Going on a Disney cruise - some Pixie Dust ideas

We were recently lucky enough to take a short weekend Disney cruise which we booked last minute at a fantastic rate. It was quite hectic, as many of our fellow cruisers were first time Disney cruisers and were keen to see and do everything!

One of the things that we love about a Disney cruise is that there are so many ways to add some magical extras to the trip, for example with organised gift exchanges, magnet swaps and door decorating.

Something that really took off in the Facebook and WhatsApp groups for this particular cruise was Pixie Dust. Pixie Dust is a small and inexpensive gift given without the expectation of receiving anything in return. It can be placed inside the Fish Extender of a stateroom that you like the look of, or handed out in person on the ship. Sometimes a cruise group will set up a list of people that want to give and receive Pixie Dust, and some people prefer to gift at random.

We've given out lots of Pixie Dust on previous cruises, and I've also shared some Pixie Dust ideas for a Halloween cruise. Based on the Pixie Dust that we received on this cruise, I thought I'd share some of the things that went down particularly well!

How to package Pixie Dust

I am still working through my fabric stash, so I made lots of very simple drawstring bags. You can also use plastic bags, paper bags, wrap in paper or tissue paper, or just give out unwrapped. Some people put a lot of thought into the presentation of their items, with glitter, sequins and stickers.

Most people put a small note or gift tag with their cabin number. You don't have to do this, but it is probably a good idea to at least label it as Pixie Dust so that new cruisers aren't confused and think they have received something by mistake. 

Homemade Pixie Dust ideas

Magnets - this could be a simple laminated picture. In the past I've designed magnets which are specific to the cruise with destinations, flags, or a picture that I've taken of the ship. I've also made Hama bead Disney magnets which are really simple and fun.

Bookmarks - If you have a laminator these are really easy to make, just print out your designs, laminate, then add a ribbon.

Bracelets - Homemade bracelets are really easy and inexpensive to make and people love wearing them to remind them of their cruise.

Pirate Night themed Pixie Dust

If you are lucky enough to be sailing on a cruise with a themed Pirate Night then pirate themed gifts are a great idea! Some ideas - chocolate coins, temporary tattoos, glow sticks or bubbles for the deck party, plastic jewellery, inflatable cutlasses, eye patches.

Other Pixie Dust ideas

Sweets - This was probably the most popular Pixie Dust received by our family! Small packs of Haribo, Maoam bars or similar. Also small chocolates like chocolate coins or fun size bars. Just make sure that they are all individually wrapped.

Stickers - You can buy large packs of Disney or ocean themed stickers and add a few to each package.

Pens - There are lots of Disney themed pens available in multipacks that can be broken down for individual gifts. I always appreciate a nice pen!

Magnets - We received some lovely tiny Disney themed magnets, they were so sweet! You can often buy these in bulk and separate out.

Ducks - People love to hide ducks when cruising (that's a whole other topic!) and we were thrilled to receive a full size Belle duck and also some cute tiny plastic ducks.

Bubbles - There will probably be some kind of deck party on your cruise, for example a Pirate or Frozen themed party. Blowing bubbles is a great way to keep little ones entertained while you wait for the party to start. Just make sure to pack them securely!

Clothes pegs - This might sound an odd one, but one year we received a couple of Mickey Mouse clothes pegs and I love them, they always make me smile when I hang out the washing! I assume that they were part of a large set and given out a couple at a time.

Jewellery - I love any kind of inexpensive jewellery that I can wear on the cruise, on future cruises, and when I'm back home. I received a lovely mermaid ring and necklace which I wore on Pirate Night.

Patches - These can be sewn onto bags or hats as a reminder of the trip.

Pins - Official Disney pins would be an expensive and generous Pixie Dust gift, but you can also buy cheaper pins with a nautical or ocean theme which would make a lovely gift.

Temporary tattoos - These are always fun to apply and wear around the ship.

Reusable straws - I saw someone on our cruise giving these out and thought that this was a great idea as the paper straws supplied on board can be a little flimsy.

Keyrings - Again something that you can buy in bulk, we received some lovely glitter Mickey head keyrings in different colours.

Many of these items can be purchased in bulk from places like Amazon, AliExpress or Temu and can be very reasonable in terms of cost. And or course not everything has to be Disney themed - you could look for a nautical theme, an ocean theme, pirates and mermaids and so on.

I hope that you find some ideas to inspire you, and have fun joining in with Pixie Dust gifts on your next Disney cruise!

A canal tour in Bruges

On our recent cruise over the summer holidays our ship stopped in Zeebrugge. There isn't much to do in the port itself so you have a couple of options - a day trip to Brussels or a day trip to Bruges. We chose Bruges because it is much closer and we remembered a lovely day trip a few years ago. There are several different options to travel from the port to Bruges. After a lot of research we decided to splash out on a taxi as it was the easiest and quickest option, but there are also shuttle buses and trains available.

We really wanted to do a canal boat tour as I remembered doing one before and really enjoying it. It's a really good way to see the city, and if you do it first thing then you have time to go back and have a closer look at anything interesting that you might have spotted from the boat. 

The boat tours are run by five different shipping companies, each departing from a different landing stage. You can find details of the companies and landing stages here - Bruges by boat. It's a fixed price of 12 Euros per adult and 7 Euros per child (aged 4-11, children under 4 are free). You buy the tickets on the spot and you can't book in advance, so although the lines do move quickly it's worth arriving early to avoid a long wait. The boats run from early March until mid November, and may also run at other times of the year.

There are also some private tours available which can be booked in advance and are often combined with  a guided walking tour. These are much more expensive but may be worth it if you want to know that you have a guaranteed spot.

All the tour boats follow the same course around the canals which takes about 30 minutes, and the number of boats is limited which means that it doesn't feel too busy on the water. You can find full details of the course here - Bruges canal boat tour details.

You can see lots of interesting things from the tour. I was fascinated by what looked like a flea market packed with people in a beautiful setting among the trees.

There is also an exciting moment when you go underneath a very low bridge. I am so short that I didn't actually need to duck as we went below it, but many people did!

The tour was fully guided with plenty of explanation from the captain in several different languages. It was a really interesting and enjoyable tour.

A few days before our visit to Bruges we spent the day in Amsterdam where we also took a canal boat tour. That experience was very different! It was difficult to choose a tour in Amsterdam as the boats all take different routes and are priced differently, and boarding was a bit chaotic. The canals felt very crowded, several times we had to wait for another boat to move out of the way and at one point we nearly collided with another boat that was going far too fast. The canal boat tour in Bruges was much more relaxed and peaceful!

After the tour we headed back to the Market Square for the obligatory Belgian waffle before going for a walk around the city. Bruges is a small town and very walkable so even if you are just there for a few hours you can still have a really good look around. You only need a few hours to get a good feel for the city, and I'd definitely recommend a visit if you are in the area.

Visiting Anne Frank's House in Amsterdam

On our recent visit to Amsterdam we had a really interesting and informative visit to the Anne Frank House. You can find out more about Anne Frank here - Who was Anne Frank. A visit to the Anne Frank House gives you the opportunity to visit the actual rooms of the Secret Annex where Anne went into hiding with her family and others, as well as being the home of a large museum and other exhibitions. 

We visited the house probably around twenty years ago, and things have changed a lot during that time! So I thought I'd share some information in case you are planning a visit, something which I would absolutely recommend if you find yourself in Amsterdam.

The most important thing to know about a visit is that you must buy tickets in advance. I'm pretty sure that it would impossible to turn up on the day and be able to visit. Be very careful if you book a local tour that includes a visit to Anne Frank's House - you will almost certainly find that it doesn't include actual entry into the house. 

Tickets are currently released for sale six weeks beforehand on a Tuesday at 10am CEST. They are only available through the official website and must be purchased for a specific time slot. You can find all the information here - Anne Frank House. There are two types of ticket available - Museum Visit and a Museum Visit with a 30 minute introduction in English.

I was very keen to get tickets and knowing that we were visiting in the summer holidays on the same day as several cruise ships were in port I checked out the website for a few weeks before we actually needed to buy the tickets. 

I was interested in Museum Visit only tickets for a visit in the middle of August, and from discussion in our cruise group, tickets with the introduction sold out within minutes. By quarter past many time slots were full, but because each slot is only 15 minutes there were still plenty of tickets available for several hours after opening. By the end of the day most of the daytime slots for that week had gone, but a couple of days later there were still some evening and weekend slots available. 

I noticed that when the ticket slots opened up for the six week ahead mark there were also extra tickets released for dates which were previously fully booked. It's worth checking nearer the time if you miss out, and if you are visiting out of the main summer season and are flexible with your times you may be able to get away with booking a week or two in advance.

The entry time was very strict, and there was a queuing system outside while you waited for your slot to open. The ticket conditions make it very clear that there are no refunds and the purchaser must be with you at time of entry. You can't take bags but there is a free cloakroom, and the ticket price includes an excellent audio guide. The Secret Annex and the older part of the museum are unfortunately not accessible for wheelchairs, pushchairs or people with limited mobility as there are some incredibly steep staircases.

Your visit starts in the house next door, with an excellent introduction to the history of the building, the family and others who went into hiding, their helpers, and how the family managed to remain in hiding for so long. It also covers the fates of everyone involved once they were discovered. I found that it was pitched perfectly both to people who know Anne's story well and to those who are unfamiliar and want to learn more. The audio guide is really well paced and keeps people moving along. There are also lots of videos to watch which are on a loop so you can jump in at any point. 

Then you enter the Secret Annex itself, passing by the bookcase which concealed the entrance still in place. The rooms are unfurnished, but there are photographs in each room showing how they would have looked when occupied. There are also some family possessions on display. In Anne's room you can see the pictures which she glued onto the walls, and there are pencil markings which show Anne and her sister Margot's heights as they grew while in hiding. The rooms are small and would have been crowded when occupied, but at the same time it's astonishing just how much space there was hidden away. You can spend as long as you like looking around. 

After visiting the Secret Annex there are more exhibitions to see. The main draw here is Anne Frank's original diary and some of her other notebooks. There is also a model of the Secret Annex - the photo below shows the bookcase entrance at the bottom and the steep steps leading upwards. This really helps to understand how all the rooms are arranged, as it can be a bit confusing when you are inside. 

I think that Anne Frank's house is one of the must-see attractions if you are visiting Amsterdam. I'd been wanting to share the experience with my children for a long time, and so I'm really glad that we had the opportunity to do so. I hope that this helps if you are planning a visit!

Some little extras that I always pack for a cruise

This post contains Amazon affiliate links

I like to think of myself as a bit of a seasoned cruiser, and as I start to put things together for our next cruise I thought I'd write a little list of the things that I always make sure to pack!

These are things that aren't expensive, don't take up too much space, and that a first time cruiser might not necessarily think of!

Magnetic hooks - these are brilliant. I have a set of four magnetic hooks (affiliate link) and they are brilliant, tiny to pack and surprisingly strong. We place them near the door and use them to hang lanyards, baseball caps, bum bags, swimming goggles - all sorts of things that you don't want lying around and getting lost!

However it's best not to pack over the door hooks or over the door hanging pockets. These may be confiscated by the cruise line as they can damage the doors. There is usually plenty of storage in the room for smaller items.

Travel adaptor plugs - I've seen cruise ship staterooms with both US and European sockets. If you can bring a couple of each then you'll have more charging options.

Photo credit Call Me Fred via Unsplash

A lanyard - this is a personal preference thing, cruisers use it to keep their room card accessible, which can also be used for onboard purchases like drinks. I don't tend to wear one, but the children like to. Some cruise lines will provide them, especially as you move up through the tiers, but they will be expensive to buy on board if you suddenly decide that you want one!

Velcro cable ties - on a couple of our Disney cruises we came back to our room to find that the stateroom attendant had organised all our messy loose cables with little velcro cable ties! We left the ties behind but I bought some reusable velcro cable ties (affiliate link) as soon as we got home. It's a really good way to save space on the small desk area when you all have several devices that need charging at once. 

A spare, non valuable, credit card sized card - some cruise ships have a slot by the door for a card in order for the lights and air conditioning to work, and it's easy to forget that you've left a card in there when you leave. I have a couple of credit card sized cards which have a magnet stuck to the back so when we leave the room we can stick it to the wall ready for our return.

A small magnetic whiteboard and pen - this is especially useful if you are travelling with others. You can stick it on your stateroom door and then people can leave you a message - helpful if you don't have the onboard Wi-Fi or data roaming while you are travelling. An A4 magnetic whiteboard is a good size. You might find that people leave you little messages saying things like 'happy cruising!'

A small bag to hold a phone and room card - most of my clothes don't have pockets, and I do like to take my phone around with me for photos and the cruise line app. I bought myself a small bag which I can use for a few essentials, and it's worth spending a little more for a smarter bag that you can use with more formal clothing in the evening.

Small hand gel - we've found that since covid restrictions eased not all cruise ships have hand gel around the ship outside of the food areas, so it's nice to have a little bottle to take around with you.

Photo credit Engin Akyurt via Unsplash

Waterproof phone cases - we discovered these on a recent holiday and they were brilliant! Even if you aren't going on a beach cruise you may want to use the pools, and having a waterproof case means that you can take photos and not worry about getting your phone splashed while you sit nearby. I bought these waterproof phone pouches (affiliate link) and was very pleased with them (test them at home first by placing some kitchen roll inside and leaving submerged for a few hours!) They are also a good idea for any other electronics that you may want to use near water, like a Kindle or tablet.

Laundry supplies (if your ship has self-service laundry facilities) - I usually take a couple of my own laundry pods. They will be available to purchase but my family can sometimes have sensitive skin so we stick to what we usually use.

I also like to take a small mesh bag which I use for socks. This way there's less chance of losing one, especially if you are late back to the machine and someone empties your things out. A larger laundry bag is also useful for all the dirty washing that you'll be taking home. Something like this set of mesh laundry bags (affiliate link) would work well.

A tip - if you are doing laundry on a cruise ship avoid the first day, the last day, and sea days. Try for early in the morning or later on during dinner. Disney cruise ships have an app which will let you know when your washing is finished and also lets you know which machines are free.

A refillable water bottle - there are usually plenty of free self-service drinks options on board, but it can be awkward to carry cups of water back to the room and I find a water bottle more convenient to keep on my bedside table for drinking at night, especially when space is limited. Just note that you may not be allowed to fill them directly from a dispenser, instead I fill a cup and pour it into the bottle. It's also useful for when you leave the ship.

Photo credit Bluewater Sweden via Unsplash

Towel clips - if you are planning to sit out on deck then towel clips can be very helpful to keep your towel safe in the breeze while you go in the pool or to get some food. They are also a good idea if you want to dry swimsuits or towels on your balcony - you can clip them safely to the furniture! Towel clips (affiliate link) are larger than normal clothes pegs so they will fit easily around a sun lounger or chair. 

Sandwich bags - we are a family of fussy eaters and it can sometimes be difficult to find food when we are out and about. I always take some pre-packed snacks that we can take with us on shore excursions, but sometimes we take a few bread rolls or cookies from the buffet just to have handy and sandwich bags are great for keeping them fresh.

Photocopies of our passports - you must always check whether you need to take your original passports off the ship with you, as it varies between ports and many places will require it. But if you are leaving your passport on board the ship it's a good idea to at least take a copy with you. I'm old school so I have a paper copy, but these days a photo on your phone is probably just as good!

I hope that these packing tips were helpful if you are preparing for a cruise, do let me know about any essentials that I may have missed!

Has Covid changed cruising?

After our cruise last year, when I and my husband both unfortunately caught Covid on board, I wrote a post about how Covid has changed cruising. At the time I would have said that Covid had definitely changed cruising. But having recently returned from two short cruises, one with Royal Caribbean and one with Disney, I thought I'd write an update post about how things area looking nearly a year on. Pre-Covid, cruise ships were already notorious for spreading illness quickly, and at the beginning of the pandemic there were many large Covid outbreaks on board cruise ships.

The biggest difference from our cruise last year is that you no longer need to provide any information about vaccination or produce any negative tests. You do always have to fill out a health questionnaire before cruising. In the past this was aimed at catching the norovirus type sickness bugs but now it asks for things like a temperature, cough, loss of taste or smell and so on. 

On our last cruise all the crew were wearing masks at all times but this was no longer the case. This time I spotted a single passenger wearing a mask on the first day, and after that none. 

We noticed that Royal Caribbean still had plenty of hand sanitiser stations dotted around the ship, in particular outside restaurants (along with full sink hand washing facilities), by the lifts and at the main entrances to the deck areas. On the Disney ship we didn't see a single extra hand sanitiser station, just the usual hand washing areas outside restaurants.

On the Disney Wish, which is a newer ship that first launched after Covid, we did notice that some of the areas in the main buffet are behind screens and you ask for the food that you would like to be served to you. Also on both ships you can no longer help yourself to ice-cream. However on the Wish there are still many drinks stations and other food areas where you can help yourself so I'm not sure that the screens can really make much difference. 

There are many times on a cruise that you are in a tightly packed area - for example while dining, in lifts, in theatres, in queues to get on and off the ship or for excursions. It's impossible to social distance at these times and no-one seemed to be worried. 

In the two Facebook groups for the cruises I didn't see any anxiety about Covid before we sailed. And in only one of the groups did anyone admit to having come back with Covid. On the last cruise it felt as though most of the ship brought it home! So maybe with so many people either being vaccinated or already having been exposed to Covid it just isn't so much of a risk anymore, and you are no more likely to catch Covid on a cruise than anywhere else.

So I would have to say that no, a couple of years on, Covid hasn't changed cruising. When the cruises first started back up there many have been a few additional changes made, vaccination requirements, extra signage and so on, but they have now disappeared and only the usual pre-Covid health measures like encouraging frequent hand washing have remained.

Trialling a DisneyBand+ (MagicBand+) on the Disney Wish cruise ship

At the beginning of April we read that Disney Cruise Line would be trialling the use of the DisneyBand+ on selected Disney Wish sailings. This was really interesting for us, as we bought the children a MagicBand+ each to use in the Disney World theme parks last summer and loved using the technology in the parks. We were hoping that our cruise at Easter on the Disney Wish might be one of the selected sailings!

We happened to arrive early at the terminal, and my husband soon spotted a small table where they were looking for families to trial the new bands. He quickly signed us up, and so the four of us were able to take part in a special trial of the DisneyBand+ on this Disney Wish cruise. We were told that about 350 people on our cruise would be chosen. As a reward for visiting their stand and giving feedback during the cruise we were given the bands to keep, and also a Disney gift voucher which was an added bonus.

The DisneyBand+ uses the same technology as the MagicBand+ which is already in use at the parks, but Disney Cruise Line are calling it the DisneyBand+. As far as I understand, when it's all up and running the existing MagicBand+ bands will work in the same way so you won't need to buy new bands specifically for cruising, but I can't be completely sure on that. 

For context, we have now been on five Disney cruises and have been to the parks many times over the last few years. Our last visit to the parks in Orlando was in August last year, when we bought and used MagicBand+. I think we paid $34.99 each for our MagicBand+ (we used a voucher so I'm not quite sure!) and so I'd expect these bands to have a similar price point.

The bands are waterproof and sturdy, but as we have found with the MagicBand+ they do have a tendency to fall off. We added a hair tie to the strap which helped to keep them in place, and I'm sure that you can buy clips which will do the same job. The bands are rechargeable and need charging every few days, you can double tap the band for a light up indicator to check the charge level.

Our main use for the bands on this cruise was as a room door key, and this worked perfectly meaning that we didn't need to carry our Key to the World card around with us all day. We also used the bands to check in with photographers, and they could be used to purchase food and drinks around the ship. Another participant that we spoke to said that they had worked very well in the laundry. 

The bands don't replace the Key to the World card and you still need to show this when getting on and off the ship at ports. There are currently no extras for the bands at Castaway Cay (Disney's private island in the Bahamas) so there is little point taking them with you if your cruise stops there as you'll have your Key to the World card with you anyway which you can use for purchases and photographers. 

The only cruise specific extra thing that we noticed with the bands was during the pirate night show and fireworks, when the DisneyBand+ lit up in time with the music and in appropriate colours. There were a couple of other times when we thought we saw our bands light up, for example during a welcome show soon after we boarded, but it wasn't consistent.

There is currently nothing extra around the ship to use the bands for which was a slight disappointment as the children had a lot of fun using the bands at the park. At the parks there are statues which you can interact with by waving your band, and there are games that you can play, like the Bounty Hunter game at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Something like this would work brilliantly on a cruise ship and I'm sure that there are plans afoot, but at the moment they weren't able to tell us if or when such things might be added. 

We really enjoyed the opportunity to trial the bands and they were definitely an added convenience on the cruise. At the feedback session we were asked if we would buy bands specifically for the cruise, and the answer to that had to be no, as you don't get anything near the experience with them that you do in the parks. However the technology is exciting and there is a huge amount of potential, so I'm really interested to see where it goes in the future. Maybe by the time we can manage another Disney cruise there will be more exciting things to report back on!

Sewing some simple scrunchies for our upcoming cruise

I almost always wear my hair in a pony tail, with just a plain band. But sometimes special occasions call for something a bit more standout, and recently I've been having lots of fun making some simple scrunchies!

My favourites are these two sets that I made for an upcoming cruise - a larger one for me and two smaller ones for Mia's plaits. The first set uses some anchor fabric that I received to review a few years ago. I used most of it for the lining of my beach themed tote bag and the leftovers were the perfect size for scrunchies. I found lots of tutorials for the scrunchies online but I ended up making my own version, it's basically just a long tube of fabric (14" in length and 4" or 5" in width for the smaller and larger scrunchies), a piece of elastic threaded through and the ends sewn together. It's not perfect but when it's tied in the hair you can't see the join.

The pirate scrunchies are made using Disney pirate fabric. If you go on a Disney Caribbean cruise they usually include a pirate themed night and you each receive a pirate bandana to wear. I used the fabric from some previous cruises to make the scrunchies so they will match our new bandanas and those of the other passengers. It's a little difficult to see the fabric, but everyone else on the cruise will recognise it!

I have lots of fabric in my stash which I'm slowly working through, and this is a great way to use up odd scraps of fabric. Scrunchies might not be a desperately cool fashion accessory these days but that  doesn't bother me!

How cruising has changed since Covid

A couple of weeks ago we embarked on our first family cruise post-Covid. My husband found an amazing last minute deal on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas - a ship that we were actually due to sail on back in April 2020. We cruised for a week from Southampton, visiting La Rochelle and Le Havre in France and La Coruna and Bilbao in Spain. 

Cruise ship testing rules are changing all the time. When we cruised, all over 12s needed to be fully vaccinated and all passengers needed to have a supervised negative lateral flow test result within 48 hours of the cruise date (unvaccinated children under 12 within 24 hours). We did our lateral flow test online with DocHQ the day before which was very straightforward, although I did feel that I couldn't start properly packing until we had received that negative result!

Once onboard we noticed very little change to our usual cruising experience. We purchased expensive FFP2 masks which we wore whenever we were walking around the ship and we avoided the lifts and other crowded areas whenever we could. However we were definitely in the minority. Although the crew wore masks, only a handful of fellow passengers wore them.

There were a lot more hand sanitiser stations than I've been used to seeing on a ship, but generally handwashing is very much encouraged on cruise ships anyway. There was plenty of signage to encourage social distancing but no actual enforcement. The buffet and other eating areas were operating as normal. 

Of course we knew that the Covid risk on a cruise ship would be very high, and so despite the precautions that we took we weren't particular surprised that both me and my husband caught Covid on board. Judging by the comments in our cruise Facebook group we were far from alone, and a huge number of people came down with it. 

It's difficult to know what we personally could have done differently to avoid it. Perhaps mask wearing needs to be more strictly enforced among passengers, but I'm not sure that would make much difference. 

I think if you are taking a cruise holiday you just have to be realistic about the fact that there's a good chance you'll be bringing Covid home and if you are particularly at risk of serious complications from Covid then you need to consider whether it's the right holiday for you at this time.

Book review - The Sailing Days of Bianca Drake by Louise McGee

 I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review. Contains Amazon affiliate link.

We love cruising as a family, and as well as all the things to enjoy on board I also enjoy speculating about what life must be like for all the people that are busy working away in the background. So I loved the sound of this new book - The Sailing Days Of Bianca Drake (affiliate link) - a semi-autobiographical novel based on the real adventures of the author who spent six years at sea as a crew member on a luxury cruise ship. 

Here's the blurb:

Twenty-three year old Bianca Drake is about to embark on the biggest adventure of her young life, leaving home for the very first time and joining the crew of the 'Lady Anne' as she sets off for a six month cruise around the world. Bianca's whistle-stop tour of the seven seas does not go entirely smoothly as she tries to balance the unreasonable demands of her new boss Cynthia with a bit of adventure of her own.'

I really enjoyed this book. It was a light, fun read and a fascinating account of life behind the scenes on a cruise ship. The main character Bianca doesn't seem to have much idea of what working on a cruise ship will entail in terms of accommodation or life on board, but she copes admirably with everything that is thrown at her, even if it does take her a little while to find her feet.

I loved reading about all the places around the world that Bianca visits, although her experiences in port are a little different to those of a tourist like me! And it was really interesting to learn about the mistakes that crew members can make that can get them into a lot of trouble - they have to abide by some very strict rules and there are severe consequences if they make a mistake.

This book confirmed my suspicions that despite the long hours there is also a very enjoyable side to working on a cruise ship, and I'd recommend this book whether you are a cruiser or not. It's a light-hearted and funny read with a glimpse of into life that many people have wondered about. 

Free small cross stitch cruise ship design pattern

As I write this post, I should have been on a cruise ship somewhere in the Bahamas. Of course that wasn't to be, so I've been consoling myself by adding a cross stitch cruise ship to my cross stitch map. I received my cross stitch map a few years ago and I love it! It's a large piece of cross stitch fabric with a map printed over it, and the idea is that you stitch over the countries as you visit them. It's a really good idea, but if you don't visit any of the really large countries like Russia or China, along with all the blank spaces around the edges it can be left looking a little bit bare.

So I've been busy coming up with different designs to fill in around the edges, with the aim of making a sort of patchwork of different pictures which are themed to fit in with places that we've visited around the world. I already have a lucky cat from Hong Kong, a cross stitch Disney castle, and I'm currently working on the Statue of Liberty. 

This cross stitch cruise ship is supposed to be a sort of amalgamation of the different cruise ships that we've travelled on, and it's designed to be quite small so it would also fit neatly onto a gift card or as a small framed picture.

Here it is stitched in position on my cross stitch map! I'm busy working hard on this map at the moment, I find that cross stitch is a very relaxing and distracting hobby at the moment. I'm really pleased with how the map is taking shape, and I'll be sharing it in a full blog post in the not too distant future!

Our Disney Halloween on the High Seas cruise to the Caribbean

We have just returned from a wonderful half term holiday to Florida, encompassing a week long cruise aboard the Disney Fantasy cruise ship. This was our fourth Disney cruise and our second aboard the Disney Fantasy, although the first time was five years ago, so the children were much younger! 

At this time of year the Disney cruises have a Halloween on the High Seas theme, and this itinerary was a special 8 night cruise stopping at St. Kitts, Antigua, Puerto Rico and Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas.

With each Disney cruise we have entered into the spirit of it a little more. This time we increased the number of magnets on our door, updating the Olaf that we've used before with some Halloween accessories. I made a Fish Extender to take part in an organised gift exchange, we also took part in a postcard swap and an ornament exchange. On our door I hung a pin trading board and a treat holder filled with pencils which was very popular. We spent quite a lot of time walking around the corridors delivering gifts as I did them over several days, and it was really fun to see how creative people get when it comes to decorating their door. It's definitely worth having a look if you find yourself aboard a Disney cruise ship!

Related post - Crafting for a Halloween on the High Seas Disney cruise

Castaway Cay is one of my favourite places in the whole world, so I was very excited to have the chance to visit again. This time I decided at the last minute to enter the Castaway Cay 5K run which takes place first thing on the island, even though I hadn't packed proper running clothes or shoes. It was so hot that most people were walking it anyway - I ran a fair portion of it but the heat was so intense it was very hard work! Then we purchased a package each which included snorkel equipment hire, bike rental and a rubber ring, so it turned into quite an exhausting day! The bike hire was really good as it meant that we could see a bit more of the island, and the snorkelling was amazing. You  could swim really far from the shore but not be too deep, and there were plenty of objects placed in the water to look at as well as the fantastic sea life including tropical fish and rays. 

The photo below was taken just as we were about to sail away from Castaway Cay, I must confess that I had tears in my eyes as the ship rotated through it's repertoire of different horn sounds!

For this cruise, now that the children are aged 10 and 8, we felt comfortable giving them a little more freedom around the ship. They are both old enough to sign themselves in and out of the kids club, although unfortunately they don't like it so only spent about five minutes in there! They took themselves off to get ice cream from the self service machine on the pool deck and we even played hide and seek around the ship. Each room comes with two portable phones that you can use to call each other and the stateroom, so they took one and we had the other, and they gave us clues as to where to find them!

I was very glad to find that Mia in particular was still excited to see the Princesses and other characters. As one of our Fish Extender gifts we received a blank photo frame which we could use to collect autographs, something that we've not done before. She loved seeing all the different signatures and it will make a great keepsake.

Once again we had an amazing cruise with Disney! We didn't book the next one on board this time but we did pay a deposit for a placeholder which means that we can receive the same discount on our next cruise, so who knows, with a bit of luck maybe there will be another Disney cruise in my future!

We are lucky enough to have cruised three times with Disney in the past. You can read about our previous Disney cruises via the links below:

Our Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy (2013)
Our cruise to Norway aboard the Disney Magic (2016)
A second cruise through the Norwegian Fjords on the Disney Magic (2018)

Disney Halloween cruise pixie dust ideas

We are very lucky to be departing shortly on a Halloween on the High Seas themed Disney cruise. This will be our fourth Disney cruise, and after dabbling with Pixie Dust on our last cruise, this time I've signed up for a variety of different gift exchanges. I just hope we'll have enough space in our suitcases!

I've written before about the ways that you can add some extra magic to a Disney cruise. To find out exactly what is going on, you need to join the specific Facebook group for your cruise. There will almost certainly be a Fish Extender exchange, where you arrange to exchange gifts with other specific cabins. These gifts have a higher value, and tend to be tailored to the recipients. There will very likely also be plenty of additional exchanges that you can sign up to, for example ornaments, postcards or candy.

Pixie Dust is separate to these exchanges. It's a small gift given without the expectation of receiving anything in return, a way of spreading the fun and excitement of a cruise, and either given completely at random or to people that you spot while on board. On our last cruise the group set up a list of people that were interested in receiving and giving pixie dust, and we also placed lots of magnets on random doors around the ship. People that are taking part in gift exchanges will usually hang a bag or hanging organiser outside their cabin so that gifts can be left easily.

You can see my Fish Extender here - Moana themed Fish Extender.

For this cruise I've made a bit more effort when it comes to pixie dust, so I thought that I'd share a few of the things that I've put together.

Hama bead Disney magnets - These magnets are part of the cabin gift for my Fish Extender exchange, but they'd also make great pixie dust. They are very simple to make and use only a few Hama beads. I used pictures of the ship we are sailing on, as well as the Halloween on the High Seas logo.

I used the same design, this time with Mickey ears in place, to make some simpler magnets. They are just printed onto glossy card, laminated, and with a small magnet attached to the back. They take up hardly any room and are very light, which is a bonus for packing. They are also easy to pop in a bag and distribute around the ship, perhaps to add to doors that take your fancy. All my pixie dust has a small label on the back to explain that it's a gift, along with our cabin number.

The laminator came out again for these Halloween on the High Seas bookmarks. Again printed on glossy card, they are just laminated with a hole punched in the top and ribbon threaded through. I added a blob of glue to the back of each ribbon to make sure that it stays firmly in place. I've included some of these in my Fish Extender gifts as well, with plenty left over to leave outside random staterooms. Like the magnets, they each have a note on the back to explain that the recipient has been pixie dusted.

Finally, I've made up some little bags of goodies. I've not decided how to distribute these yet, I may just leave it up to the children! These bags contain a variety of different things that I picked up from Halloween last year and over the last few months - small Halloween trinkets like plastic spiders, erasers and mini notebooks, along with Disney themed bits and pieces like jewellery, nail stickers and nail polish. Each also has some Mickey Mouse head punched confetti in Halloween colours. I hope that they will make someone smile!

We had a very long countdown to this cruise, and the fun of preparing for the different exchanges and putting together little gift bags has definitely helped to build the excitement! I'd love to hear about your Disney cruise gift exchange experiences!

Related post - Crafting for a Disney cruise

Our Disney cruise - adding some magical extras

On our first Disney cruise we were puzzled by the decorated hanging pockets hanging outside staterooms. On our second Disney cruise we joined a Facebook group and learned about Fish Extenders - a way of exchanging gifts with your fellow cruisers. You sign up to participate and swap presents with ten or so other cabins, and the gifts are delivered to a receptacle which you hang outside your stateroom door. The gifts can be large or small, something to use on the cruise or a souvenir to take home, and are generally Disney themed. On our third Disney cruise I came very close to signing up, but chickened out in the end after I joined a Fish Extender Facebook group and was overwhelmed by the generous gifts that people were preparing.

I still wanted to join in somehow though, and a few days before the cruise I spotted a sign up list for a Pixie Dust exchange. It was a list of people that were interested in giving and receiving Pixie Dust, with no obligation. This appealed to me a lot more because I knew that I could make up lots of little gifts, but with only two days to prepare I was a little pressed for time, and I decided to do my best to gift everyone on the list but with something small.

I settled on a pack of chocolate buttons, a coloured pen and a glow stick. Unfortunately, even though I was very careful the glow sticks were a fail as most of them snapped before we even got on the ship - whoops! Next time I would pack them separately in a sturdy box and assemble just before handing them out! I tied them up with some ribbon and a free printable Pixie Dust gift tag that I found.

I also spent a good few hours making some little magnets which were much more successful. I used a picture taken on a previous cruise at a port we would be visiting again and added a cruise line graphic, the date, and the Danish and Norwegian flags. Each magnet measured about 6cm across. I cut them out, laminated them, cut them out again, and glue a small piece of magnet to the back. I ended up with over 60, and we had fun on the ship walking the corridors and selecting our favourite doors to add them to as a little surprise for the inhabitants. I hope that they were pleased to find them!

When I got back I was thrilled to find that I had been lucky enough to win a Disney collage design offered by one of the other members of the Pixie Dust exchange! This gorgeous collage is by Saffron Rose Designs and I just had to mention it because we were so pleased with it, it's a lovely way to display our favourite photos.

We are hoping that we will be able to go on another Disney cruise next year, and this time I'm planning to step it up a level and join in with the full Fish Extender exchange, as well as making more magnets to hand out and probably some Pixie Dust too. It's just a case of fitting it all into the suitcases! I've found a blank door hanger to customise, and while I'm not quite sure where to start, there is plenty of inspiration online. I'm thinking about decorating each pocket with our favourite character, although I'm not sure which to choose for mine!

If you want to know more about the extra magic that a Disney cruise offers you might enjoy my guest post for Cruising with Kids - Top Tips for Cruising with Disney and Life Onboard a Disney Cruise.

The port of Kristiansand - things to do on a cruise stop

On our recent cruise to the Norwegian Fjords with Disney we stopped for the day in Kristiansand, Norway. Kristiansand is the fifth largest city in Norway, and it's a popular spot for tourists. The cruise ship dock is close to the centre of town, and it's a very walkable city.

If you have a day to explore Kristiansand, I would recommend taking a walking tour of the city. If you stop a few times on the way it will take you several hours, and there is plenty to see. I used this printable map with a suggested walking route, and we were given a copy of a very similar map as we left the ship.

We started our visit at the Fish Market. Mia is always asking what my favourite colour is and I never know what to say, but having visited Kristansand I've decided that it's the beautiful yellow ochre that is characteristic of many of the buildings here and elsewhere in Norway. It looks so lovely against a bright blue sky. The fish market is quite small and aimed more at locals, as cruise ship passengers aren't going to be buying fish to take back aboard, but it's interesting to have a quick look around and see what's on offer.

Then we followed the path around next to the harbour. The walk takes you through some lovely park areas with fountains and flower beds and you can admire all the boats out in the marina.

There are also several playgrounds along this stretch and we spent quite some time here. The children always love a playground in a different country where the equipment is different to home.

We also stopped for a while at the Beach, a wide and almost empty stretch of sand with some lovely views out to sea. We collected sea glass and the children played in the sand.

On our way to the beach we passed Christiansholm Fortress, built in 1672 to defend the city. It's quite small but rather pretty and guided tours can be arranged. The views across are lovely and it felt so peaceful.

As we continued around the headland there was quite a lot of construction going on, from the look of it mainly luxury apartments. There's also a sea swimming pool with a viewing area and steps down, although it was a little cold for swimming when we visited! As we walked along the river north of the city I kept stopping as I heard loud splashing in the water, it wasn't until we reached an information sign that I discovered it was salmon, and we stopped for a while to eat our lunch and look out for them.

Then we headed down through the Old Town and into the centre. We stopped to admire the Cathedral and had a quick peek inside, before stopping in some of the inevitable souvenir shops to spend the children's pocket money. 

Before heading back to the ship we took a short walk up to Odderøya, a formal naval base and now a recreational area. You can take a longer walk if you choose for views of the harbour and fortress, or just take a quick stroll. On our way back down we stopped to see the boats at the Museum Harbour, a free attraction with some historic boats to look at and information signs.

We really liked Kristiansand, and it was the perfect place to spend a few hours exploring. If you don't fancy travelling further afield or doing a guided excursion it's really easy to find your own way around and there's plenty to keep you entertained for several hours.