How does that saying go....the best laid plans????
That pretty much sums up our vacation this Feb 9-16th. My father, who was traveling with us ended up having a heart attack during the first leg of our trip. Fortunately, he was well taken care of by both the Florida Hospital and my extended family that lived nearby. He would have to miss the cruise portion, but since it was all paid for and he wanted us to go, we went (with a bunch of worries and guilt of course).
The first day we boarded, we (myself, Darren, Aubreigh, Michael, Mom, 2 sisters, and my Neice) were in a bit of a haze. We were unsure if we should even be on the cruise, worried about how my father was managing back in the hospital, and guilty for actually going on the cruise while he was recovering.
The weather was not pleasant at all. In fact, it was downright cold and windy. It was actually fitting for our mental state. Instead of being excited to enter the ship, I kind of just wanted to get this vacation over with, but I had a very excited little 3 year old, and I was determined to make the best of an unfortunate situation.
There was a photo spot as soon as you were entering the cruise. I didn't know how the rest of my family felt, but I just couldn't bring myself to take a picture of my whole family without my father in it. So I just quickly passed the photographer stating we were not interested. I pretty much had this attitude at any photo opportunities for the 8 of us.
We had the buffet lunch in the Enchanted Garden Dining room. We were all starving. Then we went to our rooms to rest a bit, and went to the sail away party. I took Aubreigh. By the time we got their, we really had a hard time seeing the characters and it was rather cold. So we went back to the cabin to get ready for dinner.
There are 3 main dining rooms on the Disney Dream. You have a rotating schedule and get to visit all of them. Our first night was the Animator's Palate. It was probably the least formal looking of the dining rooms, but was still very cute. There were cute Mickey themed seats and there was a large screen TV at the foot of our table. This is where "Crush" would come and talk to Aubreigh. Our assistant waiter was Top Notch. He had water in a children's cup waiting for the kids as soon as we were seated. He drew pics of Mickey mouse on them and totally catered to the children. He even made a Mickey Mouse with ketchup for Aubreigh to dip her chicken in. Once he learned what their drink choices would be, he would have them ready each night for the kids as we sat down.
I don't remember a ton about the meal, as my head was still in the clouds, but I do remember ordering some blueberry drink that was really good. I am not much of a drinker, but I definitely needed it.
Afterwards, we took Aubreigh to one of the character meet spots. Donald was there and there wasn't much of a line (it was in the bingo room instead of the atrium, which normally gets swamped). We got some pics and then it was time for Mickey to make his debut, so we just stayed and got some more. The Characters usually only did 15 minute greets, and there was always a crew member who would stand at the end of the line designating who would be the last family to have their picture taken. There was a list of where the characters would be, but it is hard to hit them all with all of the other activities going on. I am sure that if you are on a 7 night cruise it would be much better.
We took Aubreigh back to the room to change in her PJs for the show. My family watched Michael so Darren and I could spend some alone time with her. We went to "Golden Mickey's" which is like an awards show for Disney (We also got to see Minnie in the bingo room on the way to the show). Aubreigh enjoyed it very much. She especially loved seeing the princesses on stage. Then we went back and got some much needed sleep. The few nights prior had been rather restless. Was it possible that we were actually starting to relax and enjoy this cruise?
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