Port#2: Grand Cayman

The cruise ships are not allowed to pull right into the dock of Grand Cayman, in order to protect the reef, so we had to take a tender into the port.

On our short journey, Kyler was thrilled to see a real pirate ship.  Throughout the week, he found his true calling in life .... to be a pirate of the Caribbean.

Notice the pirate in front interrupting this princess picture.

After staring into the sun for a quick snapshot, we crammed into a local bus and took a wild ride on the wrong side of the road.  It was the first time our kids have experienced a foreign country. Of course, we were too cheap to pay for the planned-out Disney-sponsored excursions, so our family tried to experience Grand Cayman on our own, which led to a bit of an adventure.

Our kids loved the white sand beaches...

turquoise coastline and crystal-clear water.

While daddy and the girls splashed around in the warm ocean,

Kyler spent most of his time soaking in some rays at the beach.

We wandered the beaches for a little while, seeking the perfect spot to settle. But they were either too crowded or not enough fish (for Dave's taste), or rocky (not to mention the sting ray Jeni almost stepped on!), so we finally decided to take a local taxi to Cemetery Reef. The taxi was completely sketchy! The lady we had asked about it told us several times to make sure the driver agreed on the price before getting into his totally run down, not really marked van. Dave had snorkeled at Cemetery Reef during high school and remembered the schools of fish that swim all around you. He was determined to match that experience. So, trying to be the supportive wife, we carried onward with our four kids and swim gear exploring a foreign country. As a side note, Dave and I have explored many countries on our own without kids, but it was certainly a different experience with the four of them in tow.

Finally satisfied with this destination, both Ellie and Aubrie went snorkeling with mom and dad. After seeing a few fish here and there, we finally found the magical spot that had schools of fish swimming within inches of your face.  It was like pigeons gathering around waiting for a piece of bread.

Of all of our adventures, this was Dave's favorite experience and my most stressful! However, snorkeling was like nothing any of us had experienced before, especially being just right off the shore (even though this picture clearly doesn't do it justice). Amazing!!

 

Back at the beach, Kyler was munching on sand and snacks and flashing smiles at the locals. Even though we lost our sunscreen on one of the many beaches we sampled, and we all still burned, it was certainly another magical day on our Disney Magic Cruise.

1st Stop: Key West

Our first stop of the cruise was Key West, Florida. The kids were excited to explore a new place with their cousins and Aunt Lauren.

This was our first time seeing the outside of the boat up, close and personal, and it was impressive.

  

As we walked along that mammoth ship, we kept saying, "This is surreal!' The kids compared it to the Titanic.

We decided to keep it low-key in Key West by only taking a quick stroll through the main town area of the harbor.

Ellie and Aubrie just couldn't resist the quaint romantic setting of old-town Key West as they embraced in front of this statue. This pose was all their idea!

 

This being Key West, we had to stop at the Original Key Lime Pie Shop for a treat. 

Our kids also loved all the "wildlife" around town. We sighted several wild turkeys strolling around, had lizard and snake photo ops in the shopping center, and encountered tamed exotic birds (that's an interesting oxymoron!).

All three of our girls loved getting to know this little white bird in one of the shops we stopped.

Teyah continually talks about having this parrot stand on her shoulder!

Key West was a fun, low-key warm-up to the adventures that lay ahead.

All aboard!

This year, Jeni's mom threw a big celebration for her 60th birthday by inviting the whole family on a seven-day Western Carribean Disney cruise. We had all of her 9 kids/spouses and 11 grandchildren.

We all met up in Orlando and took a chartered bus to the ship.

The first glimpse of the boat!

Shortly after boarding, we had our first of many dance parties on the deck.

We were happy to make the "Disney Magic" our home for the next seven days as it truly had it all, including a Mickey-shaped pool...

A waterslide to the pool...

A basketball court on the deck...

An unlimited supply of Mickey-shaped ice cream...

Mickey-shaped ketchup at every meal....

And Mickey Mouse himself!

Of course we can't forget to mention the plethora of princesses!

The kids club was great fun for the kiddos, especially with their cousins there.

The broadway type shows were were also phenomenal. Our favorite was probably "Twice Charmed."

Dinner time was always an experience.  

Sometimes it was formal...

Sometimes we had special visitors join us...

Sometimes the restaurant itself would actually transform into a whole new world by changing colors...

The food was endlessly amazing and our waiters always made sure everyone was happy and having a good time. Our waiter often took Kyler out of his chair to dance with him or play games with him, when he became impatient in his high chair.

At one dinner, Teyah had had enough of her mac and cheese, burgers, pizza, and steak off the kids menu, and yearned for some good old PB&J.  A few minutes later, our waiter had somehow found a PB&J just for her! The service was one of the best parts of the cruise. They were phenomenal! Even Ellie who has so many food sensitvities, had zero problems on the trip because the food staff made sure everything they made her was dairy free, fructose free, and that also meant made from scratch with organic, healthy ingredients. Amazing!

Every night after dinner, we were greeted by a new creature made from our room towels.

It was fun when they used our own things as props for the towel creatures!

Thank you grandma for making this possible.  The next few posts will take you through the amazing adventures of our magical week.