This past weekend we packed up and took our kids on a Disney Cruise! The truth is, I became terrified of going on a cruise the second I became a mom! I have no idea why I have this fear, because I have been on cruises before and really loved it! I must have seen a movie or something that switched my opinion of loving them and flipped it right on around into a full force FEAR! The kind of fear that includes nightmares, awful thoughts, and a full on desire to avoid them at all cost.
WELL... this all changed when Chad called me a few months before Christmas with the idea to give our kids a weekend on the Disney Cruise instead of gifts this year! I LOVED the idea....I just HATED that it involved a HUGE cruise ship that has absolutely NO business being able to float at all! I sucked it up, made the plans, and put on a happy face for my kids! I just didn't want to pass my own random fear onto them! (Pirates, huge waves, feeling sick the ENTIRE time, being stuck on a ship with a crazy person and we are all stuck.....YOU NAME IT....I THOUGHT IT WOULD HAPPEN!)
Christmas morning was the BEST! My mom and I stayed up entirely too late on Christmas Eve and made a scavenger hunt around the house! I added a little clue/gift with each clue (goggles, swim suit, binoculars, sunscreen, sunglasses, and flip flops) and we hid them all around! I don't think it mattered what the surprise was....my kids LOVE a good scavenger hunt!
It was a full on race to find the next clue!
THE CRUISE PACKET!!!!!! SUCH JOY ON THEIR FACES!!!!
I was not sure how I would feel about letting the kids just walk around on they ship, or go to the kid's club. I wanted to spend every single minute just enjoying it all with them. BUT the truth is, they went on the water slide a million times while Chad and I just sat back and relaxed. They also checked out the kids club a few times and lOVED it, and Chad and I were able to go sit at an adults only bar and get a massage! Pretty sure that quality time WHILE the kids were having a blast is priceless!
We are more of a sports/active family than a character family. We really had no desire to meet or take pics with the Disney characters, and spent our time playing golf, basketball, water slides, went to every show, and saw every movie available. I was honestly nervous that it was just going to be 100% Disney and that we would feel like we didn't really belong.....BUT it was nothing like that!
AquaDuck that goes OVER the water and is super fun! We went down this numerous times and loved it!
My kid's had ice cream AT LEAST 5 times a day and I am pretty sure they have never been so excited about it!
I have to tell you that the food was my favorite part of the cruise. I am allergic to Dairy AND Gluten and I brought several boxes of meal bars onto the ship in fear that I wouldn't be able to eat anything. (I had ordered a Gluten/Dairy Free meal at Universal a few weeks ago and THEY LIED....totally had gluten in it and I was sick for days!) Our server was AMAZING!!!!! I told him whatever I wanted to eat.....and it was prepared in a different kitchen and was AMAZING. I know within 5 minutes if I have eaten something with Gluten in it, so I can guarantee you that it was 100% legit!
Pirate night was fun! Some people went ALL out with costumes, but we just had fun adding some pirate accessories to our outfits. (bought at the party section of Target)
Fake mustaches will forever make me laugh!
I am so thankful that Chad goes along with whatever the kids are excited about! ha!
We stayed on the Boat in the Bahamas because our trip was quick and the ship had SO much to offer. The weather was beautiful the day we were in Nassau and the pool and water slide were EXACTLY what we wanted to do!
The next day we were in Castaway Cay and the weather took a turn! Immediately after this picture, it started to rain...hard! We headed back to the boat for a bit and once the rain stopped we headed back out to the island and enjoyed this BEAUTIFUL island.
It was COLD but how could we not take a swim to the water slide island?! (and by "we", I mean Chad and the kids and NOT me.)
I just thought these were too cute! We didn't do any Character events, so this was our chance at getting a pic with them. ;)
We upgraded our room to one with a patio....JUST IN CASE PIRATES TOOK OVER THE BOAT AND WE NEEDED TO JUMP! (hey, it is a real concern) I don't think we will need the patio next time because we were never really in our room....but I was happy to have it this time. **photo shoot directed by Kacey
Our last dinner was too cute! Kacey secretly went up and told them that Chad's birthday is next week, and they came out singing and dancing. He is not the type of guy that likes to be in the spotlight, but it was perfect. The look on her face just makes me so proud!
Our cruise experience was THE BEST! I felt safe, wore my Sea Bands the entire time we were moving and felt fine, the kids had a blast, Chad and I had a blast, zero pirates took over our ship, and memories were made that will last a lifetime! To me....that is as successful as you can get!
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