The Barkoudah's: Bucket List Vacation

One of my bucket list items has been to take a Disney cruise vacation when the children were young enough to make this a special family vacation but old enough to relish in the experience. After scheming with my good friend from medical school, Jess, 1.5 years ago, we headed off on the Disney Dream over February school vacation.

What shocked me most was the utter size of the ship. After docking in Nassau beside a Royal Caribbean ship similar to the cruise we took when I was in college, it made complete sense why none of us really felt any rocking. It was closed to twice the size! In fact, Micah requested not taking Dramamine on the second day and did quite well.

Getting ready to board in Port Canaveral. We were all excited about this new affair.

Inside our cabin at bedtime when the beds were turned down. Every inch of space is utilized. Every cabin comes with their own private deck. Because we booked adjoining cabins, the separator to the decks was rolled back connecting them. This led to many "meetings" of varying combinations including Rowan and John regarding smashed pennies. Each cabin also had "two" bathrooms; one with a sink and toilet and one with a sink and shower. That came in extra helpful with 5 people in one cabin.

A must do is decoration of your cabin door. Plentiful options can be found on etsy. Not only did this create a lasting keepsake but helped all find our cabin easily. We found ourselves wondering to look at other cabin doors.

All sorts of blanket / towel creatures greeted us when we returned back for the night. The kids began to look forward to who we would see next.

Though this was a bucket list vacation to do when the kids are still young, I found any age would enjoy this vacation. Disney certainly does it right on so many levels. Activities were broken into categories including "Fun for All Ages", "Adults Only" and a 1820 Club (only for ages 18, 19 and 20). In addition there were 4 kids clubs based on ages; teens, tween and kids as well as a nursery. At least once per day the kids requested to go to the Oceanaire's Club or Oceanaire's Lab. Parents were only allow in for pick up or during open houses. Hence why the paucity of pictures.

Dinner was amazing in both atmosphere and selection. Our first night we were assigned to Animator's Palate complete with Crush who talked to neighboring tables.

Dessert anyone?

Quinn and Izzy were ecstatic to learn they didn't have to order off the children's menu. And boy were they adventurous. This was Izzy's second try of escargot.

There are three dinning rooms that you rotate through. However your servers stay with you. We truly enjoyed them including indulging Victoria with ranch dressing for her broccoli every night and crayon puzzles. We were only able to solve 2 our of 5 puzzles. These were great brain teasers.

One evening the kids stayed at the kid's club allowing us to have an adult only night.

While the kid's enjoyed time at the kid's club, we partook of adult only time and visited Pink: Wine and Champagne Bar. Maybe not the most desired place for the men, but the drinks were certainly right up my alley.

Micah needed one-on-one time with John which landed them at the Mickey 200. Teams created racecars out of potatoes and carrots. Wheels were supplied. As expected, John stuck to the construction parameters. Unfortunately many did not giving them an unfair advantage during races. Micah finished third in his heat.

There was no casino on the ship. Bingo was the closest we could come which paid out if you won. The first night we played, Joe won $142... on his 42nd birthday. Coincidence? I think not.

Kids could play as long as an adult accompanied them to claim any payouts.

Quinn and Izzy were like two peas in a pod. At one point I had to remind Izzy that this was a family vacation. Not a Quinn and Izzy vacation. Oh the memories these girls will have.

While the older two got along great, the younger three did equally as good. Victoria didn't mind that many times she got mama all to herself. But she easily joined the boys for activities that were interesting to their age... the pool being a big one.

A much coveted activity on board was the Aquaduck.... a 765 foot water coaster that circumnavigates the periphery of the top deck.

One thing to enjoy ONLY on a Disney Cruise is Pirate Night. This is a themed evening where you can dressing up letting your inner pirate out. The finale is a fireworks show. John thought Opa would enjoy learning the shell of these fireworks are made out of corn husks which allows Disney to be one of the few ships who can shoot fireworks over open water.