Day One – Embarkation Day, Port Canaveral
A day that I questioned would ever come was finally upon us. For as long as we have been going on cruises as a family, I often thought that Emily’s parents would absolutely love the experience. While Colonel was on board (pun intended), Grandma Kee, like myself, was a bit apprehensive about setting sail on a vessel that would be detached from land. Be it a combination of the motion of the ocean, not being able to see land, or some combination of the two, cruising was never top on her list of things to do. After years of nagging from her lovely daughter, and a few signed paper napkin contracts, Kee finally agreed that she was ready to take the plunge (probably not the best choice of words for a cruise vacation).
Often, Emily and I like to find different ways to surprise the boys when we are we are planning a special family event. Quite possibly my favorite surprise that we pulled off was when we went on the Disney Fantasy 10 Night Caribbean Cruise where the boys discovered the surprise trip in custom made fortune cookies! For this particular cruise, we wanted to keep both the cruise, and their grandparents’ attendance, a surprise. With the cruise being so close to Mother’s Day, I told the family that I was taking us all on a surprise beach weekend, but wouldn’t tell anyone where we were going (Emily, of course, was in the loop). We packed the car with suitcases, some decoy snacks, and beach toys, and headed out of the neighborhood. I pulled into the 7-11 gas station outside of our neighborhood to fill up with gas, but the real intent was to coordinate our travel over to the Port with Em’s folks. They stayed hidden behind the building so the boys wouldn’t see them, and then they pulled out right behind us and onto the highway.
We embarked on the forty minute drive to the East coast of Florida with many questions being fired from the back seat as to where this journey was taking us. I just kept telling the group that they would soon find out. As we approached Port Canaveral, I told everyone that I wanted to swing by the Disney ship so that we could snap a few pictures while it was in port. This isn’t out of the ordinary for us to do when we have our beach days, so it didn’t arouse too much suspicion. I clicked a few photos out the window and pretended to have missed my turn. I said we needed to go through the check in area to “properly” exit the parking area. This made our rule following boys both nervous and somewhat suspicious. I pulled up to the Security guard who asked if we had a stateroom number. Emily spouted off our room number as we had rehearsed, and the boys were floored. It is all captured in the video below.
It took them a few minutes to grasp what was happening, which was just enough time for us to drop our bags off and pull the car into the parking garage. Emily was in communication with her parents, who found the perfect parking spot in the garage, just down from where we were. Time for surprise number two. We retrieved our carry-on luggage from the back of the car and strolled through the parking garage to the elevators, where Sawyer first spotted Grandma Kee and PopPa Colonel. A bit startled he asked, “Who do I see?!?” Grandma Kee said, “Did we miss the turn to Jetty Park?” (That is where they normally park to wave us goodbye!) The boys were even more excited to find out that their grandparents were finally going on a cruise and that they would be going with them!
Being a first for Kee and Colonel, we tried our best to take our time through the check-in and port arrival process, so they could experience all of the unique Disney details. We ended up getting an early boarding number so our time was a bit more limited than we had originally planned. We took some time to step out back of the port building and capture a few photos in front of the ship. By the time we finished that, our boarding numbers were being called so we lined up, and headed through the glorious Mickey ears tunnel to the Disney Dream.
We got our photo and video cameras ready for quite possibly the most magical event of the entire cruise, the boarding process. They called the Griffin and Hayes families and we crossed over the threshold to paradise. It reminds me of Field of Dreams, where the players don’t want to step over into the rocks and leave the field, only in reverse for us. We took our time enjoying the details of the Disney Dream atrium in all of its majestic glory. The boys were excited for our boarding ritual of walking down the deck three hallway, past the porthole windows. They took turns laying in the different portholes showing us their chill vacation style. We worked our way back to the aft of the ship where we rode the elevator to deck 11 to enjoy our favorite first lunch of the cruise, Cabanas.
Since Colonel works for Disney’s Magical Express, he had the opportunity to visit the ship once before and take part in a Cabanas lunch, but for Kee, this was her first experience. We grabbed a table and filled our plates with our favorites. Sawyer got the pizza he loves and Hunter made his mac-n-cheese filled rolls. Yep, vacation had finally begun!
After an enjoyable lunch, we had a bit of downtime before the staterooms would be ready, so we took Kee and Colonel on a tour of some of our favorite locations around the Disney Dream. Hunter and Sawyer wanted to show them around the Oceaneer Club and Lab during the open house/check-in portion of the day. Once the cruise sets sail there are no adults allowed in that area for the most part (open house hours aside), so this was the perfect time for a tour. The boys were excited to show Grandma and PopPa their favorites like Andy’s Room, the Star Wars area, and an old time favorite, the ship captain game. We continued around deck five with a stop at the Midship Detective Agency interactive game that Sawyer was super excited to play. After they got a good flavor for the ship, the ship PA made the call that the staterooms were ready, so we eagerly took our over-packed carry-on luggage to our staterooms to get settled in.
The staterooms were beautiful as usual, with a connecting door between our two rooms so we could travel back and forth as needed. Both rooms had verandas providing a spacious deck overlooking Port Canaveral. The boys flipped on the stateroom TV to watch some Mickey cartoons as Emily worked to prepare as much as she could before the majority of the bags arrived. As each of the bags arrived outside our door (love this, by the way) Emily managed to get them all unpacked and put away so the only thing left for us all to do was enjoy our three days on the Disney Dream! In true Emily fashion, she got a few travel gifts for her parents to use while they were on Castaway Cay.
Just as the last items were getting put away, we were called away to our boat drill station for the ship safety drill. In the past this had been a dreaded event for the family as Hunter has never been a huge fan (thinking about the worst case scenario is never his favorite way to start a vacation). I think it always had to do with the loud boat whistle that capped off the somewhat boring (but necessary) experience. As the years have progressed we have all gotten used to the drill and can now even laugh a bit about the “old times”. My favorite part about the safety drill is that, at it’s completion, it is officially time to start the vacation!
After the drill, we followed the herd as the entire ship transitioned from boat drill to deck party! To ensure that Colonel and Kee got to see all of the amazing fun of the sail away party, we shuffled up to deck 12 to secure our spot. The cast really do an amazing job getting the guests pumped up and excited to set sail on an incredible vacation. We grabbed a few vacation cocktails and joined the festivities taking place in front of the Funnelvision, as the boat was slowly being untied from the port. We snapped a few photos of the departure, knowing that the next time we would be in port it would be in Nassau, Bahamas. We rounded the corner near Jetty Park, a location that Kee and Colonel are normally parked at waving goodbye to the cruise that we are sailing on, only this time, they were on the ship with us!
As Port Canaveral slowly faded into the distance, we agreed that we would return to our staterooms to relax a bit before we took on the evening ship activities. The break gave Emily a chance to adorn our stateroom doors with her magnetic decoration arsenal. She created a few unique laminated goodies just for this cruise! Our bits of relaxation on the ship never seem to last too long as we always want to get back out and explore. After a quick clean up and outfit change, we were back out navigating the ship with Kee and Colonel.
We dropped the boys at kids’ club, because they were more antsy than interested in the night show. Since we wanted to do things “right” and according to plan for Kee and Colonel’s first cruise, we headed to deck three forward for the Disney’s Believe show, prior to our 8:15 dinner seating at Animator’s Palate. We grabbed our seats near the front of the Walt Disney Theater and enjoyed the pre-show violin player, who was amazing. The show was good, as all Disney Cruise shows are.
Following the show we slowly made our way through deck three, enjoying the sights and sounds. It is always exciting to walk through the deck three midship atrium in the evening to hear the live music and see fellow guests having a great time. After scooping up the kids, we arrived at deck three aft just in time for our dinner seating as we were escorted to our table and met our server Gusti. He was very personable and fantastic with the kids. Dinner was fun as we enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant and the visit with Crush from Finding Nemo.
After we had our fill of dinner and dessert we headed back to our staterooms to unwind and get some rest for more fun the following day in Nassau, Bahamas.
Day Two – Nassau, Bahamas
After a relaxing night of sleep on the Disney Dream, we awoke with the distant sight of the island of Nassau, Bahamas on the horizon. Since the rest of the room was still sleeping, I snuck out onto the veranda to set up the GoPro for a timelapse video of the ship pulling into the port (see video at the beginning of this blog post). One of the nice things about adjoining rooms on the cruise is that there is a half wall on the veranda that can be folded back allowing you to share the veranda with your next door neighbor. I wished a good morning to Colonel, who had the same idea I had, enjoying the scenic view off the ship. Although the morning was overcast it was still a beautiful view to get our day started.
Our goal for the day was to relax and enjoy all that the Disney Dream had to offer. Emily and Kee decided they were going to hang out and chill in the room to catch what they could of the Royal Wedding (Meghan & Harry). Coverage started at 4 am, but they saw the end of the ceremony and the recessional. Colonel, the boys, and I got dressed and headed up to Cabanas to enjoy our first cruise breakfast. We loaded up our plates of our favorite breakfast goodies and grabbed a table out on the back deck to enjoy our food and picturesque view of the island of Nassau. We brought some breakfast items back for Emily and Kee to enjoy as they stayed cozy watching the wedding.
It took us a bit to get everyone up and moving in the morning but, once we did, it was time for some pool time on deck 11. Aside from enjoying some time outside, we really wanted to give Colonel a chance to ride on the Aquaduck. Colonel, the boys, and I made the trek to the top of the Disney Dream smoke stack to embark on our first ride. We weren’t the only group with this idea as the wait for the Aquaduck was over thirty minutes. Colonel paired up with Hunter, and Sawyer and I teamed up, to take the plunge through the tube that encircles the midship of the Disney Dream. The ride was fun as always but we agreed that we didn’t necessarily need to wait to do it again.
We spent some time in the pool and hung out around deck 11 enjoying the remainder of the morning. The boys and I got some lunch at the quick service before heading back to our staterooms to change into our dry clothes for our afternoon activities. The plan for the afternoon was to split up. I took the boys to see Avengers: Infinity War, which was playing in the Walt Disney Theater. Emily and her parents signed up for the Art of the Theme Ship tour. The tour takes you around the ship showing you the amazing details that Disney infuses into its ship. Since the tour was just for adults, and having done the tour before, I happily took the boys to the movie. We originally saw the Avengers: Infinity War on opening night, so this was our second viewing. The boys have become huge fans of the Marvel brand and thus, I have as well. The movie was equally good the second time!
We all headed back to our staterooms to take an afternoon chill break. The combination of vacation and cruising around the ship sure makes you tired. We laid down for a bit to recharge the batteries for our evening activities. Since Kee and Colonel were enjoying their afternoon rest, they offered to hang out with the boys while Emily and I headed down to deck four to enjoy a couple Captain’s Mai Tais. There is something magical about sitting on a cozy deck chair on deck four overlooking the port of Nassau enjoying a tropical cocktail. We didn’t want to leave but the evening activities were approaching, so we headed back to the stateroom.
The evening activities were all about Pirate Night on the Disney Dream. Not only does this mean an evening show on deck 11, complete with fireworks, but they also theme the dinner menu as well. Our dinner for the evening was at Enchanted Garden on deck two. We got dressed in our evening attire and made our way down to the atrium on deck three to get a few photos before dinner. As usual, there were many officers hanging out in the atrium that agreed to take some photos with us, including the captain and cruise director, who Kee absolutely loved.
After our evening was properly documented, it was time for the night’s show, Beauty and the Beast. Since the boys skipped the show the first night, we insisted they come with us to this one. Sawyer took a liking to the live action Beauty and the Beast movie, so we thought they would enjoy this one. They liked it well enough, and the rest of us marveled at how these shows are performed while the floor is moving (from cruising) underneath the performers. After the show, we walked down the spiral staircase to deck two and got in line for our 8:15 dinner seating. We enjoyed a fun dinner and used the provided pirate menus/hats to get into the pirate spirit. The dinner and desserts were delicious as we enjoyed our dinner conversation as the ship started on its way to Castaway Cay.
We retired to our staterooms for the evening, excited to get into our comfortable pajamas and get a good night’s rest prior to our fun day that would follow at Castaway Cay!
Day Three – Castaway Cay
It was a day that we were all looking forward to, Disney’s private island of Castaway Cay. I got up early to get the GoPro set up on the veranda to capture the ship arriving at the port. The morning weather was beautiful, although slightly overcast, but looked to be setting up for a great day! We got ready for the morning, grabbed a quick breakfast at Cabanas, and gathered our things to disembark the ship. Grandma Kee and PopPa Colonel would join us in a little while.
The sights and smells of Castaway Cay brought back so many great memories of previous trips. We grabbed our towels and started down the path toward the the island tram. We spotted Stitch, one of Sawyer’s favorite characters, so we stopped for a few photos. We managed to get Hunter’s sunglasses back from Stitch, even though he tried to pillage them. After a brief walk and tram ride to the beach, we grabbed our spot near the Pelican Plunge to get settled in the for the day.
The boys had a blast digging in the sand and splashing in the ocean. Colonel and Kee found us shortly after we set up, and we lovedenjoying the island with them. It was also great having a second set of eyes/hands to watch the boys. Colonel, the boys, and I took the opportunity to take a slide on the Pelican Plunge, consisting of two different water slides that dump riders right into the ocean. We all chose the “slow side” which still provides quite a jolt on your entry into the cold salt water. After our fun sliding, Hunter and I put on our snorkel gear and went out in search of unique sea life. We brought the GoPros to capture our adventure (a few clips were captured in the video at the beginning of the blog post).
Because this was Colonel’s first time on the island, we agreed that we would rent a couple bikes and take a spin around the island so that he could see as much as possible. We took the bikes back to the three story tower that provides a scenic overlook of the entire Castaway Cay island. At the top of the tower, while we were admiring the view of the ship and surrounding waters, Colonel’s sun hat blew clear off his head and into the mangrove below. There may or may not have been a covert rescue mission performed when we got downstairs. (Names and details have been changed to preserve the anonymity of the parties involved.)
After making our way back from our bike ride, we met the rest of the family and decided it was time for lunch at Cookies II barbecue. Although not Emily’s favorite meal of the cruise, we enjoyed the barbecue chicken, burgers, corn on the cob, and various salads that were offered in the outdoor buffet style meal. We grabbed some seats on the picnic table benches and enjoyed our lunch on the island. It wouldn’t be a lunch at Cookies II without a stack of chocolate chip cookies and a couple trips to the soft serve ice cream machines.
With our bellies full and our skin soaked with sun and sunscreen, it was time to return to the ship and relax in our staterooms. Back in the rooms we took some time to decompress before getting ready for the afternoon and evening activities.
Since the boys hadn’t spent much time in the Oceaneer Club and Lab, we dropped them off to go and play. The adults took the opportunity to check out the Meridian Bar, located just outside of the Palo restaurant on Deck 12 aft. Emily and I enjoy stopping by this location for a drink after a fun day at Castaway Cay because it is the perfect location to watch the ship depart the island. We grabbed a seat on the outside deck and enjoyed our cocktails as we sailed away from our last port of call.
After the island disappeared into the distance, we picked up the boys and took Grandma and PopPa on a Midship Detective Agency game/tour of the ship. They had a blast using their game cards to solve the Muppet Mystery. On our tour we stopped by the pin trading event that was outside of the shops on deck three forward, where the boys traded a few pins with the ships’ officers.
After we finished our game, pin trading, and a bit of shopping, it was time for our last dinner on the ship, at Royal Palace. We enjoyed our last meal with our server Gusti who brought some fun puzzles with crayons. Emily got to order her favorite dessert on the cruise, the Grand Marnier Soufflé. It was the perfect last dinner on an amazing cruise!
After dinner we hung out in the atrium, enjoying the live music and festivities on the last evening. The characters made an appearance for their See Ya Real Soon show that capped off a full, last day on the Disney Dream.
We got back to our stateroom just in time to get our bags out to be taken off the ship in the morning. We got into our cozy clothes for for our last evening, drifting off to sleep with the Mickey Cartoons soothing us to sleep.
Departure Day
Always the hardest day to wake up on the ship, departure day. Because our last dinner was at Royal Palace, that meant Royal Palace would be our breakfast location on our departure day. We got ready and packed all of our remaining items in our carry-on suitcase and navigated down to deck three for breakfast. We enjoyed our last meal on the ship, talking about our favorite activities over our three night cruise. We all agreed that we were so happy that Grandma and PopPa finally were able to join us on a cruise.
We disembarked the ship, packed our bags in the car, and made the 40 minute drive back to Orlando. We didn’t know at the time but our next cruise would be the following January where we went on a five night Marvel cruise out of Miami.
If you enjoy following along with our adventures, check out our Disney Cruise Adventures page where you can see all of the trips and videos from our stops around the world!
Wow, absolutely fabulous 3 day video. I worked w/Colonel waaay back when at SPD and it is so very lovely to see the family having such a great time. You did a terrific job documenting the trip, keep up the good work and get them to go on another cruise with you!