Disney Wonder (Aug 27 - 30, 2009) with babies

[Carterfam]

I will continue with my trip report tomorrow. I realized that I have approximately 5000 pictures from this trip (I know crazy). I don't even know if I will get through the before our next cruise, but I thought I would share a few pictures of the boys playing / laying on the floor. They really do not help with the report but they are cute, and I love sharing my loveable two.

My laughable boys. They know what is coming (bottles).

Ryder during tummy time

Kyran

My favourite pose.

 

[BethC1952]

Great report!

Your boys are absolutely adorable, and you're very brave for taking them on a cruise. I have boy/girl twin grandbabies who will be 10 months old tomorrow. They won't be cruising until Feb. 2011, but mostly because of scheduling issues and not baby issues.

I can't wait to read the rest of your report. I've never done a three-night cruise--almost all of mine have been four nights. It sounds like you really enjoyed Nassau!

Beth

 

[Carterfam]

After Pluto, the boys started fussy which meant it was nap time. Mommy was getting a little cranky too, so she thought it was best if they all lie down too. DH on the other hand is not a napper, in all the years I have known him I never remember him taking a nap. I remember him arguing with his mom when he was younger to lie down during the day, but he use to win those battles. Therefore, while the boys and I slept, he decided to tour some of the boat and see what was happening. I tell you what he did during that hour a little later, it will make more sense.

I woke up about an hour later, a little more refreshed. DH was in the living room watching the Lion King (his favorite Disney movie). The boys woke soon after, and we decided since the boys did so well in the Golden Mickeys that we would adventure to go see Toy Story the Musical, since we were obviously going to miss the Pirate Party.

Well, they did okay, not as great as the Golden Mickey. They were a little squirmy, and decided to practice their talking and gurgling skills (aka it was a little more of a whine), if we did not hold them a certain way. Just for example, Kiyan decided he wanted to be held to look over DH shoulders, so he basically watched the people behind him more then the show. I think the people behind us watched him more then they watched the show also, so maybe it was a win, win, situation. We actually had not seen Toy Story the Musical in a long time, since we usually cruise on the Magic, so it was refreshing to see a show we had not seen in a while. It was good none the less.

Here a link to the show, if you would like to check it out:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmiDBmK7rnk
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TopGdHH-o-c
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmaH_ikwHzA
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poK2JGGd2Ps
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Tdz6YbqSs
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECCC56pItBw
Part 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOj5f371pnc

 

[Carterfam]

After the show, it was time for the boys to get ready for bed and head to the nursery so we could go for Dinner at Parrot Cay. It was Pirate Night, but with the traditional rotation menus. I would say about 25% people were dressed up for pirate night if that. Again it really did not hit me that it was pirate night, except that I did put the boys in their pirate onesies that I bought at the pirate museum today (the cast members at the nursery could not stop laughing about them). I almost feel that Disney tries to cram too much activities into the 3 day cruise, that everything becomes miss mashed, and nothing flows properly. If that makes senses, coming from someone who usually travels on 7 & up day cruises.

Well, our tablemates were not there tonight, so it was just DH and I tonight, which was long over due. We usually have a date night once a week, but DH is in transition right now with work, so things have been a little hectic at home, so they have been cut back, to family times more then date nights, another reason why it was good for us to get away.

Here is what we had for supper:
My Drink:
Banana Caribe – Myers Rum, Fresh Banana, Pineapple juice, and Coconut Cream (Nice and sweet)

DH Drink:
Blue Margarita – Tequila, Blue Curacao, Lime Juice, and Sugar Syrup (Delicious if you like Tequila (I don’t)

Our supper:
Appetizer: St. Marteen Stack – Grilled Calabaza and Mozzarella with Tomato and Basil Vinaigrette (It was okay, nothing special).
Soup & Salad: Cold Cream of Mango and Papaya – Flovored with Passion Fruit. (I highly recommend it).
Feature Selection:
Island Spiced Grilled Rib-Eye of Beef – Topped with handmade spiced Butter, Corn on the Cob and Double – baked potato (this was nothing special, just to us it was a regular beef dish. The beef was while cooked).
Pan – Seared Grouper – with Baby Shrimp Lemon Butter served with a Saffron-Herb Basmati Rice and Snow Peas (I almost order another one of these because DH ate most of the Shrimp on me. I highly recommend this if you like Shrimp).
Dessert:
Parrot Cay’s Sweet Temptations – A Trio of Crème Brulee Cheesecake, Lemon Meringue Pie and Chocolate S’More Vanilla Cake (gotta love the trio)
Ice Cream Sundae – Double Fudge Bar and Cookies, topped with Whipped Cream and Chocolate sauce

Tonight we only took one Dessert back to the room and it was the French Toast Banana Bread and DH promised he would not eat it on me. We actually promised each other, we would have it with breakfast tomorrow.

While the food was okay, Parrot Cay is not my favorite menu, but it has some good qualities none the less. DH actually had a surprise for me, as I was scarfing down my delicious sundae that I refused to share with anyone. On his little adventure alone this afternoon, he headed over to Guest Services, to see if it was possible to get the room, we always stay in when we cruise (it actually does not matter which family member cruises, this is the room we always use, no matter what). He did not think that it was possible so late in the game, but he thought we would check it out. He was amazed and I am amazed as I write this that it was, so he did not hesitate for a moment it must have been a sign as he would explain it, that we were meant to go on the cruise that we took for our honeymoon. I was ecstatic to be heading back to Europe, it was one our favorite all time cruise, and I am so glad that we are doing it again. I was absolutely speechless, when he handed me the conformation paper. I could not believe it, how could it be possible, that cruise was a little over a year a way, I thought it would be full or our room would be gone, but it is confirmed I get to travel with Mickey again to Europe. Yippeeee! I have the best DH in the World! I say that 500 times a day, I really do. I was so excited I wanted to run back to the nursery and tell the boys all about it (of course I didn’t, like they would understand), but I was literally on cloud nine that night. It still really won’t hit me until I start the hard core planning that we are going (and we have so many trips before it). I can’t believe it. Okay I will shut up now (that’s what my mom was thinking when we got home).

 

[OurOhana]

Your sons are adorable. I'm so glad you posted pictures. Too cute.

 

[Carterfam]

Well, I was on cloud nine, if you did not already know. We finished dinner around 9:30 PM, and headed to pick-up the boys, who were sleeping ever so nicely. The CMs in Flounder’s said they have had know problems with them, I was glad.

We headed back to the room, I was so excited that I could not sleep; we decided to have some champagne, and celebrate another adventure that waits for us. We had it on the verandah as we could hear the fireworks from the Pirate Party going off. We could not really see them, but it was such a peaceful night, that I could not believe that tomorrow was Castaway Cay, then we were headed back home. I went to check on my little ones, who looked so peaceful, not knowing the exciting adventures that wait them in the near future. I was glad we did not miss this trip, and glad they were enjoying it as much as us. Off to bed we went around 11:00 PM, because our favorite island would be appearing soon.

 

[Carterfam]

Here's the navigators from Day 2 (Nassau):

Here our some pictures from our Walking Tour of Nassau:

Nassau Shopping Alley

Cathedral

Coconut-Man at Queen

Downtown Queen Staircase

Downtown Nassau

Fresh Coconut-drinks

Government Building

Police Officer

View from the top

Cathedral Windows

Parrot Cay Food Pictures:

Caribbean Roast Chicken

Cold Cream of Mango and Papaya

Creme Brulee Cheesecake

French Toat Banana Bread Pudding

Island Roasted Rib-Eye of Beef

Lemon Meringue Pie

Seared Grouper with Shrimp Lemon Butter

 

[Carterfam]

This morning started like any other morning, I was the first one up, while all my boys continued to sleep, and I quickly stepped in the shower, and got the boys bottles ready and heated. DH soon woke (surprisingly) around 6:15 AM, and the boys followed suit around 6:30 AM. Bottles were already back by the time they woke, and I happily fed Ryder, while DH fed Kyran in the living room. Today was Castaway Cay Day, my favorite day in the whole world, and it would be the boys first experience at a beach (could it not be better that it is with a Disney Cruise).

You dock at Castaway Cay, around 8:30 AM, and you can shortly depart the boat soon after. Unfortunately with the boys sleep schedule we would not be able to visit the island until about noon, also when the sun is the hottest, so it would be short visit, but hoping for a great experience.

We lounged out in the room all morning, while the boys slept and fed. We enjoyed our room service breakfast, and of course DH snuck out and brought me back some Mickey Waffles and Bacon (yummy). We got ourselves ready for the day, and decided to take this lazy morning and begin the tedious task of packing. When the boys got up around 12:15 PM, we got them all decked out in their swim wear, and we were off to the island.

Our first stop was to the Post Office, to send Auntie Leslie a big THANK YOU, post card, for a wonderful trip, and to tell her we can’t wait to cruise with her in December (She lives in another state then us, so we won’t see her until then, it is our Christmas visit together).

Before we ventured, the sand or the water we decided to take a nice stroll up the path. We took our time enjoying the weather and scenery. We passed the gazebo and noticed that Lilo and Stitch were there teaching people (mostly kids), how to do the hula. The boys just loved it, they were flapping their arms, and smiling. I think they remembered Stitch from before, because they kept leaning forward. I don’t know who was more entertaining the boys, or the actually hula dancers.

From there we headed to the Family Beach, it actually was not overly crowded I was surprised. I guess that being around 1:30 PM, some of the kids and their parents were doing other activities or were back on the ship already. Well our first experience with sand was not a success. They did not do badly with the sitting in it, but they are in a drooling / putting fingers in mouth stage, so every time, they put their hand in the sand, the sand got wet, which was fine, but they also then try to stick their hand in their mouth, which was not good. Maybe they were trying to tell me that it is time to start them on some real food, I don’t know. The water was much better, they liked having the wave splash up on to them. We sat with them right on the edge and let the water come up to them. It was so much fun to watch their faces. Well we sat there, I dreamt of the sand castles we will make, and all the fun we will have on the beach.

 

[Carterfam]

I was starving, at this point, so we headed to grab some hotdogs and French fries, and sat in a covered seating area to get out of the sun. During lunch, we looked at our Castaways Cay Navigator to see if there were any special activities we would all enjoy. I saw that they were having a Free Throw Competition at Grouper Pavilion. I begged and pleaded for DH to join (he finely caved). DH is a big basketball fan, which some might find out since he is only 5’10” tall, but growing up he had a big fascination with Shaq, and we together spent many parts of our teenage years at basketball courts in our neighborhood. It was at that moment I realized I had not seen him shoot in years (we even have a hoop in our backyard that him and his brother or friends use to play around to get a workout). Anyways, I thought it would be a nice way to conclude our visit to Castaway Cay. To let the boys cheer on their daddy, and I get to remember the good old days. He still impresses me to this day, with his basketball skills.

The boys were getting fussy after the game, which makes sense because it was time for another feeding. We slowly made our way back to the ship. There was one thing I did want to do to conclude this adventure at Castaway Cay. I wanted to start a tradition, since we cruise every year with Disney (and always make sure we have a Castaway Cay day), I wanted to get a picture of the boys with the painted rocks of Mickey, Pluto, Donald and Goofy. I thought it would be a great memorabilia to have as the boys grow up. Since we are here with them at 3mths, Dec. will be 6mths, and the Transatlantic will be 15mths. While, it was a battle but we got one good picture. They were really cranky by the time we got back on the boat, it was really hard to settle them down, and DH had to go searching for someone to heat up the bottles. That would have been the first time, that I really felt that not having a microwave in the room, was a big inconvenience that something so little became such a big deal. The boys did not get their bottles till about 4:00 PM, which was about an hour after the time they usually have one. Kyran did not even have half his bottle; he fell asleep well drinking it. Which would throw off his schedule completely, I knew it as soon as he woke up.

Ryder had finished his bottle, so he slept till about 5:45 PM. Kyran on the other hand, slept till about 5:15 PM, then he woke up hungry. I fed him but he did not fall asleep again. I was really worried about tonight. I should have known.

We did adventure to go see tonight’s production of Disney Dreams, I ended up seeing the whole thing with Ryder, but DH left about 2 minutes into the show. I only stayed because DH insisted and Ryder was being so well behaved. If you listen to the first part of the Disney Dream that I have linked, hear that baby well Kyran was about 10 times louder then that baby (Sorry to all that were there). I hoped DH would return, but he never did. We returned to our room after to show, to find Kieran playing with DH on the floor. He actually looked a lot happier and content.

Disney Dreams is by far the best Production out of the three. It would be on my do not miss list, if we ever get the opportunity to see it again.

Here is the links to the show, if you are interested:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRqFIWWY-P0
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pexO4I_8WTg
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djYN6hFFQ_s
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Vgxvl4Pns
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FtWcZ_2NdU
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOAA-NSIdCM

 

[Carterfam]

Tonight, dinner was at Triton’s, a place we have not eaten at in years. I was very excited to go, but also quite concerned because of Kyran. He seemed happy now, but he was creating his own schedule, and he would be getting tired again soon too, because of his short nap. While, DH got Ryder bathed and ready for bed, he left me to ponder of what to do. It did not bother him either way if we went or not. He said it might be fun to actually have room service, and eat at the dining room table, that we hardly ever use. I thought about that, I thought about the Flounder’s Nursery and how we would not give them enough notice to cancel, and our servers and how I would miss saying goodbye. Anyways, all this pondering at the end lead up to Just Go, if there is a problem you know they will just page you. We are planning to have a dinner at the table on the next trip.

Dinner was dress up optional, I just had a nice olive green dress on and DH just wore khaki pants and a nice top. Most people were still in Cruise Casual. It was actually nice to get a little dressed up. We headed to the nursery around 7:30 PM. Can you guess it Kyran was cranky, my poor child, routines are so important at this age. (Well, note to self on next cruise do annual picture first). The CM’s were amazing with him, while we got their bottles ready and Ryder played (Kyran crying did not bother him surprisingly), the CMs walked around with him, talked with him, showed him toys, tried playing a little. That even those he was grinning, instead of smiling I was okay to leave him (remember I said okay, I am still a mommy with fears). The bottles were ready the boys were semi happy, and we were off to the quiet area. I think I thanked her so many times, it was unbelievable. Kyran finished his bottle and went out like a light. I kissed his little forehead, and wait patiently for Ryder to fall asleep.

We left for Triton’s it was when we were walking through the restaurant I realized that I had forgot my camera up in the room, I was sorry I was going to miss pictures of this restaurant, but I was too lazy to go back. DH said he would, but I insisted it was okay.

Triton’s is similar to Lumiere’s except it has a little mermaid theme, the food was good, and the surrounding were nice. We were without tablemates again, which was fine by us.

We had:

My Drink: The Imagination: Baileys Irish Cream, Tia Maria, Vanilla Ice Cream, dash Grenadine – loved the ice cream in this drink

DH Drink: The Royal – Sparking wine, Crème de Cassis and Peach Schnapps – disgusting (DH thought it was okay).

Appetizer: “Gaston’s” Escargots Gratines – Herb-marinated Snails with Finely Chopped Mushrooms, topped with Garlic Butter (If you like escargot, this is delicious)

Soup: “Mrs. Potts” French Onion Soup – with Gruyere Cheese Crouton (very traditional tasting)

Main Course: Slowly Braised Lamb Shank – with a Creamy Polenta and Portobello Mushroom in a Red Wine Sauce (It was not bad)

Three-Cheese Lobster Macaroni – Lobster Meat, Gruyere, and Cheddar Cheese Sauce tossed with Tubular Pasta and topped with a Parmesan Wafer (I heard a lot about this dish on the boards and had to try it out, surprisingly it is quite good, everything goes together quite nicely, if you are adventurous I think you should try.

Desserts: Lumiere’s Sweet Temptations – A Trio of Crème Brulee, Chocolate Mousse and Praline Petite Choux (how can you go wrong)

Ice Cream Sundae – Served with Vanilla Ice-Cream, Praline Petite Choux, Chocolate sauce and Hazelnut Croquant (how can you go wrong with a sundae)

Grand Marnier Souffle – with Vanilla Sauce (can’t comment DH ate the whole thing)

We brought back the Brioched and Pannetone Pudding to our room, because we decided we would stay up and watch Pinocchio.

We actually finished our meal quite quickly, we were finished by 9:15 PM. We made sure to say Thank-you to all our servers and tip them. We don’t like to use the automatic tipping service, because it is automatically like $12.00 a day, but we feel we should tip on the quality we receive so we still use cash and the envelope policy. We headed back to Flounder’s to say thank you, to CMs there, return the pagers and give them there Phone Cards (as a thank you).

We walked slowly back to our room, sad that we were leaving tomorrow morning. We settled the boys in to their cribs. I stayed a little longer then DH, who I found later on the verandah taking some pictures of the evening sky, sad that we would be leaving tomorrow. We settled in for the evening, Pinocchio started at 10, we curled up on the couch with our pudding, a watched a classic Disney movie. The perfect way to end a trip.

 

[Carterfam]

 

[Carterfam]

We could not of asked for a better disembarkation morning. We had Triton’s last night for dinner, 2nd seating, which meant that our welcome home breakfast was at 8:15 AM, right before the boys would go for their nap.

DH and I were up by 5:30 AM, to get ready for the day. I moved slower then usual because I did not want this vacation to end, and I did not want to start the long drive back home (10 hrs.), we had debated whether to stay an extra day, but then DH got a job offer, we really could not refuse (even if it was just temporary, 14 weeks at most). So I knew we had to get home so we could start preparing for the big move.

The boys, were up by 6:30 AM, we had their bottles ready to go, and we sat down to feed them. I did not want to move after that. I could sit on that couch and watch my boys all day. Wonder what Disney would do if we decided not to leave? I finally moved around 7:30 AM (yes, a whole hour for one bottle). Got the boys ready for the trip home, and placed last minute things into our day bag and carry-offs.

We headed to Triton’s around 8:00 AM (you have to be prompt they say). I was the last one out the door, I made the journey out the door with a big sigh of relief, the trip was officially over.

Most people do not attend the Welcome Home Breakfast, I really enjoy it, because you get one good last meal, before you disembark the ship by 9:30 AM.

We left the boys in the carriers, since we were hoping they would fall asleep, and did not want to try the hard wooden high chairs with them quite yet.

DH had the Chef’s Farewell – A large open faced omelet with barbecued chicken, green peppers, onions and melted Swiss cheese.

I had the Route 66 – scrambled eggs, bacon, grilled sausage, grilled ham, and has browns.

We both had chocolate milk to drink, and I of course had a side order of Mickey’s Waffle.

It was the perfect breakfast to get us home. We had no issues with the boys falling asleep, they did wake up for their next bottle those as we were finishing up. I asked one of the servers to heat the bottles up (they were happy to obliged), and we actually fed them in the car after we walked off the boat. We actually sat on the front of the car, taking in the nice weather, and the surroundings before we started are long journey.

That was officially it, our journey was over, and we were ready to start the next one.

Are journey home had a lot of highs and lows. Some cranky boys, some sweet boys, but we made it home none the less.

The highlight of the trip home would be that, decided to stop overnight somewhere because the boys were getting really cranky, and would not calm down, and that place ended up being Cartersville, Georgia. I was bugging DH saying that we should be moving here (because of our last name) and not to LA. Maybe, when we retire fourty years from now, was his answer.

 

[Carterfam]

Here is a link to some more random pictures from around the boat:

http://s769.photobucket.com/albums/xx337/Carterfam_album/Random Pictures from the Boat/

 

[DMMarla07860]

Here is a link to some more random pictures from around the boat:

http://s769.photobucket.com/albums/xx337/Carterfam_album/Random Pictures from the Boat/

hey those pictures in the link look like my pictures.

great report you did

 

[Carterfam]

OMG! I am so sorry, I just talked to my DH, I thought he uploaded those pictures to our laptop from his camera, but he found them on photobucket by searching images, and saved them because he liked the angles of the Flying Dutchman, the other ships at the ports, and the random things around the ship you normally would not think to take pictures of.

I wish he would hurry up with our pictures, and get them loaded on this stupid little machine.

I apologize soooooooo much, and am deleting it now.

SORRRRY!!!!!!

 

[DMMarla07860]

OMG! I am so sorry, I just talked to my DH, I thought he uploaded those pictures to our laptop from his camera, but he found them on photobucket by searching images, and saved them because he liked the angles of the Flying Dutchman, the other ships at the ports, and the random things around the ship you normally would not think to take pictures of.

I wish he would hurry up with our pictures, and get them loaded on this stupid little machine.

I apologize soooooooo much, and am deleting it now.

SORRRRY!!!!!!

I don't mind. I like when people like my pictures so if he saved some of them because he like them no prob at all.

but whenever you get your pictures uploaded would love to see them. love seeing people who were on the same time as I was pictures