Funny story from that morning: As we waited to board our bus I stayed and saved seats with Natalie while Hubby took everyone else to a Starbucks a few yards away to get breakfast. From what I’ve been told, Kate requested a cake pop and Hubby said no, to which she replied, “but I always get a cake pop.” Then Danny impersonated her saying, “ but Mommy always buys me a cake pop!” which got laughs for pretty much the rest of the trip anytime anyone asked for something.
If you want a super relaxing day, a day or two at sea will fit the bill. As we sailed for Tortola & St. Thomas we could choose from things like mini golf, the Aquaduck, trivia, the detective agency game (x3), family game shows like Marvel Face Off, live shows like professional jump ropers that were last minute due to a Covid cancellation, Aladdin live (so good!) Eric Jones Magic or karaoke. Michelle was a character magnet. We met Disney characters accidentally whenever she was around. Lol. Ariel tried so hard when she saw us solving the Muppet caper but my kids were not interested. Dinner was the one thing no one could miss. We had excellent servers that gave us puzzles and were just overall wonderful. And I never need to worry about what to eat because they have me pick it out the day before — even breakfast up at Cabanas. I give them my stateroom number and they get it started. Makes me feel seen and so well cared for.
Tortola, one of the British Virgin Islands, was the first of three scheduled ports. I had done a lot of research and really wanted to go to The Baths National Park and I am so glad we did. It was super simple to walk to the ferry, pay half as much for the round trip as we would have with Disney (including the open air bus), enjoy the boat ride to Virgin Gorda, pay $12 to enter the park, swim and spend hours at (the so beautiful I don’t know why it’s called) Devil’s Bay. Danny, Michelle and I eventually headed off to The Baths to hike around and through the path of caves. Kate and Natalie wanted to stay put (who can blame them) so Hubby stayed behind. We loved it! Such a unique experience. The pictures just don’t do them justice. Danny ran on ahead because he and Michelle were barefoot and then I accidentally took Michelle on the wrong path to Stoney Bay. Neat place but not what we were heading for. When we got back to Devil’s Bay I tried to convince the other half of my family to go but my boys ended up heading off and coming right back when they saw how long the line had gotten. We wanted to be sure to catch our 1pm ferry back to the boat on time. Just as well we chose the safer time since we forgot to reapply sunscreen and all came back with sunburns! Ha! Spoiler: this day was the favorite part of our entire trip for Danny, Michelle, and I. So wonderful.
We all agree that sleeping on a ship is the easiest way to fall asleep and sleep well. I also highly recommend upgrading to a stateroom with a port hole. It is magical to open your eyes in the morning and see the ocean first thing. It wowed me every day. And the ports are so beautiful as well. My favorite part of St. Thomas was literally the view out our port hole. No exaggeration. We had booked a Disney excursion to take us to famous places around the island but it wasn’t what I expected. For instance, Blackbeard’s Castle was on the itinerary but it’s been closed since a 2017 hurricane so we just listened to the tour guide talk about it from outside the tower. But I loved having a tour guide to tell us about how her grandmother used to live on the hill and would have to climb the 99 stairs to get to her house because there was no parking close by. And how there are actually 101 stairs and sets of stairs like that all over the hills. Kate volunteered to take the picture for us. She’s a much better photographer than I am in most cases but Danny arranged us the way we are standing and I’ve definitely seen better poses for us. Lol.
The next day was our last day at sea. We enjoyed some Frozen trivia and watching movies while Danny hung out with with friends from the Edge (tween club). Michelle and I attempted to fold towels while Hubby took a nap in a shaded deck chair. I’ll stick to working at a school. Lol. Then Hubby, Michelle, and I did horribly at things like Pixar trivia while Kate & Natalie watched movies in our stateroom and Danny continued to do who knows what. We did spot him with his Edge friends at Chip It Golf & Frozen Phrases (kind of like charades) and it was apparent he had gone to the candy shop again. We noticed people starting to line up for “Frozen, A Musical Spectacular” a full 45 minutes before it began so we could tell people were excited, especially considering for the Moonshot (a cappella group) performance the night before the theater felt pretty empty less than 10 minutes to show time. And they were right to be. Disney Cruise Line went all out for their Frozen show! Amazing singing and costumes and show like Aladdin but also surprises like snow falling from the theater ceiling. Definitely not to be missed if you are onboard! And Animators Palate is always so fun. Our second night there we got to draw our own characters and see them merged into a little show on the screens Crush had used the time before to talk to us humans. There is something so great about seeing how different the drawings are and the joy that can be brought about by working together.
When people would ask me where my favorite place to visit was sometimes I would say Castaway Cay. We were so very glad to return but imagine my fear when I realized there was bad weather and all the reserved activities (like our banana boat ride) were canceled. I had heard that if the wind is too strong they can’t dock the ship at all. I was so relieved when we could get off the boat. Oh, and Danny & Michelle and I happened to walk off the ship with Captain Jack Sparrow. It was pretty rainy the entire day but guess what? You can still snorkel long enough to get a huge indent on your face… unless you’re Hubby. As he was walking to take his turn they closed the snorkel area down because the rain had begin to pour. It was a wet day but you can still skip rocks and build sand castles and be fed a delicious bbq lunch. When we had finally had enough of being wet we headed back to the ship and happened to meet a couple that had graduated from the same high school Hubby had a few years before him. Small world!
After eating breakfast at the Enchanted Garden with our beloved servers it was time to walk off the boat, gather our check in luggage, and head to the DCL bus that would take us to our favorite campground, Fort Wilderness. The cabins there are amazing and such a great place to be together as a family. That evening we got to attend an H2O Glow After Hours party at Typhoon Lagoon and it was incredible. We had never been to a Disney water park before and this is definitely the way to go. Almost all the rides were walk on and the longest we ever had to wait was less than 10 minutes. Hubby and Danny and Michelle pretty much had the wave pool (the largest in North America and so freaking awesome) and the rides done during the first two hours. Kate and Natalie and I had gotten a slower start but even Kate had to admit it was worth being in a swimsuit a second rainy day in a row to go on things such as Misadventure Falls. As a family we also ate plenty of the free popcorn, soda, and ice cream even though the weather was on the chilly side. I enjoyed the dance party way too much. Hey, for one thing it was warmer to dance in the sand than continue to go down slides or hang out in the lazy river after the sun set. I may have blown my souvenir budget by buying myself a dry long sleeved shirt after my sweater accidentally got soaking wet. I honestly think most of my warm clothes come from me being too cold somewhere. Anyway, if you ever have a chance to go to H2O Glow, go!
Since we had another late flight ahead of us, we got to explore Disney Springs more than we had ever done before. I finally got to ride in the world’s largest helium balloon, we now know what “luxury bowling” is, Michelle bought a hat that seemed to be made just for her, we pressed Marvel Pennies and went to so many stores. I got to be wowed by Erin McKenna’s GF/DF bakery. I’ve never had so many choices before! My lemon cookie cupcake was definitely worth the money. I have a feeling if we ever did move to Orlando our checkbooks would be thinner and our waist lines would be the opposite. So many fun things to try!
By 3am the next morning we were home safe and falling asleep in our own beds for the first time in over a week. This was such an amazing, rejuvenating trip and I feel so lucky we got to go. I think we appreciated this cruise more since we had to wait over three years from the time we booked it. There is now a big check mark next to Eastern Caribbean cruise on our mental bucket list. My brain is grateful to not have that to worry about anymore and grateful for the memories. But it’s good to be home too. As we walked to the truck at our airport we could smell that crisp mountain air with a hint of blossoms and for a moment all seemed right in the world.
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