Bless Your Heart

Living out loud in the Carolinas

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March 2026
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  • Bachelorette Week 4

    BBs we’re at week 4 and we’ve changed locales again! This week we’re in Skamania County, Washington with the remaining 10 men.

    Dotun 1-1

    Charity picks up Dotun in a Jeep and they drive to one of the highest bridges in North America. This bridge stands 20 stories over what appears to be a small creek. Charity and Dotun bungee jump in tandem from this bridge not once, but twice! Brave souls! That night they cuddle up around a fire pit and roast marshmallows. Dotun tells Charity about how he came to the United States at age 4. Charity gives him the rose and they go make out in a hot tub.

    Group Date

    The next day 8 men meet Charity in the woods. They are joined by 3 little girls- Skamania Scouts! SOOOO cute and sassy!!! The scouts make the men go forage for food in the forest then present their findings. Brayden finds radishes and mushrooms and EATS THEM!!! All dirty and what not! I won’t even eat a clean radish! Speaking of Brayden, while Charity was on her date with Dotun, Bray was talking about how he wishes Charity would stop being the Bachelorette for a minute and just “turn it off”. Nice Bray, real nice.

    Back to the woods. Aaron found a FROG to present to the scouts which results in squeals of horror! Then the men have to answer questions from the scouts. When the girls ask them who would you eat?, all the guys pick Brayden. ALL OF THEM! Aaron wins the challenge and gets some alone time to make out with Charity.

    That night at the after party, Charity walks in on a heated discussion between Brayden and Aaron (shocker!). After some prompting, Brayden tells Charity that he’s packed his bags to go home twice now! Charity and Bray go chat and she looks v irritated! Bray tells her that “I feel like I like you but I don’t want to be here right now”. So Charity walks him and his giant flash drive looking earrings out! BYE!!!

    The after party continues and all the remaining guys step up their reassurance game with Charity. Joey gets the group date rose.

    Xavier 1-1

    Charity and Xavier go to a fruit festival and walk around trying different fruits. C says that X reminds her so much of her ex that she can’t get it out of her head. At Fake Dinner they talk about past relationships because C wants to know how X feels about infidelity. BTW, Charity has been looking so cute this season! Her stylist is doing a great job!!! Charity and Xavier talk about their fears and X shares that his mother has multiple sclerosis and this has shaped his life and career choices to the point that he’s devoted his life to trying to find a cure. Charity tears up over this and is so moved by Xavier’s obvious love for his mother. She feels much better about him and gives him the rose.

    Cocktail Party

    All the guys are sitting in their hotel lobby chatting while John and Charity are off talking. All the sudden Brayden walks in! Wearing FLIP FLOPS, his trademark giant earrings, and a scarf. He walks right past the guys without a word and goes to find Charity. He finds Charity with John and just stands there like a creeper watching John and Charity make out. They stop and John leaves to join the group. Bray sits down with Charity and apologizes for not opening up. He wishes her well and walks back out again. It was all pretty pointless! As Bray is walking back past the guys, Aaron gets in B’s face and all the guys follow B out to his van. Everyone is yelling. Bray calls them all jackasses and threatens to beat up Aaron then his van leaves. Because of this interruption, Charity ends the cocktail party. Most of the guys didn’t get time with her and they are beside themselves!

    Rose Ceremony

    Only 3 roses on the table! Aaron, Tanner, and Sean get roses. Going home tonight are Caleb B (who’s visibly upset), John (who tears up too), and Michael. I’m so sad about John! I was hoping he was a dark horse in this race!!! EVERYONE is emotional and crying at the outcome of this rose ceremony.

    And that’s it BBs! Until next week!!! xo 🌹

  • Bachelorette Week 3

    Week 3 BBs! We start the show with Charity announcing a change in their living arrangements- they are going to Oceanside, CA. Apparently it’s near San Diego. I’m geographically challenged!

    Brayden 1-1

    While all the other guys pile onto a bus to travel to Oceanside, Brayden and Charity take a helicopter ride to Petco Park where the San Diego baseball team plays. Charity & Brayden have the park to themselves for the day. While there, B tells Charity that he’s not sure if this process is for him. UGH. At least for this date B toned down his accessories. He’s wearing small hoop earrings this time. Normally he looks like a realtor named Barb who’s in her 50s and can’t wait to put you in a snazzy condo!

    Fake Dinner

    That night B shares with Charity that in his one serious relationship (remember, he’s just a wee babe at 24 years old), he was cheated on, so he’s got trauma from that and that watching Charity date all these other guys scares him. Also, he says “like” a record number of times in a 5 minute period. It’s like, getting on my like, nerves. Charity asks if B is going to stay and B says he’ll “try”. Again I say, UGH. Sir, have you not seen the show? Why are these guys always surprised that the Bachelorette/Bachelor is dating multiple people?!? It’s literally the premise of the show!!! Charity gives Brayden the rose and for the life of me I can’t figure out why except that physically he’s a cutie. But when he opens his mouth he ruins it ALL.

    Group Date

    This group date is so fun! Jojo & Jordan host it and Charity arrives all decked out in pink. Yep, it’s Barbie themed!!! Simu Liu (a Ken in the movie and may I say, SWOON) sends a video message to Charity and the guys. So the guys have to dress up as Ken and write and perform a song for Charity to the tune of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” in front of a live audience. The guys all have ridiculously funny Ken outfits like “Birthday suit Ken” and “Astronaut Ken” and these poor dudes can not sing. Except for Caleb who’s got some pipes!!! It’s all v entertaining and fun! Sean ends his song by kissing Charity in front of everyone, which impresses her, and he wins the contest. Sean and Charity go to the pier to watch the sunset and make out while the other Kens head to the after party.

    After Party

    Aaron B. is sporting an unfortunate camel colored turtleneck. I tell you, some of the styles of the guys in this group is questionable! Sean joins the guys and rubs everyone the wrong way by stealing Charity away first. Tanner is a cutie I’ve decided, but I don’t see him lasting. Charity takes Dotun up to her room to chat because she realizes he does better in a more intimate setting. Dotun gets the group date rose.

    Warwick 1-1

    I had to look at my notes from Night ONE to figure out who Warwick is because we have not heard one word from this man since then!!! He’s cute though but all the guys say he’s v v quiet. Let’s hope he opens up on his 1-1. Warwick is in a tuxedo and Charity is in a gown and they go to Belmont Park (an amusement park), which they have all to themselves. It’s a fun evening of riding rollercoasters until it’s time to chat. CRICKETS BBs. CRICKETS. Poor Charity is doing everything she can to spoon feed a conversation to Warwick at Fake Dinner but he just ums and ahhs and hems and haws and never actually says anything of substance! Charity asks why did past relationships fail? He can’t tell her. What are your best qualities? We will never know. He’s basically taken an oath of silence. He finally chokes out that communication is a weakness. YA THINK?? But when talking to the camera, Warwick says he thinks the night is going well even though amusement parks make him tired. Charity is beyond bored and frustrated and puts us all out of our misery by sending him home. In the car with the producer the man FALLS ASLEEP!!! Bahahaha!!!

    Back at the hotel, Brayden is running his mouth again and says he doesn’t know if he could get engaged after dating Charity while she’s dating the other guys. SIR!!! Again I ask you- Have. You. Not. Seen. The. Show??? BTW, Charity uses the word “cheers” as a verb and it’s getting on my nerves. I may have to start “cheersing” myself with some booze just to get through this season!!!

    Cocktail Party

    Xavier gives Charity a scarf he knit for her! He was working on it on the bus to San Diego. LOVE this man!

    Brayden is sporting big dangly earrings, a mustache, AND a soul patch tonight. He’s so subtle and elegant. Aaron B. tells Charity that Bray isn’t ready for an engagement and all the things he’s heard Brayden saying at the house. Charity is v irritated and pulls Bray to chat. Bray tells Charity he can only give her “a connection”. This upsets Charity so she cancels the rest of the cocktail party, much to the chagrin of the other guys- many of whom haven’t had any time with Charity all week. And by chagrin I mean they are PISSED.

    Rose Ceremony

    Aaron B. gets the first rose and Tanner gets the last rose (whew!). After the final rose, Charity goes to chat with Jesse about taking away Brayden’s rose. But she decides to let him keep it for now because they have a “connection”. Girl is blinded by him!!! Going home: James, Aaron S., and Adrian.

    Looks like next week Brayden continues to ruffle feathers! Until then my BBs!!! xo 🌹

  • Bachelorette Week 2

    BBs! We’re already down to 19 men and it’s only the 2nd week!!! They are dropping like flies! Let’s dive in to week 2.

    Aaron B. 1-1

    Charity picks Aaron B up in a red, vintage Mustang and they go driving around LA. They end up at the foot of the Hollywood sign where they share some champagne and chat. Then they climb down to stand in front of the letters and make out. The whole time Aaron is yelling LET’S GO and while he seems like a nice enough man, this alone makes me want to throat punch him!

    At Fake Dinner that night Aaron gets emotional talking about past relationships and being in therapy and I LOVE that he’s in therapy and not afraid to talk about it! Ok, I won’t punch him. He gets the rose.

    Back at the house we learn that Adrian has a 1 year old daughter and Brayden enjoys wearing long, dangly statement earrings. Do with that what you will.

    Group Date #1

    We’re at the beach and the guys thing it’s just a standard beach hang until Jesse arrives and tells them they will be competing in the 4th annual Bachelor Dodgebowl! Brayden keeps talking about that dang 1st impression rose he won and it’s giving me major Christina Mandrell flashbacks and I do not like it one bit!!!

    The guys all have to wear neon pink or green speedos and athletic cups. Xavier and long hair Caleb are straight up BEASTS at dodge ball!!! Adrian is named MVP and gets to join the winning pink team at the after party.

    After Party

    Brayden is soooo physically cute but daggum he says some DUMB stuff!!! He won’t stop putting Adrian down about Adrian being MVP & how Brayden wouldn’t have chosen him. Well, it wasn’t up to you now, was it Brayden??? When it’s Aiden’s turn to chat with Charity, he tells Charity that some guys are there acting like it’s spring break and aren’t taking the process, um, I mean, JOURNEY, seriously. Charity is not happy about this, obvs. John gets the group date. Yay!!!

    Group Date #2

    Gabby & Rachel are here to help Charity and one of the guys break the Bachelor Nation’s Longest Kiss in History record. First, the guys have to answer a bunch of questions about themselves and their romantic histories. Charity chooses Joey as the winner and they have to beat Sean Lowe’s record of 3 minutes 22 seconds. Charity and Joey kiss for a solid 4 minutes 25 seconds!!! Impressive!!! Joey gets a 1-1 date afterward and all the other guys have to go home to the mansion. On the 1-1 at Fake Dinner, Joey tells Charity that his father came out as gay to his mother when Joey was in kindergarten so they split up. Joey gets the rose.

    The next day Jesse tells the guys there’s no cocktail party this week. That instead they are having a bar-b-que with Charity. Brayden says (to the camera) that if he doesn’t hear what he needs to from Charity that he’s going to go home. That his bags are packed. He’s all annoyed by the record breaking kiss from the group date he wasn’t even on!!! Have you not seen the show Brayden??? She is GOING to be kissing other dudes. Get over yourself.

    Aiden tells Charity that Brayden called her “classless” when all the guys were talking about the record breaking kiss. Obviously Charity take offense to this. She leaves the bbq.

    Rose Ceremony

    Charity is wearing a gold beaded dress with beaded arm fringe and ALL I can think of is this lampshade my grandma had that looked JUST like this dress.

    Brayden gets the last rose. He’s all upset that Aiden has been talking to Charity about him. Meanwhile, Aiden is all bent that some of the guys (mainly Brayden) aren’t v serious or mature. Brayden is only 24, how mature can he be? I don’t think his brain is even fully developed yet!!!

    Going home: Caleb A., John Henry, Josh (sad. I liked him this episode. Didn’t even know he was here!), Kaleb, and Spencer.

    And that’s it BBs! Until next week!!! 🌹

  • Bachelorette Week 1

    Well BBs, It’s Charity Lawson’s turn to choose a husband from a bunch of men handpicked by ABC to vie for her love and I have thoughts. Let’s get into it! Night one starts with Charity emerging from the limo looking absolutely beautiful in a gorgeous purple/ berry colored beaded gown. It’s raining so they’ve set up a tent where the meetings can take place.

    Notable limo entrances:

    Xavier- from NC! He knits!!! I love that!

    Chris- a professional jumper who does a backflip for Charity. Who knew you could jump for a living?

    Brayden- a cute nurse who isn’t wearing socks with his suit, so that’s a strike against him.

    Caleb- a pro wrestler! There are 3 Calebs! Including Kaleb, who is a GIANT.

    John- gives Charity a fortune cookie “because he’s half Chinese/ half American” and so is the fortune cookie. Cute!!!

    Charity’s brother Nehemiah arrives to surprise her at the end of the limo entrances. Gives her a boost of confidence.

    What Charity doesn’t know is that Nehemiah is in disguise posing as a bartender. His disguise is so ridiculous and looks like he picked it up at Party City on the way over! He’s naturally bald so he’s wearing this cheap, terrible wig with a fake mustache and a hat. Yikes.

    Xavier gets the first kiss. John gets a kiss. Yay!!! Then Aaron and Brayden.

    Spencer tells Charity he has a child. Charity says she’s totally cool with it.

    Brayden is running around telling everyone who will listen about his kiss with Charity! He even tells Nehemiah!

    Finally Nehemiah goes to talk to Charity. He explains what he’s been doing and what he’s heard from all the guys. He has big concerns about Brayden running his mouth. Charity then goes and pulls Brayden to chat. She tells Brayden what Nehemiah said and Brayden explains that he was just on cloud 9 and so excited about their kiss and that’s why he was running his mouth. Surprisingly, Charity likes this and says she wants a man who will tell everyone he’s into her. She then gives Brayden the first impression rose!

    Morning has come and it’s time for the first Rose Ceremony. Aaron gets the first rose. Spencer is in literal tears talking to the producers about how badly he wants a rose and how he’s afraid having a son will keep him from one. But Spencer gets the final rose.

    Going home: Joe, Chris the jumper, Khalid, Nicholas (who?), Peter, Taylor, and Caleb A.

    And that’s it for this week! This season looks good and of course, they’re promising it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen!!! Until next week BBs!!! xo 🌹

  • Disney Fantasy Bermuda Day 9 & Debarkation

    Today is Castaway Cay day!!!

    Today’s forecast was beautiful and we were on Disney’s private island so what could be better?!?

    Beautiful mosaic in Cabanas
    Cabanas

    We had a surprise excursion booked for 9 am on the island so we woke up early and ate breakfast at Cabanas buffet. Then we debarked and took the tram to the stingray hut. Today we’re feeding and swimming with stingrays! This was another birthday surprise for MIL as she’s never interacted with stingrays before!

    First we had a short briefing about stingrays (Disney stingrays have their barbs trimmed). Then we all split up into groups of about 10 each and went into the water. There were these floating platforms with a trainer in the middle of each one. We stood on the other side of the platform and the trainer gave us food (shrimp or a gelatinous vitamin blob). We were instructed to then place our hands (with the food) on the Mickey ears on the platform and the stingrays would come and take the food from us. This is the stingray named Kelly.

    We were able to feed 3 times (Kelly came for seconds), then we had about 45 minutes to swim & snorkel with the rays in the lagoon. CSP had never snorkeled before but he got the hang of it quickly!

    The dark blobs are the stingrays

    I had my phone in a waterproof case around my neck but I couldn’t get it to take pictures underwater. My snorkel mask kept fogging up etc. Whomp whomp.

    MIL watching from the shallows

    After our snorkel time was up we grabbed our stuff and made our way toward the Family Beach area. On the way we saw Mickey!

    Mickey and Pluto rode off in their spiffy beach cruiser!

    Toward the entrance of the family beach is a gift shop and some drink kiosks.

    MIL met someone else from Minnesota (CSP & his parents are originally from MN) in the gift shop so she was in there a while! We stopped and bought a 6 pack of water then went to find some chairs and umbrella shade.

    LOOK at what a beautiful day it was!!!

    As you can see we’re in the 3rd or 4th row from the water. That’s what happens when you have an excursion first thing in the morning instead of joining the throng of people racing to snag chairs on the beach. But it was perfect for us! We relaxed and read until we got hungry for lunch. Lunch was served at Cookies 2 BBQ on the island. There’s a giant pavilion that was just steps away from our beach chairs.

    After lunch we relaxed a bit more then CSP and I decided to go back to the ship to nap. The sun and water can really wipe you out!

    Spotted Olaf!

    We took the tram back and got some good shots of the ship and island.

    One of the magic pictures on the Fantasy. When you stand in front of it, it comes to life and there’s animation.

    When we got back to our room we had our luggage tags. You attach them to your luggage and then when you disembark you go to the Minnie section to find your luggage. V organized. I filled the tags out for all of us then CSP & I took a nap. We woke up and by now MIL was back with us so we packed up all of our stuff. SO SAD!!! It’s the saddest activity!!! Then we showered and got ready for our last dinner of the cruise.

    Tonight’s dinner was back in Animator’s Palate.

    We were given the opportunity to draw characters that they animated and displayed on the nearby screens.

    I drew the 2nd guy from the left and the last guy on the right. CSP always gets me to draw his.
    Sher-Ann our server. She is so great!!!
    Sher-Ann (our server) with our new friends Gabby & baby Jamie
    How did I not notice the lights in the floor until tonight?!?

    After dinner we went back to our room and got ready for bed. Our last towel animal was v fitting for the day!

    Note the paper on the stingray. That’s a guest survey that they ask you to fill out and drop off in the designated boxes on your way off the ship. DCL takes these surveys seriously so please fill them out and recognize the cast members and crew who made your trip magical!

    The next morning we took our final picture on the Fantasy (for this trip)!

    Elevator selfie!

    We dropped our borrowed extension cord off at the Guest Services desk, dropped off our survey, and grabbed a quick breakfast in Cabanas. We listened for them to call for all the people with Minnie tags and we went and gathered our luggage. CSP found a v nice porter who helped us get all of our stuff out to the parking garage. Customs was a breeze and then we were out! We were off the ship v quickly. MIL & I waited on the ground level while CSP retrieved the car.

    And that’s the end of a wonderful, family cruise!!! Next up for me & CSP- we’ll be back on the Fantasy in January 2024 for a Western Caribbean Pixar Day at Sea cruise!!!

  • Disney Fantasy Bermuda Day 8 Part 2

    When we got back to the ship we went to the room to shower and get ready for dinner. On our way to dinner we passed Pepe the King Prawn’s stateroom #5148 1/2. It’s so cute! It’s on deck 5 and is only about 2 feet tall.

    We also passed the GIANT screen by the pool. Movies are shown here throughout the day and night!

    Tonight’s dinner is in Palo! Palo is the adults only Italian restaurant. There is an additional charge to eat here, but it’s worth every penny!

    The entrance to Palo
    Close up of the beautiful blown glass light fixture. It twinkles!

    We all started our dinner with an amuse bouche.

    Then I had the burrata caprese salad.

    The burrata was SO creamy and fresh!

    My next course was an arugula and parmesan salad.

    Next it was time for my main course- roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes.

    The sauce was amazing!

    For dessert CSP & I both ordered the chocolate souffle. It comes with both chocolate and vanilla sauces. That’s too much chocolate for me and CSP isn’t a fan of the vanilla sauce so we always trade sauces. This souffle is so incredible!!!

    You also get a scoop of vanilla ice cream with it. At this point we were all stuffed with a fabulous dinner! BUT- tonight was pirate night! So we rushed down to the pool deck so we could see the fireworks!

    Our dinner ran a bit long so we had to stand in the poolside outdoor shower to see the show! Ha!

    Once the fireworks were over we went back to our room and found Davy Jones’ head on our bed!

    Putra, our cabin steward, used chocolate coins for Davy’s eyes and earrings! So clever!

    That’s a wrap for today! Tomorrow we are at Castaway Cay- Disney’s private island!!!

  • Disney Fantasy Bermuda Day 8 Part 1

    Today we are in Nassau, Bahamas!

    We woke up early since we are getting off the ship and went to Cabanas buffet for breakfast.

    Our view of Nassau at breakfast

    On the way to breakfast we hid a few ducks.

    Hiding (and finding) ducks on cruise ships is fun! You never know where you’ll see one! We re-hide the ones we find so kids can find them. You can get cruise ducks on Amazon and tons of places online. Each time we’d leave our room we’d grab a few ducks to hide.

    After breakfast we went back to the room to gather our stuff and change for Atlantis. Atlantis is a GIANT resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Usually when we stop at Nassau, CSP & I stay on the ship because we’ve been to Nassau a few times, unless there’s a particular excursion we’ve signed up for. But this trip we had MIL along and she’s never been so we decided to go to Atlantis for the day. You can buy a day pass to many resorts to enjoy their amenities even if you’re not staying there.

    We debarked then grabbed a taxi to Atlantis. We weren’t the only cruise ship in Nassau today.

    We got to Atlantis and once we figured out where to go to get our wristbands we made our way out to the water area and walked under this waterfall to our assigned pool cabana. It was kinda stinky in the grotto tbh.

    Saw this sign on the way. Cracked me up!

    Our cabana was at the Coral Pool. Luckily Atlantis has its own app with turn by turn directions, because this resort is HUMONGOUS!!!

    I went to the towel hut and checked in. Brickell, our cabana host (cool name), walked us to our cabana- number 45.

    CSP COULD NOT WAIT to get in the water. Views of the and from the cabana:

    Menacing clouds!!! Luckily it only rained on us for like 5 minutes.
    Our cabana had a ceiling fan
    Our cabana came with towels for us, bottled water (in sustainable packaging! yay!), a small fridge & safe (in this cabinet).
    The Coral Pool- it has a swim up bar!

    CSP & I jumped in the pool as soon as we got covered in SPF. We swam and chilled in whatever shade we could find. It was a beautiful day today! It was about 82* and partly cloudy. Around noon we got hungry for lunch so we walked over a small bridge to the Lagoon Bar & Grill. It’s an all fresco restaurant with an open kitchen. V cool.

    The Lagoon Bar & Grill
    Sharks in the water surrounding the restaurant
    The ceiling of the Lagoon restaurant

    Lunch was really good! I had shrimp with rice pilaf and salad (although the lettuce got hot being smushed up against the hot food and y’all know I HATE hot lettuce). We got a tropical salad for the table and MIL had cobia fish tacos.

    CSP had a delicious seafood pasta.

    This guy ^^^ kept an eye on our lunches, hoping for a taste!

    After lunch we took a little tour of the property.

    We spotted a wee kitty! This lady was feeding it (not pictured) and we got to talking. Apparently there are 3 kitties that live on the property and are feed regularly.

    We passed the stingray exhibit. A worker was about to feed them so they were all crowding around her! I wanted to jump in the water with her!!!

    We went underground to the predator’s tunnel.

    Big stingray!!!

    We went back to the cabana where I read and CSP decided to go check out the water slides. MIL went with CSP to document the journey. I was really looking forward to riding the lazy river but Brickell the cabana host said Atlantis sold it a year or so ago!!! Boooo!!! Anyway, CSP found the raging rapids river and gave it a go.

    45 minutes after this photo ^^^ was taken, MIL appeared back at the cabana sans CSP, BUT with CSP’s slides (his Crocs sandals). Apparently MIL had waited for a while where CSP had gotten into the raging river (at the calm spot of the river, before the rapids). But CSP didn’t return so she came back to the cabana in a panic looking for him. At this point it’s 3pm. We had to leave by 3:45 pm to make it back to the ship on time (taxi ride plus a long walk to the pier). I said he’d show up at the cabana at some point, but she was worried because since CSP was in the water he didn’t have his phone, a watch, or any way to tell time. I went to the restroom on the other side of the Coral Pool. By the time I got back to the cabana MIL was pacing with a worried look on her face and she had corralled 2 Atlantis employees (one of which was Brickell our cabana host). Brickell told me they don’t have a PA system so there was no way of calling for CSP. At this point MIL was worried we were going to have to leave CSP at Atlantis to make it back to the ship on time. No sense in all of us being stranded in Nassau! Ha! But then he appeared (like I knew he would). He walked up and said to MIL- why did you take my shoes?? It was a HOT walk back on that pavement! LOL

    Note- maybe we were just spoiled by Disney, but none of us thought the Atlantis day passes or cabana were worth the cost. Basically we just paid them to let us sit in their shade, swim in their pool, and then we paid more money for lunch! We could have done all that on the ship! And we wouldn’t have had to pay extra for lunch!

    We gathered our things and went out to the front of the hotel to catch a taxi back to the ship. If you ride with strangers it’s just $5 per person each way! Not bad. We were the last to load in to this particular mini bus and the driver told me to get in the front seat with him. This vehicle had a very short front end and it was apparent that this taxi driver had NO REGARD for my life or nerves!!! I’ve ridden in taxis in NYC and other cities but let me tell you, this was the most frightening taxi ride of my life! He wouldn’t hit the brakes until I could basically reach the cars in front of us with my short arms!

    We finally made it back to the port and I’ve never been so happy to see Dumbo!!!

    Next up- dinner at Palo, Pirate night, and fireworks at sea!!!

  • Disney Fantasy Bermuda Day 7

    Today is our last sea day of this cruise. I LOVE a sea day!

    CSP & I awoke to find ourselves alone in our room. MIL had gone out to have breakfast at Cabanas. We decided to go to Royal Court for breakfast since we’d had breakfast in Cabanas the previous two days. We had a great server who was from Portugal. I’m afraid I forgot to get his name!

    I had the Captain Jack Sparrow’s melon boat from the kids’ menu. It came on a cute kids’ plate!

    On a cruise you can order anything you’d like!

    After breakfast we went to the Walt Disney Theatre for the Castaway Club Gold & Platinum members’ reception. Castaway Club is Disney Cruise Line’s loyalty program that you are a member of from your very first DCL cruise. This cruise is cruise #10 for us with Disney (my 23rd overall) so on our next Disney cruise we will be Platinum!!! Woot!!! Anyway, the other day we received this invitation in our stateroom.

    We joined the line at Preludes and received our free cocktails then filed into the Walt Disney Theatre. We were amazed at the turnout- Disney cruisers are a loyal bunch!!!

    I took the above picture about 30 minutes before the program even started! So many people!

    The program went behind the scenes of their live stage show Aladdin. It was v interesting to see a time lapse video of the Genie getting into his makeup and all that goes into the scenes!

    After the program we went up to the Cove Cafe so CSP could get coffee and we ran into MIL. We had our coffee drinks and people watched and chatted for a while then went to Sweet on You.

    CSP had been craving a cupcake. Sweet on You is an adorable gelato and sweets shop on the Fantasy. These items do cost extra.

    Look at all the adorable goodies!!! CSP chose the Cars chocolate cupcake and I chose a few macarons. CSP then ran our treats down to our room really quickly.

    We had lunch at Cabanas. It was our first lunch there on this cruise and CSP was really wanting to eat his weight in peel and eat shrimp!!! Ha!!!

    Just look at all those shells in his shell bowl!!! That man can put away some shrimp! After lunch I filled up my cup then we went to the Quiet Cove adult pool just to put our feet in the water and read and relax.

    Later I got a Dole Whip with rum and CSP got himself a beer.

    If you’ve never had a Dole Whip- ooooh boy! You are missing out! It is soooo good! It’s vegan and refreshing and tropical (it’s basically frozen pineapple). You can add rum like I did here or not.

    Then it was time to go back to the room for a nap. That rum made me drowsy! Ha!

    Our room was on deck 5 Forward. There are loads of signs and maps all over so it’s easy to get around!

    After our nap we got ready for dinner. Tonight was semi formal night, so it was time to get sparkly! But first it was time for our show. Tonight’s live show was Frozen.

    The show was spectacular! So fun to sing along!

    After the show we stopped back by our room so CSP could change clothes (note the skull tshirt he was wearing at Frozen). Then we popped into the gift shop to pick up a gift for our vet.

    Dinner tonight was at Royal Court.

    Royal Court is a gorgeous dining room!

    Dinner tonight was Lobster night. CSP & I aren’t big lobster fans but MIL loves it and Sher-Ann our server brought MIL TWO lobster tails!!!

    I had one of my favorite desserts- creme brulee!

    What’s he looking at???

    We spotted some characters on our way to dinner!

    Captain Mickey
    Belle!

    On the way back to our room after dinner we spied Snow White:

    CSP skipped dessert at dinner so he could have his cupcake back in the room.

    He loved it!

    Tonight’s towel animal- a penguin!!!

    That’s a wrap on our final sea day! Tomorrow we are in Nassau, Bahamas and we are going to Atlantis!

  • Disney Fantasy Bermuda Day 6

    Today we woke up and went to breakfast at the Cabana’s buffet again. It’s the fastest option vs a sit down served breakfast at Royal Court. We couldn’t help but notice the gray skies and rain.

    The forecast for today was rain ALL DAY, and not just sprinkles, but full on RAIN rain!

    This put a damper on our plans, but MIL & CSP decided to go out walking in the downpour anyway!!! I said BYE to those maniacs and went back to our room to read and relax in my dry clothes! CSP & MIL were hell bent on finding one of Bermuda’s famous fried fish on raisin bread (!!!) sandwiches! So they set out to locate one. That sandwich would have to be fed to me by Harry Styles himself for me to brave that rain! Ha! But! They found one!!! And they reported back that it was delightful!

    LOOK how soaking wet CSP is!!! While out and about in Kings Wharf, MIL & CSP also tracked down a rum cake for FIL back home.

    Look at CSP holding a closed umbrella! It won’t work if you don’t open it!

    They still managed to have a good time, even though it was wet and rainy!

    Not many people braved the elements today, so there wasn’t much of a line to get back on the ship. When they returned to our room, MIL & CSP were soaked to the bone! They changed into dry clothes while I ate my FREE room service lunch. Disney Cruise Line is one of the last cruise lines to still offer free room service. They have a great menu (I had a caprese sandwich with fruit). Just don’t forget to tip! Because we have late dinner we often order the All Hands on Deck cheese platter to snack on in the afternoon.

    One of the fun things cruisers do on DCL ships is decorate our doors with magnets.

    In fact, all of the walls in your room are magnetic too so (PRO TIP) we bring magnetic hooks to hang things around the room! I had these magnets made by Cruise Designs BB on Etsy. They did a fabulous job and got the magnets to me v quickly! My MIL was so excited to see her name on the magnets. Plus, a decorated door is easier to find in a long hallway of identical white doors!

    Another little fun tip is on the tv in your room there’s a channel that shows the view from the bridge!

    CSP loves this channel plus the one under it called Bridge Report which gives the latitude and longitude and shows the path your ship has cruised on that voyage, plus the locations of the other Disney ships. These channels also play Disney music.

    One of the other things I love about a Disney cruise is that you can run into characters all over the ship!

    Minnie on deck 4 of the Fantasy

    We left Bermuda at approx 3 pm after some commotion- there were 4 passengers who they called over the PA to report to Guest Services right at 3pm. I thought oh wow- they aren’t back on the ship yet! Sure enough we heard some noise coming from outside so we all went out on the balcony to see what was up. Everyone was yelling and cheering and those 4 people were running towards the ship down the dock. It was so funny! Not too funny if you get left behind though! And they WILL leave you! Look on YouTube and see all the pier runners!!!

    By now it was time to get ready for dinner. Dinner tonight was in Enchanted Garden.

    It’s such a pretty restaurant! We were seated next to Gabby & Rob from Virginia (at their own table) and their baby boy Jamie. Gabby is a travel agent and we hit it off right away! They are so nice!

    After dinner tonight was one of my favorite cruise shows- Match Your Mate. It’s like the Newlywed game. We rushed to the Tube (one of the adult bars/clubs onboard) but it was PACKED!!! The guy at the door said they would be broadcasting next door in O’Gill’s pub. We raced next door and managed to snag a table. Success!!!

    Things were looking promising until they changed the channel to a hockey game!!! Nooooo!!! So CSP & I went out to the Carousel bar.

    They were showing Match Your Mate on one screen but it was far away with no empty chairs in front of it (this pic is zoomed in) and we couldn’t really hear it. WHOMP WHOMP. Also, I ordered the drink of the day- the Yellow Bird- and it was a STRONG pour so CSP just escorted me back to the room then he went back to O’Gill’s to finish watching the hockey game with sports loving MIL.

    Tonight’s towel animal. No idea what this is! A bunny?

    Here is where MIL slept. The sofa converts to a bed and she said it was quite comfy!

    Goodnight! Tomorrow is our last sea day!!!

  • Disney Fantasy Bermuda Day 5- Part 2

    After our fabulous island taxi tour we were famished so we went to Flanagan’s Irish Pub in Hamilton for lunch. Well, a late lunch as it was approaching 3pm.

    It was pretty warm by now so we opted to sit inside and enjoy the AC but we did have a table by the window with a nice view of the water.

    CSP had the mussels, MIL had the wahoo fish sliders, and I had fish and chips.

    After our wonderful lunch, we stopped in a local coffee shop then walked around Hamilton for a bit. I noticed lots of guys in the same type of outfit. Businessmen were all mostly sporting a suit jacket, button down shirt, tie, shorts, knee socks, and dress shoes. Pictured here. It is v cute! By now we were ready to head back to King’s Wharf (where our ship was docked) so we took a ferry.

    Our ferry is pictured here in the foreground. The white boat.

    There was another cruise ship in port (a Norwegian ship) so there were lots of tourists about. We stopped in to the Frog and Onion for snacks and drinks. CSP & MIL wanted to try some local beers. It is a v cool place.

    The pub is located in an old cooperage- where they used to make barrels and casks long ago. It has the original stone walls.

    You can definitely see the British influence in Bermuda. They still have the old red phone booths- just with no phones now.

    After procuring souvenir beer glasses for MIL & CSP we walked back to the ship to get ready for dinner.

    Dinner tonight was in Animator’s Palate. This is such a fun, albeit loud, restaurant.

    The menu illustration moves when you tilt the menu

    Tonight in Animator’s Palate the stars of Finding Nemo came out to play on the media screens all around the dining room! It was v cute!

    Dinner was delicious again tonight! I had roasted chicken:

    CSP had the tuna steak:

    Back at table 18! The lighting is funky in this dining room!!!

    One of my FAVORITE desserts of the cruise!!! It was vanilla ice cream with apple crisp rice pudding! And odd combo that really worked!!!

    CSP’s dessert. I love the themed dishware!

    MIL’s dessert.

    I LOVE the sparkly floor filled with Mickeys!!!

    On our walk back to our room (almost all the way forward) from Animator’s (all the way aft) we spotted Daisy Duck!

    And Mickeym too!

    Our towel animal of the day!

    Since we are docked in Bermuda for a day and a half CSP & MIL decided to go out on the dock and take pics of the ship! We never get to see the ship all lit up at night because usually we’re sailing at night. The Fantasy looks amazing all lit up!

    That’s it for today! Tomorrow is day 2 in Bermuda!!!

March 2026
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