Disney Cruise 2022 (Part 2)

 On Wednesday, we docked in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. We took Kevin with us to Coral World while the rest of the Rorings went ziplining. Coral World is a small aquarium rescue/rehabilitation center. They had some really neat fish and animals. We got to feed the lorikeets, and the iguanas hanging out along "Iguana Way" were very cool. We even got to see a sea lion up close, because their regular exhibit is closed, so they let us go "behind the scenes" to see them.

What was not cool was when we sat down to eat lunch and got harassed by one of the iguanas! He was basically a giant, scaly pigeon. To be honest, I would have ignored him, but he was scaring Meg, so we got one of the attendants to chase him away. When he came back, I was feeling a little braver, so I started shooing him a bit, and of course Kevin then dialed it to 11, and the iguana JUMPED AT HIM, ONTO HIS CHAIR, AND THEN CLIMBED ONTO THE TABLE, which we promptly fled. Then it was just sitting triumphantly on the top of our table, eating our crumbs. Everyone passing by was like, "Check out the iguana on that table!" and I was just like, that thing is a menace! There were big signs saying "Do Not Feed the Iguanas" (which we definitely did not do), and they were not kidding around, truly.

We also rode a sky tram up to an overlook of the harbor, and we got to visit the Pirate Museum! We learned about a pirate named Walter Kennedy and had a lot of fun with the costumes and backgrounds.

On Thursday, Meg got to visit the Bibbidi Boppity Boutique (she chose the Rapunzel dress) and attend the Royal Court Tea (which she kept also calling "the bow-tique"). The Royal Tea event had an absurd amount of merchandise attached to it (included in and somewhat unfortunately inseparable from the event package), but it was a fun experience, and Meg truly got the royal treatment!

That night had a "semi-formal"/princess theme. We got to meet some more of the princesses, and we even managed to catch Rapunzel at the very last minute so that Meg could show her that she'd picked her dress.

On Friday we got to go to Castaway Cay (aka the Disney island). They have an underwater snorkel trail with things like sunken treasure and ships and some Disney statues. It was pretty fun. We also saw a couple of sting rays while snorkeling, which was very cool.

We spent most of the day just kind of chilling on the beach, and then our trip was basically over! It was sad to say goodbye, but we had a very magical time and loved every minute!

Disney Cruise 2022 (Part 1)

Disney obviously has a reputation for being one of the best cruises in the business, and it did not disappoint! We dove in headfirst with a 7-night cruise to the Virgin Islands and Castaway Cay. Like many cruises the past few years, this one has a saga of rescheduling and stressing about COVID-19, but in the end, we finally managed to get on board the Disney Fantasy!

 

The first thing we did was head straight to the pool. They had this really awesome Finding Nemo splash pad and a waterslide that went around the top of the boat, and a giant movie screen that played classic Disney movies all day (when was the last time you watched Pinocchio?). Also, bottomless ice cream!

 

On the first night aboard, Brittany, Matthew, and I were able to go to Remy, the fancy French restaurant. They served an eight-course meal (with a few bonus courses as well). We tried caviar and Miyazaki beef and were fit to pop by the end of the night, and they even brought us a cake to celebrate our anniversary next week.

So we had two days at sea to start off. Our stateroom number was 6666, which earned us a "Seriously?" from literally every staff member we had to recite it to. Meg just wanted to swim constantly. There were also a lot of activities on board. Our favorites were trivia (we even won one of them!) and meeting the characters. Matthew also really loved popping into the movie theater at random to watch whatever was playing for a few minutes, because why not? We also did a round of karaoke, and we got to watch Aladdin (stage show) and Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.

    

 

There were some fun restaurants onboard that we got to visit, and Meg had a lot of fun playing at the kids club. We even got to go to an "open house" to see what they get up to in kids club.

 

 

On Tuesday we docked in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We rented a car, which turned out to be more of an adventure than we expected, because the roads on Tortola are basically straight up and down, with hair-raising turns that are not clearly marked. We may have stalled out at one point and had to back our way down a very steep hill, but eventually we made it to Mount Sage National Park, where we went on a fun hike up to an overlook. It was pretty cloudy at the top, but the hike was fun if a bit short, and we saw some cool nature along the way (including a millipede!).

 

We then drove down to Brewer's Bay, on the recommendation of the car rental guy, and let me tell you, it was the best recommendation I've ever had. This beach was pristine and completely deserted. We were the only humans for most of our time there. It had white sand with no detritus or anything sharp or grainy in it. The water was warm and crystal clear—honestly, it was like pool water, and you could see straight to the bottom. It was shallow for a good ways out, so that was nice with the kids. There were also a bunch of pelicans, and it was fun to watch them soar overhead and then dive-bomb the water.

Not too far off shore, there were some really great reefs, and it was hands down the best snorkeling I've ever done. There was this massive school of circling fish that we swam through (and a barracuda out stalking them!). It was so neat to just be surrounding by masses of swirling fish, though. The coral reef had so many cool coral formations, and they were quite close to the surface and had so many beautiful fish. It almost felt like snorkeling inside an aquarium, but it was the real ocean! Seriously one of the coolest nature experiences of my life.

Tuesday night back on board was pirate night. There were many people on the ship in legit full pirate costumes (including the Rorings), but the Kennedys were not one of them. We still had a fun time though, and Meg got to see fireworks for the first time, which she loved.