2nd Anniversary + 2nd Chances = Our 2nd Cruise! 7/20 NEWS!!

[pamcarey]

Omigosh, sounds like a frustrating experience at Atlantis! Definitely makes me second guess ever wanting to go there.

This may be a silly question, but what exactly is a rash guard? Is it some kind of lotion you use to avoid getting a rash? My kids and I found the water at CC to be kind of "stingy"... I can't think of a better way to describe it. Maybe we needed a rash guard!

 

[Jennifer48]

The heat can do that to everyone, so sorry to hear it happened to you on vacation!

Those food prices sound

 

[Solveig]

Sounds fun

 

[ariel1025]

Ok, let's try this again ... without deleting it this time

YIKES! Has it really been 3 months since the last time I posted? Can ya'll find it in your hearts to forgive me? What if I say it's because as much as I can't believe it's been 3 months since I posted, I even more cannot believe that my amazingly adorable little angel is already 5 months and I don't want to miss a single bit of that time?:littleangel

I desperately want to finish this because there is still more great times to be shared. Plus, I have some awesome news to share when it's all complete!

Ok, with that out of the way let's get this boat moving along again ....

After our day at Paradise Island/Nassau we lounged around and napped until dinnertime. Although I did take my camera to dinner with me this night, I didn't use it until the Pirate Party afterwards. For some reason nothing sounded good to me to eat and everything sounded great to Candi. So I nibbled on bits and pieces while he overindulged on both our meals

During dinner we got to talking to our tablemates across from us (man, I really have to start remembering names) and found out they also did the aquarium tour. However, they did the guided tour version and from hearing them tlak about it we realized that we missed many, many, many sections of the aquarium. Come to find out it's possible everybody was sending us in the right direction, because they were all sending us to different sections ... oops! Knowing what I know now, if I had to do it over again I would choose to do the guided tour version of the excursion. We paid a lot of extra money for this one and ended up paying for food that wasn't worth it and missing several exhibits. Oh well! Live and learn! And, this is not to say that we felt like Paradise Island was a total bust. We are still very glad we went there and would go back again next time

After dinner concluded we decided to wander around for a few before finding a spot for the Pirate Party. When we tried to get a spot on the top deck we made the mistake of trying to enter the deck by Palo which is evidently blocked off during the party. Oh well, we got this picture for our troubles

Notice the cute pirate shirts we bought earlier in the week at DTD

We eventually made our way on deck and timed it about perfectly. The show was just starting (and we were still able to find a decent viewing spot). I have to admit I am somewhat dreading the days when James is old enough to want to be down in the midst of the big crowd around the stage

After the party wrapped up we decided to forgo the buffet afterwards. I wasn't feeling like dealing with the mob of people waiting in line and Candi was too stuffed to even fathom eating a bite

Instead we decided to call it an "early" night and watch movies in our room. Where we of course ordered (what else) a fruit plate from room service!

Overall, it was a pleasant day and much more enjoyable than our previous visit to Nassau.

 

[ariel1025]

So I just have to take a minute and brag about a little piece of perfection I call James ...

In his "coming home" outfit (minus the pants) at 3 months old

My first Mother's Day (3 1/2 months old)

Candi's first Father's Day (5 months old)

Waking up to the face everyday makes my life perfect!

 

[ariel1025]

Today was a first for us - it was our sea day! We were super excited. I am just going to go ahead and tell you now that we love, love, loved having a sea day and find it to be the perfect thing for a relaxing vacation!

The only thing that was on the agenda for the day was our brunch at Palo's that we were both looking forward to in a big way. Since our brunch was at 11:00 and we knew there was going to be tons of food we just ordered a fruit plate from room service for breakfast after we woke up. I wish I could say that we remembered to take advantage of our verandah by enjoying our breakfast out there but, alas, we ate it on our bed

I think we woke up around 9:00 so after eating "breakfast" we took turns jumping in the shower and then made our way up for brunch. There are not words to tell you how excited I was to have landed this reservation. I kept hearing that these book up fast; so to get it AND get it at the time I was hoping for made me a happy, happy girl!

We were seated immediately upon check-in and were thrilled when we realized that Dragan would be our server again. He came and showed us around the buffet and took our drink orders. He told us to enjoy the buffet and he would take our meal orders when he returned with our drinks. I'm pretty sure that a mimosa or champagne or something of that sort was offered but we both declined. Dragan was back with our drinks before we were finished getting our food and patiently waited for us to get our meal order from the menu. He was telling us his favorites and said "whatever you do, don't waste stomach space on pancakes (or maybe it was waffles? Or could have been french toast? hmmm, well not really important). Anyway, I ordered the chicken parmesan and what do you think Candi ordered? Yep you guessed it - the pancakes ... or waffles ... or french toast Apparently he wasn't paying that great of attention because he was (im)patiently waiting to dig into his crab legs and thought Dragan said to make sure to order ... well, whatever carb it was. I'm sure it was a "you had to be there" moment but we could not stop laughing from it - Dragan included.

Needless to say, we were super impressed with the brunch and would not hesitate to book it again or recommend it to anybody. A definite 2 thumbs up All of the food was (once again) delicious, the service was (once again) right on par and we (once again) loved the atmosphere of Palo!

After brunch Candi decided he need a nap to alleviate his food coma and I decided to take the opportunity to go on a picture taking tour of the ship.

Ariel is my favorite princess

Our favorite spot on the ship this cruise

Home sweet home

I spent about an hour and a half just walking around the ship and taking in everything. Unfortunately, the "our vacation is almost over" blues started hitting and I had to force myself to redirect my attention elsewhere. I went and checked out our pictures in Shutters and decided to wait until the final night to choose. Originally I wanted to purchase a package but didn't since the only pictures we ever got taken were at dinner each night. And out of those we only liked 2 of the 3 so far.

After going through Shutters I headed back to the room to see that Candi had woken up from a (thoroughly enjoyed) nap and he was ready to find something to do.

We looked over the movies showing and decided to wait for the late movie, we looked over possible bingo times but decided against it, we had missed a couple of other things and all the alcohol tastings were out of the question. So, what did we end up doing? I'll give you a hint - it ended up being one of our top 3 favorite memories from the cruise ....

 

[SoonerGirl]

Awwww, thanks for posting the pictures of James - what a little cutie you've got there!

We did a dinner and brunch at Palo too, and also had a fabulous experience at both.

Can't to hear what you ended up doing!

 

[Jennifer48]

We won't hold it against you being so late to finish this TR as long as you include photos of your cutie patootie James!

Palo brunch is fantastic! So glad you were able to do it, it really is great!

Hmmm maybe you did a couples spa next?!

 

[ariel1025]

Awwww, thanks for posting the pictures of James - what a little cutie you've got there!

We did a dinner and brunch at Palo too, and also had a fabulous experience at both.

Can't to hear what you ended up doing!

Thank you

We won't hold it against you being so late to finish this TR as long as you include photos of your cutie patootie James!

Palo brunch is fantastic! So glad you were able to do it, it really is great!

Hmmm maybe you did a couples spa next?!

I definitely don't mind showing off pictures of my little guy

Hmmm ... you will have to wait and see

 

[ariel1025]

First, I want to start out by apologizing ... I do not have any pictures for this post (oh, the tragedy ) and I also only remember bits and pieces of this. But, have no fear - I have tons of pictures and a vivid memory of the next day

After long consideration Candi and I decided that we would hit up the quick service stands by the pool and then decide from there what we wanted to do. We were both feeling a little down about vacation coming to an end and having to return to work

I grabbed a couple of different paninis and Candi had a burger and fries. We sat out on the deck watching the ocean and talking about all the differences from our last cruise. We were both so glad we had decided to give cruising another chance and couldn't wait to book another one ... ya know, when the baby is older

After we had filled our bellies we decided to roam around the top deck for a while - there was a nice breeze and the scenery was too mesmerizing to pass up. Although there were several activities going on inside the ship, we couldn't fathom being in an enclosed room and missing out on watching the waves go by.

After a couple of laps around the deck Candi challenged me to a game of ping pong. Well imagine his surprise when he heard me say I had never played before. His exact words were "how did I not know this and how in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks have you never played before?" Ok, ok, not exact words but I don't want to get banned from the boards for profanity After that, I had no choice but to play according to him. Oh my goodness, it was such a sight to see watching us play. I would consistently hit the ball to hard and it would go flying, or I would hit it too soft and it wouldn't make it over the net or I would hit it (I think) just right and the wind would pick up and carry the ball away. We never got one single game completed in the (almost) two hours we spent playing but it was SO.MUCH.FUN! So there you have it, one of our top 3 memories is playing ping pong

Once we realized this game was never going to end and what time it was we had to book it back to the room if we were going to make it to dinner on time. At first we thought about skipping and just getting room service for the verandah but we had Artist Pallette and we didn't want to miss it. We got showered and dressed in just enough time to make it to dinner. As we got to the table the Assistant server was taking the drink orders. We didn't even have to tell her - as soon as we walked up she said "Ginger Ale and iced tea?" Ahhh how I miss dining on the cruise very night!

I don't remember much from dinner that night but what I do remember is that I desperately wanted a Mickey bar so I ordered one for dessert. When I did every other female at the table switched their order to one as well; apparently they didn't realize adults could order them too

After dinner we went to go see "When in Rome" in the theater. Candi really didn't want to go see it but I begged him to. And, maybe I pulled the pregnant card In the end he laughed just as hard as me during the movie!

Once the movie ended we tiredly drug ourselves to the room and settled in for the night. We had an exciting day to look forward to at Castaway Cay the next day

 

[Jennifer48]

Ping pong?! Never would have guessed that! How cute that you two had so much fun playing!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I love that one of your favorite memories from the cruise was something as simple as playing ping pong! Small moments like that can sometimes hold the most joy And guess what, I've never played either!

 

[ariel1025]

Ping pong?! Never would have guessed that! How cute that you two had so much fun playing!

I love that one of your favorite memories from the cruise was something as simple as playing ping pong! Small moments like that can sometimes hold the most joy And guess what, I've never played either!

Oh my goodness - you must play. In fact, to get the full experience I think you need to go book a cruise right now so that you can fully enjoy this awesome ship activity

 

[ariel1025]

I can hardly believe my little guy is already 5 months old. So, I thought I would document some of my favorite memories from this past month for ya

4 month wellness check: 15 lbs / 25.25 inches

At his wellness check we got the go ahead to start solids since every time he's hungry (aka every hour) he screams like he hasn't eaten since the day he was born

"I don't know about this sweet potatoes Mom, can't you at least put some marshmallows on them"

I love when he lays like this observing everything

oooh toy - good thing I can roll over and reach it now! (he's been rolling from his belly to his back since about 7 weeks; now that he can roll from his back to his belly he is like a little wheel rolling around to everything he sees )

Those eyes melt my heart And I might possibly have eyelash envy too

His first baseball game - he lasted about 45 minutes

His gift to Daddy for Father's Day (except it was cropped and edited and framed all pretty ) I think we will make this a yearly tradition

He now sleeps in his crib Granted he still wakes 2-3 times a night to feed but we are slowly working our way to sleeping through the night. Any tips to help us out?????

These are, of course, just a few of the hundreds (ok, ok thousands) of pics I have of him. Every day it seems like he learns something new and continuously melts my heart and makes me a proud Mama!

 

[pamcarey]

Great to see you updating again! Your baby is SO cute!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Love the Father's Day gift! And what a great idea to do something like that every year, it will be fun to compare them later and see how he changed from year to year.

 

[ariel1025]

Great to see you updating again! Your baby is SO cute!

Thank you so much

Love the Father's Day gift! And what a great idea to do something like that every year, it will be fun to compare them later and see how he changed from year to year.

I am *slightly* picture obsessed so this will be a great goal for me to take on

 

[ariel1025]

Today was bittersweet - we were back at Castaway Cay but it was also our final day of the cruise I absolutely hate last days! I always struggle with enjoying the time left instead of dwelling on the fact that it's almost time to go back to the "real world"

Like the previous stop at Castaway Cay, we didn't have any excursions booked or solid plans in place. We did, however, know that we wanted to get in the water this day. So, getting ready was super fast. We just threw on our swimwear with beach clothes on top.

We decided that we would hit up Serenity Bay again since the next time we cruise it will be the family beach all the way (and we are definitely not complaining about that ). On the way to the tram we stopped to rent some snorkeling equipment for me and a life vest for Candi (he had bought his own equipment before the cruise and brought it with him). After we got to Serenity Bay we decided to go ahead and grab a small plate to eat. I know, I know I took up a whole paragraph talking about how I didn't like it last time. Well, I definitely didn't want to get sick from not eating again and it may or may not have been after 11:30 when we finally got up and left the ship

After eating a small plate of food (mostly fruit for me) we headed to find a place to drop our stuff before getting in the water. However, while eating I mentioned how I would really enjoy floating around in a raft for a while, so Candi went to go rent a couple of those. My goodness, it was like heaven just floating around the water. I enjoyed it so much that I didn't ever end up using my snorkeling equipment

I think we spent close to two hours just floating around before I decided that I was borderline nauseous and needing to eat again. Well, when I turned around to go swim back in with my raft I realized we had let ourselves float out almost as far as they will allow you. Boy, that was a loooong swim back to land. About halfway through I flipped over to backstroke the rest of the way and I apparently freaked Candi out a little bit. He thought something was wrong - when really I am just a stronger backstroker than freestyle swimmer ... oops

After my marathon swim we both decided we would rather grab some food at Cookies BBQ and then head back on the ship for some air conditioning, showers and naps. I know it sounds crazy to board the ship so fast, but it was already around 3:00 and I think we set sail around 4:30 anyway.

We both grabbed some burgers and then headed back onboard where we both napped all the way until right before showtime. Luckily, I showered before I fell asleep and my hair had mostly air dryed because we only had about 20 minutes to get dressed before we needed to leave for the show And I did not want to miss it - Disney Dreams - because I had heard so many great things about it.

We had nothing to fear, we made it to the show before it started and even had time to grab some Cokes and a popcorn and still get great seats I will say I'm glad we made it though; it was definitely as good as everyone says it is.

After the show we had some time to kill before dinner so we decided to go enjoy some time on our verandah. I was kinda bummed that we didn't take advantage of it more, but I spent a lot of my downtime napping because I was just so darn tired all the time.

Our final night at dinner was at Parrot Cay which we were excited about because we had never eaten there before. On our last cruise they were already full when we boarded so we went to the buffet for lunch and we were at Palo on our Parrot Cay night.

Our awesome Assistant server - Aki

We bid our serving team farewell since we weren't planning on heading down for breakfast in the morning. We were choosing to get off as quickly as possible because we still had a day at WDW ahead of us!

After dinner we just roamed around the ship and then stopped to catch the 'Til We Meet Again show

Of course, I cried my eyes out ... I'm such a sap!

After the show, we went back to our room where we ordered room service - had to have one last fruit tray and Mickey bar while hanging out on our verandah. I don't think there is anything more peaceful than the cool night air, open waters and moon lighting the sky!

 

[SoonerGirl]

After the show, we went back to our room where we ordered room service - had to have one last fruit tray and Mickey bar while hanging out on our verandah. I don't think there is anything more peaceful than the cool night air, open waters and moon lighting the sky!

You know, after reading this quote it dawned on me that we never sat out on our verandah at night, only in the morning and evening That alone gives me reason to go on another cruise!

Last days are sad, but at least you had your day at WDW to look forward to

 

[ariel1025]

You know, after reading this quote it dawned on me that we never sat out on our verandah at night, only in the morning and evening That alone gives me reason to go on another cruise!

Last days are sad, but at least you had your day at WDW to look forward to

See now you have two reasons to go back 1) to play ping pong at sea 2) to sit on your verandah at night.

IMO those are perfectly good reasons to book another cruise