St. Maarten and Pirates!

Disney Day 9: July 16, 2013

Beautiful, beautiful, BEAUTIFUL day today. St. Maarten is GORGEOUS!!! I literally can not get over how extremely beautiful this island is. Half of it is owned by the Dutch, half by the French. We went to a beach on the French side. It was right next to a nude beach, and there were a few people nude in the water with us. That's common for French beaches.

Photo from Lacie's Facebook.

Lacie and Allie at the St. Maarten sigh.

Our excursion area!

The water was crystal clear. It was warm and the waves were amazing. I actually got in and swam! I did however NOT follow the advice given to us by our tour bus driver, and I wore my sunglasses into the water. I tried so hard to hold on to them, but this extremely strong wave came and took me under. I lost all control of my arms and so the water swept my sunglasses right off my face. I felt them crash into my chest, but my arms were useless and I couldn't grab them in time. Sad day.

I had so much fun, though. Lunch was provided for us. It was good. I got some fish and rice. We did get rained out for the last bit of it. That rain literally came out of nowhere. One minute its sunny and blazing hot, the next we're getting gallons of rain dumped on our heads.

Since the excursion lasted only until about noon anyway, we went back to the ship and got cleaned up. Ean and I went to the Buena Vista theater and saw a late afternoon showing of The Lone Ranger. The others went to the main theater where they were showing Monsters University. I liked our movie and I met Monsters University was super cute as well. They all seemed to enjoy it.

Goodbye, St. Maarten!

Tonight was Pirate Night. I LOVE Pirate night! I got super sunburnt today, so I was about as red as our little bandannas! We saw a little bit of the Pirate pre-party before going to dinner.

Our dinner tonight was at Animator's Palate. The menu was Pirates Menu. It was the same for all the little dining rooms.

Ean and I both wanted to save room for pirate party food later, so we only got a starter and the entree. I got the Buccaneer's Sun-Ripened Pineapple and he got the Pirates Golden Pot Stickers. We both got the same entree- Treasures-of-the-Sea Grilled Shrimp and Seared Scallops. I think that was probably my most favorite entree so far! We both got Rum Soaked Chocolate Cake for dessert.

After dinner we went to the Deck 11 midship to watch the pirate show and fireworks. I LOVE the fireworks out in the middle of the ocean. It's seriously the coolest. We ended up not really staying for pirate snacks after because it was overwhelmingly crowded. Allie, Ean, and I stayed for the dance party before heading back to the room. Ean and I watched Pirate's of the Caribbean for a little bit because why not.

Now I'm excited for St. Thomas tomorrow!

The girls' animal!

The boys' animal! Ronald is so great and super nice!

To The Sea!

Disney Day 8: July 15, 2013

This morning we had breakfast in Cabanas again. Afterwards, Ean and I went for a run around the track on Deck 4 where we met the captain in the elevator! That was pretty cool. He saw we had engagement buttons on our lanyards so he congratulated us. Nice man.

Hanging out at Cabanas.

We also played some Goofy Golf after running. It's kinda hard to play because the golf course is on the very top deck, all the way at the back, so its really windy. It's really fun, though.

We hung out at the pools again and chilled in the room some. We had lunch at Cabanas and snacks at all the little food places. We're eating sooooo much. I feel like I've already gained a few pounds!

The show this evening was called Wishes. It followed three friends who were about to graduate high school and they go on a magical journey meeting Disney characters (of course hahaha). It was really cute. Slightly cheesy, but extremely cute.

Dinner tonight was at the Royal Court, and the menu was French Cuisine.

The napkins were so cute!

Click to enlarge!

The cute dessert menus came in the style of a letter.

For starters, I had the Double Baked Spinach and Cheese Souffle. My soup/salad course was Belle's French Onion Soup. My entree was Pan-Seared Tofu, Roasted Zucchini, Eggplant, and Bell Peppers. For dessert I had the Sweet Temptations which featured samplings of Peanut Butter Mousse, Mango Cheesecake, and Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brûlée.

Ean got the same starter as me, an Avocado-Citrus Salad for his soup/salad, and Oven-Baked Salmon Royal for his entree. He also got the Sweet Temptations for dessert.

I'm so excited for our day at St. Maarten tomorrow!!

The boys' shark!

Our cute little sea turtle-like creature!

Formal Dress Required!

Disney Day 7: July 14, 2013

Today was a very nice and relaxing day at sea. We spent a lot of time exploring and finding great things to do on the ship. Every bit of food on this ship is included in the cost of your cruise so you can eat EVERYTHING absolutely free. There is a soda stand 24/7- all free. There are various little restaurants open all the time- free. Room service- free. Soft serve ice cream- free. Disney cruises are the absolute best. Ever. Period.

Ean and I ate breakfast at Cabanas this morning with the girls and Eric. All you can eat buffet! It was so good. We then hung out at the pools and stuff in the adult section where it is nice and quiet and relaxing. We explored the shops and met some really great staff.

My parents did a martini tasting class this afternoon. They loved it! Mommy said she tried some really amazing drinks that she wants to make for us at home. Mmm!

This evening the show was Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular. It was basically a broadway style play of the movie. It was SO good. Genie was hilarious. Disney really has like the best production crew and actors.

After the show we got ready for dinner. Tonight was formal night! We got all dressed up in our fancy attire. We had a bunch of pictures taken on the stairs of the ship. That was really fun.

Photo from Mommy's Instagram

Here's Daddy photobombing our picture...

Our restaurant for dinner tonight was the Enchanted Gardens. The menu was the Enchanted Garden Continental Market Cuisine menu.

Click to enlarge

I had the Thyme and Garlic Brioche as a starter, Heirloom Tomato Soup for my soup/salad, Glazed Portobello Mushrooms for my entree (YUM!!!), and a Banana Foster Sundae for dessert.

Ean had North Atlantic Lobster Ravioli as a starter, the Romaine Wedge for his soup/salad, and Caramelized Sea Scallops as his entree. He didn't get a dessert from the menu because our servers brought us out a "congratulations" dessert because of our engagement. That was delicious as well!

In the evening, we just hung out and relaxed. Ean and I went to the hot tub in the adult lounge and we watched some TV in the room. This is literally the best vacation ever.

View of the Deck 3 midship from Deck 4.

Mine and the girls' towel animal with Awkward Dino on top.

The boys' towel dog!