On Monday, April 2, we set sail for four nights on the Disney Dream with our family and Kyle's parents. To say it was a magical time is an understatement!
I ordered precious shirts for the girls to wear from my friend, Jennifer at "Boas and Bowties". Check her out on Instagram! She makes super cute appliqued shirts, dresses, tea towels, etc. for every occasion, sports team and everything in between.
As soon as we arrived on the ship, the girls wanted ice cream! Your wish is my command, princess! (That's what every staff member calls the girls while on the ship...princess!)
I love that on the Disney Cruise, you can have all the ice cream your heart desires. FOR FREE! The girls probably had at least three ice cream "snacks" each day. ha!
After ice cream, we let the girls swim and slide and then it was time to decorate our doors. Two years ago we went on our first Disney Cruise and I did tons of research. I learned that a lot of people decorate their doors so I purchased the cutest DOOR MAGNETS for our trip from Etsy. These have held up so well I knew I could use them again this year and they were just as precious!
We set sail and the girls were dying to see Mickey first! I love that the Disney Cruise app on your iPhone lets you know what characters are going to be where and at what time. This was HUGE for us as my girls LOVE mixing and mingling with all of the princesses and other Disney characters. If you didn't see an earlier post, we used this super cute BOOK to collect all of the character autographs.
Day 2 was all about fun, sun, and the AquaDuck! The key to the AquaDuck is to stay on the boat when you port in the Bahamas (or wherever). Most people get off the ship, however, we stayed on this trip so we could relax and enjoy the boat while it was less crowded. Even the grandparents loved it!
The next day we arrived at Castaway Cay, Disney's island in the Bahamas. They offer a 5K race on the island in the morning and Kyle ran in it two years ago but decided not to do it again this year. The island is absolutely gorgeous and there's tons of opportunities for great photo ops.
There's tons of things to do on the island - snorkeling, parasailing, swimming, relaxing, swim with stingrays, you name it! We decided to chill and let the girls play in the sand, swim, and of course have some more ice cream!
After a day of island time, we got back on the boat a tad early to ride the AquaDuck again since the majority of people were still on the beach.
That evening it was time for us to grab our eye patches and bandannas and get ready for Pirate Night. Even the characters put on their best pirate costumes and the girls LOVE it! Disney Cruise provides each passenger with a pirate bandanna to wear, however, it's important to remember to bring your pirate costumes. They have some on the boat for sale, however, you can imagine how pricey they are.
We made our rounds getting more autographs and pics and then the coolest thing happened. Peter Pan came up to the girls and asked if they wanted to scare Captain Hook. They were SO excited and talked about this the remainder of the trip. I love that the characters are so spontaneous and so attentive to the children. It makes them happy which makes mommy and daddy happy. Disney is truly magical!
Dinner time was also a favorite time for everyone. We had an amazing server that was great with the girls. AND, he did magic tricks! We all loved him and it made dinner so much fun.
The girls begged and begged all week to have their hair braided, especially when they saw a ton of older girls on the boat walking around with their hair braided. I finally caved in and let them do it. You only live once right?! And getting it done on the last day was great so we didn't have to worry about putting sunscreen in their hair so their scalp wouldn't get burned. They LOVED it!
On the last night, they had a Beauty and the Beast show and it was ah-mazing! Seriously Broadway caliber! I highly recommend making it to all the shows. We enjoyed all of them - The Golden Mickey's, Believe, the Magic Show, and Beauty and the Beast. One thing I would suggest is to get there early. We sat in the lower level, the last row before the back section and those seats were awesome. We sat there the first night and made a point to get there early each night to get those seats. There's also popcorn, snacks, and adult beverages available in the theater which was great for everyone.
As you can tell, we had a delightful time on the Disney Cruise and our girls are already talking about going back.
A few other tips and tricks I would recommend:
After ice cream, we let the girls swim and slide and then it was time to decorate our doors. Two years ago we went on our first Disney Cruise and I did tons of research. I learned that a lot of people decorate their doors so I purchased the cutest DOOR MAGNETS for our trip from Etsy. These have held up so well I knew I could use them again this year and they were just as precious!
We set sail and the girls were dying to see Mickey first! I love that the Disney Cruise app on your iPhone lets you know what characters are going to be where and at what time. This was HUGE for us as my girls LOVE mixing and mingling with all of the princesses and other Disney characters. If you didn't see an earlier post, we used this super cute BOOK to collect all of the character autographs.
Day 2 was all about fun, sun, and the AquaDuck! The key to the AquaDuck is to stay on the boat when you port in the Bahamas (or wherever). Most people get off the ship, however, we stayed on this trip so we could relax and enjoy the boat while it was less crowded. Even the grandparents loved it!
Another reason to stay on the boat, the characters walked around throughout the day so it gave us the perfect opportunity to get more cute pics and autographs.
There's tons of things to do on the island - snorkeling, parasailing, swimming, relaxing, swim with stingrays, you name it! We decided to chill and let the girls play in the sand, swim, and of course have some more ice cream!
Don't forget, if you're going to be enjoying a day in the sun, you definitely need great sunscreen. We use BEAUTYCOUNTER'S SUNSCREEN and I love knowing that the ingredients in it are nontoxic and will not be harmful for my girls AND it protects them from harmful UV rays. Winning!
That evening it was time for us to grab our eye patches and bandannas and get ready for Pirate Night. Even the characters put on their best pirate costumes and the girls LOVE it! Disney Cruise provides each passenger with a pirate bandanna to wear, however, it's important to remember to bring your pirate costumes. They have some on the boat for sale, however, you can imagine how pricey they are.
We made our rounds getting more autographs and pics and then the coolest thing happened. Peter Pan came up to the girls and asked if they wanted to scare Captain Hook. They were SO excited and talked about this the remainder of the trip. I love that the characters are so spontaneous and so attentive to the children. It makes them happy which makes mommy and daddy happy. Disney is truly magical!
Dinner time was also a favorite time for everyone. We had an amazing server that was great with the girls. AND, he did magic tricks! We all loved him and it made dinner so much fun.
Also on Pirate Night, they have a super cool pirate party on the deck as well as a firework show. The girls loved seeing the party but the fireworks are a tad too late for their bedtime.
On the last night, they had a Beauty and the Beast show and it was ah-mazing! Seriously Broadway caliber! I highly recommend making it to all the shows. We enjoyed all of them - The Golden Mickey's, Believe, the Magic Show, and Beauty and the Beast. One thing I would suggest is to get there early. We sat in the lower level, the last row before the back section and those seats were awesome. We sat there the first night and made a point to get there early each night to get those seats. There's also popcorn, snacks, and adult beverages available in the theater which was great for everyone.
As you can tell, we had a delightful time on the Disney Cruise and our girls are already talking about going back.
A few other tips and tricks I would recommend:
- Purchasing this OVER THE DOOR SHOE ORGANIZER - this was great for storing all of our toiletry items since space is limited. We didn't do this on our first Disney Cruise but used it this time and I highly recommend it. Well worth the $9!
- Go to Instagram and check out "Boas and Bowties" and "Little Cat Smocked Shop" - this is where I got the girls adorable Disney outfits and the prices are great!
- Be sure to download the Disney Cruise app and make sure your spouse does as well. This way you can communicate on the boat should you get separated. Also, it lists what activities are happening daily and what characters are going to be where. I used this constantly and was thankful I downloaded it!
- As soon as you book your cruise be sure to schedule meet & greets with Anna and Elsa. These were sold out once we arrived on the ship so we didn't get a chance to do that this trip.
- When booking your cruise, you can also schedule a character call on a specific date and time. This was super cool and our girls LOVED that Mickey and Minnie called them to tell them they were excited to see them soon!
- If this is your first Disney Cruise I would recommend getting a lanyard to store your room key in. Since you won't be carrying around a purse, this is an easy way NOT to lose your key.
- Hit up the Dollar Tree for tons of items - glow sticks for Pirate Night, Disney items to give as sercies prior to your trip or during your trip (rather than buying expensive ones on the ship), snack containers (we brought our own snacks for the girls which was nice if you were having fun and didn't want to stop and go get them their 459029347th ice cream ;)), collapsible laundry bag (to store dirty clothes in as the rooms are such tight quarters - we stored ours in the closet during our trip), tissues, kids sunglasses, pool toys, etc.
- Make sure to pack your bathing suit in your carry on as your suitcases don't arrive in your room until well after you've been on the boat for a few hours. This way the kids can enjoy the pools and start having fun right away.
- Pack clothespins so you can hang up wet bathing suits in the bathroom on the clothes line that's provided.
- Pack ziplock bags in case there are any wet items to pack on your last day.
- Most of all - relax, have fun, and enjoy making tons of memories with your family!
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