Puerto Vallarta
Well, we’re all settled in after returning from our Disney Cruise. Yay for Kids Sail Free! Couldn’t have done it otherwise. Overall, the main meal options offered plenty of opportunity to eat clean, but if we wanted to snack during the day, our options were pretty much fruit (the same fruit every day) or junk food. They had 3 separate restaurants open all day, including one that reminded us of one of the best italian restaurants in Boston from back in the day. One featured hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, etc. Another featured pizza, and the last had fruit and wraps. But for someone trying to stay as grain/dairy-free as possible, I was pretty disappointed in the healthy options offered.
After a rough first day trying to figure out what Superman was going to be able to eat, we were able to order his breakfasts and lunches for the whole week to ensure he would get food. One day he didn’t get lunch as nothing at the buffet was edible for him. Dinners he would pre-order the night before. The staff was very accommodating and helpful, and Superman did amazingly well, with few symptoms popping up during the trip. Here are a few of the meals I enjoyed while sailing:
Seafood Couscous–not “Paleo” but delicious, nonetheless!
Macadamia-Crusted Fish
Peppercorn Steak with Seared Tomatoes and Sweet Potatoes
Steak Tacos from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant outside Cabo. We were in Mexico! It was a must!
Grouper (first time I’d heard of that fish) and Shrimp
Cheesecake. Yup. I went there!
And now, here are the top 10 things I learned while on a Disney Cruise:
10. I shouldn’t run on a treadmill on a cruise ship. The combination of a moving ship and a moving belt can only add up to an embarrassing situation.
9. Even though I realized I couldn’t run on a treadmill, when the weather was nice, running around the 1/3 mile track out in the middle of the ocean was freakin’ exhilirating!
8. Some people are really mean to their kids. I mean, I yell at my kids just like anyone else, but having someone say to us (while holding his kid), “Don’t EVER have children!” was sad.
7. I really like the sound of the ocean.
6. It doesn’t take long for the effects of sugar and dairy to manifest themselves in our children. Especially in their behavior.
5. The kitchen crew on our ship cooked up 56,000 eggs during the week. Just a week!
4. I think stress (even if it’s subconscious) plays a big role in how Superman feels.
3. Disney coffee is delicious black.
2. When someone poops in the pool, the staff drains the whole thing and fills it back up with fresh water. Luckily, it wasn’t one of mine.
1. Disney knows how to do it right. The cruise had the perfect balance of family time and couple time. I even got do some online sports betting in Oklahoma by the pool from my iPad.
When we were tired, we got a break. We enjoyed lots of stuff with the kids, but we came home feeling rested. Probably the first time I’ve ever come back from a vacation without feeling like I needed another vacation to recuperate, with that being said, I’m trying to learn about Jettly and I’m currently looking at https://tongarirocrossing.com/shuttle-options/ so a can book a new trip to New Zealand.
So, that’s my recap! We had a great time, but it’s nice to be back. I’ll be posting the Week 4 CrossFit Challenge WODs tomorrow!
Lynette says
Thanks for sharing!! We’ve wanted to go for a while and had an amazing food experience last year at Disneyland so were hopeful. I’m shocked it didn’t go better for you. At the park they were very able to accommodate my son’s gluten and dairy sensitivities. Did you contact them in advance? I wonder if that would have helped? Did you try to bring your own snacks?
radlandon says
Hi, Lynette! Our experience overall was good–like I said, once we figured things out, we ordered Superman’s breakfasts and lunches for the whole week, and that helped a lot, and the staff was MORE than accommodating. I did bring a few snacks, but was told we couldn’t bring anything opened on board (which we found out really wasn’t the case–we could have brought stuff with us). I did contact them in advance, but it wasn’t until we talked with the head server that things started moving along. It was a great experience, and we totally would do it again if we could–I would just have a lot more knowledge the 2nd time around!
Alison says
We have done the Disney Wonder and the Magic and LOVED it both times. My one piece of advice is that they don’t like it when you do CrossFit WOD’s in the Fitness Center.. Dumbell Deadlifts when bonked on the floor annoy the Captain and the entire Bridge staff. They tell you that personally. 🙂
JessicaD says
So are you guys GF and CF? We’ve almost mastered GF but dairy is hard with the kids. I’m mainly trying it for behavioral purposes too so I was interested to see your post about their behavior differences with the dairy on the cruise.
I’m totally loving your blog girl! So happy you had a good time on the cruise! I think we’re planning one next year!
radlandon says
Jessica, yes, we’re GF/CF/sugar free, grain free. The kids and I 80% of the time…Chris 100% of the time. Josh becomes a crazy maniac when he eats dairy and sugar. I mean, it’s almost uncontrollable. Sooo not worth it. He’s starting to make the connections, though, and we made sure to show him the connections between his behavior and what he had been eating. By the end of the cruise, he was choosing NOT to eat ice cream b/c he wanted to make good choices!
Colette says
thanks for sharing. hubby & i have been talking about taking the kids on a disney cruise, i really want to do one. how old are your kiddos? do kids always cruise free, or was it a special promotion?
radlandon says
Our kids are 8, 8, 6, 5 and 3. It was a promotion, although I think they do them pretty often!
Colette says
wow, that was a really really good deal for you for the kids to go free! lol my boys are 4 1/2 & 2, we’ve done a weekend cruise (family reunion) & they loved being on the “big ship”, i think they would go nuts for a disney cruise. i’ll have to keep my eye out for that promotion.