My husband and I have been struggling with infertility for nearly 10 years now. In the meantime we adopted two wonderful little children who are the light of our world. We had entirely given up on getting pregnant, and had convinced ourselves it didn't matter. Then, a miracle happened. On March 2nd, 2015 my "taken on a whim so I could throw the darn thing away" pregnancy test came up positive! After flying to the store, and buying one of every brand of pregnancy test, it was confirmed! I was finally pregnant! We were overjoyed and so looking forward to meeting our little baby. Since I had not been paying attention to my cycle, we could only guess that I was between 4-6 weeks along. The dreams we had buried resurfaced and we talked about who they would look like, and if we wanted a boy or a girl....

Then the worst happened. A ridiculously short week and a half later, I had a miscarriage. We were utterly devastated. I only got to enjoy being pregnant for such a short time. I even enjoyed my food aversion to chicken, since it meant this was real. But in one horrible night and a trip to the ER, our dreams were crushed.

I honestly didn't know how I was going to get through this. I mean, why did God grant us the miracle of pregnancy, only to take it away so quickly? Over the next few days as the cramping and pain continued while my body gave up it's precious cargo, I had a dream. It didn't make everything completely better, but it sure helped. Here it is. I hope it can bring comfort to others as well.

My husband and I were standing alone on a beautiful river bank. The river was about 10 feet across and the water was smooth as glass. There were beautiful flowering trees everywhere. The grass was unnaturally thick and a beautiful shade of green. It reminded me of a thick carpet. There were birds and butterflies happily flitting from tree to tree. But we were not smiling. I was holding a newborn baby swaddled in white blankets. My husband was behind me with his arms wrapped around me. We were both starring down at the baby and crying. The little ones eyes were closed and the skin was very pale. Small tufts of red hair were peaking out from around the blanket. The baby was dead. As we cried, a beautiful baby cradle made from light colored whicker appeared on the shore. It was filled with pillows and blankets and was the perfect size for the baby to lay in. We slowly approached the beautiful little basket. We took turns hugging our baby and kissing the little face. Then, through our tears, we carefully laid the baby in the basket. As we did, the blankets all changed from pure white, to light pink. Crying, we both kissed her beautiful forehead one last time. We told her we loved her and that we would miss her greatly. We put the basket in the river and gave it a small push. We dissolved into tears in each others arms.

The basket floated straight across the river at an unnatural pace and angle. The flow of the river didn't seem to affect it at all. A man appeared on the opposite shore. He was wearing long pure white robes and sandals. He had long brown hair and a beard. It was Jesus. He picked up the cradle and gently set it on his shore line. He reached in and picked up the baby. He said, "Hello Ashley. Welcome Home." Ashley's little arms immediately broke free of the swaddle and reached up to entwine her little fingers in his beard. She wasn't pale anymore. Her skin had a very healthy beautiful pink glow to it. She smiled at Jesus and laughed. Jesus smiled back and laughed with her. He gently kissed her forehead. He held our little Ashley close and looked at us across the river. We were standing still, watching in awe. He smiled and said, "Don't worry. I will take care of her until it's your turn to cross the river and see her again". He turned and walked slowly away carrying our baby. He stopped, turned to face us and repeated, "I will take care of her". Our smiling baby looked straight at us, smiled and waved. Jesus turned around and walked into the most beautiful, blinding white and gold light and they both disappeared into it.

Our Adoption story

Our Christmas letter this year telling our road to adoption:

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2013 AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Well... this is a difficult letter to write this year! It should be easy since the best thing that happened to us, happened this year, but for some reason, I’m having a hard time putting it to words. So instead of the usual recap of our year, let me tell you a story. This is the story of how Timothy became our son…

Twelve years ago this coming March, David and Trisha were married. They had the normal newlywed dreams; finish college, have kids and live happily ever after. Step one was complete so, on to the kids! Like a lot of “New parents to be”, they assumed it would be easy. 3, maybe 4, months later they would be sharing the exciting news of an upcoming birth! It was not to be. After 3 years of trying, they started asking the doctors what could be wrong. After many, many… MANY doctor appointments, it was determined that nobody had any idea what was wrong. By this time, they had been hoping to be parents for almost 7 years. After much prayer, they weren’t sure what to do next. Then, along came their good friends, Renee and Tim who knew of David and Trisha’s desires. Their daughter had recently done an internship at a local adoption agency. In October 2011, they invited David and Trisha to attend the agencies annual banquet. They were nervous, but thought it would worth learning about adoption. The banquet was a turning point in their lives. Trisha went home, excited, crying, happy and sad. So many happy people holding their new babies was hard to see, but somehow was exactly what they needed to see.  

Trisha and David were now on fire for adoption. Immediately after the banquet, they went to the angency's website and tried to sign up to be adoptive parents. With a heavy heart they discovered the agency was not accepting new families at that time. They were very confused. Maybe it wasn’t the path God wanted them to take? Trisha decided to send an email to the director of the agency in the hopes there was a waiting list. The director was very nice and said they should just check the website a periodically, and eventually they would open it up for new parents.  They checked the website practically every day. In January of 2012, the director sent Trisha a personal email and let her know that the website would be opening for applications the next day! First thing in the morning they logged on and downloaded the “pre-application” and the paperwork began!  After turning in the pre-application paperwork, they were approved to complete the FULL application. For five months Trisha and David gathered every bit of documentation about their entire lives. Once it was all completed, it was 1 ½ inches thick! Shortly after that, their approval came through!

Next step was to go to an all-day class in August 2012. Then Dave and Trisha had to have the house ready to be inspected by a social worker. They had never cleaned their house so much in their lives! It turned out to be much easier than expected and they passed with no problems.

Now came the hard part. The waiting!!! In an open adoption the adoptive parents make a flyer talking about themselves and their family. Then, the birth parents come to the agency and are given several flyers from adoptive parents who would be a good match. The birth family decides on a couple to meet face to face. Assuming the meeting goes well, the birth parents choose the adoptive family to care for their son or daughter. Trisha and David were shown to several birth mothers over the following months. When they knew they were being shown, and were not chosen, it was the worst feeling ever. They knew the baby would be in a loving home and would be well cared for, but it was hard to lose each one.

Finally, in January 2013, they got THE call. In an ironic twist of fate, Trisha didn’t hear the phone ring, so the agency called David at work. So in their case, the HUSBAND got to tell the WIFE they would be having a baby! They were chosen by a young couple who wanted to give their baby the best chance he could have. They all meet one day in the town where the birth parents attended school. The meeting went VERY well. The birth parents, the birth grandma, the social worker and David and Trisha talked for over 2 hours. After the meeting, the birth parents officially choose David and Trisha to be the parents of their son! The birth mom was due April 26^th, 2013. It was an exciting, yet hard time for David and Trisha. The birth parents can change their mind on a whim up until paperwork is signed 48 hours after the birth. So, David and Trisha did not want to get TOO excited. They did not get the nursery ready, or buy anything other than the bare essentials.

At 11:54 pm on April 25^th, Dave and Trisha got the call they had been waiting for! The birth mom was in labor! They had just gone to bed, so they quickly got up and started getting ready. They didn’t think she would have the baby on her due date, so they didn’t have their bags packed yet! Oops! They got ready as fast as they could, and headed for the hospital 2 hours away. They arrived at 3am. Within 30 minutes, the birth grandmother, and the birth great grandmother arrived. After greeting the birth parents, Dave and Trisha headed for the waiting room. Within a few minutes the birth great grandmother joined them. They spent the next several hours talking and getting to know each other.

At 1:46 pm on her due date, April 26^th, Timothy came into the world. The birth parents called Trisha and David back to meet him about 45 minutes after he was born. Words can barely describe their joy when they first held him. He was so perfect and beautiful, but it was so hard to believe that it was real, and that he would really go home with Dave and Trish. After all, the birth mom can still change her mind at any moment, could they really get excited about him? However, Timothy proved too amazing to allow them to be reserved. The nurses allowed Dave and Trish to go with and watch him get his first bath and his first meal. They couldn’t stop staring at the amazing perfection in this tiny baby. God did a good job on this one!

The next 2 days were a bit of a blur. They got to meet more of the birth parents extended family, and were so blessed that they all loved and accepted them. At the end of the 48 hour waiting period, they were so nervous. They sat in the waiting room while the social worker went in to talk to the birthparents. This was it. They were either leaving as parents, or were leaving the car seat with the birth family because it was not going home empty. When the social worker came back out and told them the paperwork was signed, Trisha burst into tears. It was really going to happen! She was so blessed that within moments of crying, the birth grandmother came over, hugged her, congratulated her and told her she was so happy for them. That is one amazing woman! Trisha hugged her back and doesn’t remember if she was even able to say anything to her. She just hugged her and thanked God for sending them such an amazing birth family.         

Once the paper work was signed, they spent a few minutes with the birth family talking and taking pictures. The birth family left the hospital first and Dave and Trisha were left in the room with their new SON! They were finally parents! They had to wait about an hour for the discharge paperwork to come through. During that time they just held their new son. It was such an amazingly emotional time! All those years of waiting, and he was finally going home with them! They left the hospital in a state of wonder, shock and awe and took their new son home and looked forward to the major changes in their lives to come.

When Timothy was 6 months old, the legal and final adoption took place on October 30^th, 2013. They stood before a judge and he was legally declared their son!  

So, that is our story for you. Timothy has been such an amazing blessing. God sure knows how to write and create stories that we never could have imagined or understood how happy it would make us.

Our Disney Cruise experience PART 2. Part 1 can be found in my blog.


So, we left off with Day 4 in Costa Maya. Day 5 found us in Cozumel, Mexico. If you have to get off the boat in Mexico, Cozumel is not a bad option. MUCH more developed and a lot less scary than Costa Maya. We decided on a Dune Buggy and beach snorkel excursion. I had never been snorkeling, and my parents were determined that I would try it. :) The dune buggy's were.. funny. Very old, and sometimes they work. They are little 4 person all metal seat cars. If you have back problems, or don't like bumpy noisy rides, these are not for you. They made me laugh. Our whole group divided into 4 people small groups and got in our buggys. Then we drove in caravan about 30 minutes to Playa del Sol. (the beach/park area.)

The little green one was ours. If we came to a complete stop.. the buggy stalled. LOL

 

The first stop in the park was the crocodile habitat. Let me tell you, it's cool to see a 17 foot long croc in the water below your walkway. That is.. Until you realize that the walkway is about 50 years old, hand made with little to no power tools, and each board sags dramatically if you only step on one. I'm a woodworker, and could tell this thing is NOT going to last many more years. Then add 40-50 tourists, and suddenly that wasn't as much fun. But, the swamp land was pretty, and seeing a Croc instead of our American Gators was cool and the surrounding territory was beautiful.

 

 

After we said hello to the Croc, we drove our buggies to the next stop, The Beach! They had a gift shop, a huge covered pavilion with the lunch buffet being set up and a shack where you could get your snorkeling gear. I would recommend bringing your own Snorkel and mask. Theirs were in various states of disrepair, and let's be honest, they have been in a whole lot of other peoples mouths before yours. You can get fins from them, but we brought our own. Besides, on Disney's private island, if you have your own snorkel and fins, you don't have to rent any, and believe you'll want them. More on that later. So, we all suited up and got ready to snorkel for the first time. The guide gives you brief lessons and teaches you how to use the equipment. I must say, I HATE breathing through my mouth. I know I'm weird, but just some little quirk about me. So, the snorkel was REALLY hard to get used to. I'd stick my face in the water and it was like my brain just couldn't comprehend OPEN YOUR MOUTH STUPID! So it took me a few tries to get used to it. Once I figured it out, it was so cool! The only problem was this particular tour was in a hurry to get groups through the water. There are SEVERAL cruise ships in port and they have many groups there at once. So the guide gets in the water and has you follow him. Let's just say, his pace was MUCH faster than ours and it was hard to keep up. We saw lots of coral and fish, but we had to keep moving so the really cool fish didn't come out from hiding. (you have to hold still to see them) Still, for a first time trying it, it was great! I was surprised how easy it was to float. I was a little nervous since I'm not a strong swimmer, but really, you don't need a life jacket to float. So you could just concentrate on breathing, swimming and watching the fish.

I recommend bringing and underwater camera. They are tons of fun!

 

After we snorkeled, we were served traditional Mexican fajitas. I must say, they were awesome! The chips were real fried tortillas, and the food was excellent. Not at all spicy like I thought it would be.

 

After lunch we all hopped into our dune buggies and headed to a light house. We were allowed to go inside and hike up to the top. Holy crow that was a hefty hike! You go inside this cement cylinder and start walking up the steps. There are only one or two windows the entire time, and the center is also cement. Feels like going up an spiral staircase inside an old castle. Got a bit claustrophobic, but the views from the top were awesome!

 

After that we drove the dune buggies back to the port. We had plenty of time before we were to set sail to go shopping. There are TONS of shops in the port area, so if you want souvenirs, this is a good place to get them! A word of warning, the shop keeps will haggle, and HOLY CROW are they pushy!! Be prepared to be followed, harassed and have merchandise SHOVED into your hands. LOL

 

Back on board the Fantasy it was time for Pirate night!!! We have a Pirate themed dinner, get dressed up and then have a huge party on deck. There is no theatre show that night. (Instead they showed the Avengers in 3D for those who didn't want to attend the pirate party.) Mom and I got all dressed up in our pirate outfits and headed to dinner at animators palate.

Seriously, bring a pirate costume. It's just so much more fun if you do. Throw out your inhibitions and just have fun with it. Besides how often do you get to be a Pirate IN THE CARIBBEAN??

 

Dinner was fun. It's the same menu no matter which restaurant you were schedule to be in. Animators palate was fun because all the screens which had Crush on them before, now had pictures of pirates from every Disney movie you have ever seen with a pirate. After dinner, we all headed up to the top deck for a live show, dance party and fireworks! Captain Jack Sparrow was there and they had a whole show about him stealing a piece of treasure and hiding it from the other pirates. He even repelled down from the highest point on the ship.. the top of the smoke stack! I recommend being up on the upper deck above the pools but as close to the main stage as you can. Then, after the show is over, they shoot off the fire works! They fire them from the ship and up out over the ocean. That's why being on the upper deck is great because then you have a completely clear view of the fireworks. After the fireworks finish, head down to the main floor for an epic dance party! You'll get to dance with Disney Characters, cast members, lots of kids and all the adults. It's really a great time if you let yourself be silly and have fun.

 

 

Before bed we decided to play shuffle board on Deck 4. I really think it's a law that you must play shuffle board at least once when you are on a cruise ship. :)

 

 

The next day was another day at Sea. These were truly my favorite days! The ship has so much to offer, and there is so much to do that the Sea days are awesome. We slept in, since we had stayed up so late with pirate night. Then we played the midship detective game a couple of times and rode the Aqua Duck. The Aqua Duck is this water roller coaster that circles the ship and even juts out over the side. you are in a mostly enclosed water tube slide. It curls around and then all of a sudden the water kicks up speed and you get pushed UP HILL and over a big bump. (Also the only part of the slide without a ceiling.)  It's a whole lot of fun. Make sure you ride it at least once during the day, and once at night. the night time ride is a new experience with the darkness, and all kinds of cool lights.

 

We played mini golf a couple of times, had a casual lunch in the buffet and just had a nice, fun relaxing day! We enjoyed the deck chairs in the "adults only" side of the ship. It's just a big upper deck with a couple of bars, but the chairs are never crowded, and no one is crying for their mommy. :) Dinner that night was at Animators Palate again. This time there was a new show! They had us each draw a little stick figure character on special placemats. Then they scanned them all in and animated them. They had this dance video and all our characters danced to the music. It was cute and surprisingly funny. After dinner we went to the show "Believe". A really fun show about trying to convince this scientist guy that Magic is real. Lots of Disney Characters and of course, Genie from Aladdin was back and funnier than ever! Great show! After the show we started packing. SIGH. We still had one full day aboard the ship, but we knew the last night was going to be crazy. They want all your checked luggage to be placed in the hallway the night before you leave the ship. That way it will be all unloaded in the port terminal when you leave the ship. We knew that the next day was going to be fun and busy, so we got a jump on the packing.

 

The next day was the best day of the entire cruise. We stopped at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay! Can I just say.. If the cruise spent 7 days JUST on Castaway Cay I'd book the trip once a month. SUCH a gorgeous island! Crystal clear water, beautiful white sandy beaches, all the food you could want and amazing snorkeling! We knew this was going to be an amazing place to stop, so we were in line the MOMENT they let us to get off the ship. The ship actually docks on the island, so you can come and go as you please. They also serve a free lunch on the island so you don't have to leave until you want to!

 

Pulling up to the dock.

 

Our first stop was Serenity Bay. The adults only beach. One tip.. take the transportation bus, don't walk. It's a MUCH longer walk than you think! We got to the beach and just LOVED the thick sand, and the mile or so of beach with beach chairs waiting.

 

 

We were eager to go snorkeling again. (see the advantage of having your own gear?) So we suited up and got in the water. I must say, I LOVE to snorkel! Much more relaxed here without having to follow a guide. We saw a huge sting ray within minutes of entering the water. One fun thing about the island, Disney has put up barrier reefs, so there are little to no waves. They also have sunk MANY cool props from movies, or fun Disney themed things that are now being used by hundreds of fish as their homes. There are several you can walk up to and see the fish in no more than waist deep water. Then they have a set that are farther out that you need to swim to. This is just in the adult area. There are a WHOLE lot more in the snorkeling area, but more on that later. We spent a couple of hours just enjoying all the different fish, and the beautiful water. When we got hungry we headed in and there was a BBQ place right next to the beach. Really good food! And free! (well, part of the price of your cruise.) The only thing you need to pay for is alcohol, and since we don't drink that wasn't an issue.

 

My husband was great and making sure I didn't get left behind or get nervous!

 

After lunch we decided to explore the other beaches. They have a family beach for everyone, a teens only beach for 13-19 year olds, and then the have the snorkeling area. Only problem with this area is they make you wear a bright yellow vest that tends to get in the way, but that's minor. This area was so completely cool! There were Mickey and Minnie statues, a submarine, various ship parts and all kinds of stuff sunk. The fish LOVE those things so you can see tons of them. You can dive down and hold Mickey's hand. He is the masthead of a sunken ship. Keep in mind, this was only my second time snorkeling, and I loved EVERY second of it. My dad was more experienced and he had fun going deeper than I could so, think this area is great for all levels of snorklers.

 

 

They have some fun gift shops on the island where you can buy exclusive merchandise. If you see something you like that says "Castaway Cay" buy it because it's the only place you can get it. After that we reluctantly headed back to the ship. It was such an amazing day. I still dream about that beautiful island and cannot wait to go back.

 

 

Our final dinner on the cruise was at Enchanted Garden. This is when you tip your two servers. Disney gives you envelopes in your stateroom with a paper to fill out for the tip. It's then charged to your room. You can pay cash if you want to, but it's easier to just add to your bill. You leave the tip for your room attendant in your room when you leave.

 

After dinner we had one more show... and we could have skipped it. It was good, but seriously, it's just one big advertisement for the photography service. you can pony up the $400 to get  CD of all your pictures if you want, or you can go pay high prices for the one or two prints you want a copy of. Or.. Skip it and hope you gave your camera to the pros each time they took their own pics of you. :) If you want to skip a stage show, this one is a good choice for skipping! After that, we roamed the ship and bought stuff in the gift shops. We DID NOT want to go to bed knowing that we would wake up back in Port Canaveral. 7 nights just isn't long enough!

 

The final morning they assign you breakfast in the last place you had dinner. So we were back to Enchanted Garden. Sadly it was set for 6:45am. When we woke up, we were already at the dock. I'm not a morning person, so asking me to eat before 7am was not exactly thrilling. Right after breakfast, it's time to get off the ship and head back to the real world. Sigh. We were not ready to go yet!

 

After you leave the ship, you are taken to a huge room with everyone's luggage. Make sure you go to the area with the same Disney character that was on the luggage tags they gave you on board. There will be a cast member there to point you to the general area where your bags will be. They will help you dig for them if you dont' find them quickly. Then you go through customs. Simple process, just make sure you have your passport out and ready.

 

We caught a ride back to the airport with happy limos again. However, instead of bringing a suburban, they brought a sedan... uh... nope. That wont' work. 4 adults and all our luggage had to fit in the trunk?? nope! They had to scramble and send half our bags with a bus, and drive us in the car to the airport. Oops. Next time I'll make sure to pay for the larger car or take the Disney bus.

 

so, that is it! Seriously the best trip I have ever taken. We now have a 3 month old and plan to take another cruise in May 2014. He will be 1 year and 1 month old at that time, so that should be a fun experience. I know it will be a completely different cruise. We can't wait! That's what inspired me to write this blog. I know I am searching for as much information as I can about traveling with an infant, and tips for cruising so I thought I better write my own account for those traveling with just adults. I'll make sure I post again after our next trip to help those with little kids! I'm looking forward to the next magical adventure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My husband and I are getting ready to book our second ever Disney Cruise, and I realized I am going nuts reading other people's blogs about their experiences on their cruise. I suddenly realized I had not posted about OUR amazing, magical and perfect trip. How rude was that! So here goes! I'm here to tell you that Disney Cruises are the SINGLE MOST amazing trips you can possibly take. So, here is our story. :)

We had never been on a cruise before. Our 10th wedding anniversary was coming up and I really wanted to do something special. I LOVE Disneyworld and KNEW that a Disney Cruise had to be awesome. So, I managed to talk my husband into spending a week at Disneyworld, followed by a 7 night Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy. I'll post about DisneyWorld some other time. :)  My parents joined us. So yes, there were 4 adults, and 0 children with us. But let me tell you, you don't need kids to have fun on a Disney Cruise! (2 adults in their 30s, 2 in their 50s.)

We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort at Disneyworld the night before our cruise. (A hotel I HIGHLY recommend.) We had the option of taking Disney's bus transportation to the cruise ship for $35 per person per way. We decided we wanted to arrive as early as possible and we didn't want to arrive with a bus load of others, so we rented a "Limo" from http://www.happylimo.com/. They don't actually drive you in a limo, we were in a suburban. But it was actually a bit cheaper since there were 4 of us going. (Me, my husband, my mom and my dad.) One thing I will say, be VERY honest with the number of bags you have with you. The 4 of us had 10 bags and 4 carryons, so had they come in a sedan..(like they tried for the trip home..) NO WAY would we have fit. Mind you.. we had WAY too much stuff, but I'll get to that later. :) The drive is about 1 hour from Disneyworld to Port Canaveral. I cannot even begin to describe the excitement level as we crossed this huge bridge to the Port and got our first glimpse of the ship. WOW! It was so huge and exciting I was about bouncing out of my seat. I'm in my 30s and I felt about 10 years old at that moment.

 

The driver dropped us off at the port terminal. You get out of the car, and a Disney employee is waiting there to check in your bags. Have your cruise packet with you. (Disney mails this to you once your trip is paid in full.) They take all your checked in bags from the car, and deliver them to your stateroom. You can keep a carryon with you. Here was our first big mistake. I had read all the different blogs about what you should keep with you at all times, and instead of picking and choosing, I brought it ALL. You know, just in case. We had HUGE HEAVY carryon bags. Oops. Not necessary. We were so weighed down, that we didn't explore the terminal at all and when we got on the ship we didn't' want to do anything because our stuff was heavy. Here is what you ACTUALLY need with you. 1. Your key to the world card which they will give you at check in. 2. any medications you have to have. 3. sunglasses 4. your passport, ID, wallet, etc. 5. your camera with memory card and batteries. 6. Really, that's it. You can carry more if you want, but it's just stuff to slow you down. The less you carry into the terminal the happier you will be. They deliver all your stuff around 3-4pm. (even though they say it could be as late as 8pm) Chances are pretty good that you will not get onboard until around 1-2pm. So.. you can live without all the other stuff for a couple of hours. Some people like to wear or bring their swimsuits so they can play on the Aqua Duck (waterslide) before it gets crowded, but if this is your first time on the ship, you will have SOO much more to go look at that you will forget all about the aqua duck. (For now, don't worry, there is plenty of time for it later!)

 

Ok, back to the port terminal. You enter at the ground floor and go through medal detectors. Basically if you can't get it through airport security, don't try to get it through Disney security. Then you head up this huge escalator to the terminal waiting area. An employee will be pointing you to where you need to go to check in. They give you your key to the world card, (room key and how you buy anything onboard), then they give you a card with your boarding group number. The earlier you arrive, the sooner you can get on the ship, so I recommend getting there as soon as you can. We were in boarding group 12 and we were onboard by 12:30pm. The terminal has a ton of stuff to see and do. One thing I wish we had noticed.. there is an outdoor viewing platform where you can see the ship. GO OUT THERE! The ship is seriously impressive when you are that close to it. We had so much junk with us, we basically found a chair and waited. They have movies playing for the kids, Characters come out for pictures, plenty of displays to look at, all kinds of stuff. But.. we just sat there.

 

As you are boarding they will take your picture. ALWAYS hand them your own camera as well. They will take pictures with your camera anywhere they are taking professional pictures. Trust me, buying there pictures is EXPENSIVE. Use your own camera as much as you can unless you budgeted about $400 for their shots. When you board, the cast members (employees) announce your family over the loud speakers as you walk into the grand atrium. It's kinda a fun movie star like experience. I knew this was coming so I had my video camera up and caught it on tape. It was seriously fun. Then you walk through a line of clapping cast members, and the ship is yours! Your room key probably won't work just yet unless you board after 2pm. We decided to go up to the top deck look around and get some lunch. (but remember those heavy carry ons.. yep, still lugging them around!) The deck is amazing. Everyone is happy and smiling and you can't help but smile back. We decided we didn't' want to walk around too much until we got rid of those dang carry-ons, so we went to Cabana's for lunch. Cabana's is a huge buffet on Deck 11. We found an awesome seat. The restaurant is laid out with these big sweeping arches that actually stick out over the water on the side of the ship. if you can get the table in the corner of one of these arches, you are hanging over the side of the ship and there are floor to ceiling windows. Pretty AMAZING place to eat your first Disney meal. And the food... holy crow it's awesome! So much variety, and so much good stuff. The buffet is come and go as you please sort of serving style, so there is no waiting in a huge long line. Just walk up to the item you want and grab it!

 

 

After we finished eating, THANKFULLY our room was ready. No, they don't announce it or anything, but we were so tired of carrying our cra...er..junk around that we went down to our stateroom and tried our key. They worked! We were in rooms 8066 and 8064 on the Disney Fantasy. We were actually on the 9th EVER sailing of the Fantasy, so everything was brand new and beautiful. The rooms have PLENTY of closet space even for us over-packers. And the Verandah was amazing. Seriously. If you can't afford the room with the Verandah... Save up for a year and go when you can. Having that deck in our stateroom was one of my FAVORITE parts. I loved being able to sit out there and just watch the ocean. So relaxing and amazing. The rooms are great for sound proof. The only time I could hear the neighbors was when we were both out on the verandah. We had an adjoining door to our parents room, and the verandah's were adjoining as well. Mind you, this just means that half of the divider opens up on the verandah. It does not mean you get a twice as long of a deck. (You have to turn sideways to fit through.) But there is a normal door on the inside that goes into the other stateroom, so that made things easy. 

Our room ready for sleeping. Every day the room attendant visits your room twice. Once in the morning, to clean, and once in the afternoon to get it ready for going to bed. Disney is awesome. The room attendants leave towel animals in your room. A different one each night.

 

After we dropped off our junk, FINALLY, we went back up on deck for the sail away party. SO MUCH FUN! We liked being up on deck 12  for this. We could still look down to deck 11 where Mickey and the gang were singing and partying, but we could also look over the deck rail and watch Port Canaveral disappear. In the picture below, Deck 11 is the one with the pool, Deck 12 is the walkway I'm standing on. The stage is actually behind me in this picture.

 

The deck party was awesome. Anytime they are doing deck parties, go join in the fun. It's a great time to be silly, laugh, and have fun with the Disney gang. And no, it's NOT geared to little kids. It was enjoyed by every single person on deck. Oh, and a fun side note, if you can look over the rail down to the port terminal, the cast members on shore come outside and wave at the ship wearing giant Mickey Hands. It's fun to see. And while you are there... look for the "hidden" Mickey's in the terminals architecture. :)

 

After the deck party, we hung out on deck watching the shore disappear. Then we explored the ship a bit. Disney does dinners on a restaurant rotation schedule. Each night you eat at one of the main dining halls. Your servers follow you to each restaurant. This is good and bad. Let me explain. Our first night we had dinner at the "Royal Table". Beautiful restaurant made to look like a banquet hall in a castle. Our table was kinda a crappy location. We were in a side room overlooking the main atrium. Why was this crappy, well, because they were doing professional photoshoots in the atrium. So that means.. the whole room flashed every few seconds as the photographer took pictures. It got VERY annoying. We also couldn't see into the main room, so it felt a bit claustrophobic. Some people probably like it for it's "privacy", but it was too closeted feeling for me. Anyway, the food was excellent. The portions seemed a bit small, but you can ALWAYS ask for seconds. One fun trick we learned... If you have any kind of food allergy, you can actually order your meal for the next night while eating tonight's meal. Actually, they MAKE you order before hand. I'm allergic to nuts, so by ordering the night before, any item that may have had nuts in it, would be made without them, so I could get anything, and they brought it out faster than any other table. Another quick tip. My mom and I LOVE fruit. So, on the first night we mentioned this to our server. She brought us out a plate of fruit EVERY NIGHT of the cruise as our "appetizer". It was awesome! The other tables around us were jealous until we told them to ask for it, then we all had a big plate of different fruit each night. So, if there is something unusual you want... ASK FOR IT. Chance are really good you'll get it and more.

 

So, why was I saying that having the same server every night can be a bad thing? After all, they brought us fruit, knew our names, knew how fast we wanted our meal to come and even had drinks waiting for us at the table. Well... Our main server made me really mad on the first night. She said something that I'm SURE she thought was really funny, but I took it as REALLY insulting. Since I'm a wuss and didn't speak up and ask for a new server, I had to see this lady every single night even though I was still hurting from her foreign sense of humor. I truly believe the comment was funny if I was from her culture, but I'm not, so it was insulting. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but all week I was on edge every time she talked to me waiting to be insulted again. That was silly of me, it put a damper on each evening. Next time.. I'll just ask for a new server.

 

Before you leave for your cruise.. Call the Disney Customer service line and request that your table be near the windows or the screens at dinner. Not only do you get the same server, you also get the same table each time. I thought our table placement was kinda cruddy since we were too far away from the windows, or TV screens to see anything properly. But I learned you can call ahead and ask for good table placement if you call after you have paid your cruise in full.

 

Me and my husband at Royal Table

My parents

 

The first night, I got a bit of motion sickness. Well, Not sick really, but I felt... off. It was like my head was trying to hold still but my body was moving. It was made a bit worse because at dinner I was facing a porthole. It was pretty far away, but it made it look like we were on level with the water and I could really see it moving. I ended up switching seats with my dad so I faced away from the window, and immediately felt better. But wait you say. Didn't you JUST tell us to request a window seat?? Yes I did, and I stand by it. After the first night, that feeling completely went away. And when you eat at Animators palate, you NEED to be near the walls so you can talk to Crush. (More of that later) If we hit a big wave or something I'd get momentarily dizzy, but it would pass quickly and was just kinda funny. Never took any meds for it, and none of the rest of the family seemed to have any problems. But the ships health center does have motion sickness pills if you need them.

 

After dinner we went to the opening nights show. I have a degree in Theatre, and can I just say WOW! Disney knows how to put on a Broadway style show that is worthy of your time! Having said this, I will say that the opening show and the closing nights show are the two that if you need to skip them, it's ok to do so. They are entertaining, but basically the opening nights show is a big advertisement for all you can do on the ship. And the closing nights show is an advertisement for buying the pictures the professionals took. It's presented in a fun, entertaining way, so you won't regret it if you go to those two shows, but you won't miss anything if you decide to roam the ship instead.

 

The beautiful chandelier in the lobby.

 

 

The next morning we slept in! The rocking of the ship combined with extremely comfortable mattresses made for a really GOOD night's sleep! Our first full day on board was a day at sea, so there was plenty of time to explore the ship. We had breakfast at Cabana's. They do a great breakfast buffet. You can actually go to any of the dinner rotation restaurants if you want a more sit down meal with servers. We like the casual-ness of Cabana's so we went there most of the time. But the other restaurants have higher class food if that is your thing.

 

One really fun thing to do on board is the Midship Detective game. Several of the paintings onboard are actually video screens. Go down the Deck 2 in front of the Enchanted Garden restaurant. There is a desk where you pick up a map and a "clue card". Then you hold that card up in front of the magic paintings and they come to life! They give you clues on where you should go next. You will go to a total of 10 paintings spread through the ship in order to solve the mystery. It's a ton of fun even for adults, and you end up touring the entire ship! Very worth the time. We played a dozen times during the duration of the cruise.

 

We ate lunch in Enchanted Garden. They have a smaller buffet than Cabanas for lunch, but you do get an actual server and a quieter eating place. Enchanted Garden is very pretty, but it's not very Disney. Just one Mickey statue, and that's it. Everything else just kinda looks like an English garden.

 

After lunch we headed up to deck 12 to play Goofy's mini golf course. So much fun! Try teeing off from Goofy's tees, and you HAVE TO put your feet the same way as the picture on the ground shows. Basically just stand on Goofy's footprints. it makes it a lot more fun!

 

Max, Goofy's son showed up while we were playing and took pictures with everyone. :) Fun unexpected surprise!

 

 

Dinner that first night was our "formal wear" night. I saw people in everything from a cocktail dress, to a prom dress to one woman who I think was in a full opera gown complete with tiara and opera length white gloves. (Seriously, I had to stop and try to decide if she was a princess, or just a guest) I wore an old bridesmaid dress I had not found another use for yet. Formal night is a fun night to get your picture taken on the grand staircase, with the captain or other officers and with the characters in "formal" attire. You can also have the expensive photo place, shutters, do a formal photo shoot of your family if you want to spend the money. They do a reception before dinner in the main lobby. you can stand in a ridiculously long line and get your picture taken with the captain. All the officers are standing around in their formal wear and talk to people while drinks are served. My husband ending up talking to the ships main Engineer the entire time. (my husband is a mechanical engineer.) He tried to get a tour of the engine room, but that is apparently illegal. Hey, he tried!

 

The deck with the mini golf course is also an excellent place for pictures. Besides, who doesn't want to play mini golf on the top deck of a cruise ship in formal wear??

 

We had an odd experience on board on that first full day at sea. We noticed that the ship seemed to be turning around. Knowing this was weird.. we went up to the top deck to see what was going on. Shortly after, the captain came on the speakers and told us that they spotted a boat drifting in the water and they were signaling for help. It turned out to be way more than that. We came around and found a handmade "raft" with 4 Cuban refugees onboard. They literally strapped 6 inner tubes together and covered it with a sheet and set sail hoping to reach America.

 

The crew took the tender boat off the ship and picked up the 4 Cubans. They were kept in seclusion in sick bay until we reached Grand Caymen. Then they were allowed off the ship. We don't know what happened to them after that, but I still pray for them every day. It was a seriously sobering site. There was NOTHING around us but open water for 50+ miles. We found another abandoned vessel on the way back home on day 6. It was spray painted with USCG on it so we assume that they were picked up. (United States Coast Guard)

 

 

Dinner that night was at Animator's Palate. By far, the most fun restaurant onboard. :) The whole room is filled with video monitors that look like paintings when you first walk in. Then, as dinner starts, the room transforms. The walls change color, the ceiling changes, and the paintings all come to life. Crush the turtle from Finding Nemo swims through the monitors and interacts with each table that is close to the monitors. He actually talks to the people at the tables and answers questions. It's a lot of fun. This is the main reason you want to call and request a table near the walls! We were so far away from the walls, we could BARELY hear or see Crush. It sucked. We complained and the second night they moved our entire table to a slightly better location.

 

 

 

The show that night was Aladdin. OH MY GOODNESS!! Best show ever! Aladdin was my favorite cartoon growing up and is still in my top 10 favorite movies. The Musical version on board, was soooo worth it! They did an amazing job! I wished I had gone to the special afternoon show at 3pm, and then again to the normal show time. It was SOOOO worth it. The actor who plays Genie was amazing, and he shows up as Genie again in another show later in the week, which is awesome. :)

 

Our 3rd day was our stop in Grand Cayman. They do not have a dock big enough for a cruise ship, so we park out to sea and then take a tender boat to the island. You board the tender from deck 1. Pretty much the only time you ever see deck 1 since 99% of it is for the crews quarters. We did the "Extreme Dolphin Swim and Turtle Farm" excursion. I highly recommend this one if you want to swim with dolphins. Be warned though, you are not allowed to bring your camera with you unless one member of your party does not swim with the dolphins, and pays to be an observer. They take a ton of pictures of you, and to buy them it costs $160 for a CD of every shot they took. It's worth the price. They take great shots, and lots of them. For my family of 4 we got a CD with 325 pictures on it.

So, for the excursion, you meet your group on the ship and travel together. They take you to a VERY OLD bus which drives you to the dolphin swim and turtle farm. First they let you roam the turtle farm area. It's pretty dang cool. This is the only area where your camera can be used. They raise sea turtles to release into the wild. So they have turtles of every age and size. You get to pick up the smaller ones. All sizes from, fits in your hand size, to 40-50 lbs as big as your torso size. Then they have the REALLY big 300 lb ones that you can see and watch swim. It's a pretty amazing area.

 

 

Next we head over the dolphin area! They assign you to smaller groups. Then you start out by walking into a tank with tons of small sting rays. They swim around your feet and legs. (Bit creepy, but cool!) Then the guide picks one up and lets you pet him. They take pictures of you doing this. (They are seriously slimy!) Then you head over to the dolphin tank. They have a 20 foot deep tank for the dolphin, but you stand on a walkway that is submerged to about 3 feet. The dolphins swim right up to you and let you pet them. SO COOL!

 

 

They have each person interact with the dolphin on several occasions. Two of which you get to swim out into the big pool and be pushed or pulled by the dolphin.

 

 

The Dolphin is pushing my husband by the feet in this picture.

My dad is holding the dolphins flippers in this one and he is pulling dad through the water.

This was a GREAT excursion. If you are going to do a dolphin swim on the western Caribbean cruises, CHOOSE GRAND CAYMEN. The Dolphin places in Mexico are... uh iffy to say the least. The water at the one in Costa Maya was DISGUSTING. You can see it from the dock when you arrive. Believe me, you will like this place MUCH better if you want to swim with a dolphin!

After the excursion we headed back to the port. We had time to do a little shopping around Grand Cayman, then it was back on board the Fantasy. We didn't feel rushed or anything so it was a good stop.

 

On board, we had dinner at Enchanted Garden. Overall, this was my least favorite restaurant. It's pretty, but it's just not as cool as they make it out to be. Yes, the walls and ceiling change color as day turns to night, but really.. it happens sooooooo sllllllooooowwwww that you don't even notice, and the difference really isn't as cool as advertised. Still, the food is awesome as usual and right outside the restaurant is the detective game, so at least you can entertain yourself before hand. The show that night was "Wishes". It's about 3 best friends who spend their senior class trip at Disneyland and wind up on a magical adventure with lots of Disney characters. It was really good and certainly one I'd like to see again. The number of trap doors, and fireworks, etc that they can do on one stage inside a cruise ship is truly amazing.

 

Enchanted Garden. Mind you, there are only 8 booths. You most likely will NOT be sitting in one of them at dinner. But, if you for lunch or breakfast you can sit in them.

 

 

The next day we hit Costa Maya, Mexico. Hmmm. How to describe this nicely.... It's a run down, creepy and a bit scary little place to stop. LOL, ok, so maybe not so nicely. It ONLY exists when there is a cruise ship in town. I'm not kidding. The entire population lives in Cancun, and they only come to town when a cruise ship is scheduled. They created this little "town" right at the port. Several little shops and things which are nice, but if you leave their little safe haven.. prepare for some scary moments. We decided to take the Chaccobean Mayan Ruins excursion. Pyramids in Mexico? Sounds fun! So, we board this old bus and start the one hour drive into the interior of the country. Every 2 miles was a guard station. Literally there were 5-10 men at each station armed with huge assault rifles searching all cars. Our bus was exempt from these stops, but they still waved us on by pointing the rifles at us then gesturing with the gun for us to pass. hmm. Friendly. Apparently it's to stop drug smugglers. Then you pass a lot of run down shacks with poor people trying to sell pineapple they cut up and put in baggies to the travelers. The problem? you feel really bad for this obviously VERY poor people, but we cannot buy anything from them. The bus has no windows to roll down, and we arent' allowed to stop, so the tourists cannot even buy the pineapples. Over all, the entire interior of Mexico between the dock and the ruins was VERY depressing. Once we arrived at the ruins, there were patrols of guards armed with assault rifles patrolling every where. I can't even count how many times I had a gun pointed at me. Not exactly calming... The ruins themselves were pretty cool. Except when you find out that they were all repaired. yep. They took thousand year old pyramids and added cement, and made them pretty for the tourists. Some of them were over 80% new material. My husband was able to drag this information out of one of the guards who was following our group when we were stuck in a rain storm. Made them a whole lot less cool.

 

Typical Pineapple stand on the side of the road.

 

The Highly Repaired Ruins

 

Overall, next time we go, if the ship stops in Costa Maya, I'm staying on board the Fantasy and will enjoy the Aqua Duck while the others go see Mexico.

 

Dinner that night was back to the Royal Table. This night was especially annoying with the photographer in the lobby flashing pictures every few seconds. I hope no one in our room had a pacemaker, because it was a strobe light effect. My mom was funny this night. She couldn't decide between 3 different meals. So, instead of helping her choose, the server just brought out all three dishes! Lesson learned, if you can't decide, order them all! LOL

 

 

The show for the evening was "Magic Dave". He was the comedian they had on board for our cruise. I think this show changes each cruise. They made it sound like he was onboard for a limited time. Anyway, he was hilarious! He brought kids on stage and got them to say and do the funniest things. He was a magician and a comedian wrapped into one. Apparently he did several shows in the D lounge on board the ship. (the comedy club) Honestly, we were so busy with everything else on the ship we never made it to the extra shows or even to the night clubs. There is so much to do.. You just have to pick the things that are important to you and save the rest for your next cruise! The only shows we made it to were the after dinner scheduled live theatre. We did go see the Avengers in the ships movie theatre. (At the time, it wasn't even playing yet on land.)

 

So, I'm realizing how long this blog is getting. I'm the type of person who likes to have ALL the information before I go on a new trip or experience, so I'm trying to write this for those of you who are like me. :) I'll break it into two parts. So consider this part one. :) Check my blog for part two. I'm writing this on 8/1/13, so give me a couple of days before the next part is posted. :) I'm also going to compile a list of "Tips and Hints" that I will post as well. Call it a condensed version of this. Thanks for reading! I hope you get to enjoy a Disney Cruise yourself really soon! They are SOOO worth it!