Disney Very Merrytime Cruise Day 2: Nassau

December 23: We docked in Nassau. We planned ahead of time to stay on the ship to make a day of character meet & greets, and just to enjoy the ship. We began with breakfast in Cabanas and then it was off to our meet & greets!

Princess Gathering Aboard Disney Cruise Line

The Princess Gathering Meet and Greet is an easy way to see 3 to 4 princesses at one time. They line up in the lobby (sometimes D Lounge if it’s the last day) and you get to visit each princess one-on-one. Tickets are required for everyone in your stateroom. Again, we had booked the trip about 10 days before sailing when a cancellation came up, so I knew there was a chance the meet & greets were sold out. When we first logged in to our reservation, they were sold out, but I kept checking the system before our sail date, and noticed some openings a few days before we left. IF there hadn’t been, I would have gone to Guest Services upon boarding (or sometimes they take requests at the Port Adventures desk the first day) and inquired so I wasn’t too worried. PLUS the characters do have other meet times — ti’s just the princess gathering is more of them all at once and that makes it easier.

We loved meeting Belle in her Christmas attire!

I love the way she looks at Cinderella here.

I love the small holiday floral touches they added to each princess’ hair.

After, we headed to the Frozen Meet & Greet located in Animators Palate. They adjust the lighting and the graphics on the screens in the restaurant and it feels like you’re in Arendelle!

Again, I found tickets before we sailed but if we hadn’t I would inquire at Guest Services (or Port Adventures desk the first day). For Elsa and Anna, they typically don’t have stand-alone meet and greets– this is usually the only time to see them, so if it’s between princesses and the snow sisters, I would choose Anna and Elsa (sometimes Olaf is now with them too!)

A quick visit with Jake from Neverland to sign our photo mat.

After our meet and greets, we headed back to our room for some rest while Lily had fun at the Oceaneers Club.

After lunch in Cabanas, we dropped Daniel off at the It’s a Small World Nursery for some playtime, and took Lily to Gingerbread House Making! We signed up the first day when we got on-board at the Port Adventures desk. All we had to do was show up and all the supplies were there waiting for us.

We had a Disney Chef leading the demonstration and how-to’s. They broadcasted his demo around the screens inside the Animators Palate restaurant. This was so helpful and made it fun!

This was such a fun family activity (and tasty too)!

We took our masterpiece back to our stateroom. Since it’s an edible product that isn’t sealed, you aren’t allowed to take it off the ship, so make sure to enjoy it while you’re on board!

One of my favorite things aboard any Disney Cruise is the impromptu character interactions.

 

After a fun, relaxing day on-board, we got ready for Pirate Night!

We had dinner in Animators Palate– one of our faves as the atmosphere keeps the kids entertained with the screens and Crush the Turtle talking to various tables. A Mickey Bar is a must-have dessert at least one night of your cruise!

After dinner, we headed to the Pirates in the Caribbean Deck Party. It’s always such a fun atmosphere! They have deck games which our daughter loves, music, fun lighting and it’s just a jovial time.

We headed to the evening show afterwards and walked around the shops. We managed to stay up for the Buccaneer Blast and watched the fireworks at sea!

Stay tuned for Day 3, when we celebrate Christmas Eve at Castaway Cay and Hanukkah!

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Jaclyn Rhoads