5-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Fort Lauderdale

By Kathy

Last night's dinner was a light affair. I was still stuffed from our pre-cruise breakfast at Lester's Diner earlier in the day. Originally, we were assigned late dining (8:15), but thankfully I was able to get it switched to the early seating (5:45) and they honored my request to be seated at a table for two. Whether at home or on the high seas, dinner has always been our time to connect as a family. It is the one mandatory activity I require of my kids on cruises. At 5:45, we stop, drop whatever we are doing and dine together.

A gorgeous day at sea.

Today I enjoyed a solo brunch at Remy, one of two adults only restaurants onboard the Disney Dream. What a spectacular experience from the food prepared by Michelin-starred chefs to the impeccable service. It's a fixed menu for brunch (no choices) and heavily fish-based, so there isn't much for Michael to enjoy. Since Thomas and I are on the cruise, it was a fun indulgence for me.

By Kathy

Can't wait to check out the new Ramone's Cantina for lunch today. It was added during last year's dry dock. Give me all of the salsa and guacamole!

Rain won't stop my fun. Time to solve a Midship Detective Agency case. Who stole the props from the prop box? So far, I've eliminated Pepe, Miss Piggy, Animal, Beaker and Swedish Chef. Time to visit some more interactive artwork.

Tonight's dinner at Royal Palace. The salmon is always my favorite.

By Kathy

Churro Mickey waffles and a sunny day at Castaway Cay. Pure perfection! First up, the Castaway Cay 5K (walking because it already feels like Satan's armpit out there and I only run if something is chasing me). I signed the permission form for Thomas to debark the ship without an adult, so he'll check in with me on the island when he wakes up.

I've completed this event multiple times in January and February and it was toasty. July is a whole different level of Bahamian heat, even at 8:30 in the morning. My time wasn't stellar, but I didn't pass out on the course either. We'll call it a win.

Clearly, I just need to go to Castaway Cay every day. I covered the entire island on foot and skipped the tram entirely. I came back to the ship for lunch at Ramone's Cantina. The island BBQ is good, but Ramone's is my jam.

By Kathy

Southwest Airlines is a complete and total hot mess. I called this morning while on the ship to see about moving to an earlier flight. 12:20 this afternoon vs 9:30 tonight. Shawn, the customer service agent said, "No problem. $200 each." He ran my card and reported that my bank was declining it. Odd, but OK. Called the bank and they said there was no problem on their end. Called Shawn back and he reported that Southwest is unable to run any Capital One cards. He advised to head to the airport and have them help. Arrived at the airport and our reservations have been cancelled. The very nice agents spent almost 2 hours trying to help, but Southwest gives them zero power to do anything. We can't fly standby because the reservation is gone. They were eventually able to pull it from the archive but it is ineligible for standby on a flight that has 20 open seats. I'm on the phone waiting for "Shawn" to help me. He hangs up on me twice after sending an e-mail confirming that he is charging my credit card $430 total to cover both tickets as he originally promised. He didn't assign a confirmation number so the e-mail is deemed useless. Our only option is to pay $444 each for a flight that we had originally paid $89 for. $700 and two hours later, we are on the 12:20 flight home. It has been a day. At least the nice lady was able to assign us to pre-board with the wheelchair passengers. Get me home. I am done.

Fort Lauderdale is one of my favorite departure airports. The ocean. The Everglades. It's all beautiful.