The Oasis of the Seas

We just returned from sailing the Oasis of the Seas this past week. It's been 3 years since we last sailed her and she is still by far our favorite ship at sea. There is so much activity on that ship you will not be disappointed! I'll have more pictures, stories and reviews in the weeks to come. For now enjoy this beautiful picture of her docked at Labadee, Haiti. 

A Review of the Disney Wonder- The Last Galveston Sailing

                            We had a magical vacation onboard the Disney Wonder this past week. It's been 3 years since we sailed her and after sailing the newer Disney ships she looks a little tired. My overall thought is that this ship is in desperate need of a referb. Please note, I am not a complainer and am super easy to please. I love Disney, especially their ships and the attention to detail. But the musty, moldy smell in our balcony stateroom was enough to throw me overboard.
                            If you are planning to sail the Wonder you may want to hold off until she's had an overhaul. This is a great ship for the younger children who are not interested in the Aqua Duck, or more interactive kids areas. Our kids were 4 & 7 while sailing and they were thrilled in every way, which is the whole point right? Our older kids have been on all three ships and are much more pleased with the Dream & the Fantasy.
                           The shows were outstanding, as always, Disney knows how to put on a great show. We enjoyed seeing first run movies on this sailing such as Frozen, Planes and Monster's University.
Food and dining was a good time. I love the dining rotational system that Disney uses. It keeps the kids attention and changes it up each night. The service on this ship was wonderful.
                           The highlight of our trip was the Palo brunch. Palo is the adult only restaurant that has a $25 cover charge. On sea days they open up a buffet style brunch. This is the best meal we've had on Disney so far. It was so good that I will give it a separate post, it's worth talking about and I have pictures to go along with it.
                           Disney has now pulled out of Galveston, while we are sad we know it's worth a flight to Florida to catch the newer ships and enjoy Castaway Cay. On our return from Cozumel we hit 18 foot seas for 12 hours. I am  thankful we have never been seasick. You could barely walk, they closed down the entire upper, outside deck. The winds were 50 miles per hour. It was exciting, and a little scary all at once! Many people were sick. Disney provided several activities indoors, including the known Pirates Party, without the fireworks.
                         Overall it was a great trip, and we look forward to our next sailing.

Setting Sail on The Disney Wonder

In one week we will board the Disney Wonder out of Galveston, TX. In 2012 Disney announced they were pulling out of Galveston, so we quickly booked while on the Fantasy last February. We're so happy we did that because 3 days after we returned from the Fantasy they prices on the Wonder tripled and we were locked in with the lower rates! Word got out it was the last TX sailing, I guess. 

The Wonder set sail for the first time in 1999, so at 14 years old we are wondering if it's age will show. Back in 2010 when we sailed her, you would have never known she was an older ship. Disney really goes out of their way with the upkeep of their ships. There has been a small refurbishment since our last sailing on it. I'll post a review upon our return in early January. 

Until then Bon Voyage and a little flash back to the Wonder in 2010, our 1st Disney Cruise. When we board again next week we will be Gold Castaway members, making this sailing our 5th with Disney.

iphone Pictures from the Disney Dream

Here are a few favorite shots from our trip on the Disney Dream. This time I only brought my iphone and underwater housing (Watershot housing). I then edited with the pic tap go app and uploaded to instagram. You can follow on IG username- cozyimpressions 

                                   

                                             

Disney Dream 2013

I just returned from an all girls trip on the Disney Dream. What a fabulous time we had. I know what you're thinking... Disney with NO kids?! Yup that's right, and I have several reasons why you should cruise Disney with NO kids. 

1. Castaway Cay has a beach called Serenity Bay, the adult only beach. There is food, a quiet beach an awesome sandbar to swim out to, snorkeling, yoga!!, and much much more.

2. The adult only areas are relaxing and provide you a very nice place to veg out with a book.

3. Late dining offers a very reduced number of children.

4. The adult only area is full of different bars and entertainment. 

Try it you'll thank me!

Here are two quick panoramic shots from the trip. 

First up: Castaway Cay, Disney's Private Island. It is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen!

Costa Maya, Mexico {Disney Fantasy}

Costa Maya is a port day on the Western Caribbean sailings on the Disney Fantasy. This was our first visit there, even though we've sailed the western route two times in the past. I will honestly say, it's not our favorite port and I wouldn't be sad to miss it next time. One thing they did have was a free pool area with a swim up bar. It was great because we had little kids with us that were too young for a planned excursion. Be warned it was crowded! One thing I do NOT recommend is the Dolphin excursion offered there. I do not know the name of this company off hand but these Dolphins were living in such horrible conditions. You can see the dolphin "tank" from the pool area. It's a large concrete tank with dirty water, it's the saddest site we saw during this cruise. 

Enjoying the Aqua Lab on the Fantasy:

Bridge Tour on The Solstice

We had the privilege of meeting Captain Yannis Berdos while sailing on the Solstice.  We also toured the bridge. It was so interesting seeing the behind the scenes on a ship. I was surprised at how clean and bare the bridge was. The views were outstanding, they must see some amazing wild life while sailing Alaska. 

Here are a few iphone, instagram photos from our tour:

There were these window views on the floor, that were so neat to look down as you are floating above the sea. 

A quick peek at our balcony room on deck 6- room 6216.

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Skagway, Alaska

While in Skagway we booked the three hour White Pass train ride up into Canada. The best way to book this excursion is through the ship. It's $120 per person, booked through the ship and $118 pp on your own. The difference when booking through the ship is, they bring the train right to the cruise ship and you board there rather than having to go into town. After our excursion we walked into town (about a 15 min.). 

Skagway reminds me of a little ghost town. All the buildings are older with a lot of charm. We visited the Skagway brewing company and enjoyed a sampler while there. 

As you can see in the photos below the scenery changes as the train climbs North. When we arrived into Canada we saw snow covering the ground.

Ketchikan, Alaska

Highlights from Ketchikan! We arrived into this lovely port at 7am. We had booked a 10:30 Flightseeing tour of the Misty Fjords through Family Air. We highly recommend this tour with Dave. If you have 4 people in your group he only charges for 3. This worked out for us as we had 4 in our group. He was very knowledgeable, funny and careful during our flight. We were able to land in the Misty Fjords and get out of the plane. We walked around and breathed the freshest air we've ever breathed in our lifetime! After the tour they dropped us off downtown and we enjoyed the little shops. Be sure to check out Ketchi Candies for a yummy little treat.

Alaskan Sunsets

How about a sunset for every night of the week?! They sure were spectacular and each was it's own. The sun set around 10:30 pm while we were there it was the strangest thing! And at 4:00 am it was bright as ever before once again. 

Many of these were taken right from our balcony on deck 6 of the Celebrity Solstice:

                                                                              Oh look, an Orca Whale!

  This sunset was taken from the top of Victoria, B.C. in Canada. What a beautiful city, by the way. Mansions, blooming gardens and historical homes all along this coastal town.

Alaska: Celebrity Solstice

We have just returned from a spectacular Alaskan cruise aboard the Celebrity Solstice. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting our travel highlights, there are many. We were blessed with great weather, warm and sunny the entire time. Here's a small peek until I get to the 900 photos, eek! 

  We sailed through Tracy Arm Fjord to see the Sawyer Glacier. Along the way we encountered Harbor Seals and bald Eagles. 

NCL Epic Cruising the Med June 2012 Album

We finally finished our album of the Epic and all the wonderful Mediterranean ports we visited. Have a look:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo Book Tip: Create an adventurous travel photo album at Shutterfly.com.

Florence, Italy

Florence was such a lovely city, full of beautiful buildings, bridges and statues. We ported in Livorno, Italy and took a 1 hour train ride into the city. We had a bike tour planned that took us to the major sites and a stop at the best gelato we had the entire trip. At this particular gelato place they offered nutella (not the ice cream, the REAL nutella) along with a scoop of any flavor you could dream up. It was heavenly. Still thinking about it today! We also stopped off at a hole in the wall restaurant, by recommendation, that served us the yummiest pasta we've ever had. The grandma was in the kitchen making it while her sons were at the counter running the place. What a fun experience that was. Here are some of my pictures (from the bike, ha!)

This first picture was taken from the bridge Ponte Vecchio. Behind be on the bridge, it is filled with stores that have been there since the 13th centery. The only stores allowed on the bridge are jewlery stores.