Pre-Trip Baby Does Disney - a PTR!

annienevells · Jan 6, 2023

Quick pic of a pretty tree on our way out of dinner!

We had a couple drinks and watched a comedy show on this night before calling it a day! We were headed to Nassau in the morning.

I am NOT a Nassau fan, but I wanted as much time in the ocean as possible so we booked a private beach day excursion and it was worth every penny.

We took a relaxing 30 minute boat ride to get there.

There were probably less than 20 of us total on the beach the whole day. The sun was shining, water was comfortable. Truly perfect.

OH.. I should mention. Before our cruise we brought a couple containers from Target in Miami to sneak some food on our excursions/beach days so we could avoid spending more money or going back to the boat. It worked out well on this day. I remember bringing a couple danishes, breakfast sausage, fruit and a bagel from the breakfast buffet!

palm trees!

The beach day flew by and before long we headed back on our return boat ride. The ONLY negative of this day was being dropped off in the middle of the market and being super uncomfy and overstimulated trying to get back to the boat.

Small price to pay though!

Soon we were back to our room and towel animal friend to shower up for dinner

We caught the sunset before eating, and my friend caught me mid sentence lol

"no no get my GOOD angle"

Time for dinner photos round 2:

Fried oysters... meh. Much better raw.

Creamy bacon pasta was good but HUGE

And TWO scoops of ice cream with my cake tonight. a must!

We ended our night with a stage show that was based around 20s renditions of current pop songs. It was actually very good!

MickeyCB · Jan 6, 2023

annienevells said:
And TWO scoops of ice cream with my cake tonight. a must!

Looks like a hidden Mickey to me!

mpaulam · Jan 7, 2023

MickeyCB said:
Looks like a hidden Mickey to me!

Yep! First thing I thought when I saw the picture

annienevells · Jan 9, 2023

(25 DAYS UNTIL DISNEY!!!)

We ended day 2 with a show, and it was actually pretty good! The women were FANTASTIC singers and dancers. The men... let's just say they gave us much to laugh about throughout the week.

We awoke the next morning to a beautiful sunrise from our room.

This was to be our Half Moon Cay day, and it ended up being our favorite.

We grabbed breakfast (and filled out to go containers) before disembarkation.

Half Moon Cay requires a ferry boat to get to, so we were appreciating our Faster to the Fun option at that time. FYI - Half Moon Cay is Carnivals version of Castaway Cay.

We were on the first boat out to the island, and were met with a gorgeous view when we walked onto the beach.

The water was PERFECT. Crystal clear and comfortable. Now what would make this even better?

Definitely a frozen miami vice.

Delicious!

We basically spent the entire morning reading, swimming, and chatting.

Time for the bbq lunch!

My plates:

Something about cookout food on a beach hits different. Delish!

One story from this near perfect day....

My friend and I were swimming in the water. I decided to swim out to the buoys and back without her. On my way back (almost reaching her) a very drunk and annoying man is whispering to her and she looks annoyed. I pick up my pace to get back to her ASAP. He starts yelling to me, with her behind him kind of waving her hands like NO!! but I didn't know what was going on. All of a sudden I realize what he's saying "SHARK!!!" and I whip my head around not seeing anything, before realizing he was messing with me. I'm sorry but.... NOT FUNNY IN MY OPINION. I'm pretty far out in the water. On an island. DONT YELL SHARK AT PEOPLE!!! I guess he had told me friend he was going to do it and she tried to tell him not to. UGH.

Okay. End rant.

We left the island to go back to the boat around 330, and when I got back I was able to FaceTime Nora as she was getting up from her nap.

That bedhead though lol

We had another great dinner:

Fried mozz and meatballs

southern fried chicken

RememberWhen · Jan 9, 2023

25 days!! Nora is so cute, especially with bed head.

annienevells · Jan 9, 2023

A break in my side quest reporting to say that this morning I added two more dining reservations because Nora loves going out to eat lol

Mama Melrose and Liberty Tree Tavern have been added! With those additions I'm really just out to be @Tuvalu 2.0 I think

RememberWhen · Jan 9, 2023

annienevells said:
A break in my side quest reporting to say that this morning I added two more dining reservations because Nora loves going out to eat lol

Mama Melrose and Liberty Tree Tavern have been added! With those additions I'm really just out to be @Tuvalu 2.0 I think

Awesome! With the new cancellation policy it makes total sense to plan for the sit-downs and bail if Nora (or you guys) aren’t feeling it.

MickeyCB · Jan 9, 2023

annienevells said:
My friend and I were swimming in the water. I decided to swim out to the buoys and back without her. On my way back (almost reaching her) a very drunk and annoying man is whispering to her and she looks annoyed. I pick up my pace to get back to her ASAP. He starts yelling to me, with her behind him kind of waving her hands like NO!! but I didn't know what was going on. All of a sudden I realize what he's saying "SHARK!!!" and I whip my head around not seeing anything, before realizing he was messing with me. I'm sorry but.... NOT FUNNY IN MY OPINION. I'm pretty far out in the water. On an island. DONT YELL SHARK AT PEOPLE!!! I guess he had told me friend he was going to do it and she tried to tell him not to. UGH.

Nope. Not funny in any way.
Was trying to think of a word to call him that wouldn't get edited off here. Couldn't.

fractal · Jan 9, 2023

Fake yelling "Shark" in the water deserves a smack in the head.

cgersic · Jan 12, 2023

Happy belated birthday to Nora Bea! Your photos are just fabulous and I can't wait for your WDW trip report to see you all in your element! Enjoying the cruise getaway!

annienevells · Jan 17, 2023

16 days until Disney!

Where was I? Ah yes, somewhere far warmer than Maine..

After dinner we went to another show. I can't remember the theme but it was some sort of spooky theme. The below scene was... interesting lol

But we enjoyed ourselves!

Not in the mood for any additional entertainment, we decided to go for a late night dip in the adults only hot tub

We were dying laughing during this because we were being thrashed around by the movement of the boat. It was fun, but FREEZING when we got out!

Perfect way to end the day.

The next day was our final shore day - Grand Turk. We were both a bit disappointed that we were not going to disembark until 11 AM. We woke up and grabbed an early breakfast so we could get our chairs on the Serenity Deck!

Passing the towel animals en route to food.

It was pretty quiet on the deck so we enjoyed our books and relaxed.

I grabbed a "breakfast burger" which is only breakfast worthy in that it has an egg added to it. Delicious though!

We went to deck 3 around 1030 and were let off the boat a bit early at 1045. We beelined to get seats.

There was something else I wanted as well...

"But there's booze in the blender
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on"

I had to take this picture for my mom. We are Parrotheads. I've been to 3 Jimmy Buffet concerts! Did you guys know his birthday is on Christmas?!

Anyways..

The beach at Grand Turk was not as great as I remembered it to be in 2018. Maybe storms made an impact? It was super rocky and hard to walk into the water at some points.

My friend had her fill pretty quickly and headed back to the boat to rest and get out of the sun. I wanted to finish my book so I sent her ahead of me. After turning my last page, I took a final dip in the ocean before heading out.

Back to the boat I go!

annienevells · Jan 17, 2023

Once I was back on board I decided to grab a late lunch.

First up - tacos! So SO good.

I also grabbed a pizza to bring back to the room to share with my friend.

We munched on pizza, showered up, and relaxed before getting ready for dinner.

We saw a cute gingerbread house display that way new on the way to the restaurant.

Time for more food pics!

Caprese salad and bbq chicken flatbread for apps. Both simple and good!

Lasagna for dinner. Hearty and super filling.

Cookie butter cake for dessert. Really good but a little too sweet for me.

Evening activity - the love and marriage show! We were obsessed with the older couple and they made the whole show so hilarious and memorable.

Another great day!

The next morning was our last full day, and it was a day at sea.

Started out waking up early to get loungers and breakfast.

Waffles on the water!

I also got to Facetime Nora Bea

annienevells · Jan 17, 2023

We mostly just relaxed on our final day. Read our books, had a couple drinks, in and out of the hot tub. I even went down the water slide a few times!

No pictures until our final dinner.

We truly enjoyed most of the things we ate on this cruise. I will say we mostly kept our choices simple, and that definitely worked in our favor.

One more show!

That is about it for my non-Disney cruise reporting. It was really nice to feel like more than just being Nora’s mom for a week.. but I missed her SO MUCH.

Can’t wait to see this girl experience Disney in just over two weeks!!

RememberWhen · Jan 17, 2023

You’re getting so close!! I think we’re 11 days out! Don’t worry. We’ll leave the place nice for you.

cgersic · Jan 17, 2023

You must be getting sooooo excited!! Nice side trip and thanks for including it!

annienevells · Jan 28, 2023

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY at this time we will be dining with Pooh and friends.

Nora is already in the spirit

Swissmiss · Jan 28, 2023

That Pooh-Buzz is too cute!

Wicked Sisters · Jan 28, 2023

Oh my how adorable is Nora. Winnie the Pooh has always been my favourite

cgersic · Jan 30, 2023

She really looks like you in that second picture!! Sooo sweet! Can't wait to see/hear all about it!

Pre-Trip Baby Does Disney - a PTR!

annienevells

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MickeyCB

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mpaulam

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annienevells

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RememberWhen

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annienevells

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RememberWhen

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MickeyCB

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fractal

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cgersic

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annienevells

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annienevells

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annienevells

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RememberWhen

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cgersic

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annienevells

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Swissmiss

Wicked Sisters

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cgersic

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