Coaches On A Cruise Ship

Our post wedding festivities began the way any wedding night should: complimentary champagne, chocolate strawberries, and room service. Although we were both able to enjoy our dinner during the reception, we quickly realized we were both starving when we finally made it back to our hotel room. We also discovered a nice surprise left for us by the hotel - champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. We may or may not have snacked on those while we waited for the rest of our food to arrive...

Quesadilla and shrimp cocktail.. it didn't seem like such a strange choice at the time. 

Interestingly enough, the next picture I took was the following morning on our early flight, and it is also a picture of food. Mr. C and I were lucky enough to get to fly first class on our way to Orlando (thanks to Mr. C's parents!) and we got to enjoy a yummy breakfast they served on the plane. Considering how tired we were from the night before, and how early our alarm woke us up, it was much appreciated.

Once we made it to the Orlando airport, we had to find our way to Disney's transportation terminal and hop on one of the buses that takes cruise passengers from the airport to Port Canaveral to board the ship. I had actually wondered how enjoyable this part of the trip would be; a forty-five minute bus ride with lots of over-excited children could be a potential for disaster. However, it was actually very exciting! They show a video during the drive that includes ship info, Disney trivia and some fun classic Disney short films. By the time we got to the ship, I was in full on Disney mode.

Arriving at Port Canaveral and boarding the ship was a bit of a whirlwind. As concierge guests, they allow you to pretty much bypass any line you come across, and you are constantly being escorted and passed off from one staff member to the next. Before I knew it (or could snap any pics), we had made it to Deck 12 of the ship, and were enjoying snacks and beverages in the concierge lounge.

I may or may not have had three of those little shrimp cups, yum!

This place was wonderful, and one of our favorite things about the trip - especially since we weren't expecting it. The lounge sits in the middle of the rooms on the concierge level of the ship, and is open all day with food always available and a cocktail hour before dinner with complimentary beverages. It was so nice to be able to grab a snack when I didn't want to make the trek to one of the restaurants, or for Mr. C to bring me a nice cocktail while I was getting ready for dinner in our suite. And speaking of, this is the place we were so pleased to call home for a few days:

Having that much space on a cruise ship was pretty incredible. Complete with a living room, dining area and kitchen, it was quite the experience. We found our refrigerator stocked when we arrived, and replenished every day, as well as a coffee & cappuccino maker that Mr. C used every morning. One of the staff members told us that many guests that stay in this room never leave, and I can certainly see why.

As if the room didn't provide us with enough space, we were also presented with the most amazing deck, and views, I could've imagined. Going into the trip, I was most excited about getting to have this space all for ourselves, especially if being surrounded by families on our honeymoon proved to be less that relaxing. Luckily, that was not the case, but we still managed to spend some private time out there and enjoy the remarkable views from our hot tub!

After we got settled in, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and took a little dip at the pool. Thanks to a little aftermath from Sandy, the waters were a little rough that night, so after dinner we decided an early bedtime was in order to allow us to catch up on our rest from the weekend and hopefully wake up in smoother waters.

And, that we did! I woke up the next morning and stepped out onto our deck to see beautiful blue water and Nassau awaiting our arrival. One of my favorite things about cruises is waking up each day in a beautiful new place. After a rough night, the Bahamas did not disappoint.

Fun fact: the ship you see to the far left is the largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Carribean's Allure of the Seas!

The beautiful Atlantis resort as we pulled into port

After watching the captain dock the ship from our deck, we got dressed and headed down to the Port Adventures desk to start our excursion - a luncheon and wine tasting at one of the oldest hotels on the island. It was one of the highlights of the trip - stay tuned!

Anyone else going on a cruise for their honeymoon? What are you most looking forward to about the trip?