cruise – Page 3 – Bless Your Heart

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 2

January 19, 2020February 1, 2020 Shannon

Today we woke up at 6 am to beat the rush to the free breakfast at the hotel. Then we came back to our room and had a we nap. We woke up, packed up, got ready for the day, and took a scary taxi ride to the port. Traffic rules don’t seem to really apply in San Juan!

We arrived to find millions of people in line for embarkation!!! The lines went on forever! First we had to stand in line outside on the surface of the sun with all our luggage to get to the luggage drop off.

Then we went inside to stand in another long line to check in.

Then we had to walk through a short maze that led us to a HUGE, air conditioned, EMPTY warehouse that we had to walk through to go back outside to walk the length of the ship. WHY couldn’t we have stood in line in the a/c in the warehouse?? I need answers Disney! We finally boarded the Disney Wonder! It took almost 2 hours to board! We are spoiled from the embarkation process in Port Canaveral, FL where it takes like 20 minutes from car to stateroom!

Our room was ready so we went to it and dropped off our day bags.

We went up to the Cabanas buffet for lunch, then back to the room to call home. Next it was time for the dreaded Muster Drill. We lined up on Deck 4. Luckily we were in the shade! And, we were even more lucky that it was over quickly! Shortest muster drill ever! Yay!!!

We went back to our room to watch the ship sail away from our verandah. There was an airfield across from the port. We watched as a helicopter went through a helicopter car wash! So cool!

We unpacked and it was time to get ready for dinner. As soon as we sailed out of the harbor the seas turned really rough! The ship was really rocking tonight! People (including me, I’m people) were pin balling down the hallways because the ship was rocking so hard!

On the way to dinner we stopped for a moment in Shutter’s (the photo gallery), and I’m so glad we did! Ariel stopped by to talk to us! She said my hair was aesthetically pleasing and did I do it with my dinglehopper?? She was so cute!!! I was so caught up in talking with her it didn’t occur to me to get out my phone for a picture! When she walked away CSP said to me “Who was that and what’s a dinglehopper?” Ha!!!

Dinner tonight was at Animator’s Palate.

I was so impressed that the servers were able to deliver meals to the tables without spilling everything everywhere with the rough seas! Our servers are Dede (male) from Indonesia and Judit from Hungary. They are fabulous and we liked them right away! Side note- Disney Cruise Line switched to paper straws. Yay for the environment! Luckily I’d heard about this before we boarded so I brought my reusable metal straws. Paper straws just don’t hold up unless you drink super fast!

After dinner we went to the Cove Cafe (the adults only coffee shop) for a whisky tasting for CSP.

I am not a whisky girl so I was there for moral support.

CSP had a great time learning all about the different whisky varieties! We were there until 11:45!

We finally got back to our room and to bed at midnight.

Tomorrow– Antigua!

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Disney Wonder Western Caribbean 2018 Day 1

February 24, 2018March 6, 2018 Shannon

Today was our travel day! We got a late start due to being up late packing and doing last minute things because we spent the better part of the day at the Apple store getting CSP’s phone fixed. V frustrating! But better late than never!
We arrived in Port Orange, FL around 9pm looking for a place to have dinner. CSP found a place on Yelp called Aunt Catfish’s on the River. We got there just as they were seating the last lucky few. This place is FULL of personality. It’s right on the water and they gave us a window table. I’m sure in the daylight the view is amazing. They have a dock where you can drive your boat up for a meal. It looks like they’ve added on to the main building a few times. There’s an old fashioned salad bar. They make their own croutons and dressings. Service is awesome! They serve each meal with a homemade cinnamon roll and the best hush puppy you’ll ever have (it’s the size of a golf ball so you only need one). Each meal is also served on the cutest fish plates! We both really enjoyed our dinner then went to find our hotel.
We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites in Port Orange/Daytona. Great service, nice rooms. I booked the hotel through Ebates and got an amazing deal, plus cash back! We hit the hay as soon as we could because tomorrow is a big day!

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Disney Magic to the Bahamas?? Day 5

November 4, 2015November 4, 2015 Shannon

Day 5 Saturday October 3

Day at Sea!

CSP & I decided an early breakfast is a good idea so we were back at Cabanas at 7:30 am, even with losing an hour due to the time change. Then it was back to the room for a nap. I was tired as CSP didn’t get in until very late from his movie and he decided to shake my foot to wake me up and let me know he made it back. We’re on a ship! How far can you go? Then I lost an hour on top of that so I was ready for my after breakfast nap.

We woke up and dressed and went up to Cabanas for lunch. Here’s where I’m not a fan of buffets. I love a good breakfast buffet but lunch and dinner I have a hard time. I found some gnocchi and had a spoonful of that but that was it. Meanwhile CSP was chowing down on some peel and eat shrimp. I love shrimp but I hate having to peel them. It’s the prissy in me. I thought I’d have time to grab something by the pool to eat like the schwarma, but next thing we knew it was almost 2 pm.

Time for Mixology!

We headed down to Keys bar. There were about 30 of us who signed up for this class. Each class is different in that you learn different drinks and techniques. And it’s only $20 each! You get 5 drinks for the $20, not bad considering your average cocktail on the ship runs about $8! This is where I wished I had eaten more at lunch! We made a Double Crown, Ratatouille Martini, Dr. Pepper (with beer), a B 52 shot, and a classic mojito. I drank CSP’s martini and shot and gave him my mojito. I like the flavored mojitos but am not crazy about the classic.

At the beginning of the class the bartender called up 4 of the men to do what he called a Taxi Cab. It was a shot of beer and then you’re supposed to drink the rest of your Corona as fast as you can, but the kicker is the bartender filled up the Coronas with Bacardi Limon! And you’re supposed to do all this while standing on one foot. Well CSP was called up to drink the Taxi Cab. All was fine until the one foot thing! Kevin finished his cab the fastest! We were having so much fun and had so many drinks to finish that when the class was over we just moved to party next door to O’Gill’s.

Jo, from the cruise staff, was in O’Gill’s hosting a pub quiz. We signed up right away. I love trivia. Amy won! She won 4 Disney Cruise Line baseball caps and gave CSP and I one each. Fun!

You might have noticed in some pictures I’m wearing a lanyard around my neck with a card in a plastic pouch. I wanted to take a moment to explain the card. It’s your Key To The World card and it acts as your room key and credit card while you’re on the ship. You also present it to get on and off the ship. There’s a lot of information on this card. Your name, the sail dates, the ship name, A for adult or C for child, what level Castaway Club member you are, your reservation number, dinner time, dining room rotation, table number, and the big letter is your muster station.

Then it was time to go back to the room to dress for dinner. Our last dinner on the ship! Tonight was in Carioca’s and it was a South American theme. At the beginning of dinner at the large table next to us a man got down on one knee and proposed! She said yes! The room went wild! It was SO loud all night. We said our thank you’s and goodbyes to our wait staff. They were so great! Back to the room to pack. We didn’t get to sleep until almost 1 am! Yikes!

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Disney Magic to the Bahamas?? Day 4

November 3, 2015November 3, 2015 Shannon

Day 4 Friday October 2

Cozumel, Mexico!

Today CSP & I woke up super early to catch the breakfast buffet at a much less busy time. It was so peaceful in Cabanas without the masses! After breakfast we went back to our room for a nap. Nothing like an after breakfast nap! We woke up and got dressed and went to Lumiere’s for lunch. On the way we ran into Amy & Kevin who were on their way to a Tequila Tasting! We decided not to get off the ship today as CSP’s foot was hurting him and we couldn’t afford a set back in his recovery.

At lunch Bianca from South Africa stopped by our table! She was our server the 2 previous cruises on the Magic. She remembered us! It’s amazing to me that they can recognize a face out of the millions they see! After lunch we went up to the pool deck and scored 2 of the coveted loungers in the shade. There are only 8 of them and they are usually all taken by 8 am! But it pays to stay on the ship when everyone else gets off! I bought CSP and I some water shoes so we put those on and got in the hot tub. He couldn’t go barefoot with his broken foot and needed some support. The whirlpool felt great on his poor feet. Our loungers were on the port side so we had front row seats to the pier when the skies opened up. There was a huge rainstorm. Remnants of Joaquin I’m sure. We spent the whole afternoon on the pool deck just lounging and getting in and out of the whirlpool. Then it was time to get showered and dressed for dinner.

Tonight’s dinner was back in Animator’s Palate and it was Pirate Night! I love seeing all the people dressed up as pirates.

After dinner we went up to Deck 10 for the fireworks. We had great seats and Disney put on a fantastic show. Then CSP & Kevin decided to go see Ant Man in the theatre. Amy and I decided to retire to our cabins and hit the hay! It was a really relaxing day!

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Disney Magic to the Bahamas?? Day 3

November 2, 2015 Shannon

Day 3 October 1

Key West!

Our ship was diverted to Key West for our first stop because of Hurricane Joaquin. We were only allowed to be on the island from 8 am to 1:45 pm! Well, none of the fun bars open before 11 am and we’re respectable adults. 🙂 No one wants to take day drinking to the 10 am level! So at 9 we ate breakfast at the buffet at Cabanas. We got off the ship and took the shuttle to Downtown Key West. It was when I was packing my day bag for Key West that I realized I left my prescription AND regular sunglasses in my car! Boo! Thank goodness Amy had some cute ones in my goody bag! Our first stop in KW was Ron Jon Surf Shop where I picked up some cute sunglasses so I’d have a backup pair. Then we went to CSP’s favorite, Sloppy Joe’s. We hung out there for about an hour then stopped into Irish Kevin’s so our Irish Kevin could buy a hat. On the way there I got sucked into one of those over priced lotion stores by the sales dude who was slathering sea salt scrub all over me. Before I knew what was happening he was bagging up $80 scrub and lotion! Luckily Amy came in and saved me! I hate confrontation and I know Lotion Dude was not happy with me leaving empty handed! Amy & Kevin had to stop into CVS so CSP and I grabbed drinks at Starbucks (we had been saving up our free drinks to use on this trip). It was a brand new Starbucks which was mercifully air conditioned but there was no seating! So back outside we went. CSP & I found some shade on some steps while we waited for Amy & Kevin. Then it was on the tram back to the ship! On the way back to the ship we saw tons of the famous Key West chickens. I just love how they hang out everywhere!

Our time in Key West went way too fast! We were changed into our swimwear and up on the pool deck by 2 pm! We grabbed something to eat at the lite bites counters. I tried chicken schwarma and it was so good! CSP got a coke from the bar and they served it in these cool cans. He LOVED the Coke on the ship because it was made with real sugar! We hung out for a while at the pool and people watched until we realized the Vacation Planning Desk was open. So we scooted down to deck 4 and got in line to book our future cruises. If you book online you save 10% and get a handsome onboard credit! We booked for October 2016 and a placeholder cruise (which is now February 2017) because the 2017 prices weren’t out at the time.

Back to O’Gill’s for another pre-dinner drink. Amy & Kevin had gone back to their room instead of O’Gill’s (I think) but we were able to keep in touch via Disney’s cruise app which allows texting! So cute and fun! And free! So many Disney emojis!

We went back to the room and showered and dressed for dinner. CSP enjoyed a beer in his new coozie courtesy of Amy & Kevin while I got ready. Tonight’s dinner was in Animator’s Palate. It was a Pacific Rim theme. Here’s where things got a little wonky. At the first dinner we noticed that some kids were running through the dining room. That’s no good for SO many reasons. But tonight at dinner it got out of control when Amy was hit in the head by a flying paper airplane! People! I know it’s a Disney cruise but that’s no excuse to allow your children to go wild! After dinner we went back to our rooms for bed. By now we knew our final itinerary. And we had to set our clocks back an hour. Where to next??

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Cruising Tips and Tricks Vol. 2

February 20, 2015February 16, 2015 Shannon

I’m fresh off my 4th Disney cruise and my 13th cruise overall. My Cruising Tips and Tricks blog post has gotten quite a few reads so I thought I’d update my tips list with a few more tricks I’ve learned.

– Drive or fly to the port the day before your cruise. You don’t want a wreck or construction on the interstate or delayed flights to make you miss your cruise. This gives you time to decompress and run to the store if you realized you forgot something. Plus, if your port city is interesting you can explore it a little.

-Board the ship as soon as you can. You’ve paid for this cruise, you might as well be on board every minute possible! Use this time to explore the ship before the crowds and activities set in.

– The night before, if you’re cruising out of Port Canaveral, consider staying at Disney instead of a port hotel. We stayed at Art of Animation, a Disney value resort, for the same price as a standard hotel in Port Canaveral. Staying on Disney property meant we were able to extend the magic a little bit and also eat dinner at ‘Ohana in Walt Disney World.

– If you’re a soda or alcohol drinker, consider buying a soda or adult beverage package. Some cruise lines charge for soda and they can really add up. And all cruise lines charge for alcohol. There are wine, beer, soda, and cocktail packages available at multiple price points. They can really save you money!

– Try the premium restaurants on your cruise ship at least once. They often have a surcharge, but it’s nice to get away for a fine dining experience. If you can’t get a reservation before your cruise, check as soon as you board as they may have cancellations and can get you in.

-Unpack on day 1. No, it’s no fun but if you unpack now and stow those big, bulky suitcases under your bed your stateroom will feel so much larger. Speaking of making your room feel larger, spend 5 minutes each day and just tidy it up a bit. You’ll be able to find everything more easily in addition to maximizing your space.

-Pack a small container of baby powder. Sprinkle it on your sandy skin and the sand will release like magic!

-If you’re a social person and are on Facebook, join your cruise’s Facebook group. Most sailings have a Facebook group. Just go to the search bar and type in your ship’s name and sail date and your group will come up. These groups are great places to learn insider tips and get to know fellow cruisers. My cruise group for this cruise had a cocktail party meet up, a Mixology class and we organized a Fish Extender exchange. Plus it’s just fun to share in the excitement and anticipation of your upcoming cruise with other people who are literally in the same boat.

-Book your excursions through your cruise ship company. You can trust the companies they work with and most importantly, your ship won’t leave without you. Sure, it may cost a few dollars more, but peace of mind is worth it.

– If you decide to go it on your own for your excursion- do your homework. Research everything you can online, compare prices, and you’ll come out ahead. When we rented an electric car for the day in Key West I had taken a screen shot of the company’s website deal on my phone. They used it as a coupon and gave us our 3rd hour free. The people next in line renting the same car at the same time paid the same price for only 2 hours. And always, always ask for a discount. They may say no, but you may save some money!

-If you don’t mind eating breakfast on the road or in town and not on the ship, then choose Express Walk Off/ Debarkation on the last morning of your cruise. The lines will be MUCH shorter and you’ll be at your car/shuttle/airport much more quickly. You have to carry your own luggage but these days with spinner suitcases that’s a much easier feat.

– Be sure to carry lots of small bills with you on your trip. You’ll need them for many things: tipping room service waitstaff, tipping porters/ luggage handlers, tipping drivers/tour conductors, etc. You might just make someone’s day with a nice tip, and they might just make your cruise even more magical!

Hope you find these tips helpful! Happy cruising!

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Disney Magic Western Caribbean Day 8- Heading home

February 19, 2015February 16, 2015 Shannon

We woke up at 6 to be in the main lobby at 7. We carried our own luggage off the ship and if you do that you can walk right off at 7am! No waiting in line at customs! We breezed right through and were in the packed car by 7:20!!! That means we skipped breakfast on the ship but we just grabbed a bagel a little ways down the road.

Before I wrap up this trip report I have to tell you about Disney’s new cruise line app. It’s awesome! I think CSP loved it even more than I did! I took some screen shots on the last day so you could see what it covers. It works via Disney’s wi-fi so it doesn’t cost you anything and you can have your phone in airplane mode while using it. We used it every single day, multiple times a day.

The welcome page:

Page 2: You can see all activities based on age group. Then touch the activity and it gives you a detailed description, plus the location and times. And when you find something you want to remember to attend, just press the heart and a reminder will pop up on your phone 15 minutes before the activity starts!

Page 3: Every day would be a different article.

Page 4: You can find out when your favorite character would be appearing.

Page 5: The menus. This was CSP’s favorite part. He liked being able to plan his meals ahead of time. You could see what they were eating in Palo and all the other restaurants.

Page 6:

Page 7:

Page 8:

Main Menu: LOVED the deck plans. Really cuts down on getting lost. This app really has everything you need in it!

We made good time going home and arrived just before 5 pm. CSP’s parents took us out to dinner and we gave them their cruise surprises. But first we loaded up on pug kisses! This was an amazing cruise and we had the best time!!! Can’t wait for the next one!

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Disney Magic Western Caribbean Day 7- Castaway Cay!

February 18, 2015February 16, 2015 Shannon

Today was Castaway Cay day! We were docked from 9:30am – 4:45pm. Castaway Cay is Disney’s private island. It’s amazing! We got up early and had breakfast at Cabanas then headed down to the gangway. Just outside the ship we bought Kyle, CSP’s new cooler. He named it. Kyle. That boy cracks me up! Kyle came with a 6 pack of water. After we picked up Kyle we hopped on the tram to Serenity Bay, the adults only beach. We found some chairs in the shade of an umbrella and had a wonderful morning! We read and swam and CSP was even able to snag a hammock! He promptly fell asleep in said hammock and I’d have to wake him up periodically when the snores got too loud! It was a perfect, beautiful day. Sunny but not too hot. The water was pretty cold and a little choppy but you got used to it. There were all these little birds running around between our chairs. So teeny! Our morning view: NOT TOO SHABBY for February!

At about 1:30 we had lunch on the island at the barbecue hut they have set up. They have all sorts of salads to choose from as well as mahi mahi, brats, burgers, etc. Even ice cream! After lunch we took the tram to Pelican Point at the family beach. Our friends the McC’s had a cabana and invited us to come visit. They dropped our wristbands off at dinner last night. I checked in at the Cabana station and told them we were looking for cabana #7. They called us a golf cart taxi and drove us to the cabana! Nice!

We spent the rest of the day with the McC’s hanging on the beach and in their cabana.

Man, that’s the way to live!

The cabana was SO nice

and came with so many amenities!

Drinks, fruit, sunscreen, towels, a safe, lounge furniture, a hammock (CSP jumped right in),

a changing room, outdoor shower, foot wash, use of floats and inner tubes, the works!

A & I took chairs down to the water, stuck our feet in the ocean and chatted while CSP waded out in the ocean with the McC kids. Those kids took to him like fish to water and he was so good with them. We stayed until the last possible moment then it was time to pack up and head back to the ship. We didn’t have dinner until 8:15 though so when we got on the ship CSP & I went to the hot tub again. That CSP loves a hot tub! Eventually it was time to get dressed for our last dinner of the cruise.

Tonight we dined in Animator’s Palate.

The menu was more limited tonight I suppose because it’s the last night and because of the animation show.

When we sat down at our seats were 2 big place matt looking things with green markers.

We followed the instructions on the paper which said to draw a character in the spaces provided.

Then our server took our papers away.

We both had the appetizer sampler (duck confit, mozzarella, and shrimp).

CSP had my duck.

There was just one soup- a macaroni and cheese soup, so we both had that. It was surprisingly good! For our entrees CSP chose the seafood pasta

and I went with the Beef Wellington.

I’d always seen it on Hell’s Kitchen so I thought I’d try it. Really tasty! Dessert was a trio of celebration cake, chocolate decadence & cappuccino mousse tartlet for me

and one last Mickey Bar for CSP. He also took my mousse tartlet.

During dinner they took our drawings and animated them on the screens by the table and set them to music.

It was too cute!

Our little guys were dancing across the screen!

After dinner we hugged our servers (mad I didn’t get a picture of them) and went back to our room. We packed up all our stuff and got ready for bed.

Debarkation comes early so we needed to get some sleep!

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Disney Magic Western Caribbean Day 6- At Sea

February 17, 2015February 16, 2015 Shannon

We woke up early today (at 7) because on sea days it’s much harder to snag a good chair by the pool. I’m super fair so I need one in the shade. We went up to breakfast at Cabana’s then scored 2 good chairs at Quiet Cove. We read and I may have dozed off for a little while. It was really cool and windy. The ship was rocking and so was the pool! It was cool enough out that they passed out blankets again to those of us silly enough to be up on deck.

At lunch time we dressed for lunch and went to Lumiere’s. Appetizers: I got the Tangerine Soup (like a smoothie) and shrimp cocktail. CSP got the salmon and a mixed green salad.

. For our entrees I ordered the Cobb Salad and CSP got the burger.

The server gave CSP a ketchup Mickey. For dessert CSP had the apple strudel and I had an almond tartlet. After lunch it was nap time back in our room!

We woke up and got back into swim suits and went back to Quiet Cove. We read some more, did the hot tub, and we were going to swim but the wind was really kicking so I backed out. CSP was up for it though! Poor guy was out there all alone! But it was freezing! I was fine in the hot tub but as soon as my dripping wet self hit that cold wind I was done with the water sports for the day!

But CSP was loving it! So I wrapped up in towels and blankets and read while he went back and forth from the pool to the hot tub. We stayed out there until almost 7pm! Then it was time for showers and getting dressed for dinner.

Dinner tonight was at Lumiere’s. For his appetizer CSP chose the oysters Rockefeller and I chose the shrimp. We both had the Wild Mushroom Soup. Tonight was Lobster night so CSP was all kinds of excited to get his lobster tail. I ordered the pork tenderloin with polenta and mushrooms. CSP got another Mickey bar for dessert and I went with the Trio of creme brulee, apple pie, and cheesecake.

Back to our room and we were locked out again! This time we were let in to our room within 10 minutes and by the time we woke up the next day our lock was fixed again. We got to bed early tonight because tomorrow is Castaway Cay! There’s lots to do so we have to be up early! But before we go…a tour of our room: Stateroom 7556. Note we have a red Cruising with Mickey bag as our temporary Fish Extender. That’s all thanks to the McC’s! We started with zero door magnets and ended up with a TON because of our fabulous FE friends! There’s tons of storage! We didn’t even use all the drawers and shelves! Pay no attention to all of our bags and CSP’s stuff. I told you he didn’t unpack! Drove me crazy! But note the full size sofa (which converts to a bed) and above it is a bunk bed. Across from the sofa and coffee table is the fabulous vanity and stool. The TV is on a swivel so you can view it from anywhere in the room. There’s a safe in every room. It’s big enough to hold my big camera and our wallets and CSP’s headphones. The bathroom is split. This one has a sink, a bunch of shelves, and the toilet. This one has a sink and the tub/shower. We had a stateroom with verandah. I love all the hidden Mickeys!

Ok, Good night! Castaway Cay awaits!

fun, travel

Disney Magic- Western Caribbean. Day 5 Cozumel

February 16, 2015February 15, 2015 Shannon

We woke up and went to Cabanas buffet to have breakfast. After breakfast we delivered our Fish Extender gifts. What is a Fish Extender?? Outside of every cabin is a fish that holds mail from the ship for your stateroom. A Fish Extender (FE) is a hanging that has pockets (usually a pocket per family member) that hangs from the fish. Here’s an example: *Note the door decorations- all magnets. The doors are metal and Disney allows decorations as long as you don’t use tape. Back to the FE. I’d show you our FE but we couldn’t find it when we were packing for the cruise! Boo!!! To participate you sign up for a FE exchange in your Facebook cruise group. Just search Facebook for your ship and sail date and you’ll find your group. Each group is different so I’ll tell you how ours worked on this cruise. We had 15 cabins per group. Each stateroom created or bought little gifts for all the people in the other staterooms in their FE group. Some people (like us) gave a room gift. Some people gave individual gifts – something for each person in the cabin. It all depends on you what you do. There are no rules. Some people give regional items, some give Disney themed. Our cruise group (Holla Group A!!!) was AMAZING! Our peeps are nothing short of creative geniuses! We got the CUTEST stuff. I can’t even begin to tell you everything we got, but it was fabulous. We gave barbecue sauce from Shealy’s (the best in the world), a Thirty One Hang It Up Key Fob, and a Thirty One Manicure Nail File (gotta represent!). Anyway, we delivered all our gifts (great way to see the ship!).

There were 4 ships in port today. We were docked next to the MSC Divina. It was funny, when the MSC ship pulled up next to our Disney ship, all the people came out onto their balconies to take pictures of our ship. The MSC ship was massive! We were on the 7th deck of our ship and their ship went up at least another 7 decks! We were in our room to change into swimsuits. I might add that each time we put on our swimsuits we lathered up in sunscreen and to our delight did NOT get sunburned in the least this trip! SPF 110 for the win!!!

So we went to Quiet Cove, the adult pool area. We hung out in the pool, read, pooled some more, read some more. Had lunch at Cabanas. Pool, read, pool. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was an awesome, relaxing day! Our view: If you look closely, you can see there is a Starbucks logo on that big white building. CSP is a Starbucks junkie so he was tempted to go check it out, but the lure of the adult pool and his book kept him on the ship.

Around 5:45 we went back to our room and dressed and showered for our dinner tonight at Palo. Tonight I only took pictures of the dishes you haven’t seen yet. For his appetizer CSP chose Cippino again. I got the Portobello Mushroom with Polenta Cake. For our entrees CSP got the Osso Buco. It’s his favorite dish ever and he looks forward to it all year waiting on this cruise! I chose the Saffron Risotto di Mare, but just with shrimp. I’m not into shells on my plate. It was amazing.

For dessert we both ordered the chocolate souffle. It comes with ice cream and 2 little pots of sauce, one vanilla and one chocolate. CSP and I always trade. I take both vanillas and he takes both chocolates. This souffle is incredible. Makes your eyes roll back in your head.

After our fantastic dinner we went back to our room to change clothes and get ready for the fireworks. We went to deck 10. No chairs. Deck 9- no chairs with a view. Then I thought of something. I remembered there are deck chairs and benches on deck 4! So we went down and there were only 2 other people there. Boom- no crowd and an incredible view of the fireworks! CSP was tired and had wanted to go to bed then bang! they started and he was so excited to be so close to them! We couldn’t hear the music but you couldn’t beat the view!