Disney Fantasy Cruise 2013: Costa Maya

Our activity on October 29 was a trip to the Chacchoben Maya ruins.  We were a little concerned when we received our event tickets because our tour start and stop times were outside the times that the cruise ship was scheduled to be in port.  Since we booked the excursion through the Disney cruise lines we chose to let them do the worrying and we'd just do the enjoying.

Upon arrival in Costa Maya, we boarded our tour bus and spent an hour bus ride to the ruins.  The bus was comfortable and seeing parts of Mexico outside the tourist area was interesting.  Our guide was fairly knowledgeable, especially about the plants in the area.

We were impressed with the Chacchoben Ruins.  It was pretty amazing to take a step back in time and see, up close, structures that were built thousands of years ago.  A tropical rain storm in the rain forest seemed like the perfect addition to our adventure.  It dampened our clothes, not our spirits.  We dried quickly and enjoyed the rest of our day.  We even found great souvenirs at the Chacchoben market.  I was especially thrilled with the hand made hammock chairs we bought; one for us and one for Mom and Dad.

The time of human sacrifice is long gone despite what Rob and the kids seem to think.

S11 took along some teeth to bury at the ruins.  He hopes that years from now archeologists will be confused when they find them.

This is a building site that has yet to be restored.

Our return bus trip got us to the pier with very little time to spare.  All the shops were closed and we were one of the last groups to go aboard before the ship sailed again. 

W

We ordered room service and enjoyed a snack as we dressed for the evening show of Wishes. 

Disney Fantasy Cruise 2013: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

We began our day on Monday, October 28, with an elegant breakfast buffet in The Enchanted Garden restaurant.  The food was very similar to that in Cabanas but we liked the setting better.  Because there were only four of us, we got to sit in a beautiful garden booth.  M9 particularly enjoyed the napkins (hats?).

After breakfast we were taken ashore in shuttle boats.  Our activity today was a trip to Dolphin Discovery, where we paid visit to the turtle farm and had a wonderful dolphin adventure.

A speedy bus ride took us to our Grand Cayman destination.  Our driver was full of information about the Cayman Islands.  His knowledge helped distract us from the traffic around us.  We arrived safely at Dolphin Discovery. We all got the opportunity to hold green sea turtles.  It was quite an experience!

After the turtle farm we crossed the street for our dolphin adventure.  Because we all participated there was no one to take pictures.  The paid photographs would have cost over $300.  We hope our memories of the dolphins will be enough. 

We were all outfitted in life jackets and sent into the dolphin pool where we met our trainer and dolphin.  Taking turns with the others in our group, we were each given the opportunity to interact with the dolphin.  In addition to touching the dolphin and offering him kisses, we got to do a push and ride.  For the push, we held a boogie board and swam out into the pool. The trainer then sent the dolphin to push us through the water by putting it's nose on the bottom of our foot.  The key was to lock your knees and hang on.  It was kind of shocking to feel a dolphin nose on your foot.  The surprise made M9 call for me until the push began and she was so pleased by the feeling of moving swiftly through the water and forgot to be afraid.  After the push we got to ride the dolphin.  We held onto it's flippers while it swam backwards towing us along.  We were mixed about which part of the dolphin experience we liked the best but we all agreed that it was a pretty amazing actitivy to participate in. 

This is how they always serve ketchup on the Disney Fantasy.

We returned to the ship, tired but happy.

Buttermilk Scones with Chocolate Milk Drizzle

Today was a snow day so we spent the morning learning "How to Train Your Dragon" and enjoying a warm breakfast treat.  These scones were the perfect addition to a snuggly morning while the world outside the windows turned into a winter wonderland. 

Buttermilk Scones
Serves:  16 scones.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Add butter and mix with your fingertips to a coarse meal. Add buttermilk and mix just until combined.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and divide into 2 parts. Roll each to 3/4 inch thick rounds. Cut each round into 8 wedges and place slightly separated on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm, split in half with butter and marmalade.

Chocolate Milk Drizzle

1/2 to 1 cup of confectioners sugar
2 T baking cocoa
2-4 T chocolate milk

Mix sugar and cocoa together until lumps are gone and color is uniform. Add chocolate milk one tablespoon at a time until drizzle is thick enough to spoon and drizzle over the warm scones.  You want it thinker than glue but not as thick as frosting. 

Disney Fantasy Cruise 2013: Day at Sea

Sunday brought a day at sea.  Rob and I woke early and went to the morning worship service onboard.  While it was advertised as an interdenominational religious service it had a clearly an evangelical Christian flavor.  The service was held in The Overlook which is probably the highest public place on the ship which means it has an amazing view.

After the service we had breakfast and returned to the staterooms to wake our lazy children.  As they kept reminding us, it was their vacation too and they really like to sleep in.  Once they were awake they were all eager to get topside to the pool and lunch. 

 Rob and I attended a mixology class in the afternoon.  We learned to make six mixed drinks from Jerry the Irish bartender in the Skyline Lounge. 

 The afternoon continued with spa sessions for Halley and Kady and a nap for me.  The show for the evening was Aladdin.  Dinner was formal.  We all enjoyed getting dressed up and stepping out to the Enchanted Garden.

When we returned to the cabins a new friend was waiting for us courtesy of Marissa, our stateroom attendant.

Disney Fantasy Cruise 2013: Setting Sail

We decided to make our drive it Florida in one shot.  Having an extra driver meant that we could all take turns and sleep in between. Our plan worked perfectly.  We arrived in Winter Park on Friday before lunch and had the rest of the day to rest, visit and celebrate.  As you can see, from the moment of our arrival, the party was on!

The morning of our cruise dawned with sunshine and high expectations.  We enjoyed a celebratory breakfast with Mom and Dad before they drove us to Port Canaveral.  You can see we were already in the Disney spirit.

With a little creative stuffing and by holding some things on our laps we managed to squeeze eight people and twelve bags into the van for the drive to the ship.

Within minutes of our arrival at Port Canaveral our bags were whisked away and we were moved quickly through the first security check.  Everyone around us was as happy and eager as we were.  Upon entering the terminal, we got our first glimpse of Mickey Mouse.

Disney organization didn't disappoint us at all during the check in process.  The terminal was clean and beautiful.  Lines moved quickly.  There was lots to look at while we waited.  Before our boarding time we all had our Key to the World cards, our pictures were taken and we were able to use the rest rooms take a good look around. Our boarding group was called and we were on our way to the ship.

Upon our entry to the Fantasy a Disney cast member announced our arrival..."Welcome to the Johnson family!"  while others applauded.  We felt truly welcomed.

We made our way immediately to the deck 12 to enjoy the pools, buffet, and most importantly to ride the Aquaduck.  Thanks to good advice and advance research, we knew where to sit for a good view of the ride and those that were excited about riding the water coaster were dressed appropriately.  The sun continued to shine as we slipped further into the wonderful world of Disney and took our first Aquaduck ride.

The Aquaduck didn't disappoint and neither did our first meal on the Fantasy.  Everyone found something to love.  That first few hours flew by as we visited the kid clubs, got everyone registered, settled into our staterooms and then made our way to the meeting point for the required safety drill.

Even the safety drill had a measure of Disney fun.  Immediately afterward we all made our way to deck 11 to bid Orlando farewell and enjoy some more sun.

We returned to our staterooms to dress for the evening show and dinner.  Our luggage had arrived so we took a moment to decorate our stateroom doors.  Our fish extenders were a perfect fit and we were excited to see what gifts they received over the course of the cruise.

After decorating our stateroom doors and unpacking we dressed and made our way to the Walt Disney Theatre for the opening show.  We followed the show with dinner in the Animator's Palate.  We met our servers for the week, Christian from Romania and Daniel from Portugal, and enjoyed a delicious meal.  Crush and Squirt joined us for dinner along with some of their friends.  It was a fun way to spend the evening.  

After dinner, M9 and S11 headed to their kid clubs while the rest of us went to the Buena Vista Theater to see The Lone Ranger.  We met back at the cabins shortly after midnight to enjoy a snack of cookies and milk. 

Disney Fantasy Cruise Count Down

Weekly Recap: October 7-11, 2013

Another good week.  Co-op, play practice, soccer, martial arts, 4-H, and our regular school week were all accomplished with minimal fuss.  Rob came home on Wednesday.  That's a wonderful high for the week.

M9
High - Math because it was easy.
Low - I don't have one.

S11
High - Daddy coming home.  I still really like my logic.
Low - Latin.

H14
High - Algebra test 100%!
Low - Latin test.

Me
High - Feeling like we are making forward progress.  All of the kids are doing well in their subjects.  K16 also got her ACT scores back this week.  They were fine.  We are both relieved she won't need to take them again.
Low - Still not where I'd like to be in Latin and Biology.