Disney Cruise: Part One!

Our family just took a lonnnnngggg overdue vacation!  It was five days of bliss and our hearts are still so full as we relive all of the magic from our Disney Cruise!  We had talked about doing this for SO long, but given our big move to Texas and waiting for Grant to get to a good age to actually enjoy the cruise, we decided there was no time like the present to set sail:)  The sweet girls at Mix and Match Travel helped me get the ball rolling with the planning of our cruise. It was SO helpful talking to another mama who had done this cruise with her kiddos- Erika had some super-helpful tips for making this as "smooth sailing" (sorry, I had to) of a trip as it could be:)

We flew into Miami on Tuesday (easy flight thanks to living so central in the US, now), rented a car and drove about 45 min down to Fort Lauderdale.  It was MUCH cheaper for us to fly to Ft. Lauderdale and rent a car to drive down, than it was flying straight into Miami.  It also meant that we could fly from the smaller airport in town verses DFW.  Win-win.  We grabbed dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then headed to our hotel for showers and slumber.

Grant was just done at this point (as if you needed me to explain that!).  We had dinner in downtown Miami after we flew into town.  These kids were ready to get to our hotel and "get this show on the road" because tomorrow was DISNEY CRUISE DAY!!

WEDNESDAY

We woke up and walked a block to grab breakfast and although, donuts/bagels were NOT on the pre-cruise diet plan, we started our day off with sugar and carbs and headed back to the hotel to get ready to head to the port.

Pre-cruise, "balcony picnic"

After dropping our car off at Miami airport (10min away), we jumped on a shuttle and headed to OUR CRUISE!!!

Two happy parents who are thankful to be (almost) in "vacation mode" ;)

Heading up to check in!!  Smiles allllll around and we aren't even on the boat yet!

Somebody, get us on that boat!

After a smooth check-in, we were finally on the Disney Magic (this was completely surreal for me, btw.).  Since our check-in time wasn't until 1:00-1:30, much to our surprise our room was all ready for us, so the first thing we did was go check it out.  It did not disappoint and was the PERFECT set-up for our family of five!  Besides, everyone comfortably having their own bed, I thought it was so smart that the bathroom was split into two (shower with a sink in one room and a separate room with a toilet and sink).  It made getting ready for the day/bed super efficient!  Hailey and Michael quickly agreed on who was sleeping on the top bunk first...or maybe a round of "paper, rock, scissors" helped them decide??? ;)  

After checking out our room, what else was there to do, but eat!  We grabbed lunch at their poolside grill and quickly obeyed "cruise guidelines" by following our meal with an ice cream cone:)  We explored the ship a bit and then headed to one of the lower decks for a mandatory safety drill.  

The view from our balcony while we were docked in Miami:)  Not too shabby!

Before we knew it, we headed up to the top deck for the "Sail Away" party!  Let me tell you, the excitement was for REAL, y'all!!!  I mean, if you weren't smiling from ear-to-ear, then my guess is you were asked to leave the ship immediately-ha...kidding!  The five of us absolutely LOVED this part of our vacation and I *may* have gotten misty-eyed when I saw my kids eyes light up when they heard the ship's horn as we pulled away from the dock:)  Pure magic, I tell ya!

Grant was having more fun that it looks-ha!  Actually, he was pretty wiped out at this point, but was a GOOD sport until we got back to our room for him to take a quick (and pretty late) nap.

Sail Away Partaaaayyyy:)

We headed back to our room to let Grant rest and get cleaned up for our first dinner on the ship.  These were right as we were heading out of the Miami harbor.  I had no idea but a police boat actually escorts you out and then "salutes" you as you head out into the open waters.  Again, this kind of gave me chills.  Something about vacationing with my crew had me all sorts of sentimental, I guess:)  

We had the first seating for dinner (5:45pm) and let me tell you, we hit the jackpot with our "table mates" AND our servers!!!!!!!  Seriously, these two factors were another large part of what made our trip truly INCREDIBLE!!!  SOOO thankful for this added "bonus" to our memories!

Happy, happy kids!  Mickey bars for the win!

Our servers made a "bed" for this tired baby

After dinner, we headed for the 8:30pm show.  Goodness, we loved the shows!  After day one on the ship, it was safe to say, we knew we were in for quite a vacation!  This was such a long time in the making, that I prayed and prayed our little family would just be able to "unplug" from life and come home with memories to last a lonnnnnggg time:)

Next up: Day Two...at Castaway Cay!