Part 7 of 7: It is truly magical (Dec. 14 - 18)

The previous post was my sixth (?) and final post on the Disney Cruise. I know, it's more than enough (until next year). I was never a big fan of Disney until we did the cruise. I have little to no desire to do the parks... to me they are exhausting, lots of crowds/lines and a lot of work. On the cruise you still experience the Magic of Disney, but in a more intimate and relaxing way. For those of you who may have lost the spark, I highly recommend this cruise. Take full advantage of the kid clubs and planned activities that they have for your little ones so you can enjoy some R&R. This was my third Disney Cruise and I am already planning the next one!


Next couple post after this one, when I have some more time to blog, will be our visit with Nana & Pop Pop in Punta Gorda....

Part 6 of 7: Mickey's cast of friends

A BIG MINNIE WELCOME before boarding the ship!

Each day Sydney collected more autographs from her favorite Disney characters....

Donald is still Sydney's favorite character, but the princesses are gaining some ground....

She'll always have warm feelings for Stitch ever since Stitch stole her away for a quick stroll down Deck 3 in 2007....

I'm sure you're wondering, where are the pics of Sophia with the Disney Cast...

Sophia was afraid of every character until the last day when she finally got up the gumption to approach Minne and then Snow White all by herself!

Check out this adorable video--

Part 5 of 7: Castaway Bounty

After picking Sydney up at Scuttle's Cove, Bob, GMA, Sydney and I took a leisurely walk back to the ship so Sydney could find some shells. At one point, she said it was her favorite part of the day... although she had around five favorite parts of the day. Something as simple as finding a shell made her so happy. Here are a few pics of one of my favorite moments on our cruise....

Free time at Scuttle's Cove...

Sydney has no clue that I was standing there... as she intently played in the Scuttle's sand---

LOVE these pics of Sydney collect shells--

Clutching the treasure to her chest---

Part 4 of 7: Simply Amazing Castaway Cay

While on a ship, it be all about the seafarin' but if me had to be a landlubber for a day, there be no better place for the kids then Castaway Cay!

Arr Matey!!
...

Castaway Cay is the Disney-owned island in the Bahamas. This place is a kids paradise (and not so bad for parents either!). We spent the morning on the beach with GMa and Grandmom. Sydney went to Scuttle's Cove for lunch and the afternoon activities while Grandmom took Sophia back to the ship for a long afternoon nap.

At Scuttle's Cove, Sydney dug-up musical instruments that were buried in the sand, they had a sing-a-long with the found instruments and played water games with cousin Dutch and the other kids. When Bob and I went to pick her up around 3PM, she was sitting in the middle of Scuttle's playing in the sand and was not too anxious to leave. The daycare counselors were awesome! They told us that Sydney was a sweetheart... she makes us very proud because she is polite and well rounded!

The entire day was a magical Caribbean island experience from the moment the boat was docking until sunset when it set sail. There were kids-clubs & beaches for each age group, music and dancing, fun Caribbean bars, drink stations, waiters on the beach everywhere, ice cream any time you wanted it, a huge fruit stand, Cookie's BBQ that was delicious and bountiful and great activities like snorkeling, wave runners, bike riding, sailing, fishing, volleyball and much more. The Island is one of Bob's favorites.
We couldn't ask for better weather that day. The island is Disney perfect with lots to do. It's a magical experience that you have to try. Thank You Disney!

Fiddlers Green:

Arr, me hearty---

Me Matey's, Sydney & Sophia---

Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea --
Flying Dutchman--Me Hubby and his little Lass--

GMa's Lassie's

Jen having a Grog or two---
Bob, too many Grog's---

Not pictured-- cousin Andy... loaded to the gunwales - Yo ho ho :-)

The boat set sail from Castaway Cay as we prepared for a fun night of dinner, pirate dance and a party in the sky!

Short video of Grandmom in her stateroom reading/singing to Sophia as the rest of us rested up and got ready for dinner... our staterooms were right next to each other which was extremely nice and convenient!!!!

Part 3 of 7: Party in the Sky

One of the big events that almost everyone on the cruise attends is the pirate party on Deck 9... it's a BLAST. It doesn't start until 10:30pm. My Mom, who turned in early this particular night, still enjoyed the fire works from the quiet of her private veranda.

Here's a very abbreviated video clip of the party and fireworks... It actually last for an hour. Then, after the boat quiets down around 11:30pm, they show a movie on the big screen mid-ship by the family pool... everyone is sprawled out on the lounge chairs watching a movie under the stars.

Watch Andy almost whip Sydney's head off at the end (I may have clipped that part out because Sydney started to look like a bobble-head)

WATCH VIDEO CLIP--

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to SYDNEY AND SOPHIA!

The two other BIG EVENTS on the cruise were Sydney's 3rd birthday celebration at Triton's Restaurant (entranced pictured in photo on the left) and Sophia's 2nd birthday celebration at Animator's Palate on her actual birthday! Our waiters brought out a birthday cake and everyone sang happy birthday to the birthday girls!

 

Beck and Sophia watching Sydney enjoy her Mickey ice cream and B-day cake--

Animators Palate-- the restaurant transitions from black & white "sketch" to full color with animation. We ate dinner here two nights in a row - the food was great--

All the birthday attention made Sophia cry and reach for Mommy when they started to sing Happy Birthday---

Part 2 of 7: Deck 9

We hit the pool deck almost every day. Even the day we were at port is Nassau we decided to stay on the boat so they girls could have more time in the pool. Sydney was not potty trained last year so this was her first time in the Mickey Pool and she LOVED IT! The Mickey Pool is meant for 3-5 year olds. The Sprinkle-pad is for the little ones like Sophia who are still wearing swim diapers. Bob was more than happy to sit on the sprinkle pad with Sophia, as long as he had a Corona in hand. (Bob said the water was much warmer there >>grin<<).

Sydney next to the Mickey shaped pool and water slide...

Banished to the sprinkle-pad... Sophia was not too happy at first...Sprinkle-pad fun with Dad...

Click on ">' below to play video of Sophia on the sprinkle-pad...

GMa giving Sophia a high-five....

Virgin drink of the day with Grandmom.... poolside lunch - GMa and Grandmom looking good...

The Mickey ear gang - Bob's cousin Andy with wife Jen and their 2 boys, Beck & Dutch!

Bob and his Mom chilling out in the sun while the girls are napping

Mommy & Daddy together poolside while the girls are back in the stateroom napping with Grandmom! Yeh! I read a whole 5 pages of my book!

Part 1 of 7: Palo

We were whisked away to PALO for a savory sensation the last night of the cruise. We enjoyed a child-free dinner while Sydney was Goof-ing off at the Oceaneer Club and Sophia at the Founders Reef Nursery. The menu was simply amazing and being able to share the time with our Mom's made our dinner extra special. We ended the evening with a rich chocolate souffle with vanilla bean sauce.

Bob, Jan & Mom

Me, Jan and Mom

Mom and Jan all GRINS for the camera and LOOKING GREAT!!

I forgot to mention, Bob's Lobster and Mascarpone Ravioli had shaved black truffle's on it!!! Simply Amazing.

...

We picked the girls up from the Club/Nursery around 10:30pm... below is a pic of the girls eating the mints that were left on our bed...

unwrapping the chocolate under the desk...