Day 3!

Day 3 was our day in Nassau! Last trip when we were in Nassau we didn't get off the ship. This time we planned a port adventure. 

It also turned out that our ship was the only ship in port that day. This was crazy to me because the last time there were ships everywhere and when we were on the pool deck we could wave at multiple other ships. So it made for a really great chill day! 

We had breakfast at this really great table where we watched our ship pull into the port! That was actually really neat. As you can see, it was a BEAUTIFUL day. 

We had some time for some activities before we met up for our Port Adventure so we went to family craft time! It was so nice and chill, there really is something for everyone on a Disney Cruise. 

M and I colored. I didn't take a picture of our coloring sheets however... seems weird. Oh well. 

Then we met up in the Walt Disney Theatre where the cartoon featured both a walrus and a panda. How nice of them to think of my kids like that! 

It wasn't long before we disembarked. A short walk and a short bus ride later we were at the Chocolate Factory. 

We got a short lesson on the history of chocolate and how chocolate is made. Got to see how it was made. Sample all the liquid chocolate and then make our own chocolate bars! It was really fun. And very chocolatey. 

After our chocolate we headed back on board and straight up to the pool deck. Where we had lunch and swam and relaxed all afternoon. I myself, read my book! 

Then we showered and dressed for dinner. 

That evening was the Aladdin show. M went to the kid's club, the rest of us went and enjoyed ourselves. 

C loved this Tweedle picture. He is going to be Tweedledee in Alice in Wonderland in a few weeks. 

This was one of my most magical moments on the cruise. C, my awkward hard to break out of his shell, struggles to make friends guy, just walked up to Snow White, said hello, and had a whole conversation with her. This is the same kid who refused to take pictures with princesses in 2017. It wasn't for a photo opp, there's no proof it happened at all in fact besides this truly terrible photo. It was just pure magic. 

That night we had a penguin blanket waiting for us and ShuShu was also just hanging around. 

And we all sleep very well that night! A big, fun, relaxing, and exciting day! 

Day 2

It was Groundhog Day. 

We did manage to sneak in a partial viewing of Phil Connors and Ned Ryerson. 

Husband took the two very antsy children to the airport shops. There are so many to choose from so they could browse and kill time. Then they checked out our balcony. 

Now I will say this: last time using Disney Transportation to the cruise was quite slick. This time it was convenient but there were a ton more people and the process from the Hyatt was very convoluted and not at all speedy. 

At a certain point I was also getting anxious as we were onboard last time about noon and we seemed way far behind that already. Though, looking back there was only about a half hour of difference in time so that's not really that big of a deal is it? Perspective. I didn't have some at the time. 

It could also be this one particular family was DRIVING ME MAD. I know gentle parenting is a thing. I'm even okay with it being a thing. But the whining about how they're hungry for an hour and a half wasn't funny or cute. Continually handing the young boy, about 3 Tootsie Pops was also not filling his tummy, it was making him hyper. 

Nevertheless, we got on board and headed straight to lunch! 

I do so love a Mickey themed anything. 

At 1:30 we were able to go check out our room. It was cute and in a great location. I would pick this room location time and time again, I loved it that much. 

Husband took the kids back up to the pool deck to swim and I took a nap. My goal for this trip was to never be overtired and I knew I needed a nap to get through the rest of the day with gusto.

After they swam and we got them dried off we went to the mandatory muster drill. 

And let me tell you, there is a lot of negative feedback that Disney is the only cruise line that makes you come to meet up at your location and check in. Rather than watching a drill on your TV or just going to scan in with a person. It didn't bother me and in fact I felt reassured that in the extremely rare event we would need to meet there everyone in the family would know what to do.

Admittedly the worst part of the muster drill is ours was all the way down on Deck 4 and the sail away party was on Deck 11. The sail away party was my favorite part on the Wish but I had seen enough videos to know the Fantasy's wasn't as fun. So we got a table and while Husband and I couldn't see much, the kids could and that was better than us fighting the crowds. 

After the sail away party we went and changed for dinner. (We switched into slightly nicer bottoms.) And then we took a bunch of pictures! 

We enjoyed our first dinner! I had preordered a bottle of Cloudem Blue a fancy sparkling cider that has like sparkles in it! A toast to celebrate being on vacation together. I just really love my family. 

Windy as heck but a gorgeous sunset!

We played trivia. (And came in like third. This would be a theme that would repeat all cruise long. Always close but no cigar.) 

For whatever reason, the kids were bound and determined to play shuffleboard. Like it was a must-do for them. Spoiler: they were terrible! But they did have fun so I am glad they played. 

After some more activities, we decided to head to bed. With a crab blanket and our nighttime chocolates.

We also ordered room service for a little late night snack because it's free and we underutilized that last cruise. (And really, the food at dinner skews a little fancy for us so... splitting some chicken tendies worked out well.) 

And that wrapped up our first day onboard. And while I would have been perfectly happy to repeat the day over and over again until we got it exactly right... it was still pretty great that it happened at all. 

Day 1

Flights are weird. In this case American changed the flight so many times that I was just glad we had seats. And I was a little on edge because of what happened in DC just 2 days before. But we arrived and parked and made our way indoors.

Our tiny little airport has an art gallery in it before security. There was an exhibit I was hoping to see but I decided rather than pay for short-term parking to do so we'd just arrive for our flight early. It worked out great. 

Aren't these darling little flower puffs?

I should note that we got to spend the entire morning at home, even having lunch. We had late flights. This was not ideal for my over-excited kids but worked out great for my overly stressed self to be sure we had everything we needed for the trip. 

After we made it through the easiest security line we've ever experienced we killed some time. 

Flight one was uneventful. M played wiki sticks and made this little example of our trip. I loved it! (That's her with her suitcase.)

She also took pictures of the clouds. 

We landed in Dallas in time for a gorgeous sunset!

After a fairly lengthy layover that included M being hangry that she couldn't wait for TGI Fridays to seat us, we ended up having Shake Shack. But whatever. Our flight to Orlando was late and we really hoped the kids would sleep. 

C managed to doze a bit.

Little Miss I can't sleep without a bed did not but at least she was cozy and relaxed. 

But the best part is that we have mastered the art of staying at the MCO Hyatt, so within 45 minutes of landing everyone was in bed dead asleep except for me. (I showered. And then went to sleep.) 

Admittedly, this is not the most exciting update on the trip but... that's okay. These are for me to remember and not because I am making any money off of this blog! 

7 days. 2 hours. 38 minutes.

7 days. 2 hours. 38 minutes. 

That is how long our car was parked at the airport. It says so on the receipt. 

We arrived home on Saturday from a really really great trip! We again sailed the seas with Mickey. 

We knew what to expect so much more than last time and even still it wasn't long enough! Though we did venture to Walt Disney World after we disembarked, we didn't go to a park at all this time. It was a little sad, but it was also the correct decision for us. 

Unfortunately, I got some airport cooties and so I am miserable and home today. Hey, at least it wasn't on vacation!