We will be taking our three year old on his first cruise and will be stopping in Nassau.  I’ve been several times, but never with a child.  I’ve done excursions and I’ve taken my own path, but again… never with a child.  So, I’m fishing shamelessly for ideas.  We are thinking of foregoing the pricey excursions.  One major concern we have is the crazy cab rides, which is almost required to get anywhere - especailly to the “nicer” side. (I’ve walked that once and will. never. do. it. again. LOL!) 

We’ll have about half a day (the latter half) in port.  Ideas, please?  Kthxbai. 

VACATION RENTALS

An alternative to hotel stays during vacations

We just returned from a quick get-a-way to Disney where there are hotels by the hundreds.  We were in our room long enough to drop off our stuff upon arrival, then for a few hours sleep that night, so a hotel made sense for this trip. 

Earlier this year we also visited central Florida and chose a vacation rental for our week-long stay.  It was surprisingly affordable, spacious, and much more comfortable than typical hotel rooms. It was a first for us and something we will lean toward for future trips.

The links provided are sponsored, however opinions are 100% mine.

BabySafeTravel.com offers a one-stop shop for searching travel deals, reading travel reviews, and purchasing baby travel gear.  Search for deals on hotels in the United States as well as in Canada, Australia, Europe and other International destinations.  Priceline, a name you trust in travel searches, powers their search features for hotels, air and car. 

You’ll find five featured hotels with the price per night listed on the home page, which can be helpful if you are looking for a good deal and are flexible about your travel destination.  Other great features on the site include climate themed baby blogs, travel tips, and connecting with parents in your area. 

Free Travel Guides and Brochures - Browse destinations, pick travel

guides that you’d like, receive guides Free by mail or download.

We leave for our Disney trip early in the morning, so today is full of preparations and packing.  I’ll be gone most of the week, so posting may be sporadic. 

I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off (sorry for the visual, lol).  There’s so much to do and now it is all being done last minute.  I used to plan for trips at least a week in advance – detailed lists, begin packing things I wouldn’t need in the meantime, etc – what happened? LOL! 

I’m not sure how well Lil Roo slept last night, but he became pretty tired and cranky a lot earlier than normal today, so he is down for a nap as I write this.  My little break at the computer is about up, as I still have lots to do. 

Have a great week!!

While I was up til all hours of the night last night with a sick little boy that decided he was wide awake in the middle of the night, I started checking out Disney books on Amazon and came across Beyond the Attractions: A Guide to Walt Disney World with Preschoolers (2009) (Paperback)

by Lisa M. Battista and ordered it. 

Amazon’s Editorial Review - Product Description:

Beyond the Attractions: A Guide to Walt Disney World with Preschoolers goes well beyond the typical Disney travel guide. This focused guidebook delves into the Disney experience as seen through the eyes of your preschooler. It unlocks the magic of Walt Disney World for parents of small children by revealing the keys to a successful Walt Disney World trip with little ones. If you have young children, this guide is an essential tool for making your next Walt Disney World vacation a magical and memorable experience for the whole family.

Inside you’ll find the following - plus more!

Planning your Disney Vacation with Kids

Character Dining

Recreation for Children

Parades and Character Greetings

Hidden Attractions

Attractions to Avoid

Attraction Height Restrictions

Baby Care Centers

Pools and Playgrounds

Disney’s Magical Express

Disney’s FASTPASS

Planning our trip to Disney reminds me of Lil Roo’s last trip to a theme park – Seaworld.

It was simply amazing!

We were sent to visit the awesomeness by Izea and Seaworld and all I could say about that is a huge Thank You!  Our family had the best time, Lil Roo especially.  Even as I type this, the Shamu chant comes back to mind just as quickly as when I sat watching the show (twice!). And I’m sure it’ll be stuck in my head for a little while (then again each time I remember the trip!)  – but that’s ok, I love it! 

The Believe show is a must see, hands down. I think everyone has heard of Shamu, but until you see the show for yourself, you have no idea what you are missing. We didn’t feed the dolphins (which I now regret immensely) but we did get up close as they swam by and played – so cute!  We walked around and visited every water creature we could find as well as everything that wasn’t a water creature!

Highlights:

The Sky Tower: 400 feet up, we were able to see the entire park from a bird’s eye view as it rotated slowly & continuously in a circle.  It was a quiet and relaxing break from all the walking and activity of the park below.

Shamu’s Happy Harbor: Full-fledge fun for all the kiddos!  Lil Roo especially loved the pirate ship!

Shamu Stadium & The Believe Show: A-maz-ing. But I already told you that.

Water creatures galore!!  Wild Artic – especially the penguins!  Dolphins – he loved watching them play up close!  Shark Encounter, and so many others.

The tickets (ok, technically cards we will need to exchange for tickets) just came in yesterday’s mail, so it is official!! We are Disney-bound at the end of the month! 

We will be visiting the Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom.  I tried to remember the last time I was at Disney World… was it really Grad Night? I’d like to tell ya that was just a few years ago, but… uh… well, it wasn’t so I am going to abruptly change the subject now.

We are so excited, but are not able to tell Lil Roo because his concept of time is basically, “ok, let’s go” as in “ok, let’s go now”.  He is going to be SO excited!!  He absolutely adores the Zoo, and we go often, so the Animal Kingdom will simply blow him away.  We’ve scheduled a character breakfast plus lunch one day in the Rainforest Café inside  Animal Kingdom. I’ve dined in the one at Downtown Disney in the past and think he would just love that experience!  Hopefully it won’t be too much “experience” overload, LOL!!

He really loves Mickey, McQueen, and Nemo – so it is going to be a blast to go to their “house”.

So… as I plan this trip… what do I need to know? What is a must see / must do? 

I got a wonderful little surprise Saturday night.  My birthday isn’t until February, but Sat. night hubby told me what my birthday present was!  He booked us on a Disney cruise!!  I am so excited & can’t wait.  It has been awhile since my last cruise and a while before that one was my second to last cruise and I am one girl who loves, loves, loves to go on cruises!  Happy Birthday to me!!! 

  My very first cruise was to Alaska’s Inside Passage and I’ve taken cruises to the Virgin Islands, Mexico, and several to the Bahamas.  They are loads of fun and you really get a great vacation for the money.  I do like to get a good deal, but sometimes walk a fine line with a cruise because I refuse to get an inside cabin, LOL.  Never have and really have no desire to… not even to save a few bucks.  I love to watch absolutely nothing going by on the open waters as we cruise along.    We didn’t get a balcony this time (though I have in the past and it is super nice to walk out of your room onto your own balcony) because we will have the little tyke with us (his very first cruise!) and it just makes us feel a little safer not having the balcony there. 

 I have never sailed on Disney Cruise Lines before, so I am excited to see what they have to offer.  I’ve sailed Carnival the most and of the cruise lines I’ve sailed (probably about 3 other cruise lines beside Carnival), Carnival is my favorite.  We’ll see if I have a new favorite in February!  I don’t know a whole lot about Disney cruises, so I will start doing a little research. 

Have you sailed on Disney Cruise Lines?  What was your experience?  How would you compare your Disney cruise to other cruises you have taken? If you’ve blogged about Disney Cruise Lines or a Disney Cruise you’ve taken, drop the link off in comments for me and I’ll come check it out.  Thanks!