Disney Cruise Day 6: Star Wars Day at Sea & Beauty and the Beast!

Thursday, March 16th. People pay big bucks to go on a Disney cruise that has a Star Wars Day at Sea. Some people are really hard-core dedicated fans. We are merely fans, although Sam is quite a big fan, and John was for awhile in his early elementary school years. 

We went to the pool deck in the morning after breakfast and I'm glad we did because it ended up being cool and a little rainy out later on.

There are the boys in the AquaDuck!

I went on the AquaDuck too, twice that morning (once with each son). 

Then the boys went swimming for awhile. This cruise was the first time Sam was able to swim all by himself in the bigger pool ("Donald's Pool"). He officially graduated from Mickey's Pool! He's become really comfortable in the water and has turned into a little fish this past year. 

Peter and I enjoyed an exquisite brunch in Palo. This is one of our favorite things to do on a Disney cruise. Palo is a beautiful Italian restaurant at the top of the ship where kids aren't allowed and there's a nicer dress code and you have to pay a little extra. It's totally worth it; the food, the service, and the whole experience are all fantastic. 

Sparkling cider (of course)

Sam wore his Kylo Ren costume for most of the day. I thought he looked so cute, but that wasn't the look he was going for! There were informal light-saber battles in the grand atrium throughout the day that were a lot of fun for him. 

 

Of course we had some Star Wars family pictures taken throughout the day too.

We are a Jedi family.

Sam makes me LOL in this one. He took this stuff seriously!

"Boys, I am your father." ❔❕

 Dinner was in Animator's Palate again that night. A roving photographer took our pictures.

 I bought a special-edition Beauty and the Beast cup for my drink at dinner. The movie was premiering that night in the U.S. and we were going to see it in just a few hours! The excitement was building! At least it was for me. Peter and the boys didn't really care. But Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite, so I was psyched.

Something was funny!

And something else was delicious! Note the special Star Wars chocolate bar.

On the pool deck that night there was a really good Star Wars show put on by the cast, followed by fireworks at sea (for the second time on this cruise).

After the boys went to bed, Peter and I went to the premiere of Beauty and the Beast in the Walt Disney Theatre. Disney allowed the movie to be shown about an hour early on their cruise ships (so 11:15 p.m. instead of midnight). Just another perk of going on a Disney cruise!





No surprise, I liked the movie a lot. Although I liked it even better when I saw it again a few weeks later with the boys and my mom.

A few other Beauty and the Beast related pictures from the cruise...
This stunning Swarovski crystal-studded statue of Belle and the Beast was gorgeous.
And it only cost $12,600. No big deal. 😮


After that registered, the glass-covered rose seemed like a steal at a price of only $163!

Some things I liked in the Art Gallery...

I've always liked this Thomas Kinkade Disney painting. Someday I'd like to get it.


This isn't Beauty and The Beast related, but it was in the art gallery and it "quacks" me up to see Daisy Duck as a Jane Austen-esque lady.

In case you were wondering, I did spend time in the Rainforest Room that day. It was my goal to go there every day of the cruise, and I'm happy to report that I succeeded in that important goal!

It was another fun and relaxing day on this fun and relaxing cruise!

Disney Cruise Day 5: St. Thomas

The fifth day of the cruise was Wednesday, March 15th. We went from the British Virgin Islands to the U.S. Virgin Islands and spent the day on the beautiful island of St. Thomas. It was our first time there and I was excited to see it. This was an island I'd heard good things about for years, and it didn't disappoint! It turned out to be one of my favorite Caribbean islands that I've visited so far. I was sad when Hurricane Irma hit the island hard in September and did a lot of damage to the very beach I'm about to write about. 

We spent much of the day at Magens Bay Beach, which is one of the best-rated beaches in the world.

 On the drive to the beach we stopped at this scenic spot. That's Magens Bay Beach down there in the middle of the photo.

This beach was so beautiful. I loved that it was bordered by lush palm trees on the beach, surrounded by green hills on both sides, and that there was a pretty little island straight ahead.

Left side of the beach

Right side

And straight on 'til morning! 

(Ha! Do you get my Disney reference?) 

   

The water was nice and comfortably cool, although I wouldn't have minded it being warmer.

 

The boys were playing a game they like to play with the incoming waves (from Cape Cod to the Caribbean!).  

Pretty view from my beach chair: 

😍😍😍

 Check out the stand-up paddleboarder who was living my dream! I probably could have done that but I was too lazy (and self-conscious).

The view from our lunch spot.

Look at our not-so-little-anymore monkey climb that tree!

I heard that a lot of trees at the beach came down in the hurricane; hopefully this one didn't because it was a bigger, stronger tree than many of of the others. I hope it survived! 

 A nice family photo taken by a kind fellow cruise-goer. It was worthy of making it onto the Christmas card.  

 A cool view on the drive "home." The Fantasy is the middle ship. 

Before we boarded, we took the nearby SkyRide up a very steep hill to Paradise Point, where the views were amazing! 

This was the widest-angle view I could get.

 

Once we were back on the ship, I took some pictures of the lovely harbor. I was so impressed by the picturesque beauty of this island. St. Thomas turned out to be the stuff of some of my longest-running daydreams.  

 

I got a picture of myself and the harbor without taking the usual selfie! Genius.

 My ship is bigger and fancier than your yacht! Ha ha

That evening involved the Rainforest Room for me, dinner at Animator's Palate, kids' clubs for the kids, and a really cool magic show for all of us.

I happened upon a Mickey and Friends dance party after dropping Sam off at the kids' club. My view was great as the characters danced down the stairs and into the grand atrium, where their adoring public awaited.

 

Even the bathrooms on this ship are beautiful! 

Yes...they're real!

 

In the theater before the magic show began. It was really good!

That night we got a dinosaur!

It was a great day, and once again, we slept well that night!