IMG_0755 by
carriecook, on Flickr
Back on board the ship, we cleaned up for dinner and went to our final show. It was "Disney Dreams" and while it wasn't my favourite show of the week, it did have its merits. I liked that it incorporated so many Disney characters and therefore felt like a fitting farewell.
Dinner that night was at Lumiere's again, and it was a nice way to finish off because that was our preferred restaurant out of the 3. We didn't spend much time lingering at the table though. We had to get packed up and have our luggage out in the hall by a set time, so we hustled back to the room to get that done. There were a few characters out meeting, and the kids wanted to fit in a few last snaps with them, so we packed in between making trips to the atrium to wait for Mickey etc.
The big news of the night was that the premiere of the new live action Beauty and the Beast movie would be the following day, and so the ship was able to run a special advance screening beginning at 10:45 p.m. The kids were exhausted - heck, I was exhausted after the long day in the sun - but we'd been hoping all week that they might be able to pull this off and DD was desperate to go. DS is a bit better at knowing his limits, and opted out. This left a conundrum for DH and I, as we both wanted to see the movie too. In the end, I stayed back with DS while DH took DD to the theater. They headed there around 10:15 and were lucky to get two of the very last seats in the house. We should have known how busy it would be! DS found a bit of a second wind, and he and I headed to the atrium one last time to see the farewell show. Many characters from the week's shows came out, and it was a nice sendoff.
We were both asleep in the room by the time DH and DD came back from Beauty and the Beast. DD managed to stay awake for most of the movie, and the fact that she did sleep through part of it gave her the perfect excuse to join DS and I at the theater back home the following weekend to see it again.
The next morning was kind of anti-climactic. We woke up early, packed the last of our things into our carryon bags, and had one last breakfast on the ship. We debarked and picked up our luggage fairly easily in the cruise terminal. From there we took a cab to South Beach, where we had purchased day passes at a hotel. We were able to use their pool and beach access for the day before taking an evening flight home. This was well worth our time and I'm glad we were able to extend our holiday a bit rather than flying home immediately after debarking the ship.
So I guess the big question is, will we cruise again? The cruise met my expectations. I expected to like it but not love it, and I was right. DH felt the same way. DD says it was her favourite trip ever, and DS says he prefers other types of vacations. I think he would have liked it better had the motion and vastness of the ocean not gotten to him.
I'm glad we tried cruising once, and I am very glad that we chose
DCL. The other cruise lines do not appeal to me at all. I would not rule it out in the future, because I do see the convenience of being able to travel around without repeatedly packing and unpacking. However, the stars would have to align for me to cruise again anytime soon. It would have to be a port-intensive itinerary, and likely a destination where we lack the confidence to make plans on our own. As we get older, I can see cruising perhaps appealing to us more and more.
For now, we are on to other adventures. This summer we have a trip to Europe on the books, and as Disney fans, a day at
Disneyland Paris did creep into our itinerary. We are very much looking forward to our next trip! And yes, a trip video is likely to follow.
Thanks for following along!