Im usually the early riser in the house but with the time change of being ahead 3 hours from Pacific Time it took some effort (i.e. setting the alarm on my iphone) to get up at a reasonable 7am. I was somewhat determined to get some workouts in. At least at the beginning, so with my good intentions I woke up before everyone else and tiptoed my way to the bathroom and got dressed to go downstairs to the fitness room on deck 11.
I got a decent workout in and loved loved loved the view of having the open ocean in front of me on the treadmill. It was pretty cool and was very glad I got that workout in. Because it would be the last of the trip. At the beginning of the cruise I was very determined to workout at least 3 times. But it turns out there was just more I would rather do while on the ship. I workout regularly and have all year to do that. I would definitely get at least 1 workout on the ship just to do it. But Id rather spend that hour or two relaxing on the verandah or in the lounge in the morning or just strolling the ship.
We walked the stairs a LOT during the cruise and were on our feet a lot throughout the day, much more than I do in my normal daily routine. Even though we were on deck 12 I would pretty frequently walking up from deck 3. So all the walking definitely helped balance out the extra indulging we were doing food wise.
The night before we put in an order for room service for breakfast. Taking advantage of the option to order hot breakfast was nice. We ordered mickey waffles for the kids and a couple of omelets for Diane and I. It was the only time we ordered breakfast for room service. I found it was a little cold by the time we got settled to sit down and eat. I didnt blame the service. Although I should have said something. Breakfast to me is just something to eat right away, it will cold extremely fast. But it was still tasty. Diane and I had veggie omelets which were good. The kids enjoyed their mickey waffles. For the rest of the cruise it was a pretty even split between breakfast at Cabanas or just eating in the concierge lounge.
The kids had seen the midship detective game the first day and were excited about it. After breakfast the kids voted to try it out. So it was decided we were all going to do it and split into teams. Girls vs boys (guess who won...boys rule, girls drool). It was a super fun and interactive. We only did the 1 case of the missing painting (I think thats what it was called). There was a Muppet based one we didnt do, ran out of time. I have a photo and part of the game is included in my video clip linked at the end of this update.
Basically you start the game at one of the stations around the ship and pickup a unique badge (a card with a QR code on the back) youll use through the game. There is interactive art around the ship marked by a special plate on the floor in front of it. The starting station tells you where to go to start and youre provided a map to find your way. When you stand in front of the artwork and hold up your badge a clue will be revealed. Youre badge may also be a tool so on some artwork it might be a flashlight that shines a spot light as you move the card around. As you progress you eliminate suspects and find clues that lead you to the next piece of artwork until you narrow it down to the person who dunnit! There are lots of videos and better explanations out there.
By the time we finished it was later in the morning, about 10:30 and in desperate need of refreshments. We went to the concierge lounge and found some snacks and had what was probably my 3rd cup coffee of the morning. Kate enjoyed the hot chocolate while we chatted with the concierge hosts.
So before we boarded the ship I had left our schedule completely open for this first sea day. However, when we boarded I put in a couple of requests and one of them was to do the the gingerbread house decorating. Well apparently I didnt pay attention very well because the tickets that were delivered to our room were for this morning and we had missed it!
I completely forgot and we were all doing the midship detective game! It was nice to be sitting there with the hosts and have them bring up our itinerary so they could see everything we had going on. They were able to get us rescheduled for the session on the last sea day. It was too bad because it would have been nice to enjoy the decorated gingerbread house in our stateroom for the week instead of a day and a half. Oh well, while the host was going through our other reservations we realized we also had tickets for the princess gathering and elsa and anna. And we had 15 minutes until our scheduled time! We would just make it! Thank goodness we werent going to miss this.
Um, for a day that didnt have anything planned for it, it got filled up very fast!
Kate had enough time to put on an Anna dress she brought with her. Oh boy, was that bulky to pack
So just in time we got in line for the princess gathering. It was cute and organized very well. We had maybe a 5-7 minute wait before we got to the first princess. They were all setup in a line so you started with the fist princess and moved straight to the next. A group was right ahead of you and right behind you. I dont know if they change it up but when we went they had Cinderella, Ariel, Tiana and Jasmine.
Timing wise it worked out great. Right after we finished there it was our time (about 5 minutes late) for Elsa and Anna. It was cute and again organized very well. Had just a small line ahead of us before we got up where Elsa and Anna were setup on the stage in the Walt Disney Theatre. They chatted to the kids and were friendly and interactive. Got some good shots with them and the kids.
We were ready to drop the kids for a while and they were ready to go
. It was about lunch so we figured the kids could eat in the club and Diane and I would try out the lunch buffet at Cabanas. I dont recall what I ate but my notes say lunch was pretty good! I do recall with say out on the aft deck outside of cabanas and had an amazing view of the ocean behind us as we ate.
That was the last time we left the kids to eat in the club. They didn't eat the food, they didn't like it at all. I don't think they have much of an option so after that we just made sure they were fed.
No photos of lunch at cabanas Im realizing that I carried my gopro much more with me this trip then Diane carried the camera. Its nice to have the video but I would try to do a better job of making sure we took still photos more often (because almost 2000 just wasnt enough).
Kate had mentioned that she really wanted to do the aquaduck today so we picked her up a little earlier then Jack. She had a bibbidi bobbidi boutique appointment that afternoon so she wouldnt be going on it after that! Diane, Kate and I all went on the aquaduck (cold water). We only went once because Kate needed to get ready for her BBB appointment at 3PM.
No, we didn't buy it but just in case you need some extra luggage, lol.
I went with the girls to the boutique and got them settled. Kate enjoyed the pampering and I went off to get Jack. Poor guy, he hated leaving the club! He had a few tears then came with me up to deck 12. Tonight was formal night so the boys needed to get dressed up too! I had toyed with renting a tux but didnt and was fine with going that way. We showered up and got ourselves dressed. Jack was in his first suit. Dress pants, jacket, dress shirt and a tie. He really looked handsome and grown up!
Diane walked in with Kate and she looked so beautiful. I loved everything she picked out and looked perfect for formal night.
Diane still needed to get herself dressed so I took the kids down to deck 3 to get some character photos until we met up with mom later. They were handing out drinks downstairs as it was the captains gala (formal night) so servers were walking around with trays of a few beverage options. Some beer, some champagne I think and a mixed drink or 2, I had some sort of mixed drink. It was refreshing, whatever it was, lol. The kids and I got photos with Minnie in her formal wear then waited in line for photos with captain Mickey! Diane made it just in time and we all got a great photo with Mickey!
After the photos with Mickey we waited in a couple more lines for family photos. The kids and I were getting impatient but Im so glad we did, I think they did a great job of getting some excellent family photos. Plus we did prepay for all the digital photos so might as well get our moneys worth! This night was the most time we spent in any lines by a long shot.
So running into dinner a few minutes late we were conveniently at the right area since we were dining at Royal Court which was on deck 3 where we were having all the photos taken. And we liked Royal Court much more then enchanted garden. I thought it was a little nicer, we like the menu better and we had a nicer table with more room and next to a porthole.
We had shared a couple of appetizers and also tried both the potato and leek soup (excellent) and the French onion soup (I liked this one too). No, never been one for snails so no escargot for either of us but they're supposed to be great if that's your thing.
More family photos? Yep. In line for more family photos in front of the giant Christmas tree. Again, was tired of waiting in line but Im so glad we have those photos now. We missed the show the first night so we wanted to make sure we saw the show tonight, it was Aladdin and I was looking forward to it. After the photos we didnt have enough time to change so went straight to the theater and took a seat.
Overall I thought the show was good. The genie was so funny and great. Diane thought the magic carpet stole the show. And for a character with no lines that performer really did an amazing job! We would take the time to see it again.
Kids were ready to go to the kids club for a while. So we all went up to the room and got into more comfortable clothes. With the kids happy and safe in the Oceaneers club us parents decided to scope out some of the adult clubs on Deck 4 and so some of our own clubbing
We poked our heads into a couple of places then decided to get a quiet drink in the Tube. It was pretty empty when we went in. Just a handful of tables. OMG. Thats about all I can say. We ordered a drink, it was okay I ordered a lemon drop and mine was a little too sweet. When we sat down for what I thought would be a quiet drink what we didnt realize is they were starting The Quest. A show/game that required audience participation. Oh and we had taken a seat right in the front of the stage. It was like a scavenger hunt but with things in the room. So we teamed up with another couple at the table next to us (ah, wish I would have noted their names!). The hostess gave every team a large card with a number (ours was 5). You had to bring up the cards with your team # with something such as a man wearing lipstick or a woman wearing mens shoes or a mans belt. Or you might need to bring up a man wearing lipstick and womens shoes carrying a handbag and wearing a bra. And yes, that man was me. And yes, Ive burned all those photos. Lol.
Almost all are burned, saved a few
The Tube stage:
This last photo was our teammate and her husband behind her. I dont remember her name but I think the husbands name was Steven. If you guys are out there, thanks for playing! Had a blast!
It was definitely not what we planned but it was fun. With the game ended we left The Tube and we went over to Ooh La La, apparently a champagne drink bar. Every drink had champagne in it. I tried one but didnt love it. My wife and I arent real champagne lovers but we met a nice couple (Kim and Todd) hey hey! We enjoyed the company and conversation but decided we probably wouldnt be back to that bar. Only because of the champagne, the décor and space itself was lovely. It was really quite nice.
It was now officially late (whatever time that was) so that would bring another great day to a close. We picked up the kids and headed back to our room.
For a day that I didnt book anything for ahead of time it got full very fast. As much as we were doing I still never felt like I was rushing around or anything. But I was starting to see how much the day can get filled up on a ship with so much to do!
YouTube video: Disney Fantasy Day 2 Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQdSnF79iVk
Happy new year all! See you next year!!!
Can't wait to read more!
