Escape from Real Life to Paradise: A New Trip with New Memories - Completed 4/3

[TheMaxRebo]

Thanks for doing a bit of a dining review Jon - I know food is a huge part of the success of failure of a cruise. Are all the meals that long? That seems to be a bit long given how many little kids are probably on the cruise - but maybe they get used to it?

Sounds good that you two got some time along with him in the nursery and then you got even some more time really alone during the movie. Hope you all slept well!

 

[FancyNancy]

Your room looked really nice and dinner sounded delish! Sounds like you had a great sail away day!

 

[dramaqueenemj22]

So, excited to read the rest of your trip report! I am definitely going through post cruise withdrawals.

 

[cstorm65]

Ooo, tell me you rode the AquaDuck (which I can see in your departure party pictures).

I can't say yet!

Wow, those meals are pretty long for a little guy to sit through. I can imagine that he was ready to move on to something else.

Yes, they get a little long. He would do good as long as he was hungry, but they bring the kids meals with the first round of appetizers, so by the time we were ready for our main course he was done and ready to get down and play. We made it ok for the most part though.

Love the room. Very cute!

Dinner sounds delicious. Bummer about forgetting the camera. I'm glad you went back to the room to get it!

It was very good. We did get to enjoy the meal though without worrying about pictures.

Sounds like you guys had a fun evening. I know what you mean about the dinner needing to be a little quicker when you have little ones. Not that I do any more, but the memory remains.

It was a nice night. DS got a little time to play with kids and we got a little adult time which was nice.

Looks like Braxton completely wore himself out!

He did. He fell asleep really easy every night of the cruise.

Thanks for doing a bit of a dining review Jon - I know food is a huge part of the success of failure of a cruise. Are all the meals that long? That seems to be a bit long given how many little kids are probably on the cruise - but maybe they get used to it?

All of the night meals were that long, but I think if DS had been 3 and old enough for the kids club it would have been easy for him to eat his kids meal in about 45 minutes and we could go drop him off at the club for the rest of the meal. I think a lot of people did this, but he wasn't old enough and since we were paying for the nursery by the hour we didn't have unlimited time in there. So it is probably much better once the child is 3 years old.

Sounds good that you two got some time along with him in the nursery and then you got even some more time really alone during the movie. Hope you all slept well!

It was nice. Not too long as we really just like family time on a cruise, but a little time to ourselves is very nice.

Your room looked really nice and dinner sounded delish! Sounds like you had a great sail away day!

The room was awesome! It was a great day.

So, excited to read the rest of your trip report! I am definitely going through post cruise withdrawals.

Thanks for reading. Next update coming now!

 

[cstorm65]

Monday, June 23 - Part 1 - "I See Trees!"

We woke up at 7:30 for our first full day away from Florida. I know I must have been excited because I was ready to go on about 6 hours of sleep after the late movie. We all slept really well this night and for the duration of the cruise. Since we had forgotten our cameras the night before we decided to go to Enchanted Garden for breakfast today before getting off the ship. We also figured it would be much less crowded than Cabanas and I think we were right. There wasn't hardly anyone there, although by the time we left it was getting a little more crowded. DS decided he would play with the silverware while DW got him some food.

About that time DS looked out the window by our table and said, "I see trees". I said, "Really", thinking he was just being funny when I looked out the window and sure enough we were pulling into Nassau and we could see the little tree lined tips of the island. I quickly snapped a picture.

DW came back with DS's food about this time and he stared intently at his plate trying to figure out what he was going to eat.

I took some more pics out of the window as we pulled into Nassau.

The breakfast here is a buffet, but you have a waiter who can order you omelet's with whatever you want in them. Here are some pictures of the buffet, although I got a little crooked on my picture taking.

And here is what I ended up with on my plate:

The croissant with ham and cheese was excellent. I also ordered an omelet which was delicious.

The food was really good. I loved the sausage on the ship. It was very tasty and Mickey waffles were a nice treat as always. It was a great meal and the seat by the window while we pulled into port was awesome. DS moved over to sit with Mommy when he was done.

I got a picture with DS as we were on our way out of the restaurant.

Let's try that again, this one was better.

We went and hung out on deck 4 while waiting for time to get off the ship and got a lot of good pictures of the area.

We took a couple of pictures in the porthole looking towards Festival Place. The lighting wasn't very good, but they are still kind of cute.

The Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas was in port. It is a huge ship!

We also had some nice views towards Atlantis on Paradise Island

My grandpa loves lighthouses so I took this picture for him!

I'll leave it there for today. Hope everyone has a great week.

Up Next: "No Thank You" for the Thousandth Time​

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad you all got a good nights sleep your first night ... and that is pretty cool to basically wake up and be pulling into port - great that you got a window seat at breakfast to watch.

 

[MidnightParade]

Aww! Love that silhoette picture of you and DS!! Adorable!
Wooohoo!! Ready for the first day! Breakfast looks delicious!

 

[FancyNancy]

Great pics with DS!

Your pics of Nassau are beautiful.

Holy smokes the Allure of the Seas IS huge! It almost looks like a floating city!

 

[MEK]

Breakfast looks delish!

Nice pics in front of the port hole. The one with you and Braxton looks really cool because its like a silhouette.

Beautiful pictures of Nassau! It looks so pretty with all the pastel colors.

That Allure IS huge! Wow!

 

[cstorm65]

Glad you all got a good nights sleep your first night ... and that is pretty cool to basically wake up and be pulling into port - great that you got a window seat at breakfast to watch.

It was a great meal and the place was basically empty. We got to sit and enjoy pulling into port with a great view and great breakfast.

Aww! Love that silhoette picture of you and DS!! Adorable!
Wooohoo!! Ready for the first day! Breakfast looks delicious!

Breakfast was really good there. I highly recommend visiting one of the sit down dining rooms at times. The food was great and it seemed much less hectic than Cabanas.

Great pics with DS!

Your pics of Nassau are beautiful.

Holy smokes the Allure of the Seas IS huge! It almost looks like a floating city!

Thanks. That ship was big. The Dream was big, but you could tell Allure was bigger for sure.

Breakfast looks delish!

Nice pics in front of the port hole. The one with you and Braxton looks really cool because its like a silhouette.

Beautiful pictures of Nassau! It looks so pretty with all the pastel colors.

That Allure IS huge! Wow!

It was a great morning already and we're not even off the ship yet!

I'm going to try and get an update in tomorrow everyone. Busy time of year for me as school/football is getting close to starting, but I think I'll have some time tomorrow afternoon to update. Have a great week!

 

[cstorm65]

Monday, June 23 - Part 2 - "No Thank You" for the Thousandth Time

We ended up on Deck four to hang out until it was time to disembark in Nassau. They were having a Princess Meet and Greet in the lobby atrium while we waited and we got some pictures of the area.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip when DS was looking down through a hole in the railings at Tiana doing a meet.

We got off the ship at 9:30 and started making the walk towards Festival Place. We stopped to take a couple of pictures beside the ship.

And here we were!

Those of you who have been to Nassau know the incredible number of people trying to sell you things from souvenirs to scooter rides. I have never said "no thank you" so many times in my life. Eventually we made it out of the port area and started spending some time in the shops up on the main street. We stayed in town until around 10:45 and it was finally hot enough for us to want to start heading back to the ship. DW and I each bought a coffee mug in a store and we found DS a cool little tie dye Nassau t-shirt. He loves it because it is orange which is his favorite color right now. As we walked back to the ship we saw a guy playing the drums on the side of the road. DS loved watching it!

A few more pics from the streets of Nassau.

April found a Starbucks!

Back in Festival Place

We finally made it back to the Dream at around 11:15.

When we got back we called the nursery and wanted to know if they had availability for DS for one hour. DW and I wanted to ride the Aqua Duck while people were off the ship. They did have room for him so we dropped him off to play (i.e. wear himself out before nap time) for a while. It took us about 15 minutes to get on the ride, but it was awesome. Not overly thrilling, but such a great thing to have on the cruise ship. We filled our drinks and sat in the adults area for a while before going to get DS at around 12:30. It was time for a nap so DW and I decided we would just order room service for lunch while DS napped. He went to sleep really easy while we waited on room service that arrived around 1:00.

We shared the cheese plate which was really good. They had a nice variety of cheeses.

April had a Tomato Basil Panini and she liked it a lot and said she may order it again before we get off the ship.

I ordered a Caesar Salad and Four Cheese Pizza, I only have a picture of the salad for some reason.

The salad was good and the pizza was just ok. The crust wasn't really all that crispy, which is something I like in pizza. It was very nice though and easy to order room service while DS took a nap. We sat on the couch watching TV (probably he DVC channel) for about the next hour while DS slept. It was a nice little break time from the hot morning in Nassau and riding the Aqua Duck.

Up Next: "I See Daisy"​

 

[FancyNancy]

Cute pics of DS looking at the Princesses!

To be honest it probably would have really annoyed me having to say "No thank You" so much. I don't like it when people are that aggressive about selling stuff.

I love that the ships have child care. Is it an extra fee?

 

[MidnightParade]

Love love that first pic of DS looking down at Tiana! Fantastic!

Oh man I hate being pushed to buy something, it pretty much makes me not buy anything since I'm trying to get away from them instead of looking at what they have!!!

Yay Aqua Duck, it does look pretty awesome!

Sounds like a nice afternoon and nice to have the room service option!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That really is a great picture of your son looking down on Tianna!

That's great that they had room for your son and you got to have a little time alone and got to ride the aquaduck together! And very cool that they offer room service and that the food was pretty good all things considered.

 

[sommergirl25]

Hope you and your wife's first days of school are going well. I'm sure y'all have been so busy! Can't wait to read more about the cruise.

 

[MEK]

What a neat shot of Braxton checking out T!

Love the pictures of Nassau since my cruise is getting closer all the time and I have never been there.

Woo hoo for Starbucks! And good to know!

Glad to hear the aqua duck was not "overly" thrilling. I guess I really need to try it.

Yay for a baby nap and a room service lunch. Sounds perfect.

Hope the end of your summer has been good and you'll be back with more updates soon.

 

[cstorm65]

Cute pics of DS looking at the Princesses!

To be honest it probably would have really annoyed me having to say "No thank You" so much. I don't like it when people are that aggressive about selling stuff.

I love that the ships have child care. Is it an extra fee?

It got a little annoying, but we moved quickly with DS in the stroller and got out of that area pretty quick. The child care is free if they are 3 or older. For under 3 years of age we paid $9 per hour. Now, it evens out because the cruise fare for a child under 3 is significantly less than a child over 3, so technically nothing is free!

Love love that first pic of DS looking down at Tiana! Fantastic!

Oh man I hate being pushed to buy something, it pretty much makes me not buy anything since I'm trying to get away from them instead of looking at what they have!!!

Yay Aqua Duck, it does look pretty awesome!

Sounds like a nice afternoon and nice to have the room service option!

The Aqua Duck was awesome! It was thrilling at the start, but not so much so that you can't enjoy the view from that high up. Room service is awesome. We used them the entire time for milk for DS and it was always fast and easy.

That really is a great picture of your son looking down on Tianna!

That's great that they had room for your son and you got to have a little time alone and got to ride the aquaduck together! And very cool that they offer room service and that the food was pretty good all things considered.

My favorite picture of the whole cruise portion of the trip. Also, the ladies in the nursery were awesome. When DW called them to see if they could keep DS for just an hour the girl said, "Oh Yes, of course we have room for Braxton! He is so much fun!". So they may say that to everyone, but it sure seemed genuine.

Hope you and your wife's first days of school are going well. I'm sure y'all have been so busy! Can't wait to read more about the cruise.

I got back on today for the first time in a while. School is finally going and we are getting close to a normal routine so I can get some updates out again.

What a neat shot of Braxton checking out T!

Love the pictures of Nassau since my cruise is getting closer all the time and I have never been there.

Woo hoo for Starbucks! And good to know!

Glad to hear the aqua duck was not "overly" thrilling. I guess I really need to try it.

Yay for a baby nap and a room service lunch. Sounds perfect.

Hope the end of your summer has been good and you'll be back with more updates soon.

The first little loop of the Aqua Duck is thrilling and the rest of the ride is kind of like a lazy river where you get to enjoy that view from up high. It was an awesome ride. And yes, Starbucks is close to the port!

 

[cstorm65]

Ok, sorry for the absence everyone, but I'm back. We got school started and two-a-day football practices over and we are getting into a normal routine again. Hopefully that means I can get some updates out. I have really missed writing these and seeing your responses. So here you go!

Monday, June 23 - Part 3 - "I See Daisy"

After lunch DW was going to lay down for a little nap while DS continued to sleep. I took that opportunity to head down to a presentation called "The Making of the Dream".

It was actually quite boring. I was looking forward to seeing some of the specifications of the ship and things like that as a physics teacher, but they didn't get very specific on those things. They talked more about the history of Disney Cruise Line more than anything. After the presentation I headed out and sat in a lounge chair on deck four and was able to watch the Allure of the Seas leave port. By the way I was still amazed at the size of that ship. Deck four is just an awesome place to sit during the hot afternoon. Every time I was there it seemed at least 10 degrees cooler than on the top decks out in the sun.

I began watching some of the crewmembers work on cleaning the exterior of the ship and the pride they take in it is amazing. That is why Disney is great; they get their cast and crew members to want things to be done at a high level because they take pride in it.

Goofy and Max walked by while I was sitting down their as well heading somewhere and they stopped to all of us sitting down there to say hello!

DS woke up around 3:15 and tried to get himself going again by watching Mickey Mouse clubhouse.

We then went out and delivered a set of our fish extender gifts. It is kind of fun sneaking around with a bag full of stuff and trying to get it into the fish extender without people seeing you. We did this until around 4:15 and headed back to get ready for dinner. We had someone special to meet before we ate. At about 4:45 we headed to the atrium to meet the Captain of the ship...or who DS thought was the captain. Some pictures on the way:

Of course, DS had to make what was becoming his trademark face!

We were about fifth in line to see Captain Mickey when he came out at 5:00. It was a great meet and they seem to rush you along even less than in the theme parks. DS walked right up to him as usual and gave him a big hug.

Now after meeting Mickey we decided we would go try and see Daisy by Preludes. DS was having a thing for Minnie and Daisy on this trip and wanted to meet the girls every chance he got. We got in line a little early and before long DS spotted Daisy coming down the path and screamed "I See Daisy!" and when Daisy heard that she waved at him as she walked into the meet and greet area. We were second in line here and DS had a great meet with her.

Now we were ready for dinner!

Up Next: Who Knew Ducks Tasted So Good​

 

[MEK]

​

Cool pic. I like how you can see Atlantis right over the railing!

fun pictures of Braxton in the porthole and with the characters.

Not enough physics for you in the Making of the Dream presentation?

Nice afternoon. Bring on dinner! ​

 

[cstorm65]

Cool pic. I like how you can see Atlantis right over the railing!

fun pictures of Braxton in the porthole and with the characters.

He loved playing in those portholes. Unfortunately we don't have a nice enough camera to get great shots, but he had fun!

Not enough physics for you in the Making of the Dream presentation?

I know...I can be a science nerd sometimes. Love me some physics!

Nice afternoon. Bring on dinner!

Coming in a few minutes!