disney day 7, animation magic, aquaduck photos, semi-formal night:

Our last full day at sea.  I thought it would be a good day for doing laundry, and of course a lot of other passengers thought so as well.  I was unable to find anything open the first two times I went, although I did get to iron the boys' shirts.  I only ever saw one other person use the iron.  After lunch at Cabanas, I went to another deck and waited out a wash cycle to finally get two of the washing machines.  I met a nice couple from Maine in the launderette, and they made the time pass quickly.  A couple of young men over-sudsed (?) their washers, and they faulted out.  I read that if you buy the detergent on board, you can only use half the box for a load, or you'll be in trouble with suds.  I used our own detergent, one pod per load, which was fine.  Also, you use your key card to pay for the machines, which is convenient.  While I did the laundry, Manny took the kids to the animation workshop and then the outlook.  Only one of the elevators goes up to Deck 14 (the one closed off when T and I tried to get there via the stairs).  Then they went miniature golfing again.  

I had signed Isaac up for the nursery from 4-6 pm, thinking it would be good to get a break, possibly put the older kids in the clubs, maybe get some time to chill with Manny, but it didn't really work out.  The kids wanted to play in the water, and Manny wasn't keen on forcing them to go to the clubs.  Naomi was kind enough to say she'd go if we wanted to have a date.  So, instead I took the opportunity to ride the AquaDuck with Naomi.  We ended up buying the photos.  After I ate (in peace--yay!), I headed back early to check on Isaac.  He was really happy when we dropped him off.  Finally he could play and crawl/cruise around freely.  However, toward the end, he started getting fussy.  I took him up for a nap while Manny stayed with the older two and had their usual afternoon snack.  Our deck was just above the nursery/clubs deck, so we didn't have to wait for the elevator.  We cleaned up and got ready for a special dinner at the Animator's Palate.  I'd been looking forward to it all week.

We took a quick family photo, and I was fine with the one we got vs. paying for the portrait.  I didn't pack bobby pins, and I was a little frazzled at dinnertime, so my hair kept falling out anyway.  I don't really like the haircut I got in April, too many short layers (I had asked for her to cut 1.5-2 inches, add a few layers and side bang, and she cut off 4+ inches and put blunt choppy-looking layers everywhere).  I guess you get what you pay for, and I usually go to cheap $10 places.  I also almost never ask for a refund.  Anyway, on with the show.

Animation Magic was pretty spectacular.  They showed clips related to food from many Disney films and cartoons.  Lucas and I got a kick out of that.  Lucas has been a fan of cooking and cooking shows for a while (though less so in recent months).  For the other part of the show, they gave us guides to draw and put our drawings into scenes from Disney films.  We only had red and green markers, but that was good enough.  It was hard to catch all our drawing cameos--you could blink and miss them.  Lucas' had all wheels, Manny's curly-q's, Naomi's (below) was a cute redhead, and mine was myself as a mermaid.

So I checked online, and apparently the semi-formal night is the Captain's Gala.  Very well, then.  So here is what I had from the Captain's Gala menu:

Appetizer:

Asian Pear, Sweet Corn, and Jicama slaw - good

Trio of duck, tomato and mozzarella, and shrimp - good

Main Course:

Lobster Tail with lemon butter, bean casserole and saffron rice - they forgot our lemon butter, so it was pretty dry.  The rice was good, though.

I also had the pork tenderloin with polenta, but I don't remember if it was this night (very good).  Didn't write it down and didn't take a photo this time.

Dessert:

Trio of Amaretto Cheesecake, Banana Creme Brulee, and Apple Pie - very good

The kids got decorate-your-own cupcakes with fresh whipped cream and fruit toppings.  Naomi could not get enough of all the creme brulee that week!

Naomi drawing at the animation workshop.

The outlook at Deck 14.

The elevator to Deck 14 (cool Mickey hand).

More miniature golf.

Mother and daughter in our lace dresses.  Manny says I look just like my mom here, which is true.

Family photo (couldn't move the scooter).

Naomi's drawing. 

I had to redo mine, but they were still able to include it.

I think Lucas' is the wheeled one on the left.  Manny drew it with his input.

They even gave Isaac a set (but he just had the whipped cream and berries).

Partial video.  Mine is at 0:12 (playing peekaboo with the little dragon), and I remember T's drawing having a solo as well.

Our names in the middle of the rolling credits.  My friend is Daddy T, and his mom wrote her Chinese name.  :)

Naomi, who was called "Princess" all week by the staff.

Father-son ride.

Mother-daughter.  lol

disney day 6, st. thomas, stitch, special friendships:

St. Thomas is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, so unlike St. Maarten, passports were not required for entry (but they're still the easiest proof of citizenship if you need it).  Going down the list of excursions, several could not accommodate an infant, but I found one that had a lot of variety in a short amount of time--a stop at Coral World Ocean Park, a scenic drive, and optional beach time.  There was another full beach excursion, but it would leave too early and be out too long for us, I felt.  I also wanted to do the scenic drive.

Before we disembarked, we met at the D-Lounge, and the staff had us pick up towels for the beach trip.  However, we were never given directives about the beach and where and when to go, and only now do I see that the DCL site saying the beach is next to Coral World (but how do you get there?  I should have asked).  Unfortunately, I never got a chance to go to the Port Adventures desk when it was open, so I'll have to email or call to see if there was some misunderstanding.  Not being able to even just walk along the beach in St. Thomas was disappointing, but we were coming off a great beach day the day before, and we still had Castaway Cay coming up.  So aside from that and the heat, it was still a fun day.

Instead of an air-conditioned coach, this time we were in an open tram, which was fine.  It looked like a typical urban landscape at the port.  There were familiar places like Home Depot and McDonald's.  There was an Asian restaurant called "Asian Restaurant."  It was about a 25-minute drive from the port to Coral World.  Once there, we were given a map and 90 minutes for a self-guided tour.  And guess whom we saw (besides iguanas everywhere)--T. and the family!  They'd again done an independent excursion, but we ended up at the same place.  I wish our kids were able to play together more on this trip, but it was good to keep running into them.  

Descending the spiral staircase of the Undersea Observatory Tower, we got to see the marine life around the coral reef 15 feet below.  We were able to see most of the exhibits--you can read more about them here.  I liked that we happened upon the sea turtle feeding and a stingray almost jumping out of the water and splashing us.  Another highlight was the shark feeding.  I really would have liked to feed the lorikeets, but no one else seemed interested.  It would have been a great photo!  It was too too hot, and we had to buy drinks and popsicles.  Given five more minutes, we would have been able to see the sea lion feeding, which T. and his family saw and said was cool, but we had to make it back by a specific time.  A general complaint I've seen in reviews is that the events are held at certain times and do not always coincide with the schedule you have.  An hour and a half was about right for us to get through most of it, but we returned to port an hour before we had to, so I felt they could have tacked on a half hour for the beach (with clear instructions), or we could have fed the stingrays or lorikeets given some extra time.

On the way back the driver took us on the scenic drive, which was relaxing (the kids always liked when we were speeding up or swerving).  Isaac fell asleep on Manny, and Naomi wasn't that thrilled about it, probably from the heat and missing the beach, so only Lucas and I went to the overlook.  We had a breathtaking view, but photo-wise it was pretty rushed, and my priority was to make sure Lucas was safe.  After that stop, we drove to a lookout point for the world-famous Magens Bay.  It looked every bit as pretty as I thought it would.  Yes, for a minute, I wondered if we should've just gotten a taxi out there and skipped the excursion.  Maybe we'll be back.

After we left, the driver said something about getting us back in time.  He was trying to weave through traffic and find shortcuts (Disney must be pretty strict), but we still returned an hour early.  So what else to do but get in the water again, of course.  Lucas got on AquaDuck, which he said was too scary, but he still got on twice, and then played in Nemo Reef for maybe an hour.  Afterward we cleaned up and went to meet Stitch.  Naomi is a fan of Lilo & Stitch (as am I), and Stitch is a fun character to meet.  After that we went to the magic/hypnosis show, which was supposed to be popular but honestly seemed set up and wasn't that great.  I tried to occupy Isaac during the show, but he just couldn't hang in there.  So I walked around with him as he fussed, and I think I eventually returned to the room to play with him.  Manny and the kids went to finish off Naomi's Midship Detective Agency mission, and they bumped into Pinocchio as he was leaving.  We all like Pinocchio (the movie and character), but I guess he's old school, so Manny said there wasn't much of a line for him.  Manny bought me a Pinocchio doll from Disneyland when we were dating, and I took it with us all over Europe.  Come to think of it, I should have brought him on this trip.  Unfortunately, they had no pictures with Pinocchio, because I wasn't around and had the camera.  Many of these photos I had to take one-handed because of holding a non-walking Isaac, but also, I feel like I don't have "the eye."  I'd like to really sit down someday and read up on photography and maybe play around with settings a bit in different scenarios.  But for now, these kids are growing so fast and moments are fleeting, so I just capture it when I can!

Dinner was back in the Royal Court.  I don't remember and didn't record what appetizer I had other than my soup, but no matter--I ended up with three entrees.  The boys finally got a chance to have spaghetti and meatballs, so they had little left over for the tofu steak (they normally eat a lot of it).

Appetizer

Saffron Mussel Soup - good

Entree

Roasted Portobello Mushroom Triangoli Pasta with cream and butternut squash sauce - very good

Rosemary-Scented Lamb Medallions with grilled red peppers, yellow squash, and polenta - very good

Baked Sesame Tofu Steak with brown rice and ginger soy glaze - good

After dinner, we took Naomi to the Oceaneer Lab for another science demo, and back at the room, the kids watched Up.  T. and I went to catch up a bit at 11:30 since we hadn't had a chance to talk much.  The highest deck was closed for a private event, but we were fine just sitting in the cozy chairs they have in all the main areas and chatting.  He always gives me good food for thought and wisdom, even after 20 years.  The topics that used to revolve around the future have become the topics of our present life.  We've both done our share of growing up.  We've both been through a lot in recent years.  It's such a different world from when we were in college, but it's also better in many ways, and it's good to know some friends never fade away.  And not only that, they take to the streets to look for your brother who's gone missing, they make an effort to see you despite limited opportunities, and they invite you along on their vacation.  :)  And thanks to my best friend Manny for staying with the kids so we could catch up.

Just click on the photos below to see the bigger photos.  These might be worth enlarging.

On our way to Coral World.

Kauai has its roosters, Palm Springs its roadrunners, and here we have...iguanas!  

Heading out to the Undersea Observatory.  Thank you for the A/C!

Lucas face to face with the scuba diver.

Time to feed the sharks!  T's family was right next to her.

Isaac liked it.

This stingray almost sprang up at us and then swam around the tank flipping its fin like Shamu.

Crabby crab.

Staff feeding the sea turtles some kale down below.

The view from Coral World.

Heading back.

Can't get enough of that color of water.

Ships in port.

Little islands off the island.  No idea what they're called.

Beautiful Magens Bay.

A local sheltering herself from the sun.

I tried darkening this photo a bit since the flash was too high.  Love how Isaac is holding his paw.

Think we have another Stitch fan!

Spaghettiiiiii!

T., my brother from another mother.

disney day 5, st. maarten, pirate night, fireworks:

St. Maarten, or Saint Martin, was our first port of call.  The Caribbean water is something to behold, and our pictures don't do it justice.  We had a quick lunch at Flo's before heading down to one of the theaters to be debriefed, tagged, and sent to the coaches for our excursion.  We chose an afternoon at Orient Beach, which was perfect for us.  Enough waves for Naomi to boogie board, but calm enough for the boys.  The ocean was nice and warm, something we don't get out here in the west.  Drinks were free.  I had planned to bring food for snacks, but they did not allow food to be taken off the ship.  We weren't starving, so it was fine.  

The coach ride was fun for the kids.  Isaac hates car seats, so being in our laps was a vacation for him, too.  At the beach, we were taken to some comfortable padded lounge chairs.  The umbrellas were extra, but it was somewhat cloudy, so we didn't need really them.  We ended up moving to some seats right at the edge of our group.  The worker came up to me and pointed out we were a couple of feet past the sign.  I asked him if we should move, but he let us stay there anyway.  So we had a large section almost to ourselves.  The beaches allow nudists, but we didn't see any.  (I wasn't really looking, though!)  Everything felt so serene at the beach.  I tried to take a close-up of Naomi boogie-boarding and caused both of us to turn our backs to the waves momentarily and wipe out.  So no more tries after that.  I hate that feeling of going under.  Lucas just waded and ran from the waves.  Isaac played in the sand or sat in our laps at the edge.  At one point, it started raining.  I just covered Isaac and the camera with the umbrella, and then it was over.  I was hoping we'd run into our friends, who chose to do their own excursion to save money, but they ended up at a different beach (not sure which one; there are several) which was perfect for their family, too.  There is actually a beach where airplanes take off and land called Maho Beach.  There's also one called Lucas' Bay.  :)  

I'm glad we went with just the beach excursion.  It was easy and had the best value and timing for us.  On the bus, we passed by the Two Flags representing the Dutch and French sides of the island, so that was good enough for us.  There's also the Butterfly Farm which looked interesting, but we decided to skip it.  When we did the cruise to Mexico, I took us on this crazy adventure with only a rudimentary map and no cell phone.  Just hoped for the best.  It was a memorable trip, but not something to do with kids in tow.  I think we felt better about doing the excursion through Disney.  :)

After we returned, the kids actually wanted to swim some more!  So we hung out at the pool for a while before getting ready for Pirate Night.  We don't even like pirates, but Naomi and I find it fun to participate and get the most out of it.  I went to a 50% off sale at Salvation Army and got a red scarf and a vest under four dollars.  Naomi had a black-and-white striped skirt and old black boots.  She used the scarf.  Lucas had a large white t-shirt, jeans, and a tie with skulls on it (the tie came with a dress shirt on sale, but he never wore the tie).  Naomi picked out a red-and-white striped tee for Isaac from Target, and that was pretty much it.  I could not find a vest for Lucas, so he wore Naomi's old Sparks vest inside out.  I was bummed that the kids were playing around with my clip-on hoop earrings and lost them, but it was okay.  I was proud of the effort we made.  Many people were in full costume.  Two of our friends actually have adult pirate costumes, but that would take up a lot of luggage space for just one night.  Manny didn't dress up, but he happily wore one of the Mickey pirate bandanas they placed in our cabin.  I think that was a nice touch so everyone could participate.

We waited in a long line to see Jack Sparrow.  The actor who played him was really spot on with his Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow impression.  I think speaking characters are harder to play, because you actually have to talk and think on the fly.  When Isaac wouldn't settle with the other two kids, the photographer suggested he give Isaac the barrel to sit on, and he kicked it over to him in the funniest way.  "Savvy?"  So we got a shot with just the kids and then a group photo before we headed up to the Pirates in the Caribbean Party.  Get it?  Of course you do.  We saw T and the family there, and the show was pretty fun, though I had to try to keep Isaac occupied.  Our Jack Sparrow was actually a stuntman/actor in the show as well.  After that, we were off to dinner before heading back up to the deck again for the fireworks show.  It is pretty awesome to watch the fireworks from the ship.  I'm glad we overheard a staff member tell someone where they'd be, or we'd be sitting on the wrong side.  Lucas has been scared of fireworks since our last trip to Disneyland, but this trip made him braver.  He actually is looking forward to seeing them again!  

They did not have anything like the pirate-ship-shaped desserts like Blue Bayou's, but they did have the pirate hats.  It was mostly Caribbean food with some Pirates and Neverland names.  Everything was good.  I thought there was a Captain's Gala on the ship, but I don't know.  The other cruise we took had some magnificent food and ice sculptures.  I was thinking we'd see something like that on board the Fantasy.  Maybe we missed it.  But food was just an afterthought that day anyway (yes, even for me).  It was truly the best beach day our family has ever had, maybe one of our best family days ever.  

Appetizers:

Jumbo crab cake with raisin carrot slaw and spicy calypso dressing - good

Pirates golden potstickers - good

Jerk chicken salad - good

Entrees:

BBQ Beef Short Ribs with red bliss mashed potatoes and plantain chip - very good

Grilled Shrimp and Seared Scallops with pasta in creamy tomato sauce - very good (I love scallops)

Dessert:

Trio of fruit cobbler, chocolate cake, and coconut cream treasure - good

Banana chocolate filled crepe with mango coulis and roasted coconut - very good

Arriving at our port.

Nice to see land again, especially this beautiful island!

Isaac will finally get to go play somewhere.

Isaac hanging on like a big boy on the bus to the beach.

The water was perfect.

The boys.

Naomi boogie boarding for the first time.  She got the hang of it right away!

Ah, our family.

Infinity hot tub on board overlooking the port.

Mickey pool.

Naomi loves to take underwater photos.

Isaac surprised about sitting on the barrel long enough for us to get the photo.

Good photo, except maybe Lucas should have stood in front of Manny.

Pirates in the Caribbean animation on the jumbo screen.

Arrr, good soup, matey!

This was taken on my phone while in line to meet Jack Sparrow.

I accidentally messed up the settings on our DSLR, so I took the fireworks photos on my phone.

Spectacular show.  Lucas now looks forward to fireworks.

So, this is the coolest towel animal.