Getting Nauti in Miami

I want to document my thoughts about the Disney Cruise which is also my first cruise experience. I have tons of photos but will definitely limit the sharing. It is taking me awhile to adjust to my regular routine ever since. We had been paying for a laundry service and had my better half's amazing cleaning lady do our household chores (she is amazing, by the way). Laziness at its finest.

I flew from NYC to Miami. I strangely ended up needing to take a Dramamine after the flight. I hope I do not have airsickness. I flew 20 flights last year!

Would I initially go to a regular Disney cruise? Probably not. How about one that involves Marvel? Hell yeah! In addition, I was able to see Miami again so I can drink fresh guava juice (haha).

It was a simple 5-day Bahamian Cruise. My ports were the Keys, Castaway Cay, and Nassau. I was on the ship for one whole day for the Marvel Day At Sea event. Most of the time, I preferred being on the ship to line up and take photos with characters, eat, and just simply enjoy the service. The diverse staff was so awesome. Unfortunately, it wasn't an open bar so I was mindful about my cocktails. I went all out on the themed cocktails though! My appetite was all for eating at the buffet area during breakfast and lunch. The food options caters to different diet types. I love it! The ship itself was easy to navigate and there were all sorts of activities that catered to all ages. Initially, I thought most events would be for kids until we started participating at trivia, karaoke, and various evening shows. I learned that I am quite knowledgeable with 80's music! 

My favorite part of this cruise was interacting with people in their character mode. From the mascots, Disney princesses, and Marvel superheroes, mostly everyone stayed in character. I thought it was amusing being asked by Doctor Strange if I was interested in learning about the mystic arts (haha). Tiana also asked me if the person I like was once a frog. I totally felt as happy as the children who believed that the characters on the ship were real. The most disappointing character on the ship was Thor who did not get our beer references. There was a passenger dressed as fat Thor who did a better job at playing in character. I also partied with Star Lord, Gamora, and some ravagers in one of the the evenings. There was just so many shows and events to share. Other things to note: an amazing Rapunzel play which had amazing visual effects and everything about the Marvel Day at Sea which included a live show. The Avengers fighting and Spiderman swinging. Iron Man became the fireworks. Amazing pyrotechnics! I also killed it at the 80's trivia and rick rolled the ship by singing "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley during karaoke.

Frozen is one of the most popular ones so I had to sign up for a time slot for a photo. 

We celebrated Rapunzel's birthday.

Some random things to note while on port..

Castaway Cay

I had a key lime pie at the Keys. Key lime pie is not my favorite pie but I enjoyed its tartness. 

The Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, was amazing. Spent some time chilling by the beach. The photo on the left showed our seats. I also got some braids and enjoyed the complimentary BBQ lunch. It was a great day on port overall.

I did not take much interest in Nassau. I went down for a bit to walk, ended up buying a pair of earrings made of conch, and got overwhelmed by touristy offers. I was over it after five minutes, went back to the ship, and enjoyed the complimentary amenities and photo ops. I had way more fun there.

I was definitely spoiled at the cruise when it came to service. I got what I paid for. I am quite convinced that the Disney Cruise is like no other because it is an entertainment company. Everyone was so pleasant wherever I went. My host was lovely and I always returned to a clean room. He tidied my room and bathroom twice a day! I was also appointed with the same servers during the duration of the cruise and we had a fantastic service. I enjoyed the breakfast buffet, lunch buffet, and their restaurants that I was able to rotate in almost nightly. Some foods to note would be the escargot and lamb. I feel that listing all the food would require another post. Anyway, the cruise was fantastic and will 10/10 go again!

I decided to spend a few days in Miami. I was able to revisit some places, see my friends, and eat a lot of Cuban food. I also went back for the guava juice. 

It was also Superbowl Sunday during the time I was in Miami. I personally have no interest in

football but it was great seeing people being festive everywhere. I stayed in a lovely Airbnb in downtown and spent a lot of time at the Bayside Marketplace because it was close by. I even did something super touristy and rode a speed boat. I spent a good amount of one sunny afternoon walking at South Beach. The walk by the shore was amazing. It was so nice to get a break from winter and finally have some sun even if most of the time it was sweater weather. At least there was sun though! Other places to note included a brunch at Coral Gables, walking and eating at Little Havana (including happy hour priced oysters, haha!). I tried the free trolley and metro mover (cool mini train) to get around town. I ended up at the Brickell City Center which was stunning but most of the shops are posh so I couldn't do much shopping (not that I planned to..). I did buy a new coat from Zara because it had a good discount. Really good one.

Anyway, I hope to come back to Miami and eat more food. 

And I also hope to finally go back to our regular routine.  It will be almost 3 weeks since then!