The magical Disney Magic!

Not sure I could ever find the words to adequately describe such an amazing holiday, though magical is definitely appropriate. Robert and I have done over 20 cruises combined, and without question, Disney's got it "licked" for families with young children.

Getting there was not exactly smooth sailing though...as baby came down with the chickenpox ON THE FLIGHT to Miami. It was a far worse case than Andrew's, so Robert and I had all but written off the trip entirely the whole time we were in Florida. We called our travel insurance company the day before embarkation, who advised us that a doctor's note was mandatory in order to make a claim. So, off we went to a pediatrician in Florida, where we had to enter the building through a private entrance designed for contagious children, and were (very fortunately) seen immediately. After a thorough examination, the doctor, though surprised to see the severity of outbreak on Ryan, particularly a baby that was breastfed AND had taken antibiotic treatment, advised us that Ryan was, without question, NO LONGER CONTAGIOUS!!! To say that Robert and I were elated would be an understatement! She wrote a doctor's note for us to take along with us, and our vacation REALLY began then, approximately 1:00 in the afternoon the day before the ship was to set sail. We left the doctor's (through the normal exit doors) and were absolutely over the moon. We went to Tia and Abuela's house for a celebratory birthday meal for Tia, and headed back to the hotel to prepare for our cruise.

Everything was "smooth sailing" from the moment we arrived at the port. In my opinion, Disney Cruise is so far superior than any other cruise line (when it comes to cruising with children) that, honestly, they are in a league of their own. Every little thing is considered, from the layout of the cabins, to the amenities, service and kids programs. As we boarded the ship, the gangway lead us directly to the beautiful and immense atrium, where there was a "Welcome Home" team, which consisted of two rows of about 20 crew in each row, dressed in uniform, who clapped, danced and cheered, along with Mickey, as each family was welcomed to the ship, over the loud speaker system. As we danced along past the welcome committee, and I heard the "Welcome Home to the Chamberlin Family", I could not hold back the tears. I was SO relieved and SO happy that our vacation was actually happening! And we had a VERY excited little 3 year old boy; witnessing the awe and thrill in his face was priceless! The cabin was perfect. Unlike other cruise lines that do not have a bath tub unless you are in a suite, it is a standard item on Disney. The bottle warmers, bed rails, diaper genies, etc. are all available, free of charge. And EVERYWHERE we went with the stroller, it seemed like there was a crew member just waiting to help us out. Whether it be getting on an elevator, through a door, or even in line at the breakfast buffet, there was a server who took my tray, and Andrew's too, served the food for me and even fetched the coffee and took it to a table...all I had to worry about was pushing Ryan in the stroller! Completely stress free!!! The waiters in the main dining rooms are equally amazing. The minute either of the boys seemed to get a little antsy during dinner, our assistant or head waiter was there, telling jokes, making frogs out of the the kids' paper menus, bringing the Mickey ice cream bars to Andrew for dessert, etc. (and Andrew even had the option to leave from the dining room as there are staff from the kids club at the outside entrance to the dining room, ready to take your kids back up to the club, or eat dinner IN the kids club itself) One evening in the dining room Andrew got pretty tired, so our waiters brought extra chairs and table cloths to our table, and prepared a full-on bed for Andrew to sleep in with pillows and all! I could go on and on and on. It was JUST unbelievable service.
Our first stop was Castaway Cay, which is Disney's private island in the Bahamas. The beaches were beautiful, the traditional American barbeque lunch was to die for, and the amenities on the island were endless. My only wish was that we could have stayed longer in this port of call. For me, that turned out to be the first and last time I got off the ship until we disembarked in Barcelona, 13 days later! I knew ahead of time that the ports of call on this ship were of little appeal to me, largely because we have already done them several times before. Additionally, getting around these such European ports are not exactly baby-friendly (or stroller-friendly), so it was far more enjoyable for me to stay onboard with the kids and let the ship itself be the vacation for me. (although next time I do plan to climb up the Rock of Gibraltar to see the monkeys at the top!) Robert got off in one other port of call, but for the most part, he was on the same page as me with respect to the ship itself being the vacation. It would take me a month to capture every fabulous detail in this blog, but other highlights of the cruise included the evening shows, the character events (dance parties, deck parties, tea parties, etc. etc. etc.), the kids club, the baby club (and the fabulous staff in said clubs), and the endless amount of pool/jacuzzi time we enjoyed together as a family. For me, the scrumptious food, and the fact that I did not have to cook it, or clean up after it, was of course, THE best!
If you are interested in seeing the photos, let me know and I will send you the link.