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Shh Mom..loaded her kindle and unplugged… and brought home a giveaway

Posted on 16 July, 2018 by in Giveaways, Shh Moms Love / 49 comments

Denise here: Late in June I loaded up my Kindle oasis with some great reads and I UNPLUGGED as our family embarked on a 15 day vacation.  Ok full disclosure before I loaded my kindle I packed a lot of clothes using packing cubes which I now find are a travel must have!

We started our vacation in Disney World staying at Disney’s breathtakingly beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge and then departed on the Disney Fantasy for an 11 night Southern Caribbean Cruise.

I hope you enjoy this glimpse (the photos below have NO filters) of our amazing experience as our family continues to be impressed with the Disney service model. And… make sure to read to the bottom for Giveaway!

Travel Tip! Prior to departing I placed an order with Instacart! The order contained cases of water, uncrustables to stow in the our cooler backpack for a quick snack, along with our sunscreen for 15 days (sunscreen is heavy so it saved weight as I struggled to keep our bags under 50 lbs), yogurt for breakfast and some of our son’s favorite snacks. The Instacart services was wonderful and I highly recommend using it!

Our stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village offered us morning views…….

Animal Kingdom also offered a serene backdrop to enjoy a great read… I loved, loved Kissing Jenna by Kristen Proby. This book was pure romance with great banter, well developed characters and set in a world that has me wanting more from this series! Ms Proby is the Queen of family sagas.

Our first stop was Magic Kingdom…… and for the first time our sons’ got haircuts on Main Street USA! We were lucky enough to have the barber shop quartet join us, this was a super fun and very reasonably priced experience and yes Jeremy did get the pixie dust! You do need to book this in advance.

Barber Shop Quartet

Thursday at Epcot…. well we had a blast and brought these guys home with us; Disney Emoji Pillows

Thursday evening we had a spectacular meal at Morimoto Asia; this for us is by far the best dining in Orlando. Below you will see our Wagyu beef and buri bop (rice made table side in an almost 400 degree stone bowl) being prepared

Friday afternoon we stayed at Hollywood Studios as the rain continued to fall with the hope, the hope Disney might open Toy Story Land early….

Strawberry donut from Joffreys while waiting

And well…. our family and our traveling party were THRILLED to be one of the first few people to experience Slingy Dog Dash, the new roller coaster in Toy Story Land!

And yes we bought all the merch….. the alien light up necklace is shown here. The hat was purchased that evening at Chapel Hats in Disney Springs!

This was truly the best ending to the first part of our family vacation, early access to the newest attraction is a story our children will tell their children.

Saturday we boarded the Disney Fantasy bound for the 11 nights in the Southern Caribbean, in true Disney fashion even our entry onto the ship was personalized!

This is where the UNPLUGGED part really came in… 11 nights with no cellular and Wifi.

In full disclosure you can pay for WiFi on the ship and add an international plan to your cell phone but the service was spotty so unplugging worked for me!  And thankful my clients understood.

We started our cruise with two sea days …..what a relaxing and enjoyable two days; we participating in many activities including brunch at Palo (adult only) which is MUST DO. All the hot food is prepared fresh when ordered!

And yes I visited the spa (no photos). These two days were such a nice balance after the busy pace of Disney World!

For the first time ever we ordered room service in the morning and enjoyed coffee with a view! Room Service on the Disney Cruise Ship is included, we did make sure to bring small bills so we could tip.

Morning Coffee with view

The second night was formal night and though it required a whole extra suitcase and shopping for new suits and shoes for the boys… it was so worth it!  If you are planning to Disney Cruise Line cruise make sure to set money aside for the photo package, it is so worth it! You can pre-purchase the package at a discount at no obligation.

Almost every evening Larry and I enjoyed a drink at Meridian, the bar located on the back of the ship (yes I am avoiding ship terms) on deck 12.  The bartenders there were knowledgeable and friendly and in true Disney Cruise Line fashion knew our names after the first time we paid.

A Chocolate Martini, my evening drink of choice… and in Disney fashion a bit of an extra smile

The team at Meridian had Larry try a Macallan flight… he ended up loving the Estate Reserve (third from the right) For those who don’t know Macallan is a single malt whisky often referenced in books.

 

It was so nice to spend adult time enjoying each others company; if you know us you know, we both run companies, me JA Pharma, Inc and Larry Mitlin Financial, Inc and with two son’s both playing travel ice hockey we often spend weekends in different cities.  With our sons enjoying the activities offered by the ship we were able to really sit back and enjoy each other’s company. A big shout-out to Tam and Megan at Vibe the teen club of the ship (side note Vibe has it’s own pool for the teens) and Aimmie at Edge the tween club!

And speaking of enjoying activities Larry and I loved loved the dueling pianos of Scotty Kilwein and Micheal Sunshine. We sat up close for BOTH shows they performed in The Tube. These amazing artists play at Jellyrolls on the Boardwalk at Disney World Resort if you visit Disney World make so check them out!

Oh I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Chris the Adult Entertainment Director crowd surfing! Chris was so engaging and witty, we hope to someday see him on a future cruise as a Cruise Director on a Disney Ship!

Our on 11 night sailing were were provided TWO sets of fireworks during our cruise, July 4th and Pirate night (more on that in a bit)

July 4th Fireworks

Our first port stop was Aruba. We used ABC Tours to take a private tour of the island! We visited the natural pool and savored some of the local flavors

We then has another fabulous sea day one that had Jeremy helping in a show, he was selected to shake the banana…..the best part his gift for participating was the much coveted Disney green shampoo

During the sea day Larry and I attended the Remy Dessert experience and man was it an experience! This is a 5 course of dessert experience, this video is of one of the best desserts I have ever eaten ….I am sorry I have no idea what it is other than chocolate!

We were then onto Barbados, this island was I think my favorite! The port was extremely organized, the people were welcoming and the landscape a thing of beauty.  We spent our day on a catamaran with the crew from Cool Runnings I would HIGHLY recommend this tour! The crew was great, lunch delicious and the catamaran beautiful.  Yes, the sea turtle was really that close!

Our next stop was Martinique, we got off the ship to grab some fabulous croissants. This is a French speaking island and they for the most part they only accept Euros so be prepared if you visit.

Ashore on Martinique

Then it was time for pirate night!!!! We were the 5th sailing to have new pirate night show and I have to say I was very disappointed.  Though I did like the cast being more interactive and roaming with the crowd the show centered around Jack Sparrow, I found it scary at times and in the clip shown on the screen a boat SINKS; who on a ship wants to see a boat sink. The fireworks were beautiful but I much preferred the prior show, we meet a few tweens who left because the show was just too much for them to handle,  I really hope Disney re-thinks this one.

The dance party after was so fun and yes this REALLY happened!

Port number 4 was St Kitts…. in St Kitts was rented a boat to go Deep Sea Fishing! We caught a bonita (I had no idea what that even was but our son named the species the minute he saw the fish) and a mahi mahi.

 

From St Kitts was were onto Puerto Rico, the ship docked in Old San Juan which is up and running after the hurricane. We spent our morning zip lining in the rainforest and I then savored by one of the best mojitos I have ever had…sorry no photo of that was gone too fast!

Our view as the ship left San Juan….. our verandah was worth every penny!

Departing San Juan

From my verandah (and on the plane ride home) I was engrossed in Playing Hurt by Kelly Jamieson. This book was wow, two highly successful people dealing with issues that could bring their careers down really grabbed my emotions!

Our final sea day Larry and I went to brunch at Remy; it was an experience in fine dining.
The chicken dish was one of the most delicious bites of food I have ever eaten

Chicken Dish from Remy brunch

Asparagus from Remy Brunch

Our final stop was Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island; it is truly breathtaking!

Castaway Cay morning

In the afternoon I was able to escape to the adult only beach Serenity Bay. I spent some of my time engrossed in Harper Sloan’s newest Unconscious Hearts.  And while taking the photo below it started a super fun chat with a fellow passenger who I learned also loves Harper’s book!

I love my new stainless steel Tervis it really keeps things hot or cold for a very long time….though you can’t get the Castaway Cay one there is a Disney assortment available on Amazon.

While I enjoyed lunch at Serenity Bay, relaxing with an outstanding grilled rib eye that was delicious, moist, juicy and had just the right amount of char along with an adult beverage, my younger son and hubby went fishing… well that fishing trip resulting in our son reeling in what was likely a 400lb bull shark, yes you read that right a BULL SHARK… just wait for it in the video!

Our final night had us saying goodbye to our dining team. Elias and Shanice took wonderful care of us and truly speak to the Disney service model! Thanks to technology we are excited to be able to keep in touch with both!

Disney World is an experience in service but Disney Cruise Line takes that to a whole new level. Our dining staff, staff that cared for us for 11 nights, were the definition of service.
The crews ability to remember names and to smile at all guests speaks to their training and commitment to ensure guest’s visits are magical! You would never know the team does this day in and day out; eqach day they were a smile and make the guest special. From a staffing perspective it is fascinating (if you don’t know my company JA Pharma, Inc is an Executive Search firm) from a customer perspective it is amazing!
For those wondering about 11 nights in a cabin, the bed in our stateroom was so comfortable I plan to order the mattress for our home!

Final Sunset

As you can see our cruise was filled with so many amazing memories but more than that it was filled with amazing people. The crew of the ship and our fellow passengers made our cruise even more exceptional! We meet so many great families, I kept their photos out of the post as I know not everyone are social media fans but we hope they know they made our vacation that much more magical.
We hope Disney Cruise Line offers the 11 night again in early summer of 2020 as we would return for this literary and cruise length!
For summer 2019 our family is looking forward to our first Adventures by Disney!

★¸¸.•*¨*•★ #Giveaway ★¸¸.•*¨*•★

As a THANK YOU for taking the time to read about our amazing vacation….. I am giving away these beautiful rainbow Mickey ears!

To Enter share this post on your social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest) for a chance to WIN

Make sure to post a link to your shares below (the more you do the more chances to win!).

One winner will be chosen. Thank you for sharing!

49 Responses to “Shh Mom..loaded her kindle and unplugged… and brought home a giveaway”

  4. Kathy Valentine

    Awesome pictures and videos!! I’m glad you and your family had a awesome time!! Ty! For sharing!! Shared on all my socials!!

    Reply

  5. Sharon Slick Reads

    I loved reading about your trip as you traveled and now. Looks lime you had amazing and memorable family vacation!!

    Reply

  25. Kindle

    I can not tell you how much I loved this blog post. Great job. Love you guys so much. The boys are getting too big. They need to stop growing. I’ve only known you online, you’re the first family that I’ve watched really grow up, and mature, and I’m so emotionally vested in you guys, yet I’ve never seen you face to face. Big hugs Denise!

    Reply

  42. Tori Rennie

    This looks like such an amazing family vacation!!! So glad y’all had a blast and got unwind and unplug, sometimes it’s nice to escape with the family and not be worried about social media. Looks like you read some amazing books too! Xoxo

    Reply

  43. Maddie

    Looks like a fun and eventful vacation! I am dying to go on a Disney Cruise with my family! I’ll definitely consider it now after reading/seeing this post!

    Reply

  44. Allison Domlovil

    Shared on Pinterest! How much fun was your vacation!?!? I am so jealous! Thanks for sharing mama.

    Reply

  45. Aysia

    This was a great read!l along with great pictures. Disney is deff a must have with kids. 15 days is a long one!

    Reply

  46. Michelle Triefler

    I absolutely LOVE Disney! I haven’t been there in years 😫 It looks like you had a wonderful vacation with your family. I can’t wait to take my daughter and son when they get a little older!

    Reply

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