The Cargills: Disney Fantasy 2014

We were off again on the girls vacation with my mom. Although, I guess I should stop calling it that because Cooper has always gone and Derek went last year and this year. Therefore, I guess I will just refer to it as the Martin Family Summer Vacation. This was Derek's first cruise and he was a little nervous regarding whether he would like it. I have found that people have very strong opinions regarding cruises. They either love them or they hate them. Also, about 90% of the people that hate them have never actually been on a cruise. Derek loved it.

Since this is really my mom's vacation for her grandchildren (and the parents just get to tag along), she is in charge. Mom booked an early flight at 6:05 a.m. My mom is also a stickler about being at the airport two hours early before boarding. We were scheduled to board the plane at 5:20. So, on Saturday morning a Super Shuttle arrived at our house at 3:00 a.m. We just sucked it up and went along with my mother's wishes of being at the airport that early. Also, did you know that the ticketing counter doesn't even open until 4:30 a.m.? Now you know. I think we arrived at the airport at 3:45 a.m. I guess traffic that time of the morning wasn't as big as a deal as my mom thought it might have been.

The one perk of flying out that early was there were enough seats to upgrade to first class. Derek has to travel quite a bit for work so he was able to upgrade all six of us to first class without using any of his miles or points.

(Me with a cup of coffee waiting to take off and Mom staying hydrated)

(Payton relaxing in her roomy seat)

Derek was next to Payton and had the idea that Payton would sleep the entire flight so he could catch-up on some sleep as well. Oh, was he wrong!!!!! Payton talked to him the entire time and made him play games on the iPad with him.

Although I joke with my mom about the early flight, it really did work out well once we got to Orlando.

(The Cargill Clan arriving in Florida)

(Can you tell I am delirious from exhaustion at this point?)

(Boarding the ship)

Disney always does this neat thing when you enter the ship. They announce your family name and everyone (the Disney Crew) claps. Above is the Cargill Family being welcomed aboard.

Once on the ship, Derek went straight to the Pub on board to watch the World Cup while I unpacked all our stuff. Payton laid down on the couch with a Disney movie on while I unpacked. I looked over about five minutes later and this is what I saw.

The early wake-up call finally got to her. On a total side note, Disney has this on demand feature on its TVs. You can watch, on demand, any and every Disney movie from classic animation, pixar, and live Disney movies. I would love for Disney to market this feature for TV at home. I wouldn't mind paying extra to have all those great movies.

The cruise was a total of seven days. We were at sea the first two days. The kids were swimming and going down the Aquaduck the entire time in the mornings.

We also put the kids in the Oceaneer's club in the afternoons to take a break from the sun and the crowds at the pool. During this time, the adults went to the adult only area for some nice relaxation. The kids loved the Oceaneer's club. It was huge and had computers, games, different themed rooms, and characters to entertain the kids. Here are a few images I copied from the internet.

(I know there were some other rooms to the club, but you get the idea)

Payton also had an appointment at Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. She got to select any princess and get made-up. I may have pushed for the Elsa because they had the costume. She loves Frozen and hasn't asked or even mentioned getting an Elsa costume, but from what I have read and heard from other parents the Elsa outfit is tough to come by.

(They use massive amounts of hair gel, glitter, and hairspray)

(Elsa and Grandpat)

Of course Payton wasn't the only one to have a spa day. Each adult also had a spa treatment. Derek said it was the best massage he has ever had. I agree.

Our first port was Saint Martin / Saint Marteen. I was not impressed. The beaches were beautiful, but the locals would not leave you alone to enjoy it. Every three minutes someone was walking the beach trying to sale you something. As soon as we got off the water taxi, about ten people bum rush you trying to sale chairs, hair braiding, and jewelry. Also, the area looked a little ran down, in my opinion. However, that didn't stop us from enjoying the beach.

(Payton loves building sand castles)

(I really wish I had a better picture of us, but this was the best I could find)

Our next stop was Saint Thomas, and I am in love. It was by far the prettiest beach and island.

(The view from the boat at Saint Thomas)

When we arrived we booked a port adventure to go to Megan's Bay. On the way there we rode in converted open air truck that took us up to a hilltop for a photo opportunity. It was breath taking for a couple reasons. One it was beautiful and two the drive up there and down were scary as hell.

(Cargills at the top of the hill)

(Payton and Derek playing the ocean)

(Payton and I building sand castles)

Our last stop was Castaway Cay. That is an island in the Bahamas that Disney owns. It was probably our best beach experience because Disney had so much to do on the island.

Derek also took Cooper fishing at Castaway Cay in the morning.

Derek and I also booked a dinner for just the two of us at Palo one night. It was nice to have time together and the food and service were excellent. We would also go each night to the Skyline Bar. I will just copy from the internet the description because it is hard to put into words. Skyline offers:

Sweeping vistas of different international city skylines from a vantage atop a high rise—featuring a different city every 15 minutes and displayed across 7 LCD big screens, your “windows to the world”
A spectacular transformation from day to night as the day progresses.

We also played Bingo on the ship and Derek actually won. It wasn't the Mega Bingo for over 10k, but we did win over $600.00. That was enough to cover the cost of Bingo and our bar tab. Payton and I also saw Maleficent on the ship in the 3-D.