The day before our cruise sailed (Saturday 12/12), we dropped off Nova at her grandparents and boarded a series of red eye flights starting in PDX at 8:30pm to LAX to IAH, and getting into MIA at 11am. It was either that type of silliness or fly in the day before and pay for an expensive hotel in downtown Miami. We spent layovers wandering the airports and during the flights I was able to doze a bit and Jed kept himself entertained.
Sunday
We took our first Uber (non-English-speaking Cuban - good thing we speak Spanish!) over to the port and were able to check in and board a few hours before setting sail. We explored the ship and oriented ourselves to the various decks and got some lunch at the buffet, Cabanas, as people continued to board.
this is actually when the Disney Magic was docked in Cozumel, but ain't she beautiful?
Goofy putting some finishing touches on the paint job
atrium all decked out for the "merry-time" cruise (get it? maritime??)
our stateroom was way nice and was the cheapest in the lineup so we're excited to upgrade another time!
We got some fancy drinks and lounged on deck chairs, unpacked our bags, then went to the Broadway caliber musical, Twice Charmed, which was a variation on Cinderella. The set design, lighting, and props/special effects blew us away (the costume design, acting, singing, and writing was also on point).
Disney Cruise Line has a rotation of restaurants so that you get a different one every night for the shorter cruises. The wait staff move with you each night, which is amazing because I didn't have to reexplain my allergies every night and they were able to plan ahead and make me some awesome off-menu stuff and really took care of me. I only took pictures of my food as Jed hates when I take pix of his food and I didn't wanna bug him the whole trip, lol.
We started at Carioca's, a South American themed restaurant. We sat with 3 other 20 or young-30-something couples without children at our assigned dinner seats the whole trip. The other American couple had just gotten married the day before the cruise and there were two English couples who seemed pretty awesome, but it was always hard to hear them at the other end of the table so we never really got to know them.
we got a little anniversary dessert, which Jed enjoyed
at the end of each night when they would turn down our blankets, they would leave a towel buddy
Monday
The next morning we woke up a little late and lazied around at sea all day. Got breakfast at the buffet, Cabanas, and I tested the vegan (and apparently gluten free by the texture, lol) pancakes but mostly stuck with fruit and hashbrowns most days. They did also have soy milk and cereal and I hear they had margarine so I could have done toast, etc, too.
We sat in on a couple gem classes given by a "personal shopper" out of interest and the shear amusement of the way she spoke. We could tell we were definitely leagues below her normal clientele when she used phrases like "diamond wardrobe." Anyway, we learned some interesting things in case we wanted to invest when we ported in Cozumel (unfortunately, the small solitaire Tanzanite necklace I liked was still $400, oh well).
We got some more fancy drinks, ate lunch from the little grab n go restaurants by the pools, and dozed on deck chairs, then headed to the musical of the night: Disney Dreams. Jed liked this one, but I wasn't as interested. It was just a bunch of songs from various Disney movies with great dancing, great singing, great puppetry, but with no plot.
We followed this up with dinner at Lumière's, a French themed restaurant (yes, Jed got the escargot and loved them). I also stuffed myself and got to check out the "famed" (among dietary restriction blogs anyway) just-about-everything-free (dairy/egg/gluten/possibly soy) "cake" dessert. It's alright, oddly spongy, as gluten-free things are, lol. We wandered the stores and made friends with a designer jewelry (Sophia Fiori) contractor, Ashley, from the west country in England and chatted for over half an hour with her before taking some laps around the deck to work off dinner.
some of our many beautiful drinks, all of which were excellent except the white chai one at the bottom
Tuesday
Tuesday was Cozumel, Mexico day! We got up early to grab breakfast and meet up with our group at 8am to go snorkeling! I've only done it a few times, but I've decided that snorkeling is one of my absolute favorite outdoor activities. If your gear fits well and the tide isn't too strong and the water is nice and clear it just feels like you're flying effortlessly and is so incredibly relaxing.
We went out with a group of 29 other people and 6 guides on a boat to 3 different stops at different reefs. We were spoiled in Hawaii with the healthy coral and plentiful, bright fish. There weren't a ton of fish here or the bright tropical ones, and the coral was a bit sad. We had to stay with the group, too, which was stressful because we wanted to split off and just mill around by ourselves. There were a couple advanced divers among the group, but there were also a ton of beginners and children, which made is stressful to swim next to as well.
Regardless of the hangups, it was a sweet experience and the water was beautiful. Definitely would snorkel again in Cozumel, but try to do it more leisurely. We borrowed Jed's parents' underwater camera, so were able to get a few decent shots. They made us wear those life vests but we didn't have to inflate them.
After snorkeling, we showered and got lunch on the boat at Cabanas. There was a huge variety of food there for breakfast and lunch every day, though I would have had to ask for some alterations to add more variety for myself. Still, it was very impressive the quality and quantity of food available at all hours of the day, all included in the price of the cruise.
We headed out to the shops of Cozumel, being excited to get all our Christmas present shopping done there, but were disappointed when we found that it was either very nice designer jewelry or overpriced Mexican-themed tourist garbage. We were hoping for authentic souvenirs!
We walked up and down the street looking for good stuff and even looking at some nice jewelry. It was super hot and humid and we got hawked at all over the place. We spoke Spanish with some of the shop-keeps and I surprised myself adapting and picking up vocabulary quickly for stuff I'd never talked about, like jewelry.
We came back with a few goodies, went to the show of the night - an apparently world-renowned illusionist named Michael Barron - who did some cool tricks, then stood in a 45 min line for the only character worth the wait - Pirate Minnie!!
Then we had dinner at Lumière's with a "pirate"-themed menu (lots of fish). I was treated to Indian food (and a flavorless spinach soup and spongey-cake-thing too)!!
We then headed up deck to the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party! There was dancing, singing, theatrics (Mickey ziplining across the deck and saving the ship from Captain Hook!), fireworks, and a dj'ed dance. I don't know what was wrong with the crowd, but they were not getting hyped up, so Jed and I sang the songs out loud and danced like fools (we're not gonna see any of these people again anyway!). Afterward, we cooled it down by going to the Keys Lounge, a piano bar. We're so eclectic, lol.
different Disney ship, but this pro pic did a better job than I did at capturing the fireworks!
Wednesday
Wednesday was another at sea day, so we slept in a little and lazed around. We went to the shops, went on a tour explaining the imaginieering process with the cruise ship, had lunch, went on the water slide (just the slow one, not the one that has a vertical drop after the floor gives out. nope.), and hung out in the adult pool and hot tub. I was concerned that the sound would carry to the adult area, but they did an excellent job of blocking it. It was very nice and peaceful.
pools for all ages! even down to splash pads for toddlers (adult's Quiet Cove with poolside bar at bottom)
Cabanas buffet randomness at top, room service in middle, and meager pickings at poolside restaurants for the vegan (it was all burgers, hotdogs, pizza, sandwiches)
This night's show was Tangled: The Musical and it was incredible. Excellent singing, dancing, costume design, set design, props management, and puppeteering. We loved it so much we ended up rewatching the movie when we got home.
Right after the show we ran over to the Sophia Fiori counter to see if we had guessed close enough to the carat weight of a big-a diamond (can't remember exactly but it was over 2.5ct) so we could win a 5ct loose sapphire. I was 0.12ct off and unbelievably there were 2 women who guessed (and at that point it is a complete guess because the numbers were so small) closer than me! So close.
We went to the Animator's Palate, with American inspired menu, for dinner (I had different and also delicious Indian food). This restaurant is special because it starts out plain and with sketches on the TVs along the walls and slowly things become more detailed and colorful until there is a big colorful show.
After dinner we headed over to the Snuggly Ducking Takeover at O'Gills Irish Pub (some actors as the ruffians from the movie), then a smaller scale Michael Barron show in Fathoms Bar (nightclub vibe). We found our English table-mates, so sat with them and stayed for the 1980s music game because the MC was hilarious.
Thursday
Thursday we got up early so we could get to our group for our 9am walking tour and kayak adventure on Castaway Cay, Disney's private Bahamian island (yes, you read that right, private island). We did a little 1.5 mile walk, stopping along the way to hear from a local as she shared super interesting info on local flora/fauna, history, and the peoples of the Bahamas. We then kayaked along the coastline in the unbelievable clear blue water and saw a turtle! The tide was going out, so we had to fight it to stay against the shore and we got some nice blisters (one of Jed's popped, which felt really good in sea water!).
I could look at that water allll day
kayak selfies are hard
and this is what 5 years married looks like
that's better
baby mangroves!
After our walk back, we mailed our postcards (they get a special Castaway Cay postmark) and had lunch at one of the restaurants on the island, Cookie's where Jed got the famed barbecue. The night before, my head server and Portuguese buddy, Luis, drafted up what he and chef wanted to make me special for the island and man o man did they deliver. Delicious penne with tomato sauce, wedge salad with veg and balsamic, tropical fruit (mango and papaya oooooh man), and a freakin vegan lava cake!! I nearly died right there it was so good.
After my lunch-time ecstasy wore off, we went and picked up our rented snorkel gear and snorkeled in the large (over 1/4 mile out) buoyed off area. We weren't able to find any of the special Disney character statues, but did find their sunken mini ships from Disney World rides. There wasn't any coral and the fish were scarce, but there were hardly any people out so we could roam around and relax. The tide was going out so we had to work to get back in for a break and then didn't end up going back out because we were so tired.
#snorkelselfie
We shopped for Christmas gifts/souvenirs on Castaway (then finished up shopping on the boat later) and explored the island a little. We agreed to take it slower on Castaway next time we go so we can see more of it! We didn't even get to lay around on lounge chairs in Serenity Bay, the adult only area, while eating tons of tropical fruit and drinking smoothies! The walk and kayak tour was awesome, though, and snorkeling fun, there just wasn't enough time for everything.
After we got back to the boat we laid around and napped, showered, watched new Mickey short cartoons (we've since watched all 46 a few times - they're so cute!), and ordered room service (because it's free!).
We then got gussied up for our anniversary dinner at the adults only classy Italian restaurant, Palo. This ship was the first one of the four-ship fleet built and was built and launched in Italy, so there are Italian/art deco themes throughout the ship. For some reason, I didn't get a pic of us dressed up and celebrating, but we looked gooood.
We had gone the day before to talk to the chef so he could prep for me and he made some great stuff. We had antipasto and bread followed by appetizers and a sorbet for a palate cleanser, then the main course and dessert. Jed got the famous chocolate souffle for dessert and it looked absolutely divine.
We finished off the night talking to Ashley in Sophia Fiori for over an hour and packing our bags.
souvenirs for us
Friday
Friday we got up early and sleep-depped (because we end vacays how we start them - with little sleep) and had breakfast at Carioca's with our dinner table crew and servers, then went through customs and got an Uber back to the airport and were hours early for our flight. We had some poor treatment at MIA and apparently MIA is a terrible airport, so we heard from some flight attendants.
We flew through DFW and then on to PDX on American Airlines on a plane from the 80s. DFW was our favorite airport by a long shot (other than PDX) - circular terminals instead of mile long ones, easy to navigate, tram around the whole airport, clean, free wifi, nice staff, etc. We got in at 9:30pm and Jed's dad picked us up, we gathered our puppy, and off we went home to sleep for like 12 hours.
It was an awesome experience and we're so glad we got to celebrate 5 years married in such a spectacular way. We are looking forward to doing other Disney cruises on their four ships that go all over the Western hemisphere. It's an excellent choice for families with kids because it has entertainment and activities all day long in daycares for various age groups so it looks like we will have the option of cruising with Disney for many years to come! <3
Minnie Mouse was the rocking-est, huh? Loved living vicariously through all your cruising pics. So fun!
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