A Dream of a Week on the Disney Dream | My Disney Cruise Review

A few weeks ago (yes, weeks), I had this wild idea to take my kids on a Disney cruise. Don’t get me wrong — we still love those summer Bimini trips on our own boat — but there is something about not having to plan anything (except what you want to wear) that speaks to me. No pre-trip coordination of meals or stress about if the seas are going to be calm for the crossing — and you guys I didn’t have to cook or clean up after myself or my kids (or husband) for 5 whole days. YESSSSSSSS. 

So I called up my aunt Isabelle who is a travel agent and asked if she could find some last-minute Disney deals and she sure delivered. For less than $3,000 (total for all four of us, including tips, insurance, etc.) she booked us on a 5-day Very Merrytime Disney cruise. And, the best part, it was like instant gratification — we only had to wait about 3 weeks until the ship set sail. We were all (yes, even Scott) SOOO excited! About a week later, my amazing mom added to the excitement by telling us she was joining us, along with my sister and my nephew. 

So, today, I’m going to write a short (well, in hindsight it’s kind of long) review of our experience on the Disney Dream sailing out of Port Canaveral. If you’re not considering going on a cruise this probably will be a very boring post, but hopefully it’s helpful for those who are thinking about it or about to go on one. And please don’t judge the editing too hard on these photos. I took A LOT and I’m way too tired to fine-tune edit each one. These photos are not a representation of my normal editing skills LOL.

Check-in Process

We opted for the first check-in time (around noon-ish) and the process to get on the boat was a breeze. Check-in took maybe 15 min total, and we walked onto the ship and immediately began our five-days of binge eating (haha, kidding — kind of…) up at the Cabana (the buffet) and then went to our room to drop our stuff off.

The Kids Club

We dropped off our carry-on bags at our room around 1:30, and then went over to the kids club for a tour. The girls (and my nephew) did not want to leave. They much preferred the Oceaneer’s Club to the Oceaneer’s Lab. I’m not entirely sure why, but the Toy Story room and the dance floor were their favorite. We had to drag them out of the kids club at times. One time I walked in and Mackenzie was dancing with Peter Pan and my little girl was in heaven. The counselors were super friendly and my kids even got a magical moment award which made me super proud! The kids had to sanitize their hands before they entered and when the left, which gave me some peace of mind. The ship was SUPER clean and the staff in general (not just kids club) were always encouraging sanitizing hands. 

The Food

Breakfast

We did the sit-down breakfast at the Enchanted Garden three of the four mornings. We did the Cabana buffet one day. We much preferred the sit-down restaurant. It felt less crowded to us, and we got to sit at a nice table and enjoy unlimited coffee and conversation with our amazing server James. The girls loved the Mickey waffles and bacon. And muffins. And croissants. And donuts.. Oh lord, we ate A LOT.

Oh, one more thing, if you have a food allergy definitely let them know by indicating it during your online check-in process. I’m dairy-free, and they made wonderful accommodations for me. I had the most delicious dairy-free omelettes and potatoes for breakfast and had a special menu for dinner each night (will get to dinner soon.)

Lunch

Lunches for us were mostly the buffets with the exception of one day when we went to the Royal Palace. When we cruise again, we will do the sit-down lunches more. I had the BEST salmon for lunch one day. So flaky and cooked just how I liked it.

Dinner

We sat at the Royal Palace on night one and had the BEST table and watched a beautiful sunset. I’m sooo bummed I didn’t bring my camera to dinner to capture the beauty, but I did get some iPhone shots.  The next two nights we were assigned to Animator’s Palace and also had the PERFECT table right next to the screen. Final night we ate at Enchanted Garden. I was given a special menu every night to accomodate my dairy allergy.

Overall consensus is that the appetizers were delicious but entrees for each dinner fell flat, with the exception of the few times we ordered the entree a little later in the evening. I think because the mass herd of food had already gone out, the chef had to cook something fresh for us and it really made a difference. One night I got grouper and it was cold and overcooked, and Scott ordered the grouper about 20 min into dinner and his was flaky and delicious. On the final night I ordered the sea bass (about 25-min into the meal) and it was to-die-for. When we do the cruise again, I will only order appetizers when the waiter first comes to the table, and then 15-20 min in i’m going to add an entree haha. 

Oh, and each kid ended every night with a Mickey bar of course. They were loving life. 

The Characters 

OK you guys, this was one of THE BEST PARTS of the cruise soooo many character meet and greets. The highlights for us were the princess meet and greet, the dance parties (soo many), meeting Santa and Storytime With Mrs. Claus. But, as you can see, we met so many characters and the girls (and Grayson) really enjoyed it!

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique 

No need to elaborate with words because the pictures tell the story. This. Was. The. Best. But, a MASSIVE thanks to Grammy for gifting this experience to Kenzie for her fifth birthday. We did the same when Maddie turned five and it was so special. Kenzie has been dying to do it, and she finally got her chance on the ship. Of course, Maddie couldn’t be left out so I caved and bought her a princess makeover also.

Castaway Cay

We got off the boat on the Castaway Cay day for the morning. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand, eating lunch on the island and of course the dance party. Overall the island was nothing special, but I do recognize that we are a bit spoiled in this area. I think the reason why I wasn’t super keen to stay on the island all day was because it was just really crowded. We decided to go back to the boat after lunch.

Boat Pool/ Aqua Duck/ Mini Golf

I was hoping the girls would love the Aqua Duck slide but they chickened out so Scott and I went. I realized pretty quickly it was a horrible idea for me to go on that thing with my back issues. Ooops. We didn’t spend too much time at the pool, but the girls sure did love the little slide and adored the splash pad area! They also enjoyed a quick game of mini golf before meeting Mrs. Claus.

Pirate Night

SOOO fun. The girls absolutely loved the pirate party and danced the night away. They partied so hard they crashed before the fireworks so we did miss that. Oh well, guess we have to go back next year :).

The Shows

They were all incredible. I have no pics from them, but we loved every one. Maddie’s and Kenzie’s faces during the shows were priceless. They were SO intrigued and I almost cried watching them watch the performances. Pure joy! 

The Booze

We each brought two bottles of wine on board (8 total) and we finished the last bottle of the final night. My mom and I brought our own wine to dinner in a glass and it worked out great. Scott got off on Nassau to buy some beer and him and I both brought a 6-pack of Kalik on. We also did a few of the alcohol tasting events (for a fee, obviously). The tequila tasting which was totally worth it! The beer tasting was kind of a dud, and the martini tasting was really fun. I probably wouldn’t do the beer or martini tasting again, but if I’m going on another cruise I’ll definitely do the tequila tasting again. 

Debarkation Proces

This was the worst part of the whole trip. Not because the process was bad — in fact it was a total breeze. We exited the ship around 7:15 a.m. and clearing customs was quick and efficient — we just really didn’t want to leave. We were in the car and heading home by 7:30, got Madison and Mackenzie to school (and me to work) by 9 a.m. I’d call that a sad win. LOL

Photography Tip

Ok and since this is my photography blog I feel like I need to add some sort of photography-related tip in here so my tip is walk around the ship on the Castaway Cay day to take the pics. Ship is super empty and you’ll get some great shots without tons of people in the background. If you wait until the evening it’s super crowded and you will have to wait in line to get a picture in front of the tree, gingerbread house, etc. 

Overall Consensus

Would I do this again? Yes, 1000000%. In fact, we’ve already put down a deposit for a future sailing! And my aunt Isabelle will definitely be doing all the work for us again haha. Here is her contact info. Isabelle Deleuze, 954-461-4304, isabelle@posthastetravel.com.

OK I’m sick of writing so i’m all done here. I hope this was helpful for those considering a Disney Cruise!

Also some cell phone shots because I promise I was there too!

A Dream of a Week on the Disney Dream | My Disney Cruise Review

A few weeks ago (yes, weeks), I had this wild idea to take my kids on a Disney cruise. Don’t get me wrong — we still love those summer Bimini trips on our own boat — but there is something about not having to plan anything (except what you want to wear) that speaks to me. No pre-trip coordination of meals or stress about if the seas are going to be calm for the crossing — and you guys I didn’t have to cook or clean up after myself or my kids (or husband) for 5 whole days. YESSSSSSSS. 

So I called up my aunt Isabelle who is a travel agent and asked if she could find some last-minute Disney deals and she sure delivered. For less than $3,000 (total for all four of us, including tips, insurance, etc.) she booked us on a 5-day Very Merrytime Disney cruise. And, the best part, it was like instant gratification — we only had to wait about 3 weeks until the ship set sail. We were all (yes, even Scott) SOOO excited! About a week later, my amazing mom added to the excitement by telling us she was joining us, along with my sister and my nephew. 

So, today, I’m going to write a short (well, in hindsight it’s kind of long) review of our experience on the Disney Dream sailing out of Port Canaveral. If you’re not considering going on a cruise this probably will be a very boring post, but hopefully it’s helpful for those who are thinking about it or about to go on one. And please don’t judge the editing too hard on these photos. I took A LOT and I’m way too tired to fine-tune edit each one. These photos are not a representation of my normal editing skills LOL.

Check-in Process

We opted for the first check-in time (around noon-ish) and the process to get on the boat was a breeze. Check-in took maybe 15 min total, and we walked onto the ship and immediately began our five-days of binge eating (haha, kidding — kind of…) up at the Cabana (the buffet) and then went to our room to drop our stuff off.

The Kids Club

We dropped off our carry-on bags at our room around 1:30, and then went over to the kids club for a tour. The girls (and my nephew) did not want to leave. They much preferred the Oceaneer’s Club to the Oceaneer’s Lab. I’m not entirely sure why, but the Toy Story room and the dance floor were their favorite. We had to drag them out of the kids club at times. One time I walked in and Mackenzie was dancing with Peter Pan and my little girl was in heaven. The counselors were super friendly and my kids even got a magical moment award which made me super proud! The kids had to sanitize their hands before they entered and when the left, which gave me some peace of mind. The ship was SUPER clean and the staff in general (not just kids club) were always encouraging sanitizing hands. 

The Food

Breakfast

We did the sit-down breakfast at the Enchanted Garden three of the four mornings. We did the Cabana buffet one day. We much preferred the sit-down restaurant. It felt less crowded to us, and we got to sit at a nice table and enjoy unlimited coffee and conversation with our amazing server James. The girls loved the Mickey waffles and bacon. And muffins. And croissants. And donuts.. Oh lord, we ate A LOT.

Oh, one more thing, if you have a food allergy definitely let them know by indicating it during your online check-in process. I’m dairy-free, and they made wonderful accommodations for me. I had the most delicious dairy-free omelettes and potatoes for breakfast and had a special menu for dinner each night (will get to dinner soon.)

Lunch

Lunches for us were mostly the buffets with the exception of one day when we went to the Royal Palace. When we cruise again, we will do the sit-down lunches more. I had the BEST salmon for lunch one day. So flaky and cooked just how I liked it.

Dinner

We sat at the Royal Palace on night one and had the BEST table and watched a beautiful sunset. I’m sooo bummed I didn’t bring my camera to dinner to capture the beauty, but I did get some iPhone shots.  The next two nights we were assigned to Animator’s Palace and also had the PERFECT table right next to the screen. Final night we ate at Enchanted Garden. I was given a special menu every night to accomodate my dairy allergy.

Overall consensus is that the appetizers were delicious but entrees for each dinner fell flat, with the exception of the few times we ordered the entree a little later in the evening. I think because the mass herd of food had already gone out, the chef had to cook something fresh for us and it really made a difference. One night I got grouper and it was cold and overcooked, and Scott ordered the grouper about 20 min into dinner and his was flaky and delicious. On the final night I ordered the sea bass (about 25-min into the meal) and it was to-die-for. When we do the cruise again, I will only order appetizers when the waiter first comes to the table, and then 15-20 min in i’m going to add an entree haha. 

Oh, and each kid ended every night with a Mickey bar of course. They were loving life. 

The Characters 

OK you guys, this was one of THE BEST PARTS of the cruise soooo many character meet and greets. The highlights for us were the princess meet and greet, the dance parties (soo many), meeting Santa and Storytime With Mrs. Claus. But, as you can see, we met so many characters and the girls (and Grayson) really enjoyed it!

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique 

No need to elaborate with words because the pictures tell the story. This. Was. The. Best. But, a MASSIVE thanks to Grammy for gifting this experience to Kenzie for her fifth birthday. We did the same when Maddie turned five and it was so special. Kenzie has been dying to do it, and she finally got her chance on the ship. Of course, Maddie couldn’t be left out so I caved and bought her a princess makeover also.

Castaway Cay

We got off the boat on the Castaway Cay day for the morning. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand, eating lunch on the island and of course the dance party. Overall the island was nothing special, but I do recognize that we are a bit spoiled in this area. I think the reason why I wasn’t super keen to stay on the island all day was because it was just really crowded. We decided to go back to the boat after lunch.

Boat Pool/ Aqua Duck/ Mini Golf

I was hoping the girls would love the Aqua Duck slide but they chickened out so Scott and I went. I realized pretty quickly it was a horrible idea for me to go on that thing with my back issues. Ooops. We didn’t spend too much time at the pool, but the girls sure did love the little slide and adored the splash pad area! They also enjoyed a quick game of mini golf before meeting Mrs. Claus.

Pirate Night

SOOO fun. The girls absolutely loved the pirate party and danced the night away. They partied so hard they crashed before the fireworks so we did miss that. Oh well, guess we have to go back next year :).

The Shows

They were all incredible. I have no pics from them, but we loved every one. Maddie’s and Kenzie’s faces during the shows were priceless. They were SO intrigued and I almost cried watching them watch the performances. Pure joy! 

The Booze

We each brought two bottles of wine on board (8 total) and we finished the last bottle of the final night. My mom and I brought our own wine to dinner in a glass and it worked out great. Scott got off on Nassau to buy some beer and him and I both brought a 6-pack of Kalik on. We also did a few of the alcohol tasting events (for a fee, obviously). The tequila tasting which was totally worth it! The beer tasting was kind of a dud, and the martini tasting was really fun. I probably wouldn’t do the beer or martini tasting again, but if I’m going on another cruise I’ll definitely do the tequila tasting again. 

Debarkation Proces

This was the worst part of the whole trip. Not because the process was bad — in fact it was a total breeze. We exited the ship around 7:15 a.m. and clearing customs was quick and efficient — we just really didn’t want to leave. We were in the car and heading home by 7:30, got Madison and Mackenzie to school (and me to work) by 9 a.m. I’d call that a sad win. LOL

Photography Tip

Ok and since this is my photography blog I feel like I need to add some sort of photography-related tip in here so my tip is walk around the ship on the Castaway Cay day to take the pics. Ship is super empty and you’ll get some great shots without tons of people in the background. If you wait until the evening it’s super crowded and you will have to wait in line to get a picture in front of the tree, gingerbread house, etc. 

Overall Consensus

Would I do this again? Yes, 1000000%. In fact, we’ve already put down a deposit for a future sailing! And my aunt Isabelle will definitely be doing all the work for us again haha. Here is her contact info. Isabelle Deleuze, 954-461-4304, isabelle@posthastetravel.com.

OK I’m sick of writing so i’m all done here. I hope this was helpful for those considering a Disney Cruise!

Also some cell phone shots because I promise I was there too!

Four Easy Steps to Perfect Outfits

Happy November my friends! I know it’s been a while since I’ve focused on this blog. I actually got so overwhelmed with the thought of catching up on all my sessions that were still on the “to blog” Trello board that I decided a fresh start was less of a daunting task for me. So, I went through it and did the unthinkable. I deleted all my old posts. Some would say that’s crazy. My SEO will probably tank because of it, but the work I was showcasing was outdated anyway and the data I had told me that the “look at this pretty session” sessions weren’t getting nearly as much traction as the posts I did that actually had some valuable content (For example, my tips for photographing Halloween like a Pro post).  

That got me thinking. Why was I blogging sessions anyway? Yes, the SEO advantage of course, but that was really the only reason I could think of. If anyone wants to see my recent work, Instagram is really the place to go.  Plus, if there were low views and minimal interaction with my blog posts, it wasn’t doing much for my SEO anyway. So here I was, adding another stressor into my life, another thing on the “to-do” list. For what? So, I’m not doing it anymore. I’m not going to blog sessions just because someone told me it’s what I am supposed to do. And my goodness, I feel like a weight is lifted off my shoulder already. 

But I do love to write. And, let’s face it, I do want Google to find me relevant when others are searching for a photographer in the Orlando area, so I will still blog, but I’m going to start blogging in a different way than I have in the past. Useful, relevant content, that any mama can use. Not those who just choose me to take their family photos. 

And speaking of family photos, I know pretty much everyone has plans to have them done within the next month. Gotta get that holiday card shot, right? I actually offer styling advice for all of my collections, because I so believe that outfits can make or break your photos. 

Now, I’m going to stop rambling and get to the point. Here are four easy steps to perfect outfits!

Step 1: Dress mama first

Moms, dress yourself FIRST. I know we always put ourselves last in nearly everything we do in our lives. And, sometimes you see a cute outfit for the kids and can’t help but hit the “add to cart” button. But I’m telling you, make yourself a priority here and find something that YOU feel beautiful in. If you’re not sure where to start, start thinking about the areas of your body you like. Do you have killer legs but feel self conscious about your belly? Do you have amazing toned arms, but hate your legs (GUILTY!!!). Do NOT. I repeat, DO NOT dress yourself in something that you are not comfortable in. If you don’t feel amazing and beautiful in your outfit, it will show in the photos. 

I, personally, am a huge fan of long flowy dresses on mamas. There are so many options, and to be honest you can find them super cheap. This is one of my favorite recent finds from Amazon!

Ok so mama is done. She found a dress that she loves, and feels sexy and beautiful in. 

amazon

Step 2: Next up are the kiddos (sorry dad, you’re last)

Now comes the fun part — dressing your little darlings. First thing you need to do is find something that coordinates with the color(s) in mom’s outfit. The goal here is not to match — but to find something with complementing colors. This little dress from Old Navy would be the perfect choice for a little girl. Mustard and burgundy go great together, and — bonus — there is a touch of burgundy in the dress too. This will look great as a stand-alone outfit, and also adorable for the mommy and me shots too. There is also another color we can add to the palate — a light blue — perfect for dressing another sibling or dad. Definitely a winner!

OLD NAVY

If you have more than one child, use the same concept described above to dress them. Think coordinating, not matching. So, let’s say you have a little boy also. This combo here would be perfect. The denim top has some of the same light-blue tones in the florals of his sibling’s dress. Add a pair of khaki pants and it looks perfect to me! 

Oh, one huge thing to note. If mom is in a pattern, don’t put kids in a pattern too. I suggest no more than one pattern per family. Otherwise, it looks too busy. 

Step 3: Finally dad’s turn

Mom is done, kids are done, now it’s the easy part. Honestly, most of my dads end up finding something that’s already in their closet, so I would for sure recommend starting there instead of going shopping. So far, our color combo is burgundy and mustard with hints of blues. Here are a few things to consider. 

1. Do not dress dad in the same color top as mom. This will end up looking too “matchy matchy” in the couples shots.

2. At the same time, do not dress dad identical to any little guys in the photos. This is for the same reason — when we break away to do shots of dad/kids alone you won’t want them looking like twinsies.

So with this particular family combo I’m working on, I think I’m going to work off the blues and mustards. A pair of dark navy jeans and a mustard top (also from Old Navy) look perfect to me! 

OLD NAVY

Step 4: Shoes and accessories 

Shoes and accessories come last in my opinion. Consider appropriate footwear for where you are shooting (if we’re going to a big open field, I’d avoid sandals because of ants, etc.) I love a little headband or bow on a girl. Bowties are also adorable little touches for the guys. (In this look, a burgundy bow tie would be perfect!) 

That’s it. Four easy steps to perfect outfits. I hope this was helpful!