"And when it's over, I want everyone to remember that it all began with just one mouse." - W. Disney

We just disembarked from a 4 night Disney Cruise.  It was an absolute blast!  Dirk and I wanted a vacation that would capture the magic of Disney without the long lines and hectic pace of the theme parks.  And let's be honest, our little shorties are not tall enough to go on most of the rides anyway. The Disney cruise offers time and exposure to the Disney characters, great musical theater productions, fun-in-the-sun, water slides and swimming, easy room access for naps and downtime, and the  availability of adult beverages from multiple vantage points.  http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/

Cullen and Simone both enjoyed meeting their favorite characters from the Mickey Mouse gang.  Although Simone looked very stoic in all of the pictures, she smiled from ear to ear was we walked away.  And Cullen acted to-cool-for-school as we approached the characters, but as he came close he was the first one to run up with hugs.  On the ship, Simone enjoyed her first mani and pedi and swimming in the 2 1/2 feet deep Mickey shaped pool.  Cullen loved goofy golf, shuffleboard, the interactive detective game and the Aquaduck waterslide.  The theater shows at night were awesome. - musicals featuring stories and the best-of characters and songs.

The third night on board was "Pirate Night".  I had read about this in the itinerary, but was amazed at the lengths that the crew and some guests went to dressing the part.  As we came in from our swimming adventures, there were 4 Mickey Mouse bandanas on our bed.  And after Dirk came back to the room from an errand, he said "Boy there are a lot of people dressed like Pirates!".  So we decided that we had better put on our bandanas and head out.  The vibe on the ship was filled with such great energy.  Everyone was so excited.  The agenda featured a Pirate Party on the top deck at 6:45 pm (presumably for the young ones) and fireworks at 10:30 pm.  After dinner, we headed up to the early Pirate Party and a stage was set up.  Mickey and the gang came out singing and dancing.  They asked for some audience participation (dancing and singing).  Cullen and Simone were really into it and helped Mickey fend off Captain Hook.

Another highlight was going to the waterparks and aquariums at Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.  Even for a toddler, the waterpark was awesome!  And Dirk and I both found a few minutes to sneak away and try the super fast grownup slides.

My apologies for the large volume of pictures.  It was just so hard to edit!