our honeymooniversary [part 1]

We chose the 7-day itinerary that would let us celebrate our first anniversary while on the cruise. While I had cruised the 7-day Western Caribbean (Costa Maya, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Castaway Cay) before, the ship had skipped Costa Maya because of hurricane damage. This was Alan's first cruise.

Our Stateroom
Our stateroom had a larger verandah than normal, which was awesome. However, it was located at the aft of the ship, which meant that there was an almost constant dusting of occasional soot, which was disappointing. So, while the larger verandah was nice, I think those particular staterooms in the aft should be charged at a lower rate than what Disney currently asks.

On the upside, our stateroom was serviced by a really attentive and professional crew member. One night upon returning to our stateroom, we found two super luxurious bath robes. Another night, we received a bottle of wine (which tasted cheap, but it's the thought that counts). Another night, we received some chocolate from a guest relations crew member. (Unfortunately, her note said that she hoped we enjoyed our day at St. Maarten, and we'd spent the day at Cozumel.)

Dinner Seating
At dinner, we were seated with two other families. On the three previous Disney cruises I'd taken, we'd never been seated with other people, so I'm not sure if group seating is a Disney Dream/Fantasy thing (because these ships are much larger than the Magic and Wonder), or if it's standard for parties less than four. Either way, I was disappointed, so we asked for private seating.

The head servers graciously accommodated us (surprisingly, one of the head servers was also a main server for my family on a previous Disney cruise, so it was neat to see him work his way up--also, what are the odds of him working on the same ship on the same dinner rotation that we picked for our honeymooniversary?). We ended up eating at whatever table happened to be open that night (i.e. the usual party was dining at Remy), which was perfectly fine with us. We met some pretty cool people that way.

Eating Vegan
Sadly, on the first night of the cruise, I had acute gastroenteritis (except I didn't know that at the time). Long story short, I skipped half of dinner and later ended up ridiculously dehydrated. However, I had no idea that I was dehydrated, so the next three days were spent with me having severe pain for no apparent reason. As a precaution, I ordered vegan food (I assumed that I'd been sick because I overloaded my diet with seafood and non-vegan foods on the first day).

If you intend to sail with Disney Cruise Line and want vegan food, I suggest that you tell the staff before you set sail. Or, pre-order your food when you're on the ship--they'll make whatever you request (apparently). Because if you don't have the guts to ask for something specific and potentially inconvenience them (that'd be this lady), you'll be stuck with the vegetarian choices, minus the non-vegan ingredients.

And when you receive your portobello mushrooms in creamy parsley sauce without the creamy parsley sauce ... it's just disappointing.

Plus, I felt uncomfortable having to constantly explain veganism. However, I give Disney props for trying. Just know that many of the choices on the vegetarian menu don't comply with a vegan diet.

Vegetarian spring rolls of deliciousness

Day at Sea
Because I wasn't feeling well, we/I slept in and then went to see "Brave" in the Buena Vista Theater. Later in the cruise, we also watched "Wreck-It Ralph" there. We also spent some time in the adult area (i.e. one of the pools). As family-oriented as Disney is, I cannot express enough how well Disney pulls off creating adults-only areas. In spite of the fact that we had no children, we never felt like we had to have kids to enjoy ourselves.

We also discovered an interactive adventure in which you become detectives on one of two cases (one is easy, one is difficult). You receive a badge and walk around the ship, scanning your badge on different "paintings" onboard (most of them are located in the elevator areas) and then trying to find clues to solve your mystery. Apparently, the culprit is different almost every time, so you could play the game the entire time you're on the ship and have a different experience each time.

Ooh La La
I don't even remember what day we stopped at Ooh La La, but at some point during the beginning of our cruise, we decided to check out the night life. We settled on the French-inspired champagne bar (although I also really liked the London-inspired dance club), where I learned that I do not like champagne.

However, I loved the atmosphere in the lounge and the fact that there were so many different offerings by way of nightclubs and lounges, depending on what you wanted (atmosphere-wise and beverage-wise).

Grand Cayman
After a day at sea, we stopped at Grand Cayman. We didn't book any excursions (although I'd gone snorkling there before) and decided to walk the town. Grand Cayman is eerily reminiscent of a small English town, and there isn't much along the main road (if you walk left off of the dock; we didn't venture to the right).

We walked all the way to a beach and picked up some sand glass and took photos. The water was beautiful and warm. After we explored the beach for a while, we headed back to the ship to eat lunch onboard and relax at the pool.

Next up: heat exhaustion at Costa Maya, meeting locals in Cozumel, jellyfish stings at Castaway Cay, and the absolutely most amazing dining experience/honeymooniversary celebration at Remy!