5-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Miami with Marvel Day at Sea

It's Cruise Day!

Lessons learned with this cruise. Drop the rental car at the airport, not the cruise terminal location in downtown Miami. Thank goodness for Uber. The Avis shuttle runs 12 people every 90 minutes.

"Disney Dream welcomes the Rennhack Family." Let the fun begin!

The teens definitely have the best hangout spot on the Dream-class ships (Fantasy and Dream). I'll see my two kiddos at disembarkation on Saturday

Disney has us covered. ASL interpreters are in the house

I miss e-muster. Sweating like crazy with 4,000 of my closest friends on Deck 4.

Goodbye Miami. See you Saturday!

By Michael

Once aboard we posed for our first ship photo in matching Marvel Day at Sea shirts, then found our stateroom. A note was waiting for us there, inviting us to meet the ship's ASL interpreters, Kelly and Jessica, along with a member of the Entertainment Team, in the Atrium at 3:30. We also wandered past the teen club, all colored pods and neon light.

In the afternoon we went up on deck for the sail-away party, where Goofy and Minnie danced the ship out of port while a crowd lined the decks above us. Later Lisa and Kathy took a selfie together as the Miami skyline slid past in the evening light.

Dinner was at table 65, where Thomas photographed his penne with grilled tuna before he and I goofed around in front of the Marvel Day at Sea backdrop near the atrium. Back in the stateroom a towel animal was waiting on the bed when we turned in for the night.

My Tuesday morning view. Back at Castaway Cay for the second time in four days.

Bringing home the hardware from vacation. Castaway Cay 5K for the second time in four days. This time they received the new medals.

Current location on the top. Home on the bottom. I think we'll stay here.

Gather 'round while Cruisin' Kathy bestows some nuggets of knowledge. Today, Cruisin' Kathy was attempting to enjoy a gorgeous day at one of her favorite places, Castaway Cay. A seemingly nice gentleman sat down next to her family and began chatting as is socially customary. 3 hours later, Cruisin' Kathy has had her fill of mansplaining. This is where a man thinks he is God's gift to all human knowledge and attempts to explain it to the poor women folk who can't possibly understand such difficult topics as history and economics. Cruisin' Kathy has a Bachelors degree in History and an MBA from a top university. Keep your crayon drawing explanations of supply and demand to yourself you pompous twit. Also, it's incredibly rude to quiz people on their knowledge of everything on which you feel you are an expert. For the record, I do know the utility value of gold both as a currency and conductor of electricity. Rant over.

Lisa rocked the Golden Mickeys interview last night. She grabbed an interpreter and headed out to the red carpet. I love how she puts herself out there without any fear or hesitation.

Sailing away from paradise. Best weather day in our 11 times on this island. Simply GORGEOUS. Next stop: Cozumel on Thursday. Tomorrow is Marvel Day at Sea!

By Michael

By late afternoon we were back aboard. From the balcony we watched Castaway Cay shrink into the ship's wake as we sailed on for the evening.

That night we dressed up. Kathy and I had a portrait taken in front of a Beauty and the Beast backdrop, and Thomas had his own photo made in a tuxedo and red bow tie. We ate dinner in the Enchanted Garden, then came back to find the stateroom towels folded into a row of animals waiting for us.

I spy with my little eye Thomas' birthday present. The Magic is in port with us in Cozumel today. Epic surprise to come. A surprise two months in the making with a lot of collusion

Go Mexico. I love this so much.

An epic birthday surprise. It's been 3 long years since we've hugged our Eddisson.

Lisa drew a picture for Eddisson. It looks like the next generation is training to feed you to the piranhas. This time it's Eddisson's son on the plank

This is how Disney keeps the alcohol consumption in check. Soda (Coke products), vitamin water, lemonade and iced tea are all complimentary. I've been hitting the blueberry pomegranate vitamin water with gusto.

A beautiful day in Cozumel. One more sea day left in our two-week vacation and then the Reality Express transports us back to the cold and snow of Michigan.

By Michael

In the evening it was Pirate Night. We all dressed up, black and burgundy coats, tricorn hats, and striped pants for Thomas, and had the ship's photographer take our portrait in front of a Disney Dream backdrop. After dinner we went up to the pool deck for Mickey's Pirates in the Caribbean under the lit-up sign, and the night ended with fireworks over the water.

Back in Miami. It was a rough ride through the Florida Straits as the ship pitched wildly for about 2 hours. Then the thrusters kicked in at 4:00 a.m. as we parallel parked at the port. For future reference, Deck 5 Forward is a very loud location. There are all kinds of rattling, grinding and other mechanical sounds. We'll see where the Disney gods place us on the Transatlantic in September. For a $2,000 savings, I'm leaving the location assignment up to them. Have earplugs. Will travel.

Never have I ever received Boarding Group A by checking in right at the 24-hour mark...until yesterday. B3 slot from Miami to New Orleans. A48 from New Orleans to Chicago. Guaranteed window seat. Wahoo!

Long travel day. Miami to New Orleans to Chicago and then a two-hour drive home. We'll just ease into that "feels like 2 degrees" thing.

Someone is not ready to fly home. The last two weeks have been awesome and they went by far too quickly.

Wing view with my favorite seat buddy.

A beautiful day for travel.

Nice flight into Chicago. Now a 2+ hour drive home. After 15 nights away, I can't wait to sleep in my own bed.