We recently went on a four night five day Disney Bahamian cruise on the Disney Wonder, February 25th. It was an amazing family experience! We had to leave Beckham behind because you have to be 6 months to cruise, but to be honest, I think he would have been miserable and he being so little would have put a damper on the girls’ fun. Kacey’s parents watched him, so he was in good hands. Even though I have traveled to Europe, Barbados, Mexico, etc., I had never been on a cruise before, but Kacey had been on one years ago. Now that we are back, I am already planning our next Disney Cruise! I love watching Dinsey Cruise videos on YouTube. Here were the top 10 experiences I will cherish forever:
1. Disney Cast Away Cay in the Bahamas- This is Disney’s own private island that only the Disney Cruise Ships use. The employees from the ship also work on the island. It was the girls’ first real ocean/beach experience and it was perfect. The water was crystal clear, the sand was soft and white, and the sun was shining. There were beach chairs galore and plenty of room to play. I could have stayed here the whole trip! Characters would come up and interact with us, there were several lunch spots where the staff were barbecuing, and there was live music. We swam, built sand castles (after buying neat castle and Nemo buckets from the shop nearby), and ate such good food while listening to a guitarist who played cover music.
2. Character Experiences- Each night that we went to dinner, there was a princess on our way right around the corner. The classic characters were also always around. We didn’t have to wait in line for anyone except for Minnie and Mickey. We had tickets for Anna and Elsa, so there was no wait and the entire Arendale experience was also very authentic. We decided to bring our two favorite books for the characters to sign vs. buying autograph books. Eva picked A Sister More Like Me, and Cici picked 5 Minute Princess Stories. Anna and Elsa signed the A Sister More Like Me book and all of the characters signed the princess book. I hope that one day, they will pass these books down to their children someday:) To me, autograph books are pointless because there were no pictures of the characters to go with the name which is hard for the little ones to understand. I think getting a book signed is so much more special, especially a book you read often. With the character experiences on the ship, we felt like Disney came to us. We didn’t have to wait in long lines, worry about driving to and from a resort, and being too hot. The pools, beach, and characters were right there. We didn’t need a stroller, car seats, or fans to cool off. This is why I may avoid Disney Word for a while and just cruise with Disney.
3. Enjoyment of the Balcony Room- We made sure to get a balcony room because Kacey and I really enjoy the ocean view and siting on a balcony with a cocktail. This came in handy when the girls would be napping and Kacey and I weren't. We had great views of all of the islands and the girls also enjoyed the view while playing on it. You can bring your own alcohol on the ship, as much as you want and any kind, and it saves a lot of time and money. We had a mini fridge in our room too to keep it cold. The balcony became our happy hour.
4. Swimming- The Mickey Pool was great because it was only two feet deep and his ears were like little hot tubs which kept the girls warm early in the morning and later at night. The Mickey slide was just big enough to be exciting, but small enough to not be too intimidating. When we were bored of the Mickey Pool, we would head on over to the Goofy pool which was bigger and deeper and had what was called Funnel Vision which was a big screen playing Disney movies all day and night. We would watch them while swimming, while eating lunch on the lounge chairs, and late at night after the shows. When the kids went to the kid’s club (Oceaneer’s Club for Eva and the Reef for Cici since she wasn’t three yet), we would head on over to the adult pool to drink, swim, and tan. At night, there was live music by the adult pool.
5. Broadway Shows- Each night, there was a Broadway style show playing. We saw the Golden Mickey’s (an award show for Disney movies), Toy Story, and Enchanted (Peter Pan style with different princess movie vignettes). During Enchanted, it snowed in the theater when Belle came on stage and bubbles were everywhere for Ariel.
6. Movies- We were able to see Big Hero Six and Into the Woods in the movie theater. We saw Into the Woods at 11pm while the Cici slept on me and Eva was wide awake eating popcorn. They also had nonstop Disney movies playing in the room which Eva loved because we kept them playing all night just for her. We also enjoyed getting a late night slice of pizza and hot cocoa at the Goofy Pool while watching Bed Time Stories on Funnel Vision. It was so cozy!
7. Food- The Mickey waffles, the dinners at the rotating restaurants, and the ice cream stations were so delicious. I would love to find my own Mickey waffle maker! Animator’s Palate was a fun restaurant where the decor and lighting starts out in black and white, and then turns to color with a show on the screens all around the tables. Our table was at one of the movie screens. Unfortunately, that was the first night and the girls slept through dinner, so we ended up eating in our room. Triton’s is a beautiful mermaid style restaurant that makes you feel like you are under the sea. We also ate at Parrot’s Cay which was okay. I enjoyed the buffet breakfast daily and the chicken Cesar wraps for lunch the most. We also had room service one night before the pirate party and that was great. We all ate on the balcony which was fun.
8. Shopping- We probably spend $300 on souvenirs. We had gotten some cash for Christmas that we saved for this trip, so the girls went crazy picking out Princess Barbie’s, and miniature princess figurines. We picked up some dresses, a beach bag, squeaky bath toys for B, and stuffed animals too. We also got some Disney castle and Nemo sand buckets. I can’t wait to use these in our sand box and at the beach this summer. We always love drinking out of our vacation mugs, so we got a few mugs for ourselves and others. I was able to pick up a photo album, even though I will make a photo book and photo blanket myself. We only bought two of the professional photos, one of the girls and Minnie which will be hung up in the girls’ room, and a family one with Mickey on the beach which is on our fridge. The toiletries were so awesome that I may start ordering the bigger bottles online; they are the H2O Sea Marine Spa line. The lotion was my favorite. Since we only had carry on's, I didn’t want to ask for too much, but next year I am going to ask for tons so that I can bring them back and still feel like I am on vacation. They would also make cute teacher gifts (unopened ones). You could buy the bigger bottles at the shops for $20 apiece.
9. Pirate Night- There was a night that was pirate themed complete with fireworks. Since I knew this ahead of time, I picked up some pirate hats, eye patches, and swords before leaving which went over well with the girls. The fireworks were perfect for the girls, not too loud, not too long, perfect temperature outside, and no bugs! The music was great. It turned to hard rock music when the pirates came on stage. It was a blast!
10. Planning- The kids enjoyed watching Disney Cruise YouTube videos before we left so they knew what to expect. They got Disney princess suit cases for Christmas to take along with them. Next year, we will just check one large bag, because after walking a few yards, they wanted us to carry them, so Kacey ended up carrying four carry on's while I held Cici and directed Eva where to go. Since the return flight was at 8pm and we got off the ship at 10am, we purchased sky lounge tickets for the 10 hour time span. It was so worth it. The kids pretty much slept the whole time, I was able to upload pictures to my computer and Facebook, and Kacey enjoyed free snacks and cocktails. The time flew! The girls were great on the plane. Our flight to get down to Miami left at 5:22am, so we pretty much woke the girls up in the middle of the night to leave which was fun for them. They loved the shuttle from EZ AirPark, to the airport because there were no seat belts and it was dark:) Our travel agent had made us some cute Disney plastic mugs to take with us for drinks along with a fun chevron beach bag (I am a chevron nut). Planning for this trip was half of the fun. We would watch videos and look at our travel book each week to keep them excited. We also made a paper chain when we were about 15 days out. We are planning another Disney Cruise for February of 2016, but this time on the bigger and newer ship and for seven days in the Eastern Caribbean. Let’s just say I am a little obsessed now:)
Jessica Sloan from Jessica's Dreams and Wishes Travel (on FB) was our travel agent who helped us plan our trip!
Ashley