Christmas Cruisin'

Ho ho ho mofos. I'm back.

We had an amazing time on our cruise. It was a little chilly a few of the days, but much nicer than it was at home. It felt glorious to be in the sun without Internet access. Two days at sea, stops in Cozumel, Mexico and Castaway Cay, Bahamas...lots of sun, books, relaxing, and tons of laughs. MFD and I went with our good friends and cruise crew Jill & Frank. We're a good mix and we travel well together.

We had sunrises over the open ocean, truly one of my favorite things to see.

And of course the sunsets, best off of the back of the ship on deck 7, which we treated like our own private deck. 

Previously we've been on the Disney Fantasy and the Disney Dream. The Wonder is a smaller, older boat with definite differences, but I liked it. The staff was as accommodating as ever but seemed more relaxed on the Wonder. We had the best dinner team we've ever had. We had a lot of fun around the ship - hanging in the lounge chairs and playing shuffle board on deck 4 after dinner, fireworks over the open ocean, karaoke, shopping, numerous spa appointments, a show in the theater. 

We had brunch at Palo on a sea day and it was as amazing as I remember. The rest of the food was not as good as on the Dream and Fantasy, particularly breakfast and lunch. Still all around a good dining experience.

Cozumel was hot and lovely after the ferocious winds died down. We spent half a day at Playamia - beach, pool, slide, food and drinks included. It was languid and serene until the second half of the day people descended on the beach as I was trying to nap...it was sort of like the scene in Caddyshack when all the workers get in the pool. When we left there, MFD and I had lunch in town and wandered around to do some shopping. I got awesome silver pendants that are my Christmas present from him.

Of course we are those tourons (tourists + morons = tourons) that do the bird photos near the cruise terminal. My parrot threw my sunglasses to the ground and ate my hair. We did not see eye to eye. All in all we had a great time and we give the day two thumbs up over gorgeous water. We liked standing on our balcony watching people haul ass back to the ship as it was getting close to leaving time.

Castaway Cay...my favorite. It's Disney's private island in the Bahamas, and Serenity Bay is the adults only beach. It's my favorite. We even had a fellow passenger hork down a zillion glasses of pinot grigio and give us a concert in spanish, singing along to music only she could hear. She's like I'm my own party and the guy next to her said oh honey, I know you are in a bless your heart voice. MFD and I kicked the day off with a massage in a cabana on the beach. Heaven! 

Around 3 am Thursday night we heard an emergency called over the PA system, and the room number was one off from ours. I swear I thought I was in a dream and it was in our room. It was a medical emergency two doors down. Really nice people. Our nerves were shot and sleep was sort of fruitless after that. We were up and off the boat by 7 a.m. to head to Disney in Orlando...more on that later. 

Details:

-Spent the night before the cruise in Ft. Lauderdale 

-5 Day cruise on the Disney Wonder out of Miami

This was my third Disney cruise. I love to talk cruises so hit me up if you do too or if you have any questions!

Hope you all had a great week last week! Tell me something good.

Cruise Essentials

This post originally appeared as a guest post on Green Fashionista on November 17, 2013. Kate is a fellow cruise lover, so a cruise essentials post was perfect to share there, and it's perfect to share here now because      

1. It's February and winter has us in a headlock

2. I'm sick of whining about cold and snow.  

3. Monday night our roof started to leak because, yes, too much snow and ice up there. Instead of laying in bed in the fetal position, I want to think of beaches and vacations. 

4. It's my blog and I do what I want. 

I never thought I'd like cruising, but I freaking love it. So does MFD, because a cruise ship is just another small town where he can be the mayor. 

Here are my cruise essentials:

1 - I hate clutter at home, I don't want it on vacation! Cruise rooms don't have a ton of counter space, so buy a hanging shoe organizer and bring it with you to store toiletries, batteries, chargers, etc.
2 - No one wants to deal with wet bathing suits. Most bathrooms have retractable clotheslines. You can fit more on them if you use clothespins.
3 - I know, I know, no drying clothes on the balconies. That being said, if you bring a clamp, nothing will fly away. Good for shirts or cover ups that get wet.


4 - A fierce manicure. There will be a lot of photos.
5 - Comfortable shoes. Boats are big, so even if you're sashaying around in flip flops, make sure they're comfortable. My favorites are Sanuk Yoga Mat flip flops.
6 - A stylish yet comfortable to carry beach bag. Some excursions can mean a lot of walking. It's not fun to lug a bag that's not easy to carry.

7 - A room with a balcony is a must for me. I'm claustrophobic and I need to be able to get outside without having to go up steps and down hallways. 

8 - Your on-board schedule. You don't want to miss out on bingo, baby. 

9 - Good reading material. A must on any vacation. 

10 - A camera to capture the gorgeousness that is the sun setting over the open sea. Your iphone isn't going to do it justice. 

The next time we'll be saying Bon Voyage is in December for a five day out of Miami with stops at Cozumel and Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. And two days at sea to bask in the ocean on all sides of us. We're going with our good friends and cruise buddies Jill & Frank and hitting Disney for a few days after. It promises to be a wonderful time. 

Are you a cruiser? What are your cruise essentials? 

Linking up with Kathy for Humpday Confessions.

 Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday

Sunday Soup - tomato bisque a la Disney Cruise Line

I am a crazy Disney Cruise lady. I love everything about them, especially the food, which is glorious. They serve a lovely tomato bisque that my friend Jill requests frequently. I found a recipe for it online and recreated it, lightening it up a bit. It did not disappoint.

Ingredients
2- 28 oz cans plum tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste
3 tbs butter
diced celery - 1 cup using a liquid measuring cup
sliced carrots - 1 cup using a liquid measuring cup
diced vidalia onion - 1 cup using a liquid measuring cup
salt to taste
16 oz light cream
16 oz fat free half & half

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Drain juice from tomatoes into a bowl and set aside.

Place tomatoes on a baking sheet with a lip and roast for 25 minutes.

Melt butter in a stock pot and saute onion, celery, and carrots until translucent. Add reserved tomato juice and tomato paste. Stir until the paste is broken up. Add tomatoes and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom.  I put a lid on it because Sweet Brown ain't got no time to clean up tomato splatter from the entire kitchen.

Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, blend the crap out of it. If don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender and blend in batches.

Heat cream and half and half on the stove, stirring so it doesn't stick. Add to the soup, stirring well to mix. Add salt to taste. Top with basil if you choose.

If you are doing this, maybe don't wear a white t-shirt or if you do wear white, maybe just don't be a spazz like I am and get it everywhere.

Paired with grilled cheese, this was a perfect meal for a snowy and cold Saturday.

Enjoy!