Made it to Spokane Airport! Ready to head to Florida!
The week leading up to this trip was stressful. We left on a Friday, and the previous Friday I decided to buy some at home Covid tests just to relieve some pre-trip stress. Aubrey had had a runny nose, and we just wanted to make sure we were all good to go. The cruise's policy was to administer a test just prior to boarding. That previous Friday we all tested and Cameron was positive and everyone else was negative. Thats when the stress began! We had stake conference that weekend so we all just stayed home and relaxed. On Tuesday after school I had everyone help me start packing. We set out all the suitcases and told them what to collect to add. Just before bed, Cameron tested again and he was still positive. It was at that point that we decided maybe we should postpone the trip. I looked at Cameron's next week off at the end of March and there was another cruise that would line up perfectly with that time off. So after spending the night packing we told the kids we were probably going to have to cancel it all for now and wait 8 weeks to do it. We sent everyone to bed sad and I hardly slept at all that night. I drove all the girls to school still sad and disappointed. Then Cameron and I went on a run and during the run decided that maybe we should just go to Florida regardless of the cruise and figure it all out along the way. Major stress....but it felt like the right decision.
Cameron and I went and got PCR tests on Thursday, basically so Cameron could have proof of positive covid test if we had to move our cruise to March. He was able to get a priesthood blessing that evening as well. We took a home test again (did not let the kids know), and Cameron finally got a negative result, which gave us some hope. We did not tell the kids because we still wanted to prepare them for the worst case scenario- not getting on the boat.
So here we are on the airplane! Excited for whatever adventure it may take us on!
Beautiful sunset! Our flight left Spokane around 12:30pm, and we got to Atlanta probably around 6:30 local time. Our connecting flight was planned to leave around 8:30, but when we arrived at the gate we saw it had been delayed until around 11pm. So we had time to sit down and eat at TGI Fridays in the airport.
Then went and waited at the gate. Our flight got delayed a couple more times, and was scheduled to leave at midnight when it finally got cancelled. So many flights had already been cancelled so it was a nightmare to try and figure anything out....hotel, ride to the hotel, when we were going to get out of there. Finally we realized our flight got rescheduled for 3pm the following day. Luckily we had a couple extra travel days to spare! We found a hotel reservation and after an hour plus wait for a taxi we made it out of the airport. Only to get to the hotel and see our name on the reservation screen and to have the tell us there was no vacancy.
Our taxi driver drove us to another hotel nearby that luckily had a room. It was clean at least, with two queen beds. It was 3am by this point so none of us cared and we all just crashed for the night. And with a mid afternoon flight there was no rush out in the morning.
The girls loved riding the Airport Train at the Atlanta airport. That kept us entertained for quite awhile one day.
And the escalators. They were everywhere!
Finally made it to Florida! It was in the mid 60s when we arrived, coldest Florida has been in years.
It didn't stop us from having a good day at the beach on Sunday. We all slept in and then found a ride to the beach for the day.
It was still cold by Florida's standards so we basically had the place to ourselves.
Hollywood Beach in Miami
Paige hates staying in her wet swimsuit, so she would change out...but then want to play again.
And more covid tests. Trying to make ourselves feel better the night before the actual tests. On Sunday evening we had one of Cameron's coworkers write us a doctor's note that said he was cleared to work and travel, but once we submitted it, it immediately got rejected by the cruise line.
So we headed to the port on Monday morning, continued to say lots of prayers that we could all be patient with whatever happened. We had to wait at the port for about an hour before it was our turn to get tested. We went in and got tested. We got to swab the kids, and then got to swab ourselves. Cameron said he did it as little as he possibly could. They then filtered you into a waiting room and you had to wait for the email that said you were cleared to sail, or not. Our anxiety rose to the all time high as we kept refreshing our email browsers every few minutes. Eventually we got the news that we were good to go! None of us could really believe it.
We get to finally go on this cruise!!!
Right when we boarded the ship we were welcomed by Mickey Mouse and then led to Cabanas, the lunch buffet restaurant.
And we checked out the kids club area.
First meal on the cruise!!
At 3pm we were allowed into our staterooms.
Paige couldn't figure out how to open the potty.....which led to an accident and a chance to try out the little tub right away.
Ready to find the pool!
Goofy and Pluto
Tiana shirt with Tiana in the background
Our first dinner at Animator's Palate
And ice cream anytime we want!!!
The guy in charge of cleaning our room, Alfredo, would come and set up the bunk beds each evening, and then store them away into a couch each morning.
Lobster
Captain Jack Sparrow
Our first full day was spent at Disney's Castaway Cay, a small island in the Bahamas. It was overcast and mid 70s, so beautiful for us coming from Washington. But, a lot of people thought it was cold and wouldn't get in the water. We had a blast, and by 2pm we were really about the only people left on the island!
They also had two BBQ restaurants open from 11-2 on the island, including as much ice cream and soda as you wanted...so the girls would run back and forth from that.
The water was warm and we had a magical day! I went out to find the Castaway Cay 5k. I didn't ask for directions beforehand and my 5k ended up being 5 miles. It was a good way to check out the island! The girls saw my medal and decided they would like to do the 5k on our next day on the island.
Ice cream, beach, and cruise ship in the background! There were also a couple waterslides on the island, a snorkeling area, and then just lots of sand to play in!
Mermaid Penny
Trying to capture just how few people were on the beach when the afternoon hit. I don't know if people just wanted to be back on the boat or if they were worried about being left behind, but we had the place to ourselves!
We found a mat someone had rented and left behind and the girls had a blast playing with it.
Cute girls. They are so lucky to have each other.
Goodbye! We will be back in a few days!
We stopped to take this picture and the tram honked at us because they wanted us to get back to the boat! haha.
Back to the boat!
We all went back and showered and had the girls get dressed up for dinner.
Got up to the deck just in time to catch the sunset.
Some pictures of the fancy food
Birthday cake sundae in honor of Rapunzel's birthday
Fancy dessert
Fancy Mickey & Minnie
Masks anytime we were indoors. Quite annoying but not horrible.
Paige loved Chip & Dale. They were probably her favorites.
Towel animals were always a hit when we got to our cabin after dinner.
Goofy
The girls did karaoke one night. They loved it.
Thor
Mickey Churro Waffles
Our second full day was the Marvel Day at Sea. All the characters were there. We started the morning by meeting Gamora and Gru after breakfast.
Then Spiderman
And Ironman
Black Panther
Chip and Dale dressed up as Thor and Loki. Aubrey ate so much ice cream in the first few days that she couldn't stand it the rest of the trip.
Pool time
Penny living her best life. Pizza in one hand, ice cream in the other.
Some fancy desserts from the buffet
Cameron and I ran into Mickey and Minnie while the kids were in the kids club.
Black Widow and Hawkeye
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Dr. Strange
All the Mickey & Friends characters came out dressed up as Marvel characters.
Penny and Paige's meals for most of the trip
Superhero Sundae
And lots of Mickey Bars
Cool Thor & Captain America menus from dinner
One of my favorite parts was the Marvel show after dinner. They did the show twice, once at 8:30pm, and another time at 10:30pm. It really was so cool. Spiderman scaled the cruise ship walls. All the superheroes fought off the bad guys. They even shot at them off the cruise ship (which caused fireworks). Penny and Paige were so tired, we went and put them to bed, and then we returned and watched the second show with the other girls. It was just as good the second time.
Another fancy appetizer
Back to Castaway Cay on our third full day on the cruise.
We knew better this time not to ride the tram so we could talk with some characters. Donald & Daisy
and Goofy again
Started our morning by running the 5k with the girls
And checking out all the fun stuff along the way
Cameron & the girls taking our picture from the top of the tower.
Tower with our cruise ship in the background.
Finishing strong
Way to go girls!
Family finish picture
We played at a different part of the beach this day. It was just as good! Cameron and I snorkeled and the girls all gave it a try too.
5k Medals by the waterslide on the boat
Pirate night on the cruise!
Captain Hook and See
Pirate Mickey & Goofy
Stitch
Towel monkey
Captain Marvel & Thor
Captain America. Even after the Marvel Day at Sea there were still superheroes everywhere.
Spiderman again
And a little ping pong
More time for the pool
Cute girl
Our last full day the cruise ship stopped in Nassau, Bahamas. We opted to just stay on the boat for the day. We spent the morning in the pools and on the waterslides on the boat, and then the kids ran off to the kids clubs. Cameron and I decided to go explore Nassau just a little bit on a run.
It was a mile or two before we really got to any decent part of town so we were glad we hadn't ventured out with the girls. It was a fun run though.
Always interesting to see a new part of the world.
Big cruise ship!
Our final dinner. Mickey & Friends all came in for a little show.
Ada was pretty cute ordering two desserts for her last night on the ship
Paige picked out sunglasses as one of her treasures
Alfredo even got Ming ready for bed.
Just saying goodbye to the boat
Chillin in the window seats
Goodbye!
What a fun trip. We are glad it finally happened after a few years in the making.
More ice cream and pizza pictures
Star-Lord/Quill
More fancy food
A few more random cruise pictures
We used a bit of our cruise credit to play Bingo. We actually won $44.
One more sunset
We loved our waiters Noel & Nandy
Our last night we decided to watch Frozen 2 from the pool. It was even more amazing that we were the only ones in the pool and hot tub for the evening. We had it to ourselves!
Perfect last night
Of course we had to finish the cruise with one last round of ice cream and sodas
We had to eat breakfast on the cruise at 6:45am, and disembarked a few hours later. We decided to do a very touristy thing in Miami and go on an Airboat ride in the Everglades. We saw a couple alligators, as well as a few cool birds. Then we got to see a 20 minute alligator presentation and a take a picture with a baby alligator. It was a tourist trap, but now we can say that we did since who knows if/when we will make it that direction again.
Huge alligators
Then to the hotel before our early morning flight on Sunday. The pool was not heated and was freezing cold. Penny & Paige didn't last long.
Cute Crazy Girls
Since the pool was cold and it was only about 2pm, we got an uber to the beach to play one last time.
Goodbye Florida
Luckily the plane ride home was smooth and uneventful. What a great trip.
