DS saw him and started sprinting toward him. I did catch him before he cut off some other little kids who had been in line, but at this point I figured that DS was not going to take no for an answer. So DW held our seats while I took DS to meet Captain Mickey. DS does not understand the concept of waiting in line so I used the camera for him to take pictures. It entertained him most of the time we were waiting. Here are the products:

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What happened next was perhaps the funniest and sweetest thing that happened on our entire trip. When we were the next people to see Mickey the family in front appeared as though they were finishing up so I put DS down so he was ready to run over. The kids in the group before ran back to Mickey for one last picture with the parents. Well, DS had already managed to get away from me so I had to pull him back so they could get their last picture and he did not like it! Tears started flowing and he was saying, “I want Mickey” (which he pronounces “Mee cee”). When it was finally our turn he walked over to Mickey with tears coming down his face and just gave him the biggest hug he could. It was as if Mickey was consoling his broken heart! The photographer even asked for our camera so he could take some pictures with it as well. It was a great moment and one I will never forget…when DS cried in Mickey’s arms.

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We sat for a little while longer and finally they started calling groups at about 11:25. They called our group by 11:30 and we had to battle through tons of people to get into the line. Once there it took a little while, but wasn’t too bad. DS was really ready for a nap by this time, but of course we wouldn’t be able to get in our room until 1:30 so it was going to be interesting. It took us about 20 minutes to get through the lines and we were finally on board. The moment we had been waiting for and it was magical. DS and DW posed in front of the grand staircase.

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The restaurant they were guiding us to at this point was Cabanas, so we headed up the elevator. We settled on a nice corner table overlooking the port area and the Carnival ship and got DS some milk.

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I got DS and I a plate of food.

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Here is my plate. The peel and eat shrimp was great! I could have just eaten plate after plate of that and been happy.

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DW didn’t love having to fight the crowds just to get through the food line, but other than that it was a good dining experience.

We headed out after lunch and found some deck chairs and DW and DS went to get their swimsuits on so they could hit up the splash pad; Nemo’s Reef. I sat in the chairs and just enjoyed that all of the planning was over and we were actually on the ship.

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DS enjoyed the splash pad and he and DW came back and I went to get us the first of many ice cream cones. DS ate some of both of ours!

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It was about 1:00 at this point and DS was getting a little restless so I took him on a walk to help pass the next 30 minutes while we waited for our room to be ready. We took some selfies while we were gone.

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It was great to explore the deck areas and it also helped keep DS interested while waiting for our room to be ready so he could take a nap. It was a great start to our first cruise day.

Up Next: You Forgot What? Oh Wait...I did Too!
 
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How exciting to finally be on the ship!!! Poor little guy having to wait so long for Mickey. I bet his heart was just broken. Thank goodness Mickey gives some awesome hugs! I am going to be taking notes for our cruise in a couple years. I probably would have forgotten and packed my swimsuit in my luggage.
 
Yay Ship!!! Yay Ice cream!!

Oh man, the crowds don't sound like fun but I hope it made it feel that much more awesome to actually get on the ship!

Aww love your selfies! You guys are adorable!! ...uhh I mean manly kind of adorable of course! :cutie:
 
Been lurking on your TR and finally decided to comment because I could totally feel the excitement getting on the ship!

Your DS is so cute and how adorable that he just wanted to see Mickey so bad!

I'm hoping to do a 3-4 day cruise next spring, but planning two trips to WDW for September and January I have yet to bring it up to DBF. In due time though. :)

The more pictures I see of the Disney ships the more amazed I am. They are just beautiful.

Awesome updates. Can't wait to read more.
 


Subbing! Great TR so far.

Your DS is SUPER adorable!

Tears with Mickey... so sweet.

Was bummed when I got to the end so I can't wait to see your next updates. :)
 
aw, how sweet that you captured you son crying in Mickey's arms and getting consoled

For the boarding meal that food looks pretty good! That wait has to be the toughest part for those with younger kids - especially those that still nap. Just being off their schedule and so much "new" must throw some of them off

Nothing that a little touring and ice cream can't help though! ;)
 
How sweet that DS cried when he saw Mickey! What an amazing memory! :good vibes

Lunch looks yummy and talk about dining with a view. Very nice!
 
How exciting to finally be on the ship!!! Poor little guy having to wait so long for Mickey. I bet his heart was just broken. Thank goodness Mickey gives some awesome hugs! I am going to be taking notes for our cruise in a couple years. I probably would have forgotten and packed my swimsuit in my luggage.

It was an awesome meet. You could just see in DS's eyes how happy he was to see Mickey and get away from me because I had made him wait for 15 minutes!

Yay Ship!!! Yay Ice cream!!

Oh man, the crowds don't sound like fun but I hope it made it feel that much more awesome to actually get on the ship!

Aww love your selfies! You guys are adorable!! ...uhh I mean manly kind of adorable of course! :cutie:

Of course!

Been lurking on your TR and finally decided to comment because I could totally feel the excitement getting on the ship!

Your DS is so cute and how adorable that he just wanted to see Mickey so bad!

I'm hoping to do a 3-4 day cruise next spring, but planning two trips to WDW for September and January I have yet to bring it up to DBF. In due time though. :)

The more pictures I see of the Disney ships the more amazed I am. They are just beautiful.

Awesome updates. Can't wait to read more.

The ship was fantastic. The 4 day seemed like a good length, but we definitely now want to do a 7 day.

Subbing! Great TR so far.

Your DS is SUPER adorable!

Tears with Mickey... so sweet.

Was bummed when I got to the end so I can't wait to see your next updates. :)

He was so unhappy with me for making him wait in line, but Mickey made him feel better!

aw, how sweet that you captured you son crying in Mickey's arms and getting consoled

It was sad, funny, and cute at the same time!

For the boarding meal that food looks pretty good! That wait has to be the toughest part for those with younger kids - especially those that still nap. Just being off their schedule and so much "new" must throw some of them off

Nothing that a little touring and ice cream can't help though! ;)

The food was good for the most part that meal. DW just didn't like fighting people to get up to the buffet to get food. That is the only time on the cruise you felt the crowds though. And yes, the travel days were the hardest on DS because nap times and stuff were thrown off. But your right...ice cream helps a lot!!

I have never been on a Disney Cruise so I love seeing pics of the inside of the ship. The pics with Mickey are too cute!

Thanks for reading along. The ship is incredible. I'm not much of a photographer so my pictures don't do it justice, but it is awesome.

What fun read so far! Excited to read the rest:goodvibes

Thanks for following along!

How sweet that DS cried when he saw Mickey! What an amazing memory! :good vibes

Lunch looks yummy and talk about dining with a view. Very nice!

It was such a great meet. How many times does your crying kid get to run over and get comforted by Mickey Mouse himself. Definitely an amazing memory.
 
Sunday, June 22 – Part 3 – “You Forgot What? Oh…I did Too!”

By this time it was 1:30, which means we could get into our room. We were excited to see the room and excited because DS needed a nap! We headed down to deck 7 aft and found our room without to much trouble. All of our bags were already outside of the room, so that was a good thing. I managed to get some pictures of the room before we completely destroyed it.

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DS and DW laid down on the bed as DS needed a nap badly and I decided I would go on down for the 2:00 walking ship tour. The tour started right here:

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The tour was a nice thing to do since I had never been on one of these ships before. It really is not a “ship tour” it is more a tour of only the 3rd and 4th floors as it just shows you places like the Walt Disney Theatre, the movie theatre, the D Lounge, The District and a couple of the main dining rooms. It was great for first timers, but certainly not something I would need to do again.

On my way back I met our stateroom host, Natha from Indonesia. He was fantastic and he greeted me by name every time he saw me the rest of the trip. He took such pride in his work and was just a great host for us. You will see some pictures of stuff he did in our room later in the report. I got back to the room by 3:00 and managed to get the bags unpacked and get our stuff set up without waking DW or DS. The under the bed storage space was great for keeping the suitcases and we ended up having plenty of space for all of our stuff. The over the door shoe holder was a great idea I learned from people on the boards.

I got DW and DS up at 3:45, as we had to go to the Muster Drill. Our station was located in Evolution and it was quick and painless. As soon as it was over we headed up to the top deck for the sail away party. We went up to deck 12 overlooking the party and found a spot on the outside rail where we could see the water as we sailed away. This was the moment we finally said to ourselves this is really happening…it was perfect! B was still not quite awake at the party, but he got more into it as it went along. I took a bunch of pictures as we left port.

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We left the Sail Away Party and had only about 30 minutes to get ready for dinner since we were on the early seating. Our first night dinner was in Enchanted Garden. About two minutes after being seated DW wanted me to take a picture of her and DS with her camera. Then she discovered she had left her camera charging in the room. As I was reaching into my pocked to grab my phone for the picture I was asking her “your forgot what?” when I discovered I had left mine in the room too! What are the odds? We had a beautiful table right by the window and it was a great seat…and we don’t have a picture to remember it by.

Up Next: Dinner and a Movie (and a Tired 2 Year Old)
 
yeah! for getting to your room and for getting a nap for your son! And that is great that Natha was so great and greeted you by name and took pride in his job

Do they offer a more detailed version of the ship tour? Almost like a "Keys to the Kingdom" tour but on the boat? That would be kinda cool to see more how everything works and behind the scenes stuff

Obviously a bummer that you both forgot your camera/phone ... but on the plus side it let you not worry about photos and just enjoy your first meal :goodvibes
 
yeah! for getting to your room and for getting a nap for your son! And that is great that Natha was so great and greeted you by name and took pride in his job

He was great and I am sure he did that to everyone of his guests which is that much more impressive. Truly a Disney difference.

Do they offer a more detailed version of the ship tour? Almost like a "Keys to the Kingdom" tour but on the boat? That would be kinda cool to see more how everything works and behind the scenes stuff

In a round about way they have what you are talking about I think. This tour was kind of the first of a series. I went to one later in the cruise called "Making of the Dream". It kind of showed you some of the things that went into how they make the ship itself and stuff. Then there is one final one called "The Art of Theme Tour". I think this one is a walking tour that goes into more depth of some of the distinctly Disney things on the ship. I wasn't able to make it to that one unfortunately.

Obviously a bummer that you both forgot your camera/phone ... but on the plus side it let you not worry about photos and just enjoy your first meal :goodvibes

I know, but we did enjoy the meal.

Loving your review so far.

Thanks for reading along
 
Sunday, June 22 – Part 4 – Dinner and a Movie (and a Tired 2 Year Old)

So, we are picking up at dinner where both DW and I just discovered we had left not only our cell phones but our camera back in the room. Before I get to our pictureless dinner I purposefully left off a few pictures from the Sail Away Party to share here so this update wasn’t without pictures too.

The Dream was the last ship out of port after the Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships.

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One of my favorite pictures of the trip:

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So after sitting down at Enchanted Garden we met our assistant server, Israel who was from Mexico who brought our drinks. Then our server, Palmer, came by. He was from Costa Rica and did a fantastic job throughout the cruise.

For the appetizer DW had the Cucumber Garden Roll: filled with Julienne of carrots, bell peppers, and zucchini, with Cilantro and dressed with White Shoyu and Lemon Dressing. Despite sounding pretty good DW didn’t love it. I had the North Atlantic Lobster Ravioli: with roasted Garlic and Sweet Basil in a Tomato Broth. It was good, although it didn’t appear to have a whole lot of lobster.

For our soup/salad course DW had the Spinach and Raspberry Salad: Baby Spinach tossed with fresh Raspberries, Toasted Pine Nuts, crumbled Gorgonzola, and a Raspberry Vinaigrette. She really liked it, especially the dressing. I had the Romaine Wedge: Fresh Crisp Romaine topped with a creamy Romano Dressing and homemade Spiced Croutons. It was a simple salad, but was really great. Simple is sometimes so nice and the ingredients were really fresh.

For our main course DW had the Grilled Grain Fed Sirloin with Baked Potato. She said it was good. I ended up going with what our server recommended, the Caramelized Sea Scallops: with Roasted Asparagus, Sun-dried Tomato Cous-Cous, Caramelized Leeks, and Red Wine Veal Jus. The scallops were really good and cooked perfectly. The cous cous was the highlight for me though, it was great and had fantastic flavor.

Now, sometime during our main course DS started getting really restless. He had finished his meal of pasta and meat sauce, which he ate a lot of, but was ready to get down and play. I wish these meals were just about 20-30 minutes quicker as kids DS’s age have a hard time sitting there for two hours. DS’s first reservation at the nursery was at 7:45 so after we ordered dessert I ran him up to the it’s a small world nursery. When I got back my dessert was there, but they also brought DW and I a special anniversary dessert. The special one they brought was kind of like a chocolate mousse type dessert and it was better than anything on the sampler.

We were finished by 8:00 and DW and I headed to the Walt Disney Theatre to catch The Golden Mickey’s. We must have run back to the room first because I have a couple of pictures.

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This was a really fun show and we kind of though DS might have sat through it with all of the characters, but 30 minutes is about his max of sit still time right now. When it was over we picked him up and he had loved the nursery. The girls working their said he had been great and that he had just played the entire time. He was exhausted though.

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We stopped on the way down the hallway on the 5th floor to get one of these for another day.

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DW was tired too so she and DS laid down to go to sleep and I decided to go on down to the movie theatre to catch the 10:45 showing of Captain America. I of course had to stop and get some ice cream on the way! The movie was pretty good and I was back to the room and in bed by 1:00 am ready to get some sleep before arriving in the Bahamas.

Up Next: “No Thank You” for the Thousandth Time
 
Ooo, tell me you rode the AquaDuck (which I can see in your departure party pictures). :hyper:

Wow, those meals are pretty long for a little guy to sit through. I can imagine that he was ready to move on to something else.
 
Love the room. Very cute!

Dinner sounds delicious. Bummer about forgetting the camera. I'm glad you went back to the room to get it!

Sounds like you guys had a fun evening. I know what you mean about the dinner needing to be a little quicker when you have little ones. Not that I do any more, but the memory remains. :rotfl2:

Looks like Braxton completely wore himself out!
 

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