The Disney Cruise!!

When you wish upon a star . . .

Yup, we finally took our first cruise ever, and decided to go with the "best" (as our brother in law Steve - the guru of all vacations, says).

The Disney Wonder.

Here's the kids at the pre-boarding area with the small replica of the ship. Yes, we were very excited!

Here we are at the "bon voyage" party on the top deck. Now you may notice we are missing the holy terror known as Addison. We sadly left her home in the hopes of actually enjoying the vacation, and not having to go high diving off the top level of the ship into the water to chase after her. As surely she would climb the railing and be overboard at the first chance she got! My friend assures me years of therapy should help her overcome the feelings of being left out when she sees the pictures in later years. I hope so.

We had a mandatory fire drill before we pushed off. Good thing we know how to put those life jackets on! And we are also sure the reflector tape on them works - as the flash helped us discover!

Here's a montage of the "setting sail" party. Wow, those Disney entertainers have a LOT of energy! We were in for a windy ride that night.

We left shore at 5:00 p.m. Dinner was at 6:00. We got there about 6:30, and all of us were feeling a little less than good. That ship was seriously rocking. It was very windy outside and I guess the ocean was a bit choppy. We ate the first night at Triton's restaurant, and I was actually shocked at how gourmet and excellent the food was. I wanted to eat a ton - after all we paid for it!! However, I really wasn't feeling all that great and didn't want to have to taste the dinner a second time around later. Fortunately (or not) I was able to fit some dessert! :) However, when the waiters asked Kayla what she wanted for dessert, she replied "nothing, thank you!" She was NOT feeling well. Well, they brought out everyone's dessert, and placed a plate with the silver dome cover in front of Kayla. She was confused and looked at me like "help!". Then, with a dramatic flourish, the waiter took the lid off the plate, and here was Kayla's dessert:

Kinda cute, huh? We had great waiters - which you cruise connoisseurs know followed us to each restaurant every night.

We braved the night and went to the show at 8:30 - because I always love a good show! After that, we all headed to our rooms to hit the bed and pray we felt better in the morning.

Thank heaven we did feel better in the morning, and for the rest of the trip. No one got sea sick again! Whew!

So the first stop was Nassau, Bahamas. We got off and took a taxi to Atlantis on Paradise Island. All I can say is Wow! What a place! I have seen it on TV several times, and we were really there! It was an amazing waterpark, aquarium and resort. It should be - it costs $110 per person to get in! ugh!!!!!

The second day we found ourselves docked at the Disney Island - Castaway Cay. I was starting to feel a little roly-poly already, so I did the morning 5K on the island. We basically ran from one end of the island to the other and back. So it is a small island. Anyway, it was a beautiful day, and a very relaxing time on the beach. We hurried back to the ship for the dress up night, and another great Disney show. Although by now we were starting to tire of every song being about how if you really believe it, you can achieve any dream! You just close your eyes, believe with all your heart, ** oh, and sprinkle some pixie dust ** then your dreams will come true! We were laughing when Lane said, "You know, not everyone can have their dreams come true. We need garbagemen and waiters, etc. Some people have to work here!"

Finally, I have to give a shout out to the service. They make really fun animals out of the towels in your rooms, and the waiters were great. We had Romy from India and Victor from Columbia. Romy did little magic tricks and brain teasers. The kids loved him. Lane and I loved using our Spanish with Victor.

So the highlight for Savannah and Conner was the "Oceaneer's Lab" where the kids hung out and played games, did experiments, met characters, etc. In fact, they escaped our ever vigilant eyes a few times, and ended up in the kids' club - safe and happy.

Kayla, sadly for her, but not for us, did not get her "true love's kiss" under the fireworks at the pirate party! In fact, because she was so sick the first night, she missed the teen "getting to know you" and never really did get to meet any teens! That's OK, she hung with mom and dad and was plenty busy doing all the stuff there was to do everywhere. She really enjoyed the shows each night. They really do have great talent on there and do a great job.

I can't even choose a highlight of the cruise. I really truly enjoyed it all. No cooking, cleaning or changing diapers! Heaven!!!

Lane says I can't put down what his favorite part was . . . hmm . . .

Yes, it was a dream come true, and we did "live our dream" for a few days. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and we ended up on dry land Thursday morning and headed for a couple more fun-filled Disney days at Disney World. That post will be next!