Time now to relax up on the deck!
(Dole whip with rum...)
(Eye Scream soft serve--yum)
Speaking of Eye Scream, Katie and I were able to try out one of the gifts we got in our fish extender--a sundae kit!
So, just a bit about cruising with the Disney Cruise line. Guests often decorate their doors with magnets (ours are below--some I made and some we received as gifts) and some (like us) participate in the fish extender exchange (FE).
Next to the door you can see the fish, which is really for the crew to put notices, etc. for guests. The extender is the gift receptacle participants hang off of the fish for others in your exchange group to leave gifts in. Katie is responsible for making the extender--for this one I found two Disney themed stockings for $3 each and Katie put our names on and sewed them together. People use all sorts of things for their fish extender. I thought the stockings were a neat touch since this was a Christmas cruise.
Its so much fun to come back to the room to find goodies in the stockings or bags hanging from the fish. We participated in an adult only group and two family groups. We had originally planned on just the adult and one family group, but I had gone a little crazy buying things. Here is some of stuff we got!
For me the fish extender is worth it. I had a lot of fun figuring out what gifts to give each person (I do individual gifts, but others do one gift for the entire family--it is up to the giver). It extended the fun! I joined the Facebook group for my particular cruise (also worth it to get to interact with other people that will be cruising with you) and signed up for different FE groups. Groups can vary in size--10 cabins per group is pretty normal.
Here is a peek at what I have to the women in the exchange group--Christmas tsum tsums I found on clearance at Target (exciting find!), Disney lip balms, a bottlecap necklace I made (I had a ton of fun designing them) and cruise themed wristlets I Disney-fied. I like to look throughout the year for things on clearance.
But today was also semi-formal night, so it was time for us to get dressed up.
Taking pictures with characters in our different outfits is definitely a fun part of the cruise. Here is Daisy rocking her formal wear.
Dinner this night was a Royal Court, the only one of the 3 sit down restaurants I haven't shared yet.
(Our waiter and assistant waiter this cruise. They rotate dining rooms with you throughout the cruise and take the time to learn things you like and don't like)
(Dad taking a picture of Katie and I trying to get the perfect food pictures)
Drinks this night at the bar near the lobby so Mom can people watch everyone in their pretty outfits.
When we got back to the room we had a new FE gift waiting for us--sun hats for our next day's adventure.
• I remember seeing the mega-stash of things that you were amassing for your Fish Extender thingy when I stayed at your house before/after one of our trips! There was a lot. :-P. But I'm sure the recipients appreciated the thoughtful and personalized goodies! :). I'm a fan of that sundae kit-- would use one of those on a daily basis, haha.
ReplyDelete• I like your dad's behind-the-scenes shot of the food photo. I should DEFINITELY start doing that on our adventures, haha. If only this had occurred to me before the pickled herring photo in Amsterdam...
• Random general comment: From your photos, the ship looks less crowded and has fewer hordes of children than I would have expected, especially for a Christmastime cruise! Still never ever ever gonna do one because...well, you know...boats...Disney...boats...but it looks less bad than I imagined! (This is supposed to be a positive comment, LOL.) Of course, it could just be your photography skills and the masses of shrieking children are all behind you. :-P.