my incredible husband Gareth (i count my lucky stars that he is my husband) and his super pal Matt have a successful show called Buckets 'N Boards. i am proud to call it successful because they worked very hard to make it a success. and now, they call Disney their 2nd home. They fly BnB to a Disney cruise ship (usually the new Fantasy) for 4-7 days to perform their own show as a headliner, then they return them safely home. since they are a hired act, they are treated with guest status each time, instead of crew that stays on for 6 weeks at a time and performs in various shows onboard.
after a year of ups and downs of holding down the fort all by myself, our family got to go with BnB on the Disney Fantasy Christmas Cruise. just typing that makes me smile. i had the best time of my life. and i wanna tell you all about it!! i will break it up into a few posts so you wont overdose on the excitement so here goes.
to speed it up to us boarding the ship, here's the shorty short:
we boarded a couple early morning flights, made it to Florida where we stayed at a Disney World Resort, went for a quick trip to Disney World, froze our buns off, and woke up bright and early to set sail on what would be the most amazing time our family has ever had.
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| so very happy to be traveling with the 3 Levingston ladies! |
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| wrapped in a $37 blanket... totally worth it. |
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| this is where i began gasping and hollering for G to take pictures...even though he's seen this a billion times. |
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| we had no idea what we were in for! |
man. this place is legit. i didn't take as many pictures of the actual beauty of the boat throughout the week. i was soaking it in. and something wonderful happens. you don't really have easy internet access and your phones don't really have much signal, so you are transported back to the early 90s when you had no phone/computer distraction. something i did not welcome back when we went home.
once we got settled into our stateroom, and i officially declared that we could live here forever, we went to what would be my favorite place on the ship. the buffet. it is called cabanas and i lived there. i worked hard to drop a few lbs before the trip so i could gain them back without thinking twice.
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| many a nap was taken on this cushiony window seat. |
last picture before my 5 pound weight gain. notice the bowl of spinach. that was the last time i ate spinach (or really any other veggies) on the trip. notice my cheek bones. that was the last time i saw my cheek bones on the trip. 2 of the 5 lbs i gained were stored safely in my cheeks.
also at this magical buffet was a deck full of happy people. people about to celebrate Christmas together. people giving up their seats for others. happy faces that stayed that way for a week. and i haven't even started talking about the best part of the ship: the Crew...wow the crew... more on them in a later post. at every opportunity, other guest wanted to be helpful.
after a safety drill, we set out to check out our new home. this place is like a small town. i would always forget i was on the ocean floating. by the way, i was super worried that i would get motion sickness. i am happy to report that i had absolutely none. (thanks to my friend Ashley telling me it was probably in my head that i was gonna get sick) i loved the slight rocking that i felt, which was typically at bedtime. anyway, the ship is luxurious with signs of Disney tastefully throughout. upon seeing the Disney of it all, is when i started to miss my parents. i don't even see them a lot, but right there, i wanted them with me. i was thankful that they raised me on Disney and drove us across the country to Disneyland for a few vacations growing up. i started getting the warm feeling of old Disney movies we watched. everything Haley Mills: the parent trap, polyanna, summer magic...when i was young Disney still emphasized on Mickey, not as much the princesses. and while the Disney princesses join in on the Fantasy action, Mickey is the star of the ship. and that made me want my mom and dad to see. they love Disney.
we only saw a few things that day, it was a whirlwind. we had dinner, and we all met Mickey. the guys did a small bit in the "welcome aboard show" this was the beginning of me getting choked up. first of all, they came up out of the stage, like they rose up and rocked the hizzy. and everyone on board saw these welcome shows. so everyone was eager to see the BnB full show. so these guys are very popular to say the least onboard. not only with guest but also with the Crew since this is BnB's 2nd home. (ahhh the Crew...the best part of the cruise..have i mentioned that?)
we made it back to the room, just in time for 2nd dinner, since we had eaten more than an hour ago, it was indeed time to eat again.
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| every night a navigator is left on your bed (along with other fun stuff and your beds are all ready to get cozy in and hidden bunkbeds now appear!) the navigator is valuable and filled with what is going on throughout the boat at any time of day or night. i kept these with me at all times bc i was nervous i was gonna miss something!! |
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| room service...24 hours...free...i am holding the fruit as if i ate the fruit and not the pizza. |
we went to the kid's clubs that day to check them out. they're like mini Disney Worlds. high tech and amazing, your kids want to be there instead of watching you tear up every time you realize how lucky you are to be there. they are open all day til midnight... here is a sneak peek:
coming up: more on the kid's clubs, fancy dinners, and fellow Broncos fans! tune in!!!
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