Cruising Into Day Three

We hit day three with much anticipation.  Our port of stop was the ever fabulous private Disney Island known as Castaway Cay. 

We knew better than to choose a sit down breakfast...we were ready to get off that ship and make the most of our day.  Or for me...the most of my morning before nap time reared it's ugly little head. 

This time we all had our Key to the World cards and we hit the deck ready.  As we stepped off the boat look who was waiting to greet us.  In her most darling swimsuit at that.

We grabbed the tram and made the first stop at the family beach.  Maggie immediately began her ever loved task of collecting shells {there were millions of them}....

Jack and Daddy grabbed their snorkeling gear and dove into the reefs...

And Lucy did a bit of fussing.  Bless her exhausted little heart.

We spent most of the morning wading in the water and enjoying the beautiful scenery.  It was absolutely gorgeous!  And better yet, clean!

We took the kiddos for a very quick tour of the island and before we knew it someone was passed out in the stroller.  And that's when I knew nap time was in danger.

I let the bigs run around the Spring A Leek splash pad before I knew I had to get back to the ship to try to salvage what was left of naps.  Jack hung back with the family and enjoyed an island bike ride.

And though it might seem odd that I was trying to save nap time with so much excitement...you see I have two nappers.  I like to knock them out at the same time in hopes of getting more for my money on vaca.  Either way I was heading back to the ship, might as well 'sleep' two birds with one stone.

Happily I was able to semi-work it out.  There was a bit of staggering and if I'm being honest, the day didn't go as smoothly as I had envisioned, but we survived.  I vow to sunbathe on Castaway Cay in my next life.  Or maybe even get a bike ride in like the rest of the gang.

So after our awkward nap session, Maggie woke to immediately say, she had "dreamed of a princess dress".  What was I to do but take her down the princess store to let her pick out an over priced gown.  To my utter surprise she chose Tiana.  And even more surprising she wanted to wear it to dinner WITH her other dress under it.  So...that's what we did.

Just ravishing my darling...

Our third night of dinner was at the Animator's Palate.  It was definitely the most lively and whimsical of all the restaurants.  I can't really tell you what the food tasted like because I spent the evening with a puny Magpie in my arms.  Little did I know she had a fever brewing.

And wouldn't you know that this is just the night that Lucy spunked right up.  When I put it all together, I realized that Lucy had a fever the day we had traveled to Orlando and it was just the right time for her to start feeling better and for Maggie to catch what she had.  It was all starting to make sense.

At this point, I was just praying that we weren't going to be quarantined in the Bahamas.  Or if we were, that they would at least let us stay on the ship.

And although, my dearest Mags wasn't herself, Lucy spent the night breaking it down to the live band.  I may never have laughed or smiled so hard in my entire life.

We could hardly get that jitter bug off the stage so we could make our 8:45 show.

Happily, Maggie perked up for a few minutes when she spotted Belle at the entrance of the theater.  Can I just say, I LOVE Belle.  She is by far my most favorite princess.  I could hardly believe it when she remembered Maggie's name from the day before and even remembered that she had a little sister {and Lu was already in the theater}.  {sigh}

We made it about 20 minutes into the "Dreams" show when Maggie climbed in my lap and told me she better go to bed.  And that was the end of that.

The next morning we were given the 6:45 seating for breakfast and the boot off the boat at 9:15.  Somehow we managed with a fever ridden child and a load of carry ons.

It was nearly impossible to leave the ship and not only because of the logistics.  It was definitely one of our most magical and memorable vacations to date.  So much so that we stopped by the reservation desk to schedule another one for two years later.  Our plan was shot down when we learned it had to be within 18 months {ugh}.

Jack is already begging to go back, Maggie can't stop dreaming of princesses, and Lucy has hardly let her Minnie or Daisy out of her sight.

I can't wait to set sail again...hopefully sooner than later!

Until then we are working on getting our land legs back.

Cuisin' The Dream: Day Two

Day two of our cruise was by far the busiest.  I didn't realize exactly how busy it was until I started perusing through pictures.  So be prepared for a very picture heavy post.

We started our morning the best possible way {for Maggie anyway} with princesses.  We headed down for the princess parade and made it to third in line.  Can I get a giant HOORAY!  We only had about a 10 minute wait and it was well worth it.  Jack and Daddy went ahead and grabbed us a seat for breakfast while us girls lived the dream.

And although I should have been prepared for it, Lucy refused to take a solo picture with any of the princesses.  So here I am, fresh out of bed, not at all picture ready, holding baby girl while visiting the princesses.  Must be love on my part.

After our very enchanting visit, Maggie said, "I was feeling so shy before I met the princesses and then when I was with them I didn't feel shy anymore".  Possibly my best quote of the cruise.  Sweet girl.

Jack got a little surprise of his own.  He popped out to see if we were ready for breakfast and was greeted with Peter Pan strolling around the ship.  I must say, that Peter is quite a character and he was the first to autograph Jack's book.

At this point we still had not even eaten breakfast.  We found our family waiting for us at the Enchanted Garden and we were starving!  I have to say, I think opting for the buffet breakfast at Cabanas is probably the best way to go.  Which we did for the remainder of our trip.

Finally fed, it was time to disembark the ship for our first port...Nassau.  Please take it from me....do not do this! Or if you do, don't forget your Key to the World card.  Okay, so we did and the lesson was learned.  I'm thinking they should rename Nassau 'Nasty-au".  Yuck!  Probably the most disgusting island in the Caribbean.

But, my kids get to say they've been there and done that and even have a picture to prove it.

And Jack and Daddy even get to say that they toured the entire filthy island on a mo-ped.

The girls and I went shopping with Grandma instead.  We made it about two "stores" in, bought Lucy a maraca and then I was saying adios.  

I took my sweet girls back to the CLEAN boat and they enjoyed the rest of the morning swimming and eating.  If only I would have done that from the start.

After Jack's adventurous island ride he came back and joined us in the pool for swimming and movies {and more importantly to rinse some island filth off of himself}.

While the girls caught some zzz's, I took Jack on a character visit of his own.  Since it was pirate night on the ship Mickey and the gang were dressed accordingly.  I was rather happy that I was not required to be in the pictures this time.  Gotta love an independent 7 year old.

Goofy, or as Lucy likes to call him "Foofy", was by far our favorite.  He is a barrel of laughs.

While we waited for the girls to wake, Jack and I hit the ship to solve the Mystery Of The Missing Paintings.  The detective game was great fun and interactive.  We had a wonderful time running around the ship and narrowing down suspects.  In the end Jafar was the culprit.  Case closed.

Dressed in our pirate garb {or as dressed as we were going to get}, we took the girls post naps to meet Mickey and Minnie.  

That was followed with our usual 5:45 dinner, but this time at the Royal Palace.  I found this to be one of my favorite times of the day, when we were all reunited.

Dinner was followed with an on deck pirate show featuring the whole gang.  I assume it was cute, I couldn't see a thing.  Jon captured this shot for me with the camera dangling over his head.

But these little ones had the best seats in the house....

...and the most expensive flashing pirate night drinks in the house.

After the deck party, we headed to our 8:30 show time at the Walt Disney Theater.  The show was "Villians"{ah ha ha}.  I was lucky to make it half way through when I knew Lu was way over due for bed time. 

Back to the stateroom I went.  Another day and another island awaited us.  And thankfully this time it was a clean one.