Make Sure You Get My Shake in the Pic *~* A Lavenous SWDAS Trip Report *~*3/4/17*~*

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

That looks great! We did Nachi Cocum on our Wonder Cruise in Feb 2015. We had a great time...very relaxing and quiet and no scenery, and delicious food!

Glad to hear you enjoyed Nachi Cocum! Just about 2 months until we are there I can't wait! I'm looking forward to trying the food and enjoying a drink on the beach Any tips on the food?

Following! We've booked the SWDS western Caribbean cruise in early March 2017. This is our first cruise and will be a little different from yours because our boys are young (6 and 15 months), but I'm loving the tips so far! I've also had a few laugh out loud moments!

Thanks for following along! SWDAS was an amazing experience we will never forget, I am sure you and your boys will all love it! I'm glad you are enjoying reading about our crazy trip experiences!

Looking forward to the rest of your TR! It's been really hard reading it since all three of my girls are surrounding me and talking about our upcoming WC cruise. There is a lot of excitement around me while reading! lol.

How exciting! Sounds like a fun filled trip is in the future for you and your girls! Thanks for reading!

catching up

Thanks! More updates coming soon!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Lunch *~*​

While we were waiting for our lunch, Zoe and Piper took a quick dip in the pool. They were practically the only ones in there! There are cute underwater stools and tables you could sit at as well as the swim up bar.

Zoe and Andy ordered Cheeseburgers and Fries. Piper had chicken quesadillas and I had coconut shrimp. Piper and I both ordered a 2nd round of our food

Once we finished lunch, we decided it was time for all of us to give the water inflatables a try.

After just a short time in the water Piper opted to wear a life jacket. I feel like I should mention that because my kids have grown up having a pool their entire life, and Piper is even on the swim team. But getting on these inflatables is NO JOKE! It's exhausting!

I think Andy flopped onto this one

They have all sizes of life jackets available right on the beach in front of the inflatables and there are employees to help you out

Piper waving to me - Hi Mom! Made it!

I think Andy gave up

Andy swam back to get me as I had forgotten to bring water shoes and I wasn't about to swim that far out without them. I have no idea why but I have a HUGE fear of stepping on something on the bottom of the ocean including seaweed, etc. and also sharks. So now you can go ahead and picture Andy "piggy back" giving me a water taxi ride to the inflatables. I'm surprised the poor guy could even move. I did feel horrible because at one point he whacked his foot on a rock that was on the bottom and it was scraped up and bleeding. Now that I think of it, that just proves my point of why I don't wanna touch the bottom Piper and I played on the inflatables a little while and when we were both exhausted we decided to call it a day for the water activities.

There were some workers wandering around with colorful birds that you could have your picture with. We didn't do it so I don't recall how much it was.

The next picture shows you the "hallway" where you enter and exit the beach area. This is where you pay for your balance for the entry fee and also where we paid for the horse back riding.

Before we left the girls wanted to look around the little shopping area

No one bothered us to purchase anything which I appreciated. I enjoyed browsing but the only thing we ended up purchasing was the photo of the 4 of us in a frame that Zoe asked for. She still has it on her dresser. I believe it was $18. It may be hard to see but there was an employee in a costume in between Andy and Piper.

It was just as easy getting a cab back to port as it was on the way to Mr. Sancho's. Before we knew it we were back and it was time to explore the port. We had a mission - our friend - the "Peach on a Beach" from one of my other trip reports - needed us to bring her some "liquid gold". That's her nickname for the vanilla from Cozumel. And folks, I'm here to tell ya, I think it was $10 for a HUGE bottle of liquid gold! Can't go wrong with that! Stay tuned for our hunt for liquid gold!

 

[bcwife76]

Vanilla and tequila - two things that come home with us from every trip to Mexico!!

Those inflatables do look like a lot of work!Ha, kind of defeats the purpose of a little fun in the water lol gotta work for your relaxation

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Vanilla and tequila - two things that come home with us from every trip to Mexico!!



Those inflatables do look like a lot of work!Ha, kind of defeats the purpose of a little fun in the water lol gotta work for your relaxation

Exactly! Just take me to the swim up bar lol

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Liquid Gold *~*​

Once the taxi dropped us back off at the port we started to explore the area as we went on our hunt for "liquid gold".

We took the escalator back up to the 2nd level shopping area so the next 2 pics of from the escalator ride up

I believe this next shop is the very first shop at the top of the escalator. The girls looked around for a moment while I checked out the liquid gold situation. Pretty much every shop had vanilla however I wanted to make sure I got the best deal so I didn't buy any right away. There are all kinds of fairly inexpensive souvenirs in the stores.

I thought the mugs were cute but we didn't buy any

The only purchase we did make was right outside the store. They had big displays of braided name bracelets. Piper can almost never find anything with her name on it. The employee asked her name and she was shocked when they DID have her name. She immediately whipped out her wallet with a big smile on her face

Of course Zoe was right in line as well!

Looking at the number of bracelets on this display I think it would be tough NOT to find your name on there!

There was also a photo op in the hallway which is not something I would not typically do but the girls were actually into a photo for once so I let them do it and we added a tip to the box

After looking in several shops I settled on a huge bottle of liquid gold for the peach on the beach. Surprisingly I must not have taken a pic. I'll have to go back for "research" again and take a pic this time! It was a huge bottle and I believe it was about $10.

Leave it to Andy - if there's anything football related, ESPECIALLY Steelers, within a 2mile radius, he's going to find it. One of the stands had little carved out Steelers skull type knick knacks. Guess what came home with us?

This next pic gives you a better idea of what they look like

Andy was not to be outdone by Zoe and Piper and the gold Davy Jones So this happened....

We had one more "must do" on our list for Cozumel and that was a Senor Frogs tshirt for Andy. It is right next to the shops.

I think the poor frog's snorkel was broken, kind of looked like he was smoking a cigarette to me

The only pic I took of the shop inside while Andy was getting his tshirt came out blurry but you can get an idea of what it looked like. Andy chose the navy tshirt which is actually the one on the far top left that's cut off in the picture. It was $20.

I'll leave you with this little beauty at the end of this post. I could NOT stop laughing when Andy was posing in this. I told him I thought he'd be hired for sure.

Up next....back "home" to the Fantasy to get ready for Pirate Night!

 

[franandaj]

Fun pictures in the shopping area!

I always buy something when I find my name spelled right. Most of the time I fin that my name is spelled with two "L's" Instead of just one.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Fun pictures in the shopping area!

I always buy something when I find my name spelled right. Most of the time I fin that my name is spelled with two "L's" Instead of just one.

We were cracking up!

It kind of becomes a mission to find something with your name - it's exciting when it's there!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Welcome Home *~*​

We had already had a really fun day but we still had pirate night ahead of us and we needed to get back and get showered and changed for the festivities.

I couldn't help but think how beautiful the Fantasy looked up ahead and everyone humored me for another picture despite being hot, sweaty and tired. The colors of the water were beautiful!

We also made a quick stop by the Welcome sign at the end of the pier as well.

Looking back from the pier

The Fantasy's neighbor and a shot of just the water - it was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom

We were greeted by icy cold drinks which we happily stopped to sample. There was lemonade, iced tea and water. These Disney touches are what make the trip special

We made a quick pit stop at the room to put the bags down and found these waiting

Before we started getting ready for dinner we had one other quick stop to make - the ice cream social! We climbed one flight of stairs and hit it up.

We "spied" on our neighbors while we were up on deck eating ice cream

There *may* have been a round 2 to the social

The Incredibles was playing on Funnelvision so we watched that for a while - love that movie!

After that brief intermission we cleaned up and headed down to try to get some pictures with the characters in their pirate gear.

There is nothing cuter than pirate Mickey!

Next we all jumped in the pic! Andy and I had a good laugh because the pirate costume he has on was SUPPOSED to come with pants however when it arrived from Amazon there weren't any pants in the package! We didn't have time before the trip to mess around and return it so he used the striped pirate pants he had from an old costume. BUT we did pretty much cry laughing when he was roaming around with the rest of the costume on INCLUDING the boots and hat but no pants and just boxers when it came in the mail!

Next we spotted Captain Hook & Smee upstairs so we hurried up and got in line for them as well.

It was now time for dinner so we headed to Animator's Palate for Pirate Night

We were greeted by Alvin who swept the girls off to escort them to our table

In his usual amazing fashion Alvin brought an energy that I can't explain but you can get a glimpse into when you look at him getting the girls seated in this picture.

Get those pirate hooks out everyone! Arghhhhhhh

Next up dinner!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

.​

 

[franandaj]

You guys look great dressed up in your pirate garb! I'm debating whether or not we want to bring our and dress up or go to Remy/Palo and ignore it.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report! Looking forward to your next post!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

You guys look great dressed up in your pirate garb! I'm debating whether or not we want to bring our and dress up or go to Remy/Palo and ignore it.

Thank you so much! We actually have been debating the same thing for our cruise that leaves (gasp) in 13 days! I think we have finally decided to go to the main dining room but skip the pirate gear. It is a lot to carry. Although Piper says she is wearing her costume so she may be the "lone" pirate this trip.

I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report! Looking forward to your next post!

Thank you! Lots more fun to come!

 

[sdjen]

Thank you so much! We actually have been debating the same thing for our cruise that leaves (gasp) in 13 days! I think we have finally decided to go to the main dining room but skip the pirate gear. It is a lot to carry. Although Piper says she is wearing her costume so she may be the "lone" pirate this trip.



Thank you! Lots more fun to come!

Hi from Jen and Mandy (and Tammie and Kenzie)!! Just found your report - we loved dining with you guys every night!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Hi from Jen and Mandy (and Tammie and Kenzie)!! Just found your report - we loved dining with you guys every night!

Hi Jen and Mandy (and Tammie and Kenzie)!!! So excited you found us! We had a blast getting to know you on the cruise!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Alvin Always *~*​

The girls colored on the kids menus while Alvin was taking orders for dinner. There is a strange blueish hue to the room while Crush comes around and talks on the screens so the pics are not the greatest!

Crush is super cute - he interacts with the guests asking them where they are from, joking around, etc. Love this part of Animators!

I'm convinced the next item is the absolute best appetizer on the cruise - the delightful little truffle pasta pursettes. Oh boy, all I can say is these are deeeeeeelicious! If you haven't tried them and you get the chance - go for it!

Andy ordered some kind of prosciutto appetizer. Personally I thought it looked pretty hideous and wild horses couldn't drag me away from my truffle pasta pursette bliss so I didn't try any of it but he did eat it.

For entrees I ordered the pork chop

Alvin cut up the girls food for them - I'm pretty sure they had chicken

Andy got some help eating his steak

He also had an order of pasta brought to him because "Alvin Always" brings seconds. Yup, that became one of his names from that point on. Alvin Always

Here we go with the blue lighting again but it's basic penne pasta in a red sauce. I have had it before and I'd say it's OK - nothing spectacular, not bad but not great either.

For desert Piper was thrilled to get the "make your own pie". She loved this! It's a little pie that you can top with chocolate, lemon, etc. It was cute.

I had the cookies and cream sundae which is delicious!

Andy had the cheesecake

After dinner we stopped at the room and found our Navigator, gold chocolate coins, and this cute little towel animal

I had one more mission for the night. Zoe and Andy bailed on us but Piper was game so her and I headed off to track down Captain Jack Sparrow

He was awesome! Piper had brought a bag of gold coins that she had from when they went to the Pirates League at Walt Disney World years ago. Of course Jack was all over that! The interaction was fantastic and so worth waiting in his line despite being super tired from the fun filled day.

Of course I had to jump in as well, love Capt Jack!

With that, we turned in for the night and fell asleep to the movie "Brave". Love Disney Movies on demand!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Grand Cayman *~*​

I was up at 7am and threw in 2 loads of laundry and watched Mulan until everyone was awake. We had been advised by the Captain that due to high winds we would be unable to dock at the usual location in Grand Cayman. There is an alternate docking location which only holds 3 ships and the Disney Fantasy had been able to secure one of these spots. Some cruise ships were unable to dock that day because there was not enough room.

We felt fortunate that we would still be able to dock as we were really looking forward to seeing Grand Cayman for the first time. Because of the change in plans/wind, etc. the ship was also delayed arriving into port so we were able to take our time getting ready. Once everyone was ready we headed to Cabana's for breakfast.

The pool deck area was pretty empty. Alice in Wonderland was playing on Funnelvision.

Surprisingly, Zoe had her usual strawberry pancakes, bacon and eggs at Cabana's

I had butter with a side of pastries.... I mean pastries with apprently lots of butter lol

Andy had toast, eggs, beans and potatoes

Piper chose eggs, bacon, a muffin and a croissant

It was still not time to get off the ship yet so we fit in some more midship detective time

In this one you had to pull the ropes to get clues by lining up the card.

It was nearing time to meet up for our excursion but we squeezed in some time on the verandah to check out the other cruise ships that were nearby.

It was now time to head to the Tube to meet up for the Rum Point excursion through Disney. Because this port required tendering and there had already been delayed, I believe our excursion was the first to get off the ship due to the amount of time needed to get there and back.

We checked in at the desk and were given Pocahantas stickers to wear to indicate that we were in the Rum Point group.

You followed the CM who was holding up the sign and she was moving FAST. Yikes! All I could think of was thank goodness we didn't have trouble walking because sheesh, she was practically running!

Within no time we were all aboard the tender boat and on our way to Grand Cayman

Bye Bye Disney Fantasy!

Helloooooo beautiful, stunning Grand Cayman!

Next Up - Rum Point!

 

[TestingH2O]

Yay! Glad you're updating! I love your reports.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Welcome back! Thanks for continuing sharing your cruise with us.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Yay! Glad you're updating! I love your reports.

Thank you! I'm two additional cruises behind now so I've gotta get moving lol!

Welcome back! Thanks for continuing sharing your cruise with us.

Thanks! I'm glad you are joining back in!

 

[Cheerio]

It's so cool to see what other people did on our cruise! I finished my report on Saturday (finally...)