Adventures in Parenting - Our Disney Cruise Part 1

We recently got back from a long anticipated Disney cruise. It was 7 nights packed with a lot of fun and some great memories. This was also the first real vacation we have taken with E. (Vacation has a whole new meaning with a 2-year old.) Here is a little about our trip.

On embarkation day, I was so excited that I was up before my alarm. (Anyone who knows me, and my level of sleep deprivation, understands how excited I was.) Once everyone was up and ready, we loaded up the cars to head to the port. It is amazing how much stuff we had.

The weather had been gross during the week leading up to the cruise and it was super foggy on our way out to port. You couldn't even see the ship when we were pulling in to unload and park. The check in process went smoothly and we were one of the first groups allowed to board the ship.

Once on board we got tickets for the Disney Junior Breakfast, Elsa and Anna and the Disney Princess meet and greet. We also made reservations for a couples session at the spa. (This was sold out in pre-booking, so I was super excited they still had availability.) After all that, it was time for lunch and then our rooms were ready.

That evening was the sail away party and E's first chance to dance on the deck. Dancing would be a theme for E this sailing. After the party it was time for dinner and then bedtime for E.

Bye, Bye FL

Our first full day on the ship was a day at sea. We were up early for a breakfast with Characters from Disney Junior. Then my husband and I snuck away for a little adult time at the spa. (This was amazing and a huge thanks to my Mom, Sister and Brother-in-law for watching E for us.)

She wasn't real sure about Doc

Then it was back to back princess time. First it was the frozen princesses and then some of the more traditional princesses. Unfortunately, E hadn't napped yet, so she was a grumpy princess.

Holding tight to Daddy

She did give Cinderella (her favorite) a hug.

Finally a little sun!

That night was formal night and the Aladdin show on the ship. This was the one show I wanted E to see and after a lot of discussion we decided to go to dinner and the later show. (This may have been a bad idea because there were lots of tears at bedtime, but she still enjoyed the show.) 

Waiting for Aladdin! (Notice the no shoes,
this was a common theme.)

Day two was Cozumel. It was rainy, so we didn't do much in port. Just a little shopping and a stop at Starbucks. (I know, we were tourists.) E napped in her stroller and the rain cleared enough to hit the splash pad back on the ship.

A boat in the rain

Getting my tourist on

 This was also Pirate night. I made E a super cute pirate dress that she wanted nothing to do with. We ended up with a puddle of tulle throwing a tantrum in the lobby and an outfit change. (At least our room steward had a sense of humor and the monkey wore the dress.) It was raining after dinner, so the pirate party was moved inside and we ended up missing most of it.

  
Day three was Grand Cayman. We didn't get into port until late, so I took a spin class before we left the ship. It was a good time and one of the hardest spin classes I have taken. The sensation of biking on a moving ship is an interesting one. (So thankful I don't have motion sickness issues.)

Once off the ship we hit the beach for a while. We got there right around when E normally naps and this lead to her falling asleep on my shoulder in the ocean. She must have been tired because she has never done anything like that before. I eventually moved her to a beach chair.

Cruising is hard work!

  The rain started just as we got on the tender back to the ship. It made for an interesting trip back, but we were coming from the beach so getting wet wasn't an issue. 

After getting cleaned up, it was time for dinner and then dancing toddler style. The theme was princess night and E was all about wearing her Cinderella dress.

E went to bed and we hung out on our veranda. (The veranda room was really nice because we could sit and chat while E was inside sleeping.)