Being so close to Christmas the boat was decorated with everything you would expect from Disney at Christmas. When we walked into the main lobby there was a life-sized gingerbread house that you could smell before you could see. They had a beautiful Christmas tree decorated in the main lobby, I won't even try to guess the size of that tree it was enormous. The Disney characters on board were all dressed in their best holiday attire. There was even one night Santa came to see all the little kids on board. It was so great to see their eyes light up with joy and excitement. 
Aside from the great decor which I love so much about Disney especially during the holidays, they had so many great activities for adults and kids. My daughter was nearly a teen at the time so she was able to take advantage of the preteen lounge. We got her signed up and she was able to use her room wristband to check herself in and out of her preteen club whenever she desired. She pretty much had free run of the ship except during dinner, we made her eat dinner with us much to her dismay. She made lasting friends that she still talks with to this day.
My son was still in the explorer club meaning he was younger than the preteens but not a toddler at the time. We had to check him in and out each time he wanted to go and play or participate in the activities. The check in and check out process was quick and easy. There was a safe word for each kid that the parent and child needed to know in addition to the child's wristband scanning to match the parents' information. This made your pick up secure so each child was going back to the correct parent. In addition, they had hand washing stations anyone that entered had to wash their hands and anyone leaving had to wash their hands. This was such a great idea with so many people on one boat this helps keep illnesses in check.
The ship was always very clean, we never saw a spill, trash, or a dirty bathroom for the whole week we were on the ship. Every time we went back to our estate room it was nice and tidy the bunk beds were always put away after breakfast and then set back up for us at night. We also always came back to a really cool animal towel in our room. on our last night, the animal was a monkey hanging from the roof. It was the best we have ever seen.
The entertainment was wonderful, we saw a live theater performance which is what you would expect from any Disney performance, they are always "magical". We also watch 2 movies while on board, one hadn't even been released to the public yet. We enjoyed the water roller coaster on board which was always kept clean and was so much fun. The only thing we didn't like about it was there was always a line no matter the time of day or night. The kids also enjoyed the pools. My husband and I enjoyed the adult pools but I will talk more about that in a minute.
One night they had a deck party where everyone dressed like pirates, they had a little show some fireworks off the top of the ship over the ocean and then a big dance party on deck. The show was wonderful and so realistic. The fireworks are something I will never forget, the beautiful colors reflecting off the deep black water with the moon in the sky, it was just beautiful. Then everyone danced for hours on the deck.
We also signed up to build our own gingerbread house since it was close to the Christmas holiday this was an activity offered on the ship. Not only did we get freshly baked gingerbread and all the material to make a gingerbread house. They also had a chef proving instructions to help everyone successfully build and decorate their house. We were able to take our gingerbread house back to our rooms to consume, but we could not bring it off the ship.
Some of the adult entertainment was great as well. As I mentioned before my husband and I enjoyed some of the adult only pools, coffee shops, and hot tubs when the kids were at their explorer club and preteen clubs. Disney Cruises are unique in that they have a section of the ship that is dedicated for adults only. This is great because most of the ship is swimming with children of all ages. Adults can get away in the Adult only areas or if you are traveling without children you can hang out in this area and the pools, hot tubs, coffee shops, and even bars are empty. I think we saw one other person in the hot tub and only a few in the coffee shop. Other Cruises everyone is always mixed together and you never have any space in a pool, hot tub, at a bar, or even a quiet moment to drink coffee.
So, what did we do off the ship? in the Bahamas, we did some shopping but we did not do any of the excursions at this stop. When we docked at the Disney island in the Bahamas we rented bikes to explore the island. There was this really cool tower we climbed to the top you could see almost the whole island from the top. Once we were back at the beach we rented snorkeling gear. We snorkeled for hours, we saw the sunken Mickey, we saw fire coral, swam with sea turtles, and tons of fish. It was a great experience for the kids this was their first time snorkeling. We hung out on the beach the rest of the day. Disney provided a cookout on the beach which included all kinds of BBQ options. The food was great and the desserts were even better.
Before boarding the ship we saw a Christmas tree all decorated with snow falling around it and the Disney characters available for pictures. It was such a great surprise to see the beautiful decorations on such a remote, mostly uninhabited island.
The next day it was time to leave. It was a sad day to walk off that ship and say goodbye to the lovely wait staff that had taken care of us for dinner each night and return to reality. Being on that ship was like being in a dream. No worries, just building memories and having fun. I can't wait till our next opportunity to go on a Disney Cruise and I hope each of you also gets the opportunity to board this magical Disney Cruise line.
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