Day 2: Full Day at Sea
So we awoke on our first full day at sea with no set plans except to see
Muppets Most Wanted at 10:00 a.m. The great thing about Disney Cruises is that they have a full size (beautiful) movie theater and play all the first run Disney, Pixar movies throughout the cruise, they even show the 3D versions, at no charge. We were able to find out what movies would be playing on the cruise before we left, and planned accordingly.
Carleigh had no interest in the movie and headed to The Vibe for a full day of fun with her new friends. She was excited for "SunDeck time" - the Vibe has it's own private Teen pool, hot tub and sun lounging area that is open for a few hours most days. Another one of the activities that they had in The Vibe was that they were filming/creating a movie called,
Zombified. Carleigh was an extra in it on the sea day for the pool scenes. :)
After the movie we wandered around and met some characters, and just took it all in...
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| Carleigh brought some friends with her to take pics with stitch |
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| Waiting for the elevator...I love all the theming - our room was on deck 7 |
Katie and I decided to do another activity in the afternoon. The Midship Detective Agency is an interactive - self paced game that you can play on the ship. Basically you sign up and get a mystery to solve with clues. You then travel ALL over the ship (all 12 decks) to find clues. The clues are hidden in the interactive artwork that is hanging on the walls. You hold up your mystery card and it triggers the painting to start moving and talking to you. It was VERY cool. We saw people of all ages doing it throughout the 7 days - adults, kids, teens.....
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| signing up and getting the mystery... |
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| watching an interactive painting and writing the clues down |
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| triggering another painting and then waiting for the clues... |
We solved the mystery! Had lunch somewhere in there and then it was late afternoon and tonight was Formal Night! That meant fancy dresses, hair, makeup, jewelry and LOTS of photo ops.
After the movie, Don enjoyed his sea day while watching the U.S. in the World Cup on the funnel vision up on Deck 11. Lots of fun with a big audience and lots of excitement!!
I had already decided to buy the CD of all of our cruise pics, so our goal was to take full advantage of every photo op that was offered. The CD was a set price, regardless of how many pics you got taken...or it was $20 for 1 printed 8x10 if you didn't get the CD. We ended up with 161 photos on our disc for a very reasonable Disney price. ;)
While getting ready, we ordered room service (no charge) and then it was time for the Captain's Gala in the Atrium with lot of photos...
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| Our photo with Commodore Tom - the Captain of the Fantasy |
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| just some more theming in the main atrium |
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| Porthole pics while waiting for our dinner |
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| Time for dinner in Royal Court |
We were heading to dinner - there are 3 restaurants on board and you rotate through all 3 with the same servers, through the 7 nights. Tonight was Royal Court, a restaurant themed to be a castle, palace dining room with beautiful princess artwork throughout...
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| fancy drinks for everyone! |
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| Had to have the escargot... |
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| Ninja made Carleigh try an escargot also! He was so much fun and was constantly interacting with us! |
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| Crab, seafood pasta for Katie |
Before dinner we tried to do the outdoor, sunset beautiful pics on the ocean.....only Carleigh was successful!
Dinner was over, and the girls headed to the clubs...Don and I attempted the 11:00 p.m. adults only Magic Show in the main theater....I slept through most of it....early morning tomorrow as we tackle Cozumel!
Day 3: Cozumel, Mexico
Today was the only Disney excursion that we booked. The other two days we did private excursions. Today we were doing the Fury Catamaran excursion...Catamaran ride with snorkeling stop, and then to a private beach with a water playground for the kids, then back to the ship via the Catamaran.
It was a fun day....
We started our boarding the Catamaran...
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| Here is a view of another Catamaran just like ours... |
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| on the way to snorkel |
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| Rina is ready |
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somewhere in there is Carliegh, Katie, Don and
Rina |
I chose not to snorkel, and stay on board to soak up the sun and the atmosphere...lots of fun!!
Then we all boarded the Catamaran and headed to the private beach...
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| Don and Katie on the kayak |
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| Carleigh standing up on the paddleboard |
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| Don and Katie on the left, Carleigh on the right |
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| relaxing... |
We had about 90 minutes on the beach and then back on the boat for a trip back to the Fantasy...
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| line dances and lots of music on the way back... |
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| evidence in the distance that we were in Cozumel |
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| our ship in view as we return |
Once back on land, our goal was to find a free WiFi hotspot....
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| Success!! |
Don's goal (unknown to him) was to find a Luchador mask - he didn't know he wanted it, but when he saw it...he HAD to have it and wore it proudly once back on the ship!
Bye, Bye Cozumel - it was a nice 6-7 hours...
Once back on ship, Don and the girls went up to Deck 11 to ride the AquaDuck....the water coaster..
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| they even have professional AquaDuck photos |
After that, we all started changing, and getting ready for
the evening. We were going to find more photo ops and then have
"cocktails" in the Atrium while waiting for dinner.
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| mom and Katie chatting with Belle - they were telling her that BRMS will be telling the Beauty and the Beast story in the fall. Bell shared a lot of her secrets with them. They chatted for about 10-15 minutes...so cool!! |
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| now to meet and talk with TinkerBell... |
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| Then Captain Hook and Smee decided to come down and mess with Peter Pan while he was taking pictures... |
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| the girls watching from above... |
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| now to Jasmine and Prince Ali....lots of chatting and talking with them also |
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| Carleigh liked him! ;) |
After we finished photos (Don stayed back to get ready in peace, and meet us later), we headed up to Deck 11 to explore...
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| all you can drink soda, milk, coffee, hot choc, and ice cream 24 hours a day....always open!! :) |
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| funnel vision showing Disney movies (and other treats) all day, night with lounge chairs and the kid pools. Aquaduck in the left background |
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| watching the end of Toy Story |
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| more theming outside on Deck 11 |
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| selfie :) |
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| the movie is over and we are heading down to find Don |
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| you'd never know there were 4,000 people on board right now... |
We found each other and headed to Animator's Palate for dinner...
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| I love the way Disney pays attention to EVERY little detail...the butter plate and butter knife on the table... |
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| the menu |
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| Table 120 every night in the different restaurants - and Ninja having fun with my picture |
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| They were great servers!! |
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| so much fun and great interaction... |
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| more fancy drinks for dinner |
Animator's Palate is known for its animaton - the walls are interactive screens that change throughout the meal...on your first night in the restaurant, Disney characters swim through the screens and Crush the Nemo turtle comes and talks with you while at your table. Our table was really close to one of the big screens, so we had great interaction...\
The restaurants have photographers wander around and take your pics, so more photo ops while at dinner! :)
After dinner, the girls went to the clubs and we wandered for a bit, but were exhausted...believe it or not, I think we were both asleep before the girls got back from their night out. It's hard for me to believe that I allowed them this much freedom - out till 1:00 a.m. every night with complete strangers, and coming back alone through the ship and letting themselves into the room with their own key cards. The sense of security and safety on the ship helped me, and A LOT of discussion about the rules that they had to follow to earn our trust.
Not once did the girls miss a check-in or not come back to the room when we told them. The ship also has "Wave Phones" - old school cell phones - 2 per room - that you can use to communicate throughout the ship by texting or calling. We got really good with those, and the girls would text us when they got to the clubs, and text if they were changing locations or going for food. They would then text when they were on their way back to the room. It's a great system and it's no wonder that there are tons of families on the ships with kids of all ages roaming the ship alone. We saw many little kids - 7 or 8 yrs old - alone with the phone to their ear taking with their parents.....
So... another 2 great days with lots of adventures and fun!
Stay tuned for Grand Cayman sailing, Jamaica's Lazy River and Pirate Night! (It was a fun night for all except Don!! ;) )
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