Disney Cruise Recap: Part 2

Aaaand we’re back with part 2 of our Disney Cruise! If you missed part 1, go back and read that post first.

The ship sailed throughout the night while we were sleeping, and we woke up in Nassau!

This is the part where I had to reckon with the identity shift of motherhood…

Kelsey, pre-motherhood, is the person who likes to go go go! She gets off the ship and does all of the activities. She researches in advance and finds fun and unique things to do that are away from the port and all the touristy stuff…

Kelsey, the mom, knows that the 18-month-old needs an afternoon nap and the crowds from the city would mess with the 3-year-old’s desire for structure…

All that to say, we enjoyed a day on the ship! The Disney Dream has soooo many fun things to do on it, so we had quite the full day. And I was very surprised to see how many guests chose to stay onboard for the day. The pool was definitely less crowded, but there were still a lot of people swimming and dining all day.

We got some breakfast from the Cabanas buffet. Lots of options!

Look at all those Disney characters! The boys loved stopping at the balcony and looking to see who was down there.

And then I dropped the boys off at the nursery for a couple hours that morning so all of the adults could relax. My parents went to do a stretching class at the fitness center and go for a run, and Nate and I went up to the 18+ pool to enjoy a quiet morning of reading and swimming.

And yes, we’re drinking beer at 9 am because this was my kid-free moment in the day, so I took advantage of it!

Look at our view! Once the boys were checked in at the nursery and I was on the top deck with a beer and a novel, I wasn’t sad at all that we chose to stay onboard. Oh, and by the way: the nursery is for ages 3 and under, and you have to pre-book it on the cruise. It fills up fast! Definitely book a bunch of time slots early, just in case, and then you can cancel them 4 hours ahead for no charge. (It was about $7/kid per hour.)

There’s also a kids club for ages 3+, and that’s free. We tried taking Milo there for a bit, but he was a bit sad. (I got a notification on my Disney app that said “Miles has requested his parents to come pick him up.” Haha. Ok little buddy.

This is Dayton’s sleepy face… We got lunch and then Nate went back to the room to put him down for a nap.

Lunch with my mom!

He ate sooo many ice cream cones on this cruise and every time he basically needed to be hosed down afterward. So messy!

Ice cream for me!

Milo played a few rounds of mini golf with Grandpa.

It’s on the very top deck!

Golf is my dad’s other love language.

They played two rounds and then it was back to the pool.

I was attempting to snap one more picture and Milo was saying, “mommy. You should come get in the POOL!” So we went swimming in that Mickey pool!

The show on day 2 was Beauty and the Beast, and I was so excited to watch it! They offered a matinee option of the show, so my mom and I brought Milo to see it. (Amazing that they offer this one, because the 8:30 pm show is a bit late for my boys.)

It was sooooo so good! The set, the costumes, the performers…it was all A+. (Ha…I also just looked at this picture and realized Milo is only wearing one shoe. That seems like an appropriate representation of our trip.)

At age 3, Milo tends to get really scared by most movies (because every story has a villain…) except simple baby/toddler shows like Daniel Tiger, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, etc. and I was honestly shocked that he wanted to stay for the entire production! There are lots of scary parts in Beauty and the Beast with the wolves, the beast, the haunted castle… Milo sat on my lap and I snuggled him for the whole show, but he watched the entire thing. When it was over he said he wanted to come back for another show sometime!

Dayton baby woke up from his nap!

This child is always up to something…

The ship took off, and I lookedd out our window and saw Atlantis, the huge resort in Nassau. I’d love to get day passes to that for a future cruise (maybe when the boys are like 6 and 8?) but at this point it didn’t seem age appropriate for us. It sure looks like fun, though!

My mom brought a few special activities for the boys, like this fishing game. We had a door connecting our rooms, so Milo wandered over to their room and played with his grandparents while I was drying my hair.

For dinner, I booked a reservation for Nate and I at Remy and my kind and wonderful parents babysat their grandsons and put them to bed. So Nate and I got cleaned up and changed for dinner and went upstairs for our parents night out!

Remy is the French-inspired restaurant. It’s only on two of the Disney Ships (the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy), and this restaurant was a big part of why I chose to sail out of Miami instead of the closer port of Galveston. I knew that a Disney Cruise is a family-friendly vacation that is highly catered toward our kids, but I also wanted to make sure that Nate and I were able to do a few things that are fun for us, too! After all, a vacation takes time and money and days off work. And while I truly care about my boys and the fun experiences they get to have on a family vacation, I also care about my husband and myself! I wanted to make sure it was rewarding for us, too.

So I booked a 6:00 dinner reservation.

Remy is named after the main character from Ratatouille. It’s only available for nightly dinner reservations and a Sunday morning champagne brunch (no breakfast tor lunch options.) There are two head chefs (one is French, one is American) and they each have some major accolades like Michelin stars. So I had high expectations!

We were greeted with a welcome cocktail that was made table side! Oh, and we were one of the earliest reservations (the tables all filled up by 7 pm), but since it’s a long 3-hour dinner experience, I knew I wanted an early start.

Drinks with a view!

Ahh, bliss. A wonderful meal enjoyed with my man = my happy place.

We got to soak up the view for a little bit before it got dark outside, and then we couldn’t see out the window. So if you ever dine at Remy, book the early reservation times, if possible! After about 7:00 pm it’s too dark to see the water.

A caviar and champagne pairing.

One of my favorite parts of the dining experience at Remy were the fun surprises that were delivered to our table throughout the evening. I think there were 5 or 6 little treats that we enjoyed in addition to the regular tasting menu! The bite above was shaved foie gras on a scalloped-shaped cracker, and it was melty and creamy and sooo luscious.

This was another surprise! Not on the menu, but our server brought it to us as a palate cleanser after the caviar and before the tasting menu began.

There are two tasting menus: one from the French chef (Arnaud Lallement, who also runs a 3-star Michelin restaurant in France), and a completely different menu from the American chef (Scott Hunnel, who runs Victoria and Albert’s at Disney World). I got the French menu and Nate ordered the American, and we both shared bites so we could try ALL TEN courses! We also did the wine pairing with each one, so all-in-all we tasted TEN different wines throughout the night, plus the complimentary champagne that came with the caviar, as well as the welcome cocktail. It was quite luxurious.

Also, I’ll say this: it was probably the most expensive dinner I’ve ever bought! With tip, it came out to about $750. (Remember yesterday when I mentioned that our travel agent found a way to put $900 back in my pocket? Well, I basically decided to use that at Remy and go all out with caviar and wine pairings and it was the BEST decision!)

We really had a lovely dinner. It was phenomenal, and if you have the opportunity to dine at Remy, do it! (By the way, you can totally do it for less than $750! Dinner is $125 per person before alcohol and gratuity. There’s also a $60 dessert experience, or a $75 brunch.)

I am for sure not going to share a detailed recap of every single course. But everything was perfect. It was such a lovely evening. I love that the sommelier came over to pour each wine pairing and explain it to us. (The wine pairing was such fun! It really elevated the experience to the next level.)

I took horrible, blurry pictures (remember: TEN different wines + a cocktail and champagne?) but I had a grand old time!!) Here are some of my horrible photos so you can get an idea of the food we got to enjoy:

^ Here’s the sommelier giving a description of Nate’s dessert wine pairing. It was sooo fun to do both the American and the French menus so we could taste literally everything on the menu!

See all of those beautiful dessert bites in the photo above? It’s another example of the fun surprises at Remy! None of these things were on the menu, but they were “gifted” to us at the end of the meal. The little red things were kind of like fancy fruit roll-ups, haha!

This is the last photo I have on my phone from this day. We finished our meal (and it truly was a 3+ hour dining experience!) and went to bed…because the next day ahead was a big and exciting one!

Don’t forget, if you missed DAY 1 of this Disney Cruise recap, go back and read it here! And if you want to see any other vacation recaps I’ve written over the years, they’re all right here. I’ll be back tomorrow with part 3 of this trip!