Land and Sea with my crazy three!!-Fantasy western caribbean swdas 3/4-3/11

[TinkerKeeks]

Day 4- March 3- Epcot Cont’d.

We headed over to test track so Gabriel could finally take a spin on his all time favorite Disney World ride!

My sister and him rode first, while DH and I got a rider swap and hung out with the littles.




Looks like we got some more chips and a mickey pretzel to pass the time. It took them a while to ride almost 45 minutes. I think I also took Savannah to the bathroom and changed her into a princess dress for dinner during this time.




Once they came back, DH and I took Gabriel for his second spin on the track.

Here is our car that we created






Once we were done riding test track, we hightailed it back over to Norway. I forgot to mention while we were in Norway earlier I ran to get a DAS return time for Frozen after. So we headed back to ride it quickly before dinner.



Okay so here on my thoughts on the new frozen ride. First off, it was really weird, like the décor and animatronic stuff is definitely kid friendly. But since it’s the same track as maelstrom and the kept the backwards stuff and the drops, it is definitely a little bit scary for the little ones.

Also I didn’t have a choice, but if I did, I would definitely not have picked the front row. I got completely soaked. Like splash mountain soaked and whole underwear shorts uncomfortably soaked.

It was also getting cooler and later out, so it did not feel good to come out of the ride and hop in line to check in at akershus feeling like this.


We got checked in for dinner and soon it was time to meet Belle and get some family photos.






We were quickly seated, got the kids situated, and I headed up to the salad bar to grab some food.


Here’s my salad plate, not the most appetizing picture, sorry about that



Looks like I got some pasta salad, regular salad with ranch, olives of course, some bread, and some bean salad.

Everything was yummy.



I also got a spicy margarita, which was delicious as well.


Dh got a beer, fat tire I think? Pic is blurry cant read the can.

For our entrees, I got…



Svinekotelett - Char-grilled Center Cut Pork Chop with Jarlsberg Potato Gratin and Port Jus.

This was very good, though sadly I was so full from all the flower and garden festival snacks I couldn’t eat that much.

DH and my sister both got this…



Brassert Biff- Red Wine Braised Beef, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potato, Pickled Mushrooms, Baby Vegetables, and Strawberry Port Demi.

They both said it was really good.

Gabriel and Isabella both ordered the kids version of the meatballs.



Gabriel didn’t really like them, I was unsure why he ordered them in the first place. It was fine though, the twins both got pizzas so he ended up sharing that with them.



Patiently waiting for princesses.



I was happy Gabriel wanted to see them and give them hugs.







Savannah was a little bit preoccupied with food over the princesses for this meal.





Matteo was not in the mood to flirt and because of that we got this gem of him swatting snow white away.



Definitely an awkward moment, sorry snow white. Definitely didn’t push any princesses on him after that.



And then dessert came



I saved a little room for the rice pudding which is a favorite of mine.



Also a big hit with Savannah as well lol




After dinner it was getting late and we still had to pack up all our stuff, make a quick run to target for supplies, bathe all the kids, and do some laundry!

So we headed to the park exit.


Dh ran ahead with the twins, while I stopped in Mousegears and let Gabriel pick out the last of his WDW souvenirs. As we were walking out, I spotted a photopass photographer who was totally free and decided to grab a quick shot with my first born.




The wait for the monorail had to be awhile, because I was able to do all that and meet up with DH who was still waiting for it to come.

My sister was lagging behind us, Isabella was taking her time picking out souvenirs so they ended up catching the monorail after us.

Once we got back to the resort, I was in full on crazy pack mode. I went to the laundry room and put a load in, bathed all the kids etc. We had a letter waiting for us letting us know that our pick up time for the DCL transport in the morning would be 11am. I was perfectly happy with that time as we had breakfast reservations for Ohana at 8:40 am. The letter also let us know that they would start picking up bags around 8 am.


In the middle of laundry and packing DH and I had a little business to handle. We stopped at the front desk and settled our bill with Disney giftcards. Then we borrowed my sisters car and took a quick ride to the nearest target while she stayed with the kids. I hadn’t planned in Matteo being in pull ups as well as Savannah, so I had to grab another box of them. I also wanted to grab some potato chips since I wasn’t sure if there would be any available for free on Disney cruise, and I was really tired on paying $3 each for small bags. Dh bought a 6 pack of beer to carryon, and I bought my two bottles of wine.

After the target run, everyone went to sleep except this mom right here. No sleep for me,I was up doing the last minute packing, waiting for the clothes to dry, putting the DCL tags on the bags etc. I didn’t get to bed until well after 12, but I didn’t care cause tomorrow was the day I had been looking forward to for over a year!!!


Up next, finally boarding the Fantasy and cruising!!!!

Just wanted to give a little wrap up on our Disney World time before moving on to the cruise. This part of the trip was what we considered bonus time. We have been to wdw many times before and will eventually go again, so I wasn't trying to cram a million things in. It was basically about enjoying some disney magic before our cruise and experiencing some new attractions and some favorites. So even though we may not have hit every attraction in the parks or even all the parks for that matter, we were very happy with our time spent there.
The DAS pass definitely helped us do a couple more things which was nice. Though as you can tell by my report, it is not some magical pass that eliminates all stressors for a disabled child. The fastpass lines themselves can be a little long, so when you have kids who have difficulties understanding waiting in line, it still can be an issue. Though not as bad as waiting in a 2 hour standby line lol Also the process of getting a return time sometimes took awhile, the little scanner thing that cast members used to give you a time was very slow and glitchy and often took a few tries to give us the time. If I had any suggestion for improvement of the program it would be to make it possible to get a return time from the app on your phone like you do with fastpass versus the tedious process of having to go to an attraction and have a cast member do it for you. I think it would make things a million times easier! But overall, I am grateful that Disney offers the program and it definitely helps our family have a better experience at the park.

 

[lovingeire]

So glad you had a much better day! Can't wait to hear about the Fantasy!

 

[DIS_Ag]

Can't wait to hear about the cruise

 

[adg06]

Excited to read your cruise report! We will be on the Fantasy Western Caribbean in October!!

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Day 5- Checking out of Poly and Ohana Breakfast/Cruise Day 1-Port Canaveral

Today was the day! And I was super duper excited to go on a first Disney cruise ever!!!! My alarm went off at 7:45 and I started waking the kids and getting them ready. At around 8:15 am there was a knock at the door and they were here to take our luggage. We had 5 large suitcases, plus each kids little Disney shell carry on (so 3 of those), I also stuck a luggage tag on the box of pampers easy ups I had bought before, so that brought our total to 9 checked items. Worked out perfectly, DCL gave us 2 luggage tags per person, so I had one leftover. Not sure what everyone tips in these situations, but whenever someone is handling my luggage I usually estimate $1 per bag, so I gave the bell hop a ten dollar bill.

After our bags were handled, we finished getting ready and headed to our breakfast reservation at Ohana at about 8:30.

After we checked in for our reservation, DS(5) and I headed to the store to use up what was left of our snack credits. We had a lot left! I think we had something like 17 snack credits left, plus 5 quick service meals which they converted to 3 snack credits each!!! So all in all I had 32 snack credits to burn through lol It was kind of nuts, but we loaded up on goofy candy, rice krispy treats, cookies, chip and dale pretzels, lollipops, and more. They gave us a big brown bag for it all, which we carried on the ship no problem since everything was factory sealed. It actually gave us a nice stockpile of snacks for the room for the week, and I took a whole bunch home with us as well lol

Once we finished buying all our snacks, I found DH sitting in the waiting area and within a few minutes were called to our table. Perfect timing!

I have eaten at Ohana for dinner but never for breakfast, so this was a new experience for us. The service was a little slow. We were seated for a good while before the server came or the bread came.

Here is the bread they give you



I think this the same one they give at dinner? Not sure I didn’t try it but Dh said it was like a sweet kings Hawaiian roll.

They also bring a plate of fruit out as well



And they serve P.O.G. juice which Savannah went nuts for



The waitress was nice and brought out paper plates for the kids to eat on instead of glass



I forgot to get a picture of the breakfast platter, but it came with some mickey waffles, breakfast potatoes, scrambled eggs, and sausage. It was kind of annoying because they didn’t bring out any syrup or ketchup with the platter, so nobody wanted to eat until we had that.

The waitress did not come back for some time, and when she did we asked for the syrup and ketchup she was like “Oh they didn’t bring out any?” It took a while for someone to bring it out to us and by then the food which was lukewarm when served was pretty cold. Oh well, we would be on the Fantasy with unlimited food in a matter of hours so we weren’t too worried about it.

The characters came out next, and they were really great, the kids enjoyed them.



A photopass photographer also came around, which was really nice since I don’t remember that happening at any other character meals before. We were able to get some nice pictures with stitch.







It was a fun time and a nice way to end our WDW stay. It was also a good way to spend the morning since our DCL bus wasn’t picking us up until 11:00. By the time we got back to the room it was around 10:10 so we had about 40 minutes to kill until we had to head to the lobby.

All our packing was done, so we just lounged around and watched Disney junior.



This kid was super excited when it was time to head to the cruise.

We got to the lobby around 10:50 and found a lady holding a DCL sign. She told us to have a seat and we would be leaving shortly.





Savannah was ready in her Disney cruise outfit

A few minutes later she told us the bus was on the way and walked us out front. We were the only family boarding from our resort. We were on the bus by 11:05.



There were a few families on the bus already when we got on, thinking they mostly came from Grand Floridian, since we stopped at Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary after our resort before heading on the highway. The bus was showing Beauty and the Beast so that kept the kids entertained. We didn’t get on the highway until about 11:50, it took some time going to the other resorts and loading the people up.

Once we hit the highway, both twins fell asleep. It was a Disney cruise miracle lol Beauty and the beast was briefly interrupted by a 30 minute-ish cruise line video. Then they put it back on. It actually worked out perfectly, Beauty and the Beast ended just as we were pulling into Port Canaveral around 1pm. It was such an exciting moment as the Fantasy came into our view, and I was able to actually enjoy it peacefully cause both twins were sleeping still lol


The twins napping was short lived, they woke up just as the bus stopped and were extra grouchy. This next part was really stressful for our family…we entered the port and got in line for security. The twins were very discontented being in the stroller. Unfortunately it was the only way we could manage with our carry-ons and such. So screaming began right away, yay!

We made it through security, but had to wait for an elevator because we had our stroller. At this point I was so looking forward to tucking that thing away under the bed and not seeing it for a week.

Next it was time to check in, they gave us our KTTW cards and took our pics. I’m sure matteo’s picture had to be of him screaming lol She also took care of our online check in for our flight home.

We were greeted by another line to board, but soon found out it was moving so slow because of the picture they take. A nice CM told us we could skip the picture and move ahead. This wasn’t part of my initial plans, as I had dreamed of our cute family embarking photo, but at that point the twins were melting down and I knew it was best to just move, move, move! I wasn’t even able to enjoy our family announcement as I could barely hear them over Matteo’s wailing. It was about 1:25, and I knew the best thing to do would be to head for the room, calm the kids, ditch the stroller and re-adjust ourselves.

We headed straight for the midship elevators and boy were they crowded. Pet peeve of mine, in life, and not just on the Disney cruise is when people who don’t necessarily need an elevator and are able to take escalator or stairs, take one anyway and take up space and make the wait longer. I know a lot of people have issues we can’t see and take the elevator because they can’t handle stairs. I am in no way talking about those people. But I cant tell you how many times throughout the cruise I saw so many people crowd onto an elevator only to take it one or two floors. It was kind of ridiculous. We tried to use the stairs as much as possible as it was such a faster mode of travel. It wasn’t always pleasant, especially carrying a 33 lb child up them or down them, but it was definitely easier than waiting for an elevator to come that wasn’t full or stuffing into one so tight my kids would flip out.

Anyways, rant done, sorry. So at this point since we still had the stroller we didn’t have a choice but to wait for an elevator. I will also say that it was frustrating because the strollers and wheelchairs waiting kept getting left in the dust, even though we had been waiting longer than a lot of people. The doors would open and people would run and pack them out before we even had a chance to get over there. Our only strategy was to park right in front of an elevator and hope that it would be the one to open next and it was empty enough for us to fit.

So finally that happened, and we were able to get up to floor 7. We got to our room 7598, midship family oceanview with verandah, folded up the stroller and headed in. We promptly stuck it under the bed and didn’t take it out again until our departure day.

It was such a relief to finally exhale a moment lol. The kids were calmed down and excited to explore the new room. It also didn’t hurt that their were unlimited Disney cartoons and movies on demand.







I was very much impressed by the space of the room. It blew away any other cruise line. There was also so much storage space. We never felt claustrophobic or on top of each other.

I was also initially very nervous about having a verandah with small kids, but the double lock feature was really nice and I felt very secure with it.

After unloading all our snacks and carryons we headed up to our first trip to Cabanas for some lunch. It was about 2 o clock at this point.

I ran to get the kids some food, while DH got them settled at a nice table by the window. My first impressions of Cabanas, was that it was a little chaotic but I expected this as most buffets are on cruises on embarkation day. I was very impressed by the quality of the food, and also the temperatures. A lot of times when you get buffet food it is often lukewarm and been sitting awhile. Not at cabanas, everything was piping hot and fresh.

Actually for the twins, the food was too hot lol Matteo was upset because he couldn’t eat his fries right away so he was whining. This is where I had my first encounter with the above and beyond service of the staff and crew on this ship. DH was getting his food, and Matteo was having a hard time. A server came over and immediately tried to cheer him up, making mickey ketchups, bringing over pizza and juice. It was really nice. Of course none of those things mattered to Matteo, the only thing that mattered was his fries were not the right temperature yet and he wouldn’t be happy until they cooled down lol. They eventually did and then he was a happy camper.



We were docked next to a carnival ship.



Matteo finally enjoying his fries



After lunch, we headed down to the kids club open house. The twins had just newly turned 3, and I had the option of either the kids club or nursery. They both did not qualify for the kids club since they are not “completely” potty trained. While Matteo is what I call “potty trained”, he still requires some assistance getting on and off the toilet, pulling his pants up, wiping his but etc. In order to be able to use the kids clubs, your kid has to be totally bathroom independent as in can go to the bathroom alone, wipe themselves, get dressed themselves and come back out alone. They are not allowed to assist them in any way in the regular kids club.

So I decided to reserve some nursery time before the cruise for them. You are able to reserve up to 18 hours before the cruise per kid.

We stopped by the nursery first and got the twins squared away there. We had time booked late from 8:30-10:30 so DH and I could have a much needed break.

After the nursery we headed to Oceaneer’s. I got Gabriel all registered while Dh took the kids to play.

The one thing that makes me a little sad, is that I know how much the twins loved these play areas. I mentioned earlier that Matteo is a toy story nut, so I know how much he would’ve enjoyed playing there. They had so much fun playing around in there! I had planned to take the twins to play there during another Open house but unfortunately the timing never worked out for us. So sadly this was the only time the twins got to play there.







We finished up our play time and got back to our room a little after 3. I was very happy that all our luggage had been delivered so I got to do some unpacking while the kids enjoyed cartoons.

There was one thing I had been dreading since I booked the cruise, and that was the muster drill. I didn’t know how the twins would handle it and I was nervous. We headed down to our muster station which was located in movie theater. I explained to the castmember that my kids had some issues so it would be better for everyone if we had a seat. There were only two chairs left but we made it work, all squishing together lol The whole thing was pretty painless and I was grateful when the CM came over right before it ended and gave us a head start in leaving.


We decided to head up to sail away party as it was almost 4:30. One benefit to us leaving early was when we got up to deck 11 we were able to grab front row places for the show!

I was so excited!!! Unfortunately there was one rude family that decided to push right behind us and send her kids to stand right on top of mine. I really wouldn’t of cared except there really wasn’t any of room for them and it resulted in the boys kind of getting pushed to the side and I was not behind them anymore. I had to ask one little girl if she could move to the other side of my boys so I could be behind Matteo as I was nervous he would run up to the characters when they came on stage and I wanted to be there to pull him back just in case.

The parents were oblivious and just really rude. Like I cant explain all the specific things they did, but just like pushing past people and then turning around and taking a photo and stepping on the backs of my heels. Also DH was holding Savannah, and they liked pushed in front of him so they were basically between me and my husband.

It was annoying, but I didn’t let it ruin the excitement of our first Sail Away party and I got great pics and video!










I was really proud of Matteo. He stayed right where he was supposed to and danced a long. He was so excited. I was really feeling the magic at this point and so excited for the week ahead.


Up next our first dinner!

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Day 5-March 4-Port Canaveral/Sailing Away/First Dinner Cont’d.

We headed back to our room after the sail away party. A few weeks before the trip I called and had some gift cards applied to our account, I also requested a dining rotation. I was very happy my request was granted and our dining rotation was ERAERRA. We also picked main dining which is at 5:45 which is the perfect time for us and close to when we eat at home.

Dh and DS(5) went outside and waved to the people ashore as we officially sailed away.

I unpacked some more and then changed. Everyone else stayed in their clothes that they came onboard in.

We attempted to take the elevators down but it was super duper crowded. DH just took the stairs with DS(5) and DD(3).

I opted to wait for the elevator with DS(3) since I was wearing heels and not keen on the idea of walking down 5 flights of stairs in them carrying him lol

Our first restaurant was Enchanted Garden, which is right there as soon as you get off the elevators on Deck 2.

I was so excited to see it and I was truly blown away by the details and how beautiful the dining room really us.

When I made the reservation I put 2 requests in for the twins, bedrails and high chairs. Not sure what happened but the high chairs never appeared. It ended up being okay, the twins sat in regular chairs for the rest of vacation and did alright.

Our table was one of the beautiful booths, the first one on the right when you enter the restaurant. We were table #43.

There were already water glasses on the table with our kids names on it and straws. Unfortunately none of our kids drink water plain, but it was a nice touch lol

Our servers were Simon and Jo. They were both very nice. I will say the dining room service was amazing the first night! I was so impressed. And then the pace of the meal and amount of service we got slowly declined after that. The servers were working really hard, so I really don’t think it was their fault. They just seemed to be really busy and almost overwhelmed at times, like they couldn’t keep up with everyone. My husband said it felt like they were short staffed or something, so I’m not sure if its chaotic like this all the time or something happened.


Anyways on to the yummy first dinner.

I decided to order one of the specialty cocktails off the menu.



This is the nutty chocolate-vanilla vodka, crème de cacao white, baileys, galiliano, vanilla mix

It was sooooo good and reminded me of a mudslide. Not sure on the price but I want to say it was something like $9. DH got a corona (not pictured).

Simon asked us if we would like the kids food to come out as soon as possible and we said yes, so that became the norm for the other nights.

The bread was a mix of multi-grain and country currant rolls served with a chickpea-garlic puree. They also served butter every night with the breads. I enjoyed the country currant rolls, the dip was just okay for me, it basically just tasted like some garlic hummus.

Ds(5) got a garden salad for his appetizer with ranch dressing.



For his entrée DS(5) ordered the pork tenderloin with French fries on the side.



The twins both got orders of chicken strips, though they were still pretty full from lunch and Matteo only ate the French fries.



For my appetizer I had the Applewood Smoked Bacon Wild Mushroom Tart.



This was really delicious, I ended up giving half to DH since he didn’t like his appetizer. I’m not even sure why he ordered it. He got the cucumber garden roll which was basically a cucumber thinly sliced rolled up with some veggies in the middle. Dh hates cucumbers so odd choice for him. I tried it, and it just tasted like some veggies to me, nothing too exciting, but not bad.

We also both ordered the romaine wedge salad. I forgot to snap pictures, but that was actually my favorite salad the whole cruise. Very delicious, creamy, and cheesy.

For our entrée’s, I had the slow roasted prime rib-Carved and served with thyme-roasted vegetables, double-baked potato, natural jus, and horseradish



This was very yummy for me. Prime rib is one of my favorite types of steak. The double-baked potato was out of this world good. I don’t think I finished my entire steak because I knew I wanted dessert.

DH is very picky about his meats. He does not like any type of fat on the meat at all so he knew the prime rib wasn’t for him. So he ordered the Marjoram Scented Roast Chicken- served with baked crushed sweet potatoes, buttered baby spinach, and a thyme red wine chicken jus.



He really enjoyed it, despite also not really liking chicken on the bone. I had a bite and I thought it was really good.

I also ordered the second specialty cocktail, Golden Leafs-Rum, Pomegranate, Peach Schnapps, Cranberry Juice, Soda Water



This was really refreshing and good, so I was 2/2 on the specialty cocktails and happy with my choices



Dh and I both got the Apple Cinnamon Crunch Sundae-Cinnamon Apple, Vanilla Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, and Short Bread

I’m not a big cake person, my favorite desserts are ice cream and cookies so I was definitely excited about the sundae option. This sundae was delicious! We both enjoyed it a lot.


DS(5) got the mickey bar, though he was a little jealous when he saw our sundaes lol


Overall we were very happy with our first meal onboard, and very impressed with the quality of the food.

We headed back to our room which had been serviced for the night while we were out.



This swan towel animal was waiting for us, along with tomorrow’s navigator, and some delicious Ghiradelli milk chocolates.

I am a big chocolate person, but every time we came back to the room I was way too full to eat one I did pack them all up and bring them home with us and I’ve been enjoying them since we got home.

The beds were all made up and DS(5) was super excited about sleeping on the top bunk that night.



We gave the kids baths, and put pjs on the twins for their stay at the nursery.



We dropped the twins at the nursery first, and then Gabriel at the kids club. We were excited to finally explore the ship being kid free.

Our first stop was the adults only area. I couldn’t get over how beautiful everything was and how each spot was so uniquely designed.



La Piazza

We stopped for a drink at Ogill’s where hubby decided to take the plunge and buy the beer mug.



For his first beer he got a guiness.

I believe I also got a margarita here but forgot to take a picture.

We decided to go explore the pool deck a bit after that. We stopped at the cove pool bar and grabbed another round of drinks. I decided to get the drink of the day in the specialty cup, I think it was called Paradise.





Dh got a mango mojito.

Some pool deck pictures.





We also took a tour of spa and decided to get ourselves rainforest passes. Probably some wasted money there, as I only got to enjoy it a few times, and DH only went once. It’s a beautiful spa but with kids in tow its hard to get the time to go.

We wandered back inside and decided to check out the stores. I’m a big lover of Disney dooneys so I wanted to check out the DCL ones. I decided to buy one as my trip souvenir. After going back and fourth I decided to buy this one since the sales girl told me the pattern was going to be discontinued soon.


So the sales girl took the bag to ring up, and she pauses and is like “OMG today is your lucky day! This bag is 50 percent off” Now for those of you who are dooney fans, you know that number 1 dooneys aren’t cheap, and 2 to get 50 percent off of one is extremely rare and means a huge savings. I couldn’t believe it, I was so excited. Then I handed her my room card to pay and she tells me, it gets better, since I have a Disney visa for my oboard charges I get an extra 10% off on top of that!!!

It was such a pixie dusted moment!! I was so happy, the sales girl was so happy for me, and DH was happy he was saving money too lol So the list price on the tag was $268.00, with all my discounts the bag came to $120!!! It was such a happy surprise and really felt magical.

After the happy purchase of my DCL dooney, we headed to Disney trivia in the Dlounge.

We snapped a couple of pictures on our way there.





Disney trivia was fun, and by the time that was done it was time to get the kids. We scooped them up at the nursery and oceaneers and headed back to the room. We were all excited. We decided to try Savannah out in her own bed the murphy bed with bed rails, Matteo slept on the bottom bunk, Gabriel on the top, and DH and I in the big bed. It was a Disney miracle and everyone slept in their assigned beds all night and we all got much needed sleep!!!

Would this be the case for the rest of the week? Wait and see!

Up next a relaxing day at sea!

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Also here is the navigator from Day 1 for your viewing pleasure

 

[Kenzientysmom]

Following along. We are taking our 3 year old with SPD to Disney World in September for 10 nights and possibly an Alaska cruise in 2018.

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

Following along.

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Following along.

yay! so excited people are actually reading about my trip lol

Following along. We are taking our 3 year old with SPD to Disney World in September for 10 nights and possibly an Alaska cruise in 2018.

That sounds amazing! It definitely wasn't easy for us, but we had a great time so it was worth it.

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Day6-March 5-At Sea/Formal Night

Looks like we didn’t take too many pictures this day, so sorry if this day is a little text heavy.

We all woke up nice and refreshed around 8:30. It was so nice pulling back the curtains and seeing the beautiful ocean out there. The seas were definitely a little rocky during the night, nobody got sick, but it was definitely more than I remember on cruises I had been on in the past. You could definitely feel it more in the front and back of the ship, so I am glad I picked a midship room on a middle floor.

We got dressed and ready and headed to our Disney junior character breakfast at 9:30 at animators pallete. We were seated immediately and given a menu. No food pics on this one, sorry I forgot. We were able to get a plain strawberry yogurt for Matteo, which became his breakfast for the rest of the cruise. Savannah got a chocolate chip pancake, and Gabriel and I got mickey waffles with sides of bacon. They also came around with a tray of pastries that included donuts, croissants, and danishes. It’s all the same stuff they have in Cabanas throughout the week.









Then the characters came and our kids were very happy.







Matteo was especially excited to meet the mouse himself.

This was a very nice character interaction and a nice way to meet the characters without waiting in line. I’m really glad its included with the cruise.


I can’t really remember exactly what we did right after breakfast.

I think we were looking out portholes and just enjoying the atmosphere.





I know Savannah had to be changed so we headed back to the room.

At 12:00pm we went to the nursery since I was told that after 12pm we were free to book all the nursery time we wanted. Before that we were capped off at the 18 hours you were allowed before the cruise.

We asked them if they were able to take the kids from 12-2pm since DH and I wanted to explore the rainforest room, and DS(5) wanted to head back to oceaneers club. They were able to accommodate us so we dropped the kids off and headed up to the Spa.


All I can say is wow. Dh and I had such a relaxing afternoon enjoying the sauna, the hot tubs, the showers, and the amazing heated loungers. It was so nice relaxing in the hot tub with the gorgeous view of the ocean in front us. It was probably the first time this trip I felt like I was on an actual vacation.

After the spa time, we still had a little time before we had to pick up the kids so we headed to the Cove pool bar. They had some live music over there which was nice. Dh got a beer and I got a mudslide. It was delicious and so relaxing. Then Dh and I grabbed a bite at Cabanas.

When we got to the nursery we found out Matteo had just fallen asleep. Not wanting to wake the beast, we opted to leave him there and they would send us a message when he woke up.


We had Frozen meet and greet tickets at 2:30. This was not that great of an experience. The line was really long. We had gotten in line at 2:15, and didn’t actually meet Anna and Elsa until 2:55. So 40 minute wait, had I known it would be this long I would’ve just skipped. Savannah started out in a great mood, but once we had been waiting for about 25 minutes she started to lose her cool. She was very cranky, and by the time we actually got to meet them she was not interested at all. She was just crying and throwing herself on the floor. So yeah that stunk big time.

Right before we were up to meeting Anna and Elsa we got the message that Matteo was awake. So we picked him up on the way back to the room.

At this point it was clear we needed to try and give Savannah a nap. So I volunteered to stay back in the room with the twins while Chris took Gabriel up to the pool deck. I told Chris to be back by 4 the latest so we could get ready for formal night.


The attempted nap time was not a success. Savannah did not want to go down, so we basically just layed there for an hour and a half while Matteo with the Little Mermaid time.


While I was doing that Gabriel and DH were rode the aquaduck 2 times, and Gabriel did the mickey slide. They had a lot of fun at the pool, and didn’t get back to the room until 4:30!

Talk about rushing to get ready for formal night.


We managed to get ready and get down to atrium around 5:20. Our goal was to get some nice family photos.

We did get this decent one…



And also this hilarious one, that when DH and I saw it, we said that somes up this trip so perfectly!



I also got this nice mother and son shot with Gabriel…




Our dinner that night was in the Royal Court, so we headed there after a quick stop in the gift shop for some toys.

We ended up also getting this nice shot at the table, Matteo was being a grump and wouldn’t be in the picture…




Up next, dinner time and after dinner fun!

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Day 6-March 5- At Sea/Formal Night Cont’d.



The bread service was warm French country bread with an olive spread, and I could not get enough! This was delicious.

So not too long after we sat down to dinner Savannah decided to promptly fall asleep in her chair lol She basically slept through the entire dinner. It was pretty funny. I didn’t wake her up because quite frankly we were better off. She was nice and quietly sleeping not screaming or crying so it was a win for us.

This was the night the service kind of slowed down and seemed chaotic. While our servers were so nice and eager to accommodate, it took forever to get a drink!! Also for some reason they were not very good about clearing un-needed dishes and drinks off the table. At some points dh would stack all the dirty plates and stuff in a pile, and they would still come by and not grab them. So that was a bit of a petpeeve of mine.

Anyways moving a long here’s what we ordered. I got the specialty drink that night, Imperial Illusion-absolut, mandarin, apple pucker, blue curcao liquor, pineapple juice. This was just okay for me, I should’ve realized I wouldn’t like it too much since I don’t like the taste of absolut vodka.

For our appetizers we got the deep fried brie and French onion soup.

The brie came out first, I forgot to take a picture. I did not care for this appetizer at all. It had a funky aftertaste. I don’t eat a lot of brie, so that might just be what brie tastes like lol Anyways After DH and I tried a bite we pushed it aside.


The French onion soup came next, and that was delicious. It was served piping hot, just how I like it.



The kids meals came out with our appetizers. Gabriel got the corn dog, not sure about the twins, I’m thinking chicken and fries again? Savannah was asleep by the time hers got there lol

For his entrée, Dh got the Chateaubriand-Roasted Filet Steak-Roasted Filet Steak, Crushed new potatoes with shallots, buttered green beans, red wine jus, and béarnaise sauce on the side.

I got Roasted Rack of Lamb Medium-with Dauphonose Potatoes, Buttered Brussel Sprouts and a Burgundy Rosemary sauce.



This was sooooo good! One of my favorite dinners on the ship! I only wish it came with more lamb chops, I know I could’ve ordered more but I didn’t know how long it would take and also didn’t want to look like a piggy lol

After dinner, they brought a dessert menu I decided to be adventurous and try the sweet temptation which was a trio of raspberry mousse, mango cheesecake, and the vanilla crème brulee.I also decided to order an espresso martini. Dh got the strawberry shortcake sundae, and Gabriel had a mickey bar.

So the dessert came out and by the time we were done, my martini still hadn’t shown up. This was probably one of our longest dinners, it was close to 7:30 already. When Simon our server came by, I said I’m not sure what happened they could just cancel my martini since we were done with dinner. He said oh no, its coming, its coming, you can take it with you. So I was kind of annoyed because I had obviously ordered the martini with my dessert and we were now finished with it. So we had to sit there while we were done waiting for this martini to arrive that I didn’t even want anymore. Eventually Jo came out with the martini which I took with me and we scooted out there. I took a couple of sips and then realized I shouldn’t have ordered it because it had absolut vodka in it again. Oh well.


We had reserved nursery time again tonight so DH and I could enjoy the show which happened to be one I was super excited about Aladdin!!!!

I had asked Gabriel if he wanted to go see the show and I was disappointed when he said he would rather go to the kids club.

So we dropped all the kiddos off and headed to the show.

As most of you know, no pictures allowed. So here is my one picture I took before the show started.



The show was incredible!! I loved it so much. I was really feeling the Disney magic that I love so much.

After the show, DH and I went and changed out of our formal wear. I had wanted to check out the champagne lounge Ooh La La, so we headed down there.

This lounge is absolutely beautiful, I wish I could’ve spent more time there.





All the bars offered little complimentary bowls of pretzel crips which we enjoyed. The bartender was so kind to take a nice picture of us at the bar.



I decided to get the ring of bubbles-taste of nuance of individual champagne cocktails $18.

This I thought was an excellent value, as it came with two champagne cocktails that are priced at 10.75 each.



The two cocktails were Elderbubble-Absolut Raspberri, St. Germain Elderflower, Liqeur, Champagne

And

Pomegranate Passion-Pama Pomegranate, Passion Fruit Puree, and Champagne.

Boy I sure was making a habit of ordering cocktails with absolut vodka for someone who dislikes it so much lol.

Anyways the cocktails were delicious, though it took me a while to finish.

Dh got a pineapple julep-ciroc pineapple vodka,Fresh pineapple, fresh orange, mint leaves $9.75



He said it was delicious.

While we were sitting and sipping, I was enjoying some music by the Dreamers at the piazza next door. I love live music, so after we finished our drinks I decided to switch over to piazza to enjoy some more tunes.



I was on a bit of a champagne kick at that point, so I decided to order a bellini-white peach puree, freshly squeezed lemon juice, prosecco.

Dh went to the bathroom and came back with food. Apparently a little after 10:30 a little snack buffet opens right outside the piazza. They have potstickers, egg rolls, veggies and dip, and some other snack foods. It was a nice little treat.

We finished up our evening, picked up the kids, and headed back to the room to sleep.


Up next Cozumel!

 

[lovingeire]

That sounds like a wonderful evening! I love your formal night pictures! You look beautiful! And you have to laugh at the kids because we all have those moments! LOL! Your evening "out" sounds divine! Glad you enjoyed Aladdin. That's probably the show I'm looking forward to most and I'm hoping my boys will all sit through it by the time we cruise. Right now my youngest for sure wouldn't! Can't wait to hear about Cozumel!

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Hi all, sorry Ive been lacking on the updates. I had typed out our whole Cozumel day and then it got deleted! Then the stomach flu tore threw my family. Anyways I’m back.

Here is the navigator from Formal Night that I forgot to include…

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Day 7-Cruise Day 3- Cozumel and Pirate Night

I am dreading writing about this next part cause it’s a bit of a low point. I promised I would post the good and the bad though so I’m going to include it.

Just a little background, typically when cruising Dh and I will just wing it and take a cab to whatever beach is close kinda thing. I’m not too big on organized excursions but with 3 small children I was worried about leaving things to chance. So I booked all Disney excursions for our beach days, thinking it would make things easiest for the kids when it came to getting off the boat and transportation. So for this day I had booked the Cozumel Beach Break, which was described as an all inclusive day at the beach with water parks and pools. I’m going to be very honest and say this excursion did not live up to my expectations and I was very disappointed.


Okay back to the report…

Savannah woke us at 3 am screaming that night, and DH and her switched beds and that is the way it stayed for the rest of the trip. The seas were also really rough that night. Thankfully we were taking bonine daily so nobody got sick.

So we were all a little cranky in the morning. I woke up first and ran to Cabannas and scooped up some food for us to eat while we were getting ready.



Our excursion tickets said to meet at the Walt Disney Theatre. When we got downstairs their was a line all the way back to the atrium. This did not bode well for a bunch of cranky little ones who don’t do well with lines. We had to hold the twins while we waited in the line as they fussed. When we got to the theater, we were giving Pinnochio stickers and instructed to sit, where we waited some more. Then we had to single file line off the ship. This took awhile, I want to say there were at least 300-500 people so just imagine that walking single file off the ship and waiting outside on the pier for everyone to get off. It was at this point I was kind of regretting booking something with Disney as I watched people doing their own thing casually strolling off the ship. And I we still had to hold the twins, we couldn’t put them down because the pier in Cozumel is a narrow strip with no railings whatsoever, so if the kids got a way from us for a second they could’ve walked right off into the ocean. It was giving me major mom anxiety just looking. Once everyone was off the ship, we proceded on another slow crawling walk through the port, up a bunch of stairs, past stores etc. We finally made it out to what looked like a parking area where we were squished into a sketchy looking bus where they didn’t have seats for everyone.

That whole process was excrutiating, our arms were killing us, the kids were upset, and I was just looking forward to getting to this amazing all inclusive day.

Unfortunately when we got to Playa Mia, I was extremely disappointed. The drinks and the food offered were really nasty. They had a cash bar with what looked like higher quality stuff. The stuff at the included bar was like mystery juice served out of coolers in dixie cups. The one beer offered was dos equis. The buffet had some unappetizing looking food, all mis-labeled and just not something I wanted to partake in. The facilities were dirty, the staff was rude. We stayed for about 20 minutes and just paid a taxi 25 bucks to take us back to the ship.


I just want to say that Cozumel was the only port we didn’t like. The rest of the ports we had a blast in and I am excited to share them with you. Also the rest of the day is much better, I promise!


So I was so excited to be back on the ship, and we headed straight up to Nemo’s Reef so everyone could finally have some fun in the sun!





The kids loved this area! I tried to convince Gabriel to go on the Aquaduct with me but he didn’t want to leave the reef. So I decided to be brave and ride alone. It was a lot of fun, though the water was a little chilly! Sadly this was my only opportunity to ride it that week.









After the reef area, we headed back to the room so the twins could take a nap. I got changed and was excited to spend some time with Gabriel on my own while DH stayed with the twins.


Up Next, Pirate Night!

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Day 7-Cruise Day 3-Pirate Night Contd.


So I was all excited to spend some time with Gabriel and maybe do something fun like the detective agency or mini golf. We were out of the room for all of 5 minutes, when he asked me If I could drop him at the kids club. I tried to persuade him to try some of the activities with me, but he just wanted to go to the lab, so I dropped him off. And then it dawned on me that I had a whole 2 hours to myself to do whatever I wanted! So I headed to Senses Spa and had some relaxation.

After my amazing time to myself in the spa, I headed back to the oceaneer’s lab to pick up Gabriel. We got back to the room and woke DH and the twins up. Got the boys in their pirate costumes, Savannah in her Jake dress and headed out. I booked the nursey from 4-5pm because Gabriel had a very special appointment.


Our appointment at the Pirate’s League was 4:15pm. Gabriel’s pirate name ended up being “Johnny Stormfury” lol After getting his pirate name they sat him down in the makeover chair and had him pick up which style he wanted. He ended up picking the blackbeard look. They also gave him a bandanna, eye patch, earing, necklace, sash, pirate map, sack, and pirate booty. The whole process took about 20 minutes and Gabriel really enjoyed it. I believe the package was $44 dollars. I don’t know if it’s something I would do everytime, but it was nice to experience it.

Here I present Pirate captain Johnny stormyfury!





After the makeover we still had some time before we had to pick the twins up so we headed to the atrium to meet some pirate characters.















While we were meeting the characters we started sailing out of Cozumel. The captain came on to update us and told us the seas would be a little rough and he would be rocking us to sleep again tonight.

After meeting the characters we went back to the nursery to get the twins. It was also at this point I had to make a tough decision. After the not so great experience with leaving the boat today, we decided we would not be taking the twins off the boat again. I definitely felt some mom guilt in doing this, but I just knew they couldn’t really handle it and it would be a better experience for everyone if they stayed in the nursery. They were really happy in the nursery and got excited to go there everytime we went, so it wasn’t like a dreadful thing for them. So I booked nursery time for the rest of the port days. This wasn’t what I had envisioned in my perfect trip planning mind, and it was definitely and extra expense, but ultimately it was the best decision for my family.


So moving on, we stopped back in the room so captain hook could have a potty break lol



Then we headed to the dlounge for the pirate and princess party. This was so cute, and the kids were really excited to see Jake and Sophia.





I have a great video of Matteo dancing to the songs. My kids are big Disney junior nuts so this was a trip highlight for them.

After the dance party we headed down to Animator’s Pallete for dinner, and boy was the boat rocking already! I started to have a little bit of anxiety from it. You could really feel it inside the restaurant.


Up next dinner time!

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Day 7-Cruise Day 3-Pirate Night Cont’d.

I really love the theming of Animator’s. Even though this was our first time eating dinner here, we had already been inside twice, once for the Disney junior breakfast and once for anna and elsa meeting. Matteo really enjoyed seeing the cartoon clips on the screen.



The boat was still rocking a lot and the dining room seemed pretty chaotic this night. One of our servers was sick, so they seemed to be a little understaffed and rushing around.

It took them awhile to come around and take our orders.

Here’s me and my little pirate.



The bread was my favorite bread of the trip!



Garlic and Herb focaccia with roasted garlic dip



And I’m not ashamed to say I ordered a second basket lol We didn’t really eat lunch on this day so we were pretty hungry.



Savannah was happy guzzling down her chocolate milk.

And I guzzled down this specialty cocktail, which was my favorite one of the trip. So delicious and refreshing.



Blueberrilicious: Tequila, Fresh Blueberries, Passion Fruit Juice, Orange Flavor Liquor, and Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

They also come around and offer you this special crush cup. Somehow I got suckered into buying one for Gabriel lol It’s really cute and you get to take it home.



Had I known it was 12.95, I probably would’ve encouraged Gabe to skip it as I know it will most likely never be used again and collect dust with 20 million other souvenir cups we already have at home lol

\

The crush show started and Matteo and Gabriel were in awe.



Then our appetizers came. Dh and I both got the Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes: Pasta Purse filled with Truffle scented cheese and coated with a delicate champagne sauce.



These were so delicious and definitely lived up to the hype. Savannah also loved these and didn’t want her standard mickey macaroni and cheese after this lol So we asked the waiter for another order for her.

I also tried the other specialty cocktail (for trip reporting purposes of course lol) The Great Reef: Rum, Elderflower St. Germain, Water Melon Puree and fresh lime juice.



I preferred the blueberry one, but this was also good. I also got the creamy butternut squash soup.



This was creamy and delicious. Dh got soup too, the baked potato and cheddar cheese soup, also very good.



Looks like I had a salad as well, Arugala Leaves: with Red beets, orange segments and marinated white beans with mustard dressing.



As I mentioned in other posts, my one complaint with the dinner service was that they really didn’t do such a great job of clearing the used plates and dishes off the table. They would often come back with drink refills and not grab the dirty stuff. It was making the table seriously cluttered, so we would often stack the dirty dishes up to make more room. This night was particularly bad, and I snapped this picture.



Our entrees came out, and I have to say this was probably my favorite entrée of the whole trip.



Herb Crusted Pork Chop: Roast Pork Chop brushed with Dijon Mustard and crusted with Herbed Breadcrumbs served with Sun-dried tomato risotto and a borolo wine sauce.

DH got Ginger-Teriyaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin served on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind Barbeque reduction. He said this was also delicious.



Dessert was my favorite dessert of the trip. The cookies and cream sundae, which we all happily ate.



The boat was rocking all through dinner, and when our head server Dennis came by I asked him if he thought the firework show would be cancelled. He said he wasn’t sure but they would cancel it if the winds were hitting 40 knots.

We got back to our room and we were greeted with the next day’s navigator and pirate coins!



And this monkey hanging around…



I turned on the tv and saw that the winds were steadily between 35-39 knots, not quite hitting 40.



Gabriel was happy with one of his fish extender gifts. I asked him if he wanted to come meet some more pirate characters and hang out with me and his dad, but he insisted on going to the kids club again lol shocker I know! We dropped him off there and the twins at the nursery and decided to go character hunting on our own.

There was someone I was very excited to meet!

He was sooo cool! He greeted us and said to Dh “Nice bit of treasure you have there mate” and took me by the hand. Lol I was like a little giddy school girl.

We stopped in O’gills for a drink and I got a really good, really strong Irish coffee.



It’s safe to assume DH probably had a beer, but I just stopped taking pictures of them after the first day since it looks the same everytime lol

We found some pirate booty!



And then we met another pirate captain, who was also in the mood to challenge DH for my affections lol





I around 9:45 we went to the kids club to pick up Gabriel for the firework show. We were able to get a nice spot sitting on the deck in front of the stage. Woah you could really feel the boat rocking up on the pool deck at this time, it was really windy. I could tell it made Gabriel a little nervous but I told him to just relax and enjoy the pirate show. Soon enough the show started up.





All the pirates were looking for Jack Sparrow.



I think he was supposed to swing down from the top of the smoke stack here but it was too windy and he couldn’t.



So he just came out here.



Then the fireworks started. It was really magical watching them on the ship.





After the show we picked up the twins and headed back to the room. It was a great night and we really enjoyed all the pirate festivities!

Up next Grand Cayman!

 

[TinkerKeeks]

Also here is the navigator from the day

 

[lovingeire]

Great updates! Sorry Cozumel wasn't everything you hoped it would be, but it looks like you turned lemons into lemonade and had a great day none-the-less!

 

[mcurrence]

Thank you so much for sharing your report with us! Your honesty is refreshing and brave So glad you had such a great, special trip!