"I'm NOT a Princess, I'm Izzy!" - May '15 Land/Sea ~ Updated 6/4: Link to Disneyland TR!!!

[TheMaxRebo]

I like that even on the cruise ship they have things like Mickey Waffles to ensure it is a true Disney experience

And nice they have characters on the Island like Daisy for meets

Cool that they have the trams too - hard to tell from just the map how big the Island is so how long it would take to walk to one of the further beaches

Bummer about the rain ... at least you did get some time on the Island though vs the entire day being a wash out

Funny how things like getting to do laundry alone can still be a nice break from being a parent

 

[schmass]

How did I get so far behind again???

Seeing your pictures of the ship makes me want to be back on a cruise sooo bad. Even seeing just the hallway shots brings up such great feelings of walking through the ship and seeing the ocean out the portholes. We have a little over a year until we cruise again and I'm having trouble being patient!

I'm so sad for you that your Castaway Cay day had so much rain. Two out of three times we've been there we've seen those dark clouds and then had some sprinkles, but no downpours. I'm glad to hear that you weren't too disappointed about it.

That was a great idea to put Izzy in the nursery for the evening so you and Dug could explore the ship together. I love walking around the ship at night! Too bad she never napped there.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Awww, I really miss Castaway Cay! I am not sure when I'll get to see it again considering next year's cruise is to Canada, LOL.
Sorry for the rain on your CC day but I still think like there's nothing better than to relax and explore the ship, especially the Dream class ships!

Those food pics...yum! I really enjoyed the Enchanted Garden Breakfast. I like how it was a mix of buffet but you still had table service. I wanted to eat there more than once but was overruled by my sister who claimed that Cabanas had the most variety and we would be missing out if we didn't eat there. Haha.

 

[pkondz]

Izzy was even agreeable to wearing the “swimming kitty” shirt that I’d selected for her. Off to a great start!

One battle won!

We checked out the view from our balcony, now that we were docked at Castaway:

Not a bad view. Pretty lady included, too!

Is that a tomato?

"I want dat, mommy."
"Noooo.... not that! That's mommy's favourite!"

As you can see in the background of this picture, Izzy constructed a tower of baked goods:

Budding architect?

Seriously, she LOVES to build things and will find a way with nearly anything

Yup. Architect. Or contractor.

I took her out and this is when we discovered how obnoxious it is to have a potty training toddler in a 1-piece swimsuit under regular clothes.

Whoops.
I don't think we had those problems with our DDs. Not that I can recall anyway. And I know they had one piece suits.

I ended up taking her back to the bathroom once more a bit later and this time she just completely lost her mind at the prospect of getting things off, refusing to go entirely.

A trying period... for the both of you.

As we walked up, Dug told me that he didn’t have Izzy’s key card, which was mandatory to get off and back on the ship (I must have thought he had it in his wallet?). So, I had to trek all the way back to the room and search for it. After trashing our room looking for it, I finally gave up and headed to Guest Services where they had to print a new one.

Ohhhhh.... crap. Especially since it started raining after you only were on the beach for a bit.

Izzy played with her floating Minnie toy that she had insisted on bringing to the beach (but did not actually play with at the beach):

Of course not!

We saw that we had to scan our key cards and I asked the CM if I should hold up Izzy’s card to the scanner for her. He snapped at me, as if I was being ridiculous (the answer was yes, by the way). Caught me off guard – maybe letting everyone off the ship makes CMs grumpy, I don’t know. I explained to him that we didn’t get off the ship yesterday, so this was all new to us. His attitude quickly improved and he explained that we would have to do the same thing to get back onboard as well.

Exasperated CM: "Geez lady. Get with the program."

moments later:

CM worried about breaking the cardinal rule of pissing of guests: "Okay! I'm going to be over-the-top nice and friendly now! (please don't get me fired.)"

Guess those people were already getting back on the ship?

"See, Marjorie? We're the first ones off the ship and we have the beach to ourselves! Now... let's head back and avoid the crowd trying to re-board."

So, basically.... "Go even near the water and you will die."

Check.

Looks like Izzy wanted to show off her swimming kitty shirt when she got up there:

"See my shirt? I let my Mom put this on me. But I'm going to make her pay when it comes to potty time."

She played around in the sand a bit, then wanted to try going in the ocean, but would only do it with me holding her.

Holding her... out of the water? Had she read the sign?

She tired of that pretty quickly and wanted to go back to the sand, where she ended up collecting a bunch of little shells (and tossing them back after).

Kids love collecting little shells.
Kay (my 15yr old) did just that in Hawaii a few months ago.


Didn't throw them back though.

I guess the "keeping" part comes later.

Not before we both got sprayed in the face leaving the splash pad, though.

"Trying to leave? We'll show you!"

By now it was pouring and poor Dug had to stand in a long uncovered line for food.

Really? You'd think they'd have that covered. Hmm..

The food was good enough, but we were pretty bummed watching the downpour go on and on and on. I mean, we’d really only had about an hour to enjoy the beach and splash pad.

Sucks. Guess you better go on another cruise.

we headed back to the tram and the ship and dropped Izzy off at the nursery. Spoiler alert: she didn’t nap there. Again.

Not surprised. New place. Things to see. Things to do.

So, we decided to cut our losses on Castaway and just stay onboard to enjoy the Dream and do some laundry. Exciting, I know.

Nah. It's a little sense of normalcy in an unfamiliar environment. It's all good.

Ironically, the afternoon did clear up and was fairly nice once it did. Oh, well, can’t win ‘em all.

Of course it did.

On the bright side, neither of us are big lounging-on-the-beach people, so we weren’t TOO heartbroken vs. those DIS-ers who take the cruise only as a means of visiting Castaway Cay.

We're not those people either.
Still... would've been nice to get to see where the grown-ups hang out.

 

[amazingact21]

We were up around 7am this day and put on our swimsuits under our clothes, in preparation for a day at the beach on a beautiful private island

Yay! Castaway Cay!

At some point during the meal, Izzy said she had to go potty. I took her out and this is when we discovered how obnoxious it is to have a potty training toddler in a 1-piece swimsuit under regular clothes.

Yes! I remember when Landon was a baby and Alex and I took him to a splash pad, Alex commented that there's no way he'd ever let his daughter wear a 2 piece as a young girl. I then filled him in on how difficult bathroom treks are in a one piece, especially a wet one piece.
Needless to say, next summer when Evie will need a suit she's going to get a two piece.

we were pretty bummed watching the downpour go on and on and on. I mean, we’d really only had about an hour to enjoy the beach and splash pad

Oh, that's a bummer!

enjoy the Dream and do some laundry.

The exciting life of parents...you might be able to get some time away from the kids, but the laundry is always there.

we didn’t have a lot of non-rain time on Castaway Cay and this is something I’d like to rectify if we take another Disney cruise sometime.

If you go in the summer of 2019, perhaps Izzy could have some friends to play with on the beach.....

those DIS-ers who take the cruise only as a means of visiting Castaway Cay.

I'll admit, that was my favorite part of our cruise. I used to live in a destination beach town, so for me, getting to be the tourist WITHOUT the massive crowds was a nice change. Honestly, that's the biggest draw for me. (Well, that and no phones for the length of the cruise.)

 

[Imagineer5]

We chose to go to Enchanted Garden for breakfast, as it was fairly close to the disembarkation point. We were allowed to get off the boat at 8:30am, but it was about 9am by the time we sat down to eat and we figured that would allow us to avoid the crowd

LOL we are so different :-D we were in line by 8 waiting to get off hahaha

(And, yes, the most recent swimsuit I bought her is two pieces, so we don't have to deal with something like that again).

YES! And even worse when the suit is wet!

I had to trek all the way back to the room and search for it. After trashing our room looking for it, I finally gave up and headed to Guest Services where they had to print a new one. In case you are wondering, at some later point in our cruise I discovered that it was in the little slot by the door that keeps the lights on. Oops.

Odd, I don't remember the key thing at ALL! Zero recollection of needing Aria's key or needing to swipe it or anything.

We found a chair towards the back of the beach at the end of a row and Dug sat there with our stuff while Izzy and I headed over to the nearby splash pad. Sorry that I have no pictures of any of this, as we only had our phones, no waterproof camera.

Glad you found a chair at least

It started to rain as we headed back, so we helped Dug grab all our things and found a picnic table under the shelter you saw earlier. Izzy and I waited there with our stuff and dried off while Dug braved the rain to stand in line for some food for us all. By now it was pouring and poor Dug had to stand in a long uncovered line for food.

Boo to rain. I didn't realize you had spent so little time at Castaway Key.

I believe this plate contains a spicy chicken sandwich, a cheeseburger, coleslaw, potato salad, corn, and maybe some BBQ chicken or ribs or something? I sampled everything and also ended up eating some of Izzy’s leftover hot dog. Oh, and here’s Dug’s plate of BBQ and slaw:

Smart man just getting a bit of everything!

The food was good enough, but we were pretty bummed watching the downpour go on and on and on. I mean, we’d really only had about an hour to enjoy the beach and splash pad. And Izzy was due in the nursery on the ship from 1-5pm. We had set that up in advance with the plan of dropping her off there to nap while we got back off and went to Serenity Bay, the adult only part of Castaway Cay.

Smart plan too, although I don't think laundry is equal to adults-only beach time! LOL

, yeah, we didn’t have a lot of non-rain time on Castaway Cay and this is something I’d like to rectify if we take another Disney cruise sometime.

Definitely

I mean, I did have to give up my daydream of sitting on a chair in the shallow water of the adult beach with an adult beverage in my hand , but we had a pleasant enough afternoon on the Dream.

We found a lot to do at Castaway and as you can guess, it was Andrew's favorite part of the trip but I also really enjoyed it too - the bikes were really fun and we'd do them again next time (if possible with 3 ahhem...) and the snorkeling was also really fun. Aria did enjoy the splash pad too and would really like the water slide area now. Is there no nursery option on the island? I know they have a kids club to use therer which is pretty cool I think.

 

[Dugette]

Super cute meet with Daisy! I love the life vest she's wearing.

I loved seeing the characters in all sorts of different outfits on the cruise!

That's too bad that it rained that afternoon. I hope it didn't rain at your next port. At least there's plenty to do aboard the ship, so it's not a complete wash out.

Well, the "fun" part about a 4 night cruise is that there are NO MORE ports. Yeah, just Nassau and Castaway. The next day is a sea day and then we're back. Too short.

You and I share similar daydreams regarding adult beverages!

I have this fear with cruises that I won't make it back on the ship and am stuck somewhere. I've always wondered what happens in those situations.

Yeah, I get that fear. I think you have to fly out and maybe you can re-board at another port? I hope to never find out firsthand.

I like that even on the cruise ship they have things like Mickey Waffles to ensure it is a true Disney experience

Gotta get their money's worth out of all the Mickey waffle makers they probably have.

And nice they have characters on the Island like Daisy for meets

I love all the character meets available on cruises - and there were a lot more that we didn't get to.

Cool that they have the trams too - hard to tell from just the map how big the Island is so how long it would take to walk to one of the further beaches

You could walk, but it's a hike to the adult beach in particular. The island is pretty big.

Bummer about the rain ... at least you did get some time on the Island though vs the entire day being a wash out

Yeah, I'm glad we had the time we did. It was a nice taste of the place.

Funny how things like getting to do laundry alone can still be a nice break from being a parent

Very true!

How did I get so far behind again???

Haha, I don't know because I'm sure not writing fast! (I totally understand, though - so easy to get behind on here - heck, just last night I realized I'd missed an entire 7 pages on a TR I wanted to read! )

Seeing your pictures of the ship makes me want to be back on a cruise sooo bad. Even seeing just the hallway shots brings up such great feelings of walking through the ship and seeing the ocean out the portholes. We have a little over a year until we cruise again and I'm having trouble being patient!

Yay, at least you have a cruise on the agenda! Every time I see pictures of the ships or other TRs, I want to go back ASAP too. I love cruises.

I'm so sad for you that your Castaway Cay day had so much rain. Two out of three times we've been there we've seen those dark clouds and then had some sprinkles, but no downpours. I'm glad to hear that you weren't too disappointed about it.

Yeah, I was surprised at how heavy and long the downpour was. We caught a slowdown in the rain to get back to the ship, but it was still raining.

That was a great idea to put Izzy in the nursery for the evening so you and Dug could explore the ship together. I love walking around the ship at night! Too bad she never napped there.

I loved having the nursery available to us. Having a bit of time off from the 2.5 year old was quite refreshing at times.

Awww, I really miss Castaway Cay! I am not sure when I'll get to see it again considering next year's cruise is to Canada, LOL.
Sorry for the rain on your CC day but I still think like there's nothing better than to relax and explore the ship, especially the Dream class ships!

Ha, can you imagine if Canada had a Castaway Cay? There would be like ice skating and sled dog rides, right? (I'm Minnesotan - I am required to make dumb jokes about Canada) Yes, I loved just being on the ship. Wish I could have spent a lot longer there.

Those food pics...yum! I really enjoyed the Enchanted Garden Breakfast. I like how it was a mix of buffet but you still had table service. I wanted to eat there more than once but was overruled by my sister who claimed that Cabanas had the most variety and we would be missing out if we didn't eat there. Haha.

It was nice to have the different dining options for breakfast. I liked it too, as having someone to wait on you a bit is helpful with a toddler, but a buffet is nice to get food to said toddler ASAP - so, good mix!

 

[Dugette]

One battle won!

Not a bad view. Pretty lady included, too!

Is that a tomato?

It was Dug's plate, so I just asked him and he doesn't remember. So...probably?

"I want dat, mommy."
"Noooo.... not that! That's mommy's favourite!"

She takes all the good stuff.

Budding architect?

Yup. Architect. Or contractor.

It will be interesting to see what she ends up doing. I keep thinking maybe an engineer and/or manager. Or a director. If she can tell people what to do, she's happy.

Whoops.
I don't think we had those problems with our DDs. Not that I can recall anyway. And I know they had one piece suits.

Well, I suppose it's something you don't commit to long-term memory.

A trying period... for the both of you.

Ohhhhh.... crap. Especially since it started raining after you only were on the beach for a bit.

Yep, nothing like wasting precious sunshine-y time.

Of course not!

Exasperated CM: "Geez lady. Get with the program."

moments later:

CM worried about breaking the cardinal rule of pissing of guests: "Okay! I'm going to be over-the-top nice and friendly now! (please don't get me fired.)"

I think that was pretty much it.

"See, Marjorie? We're the first ones off the ship and we have the beach to ourselves! Now... let's head back and avoid the crowd trying to re-board."

Also, probably true.

So, basically.... "Go even near the water and you will die."

Check.

Don't even look at the water funny, it will get you.

"See my shirt? I let my Mom put this on me. But I'm going to make her pay when it comes to potty time."

Holding her... out of the water? Had she read the sign?

Well, I think her feet might have touched it.

Kids love collecting little shells.
Kay (my 15yr old) did just that in Hawaii a few months ago.


Didn't throw them back though.

I guess the "keeping" part comes later.

I bet it does.

"Trying to leave? We'll show you!"

Really? You'd think they'd have that covered. Hmm..

I would have thought so. But I guess not?

Sucks. Guess you better go on another cruise.

Not surprised. New place. Things to see. Things to do.

New toys to play with.

Nah. It's a little sense of normalcy in an unfamiliar environment. It's all good.

I'm sure most DIS-ers can't wait to get to Castaway so they can have a laundry day.

Of course it did.

We're not those people either.
Still... would've been nice to get to see where the grown-ups hang out.

I agree - just to enjoy one drink and relax.

Yay! Castaway Cay!

Yes! I remember when Landon was a baby and Alex and I took him to a splash pad, Alex commented that there's no way he'd ever let his daughter wear a 2 piece as a young girl. I then filled him in on how difficult bathroom treks are in a one piece, especially a wet one piece.
Needless to say, next summer when Evie will need a suit she's going to get a two piece.

Haha, agree! And the two piece I got her is basically a tankini type thing, so it LOOKS like a one piece, but is just much more convenient!

Oh, that's a bummer!

The exciting life of parents...you might be able to get some time away from the kids, but the laundry is always there.

So true!

If you go in the summer of 2019, perhaps Izzy could have some friends to play with on the beach.....

Good to know! I will keep that in mind. Right now, our 2019 is unplanned, but Dug's cousin just got engaged and they are talking about a 2019 wedding, which will likely be in southern CA - so, it might be a Disneyland year, we'll see...

I'll admit, that was my favorite part of our cruise. I used to live in a destination beach town, so for me, getting to be the tourist WITHOUT the massive crowds was a nice change. Honestly, that's the biggest draw for me. (Well, that and no phones for the length of the cruise.)

I bet that would be a nice change of pace. Here, any ocean beach (crowded or not) is different from the norm, so I guess we don't need the seclusion so much.

LOL we are so different :-D we were in line by 8 waiting to get off hahaha

I know you would! You'd probably have already made a lap of the ship to kill some time too.

YES! And even worse when the suit is wet!

Very true! So inconvenient!

Odd, I don't remember the key thing at ALL! Zero recollection of needing Aria's key or needing to swipe it or anything.

Huh. I wonder if it was different? They wouldn't have let Izzy off without hers.

Glad you found a chair at least

And one was all we needed, since Izzy and I were up and about, so it worked.

Boo to rain. I didn't realize you had spent so little time at Castaway Key.

Yeah, if I knew then what I know now, we'd have been off the boat right away like you. But we had no reason to think the afternoon would be a washout. Oh, well.

Smart man just getting a bit of everything!

Yep, all inclusive, so why not just toss everything on a plate to keep the wife happy?

Smart plan too, although I don't think laundry is equal to adults-only beach time! LOL

Well, definitely different. Our afternoon wasn't glamorous, but we did do some things on the ship while the laundry was running.

Definitely

We found a lot to do at Castaway and as you can guess, it was Andrew's favorite part of the trip but I also really enjoyed it too - the bikes were really fun and we'd do them again next time (if possible with 3 ahhem...) and the snorkeling was also really fun. Aria did enjoy the splash pad too and would really like the water slide area now. Is there no nursery option on the island? I know they have a kids club to use therer which is pretty cool I think.

Maybe they have bike trailers for your next visit? I remember you did a lot more stuff - looked like fun! Only kids club, no nursery option on the island. Would have been nice. That's a plus for a return visit, though - being able to put her in the kids club without getting back on board.

 

[Dugette]

Living the Dream

So, we got back on the ship after our rainy lunch at Castaway Cay and brought Izzy to the nursery. Though she didn’t nap as we’d planned, she did have a great time playing – so much so that she didn’t want to leave when we went to get her later.

After dropping her off there, I must have stopped up to the pool deck to refill my cup with Diet Coke, since I know I was carrying one around later when I did laundry. I also made a stop at the Midship Detective Agency kiosk to pick up a mission for us to do. This is the interactive game aboard the Dream where pictures come to life and give you clues to find out “who dun it.” I probably picked this up right after dropping her off, as it’s right by the nursery.

When I got back to the room, I saw we had Pirate Night stuff laid out for us:



Those are the bandanas they give to everyone.

I checked the laundry room on our floor first and it only had two washers in it – one of which was in use and the other had a load of wet clothes sitting in it.



I chose to head back to the room and wait about 15 minutes, then check back to see if they had opened up. However, it was still the same when I came back, so I decided to check out other laundry options. We were on floor 8 and I ended up finding a nice, big laundry room 5th deck aft with 5 washers! In case you are wondering, I was feeling rather clever, as I’d put all of our dirty clothes in a rolling carry-on bag to easily transport to and from the laundry room. It was about 2:40pm by now.

I put my laundry in a washer(s?) and then went to the payment machine. When I tried to use it, the machine indicated that my washer was busy and couldn’t be used. Maybe I was supposed to pay and then put the clothes in? I don’t know. I ended up switching to another machine and that worked. I also had to buy some detergent at the machine. You pay with your key card and my swipes kept generating error messages. Eventually, the card worked and the wash was in progress. I just remember getting annoyed and frustrated that it felt so clunky. I made a note of when the laundry would be done, then headed back to our stateroom for a bit.

It had gotten nicer outside, so we took to the balcony for a break. I noticed that they were cleaning the lifeboats down below us:



We opened up a bottle of wine that we’d brought and pulled out that other Fish Extender cookie to share:







We enjoyed the lovely view (yes, of course it was gorgeous out now! ) and watched some parasailing:





We saw Stitch come out and do a meet and greet on the dock. I have no idea if he’s in this picture, but maybe :



About 3:20pm, I headed back to deck 5 to switch our laundry into dryers, for which the payment machine worked just fine. This must be floor 5’s laundry room:



After that was done, we started our detective work on the Mystery of the Missing Puppies. The 101 Dalmatian puppies had gone missing! I have some various pictures from along our journey around the ship. These two pictures had a cannonball battle with each other:



I managed to catch a bit of the aftermath on video:

(click to watch)

You hold your game card in front of the pictures to make various things happen, sometimes having to move it in a certain way. Here we are getting one of our clues:

(click to watch)

Ooooh, looks like we found some puppies:



This game took us all over the ship, so we ended up passing through Cabanas at one point. There was a Make a Wish group in there with Mickey having cookies and milk, which was pretty neat:



We also passed by the splash pad and I took a picture of the random unconnected corner tile that was really annoying me the other day:



Pool deck was a nice place to be:



We noticed that the Donald pool was open now, as it was covered up the previous day.

While we were on deck, I must have decided to try out the free ice cream:



I believe that was a strawberry and banana twist. (And check out my very impressive ice cream twirling skills…I could have made it taller, but didn’t want TOO much – we had Palo dinner coming up that night!)

I have no idea where or when these pictures were taken, so I’ll just throw them in right here, though they may have been from when we got back to the room:





Pretty, pretty ocean!

We passed this picture of the stars from my favorite Disney movie, so had to get a selfie:



And one with Mickey too apparently:



Awww, look, it’s Walt and Bambi:



I think this was my attempt at an artistic shot :



They were cleaning the deck:



I guess Castaway day is cleaning day for the Dream crew!

The grand staircase:



We ended up completing our mission and finding the missing puppies around 4pm:



I have some video of that too, if you don’t mind spoilers :

(click to watch)

The game was a lot of fun. I’m glad we did it without Izzy at that point, as she was 2.5 and would not have had the patience or understanding for it to be particularly fun. NOW, at almost 4, I think she’d get a kick out of it, though.

After that, Dug went and sat near the coffee bar while I went back to get our laundry. I brought it all back to the room and laid things out/rolled things up, etc. I also grabbed Dug’s coffee punch card (I think it was like buy 5 get one free or something like that?) and our Disney Visa – so we could go to the onboard booking desk. I think Dug got a coffee to bring with him to that.

There was a long line for Pirate Mickey forming near where Dug was waiting and I happened to catch my favorite stalker shot ever of Mickey walking by to get to his spot:



I know he’s blurry, but he’s looking right at me!

We noticed down below that there was a big game going on that might make you nostalgic for your childhood:



If you know this game as Duck, Duck, Goose – you are NOT a Minnesotan. We take our Duck, Duck, Gray Duck VERY seriously here. Really, even Buzzfeed agrees:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/youve-been-playing-duck-duck-goose-wrong-your-whole-life?utm_term=.klmPPNenJq#.wp3VVNQnwx

I noticed that this Disney Dream game is actually doing it’s own version that is apparently Quack, Quack, Honk:

(click to watch)

At any rate, at about 4:40pm we got to the Future Cruise Booking desk and sat down with a CM. I have to say, we picked the right time to do this. Not crowded. Later, and the last day of the cruise especially, I noticed long lines here! So, be strategic about when you go here if you intend to book another cruise while onboard.

The reason we chose to do this was because of the onboard booking discounts. We really didn’t know if we’d be taking another cruise, but can’t hurt to book. All we had to do was put down a deposit (20%, I think, and 10% for a 7-night+) and using the Disney Visa made it interest free as well (for 6 months). The incentives were a 10% fare discount and $100 onboard credit for the next cruise (more onboard credit for a longer cruise). Can change or cancel the reservation, but your next cruise has to take place within a certain time period. For us, it was two years (so, by May 2017), but I think that policy might have changed? Sorry, not sure. Because we had no idea if we’d take another cruise in the next two years, we just booked the same cruise we were on (same room category and everything) for December 2016. A "Very Merrytime" cruise, which sounds fun.

Well, spoiler alert, we hung onto it for a long time even though we knew we weren’t likely to take it. Especially since we booked a WDW trip overlapping it (with @Imagineer5 ). So, a couple weeks ago, I finally called and was going to cancel it entirely to make sure we were clear of the full refund window, but the CM talked me into just pushing it back to the end of our 2-year cruising window just in case, to maintain the discount. So, in order to keep the price point the same (since we’re not as far out), we booked a 3-night Bahamian instead of 4, again on the Dream in the same type of room. Again, we have no intention of taking this, but we’ll hang onto it throughout the full refund period (February). I don’t expect us to take another Disney Cruise by May, so it will likely be cancelled. I hate that you lose the discount after 2 years, though. I mean, I want to take another Disney Cruise someday, but within 2 years is really not feasible without giving up other travel we want to do. Plus, I’d like to do a different non-Bahamian cruise (maybe Alaska?) when we go again – and that will be more expensive, so that 10% off would be so nice! Not to mention the onboard credit. Oh, well. If we come into enough extra money between now and May to do it, at least we still have the discount. And then we can rebook an Alaska cruise for 2019. Or something.

After that fun, we had to go pick Izzy up around 5pm:



For Pirate Night, they had done face painting and temporary tattoos in the nursery (which she did not want washed off for several days, so get used to them ).

Up next: A surprise character meet! And Pirate Night dinner!

 

[Dugette]

Pirate Night Dinner

We got Izzy from the nursery, but it took about 5 minutes to get her out of there, as she didn’t want to leave. That delay proved worthwhile, though, because as we walked away, we happened upon an unscheduled meet with Pirate Stitch and almost nobody was there! Score! Two families later, it was our turn:







And the video. There’s some confusion at the beginning because the family before us walked away and then turned back to take a picture of Stitch by himself, which I wasn’t expecting:

(click to watch)

She had a good time with Stitch, but when I asked her about it later, she brought up the Chip and Dale meet then – I guess she REALLY liked them! (and you will see more of them on the WDW part of the trip that’s coming up ).

About 5:40pm, we headed back to the room for a bit. I think Izzy watched some TV:



She also came out to the balcony to steal the ice from my cup:





Can’t be mad at a thief that cute! She was obsessed with eating ice on this trip.

I think Izzy spent most of our time in the room playing with the little hanger part for her portable potty seat (the hook to hang it up) and using it to “catch” things, like it was a fishing pole. Maybe I should have given those as Fish Extender gifts for the toddlers. She also got really upset when we had to leave for dinner before she finished watching her episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Our stateroom attendant happened to be nearby as we left and he consoled her with a chocolate coin, which worked wonders for her mood!

Dug wore his pirate bandana (and pirate shirt):



Then we headed to the dining room. We were at Royal Palace again, just like the night before. Since there are three dining rooms and this was a 4 night cruise, they repeat one of them on Pirate Night. This is part of why we booked Palo that evening – it’s a repeat dining room and many people feel it’s the weakest dinner menu as well (same menu in all dining rooms for Pirate Night). Our plan was to bring Izzy to dinner, have some appetizers ourselves, then have our Palo dinner a bit later. So, we took our table in the dining room:



Looks like they had pirate hats for the kids:



Our table-mates didn’t come to dinner this night:



We ran into them later, though, and found out they had dinner at Cabanas and they served the same Pirate Night menu there. Good to know. Nice option if you feel like a more casual dinner, I guess. They enjoyed it.

I think I was impressed with how many platters those waiters can carry on one tray without dropping them :



They offered special kids light-up cups for Pirate Night and we decided to get Izzy one:



Here she is playing with it (and I apparently tried to get us in the pirate mood with some Yo Ho…oh, funny story – so, Izzy and her daycare crew take walks sometimes and the daycare provider lets the kids pick the songs they listen to while they walk. She told me that Izzy always picks Yo Ho on her turn and she said they must be a sight to see, a bunch of kids walking down the street singing Yo Ho ):

(click to watch)

So, the milk cup was neat, but it was a fairly cheap plastic cup. When we got home, we used it for dinner one night and left it on the counter while we got Izzy to bed. When I came back to empty it, the milk had leaked into the battery compartment and the thing was dead. But fun while it lasted, I guess.

Our carriage basket was filled with bread:



Which, once again, Izzy used to deliver her butter:



I think Dug and I each ordered two of the appetizers. I believe his first one is Pearls of the Caribbean – Crabmeat, Shrimp, and Salmon mixed in Pearls of Couscous with Lemon Grass infused Vinaigrette:



His other appetizer appears to be Black Beard’s Jumbo Crab Cake – with a Golden Raisin-Carrot and Coconut Slaw served with a spicy Calypso Dressing:



Hmmmm, looks like he got a soup too. I am guessing this is the Caribbean-style Conch Chowder – with Sherry, Sweet Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes, Thyme and garnished with diced Potatoes and crispy Bacon Bits:



I think he must have also ordered a small dish of Scallops, as he loves them and they were part of one of the entrees offered:



I just got two appetizers, hoping to save plenty of room for Palo. The first was the Pirates Golden “Pot Stickers” – Oriental Pork “Dumplings” deep fried and served with a Tamarind-Ginger Soy Sauce and Pickled Vegetables:



I also got the one I’ve heard the most good reviews about, which was The Buccaneer’s Sun-Ripened Pineapple – fresh island Pineapple with a Coconut covered Banana and Orange Glaze:



I believe everything was pretty tasty. I’m sure it will come as a surprise to nobody that Izzy once again ordered mac and cheese for dinner:



She actually did eat a lot of it this night, though!

As you may be able to see in the pictures, I completely forgot to put Izzy in her Jake and the Neverland Pirates shirt I’d bought her for Pirate Night. Oops. Ironically, she wore it today! (yes, still fits, as it was big at the time) She was pretty attached to Swimming Kitty that day anyway, though, so probably best not to mess with her shirt.

Our waiter was a lot of fun again. When we arrived, he gave Izzy a paper bird that “flies” (and, no, I don’t remember what that entails, but that’s what my notes say! ) At the end of our abbreviated meal, he played some games with the blinking light on the bottom of the cup – pretending to put it in Izzy mouth, etc. You can get the gist of it in this little video clip of his magic tricks:

(click to watch)

We really enjoyed the effort he put into entertaining the kids.

We headed back to the room briefly after dinner. It was interesting to see people decked out for pirate night all over the ship. That’s one thing that makes me want to take another cruise – sometime after this cruise, I found Izzy a fantastic homemade pirate costume at a consignment sale and I’d love to have her wear it on Pirate Night. We’ll see. At any rate, there were some people that really got into the costumes, which was fun to watch. I also saw one girl drop a pirate earring down the elevator shaft on accident. Ooops.

We spent a few moments enjoying the glorious view of the ocean from our balcony:







Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

Up next: A pirate party and Palo!

 

[pkondz]

She takes all the good stuff.

If she can tell people what to do, she's happy.

Uh, oh. Have fun in the coming years!

Well, I suppose it's something you don't commit to long-term memory.

Probably right.

Don't even look at the water funny, it will get you.

New toys to play with.

There it is.

I'm sure most DIS-ers can't wait to get to Castaway so they can have a laundry day.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

seems like a pretty productive afternoon - though sorry about the issues with the laundry. I wonder if some people started theirs and then went offshore

The game looks fun - reminds me of Sorcerers of the Kingdom game ... cool that it basically forces you to explore the ship some

Good advice as far as when to go to do the re-booking/shipboard discount. How does the discount work if you book on board for a 3 night cruise and then switch to a 7 day Alaskan cruise? Do you just get the 10% savings from the 3 day cruise or do you get the full 10% off the more expensive cruise?

Great you got in that bonus meet with Stitch!

She also came out to the balcony to steal the ice from my cup

... my kids do that all the time .... we really have to watch when we have a mommy/daddy drink

I love how with it being a cruise and unlimited food that even when you are trying to just have a bit before Palo you still got multiple appetizers and Dug got soup and scallops as well (cool that you can just get a side of scallops like that rather than needing to get the entire entree)

Fun Yo Ho story about Izzy

I also love the "Disney Logic" of, well, we got this great Pirate Costume so definitely need to take another Disney Cruise so we can use it

 

[Imagineer5]

We opened up a bottle of wine that we’d brought and pulled out that other Fish Extender cookie to share:

There we go, now that is a nice way to spend a relaxing afternoon kid-less

We saw Stitch come out and do a meet and greet on the dock. I have no idea if he’s in this picture, but maybe :

Nice view (well I'm imagining it, since I can't see photos lol)

After that was done, we started our detective work on the Mystery of the Missing Puppies. The 101 Dalmatian puppies had gone missing! I have some various pictures from along our journey around the ship. These two pictures had a cannonball battle with each other:

That is also a fun way to spend the afternoon!

The game was a lot of fun. I’m glad we did it without Izzy at that point, as she was 2.5 and would not have had the patience or understanding for it to be particularly fun. NOW, at almost 4, I think she’d get a kick out of it, though.

Yeah, Aria would love it too

And then we can rebook an Alaska cruise for 2019. Or something

Hahahaha I hope you get to use the cruise discount AND rebook for another! I'm still pining away at taking a 7 nighter to the Caribbean. Would love to do that! Maybe as a 3rd birthday trip for new baby lol.

For Pirate Night, they had done face painting and temporary tattoos in the nursery (which she did not want washed off for several days, so get used to them ).

Hmm did they ask you about doing temporary tattoos? I'm sure she had fun with them but that would sort of annoy me, what if you had photos planned or something?

Pirate Stitch and almost nobody was there! Score! Two families later, it was our turn:

Yay!!

she brought up the Chip and Dale meet then

YES we are huge Chip & Dale fans. So glad we're going to Garden Grill in December.

Our stateroom attendant happened to be nearby as we left and he consoled her with a chocolate coin, which worked wonders for her mood!

How sweet!

We ran into them later, though, and found out they had dinner at Cabanas and they served the same Pirate Night menu there. Good to know. Nice option if you feel like a more casual dinner, I guess. They enjoyed it.

That is good to know, assuming it was served buffet style?

She told me that Izzy always picks Yo Ho on her turn and she said they must be a sight to see, a bunch of kids walking down the street singing Yo Ho ):

That's super cute

 

[schmass]

Those laundry machines are so hard to figure out! When I did laundry on our last cruise, there were some very helpful guests in there that helped me out. One even gave me laundry detergent since he brought a whole box!

Wine and that cookie on the verandah sounds great!

I think you were smart to book onboard even if you won't use it. I wish we had done that on our first cruise since we did end up cruising again the next year. Oh well, we have learned and now re-book each time! Since you can cancel and get your money back, it just makes sense to do it just in case!

I think booking Palo during Pirate Night is smart, as that is my least favorite dinner menu if I remember correctly. I can't wait to read about your meal there!

That is funny about needing to take another cruise because of the pirate costume you found. My sister just gave me a ton of hand-me-downs for Lola. There are so many adorable dresses in size 3T, so naturally I said we need to go on a cruise when Lola is 3 so she can wear them all to dinner! There's also a perfect one for Aulani...

 

[annie170]

If Minnesota is the only state that calls the game "duck, duck, gray duck," perhaps it's the Minnesotans who are wrong. Haha!

Very sweet meet with Stitch and Dug makes a pretty good pirate!

Smart move saving room for your Palo dinner. Your appetizers looked pretty tasty.

Those ocean views are just spectacular!

 

[pkondz]

Though she didn’t nap as we’d planned, she did have a great time playing – so much so that she didn’t want to leave when we went to get her later.

This is a much better option than the alternative. Screaming and crying because you're abandoning her.



You probably get enough of that from Dug.

I also made a stop at the Midship Detective Agency kiosk to pick up a mission for us to do. This is the interactive game aboard the Dream where pictures come to life and give you clues to find out “who dun it.” I probably picked this up right after dropping her off, as it’s right by the nursery.

Cool! That looks like a blast.

We enjoyed the lovely view (yes, of course it was gorgeous out now! )

Natch.

and watched some parasailing:

Ever done it?

These two pictures had a cannonball battle with each other:

That's so cool. I want those.

And check out my very impressive ice cream twirling skills

Girl's got skilz.

Love this.

I think this was my attempt at an artistic shot :

I call it "Paradise light at the end of the depression tunnel."

For Pirate Night, they had done face painting and temporary tattoos in the nursery (which she did not want washed off for several days, so get used to them ).

She also came out to the balcony to steal the ice from my cup:

Now on Disney DVD; Frozen II, the Ice Thief.

I think Izzy spent most of our time in the room playing with the little hanger part for her portable potty seat (the hook to hang it up) and using it to “catch” things, like it was a fishing pole. Maybe I should have given those as Fish Extender gifts for the toddlers.

Can you imagine the look on people's faces?

She also got really upset when we had to leave for dinner before she finished watching her episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Our stateroom attendant happened to be nearby as we left and he consoled her with a chocolate coin, which worked wonders for her mood!

I'm impressed by that. The attention to the little ones is phenomenal.

Arrrggghhhh...

She told me that Izzy always picks Yo Ho on her turn and she said they must be a sight to see, a bunch of kids walking down the street singing Yo Ho ):

She actually did eat a lot of it this night, though!

She was probably starving by then!

When we arrived, he gave Izzy a paper bird that “flies” (and, no, I don’t remember what that entails, but that’s what my notes say! )

Could it be those origami birds that when you pull on the tail, the wings flap?

I also saw one girl drop a pirate earring down the elevator shaft on accident. Ooops.

oooohhhh..... crrrraaaaap.

 

[cindianne320]

I grew up in Northern MN- and we called it Duck,Duck, Goose! My husband is from the Twin Cities, and calls it Duck,Duck, Gray Duck. We've had many discussions on the topic!

 

[krrrristen]

Really love following your trip reports!

 

[Dugette]

Uh, oh. Have fun in the coming years!

seems like a pretty productive afternoon - though sorry about the issues with the laundry. I wonder if some people started theirs and then went offshore

I kind-of wondered how far away they ventured. I had heard about people being inconsiderate and leaving laundry for a long time, so I just gave them a small window and when that didn't work, figured I'd find another option (and luckily did!)

The game looks fun - reminds me of Sorcerers of the Kingdom game ... cool that it basically forces you to explore the ship some

Yes, same type of game and we really enjoyed it. There are a whole bunch of missions, so you could spend a lot of time doing this, if you wanted.

Good advice as far as when to go to do the re-booking/shipboard discount. How does the discount work if you book on board for a 3 night cruise and then switch to a 7 day Alaskan cruise? Do you just get the 10% savings from the 3 day cruise or do you get the full 10% off the more expensive cruise?

I believe you get the 10% of whichever one you end up going on. Also, in the time since our cruise, I believe they started a new thing where you can basically book a "placeholder" without booking an actual cruise yet. So, you just book that and call when you decide which cruise you want to apply the discount to.

Great you got in that bonus meet with Stitch!

Me too - great surprise to find him there!

... my kids do that all the time .... we really have to watch when we have a mommy/daddy drink

Glad this was just a Diet Coke (though we don't actually let her drink that either).

I love how with it being a cruise and unlimited food that even when you are trying to just have a bit before Palo you still got multiple appetizers and Dug got soup and scallops as well (cool that you can just get a side of scallops like that rather than needing to get the entire entree)

Might as well try all the things and keep the waiter busy, I guess. He was glad they were able to just bring him some scallops instead of wasting the rest of the meal, since that's all he really wanted.

Fun Yo Ho story about Izzy

I love that! (Our daycare provider is a big WDW fan too!)

I also love the "Disney Logic" of, well, we got this great Pirate Costume so definitely need to take another Disney Cruise so we can use it

Disney math at its finest: really good deal on pirate costume = spend thousands for a fun place to wear it.

There we go, now that is a nice way to spend a relaxing afternoon kid-less

It was indeed!

Nice view (well I'm imagining it, since I can't see photos lol)

Haha, your image is probably better than the actual one. Maybe you can even clearly see Stitch in yours. (Such a bummer you can't see pictures at work now, though. )

That is also a fun way to spend the afternoon!

It was a fun game! I could see doing a few rounds of it on a longer cruise.

Yeah, Aria would love it too

Haha, if we wait a few years and happen to catch the same cruise, we can send them off together to do it! (while we sit on the balcony w/wine...)

Hahahaha I hope you get to use the cruise discount AND rebook for another! I'm still pining away at taking a 7 nighter to the Caribbean. Would love to do that! Maybe as a 3rd birthday trip for new baby lol.

I'd love to do a 7 night Caribbean too. Or anywhere, really. But I've done two other (non-Disney) Caribbean cruises, so I feel like I should do something different. Keep in mind, if you end up cruising before baby's 3rd birthday, the nursery is a great option. We had no issues and it was pretty cost-effective, since Izzy's fare was much cheaper than a 3-year-old's and the amount we paid for the nursery was still less than that difference. And she really enjoyed it.

Hmm did they ask you about doing temporary tattoos? I'm sure she had fun with them but that would sort of annoy me, what if you had photos planned or something?

Totally agree! I HATE temporary tattoos, face painting, etc. (Yeah, I'm not a fun mom But I try to tolerate it if she enjoys it. Just not my thing). And, no, they didn't ask or mention it at all. Glad we didn't have photos planned (though they do stick around for a while at WDW too )

Yay!!

So fun to have a spontaneous character encounter!

YES we are huge Chip & Dale fans. So glad we're going to Garden Grill in December.

Same here! Dale in particular was AWESOME on this last trip! But they always are so fun, even at Disneyland.

How sweet!

Great service and CM!

That is good to know, assuming it was served buffet style?

I assume so, but I guess I don't know for certain.

That's super cute

I love the image of them all chanting Yo Ho as they make their way through the neighborhood.

Those laundry machines are so hard to figure out! When I did laundry on our last cruise, there were some very helpful guests in there that helped me out. One even gave me laundry detergent since he brought a whole box!

I am glad to know I'm not just slow. I felt like it should have been so much easier!

Wine and that cookie on the verandah sounds great!

Just what we needed!

I think you were smart to book onboard even if you won't use it. I wish we had done that on our first cruise since we did end up cruising again the next year. Oh well, we have learned and now re-book each time! Since you can cancel and get your money back, it just makes sense to do it just in case!

Right, it can't hurt, so why not. I'd rather have the option there and cancel than pay more than I could have for the next cruise. (Of course, I'd rather be cruising again...)

I think booking Palo during Pirate Night is smart, as that is my least favorite dinner menu if I remember correctly. I can't wait to read about your meal there!

I'm glad I followed the advice to do that, as it worked out well. And I'm glad we did the Palo dinner - we were only going to do the brunch, but since we didn't know for sure if we could (couldn't book in advance), we got the dinner instead. And then decided to keep it, as someone on our cruise meet thread highly recommended it. And he was right, it was fantastic! (and actually better than the brunch, in our opinions)

That is funny about needing to take another cruise because of the pirate costume you found. My sister just gave me a ton of hand-me-downs for Lola. There are so many adorable dresses in size 3T, so naturally I said we need to go on a cruise when Lola is 3 so she can wear them all to dinner! There's also a perfect one for Aulani...

I totally understand! I hope she can wear them all in the appropriate Disney environments!

 

[Dugette]

If Minnesota is the only state that calls the game "duck, duck, gray duck," perhaps it's the Minnesotans who are wrong. Haha!

I think you need to re-read that article about how our version is superior. I definitely remember it being gray duck as a kid. Never knew a goose version existed until I grew up. I think most people who grew up around here feel the same way.

Very sweet meet with Stitch and Dug makes a pretty good pirate!

Thanks!

Smart move saving room for your Palo dinner. Your appetizers looked pretty tasty.

Nice appetizers to get a taste of the meal we were missing.

Those ocean views are just spectacular!

I could stare at the ocean for hours!

This is a much better option than the alternative. Screaming and crying because you're abandoning her.



You probably get enough of that from Dug.

Cool! That looks like a blast.

It was a fun activity and way to see more of the ship!

Natch.

Ever done it?

Actually, yes, a long time ago! I think I was in my early 20's and I was at a resort in the Lake of the Ozarks (Missouri) and me and a few others decided to try it. I did a tandem parasail with another girl and it was a blast! (Glad I am not afraid of heights!)

That's so cool. I want those.

Me too! It was really cool!

Girl's got skilz.

Yes, I practiced my freshman year of college when I worked in the food service place for the dorms. I made the ice cream cones as tall as I could.

Love this.

Me too.

I call it "Paradise light at the end of the depression tunnel."

Now on Disney DVD; Frozen II, the Ice Thief.

Izzy would happily star in that. Instead of Let It Go, it would be Give Me That.

Can you imagine the look on people's faces?

I'm impressed by that. The attention to the little ones is phenomenal.

Totally agree. What a nice gesture.

Arrrggghhhh...

She was probably starving by then!

Apparently so!

Could it be those origami birds that when you pull on the tail, the wings flap?

I bet it was. Makes sense.

oooohhhh..... crrrraaaaap.

Yeah, it went right down that little space between the elevator floor and the regular floor (while the door was open).

I grew up in Northern MN- and we called it Duck,Duck, Goose! My husband is from the Twin Cities, and calls it Duck,Duck, Gray Duck. We've had many discussions on the topic!

Very interesting. I guess Northern MN wasn't in the know. It's such a funny "controversial" topic around here.

Really love following your trip reports!

and thank you so much!