United States – Bless Your Heart

Saturday, February 4, 2012. Back to the USA.

I can’t believe I forgot to tell you that we saw Stitch last night! We made one last trip to the gift store to pick up a thank you for CSP’s mom for taking care of the pugs. We were getting on the elevator and there he was! Stitch is my favorite! And he was dressed up as Pirate Stitch! My favorite favorite!!!

Before we disembark I want to show you some pictures taken around the ship. Disney is world famous for a lot of things, one of them is their attention to detail. There isn’t a boring nook or cranny on their cruise ships. They have art everywhere and even the hand rails are decorative! One spot where this is very evident is Beat Street- the adult section of the ship where most of the lounges and bars are located. Even the ceiling is decorated with twinkle lights to resemble stars. This is Diversions- CSP’s favorite hang out. It’s the sports/games bar. They have everything from big screen tvs to giant Twister and fooseball. This is the Mickey Pool. You don’t often see it empty so this is a big deal! Here are some more shots from around the ship. Just places we thought were really nice. Even the light fixtures in the common areas are nice! Here are the gift shops, on either side of this hallway. The Walt Disney Theatre is where all the big shows are performed.

SO…this morning we woke up early and got dressed and packed up all the last minute things. Then we went to breakfast. The elevator doors opened and OMG the line for breakfast was insane! But we made it in finally and had a nice breakfast. We turned on our phones and watched them blow up with emails and texts from the week. The guy at the next table was wearing a Minnesota shirt and so was CSP (there were TONS of Minnesota people on this cruise!). You could tell the next table guy was dying to talk to CSP about it but he never got the chance. After breakfast we dropped off our customer satisfaction survey and headed to debarkation. Once you’re off the ship you pick up your luggage (easy color coded system). Then you go through customs. The line went quickly and next thing you know we were back on Florida ground! I waited with the luggage while CSP picked up Blanca (our RAV4) then we hit the road for home! It was so weird to eat breakfast on a cruise ship in the ocean then eat dinner at a Mexican joint in NC!

We arrived home and CSP’s parents were here. His mom stayed the week taking care of the pugs and the house. We showed pics after being attacked by 3 pugs who were full of kisses for their missing parents, then went to dinner. We made it home in record time. We didn’t stop for lunch, just gas, so that helped.

Overall we had a blast and can’t wait for next year to go again! My only complaints: if your child is screaming please remove them from the dining room/show. Also the hair dryer. They look like a vacuum tube. It does a fine job of drying your hair, the only problem is it gets so hot I couldn’t hold on to it long enough to dry my hair! And I have short, baby fine hair. I felt bad for long haired girls! I’m definitely bringing my own next time.

The best parts: being able to spend so much time with CSP with no distractions. It was awesome! Going to a fancy dinner every single night! The shows. Castaway Cay. Our balcony. Sleeping. I sleep like a baby on a boat. The constant gentle rocking. Seeing CSP so happy and relaxed. The people watching. Everyone is just happier on a Disney cruise ship!

At the beginning of each month I go through my coupons and pull out all the expired coupons. Seems like such a waste to throw them out though right? Well, we don’t have to. Did you know that there is a very special group of people who can benefit from our expired coupons? Our military families stationed overseas! They can use expired coupons for up to 6 months past the expiration date! Isn’t that awesome!?! No need to add to a landfill when you can help people. Now, how to get the coups to the troops? There are a ton of organizations that help, so depending where you are you may choose a different group than I would. If you Google Coupons for Troops this is what you get. So just pick a group and send them your expired coupons. They take food and nonfood coupons. Basically you separate the coupons into food and nonfood piles, add up the dollar amount then put them in baggies and send them in. Consider it the least we can do for the people who protect our freedom every day!