Sailing with Mickey

"Aye, Aye Captain Mickey!"

Cinderella, her mini-me (and Mommy photo bomb :-)

Family picture with Minnie Mouse on Castaway Cay

For my birthday, this year, we went on our very first Disney cruise. It was a short trip but we packed a lot into our three night cruise to the Bahamas.

We left Port Canaveral on Thursday afternoon. The weather was sunny and warm- perfect for a cruise! We boarded the ship to fanfare worthy of Disney "magic" and headed straight to lunch in the Enchanted Garden Dining Room. They even made a special lunch- steak, of course!- for Katy.

Since we were traveling at the holidays, the ship was dressed to the nines in garland, tinsel and lights. There was a giant, life-sized gingerbread house in the main atrium. On the first evening, there was even a tree lighting ceremony.

There were so many new things to see on the Disney Dream! The first afternoon was spent mostly exploring the ship, attending the mandatory muster drill and then getting ready for dinner.

Our first dinner was back in the Enchanted Garden Dining Room. We were seated at a table with another couple from the Philadelphia area and their three year old daughter, Ansley- a perfect match!

After dinner, we attended the "Golden Mickeys" show in the Mickey Mouse Theater (a take on the Oscars, Disney style). As expected, the show was top-notch and very entertaining. Other than a brief appearance from some Disney Villains, Katy seemed to enjoy the show.

The second day on the cruise was our day at Nassau, Bahamas. However, we chose not to even leave the boat. We woke up at leisure, Katy enjoyed meeting several Princesses and then we enjoyed the pool for the rest of the morning/afternoon. Katy loved swimming and playing in the kid's area, Nemo's Reef. It was hard to convince her to leave!

Dinner the second night was in Royal Palace Dining Room. Katy feasted on steak (again!) and the wait staff sang me "Happy Birthday!" The second night was also "Pirate" night. Guests could dress up as a pirate using the provided bandannas. Of course, Ted had his own festive Pirate garb to don for the evening. :-)

We skipped the second night's show, since it was all centered on the Disney Villains. Instead, we ordered snacks from room service and enjoyed the Disney programming on the TV in our stateroom.

On the third day, we had reservations to participate in a Gingerbread House demonstration. One of the ship's chefs demonstrated how to construct a gingerbread house and each family got to make their own. We all had fun with this project- I had fun getting fancy with the piping bag and Katy enjoyed eating all of the gum drops! Sadly, we weren't able to bring the house home, due to customs.

After the Gingerbread House demo, we left the ship and went onto Disney's own island, Castaway Cay. Katy had a blast in the kiddie water area on the island called, Spring a Leak. After that, we dipped our feet in the ocean and Katy played in the sand with her dinner buddy, Ansley. We ate lunch on the island and then went back to the ship for a rest.

The last night's dinner was in the Animator's Palate. This was our favorite dining room. It had large screens spread throughout the room that featured the cast of Finding Nemo in an interactive dialogue with the diners. Various images, clay molds and memorabilia from many of the beloved Disney animated movies decorated the walls, tables, and floor of this dining room. So much fun!

We enjoyed the last night's entertainment, "Believe." Katy loved seeing all of the princesses and Disney characters make an appearance throughout the show and she stayed attentive through it all.

After the show, it was straight to bed. The next morning dawned way too early and quickly as we breezed through customs and were on our way home. Until the next time.... we had fun!