Pralines and Crunches: We Are Back from a Disney Cruise

Last night we returned to a snowy Kansas City from our fourth seven-night Caribbean Disney cruise. It was our second time on Disney Fantasy, Disney's newest ship. It was the first cruise for my sister, her husband, my almost-year-old nephew and Bill's parents, who we convinced to take the trip with us. My mom was with us, as well, for her fourth cruise. Although we were a bit worried, having talked so many members of our family into giving up a week of their time and untold thousands of dollars, fortunately for us, everyone had a great time.

We sailed on Saturday, February 22, were at sea for two days, were in St. Maarten on Tuesday, in St. Thomas on Wednesday, at sea on Thursday, and in Castaway Cay on Friday. Saturday was the sad day of vacation being over. (Also, long flights, a layover, busy airports, and traveling all day with two small children and one baby rarely amount to a lot of fun.) And today was an unpack-do-laundry-organize-the-house-go-through-mail day. As we were unpacking yet another suitcase, Alexis excitedly asked: "Are we packing for our vacation in Hawaii?!" Obviously, some of us are ready to keep on traveling.

The weather on this cruise was amazing all the way until some rain the Castaway Cay day. Because of the rain, the girls didn't get to spend any time on the beach this time. Still, rain and an 80 degree weather is much better than several inches of snow and -9 degrees in KC today. The schools are cancelled tomorrow for another snow day. This has been by far the most brutal winter since I moved to KC 10 years ago. At some point it will thaw out and the spring will come, hopefully, soon. Until then we will have our memories and pictures. I will post a lot more about our various experiences on the ship and all the fun the kids had. For now, just a few pictures.