Hawaiian wedding, Disneyland & 4/1/12 MR Wonder cruise- finished 5/14 !

[luvslikepi]

I adore your honeymoon pics in the park, absolutely beautiful.

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

I adore your honeymoon pics in the park, absolutely beautiful.

Thanks!! It was a ton of fun- and way better than Photopass shots. lol. It was neat to try and find places that didn't scream Disney (and were less crowded). I'm glad we took an hour out of our time to do them

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

So after shooting with Sarina, it was about 9:15. We walked back to the Grand and changed clothes (which seemed to take forever because I couldn't find my sneakers lol). That morning the kids had been laying around the room for a bit with Sarah before heading into DCA for eraly screening of Little Mermaid. Once again, check out the awesome view from our room!

We met up with Sarah and the kids at 9:45 who were waiting in line for rope drop in California Adventure park (the only thing open prior was Little Mermaid like I mentioned, which they rode twice and also Soarin, which they didn't ride).

At 10:00 we all ran for Toy Story Mania which is not a fastpass ride and the lines get crazy and stay long all day. We got there with maybe a 5 or 10 minute wait!! It's a great 3D gaming ride that is super interactive. Matt sat alone behind Aidan and I & Sarah and Piper were in the car next to us. Matt and I had the high scores of everyone (which were close).

We bounced over to King Tritons Carousel right next to Toy Story Mania to ride that (never a wait for that one!). Sarah and the kids made a bunny ear chain. lol.

After that we headed over to Goofys Sky School- a roller coaster that Piper really wanted to ride since we could see it from or balcony at the Grand. We did it twice while Aidan watched from the side lines (so glad he is old enough to sit out and be responsible on his own- he is NOT a thrill ride kid). Piper was super cute and made Mickey ears on her way!

We walked around the pier to leave DCA and came across Jessie and Woody and also the Green Army Men from Toy Story!

We headed over to Disneyland (which wasn't crowded at all!) to ride Small World, Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain (which Aidan rode but got really upset by- oops), let the kids play at Tarzan’s tree house then back to DCA on our way to the Grand to ride Grizzly River Rapids (kids got soaked!!).

We went back to our villa to make lunch (yay for a full kitchen) and enjoy the hot tub and pools. Matt and I walked to Wonderland Liquor, about a 7 minute walk- to get a few bottles of wine to bring on the cruise while Sarah had the kids rest a bit before venturing back into the parks later.

We went back to Disneyland late afternoon and rode Pirates (a favorite of all), Haunted Mansion (and stopped for cotton candy!) and Indiana Jones. Piper ended up crying on this ride even though she loves thrill rides and used to love this ride as well. I think she was just tired and worn out. You can see here that Piper was falling asleep on Pirates!

We carried her back to the hotel (thank god for a 5 minute walk back- she is HEAVY lol) and we made dinner for everyone. Sarah and Matt went down to the lounge to get us cocktails while I had the kids take baths. After that we all packed a bit for the cruise tomorrow and the kids had Mickey bars we had gotten them at Whitewater snacks. Piper crashed while watching tv and then Sarah and Aidan tried to go watch the World of Color from the viewing deck but it was rainy and cold. Oh well! We had a pretty good view (just not the projections) from our room and we could pump the music in from the WOC channel on the tv.

After both kids were tucked in, Matt read a bit on the Kindle while Sarah and I then attempted to go on a late night shopping run at World of Disney but it was raining and the crowds were awful! We grabbed sundaes for us grown ups at Haagen Dazs and then back to the villa. I took a soak in the tub and relaxed from all the walking we did. It was great!

Tomorrow is the cruise, but first we are doing Disneyland in the morning!

 

[pooksma]

Really enjoying your report. You have a beautiful family and a great BF!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Another great update! Your honeymoon pictures are beautiful!

Disneyland looks fun, I haven't been since I was 18 yo. I am hoping for a trip in 2014.

Can't wait to see how you liked the cruise. We have our first one booked for next April!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

Today was a very early morning (but what is new? lol) because we planned on getting to Disneyland by about 6:45 for early morning entry (a perk of longer ticket holders or if you are staying at a Disney hotel- for us it was both!). Fantasyland gets pretty busy quickly so early entry gets you in an hour before the park opens (and only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open during that hour). Piper was excited to ride all the FL rides and Aidan was eager to ride the new Star Tours (it was being refurbed last year when we were here).

Side note- Matt and I both woke up with a sore throat today and the sniffles. I overheard a ton of people in the park complaining about a cold, plus it was going around prior to us leaving. Spolier alert: Matt was pretty sick the entire cruise

We got a quick bite to eat on our way out the door and coffee, then were in line with time to spare. At 7:00 the gates opened and in we went! We hit Dumbo first, then Peter Pan and the Tea Cups (which Aidan won't ride but you can see him in the background watching!).

Then we did Snow White, Alice, the Carousel, Buzz Lightyear and also the new Star Tours (Star Wars) ride (3D). I love all the Fantasyland rides so that made my morning I was NOT a fan of the new Star Tours ride though (and really wanted to be)- it made me really nauseas and dizzy, even though I looked away for a bit of it. It made Sarah sick too, so it wasn't just me. After Star Tours we realized there was no line for Astro Orbiters (there always is a line) so we went on that. Big mistake. It made me even more queasy! Aidan was smart to sit that one out as well (not a fan of heights, spinning things or thrill rides if you haven't guessed lol).

At 8:40 we walked over to check in to the Bibbidi Bobbodi Boutique at Sleeping Beauty’s Castle for Piper’s princess makeover and stopped at Snow White's Wishing well on the way. Fun fact- Snow White is the same size as the dwarves (by mistake)- however by putting her at the top it is forced perspective and she looks bigger.

So back to to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We did this in Disney World in 2010 and had so much fun Matt took Aidan back to Star Tours to ride again and buy a new toy at the Star Trader store. While waiting for Piper’s apt to be called, she chose her dress (a Minnie Mouse one to our surprise) along with matching gloves and a purse (and ears for later). She was so cute when it was her turn! They took her back to get changed, then let her pick out her hairstyle, crown, nail color and makeup colors. Then the “Fairy Godmothers” went to work. In all it was a VERY expensive hour, but worth it- plus we have her Halloween costume now!

Afterwards we met up with the boys and Matt and Sarah went to ride Space Mountain. I reliazed it was abut 10:15 and we had to be out of our villa by 11, so I took the kids and walked back to the hotel. Piper stopped for a cute pose on Main Street first though!

We all met up right when Bell Services came to get our luggage (they would store it for an hour or so before we actually left) and then we took a few minutes to clean up a little (load the dishwasher, etc). Aidan spent one last time out on our deck- that's Goofy's Sky School right behind him.

At 11:00 we checked out and went downstairs to order a quick lunch at Whitewater snacks (counter service inside the Grand). We were all excited to be on our way so we hurried up and got out of there!

At 11:30 we went to bell services, got our luggage and got a big taxi van for us (Matt and I had 6 pieces of luggage alone with all our wedding stuff/Hawaii stuff so we needed something big!). We were on our way to the cruise port at 11:45!

Up next (had to do 2 posts due to image limitations)- getting to port and first night on the cruise!

 

[lafa]

WOW! Great trip report, thanks!!

All of your pics are beautiful. I especially like the one with the mickey ears and your wedding date, what a great photo!!!

Looking forward to the cruise report!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

WOW! Great trip report, thanks!!

All of your pics are beautiful. I especially like the one with the mickey ears and your wedding date, what a great photo!!!

Looking forward to the cruise report!

Thanks That was a fun one! We got the ears the night before- I wanted to somehow incorporate it into a shot but not actually wear it. Sarina came up with the idea.

Should have the rest of the day (first night of cruise) up tonight!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

So... I left off with us getting lunch at the Grand Californian, getting a cab and heading to port!

It was about At 11:45 when we piled into a big taxi van and headed to the cruise port in San Pedro. Our cabbie got VERY lost- first taking us to the wrong port (even though I kept telling him that this wasn’t the right port)- then I had to get out my phone and use my GPS to get us there. Even with clear instructions and all of us eventually yelling at him he still kept trying to go a different way. Really annoying, but we got there!


We got to the port around 12:40, filled out our medical form (no one throwing up in the last 24 hours form) and then got all checked in with pretty much no lines at all. We got boarding number 22 and they were calling all numbers up to 21 as we walked in, so we pretty much just got in line (which was moving slowly) – waited about 10 minutes then walked on board (right at 1:00).

We got our embark photos taken and also our first Navigator (I didn't scan the last page- sorry!!) !

Since rooms weren’t supposed to be ready until 2:00 and we chose to skip the long lined buffet lunch that was open, so we decided to take care of some other business. Sarah took Piper to get tickets to the Princess and friends tea party at the end of the cruise (free, but still needs tickets) while Matt and I took Aidan to go get some dining issues handled.

We walked into Wavebands and we were the only ones in there! We went to the first computer station to make sure our private dining (with no other family) request had been met. Nope. Apparently at this point it was such a full ship that they were having a hard time with those requests. We did get put on a top priority for the wait list though to get moved (with Aidan’s Aspergers and Piper’s anxiety eating with strangers is difficult all around).

Next we went to the next computer station which was handling everything Palo. Judy was there (our server from our last cruise) handling all the requests. Matt and I wanted to get another Brunch reservation (we currently had one with Sarah but wanted alone for just us). We had no intention of booking dinner but Judy eventually talked us into it, lol. So we were booked for 2 brunches (one as a group), Sarah and I had tea and Matt and I had dinner. I would be at Palo 4 times! Outside Route 66 district we got a pic of Aidan in a porthole.

It was about 1:30 by this point so we went up to deck 6 where our rooms were (midship category 5B for both) and just hung out on the floor until the rooms opened up (we had a cpl bulky carry ones we were tired of lugging). Aidan camped out on the ground playing his DS and Matt stayed with him while Piper, Sarah and I ran downstairs to find a bathroom. All of the sudden, Piper goes running off- she saw Belle walking and chased her down. Too bad I didn’t have a camera because Piper was still in her cute Minnie dress. We did see her again about a half an hour later (after P changed) so we got one then.

At 2:00 our rooms were opened! In we went to semi unpack (not all our luagge was there yet). We had our excursion and dining tickets waiting for us (rotation TAAPTAP), our note about our onbaord credits and a bunch of papers waiting for us on the desk.

We then took Sarah on a ship tour since this was her first cruise from bottom deck to top. The kids got pretty excited and often ran ahead of us!

By then it was close to 3:00 so we got a sail away drink from the pool deck then headed downstairs to deck 3 where our DIS meet was. It was nice to meet so many people who had been planning the same vacation as us, and nice for the kids to meet other kids they could play with! You guys were all great (if you are reading!).

After that I went up to unpack the kids for Sarah and get them all organized in her room and then it was the Safety Drill at the life boat stations. Luckily they are short drills because it was pretty warm out today. After the drill I went back to unpacking (myself) then Matt and I headed up to the spa to book things for the week. We decided on a week pass to the rainforest room (bad investment- we didn’t use it as much as we thought but mostly because Matt was sick the whole cruise – more on that later)- and then we booked the very expensive but coveted Couple Choice villa treatment (well worth the money and glad we booked it late in the cruise when Matt was feeling better). Here are the spa treatments and embark specials!

While we were in the spa we missed the sail away (along with the cruise horn that plays to "when you wish upon a star" ) so when we left we were already moving. Sarah got picks of the kids waving goodbye though.

Up next- the rest of the night (dinner photos!) - sorry multiple posts but you can only fit 25 images into one post!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

So by then it was time to get ready for dinner. We all got changed out of our day clothes, into something more presentable and headed to Tritons for our first cruise dinner. None of us were too hungry though as we were ROCKING! They mentioned on the PA system that this was the worst seas they have seen this year and we were going through a storm. Fun! Not. Piper and Sarah had on their sea bands but the rest of us toughed it out.

Our table mates very annoyingly showed up about 40 minutes into dinner service (luckily we got switched later- but more on that tomorrow). Despite the lack of apetite, we did still manage to eat some yummy food!
Sarah and Matt even had escargot for the first time! I was too scared. lol.

Matt and I both had the shrimp to start, and Sarah had the avacado citrus salad. Both were good

Then came the escargot! No one actually ordered this at our table but our server brought it to us just in case someone wanted to try it. Sarah did, then Matt and Piper, Aidan and I jsut watched from the sidelines.

For entrees Sarah had the chicken breast, Matt had beef tenderloin with bacon wrapped green beans and I had the sea bass over mushroom risotto. They were all pretty good. No complaints that I can remember.

We all had the same dessert which was very good- a grand marnier souffle with vanilla cream sauce. Yum!!! Piper had a Mickey bar and Aidan didn't want anything (not a surprise- he gets full super quick).

When we got back after dinner we had our turndown service already and found a cute surprise! It was a towel animal (ok not an animal today but normally animals) that was a wedding cake, with rose petals and cute card from the staff congratulating us on our marriage. Super cute! Oh and we had gotten cute Just Married pins at dinner that were cuter than the ones we got in Disneyland.

Piper really wanted to go to the hot tub so Matt and I took her up while Sarah and Aidan hung out in their cabin. After I dropped her off I was feeling a little woozy still (sea conditions getting worse) so I laid down (closing my eyes helped) and eventually fell asleep. Nothing too exciting!


Up next- Our first full day at sea!

 

[Lavaboop]

Congratulations! Your wedding and honeymoon photos are gorgeous! My son and his beautiful fiance are planning a Disney cruise and wedding. Reading your posts and looking at your pictures have been informative and fun to see...thanks for posting.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Seasickness is my #1 concern about our cruise next year. I hope it gets better!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

Congratulations! Your wedding and honeymoon photos are gorgeous! My son and his beautiful fiance are planning a Disney cruise and wedding. Reading your posts and looking at your pictures have been informative and fun to see...thanks for posting.

Your son and fiance will have a great time! There is a wedding thread for DCL weddings over in the wedding section of the DISboards. They should check it out! There is also a Facebook group for brides/grooms getting married or honeymooning in Disney (link is in the Dis thread I was talking about).

Seasickness is my #1 concern about our cruise next year. I hope it gets better!

It did get better! This was our 3rd cruise and I thought that I had experienced rough seas before (hangers crashing in the closets, things moving, etc) but this was bad. The captain and cruise director said many times that we had to sail through the storm, it was the worst seas of the year, etc.

I brought kids Bonine (used it on our PV day for the Las Caletas boat for Piper) and the medical station had adult kind but none of us used it. My DH and DS both were fine the whole time, it was just us girls that had issues. Me and my DD are both very prone to motion (but not sea sickness). By mid day the next day though we were good

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

Before I jump into our first sea day (night 2 of the cruise) - here are the navigators for the day!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

So today Matt and I both slept in a bit. We both had semi sore throats today but nothing too bad (yet) so we were excited for our first day on the ship. I got a text around 7:30 from Sarah (yay for Wavephones- do not know how we would've managed without them this cruise!) that the kids were up so Matt and I both quickly got ready and we met up with everyone in the hall (there were 2 doors separating us) at 8:30.

Sarah and the kids were going to head up to the buffet for breakfast and Matt and I were on our way to the Cove Cafe for our much needed morning coffee fix and pastries. We all walked up together though to deck 9 where I snapped a cute pic of the kids.

Matt and I sat having coffee for about an hour. It was so quiet and nice to just talk and relax for a bit. We also poured over the navigator for the day to see if there was anything we wanted to do. We had Palo brunch (just the two of us) today and Sarah and I had high tea there as well so there wasn't much time to do anything else!

Around 10:00 we headed back to our room to get ready for brunch in Palo. Today it was just Matt and I going. It was great! I didn't take any station pics (I did the next day though) but I did take pics of what our plates looked like. We didn't eat too much today though because we knew we were coming back! Our server was Mladden from Croatia- he was great to talk to! He was very excited about the ship coming to Seattle in a couple months so we spent a bit talking about our home- things to do, things to avoid, etc. It made for great conversation.

Matt and I each had a plate like the one pictured (with assorted things from the station), we shared the pizza (half goat cheese and sun dried tomato and half gorgonzola and grape- very good!), Matt had the strawberry soup (ok but really sweet- I tried it and HATED it, but I am not a fan of strawbeery ice cream and shakes and that's what it tasted like to me) and then a dessert plate. We also got a cute little Happy Honeymoon plate

The table next to us at brunch was a group of entertainers from the ship (from what I could gather from their conversation). They were all young, cute and very bubbly personalities (men and women). Throughout the cruise I spotted them in the nightly Broadway scale shows so that was fun- a little weird to have overheard their "off work" conversations though and then see them as Princesses, etc.

Meanwhile (while we were at brunch), Sarah took Aidan to the kids clubs then Piper to the hot tub and then her and Piper went to an animation class on how to draw Mickey. While on their way to get Aidan from the Lab they ran into Belle again! Then it was lunch time for the three of them at Triton's. Afterwards they passed some characters in the lobby just finishing up a dance party.

Matt and I left Palo around noon and then headed to the spa to enjoy the rainforest room. Even though it was a sea day it was completely deserted, which was really nice. We explored the room a bit, trying all the different showers and rooms (dif steam rooms and a sauna) and then relaxed in the heated tile loungers for about an hour before we headed back. So peaceful!

At around 1:45 or so we texted Sarah to see if her and the kids were free 9yep!) and we all met up in the Promenade lounge around to do a Disney Trivia game. The kids played games on the floor mostly since the questions were a little tough (they have board games you can take off the shelves). We didn’t win. Oh well!


After our little trivia session, Sarah and I had to get ready for high tea in Palo. I was still stuffed from brunch so I wasn’t sure how this was going to go! Aidan went back to the clubs and Piper stayed with Matt in our cabin to rest a bit (Matt wasn’t feeling great all of the sudden- his throat was getting worse and he was really tired). Tea was fun- little sandwiches and tea and then a dessert tray to share. There were only 3 other tables filled which was a little weird. Not sure if it is always that dead for tea (supposedly it is hard to get reservations for it). Our server was Alex who was great!

We came back from tea and I found Matt burning up with a fever and a sore throat/sniffles. No tummy issues of any kind though which is good. We suspect he caught something on the flight from Hawaii or at Disneyland (which we heard a LOT of people complaining about being sick there). The fever was a little weird- but Matt always gets fevers when he gets a cold, so it wasn't abnormal for him.

Matt stayed in bed the rest of the night, wanting to make sure he avoided getting anyone sick. Tonight was formal night though so I wasn’t going to ditch Sarah with the kids for dinner/show even though I was feeling pretty lousy emotionally about the start of our cruise. I helped get the kiddos dressed after I got ready and then off we went to dinner.

Oh- forgot to mention, during the day we got a phone call that our request for private dining was met, so now we all had our own table We also had new servers though, which was fine. Our new assistant server was Shane (from Jamaica) and our server was now Agung (from I think Indonesia?) Our head server though was the same and he was the highlight of our dining experience for the whole week.

Dinner was good- we ate in Animators Palate tonight - because it was the Golden Mickey menu we didn't have the "show" in the restaurant which bummed the kids a little but we eat there again tomorrow!

We all skipped dessert tonight since Sarah and I were full from Palo earlier and the kids wanted candy at the show instead. I had crispy ravioli to start and then a ginger lime swordfish as my entree (both very good). Sarah had spiced citrus asparagus to start and then oven roasted duckling as her entree (neither were too impressive). We also ordered a dish of the pesto and pine nut cream gnocchi. Yummy!

After dinner I checked in on Matt (who was still feverish but not as bad) and then went to help Sarah with finishing homework with the kids (who were missing school this week so we had to do some work each day with them). At around 7:40 we headed down a couple decks to the theater and wandered through the gift shop to get the kids candy before the theater opened at 8.

The show tonight was Golden Mickeys- an “award show” themed Broadway scale show that highlights the best of many categories “friendship, heroism, love, etc with musical numbers. This is the third time that the kids and I have seen it and it was good as always! Piper started to fall asleep so after the show I helped get the kids settled in Sarah’s cabin and ready for bed. Then I went to my cabin where Matt was still sleeping, read for awhile (finished the 2nd Hunger Game book) and then crashed myself.

Up next- another day at sea, Matt feeling a tiny bit better, and we won something!

 

[pooksma]

Looks like some fantastic food. Thanks for sharing the Navigators.
Sorry to read Matt wasn't feeling well. Looks like the kiddos were having fun though!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

Here are the Navigators for Day 3 (our second day at sea) !

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

Today I had set my alarm for 7:00 because we had our character breakfast today (since we ate in AP last night). Our breakfast was set for 8:15 in Parrot Cay so I quickly got ready then grabbed Piper and had her take a bath and get ready in our room.


Matt still wasn’t feeling great- no more fever but his throat was still hurting. Piper was pretty sniffly today too. Matt decided to sleep more so breakfast was just the kids, Sarah and I. It was fun! Normally Piper gets very shy around characters but she had a great time. The waiters during breakfast also came around and made funny hats for everyone out of napkins. Aidan got a kick out of it Sarah and I didn’t eat too much though because we had Palo brunch today with Matt and 11:30.

I left the kids at 9:30 with Sarah to do homework and went to our cabin to check on Matt who seemed a little better. He took a shower and seemed up for the rest of the day! At 11:15 we met up with Sarah and checked the kids into the clubs while we went to Palo. I forgot to take pics of the bread station (not sure how I missed that) and the dessert station (I got excited lol).

Our waiter today was Ashlie from India- he was fantastic! I think I liked him best out of all our wait staff on the cruise. He was very charming and funny and at the end took us on a little tour of Palo, telling us about the history, where they got the name, the private dining section where there was a pretty hand painted tile mural, etc. He was great! He actually was only on his 4th contract and already was in Palo. Apparently he worked in the galley for one contract then as an assistant server for 2, then went to Palo based on recommendations and having an “in” in Palo (he didn’t go into detail).

After brunch, Matt and I headed to the rainforest room to relax. Like yesterday, it was completely deserted which was nice. Matt and I actually both fell asleep in the tile loungers. Lol. After about an hour or so we decided to grab a book and head to the adult pool area and read outside for a bit. All the loungers were taken though (no surprise- it was gorgeous out!) so we went to the cove café and grabbed a cozy couch facing the ocean and got some coffee and read for about an hour.

I honestly have no real clue what Sarah and the kids were doing today- but I know they went to the pool. Lol. That’s about all I know!

It was definitely a lazy day so far, so Matt and I decided to do something off the Navigator before dinner. We decided to try our hand at the 90’s trivia in Diversions. It was so much fun! Most of the people were older than us (prob in their 40’s and 50’s) and a few looked to be our age (30). There were 25 songs with 2 points possible for each (song title and artist) along with some bonus questions along the way. In the end, after scoring they have you raise your hand until only one couple is left. We won!! It was pretty neat- we won with 63 (we missed 5 points) and the next couple behind us had 58 (one of the couples our age-ish). It really helped being our generation- every song was super obvious to us! We won a little Disney Cruise swag- 2 hats (we gave to the kids), a journal and a water bottle.

We met up with the kids right after trivia (we gave the kids our hats we won) and headed to dinner. Tonight we were at Animators Palate which was fun since it was the “show dinner”- all the walls start in black and white then change to color slowly. It’s the kids' favorite restaurant- they are entertained the entire time.

For appetizers everyone had the butternut squash soup- so good! I also had the mushroom risotto and Sarah had the Ahi tuna tartare (Matt didn’t have a second starter). Both were great!

For entrees Sarah and I both had the phyllo wrapped Salmon (very tasty) and Matt had the veal chop (so so).

For dessert Matt and I both had the apple crumble and Sarah had the chilled lemon soufflé (all very good).

There was a nightly show tonight (comedy and ventriloquism) but no one was interested in it. Sarah and the kids crashed in their room early and Matt and I curled up to watch one of the rotating movies that were being shown (and oddly NOT censored at all)- Twilight Breaking Dawn part 1. I have seen it but love the horribly bad acted movie series (love the books) and I made Matt suffer through it. lol. It was pretty late when it was over and we had an early port day the next morning so of to bed we went!

Up next- Las Caletas island in Puerto Vallarta!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

Here are the Navigators for our 4th night onboard- our Puerto Vallarta day!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

So today we docked bright and early at Puerto Vallarta. I woke up really early and we were still moving, but I could see land! I had room service ordered for breakfast (as did Sarah and the kids for their room) because we had to all be up and ready to go by 7:20. I had Piper come over early in our room right when we were docking.

Our excursion today was to go to Las Caletas island- a private island about an hour boat ride away from Puerto Vallarta across Banderas Bay. We boked this thorugh DCL and this was going to be our only official excursion of the cruise so we felt like it was a good splurge! It was a little pricey but it included lunch, open bar, activities, etc- plus the benefit of no vendors and calmer waters than in Cabo.

We met up for our excursion at 7:30 in Wavebands and waited probably about a half an hour while everyone got all checked in. We headed out sometime in the 8 o’clock hour and then it took about another half an hour to get everyone to the pier and board the catamaran. The ride over to the island was pretty uneventful- it was quiet since it was so early- and the seas were pretty calm (though we had given Piper Bonine just in case). There were a ton of activities to sign up for on the boat (kids zip-line adventure, swimming with sea lions, spa treatments, scuba diving, etc) but we chose to just have a relaxing beach day and not worry about the schedule at all.

When we got to Las Caletas we went over to the main beach area and got lounge chairs right on the beach front so we could keep an eye on the kids in the water. The set up on the island was great- many hammocks, beach chairs, tables, etc for people, along with a large beach (it never felt crowded) and water rentals.

We spent most of the morning just lounging and reading while the kids played in the water (and took turns going down there to play with them) and ordering drinks- though poor Matt still had a cold and didn’t want alcohol. The service was great- our waiter just kept bringing us drinks and water without us having to track him down.

Mid morning Piper wanted to go to the clay activity so Sarah and I went and did that with her ($6 ea in cash) . Piper got done making her piece first (a cupcake) so Matt came and got her to wash her up (though her swimsuit got totally stained- warning it doesn't come out even with bleach!) while Sarah and I finished ours (I made a little dish to put our wedding rings in along with an ornament and Sarah made lots of Mickey ornaments).

We had lunch in the early afternoon (1 I think?) which was an open buffet of a mix of Mexican and American food. We sat under shade which was really nice as today was HOT! The food was pretty good.

Up next- the rest of Las Caletas (inc our adventure with a monkey and a snake) and back to the boat!