Well buckle up kids, because we're at the second to last official vacation blog, and I'm all sorts of fired up. Remember that soap box from last time? Oh, it's currently under my arm and ready to go.
But before I get there, let's take a breath and relive some of the last day, because it was a fun one, though not what I expected. Days at sea are almost a guaranteed on a cruise ship, but we hadn't had one yet. Four straight port days had gotten us used to waking up and coming into a new island. Today, we woke up and watched the sunrise from our veranda, and all we could see was deep blue water. I was also curious to see how Elisa would hold up, since it would be the longest extending cruising part at likely our highest speeds (she did great, by the way...only slightly bothered from time to time).
So what do you do when you have a day at sea? I was personally a bit worried that this is where the crowds would really start to show themselves, but I think the reality of being on a smaller ship helped things considerably. So we woke up with only one real goal for the day - there was an afternoon showing of Mary Poppins Returns that Lukas wanted to see. The boys had mentioned swimming, but that was kind of "let's see how it goes" as well. In short, we wanted to chill.
And yet, as we were getting ready, Miles seemed off. My first impression was that he was just down. One of the best parts of Miles is he shows his emotion on these trips. He is as sad at the end of the trip as he is excited at the beginning of it. It'll break your heart to hear him say "I'm not ready for the trip to be over!" And so with him being slightly quiet and teary, I was sure that the reality of the cruise ending was just hitting a fever pitch. I understood completely.
But we managed to get out of the room and we headed up for what would be our final meal and breakfast at Cabanas. Debarkation day would involve breakfast in one of the actual restaurants, likely to keep people organized and ready to get off the ship orderly, so we went around and ate our favorites for the last time. We took advantage, for the third day in a row, of sitting outside. I mean, beyond knowing our trip was coming to an end, we also started to realize that it was probably 12 degrees and snowing in Salt Lake City. That sense of foreboding only increased, so maximizing our sun time was a key priority.
I now have to take a quick detour, because as Miles read the blog yesterday, he informed me that I had gotten something wrong. I noted that after breakfast, we hung out in the room until our excursion. Apparently, that's what we did on THIS day. Yesterday was altogether different. So, in an effort to not go back and revise yesterday's, I'll just fill you in on yesterday morning's happenings. Remember the last day of Puerto Rico? On cruise embarkation day, Sam, Lukas, my Dad, and I went down and got in a great game of football. The boys had been pining for us to do this while on the cruise ship, so I finally relented with the extra time that we had before heading to Harrison's Cave. So we went up to the Wide World of Sports Deck and entered one of the netted areas. This place is great, because you're surrounded by nets on all sides so you don't really worry about a ball going overboard. While we played football, Sam entertained himself on...you guessed it...the foosball tables.
We were really getting into another good game of football when we gained some friends. A small boy and his brother sheepishly approached me. They had been watching us play football and clearly wanted in the game. Kuods to him for approaching a stranger and asking to join. We were more than happy to include them, so we added two new friends. The better of the football players joined Lukas and my Dad (let's face it - they needed all the help they could get) and we took the smaller one. And for about an hour, we played some pickup football. It was great to see the kids interact with new kids on the deck of a Disney Cruise ship. The father of the boys even came to check on them and then promptly took advantage of the fact that they were with adults and took off to likely relax.
Okay, are you happy now Miles?! Oh, and Miles and I ended up going 2-0 on this trip. Oh yeah, baby. Football Gods!
So what do you do when you have a day at sea and no plans? Well, you relax and explore. Miles, ever the character hound with Disney characters, really wanted to see Stitch. So the family headed down to an early morning meet and greet to see the little rascal. We waited for a little while, just outside the stores. And yes, Sam asked about 12 times if he could have the Golden Mickey. Oh, I'm not spoiling that for you. You must read to the end of the blog to find out if I relented or if I stayed strong and didn't break home the heavy monstrosity.
Finally, it was our turn to see Stitch. The boys hugged him and got some pictures, and then Elisa jumped in too. You might not know this, but Stitch is a favorite of hers as well. It seemed fitting to get some great shots of her, Stitch, and the boys. But we hadn't planned to just see Stitch. Prior to leaving the room, we had gotten in swimsuits (yep, like the 9th day in a row or something obscene) and immediately headed to the pool. Elisa took advantage and got her last official iced coffee from the Cove Bar and laid out at the adult pool while the boys, my Dad, and I splashed around in the Goofy family pool. Today's movie was Moana, which felt really fitting while we sat on the ocean in a pool. Needless to say, I think there was more movie watching than swimming. I grew tired of swimming and headed to a hot tub, and eventually the boys joined me. We just sat and watched Moana until everyone said they were pretty done with swimming and were getting hungry.
To treat Elisa, who LOVES room service, I thought it would be a good idea to order lunch in the room, so we got back, I collected orders, and we got everything set. I figured that it would be easy, quick, and we'd have some downtime. But why, you ask, might we need downtime on a party cruise? Why, let me tell you.
As we headed back to the room...well, here comes the soapbox. Remember fever boy and the anger I exhibited in the previous blog? Well, now you can know why I wasn't a happy camper. Miles and Sam seemed really lethargic, and when we tested things out, it turned out they both had fevers. So here we were, on our day at sea, with 2 of our 3 kids battling fevers. It was worrisome enough that I took them down to the little clinic, since they made it PAINFULLY clear that if you see sickness, report it so they can actively try to avoid it spreading. When I informed the medical staff, they just told them to rest in the room and if they got worse, to bring them back. Hmmm...hey FEVER FAMILY. Perhaps you should have followed suit? Maybe skipped good 'ol Harrison's Cave for the good of the rest of the passengers, eh? I was so annoyed, especially since we had seen that kid and his parents for like 3 straight days. I was quite sure I knew where the illness had come from. What a bummer.
So both of the kids were tired and out of it, which kind of led to the room service. Only, the room service was taking forever, and Mary Poppins Returns was ticking closer and closer to starting. So while the other boys laid down resting, (oh, I failed to mention that the soap box is back in the closet). Lukas, was having a crisis of epic decision making. Time was ticking to get to Mary Poppins, but the sweet kid was clearly distressed. Should he go to the movie while his brothers were sick? Or stay and suffer? Wait for lunch? Just go and eat popcorn? Lunch? No? Go? Stay? Go? Stay? LUKAS! DECIDE. Eventually, he decided to skip the movie. As I walked to leave the room, he promptly decided that he wanted to go to the movie. I, too, like to have multiple personalities my child. Your lack of decision making rivals Elisa when it comes to choosing dinner. I kid, honey. I kid.
FINALLY, though, Lukas sheepishly told me that he really wanted to see the movie. Only now, we were late - and room service still hadn't arrived. So I left the boys with Elisa, hoping all three would eat and then get some sleep, and Lukas and I hightailed it to the movie. In more irony, I saw the room service cart as we headed to the theatre.
But it was fine. This was important to Lukas. So we got to the theatre, bought a couple popcorns, and headed in. In the end, we only missed the first song. So Lukas was still able to see most of it. And let me just tell you, I have seen the movie twice, and I absolutely love it. I think I enjoy it more than the original, which might be sacrilegious, but I don't care. I live on the wild side. I laugh in the fear of danger. I like the sequel! Brave, I am.
During the movie, my parents and Connie also joined us, which told me they had enjoyed their lunch and then had made their way down. We all finished the movie, and I was proud to say that Lukas enjoyed it as much I had. I'm especially fond of "Where the Lost Things Go". Gets me teary.
We headed back to the room, and the boys had eaten and gotten naps, and they seemed the better for it. I at least thought they would be able to power through the rest of the day before getting another long rest (and hopefully feeling better on debarkation day). We still had some time before dinner, so we were doing a mix of packing and sitting on the veranda. And we ended up all getting a wonderful surprise. While on the veranda, we saw dolphins! They were swimming with the ship! It was amazing. In all, I think we saw 6-7 of them swimming in and out of the surf. I even got video of it. How cool is that?!
After the dolphin experience, though, it really was time to focus on packing. Disney cruises, like other cruises, ask you to leave your suitcases out the night before for collection. It makes the debarkation process easier, I think. So while the boys chilled, Elisa and I attempted poorly to fit everything back in our suitcases. So many stuffed animals and souvenirs! But for the most part, we were successful. And it was time for our last big dinner.
We headed back to Animator's Palate, and this was a night the boys were really excited about. Disney being Disney, this night was going to be awesome. When we arrived, each seat had a big piece of paper. We were instructed, before eating, to draw our own creation (shaped like a person), and there would be a surprise later on. We all drew while we enjoyed our last drinks of the cruise, and I had to laugh at Sam. He used his cartoon's feet to write his name. I was curious to see how that would work out. Equally entertaining was Elisa. She had only drawn a head when she wanted a redo, so she gave the sheet to Judy (our server) and got a new one, finally drawing a whole cartoon character.
And after dinner, we saw what all the drawing resulted in. In a very cool bit of Disney magic, they take your drawings and animate them. So here came Mickey on screen, bringing our creations to life. They walked and danced across the screens. We laughed out loud when Elisa's floating head picture appeared. Good old Judy, turning it in anyway. Hello disembodied head! And sure enough, Sam's cartoon character was skating around on SA on one foot and M on another. In all, it was a really cool ending to the trip and our meals.
While we enjoyed dinner, we all gave hugs to Judy and Genevieve, even though we would see them at breakfast. They had truly been exceptional servers to us. Elisa and Judy in particular had bonded, which was awesome to see. And yes, we left great tips for their efforts. Sam was especially emotional, hugging Judy through the tears.
After dinner, we had one more show before it all ended, but Sam wasn't having it. He was tired and clearly still battling the bug, so Elisa and he headed back for sleep while the rest of us headed to the show - Disney Dreams, An Enchanted Classic. It was a nice and cool show to end the cruise with. It was the story of a kid (well, adult acting like a kid) who met Peter Pan and had to find her own reason to stay a kid and learn to fly. There were plenty of Disney characters, songs, and moments. The family enjoyed it.
As we headed out of the theatre, we realized that the souvenir shops would be closed the next morning, so it was now or never. We got some last minute souvenirs, including our customary Christmas ornament. Lukas and Miles got some clothes, and....
Wait for it...
Wait for it..
Wait for it...
OF COURSE I couldn't resist the Golden Mickey. I mean, my kid was sick in bed with a fever thanks to Fever Family. I couldn't resist. So I picked up the anchor - I mean Golden Mickey and took it back to the room. Sam woke up to see what I had brought, and his reaction was worth it. He asked to sleep with it, which I said no to, but he was still pleased nonetheless.
Before bed, I took the boys to one last show - a "See Ya Real Soon" adventure where you were able to get some final character visits (we saw Pluto, Tiana, and Goofy) and then they performed a skit where they broke all of our hearts and sang the Mickey Mouse song extra slow, while they all performed sign language to match. And then, one by one, Mickey and his friends walked up the stairs, gave Miles a high five, and then disappeared. Nothing said "this cruise is officially over...please get off!" like this.
Yes, Miles was teary when I put him to bed. I felt it too, bud. The cruise, and almost effectively, the trip was drawing to a close.
Next time, we get off the blessed boat (and my stomach finally starts to show it's done with cruise food), we have our own painful Uber adventure, wait 12 years for coffee, visit a fort, and watch my Saints get screwed. Yep, vacation was DEFINITELY coming to an end.
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