A long time ago on a Fantasy far far away...Feb 2016 SWDAS TR, 5/17 CRUISE EPILOGUE - The End!

[bcwife76]

That bracelet is super cute!!

Aww that restaurant is adorable, the breadbasket I would totally try to hide in my suitcase That club looks very chic!

Can't wait to read all about Star Wars day at sea!

 

[jstkpswimming]

Coming out of Lurkdom to say I'm really enjoying your report! I haven't been on a Disney cruise since May of 2013 for my honeymoon (Western bound Panama Canal - you MUST do it someday!) Reading your report gives me a huge urge to book another cruise! We have a 3 month old, though, so it might be a little more challenging!

 

[soniam]

Coming out of Lurkdom to say I'm really enjoying your report! I haven't been on a Disney cruise since May of 2013 for my honeymoon (Western bound Panama Canal - you MUST do it someday!) Reading your report gives me a huge urge to book another cruise! We have a 3 month old, though, so it might be a little more challenging!

Our cruises have been some of our best family vacations ever. I might wait a few months if I were you, but I wouldn't hesitate to take an infant. It's just so easy to have everything there, and there is so much flexibility and choices. They are also immensely relaxing, which is nice with a baby.

 

[chunkymonkey]

That bracelet is super cute!!

Thanks!! I think so too!

Aww that restaurant is adorable, the breadbasket I would totally try to hide in my suitcase That club looks very chic!

I know, I totally would put it in my carry-on...just sayin...
Ooh La La was very chic and it's a romantic place too! It's much dimmer in person. My camera lightened the ambiance a bit. Although I also think it's the perfect place to go with friends for a girls night out!

Can't wait to read all about Star Wars day at sea!

Coming up very soon!

Coming out of Lurkdom to say I'm really enjoying your report! I haven't been on a Disney cruise since May of 2013 for my honeymoon (Western bound Panama Canal - you MUST do it someday!) Reading your report gives me a huge urge to book another cruise! We have a 3 month old, though, so it might be a little more challenging!

Thank you and !!

I'd love to do the Panama Canal cruise! Was it on the Wonder? I'd like to travel on all 4 ships if possible! (Plus the 2 new ones!)
Congrats on your little one! I did see plenty of babies on board...probably no newborns, but definitely 6 months and above. There is a nursery available. We passed by it but not sure how it works and if you can just drop off your baby or if you need to schedule a time. But it seems like a great service to have on the ship!

 

[jstkpswimming]

Our cruises have been some of our best family vacations ever. I might wait a few months if I were you, but I wouldn't hesitate to take an infant. It's just so easy to have everything there, and there is so much flexibility and choices. They are also immensely relaxing, which is nice with a baby.

Yeah, I think it would definitely be nice to have all of our activities so close to the room, which would make naps and breaks much easier. We're planning on waiting to take a bigger trip until he's had many of his vaccinations, though! He'll be just over a year on his first trip to WDW!

Thank you and !!

I'd love to do the Panama Canal cruise! Was it on the Wonder? I'd like to travel on all 4 ships if possible! (Plus the 2 new ones!)
Congrats on your little one! I did see plenty of babies on board...probably no newborns, but definitely 6 months and above. There is a nursery available. We passed by it but not sure how it works and if you can just drop off your baby or if you need to schedule a time. But it seems like a great service to have on the ship!

It was on the Wonder, yes! Not sure if it's the same situation now 3 years later, but it was a totally different experience than our first two cruises (a 3 night and a 7 night). The ship was well below capacity (about half full), and there were only 81 children on board! They had adult activities in the kids clubs because there were so few kids - We got to make flubber! We really got to know the other passengers because you saw the same people everywhere haha! On Castaway Cay, the family beach was less crowded than Serenity Bay, so we hung out there. It was really an amazing, once in a lifetime experience!

 

[chunkymonkey]

STAR WARS Day at Sea
Day 5 Part 1: This will be a day long remembered...

And it begins...

Today was the day! It was Star Wars Day at Sea!!
I pulled back the curtains of the verandah and peered out. It looked like a beautiful day!

Good weather all day, let's hope for.

You know, I can't even remember if we had breakfast or not! I don't think we did, but the adrenaline of the morning kept us going and I didn't even feel hungry!

Since we had one of the first meet n greets times, at 9:30am (or 9am, I can't remember!) I got up early to prep and get into costume. I had not really mastered the hair part of my look, as I never really wear my hair up, but somehow managed to coerce it into some semblance of the look I wanted.



Makeup done...



Hair done...



Costume on....



Everyone, I bring you...Ceremonial aka "Throne Room" Leia!

I purchased the pieces of my outfit separately. I found the dress from a costume shop in China, it took about a month to get to me. It fit pretty well, but I think it's made for someone a bit shorter so it hovered a bit above my ankles (which was actually a good thing) but the chest and waist area were a little higher than I'd like. The neckline was also too high so I had to have it altered down to fit me. That was the best they could do because the rest of the stitching couldn't be changed. I thought it was fine for one day. It was actually a stretchy white poly-spandex blend with chiffon sleeves. It was pretty well made considering it wasn't a custom dress.

The dress came with a silver belt but it literally was the size of my ankle. It was TINY! It was like a kids belt. I ended up custom ordering a belt from Etsy. I thought that I'd wear it around my hips so I asked for a bigger size but when I tried it all on together, it looked funny with the waist seam then the belt below it so I just wore it at waist height, and it of course it was too big. I ended up buying more velcro and sticking it on to make it fit.

I knew that the piece the resistance was the iconic necklace. I tried to find jewelry that kinda resembled Leia's necklace but there is very little out there! So I also had this custom made from Etsy too. It's awesome, the necklace is brilliant and it just completes the outfit! I paired it all with a pair of silver flats.

The hair was a bunch of hairpieces put together. I tied my hair up in a high ponytail, then put a long ponytail extension around it and then braided it together with my real hair so that it blended in. I stuck a fake bun on top of the ponytail, and to complete the look I had a fake braid that I wrapped around the bun. I honestly had no idea what it looked like from the back but DH and CS said it looked good.

In all my excitement I forgot to get pictures of the back of my hair while in the room, so here's one I took a few hours later:

I'm surprised how well it turned out! I didn't really do a full practice before, I kinda mostly winged it. Now that I look back on the pictures though I wished I teased my hair a bit more in the front to give it more volume when it was up in the bun.

OK! So CS and I were ready before DH (problems of 3 people sharing a bathroom) so we told him we'll meet him at D Lounge for the Tatooine meet n greet while we went to get some pictures with the Star Wars Day at Sea sign!

My sister is wearing a Her Universe R2 D2 dress which she saw at least 3 other people wearing that day! Too funny.

There was definitely excitement in the air (or was it just mine? ) You could hear the Star Wars soundtrack playing all throughout the ship. It wasn't loud and blaring but it was definitely there and set the tone for the whole day. If you are not a Star Wars fan...I would suggest staying in your stateroom all day or going to the Rainforest room...all day. LOL.

Then we went up to D Lounge and met up with DH. I think we were the first group in as D Lounge wasn't even open yet. I wondered who we would be getting, it was either the droids or Darth Maul. I don't have pictures with anyone of them yet so either would be fine, but I secretly hoped for the droids!

Here's a picture of DH and I. DH is throne room Han Solo, and he even has his Medal of Yavin!

Although it was only 9am we started seeing more and more people dressed up in Star Wars characters. It was amazing to see all the different costumes. Most people just wore Star Wars t-shirts and I would say 40% of people had full blown costumes.

Here's a lovely family of Jedi we took a picture with while waiting for our meet n greet time.

The Force was strong with them!

When 9am came, a CM came out and checked all our tickets and let us inside...

Eeek!

So excited to see who we were going to meet!

And they were the droids I was looking for!!!!!!

Our meet n greet was great. I've read reviews about how the meet n greets were not interactive but ours was. C3PO was able to speak to us too! And R2 made his beep beep bloop noises. and he can move around! I can't remember everything C3PO said because I was just too excited to be getting a picture with them! He mentioned something about the sands in Tatooine and said it was so good to see us again! He called me Your Highness and he called DH Captain Solo! #starstruck

Here's our Shutter's picture. I like it but I wish they had gotten R2D2's entire form in the picture! Why cut him off?

Poor R2 was cut off. Beeeeeeeeeeeeep!

At least my sister was able to get one with the full droid view!

As we were walking out of D Lounge, a castmember came up to us. He asked if we were willing to be part of something and that we need to show up at the balcony in front of the Vista Gallery at 1:45pm. We said sure! I figured it had to do with the Costume Gathering in the Atrium at 2pm.

Now it was time for more pictures! We went back to the Atrium and DH and I got our picture with the Star Wars Day at Sea sign:

And here's our Shutters picture with all of us. I don't know why we look so orange!

Then we waited on line for pictures with Stormtroopers.

I love this pic!

And here they are!

Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?

Then we got our picture with Darren, the Cruise Director, who was dressed as an X-Wing Fighter! He loved our outfits!

Not sure why our pic came out all orange!!

CS's seemed ok!!

Coming up...more pictures, more characters, more Star Wars!
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

Coming soon!!


​

 

[chunkymonkey]

It was on the Wonder, yes! Not sure if it's the same situation now 3 years later, but it was a totally different experience than our first two cruises (a 3 night and a 7 night). The ship was well below capacity (about half full), and there were only 81 children on board! They had adult activities in the kids clubs because there were so few kids - We got to make flubber! We really got to know the other passengers because you saw the same people everywhere haha! On Castaway Cay, the family beach was less crowded than Serenity Bay, so we hung out there. It was really an amazing, once in a lifetime experience!

Oh wow, that sounds amazing! I can't believe how empty that cruise sounded! It sounds like my kinda ship! LOL Do you think it was the time you went or the Itinerary that didn't quite sell out? I'd love to go on one. Can't believe the Family beach was less crowded than Serenity Bay! LOL!!

 

[soniam]

Your costume is awesome!!! I thought you might pick the throne room dress, and it looks so good on you. The hair is impressive. I suck at styling hair. It looks so fun. I am super jealous that you got to meet R2D2. That's one of the things I am disappointed about missing SWW. I don't know what went wrong with the Shutters pics. Maybe they hadn't set their white balance was off. You may be able to fix the color with photoshop. I think I would be a little teary and giddy all at the same time hearing the music, seeing the costumes, and meeting the characters.

 

[Ajojo]

EEEEEK! I am smiling just reading the first part and I cant wait to read the rest!

You look great! We will be on the last sailing and I will be sure to add your bracelet to a list of my must haves.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Your costume is awesome!!! I thought you might pick the throne room dress, and it looks so good on you. The hair is impressive. I suck at styling hair. It looks so fun. I am super jealous that you got to meet R2D2. That's one of the things I am disappointed about missing SWW. I don't know what went wrong with the Shutters pics. Maybe they hadn't set their white balance was off. You may be able to fix the color with photoshop. I think I would be a little teary and giddy all at the same time hearing the music, seeing the costumes, and meeting the characters.

Thank you! Everything came out better than I thought! I think I was the only "official-looking" throne room Leia on the cruise. There was one other Leia who was throne-room inspired - she wore an outfit she wore to a toga party. It was cute. I am not good at hair either since I rarely wear my hair up, so I felt it was a bit flat in the front. Oh well. Next time!

I think the flash was too bright on some of the shutters pictures and kinda screwed everything up. I tried to correct it in Lightroom but that was the best I could do.

I was definitely giddy throughout the day. It was an amazing experience for any fan! All elevator music should be Star Wars music I think...

EEEEEK! I am smiling just reading the first part and I cant wait to read the rest!

You look great! We will be on the last sailing and I will be sure to add your bracelet to a list of my must haves.

Thank you!! You will have a great time! I hope you will post pics, are you dressing up?

 

[noahsketomom]

OMG - I LOVE LOVE LOVE your costume! I am hoping to come CLOSE to it on our cruise next year! (My kids chose throne room Leia for me. Wish me luck! I definitely think the necklace and belt make it. I might have to suck it up and buy "official" ones...especially after I see how AWESOME yours came out!)

 

[jstkpswimming]

Oh wow, that sounds amazing! I can't believe how empty that cruise sounded! It sounds like my kinda ship! LOL Do you think it was the time you went or the Itinerary that didn't quite sell out? I'd love to go on one. Can't believe the Family beach was less crowded than Serenity Bay! LOL!!

I think it was a combination of the time of year, the length of the cruise, and the number of ports. It was basically the entire month of May, which I'm sure a lot of parents were wary of since it's so close to the end of school, and it was 14 nights, so that's a big commitment with kids! It also had relatively few ports of call (Castaway Cay, Cartagena, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas). That would be our only complaint about the cruise - we wish it had more ports of call! 6 straight days at sea can make you a little stir-crazy!

Love the last update!

 

[disnygirl55]

Bravo! Now those were some great costumes! So impressed with both you and your hubby (so authentic!) - and Chunky Sis' dress looks beautiful on her - so wonderful how you got in the spirit of things.

We will be part of the "t-shirt" crew, but still plan to have a great time - can't wait to see the different costumes people are wearing on our cruise!

 

[KathyM2]

Everyone, I bring you...Ceremonial aka "Throne Room" Leia!

Love this outfit!! I'm sure the cruise staff do get a kick out of seeing people all dressed up and getting into it.

DH and I got our picture with the Star Wars Day at Sea sign:

I just love this picture. It looks like a movie poster for real lol

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

You nailed it with the costumes! I have to admit if I were on the cruise my family would have just worn Star Wars shirts. I think it's wonderful that so many people dressed up.

 

[chunkymonkey]

OMG - I LOVE LOVE LOVE your costume! I am hoping to come CLOSE to it on our cruise next year! (My kids chose throne room Leia for me. Wish me luck! I definitely think the necklace and belt make it. I might have to suck it up and buy "official" ones...especially after I see how AWESOME yours came out!)

Thank you!!! I'm sure you will be stunning as throne room Leia! I'll find out which Etsy seller I got the items from and let you know. It took about a month to get each of them since they were custom made, just an FYI.

I think it was a combination of the time of year, the length of the cruise, and the number of ports. It was basically the entire month of May, which I'm sure a lot of parents were wary of since it's so close to the end of school, and it was 14 nights, so that's a big commitment with kids! It also had relatively few ports of call (Castaway Cay, Cartagena, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas). That would be our only complaint about the cruise - we wish it had more ports of call! 6 straight days at sea can make you a little stir-crazy!

Love the last update!

Haha, got it! Wow sounds like a lovely cruise! But yeah, 6 days at sea on the wonder...without the fancy Rainforest room...what would I do?

Bravo! Now those were some great costumes! So impressed with both you and your hubby (so authentic!) - and Chunky Sis' dress looks beautiful on her - so wonderful how you got in the spirit of things.

Thank you!!! Yes, we certainly tried...I figured I'm 40 and it's probably my last chance to wear white spandex....

We will be part of the "t-shirt" crew, but still plan to have a great time - can't wait to see the different costumes people are wearing on our cruise!

You will be comfortable AND have a great time! There was only so much I could take of wearing that outfit. I changed before dinner into something much more comfortable, but still Star Wars themed.

Love this outfit!! I'm sure the cruise staff do get a kick out of seeing people all dressed up and getting into it.

Thank you!! I'm sure they do!! I love seeing all the costumes on Instagram after every SWDAS cruise!

I just love this picture. It looks like a movie poster for real lol

LOL Thanks!! More like Spaceballs than Star Wars though...

You nailed it with the costumes! I have to admit if I were on the cruise my family would have just worn Star Wars shirts. I think it's wonderful that so many people dressed up.

Thank you!!! We saw people who wore t-shirts, people dressed as Jedi, Rey, Stormtroopers, even a "Lady Darth" and we saw a Chewbacca as well - he must have been pretty hot in his outfit! He be in an upcoming post!

 

[Raeven]

Your costume was so cute, and I love the hair too!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Your costume was so cute, and I love the hair too!

Thank you so much!!

 

[disneyguy4life]

Those costumes are out of this world!! Well done!!! You really nailed it!!!

 

[noahsketomom]

Thank you!!! I'm sure you will be stunning as throne room Leia! I'll find out which Etsy seller I got the items from and let you know. It took about a month to get each of them since they were custom made, just an FYI.

Thanks so much...that would be great.

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your day!!!