I took over 500 photos and edited them down to about 175 pictures. I tried to pull only the highlights to share on the blog but it was hard! I cannot say enough times that this was one of if not the best trip we have ever taken with the boys. Don’t get me wrong Disney World is great, but it is also exhausting! The cruise was fun, relaxing, entertaining…I could go on and on. The pictures really tell the story, but I have gotten several of the same questions over and over again since returning which I will try to answer here:
* Although I had some concerns about the kids club prior to getting on the boat, those were all erased the second I went to Open House at the kids club. It was a little mini wonderland for kids and the security and supervision was top notch. The boys literally ran in the first day, and we had to drag them out every time after that.
* The kid pools are crowded. My boys LOVED Nemo’s Reef though which was a splash pad area that was covered and out of the sun. Mac also liked hanging out in the big pools and watching a movie. Yes, you can watch Disney movies while sitting in the pool!
* Albi and I didn’t go to the adult only pool until the last day…mistake. We should have been there whenever the kids are at kids club. It was quiet, not crowded and a nice reprieve from the children’s activities.
* The shows at night were AMAZING. They are similar to modern day Disney movies in the sense that they are kid appropriate but have some adult humor. Trust me when I say that if Albi and my father in law were entertained by the shows, they must be good.
* The food is good. It wasn’t the best food I ever ate, but I didn’t eat anything I didn’t like. We heard the adult only restaurants were amazing. We didn’t try them this trip, but we definitely will next time.
* Everything was immaculately clean. Every time you walked into a restaurant everyone got a sanitizing wipe to clean their hands. The kids had to wash their hands at the super cool hand washing station when they went into the Oceaneer’s Club {they both usually washed when they left too just b/c they loved the hand washing machine so much!}. And I have NEVER been in a pool bathroom that wasn’t at least a little bit gross until I went on this cruise. Even the pool baths were spotless with floors that seemed to magically dry despite a million people running in and out in wet bathing suits. I’m telling you the ship was spotless!
* The trip had the perfect mix of family time and adult time. We usually let the boys go to kids club for an hour or two in the morning and then again in the last afternoon for about an hour. They also went for about 45min each night while we finished our dinner. The rest of the time we were all together and having a blast.
A soft serve ice cream station was open most of the day by the pool. I’m pretty sure Coe had a minimum of 5 ice cream cones a day!
Oceaneers Club (Kids’ Club)
Our waiters had Mickey bars ready for the kids every night as soon as they finished {most of} their dinner.
Mac said one of his favorite parts of the trip was sleeping in a bunk bed that came out of the ceiling. Have a feeling I could have created that experience for a lot less money!
It was the little details like Mickey french toast, ketchup that was always in the shape of Mickey ears, and towel animals on the bed each night that brought a smile to everyone’s face.
Another favorite on the boat was the “yellow slide”
Deeda said the Aqua Duck was a long wait for a short ride, but he looked pretty proud that Mac wanted to ride it with him. {Mac and daddy had ridden the Aqua Duck on day 1 and Mac wanted to make sure Deeda got to go in the “big tube” too}
I loved snapping pictures as we met the characters. Although Mac originally told me months ago that Mickey was babyish, he was the first one to run and hug Mickey each night when we saw him! Coe was fascinated with his hands and has been asking for “Mickey hands” since we got home.
Not surprising, Coe looked forward to the “snacks” during the show each night. He usually ate his share of the popcorn before the show started. Then as soon as they dimmed the lights he plugged his ears for fear that it would be too loud. He was in my lap within 5minutes and asleep on my chest a minute later. It was a good 50min nap for him every day since he rarely got a nap on the trip – we were too busy having fun to stop and rest!
I’ll put the rest of the pictures in the next post – Castaway Cay and Pirate night!
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