Disney Cruise 2013

Over Spring Break we went on our first Family fun trip, a Disney Cruise.  It was SOOOO much fun and I am so glad that we went and have such great memories of it all!  When I say our first family trip, I mean the first trip with just the 4 of us.  It was great fun and I have LOTS of pictures to share! 

We drove down on Tuesday morning (the morning of our cruise).  We left Arlington at around 7:45 and got in to Galveston about 5 hours later.  We ran in to some traffic and had 2 stops, so it took a little longer than expected.  Here we are at the terminal where Ryan dropped us off and he went to park the car. 

Kids being silly! 

 The check-in process was a BEATING to say the least.  Not a great start to the trip!  The computer systems were down/intermittent and so it took us a GOOD 2 HOURS to check in and get on the ship.  This was not great for Ben, who was tired and hungry and I didn't have much to give him.  We were planning on getting on the boat and having lunch, so this was delayed a little!  We FINALLY got on and quickly changed into our swimsuits!  Here is my little diva! 

 Actually, before we could go to the pool, we grabbed some lunch (more on that later, but I wasn't super impressed with the lunch options on the boat!). Then we had the mandatory safety drill.  Talk about clausterphobic!  It was quite embarassing as Ben screamed/cried the entire time as he was SO tired.  This boy can't go without a nap!  I kept apologizing for him but he was so worn out.  If we do this again, I think we would get down there the day before.  It was just too much to do all in one day.  We went directly back to the room so Ben could nap.  He slept for 3 hours and then we were good to go for the evening!  We missed the show the first night because he was asleep and I'm so sad we missed it!  The shows were my favorite part of the cruise and had I known how great they were, we would have gone that first night!

Characters were around the ship at all times.  One of the best things I bought before the trip was an autograph book for each kid.  This was awesome!  We carried them with us at all times and got autographs and pictures.  Its a fun keepsake to have!  Beside each autograph page is a page for a picture.  I got these at the Disney store or you can order them on-line.  This is a must have item!  

The kids with Chip and Dale!

Ryan and the kiddos

Me and my babies!

And all 4! 

The famous Mickey Mouse!  Ben's fav!

 We had the late seating at dinner.  That means dinner STARTED at 8:15.  Some of you might think we were crazy- and I was a little unsure before the cruise as well!  The 2 dinner options are 5:15 and 8:15.  When I booked, the 8:15 was the only option available.  So, 8:15 it was!  Turns out, it worked out great for us!  Ben was usually still asleep at 5:15 and that would have been way too early for us to be there.  The 8:15 was a little late most nights (7:30 would have been a perfect time), but I'm glad we had this instead of the early one.  Every night (minus the first) we would get up from naps (Ben had to have one every day), get ready and be at the 6:15 show.  The show was over by 7:15 and we would walk around and get autographs for the next hour.  It was fun!  At the show we always had some snacks to hold everyone over!

hanging out before dinner! 

 So, that brings me to the first night at dinner!  Addyson fell asleep and I ended up single-momming it as Ryan got sea sick.  At this point, I was like GRRREEEAAAT.  Ryan is going to be laid up the whole time and I'm going to be chasing our two lovlies around all by myself.  Not fun!  Luckily he felt great the next morning and was good to go the rest of the time.  We had good weather- it wasn't rough at all! 

Addyson sleeping.....Ryan had a full plate of dinner before he had to make a B-line for the room

Ben sitting in my lap that night at dinner being silly!

 Day 2!  Princess Day!  Ben loved this just as much as his sissy did!!  Ryan skipped breakfast to get us a good spot in line.  This helped tremendously as the line was 2 hours long for people at the end.  We only waited less than 5 minutes!  Thanks Dad!!  Addyson dressed up in her princess dress to meet all the princesses!

They were all so sweet.  They would chat with each child and hug them.  So cute!

LOVE Ben's smile here!!!  He loved this!

 The kids went to the Kids Club some and Ryan and I played Bingo.  No winning tickets for us!!  :(

 The pool.  Oh the pool.  The very small pool.  First thing Addyson said was that she wanted to go to the REAL pool.  I told her this was it!  She wasn't too impressed!  There were millions of kids.  Not a lot of room.  I'm glad my kids were old enough where I didn't have to be in there with them.   Its only about 2 feet deep but its chaos!  Ben didn't seem to mind! 

Ben was jumping off the sides.  I was a bit nervous, but all ended up well! 

Me and Addyson looking at the water.  Ryan couldn't go out there with us- it made him queasy to look at the water!  Ha! 

Me and my girl!

Kids being silly!

Meeting Minny Mouse!  Love how Addyson is lifting up her dress! 

Hugs!

More hugs!  The kids felt so special!

One of their favorite things to do was lay in these big port holes.  They had a window to the water.  Fun!

Daddy getting kisses at dinner! The kids were so good on the trip! 

Addyson went to "girls night" in the kids club one evening.  They did nails and make-up.  She loved it!  Ben went to the "guys night" at the other kids club and poor thing.....when we went to pick them up at like 11:00 (way too late- I know!) Ben was like slumped over in a chair in the corner half passed out/asleep.  Poor baby!!  I felt so bad! 

 These next pics crack me up!  Addyson loved my hat, as you can tell!  This was our Cozumel day!  Eating a quick breakfast before heading off the ship!

Haaaa!  She posed like this on purpose!  She thought it was glamorous!

 We are off the boat!  We went back and forth on whether or not to get off the boat in Cozumel.  Most of the excursions Ben was not old enough for and the beach excursion was ALL day and I didn't want to commit to that either.  Last minute, we decided to grab a taxi and go to Paradise Beach.  I am glad we did- we had a great time and fun memories!  Ben was in a silly mood that day and he had me laughing all day!  Love that boy! 

The beach was rocky getting in and the kids did not like it.  "Hairy Rocks" as Addyson said.  Ewwww!!!  So, we hung out mostly at the pool.  It was great!

Yes, I know I look VERY pale and quite distorted here.  Oh well- it makes me remember how much fun we had.  Addyson was swimming around and Ben was being so silly!  Lots of laughing! 

 On our way back to the boat we stopped for some pics with a parrot.  When I showed these pictures to family and friends they all asked, Is that parrot dead?  Okay.  Would I let my kids hold a dead parrot in Mexico???  I'm a little too OCD for that!  No, the parrot was alive and it would lay in your arms!  The kids loved it! 

 Almost back on the ship!  I look rough here. ....but its the only pic with us and the boat! 

 That night was Pirate Night.  What a fun day/night!!  The kids loved dressing up and being in pirate character!  They did a big show that night with fireworks and Mickey zip-lining across the boat to get Captain Hook.  So fun!!! 

Love this!

Arrrrrrrrrr!!!

Pirate or Gangsta?  He did not want to see Captain Jack Sparrow and he got all shy.  I think he looks like a little gangsta here! 

Addyson with Jack Sparrow.  He looked just like Johnny Depp!

 The kids loved seeing Mr. Smee and Captain Hook!  Captain Hook kept messing with Ben and he was laughing so hard! 

Love Ben's smile here!

Ben still in true pirate form!

 We ordered milk and cookies from room service one night at MIDNIGHT.  Ugg!  We were so spent every night but I had told Addyson about this before the trip, so you know how that goes!  Didn't want to disappoint! 

 A pic of our sleeping arrangements!  Addy on top bunk! Ben on bottom!

 Addyson and Peter Pan.  Ben didn't want any part of this for some reason!

 We did crafts on the boat one day! 

 Character Dance Party!! 

Ben said, Mom take my picture I'm going to smile!!  :)

 Day 4- me and Addy hung out at the big kid pool while Ben napped one afternoon.  Fun times!  They had a movie playing and I had some yummy drinks! 

Standing in line for autographs!

Stitch!  He was so funny!

 And lastly- Addyson sporting my hat once again eating chicken fingers and drinking shirley temples.  Kids dream! 

And I had a mango daquiri!  Yumm!! 

This was a great trip that I would highly recommend!  I would, however, recommend your child be at least 3 before you go as you have to be 3 to do most of the stuff (kids club, etc).  There was so much to and we did not nearly get to everything!  The 4 nights was great for a first time cruise for all of us.  I think I would do longer when the kids get older.  One with more stops would be fun!!

My favorite thing was hanging out with my kids and Ryan in such a fun setting.  I LOVED the shows at night- they were SO GOOD!  The kids loved them too.  I will sound a bit cheesy saying this, but they truly were magical!  So many special effects and so well done.  I am so bummed we missed the first night's show! 

Ben's favorite thing in his words was "Mickey" and Addyson's favorite thing was swimming!

Ryan said his fav part was napping with Ben every day.  They would snuggle up in the same bed (the Queen) and have good daddy/Ben time!  In all honesty, Ryan said the trip was fun and it was not a beating for him.  That's always a good sign! 

Can't wait to do it again someday!!