Behind the Scenes: the Disney Christmas Cruise aboard the Fantasy with Buckets 'N Boards part III

in an effort to pull myself together after a heartbreaking Broncos loss (in my opinion was caused by Peyton Manning not THROWING and Champ Bailey not COVERING and Prater kicking the dirt)i have decided to write about the happiest days ever.  i will warn you that my heart is still sitting on the floor over there by my television and i am still wearing a sweaty sweatshirt that i am trying to convince myself is still maybe a good luck sweatshirt....i still love you Peyton.  and Champ.  and Von.  but...WHY??!!!!..(oh i know why, Coach John Fox)

anyways lets talk about...

the Princess Gathering....

i can't believe i am telling you this but i almost cried a little.  i guess i was just thinking how much this means for little girls.  the way the gathering is set up is pretty spectacular. first they announce that the princesses are coming.  and they appear at the top of the stairs and the crowd is silent at first taking it all in, and then they gasp and cheer.  

and then they walked down the stairs...

they are all so sweet ...

and then they go and talk and hug people in the big line.  then they go to their spot and the line starts moving.  every girl or boy in line gets to take a bunch of pictures with each princess, and chat.  

Aladdin walked through the line while people were waiting and took pictures.  he was super cute (as is every guy that works on the ship) and sweet and asked which Buckets N Boards guy was my prince.  "the beardy one" is my response.

 Snow White had the sweetest sing-songy voice.  she talked to Lilli about bringing home flowers that will not make Sneezy sneeze.

beautiful Ariel..

nice jersey Gareth...wahhhhhhh...why? hiccup.

they take a lot of time to really talk and hug and hold hands with each girl.

Cinderella is gorgeous...

this is where Belle told Noii that she would be wearing the same dress as her later that night.

the dreamy Aurora...get it?  dreamy...

going for a little walk and talk..

"i hope your mom doesn't take it too hard if say, the Broncos lose in the playoffs even though they are Super Bowl favorites" said Aurora "oh yes, she will be strong! so strong!" the girls exclaimed/lied in unison

here is princess Tiana asking the girls what their favorite food is..

her dress is my favorite...

the next day we left the ship.  every time we disembarked (technical lingo!) i would be a little shocked at the size of the ship.  and that we were actually living on it for a week.

we were on a ferry headed to go hang out with a dolphin...you know, no biggie..

Dynae Levingston took the picture below of us at the Dolphin place, it is nice to travel with a pro!

Lilli and Darwin the dolphin!

the dolphin experience was pretty cool.  Darwin was rescued in the ocean after a shark attack.  he had a huge bite mark scar on his side.  we all got to kiss and dance with him.  Darwin was super smart....i should've listened to him when he said the Broncos wouldn't make it to the AFC championship, much less the Superbowl...it hurts.

the turtle farm was very turtley.  they had some enormous sea turtles in pools, but i felt bad for them.  we played with the baby turtles.  you grab them and if they start flapping and wanting you to put them down, you rub under their chin and they relax and become your best pal.

all in all, our excursion off the ship and onto Grand Cayman was nice.  but i missed the ship.  i missed Cabanas (you remember what cabanas is right?) i had gone over 3 hours without eating.

BnB had a couple shows that night and we made it to one and it was amazing to hear the packed enormous theater laughing and being happy.  after the show i dropped Lilli off at the kids club, and searched for food.  i ended up going to sit down dinner with Noii. but she fell asleep and although it said it was casual dress, we were in the fancier restaurant and everyone was fancy dressed again.  i was in a t shirt and shorts. and noii fell asleep.  so i was all alone...stuffing my face...  our waiter, Hervey, made her a bed at the table!  

packed up for when she woke up later

another favorite thing about the cruise is returning to our room after dinner, because surprises are waiting for you.

we received a Holiday print, it is very large.  and it was a nice reminder that it was Christmas Eve.

this fancy champagne was from the cruise director, BnB's boss.  he is australian and has a dreamy accent...his voice is broadcast over the ship a lot...dreamy accent

 after G returned from the show, he and i went for a walk up top while the girls stayed in and watch Toy Story (nearly every disney movie ever made is available on demand on tv in your room) it was so nice to be outside and soak in the night ocean air (however, it was scary for me to look at the ocean at night)

see how happy i am?

eek.

i LOVE this picture!!! so full of love and hope and faith in the broncos.

and then we all fell asleep something fierce.  and then around 3am Santa remembered to visit us, thank goodness.  and we would wake up and have the best day onboard....Christmas Day on the ship was magical...stay tuned!