Disney Dream Review! Part ONE!

Hi, remember me? Yeah, I didn't think so. It's been a month and a half since I last checked in. Since then, our babe has grown so much and celebrated her first birthday with a Minnie Mouse party. Oh, and we also went on a Disney Cruise! Which is why I'm here -- to tell you all the ins and outs of our cruise!

We took a 5-day, 4-night cruise on the Disney Dream to Nassau and Castaway Cay. Castaway Cay is Disney's private island in the Bahamas, and it is absolutely paradise. But more on that later!





We stayed in a Deluxe Stateroom with a Verandah (a balcony), which I completely recommend. There's nothing better than having your own private and quiet space to sit and enjoy your personal ocean view. While Adalyn napped, we could go outside. And when she wasn't napping, she absolutely LOVED crawling out on the verandah and exploring the ocean for herself.

I'm trying to think of everything to tell you guys, but there's just so much. Basically, I will just say that you would think this cruise would be just over-run with children and would be so loud and crazy. Um, definitely not. There were tons of older people, single couples, etc. with no children! And the children that were there were absolutely well behaved. I mean, they were on the Disney Cruise. With Mickey Mouse. Of course they were all in the best of moods! But really, the cruise isn't crowded at all. We were always able to get any seat we wanted, we were the *only people* in the splash pad when we went, and it was just fantastic for our family.

The best part? The food. "Cabanas" is a buffet-style area on deck 11 with 9 stations. Basically any food you can imagine is here -- every meat, every side dish, every dessert.. it's pretty amazing. All Coke products, milk, coffee, and juices are free, which is one of the perks of Disney! We were always able to get a window seat while eating, so we could view the ocean! Perfect!

Our first dinner was at Animator's Palate - this restaurant is designed with Disney's animations. During the meal, the animations come to life. The screens turn to the ocean, and Crush, Dory, Nemo, and Bruce come and talk! They've got some secret cameras (or something?!) and actually talk personally to the kids. Ex: "Hey you in the blue shirt! What's your name?! Are you liking your chocolate ice cream?" Or whatever. The kids ate.it.up. It was pretty cute, and Adalyn stared a hole through Crush when he came on!





Our babe was r.e.a.d.y. for bed by the end of dinner (turns out she's a huge fan of french fries with lots of ketchup!) and we had to miss the Golden Mickeys, which is an amazing musical in the Walt Disney theater. I saw a preview of it on tv, and it looked just spectacular. Stinky that we had to turn in so early, but we had to get rested up for our next day...

Nassau!



Mark and I had already been to Nassau on our honeymoon and took a full tour, so we decided to book a different type of excursion this time around and went with the Atlantis Beach Day. Basically, a bus took us to Atlantis, and we got a tour of the resort and were able to get access to their private little cove. It was pretty spectacular, though the walk there wore us completely out. Poor baby had red cheeks from being so hot, so we were ready to jump in the ocean!

We loved the beach but decided to head back to the boat in the early afternoon. And it's a good thing we did, because a downpour of rain came flooding in as soon as we got on the boat! I forgot to mention that one of the neat things about a Disney cruise is your "Key to the World Cards." Each person has their own card - including babies! - and you do everything with your card. Including turning your lights and tv on in your stateroom! You disembark with your card and then scan it again when you board back on the ship. I think it's a fantastic idea, because we had to use our passports to board back on the ship with Carnival. Much easier this way!

We finished our second day with a dinner at the Enchanted Garden, which is themed around princess-y stuff (?). The ceiling and flowers turned from daytime to nighttime throughout the course of our meal. It was pretty.. well, enchanting, and Adalyn loved the beautiful water fountain. I loved the lobster ravioli - I was practically licking the plate. Kidding. Kind of. I had a jumbo prime rib and the most amazing desserts.

Adalyn was more hyper than ever and was in such a good mood. The Disney Cruise was seriously enchanting for her. She just LOVED it!





She also loved the unlimited chocolate ice cream. Is that dirty little Minnie Mouse cute or what!?

And that sticky little critter just woke up from her awesome nap. Tune in tomorrow for a review of Villains Tonight, Castaway Cay, and Pirate's Night!

(Questions? Comments? I have no idea what you all - those of you who asked me to blog about this - want me to cover. There's just so! much! to say! I could write a novel... )