🚀 Splash Pads, SpaceX & Sea Days: Our Disney Wish Adventure
Our first Disney cruise brought plenty of firsts, a few surprises, and one family adventure we still talk about.
Disney Wish | Halloween on the High Seas
October 18-21, 2024
Our first Disney cruise gave us a little bit of everything: ocean views, splash-pad adventures, themed dining, Halloween celebrations, and plenty of family firsts. Not everything went according to plan, including a Nassau stop that never happened, but watching our kids experience life at sea for the first time made this one we'll always remember.
Adventure Snapshot
🚢 Ship: Disney Wish
🛏️ Stateroom: Deluxe Family Verandah
📅 Length: 3 Nights
🏝️ Scheduled Ports: Nassau, Bahamas & Disney Castaway Cay
🌬️ Plot Twist: Nassau canceled due to high winds
⭐ Family Rating: 3.5 / 5
🌊 Explore Our Sea Adventures
Every sailing tells a different story. Explore the cruises that have shaped our family's adventures at sea, along with the voyages we're planning next.
🎃 Splash Pads, SpaceX & Sea Days
Our first Disney cruise brought splash-pad adventures, ocean views, themed dining, Halloween celebrations and plenty of family firsts, including a few things that didn't go according to plan.
Disney Wish | October 2024
🏔️ Alaska: The Adventure That Changed Everything
Before S&G Travel Adventures existed, this unforgettable Alaska cruise showed us just how much of the world there was to explore and helped inspire the family adventures that followed.
Discovery Princess | September 2022
🌴 Bahamas Bound on Utopia
of the Seas
Three nights, one enormous ship, Perfect Day at CocoCay and our family's first Royal Caribbean adventure gave us an entirely different way to experience life at sea together.
Utopia of the Seas | June 2026
🧭 Adventures on the Horizon
Some adventures begin long before we leave home. Follow along as we plan where we're headed next, what we're learning, and how we're preparing to experience it together.
🐋Alaska with the Kids
Years after Alaska helped change the way we thought about travel, we're heading back. This time, we're bringing the kids to experience the glaciers, wildlife and enormous landscapes that made such an impression on us the first time.
Star Princess | June 2027
Currently planning: Excursions • Seattle • What to Pack • Exploring With Kids • Life Aboard Star Princess
From choosing a cruise and picking the right stateroom to packing with kids, planning port days and figuring out what we'd do differently next time, we're gathering everything we've learned from our family's time at sea.
Planning Your Own Adventure at Sea?
🚢 Favorite Family Ship
Utopia completely changed our expectations for a family cruise. There was an incredible amount for the kids to see and do, and the entire ship felt built for families to experience together. We were especially surprised by just how much more there was for our kids to explore than we'd experienced on our Disney cruise. And apparently, Royal Caribbean has ships even more family-focused than Utopia. Challenge accepted.
Utopia of the Seas
🍦 Favorite Treat
Poolside Soft-Serve | Utopia of the Seas
Nothing elaborate. Nothing fancy. Just poolside soft-serve ice cream cones that somehow became one of the hits of the entire cruise. There always seemed to be a line, it always moved quickly, and somehow we kept finding ourselves back in it. Mom even certified something so simple as one of the best treats she'd had aboard a ship.
🛏️ Favorite Stateroom
Deluxe Ocean View Verandah | Utopia of the Seas
For a family of four, our Deluxe Ocean View Verandah surprised us with how well the space worked. The biggest winner was the pull-out trundle bed, which we much preferred over the Pullman-style bunk we've experienced elsewhere. Comfortable, functional, and proof that the way a room sleeps four matters just as much as its square footage.
🏆 Family Favorites at Sea
Every cruise gives us something new to compare, discover, and occasionally argue about. These are the experiences currently holding the top spots in our family's adventures at sea.
❤️ Mom & Dad's Favorite Ship
Discovery Princess
When it's just Mom and Dad casting the vote, Discovery Princess still takes the crown. There's something about the ship, our Alaska sailing, and the experience we had aboard that continues to make it our personal favorite. But traveling with kids changes the equation, and that's exactly why Utopia wins when all four votes count.
💦 Favorite Kid Activity
It's a Split Decision | Utopia of the Seas
Depends entirely on which kid you ask. Gryffin would cast his vote for Splashaway Bay, while Selene would head straight back to the Ultimate Abyss. Two kids, two completely different favorites, on the same ship. That might say more about why Utopia worked so well for our family than any single activity could.
🚀 Favorite Unexpected Surprise
A Tie: A SpaceX Launch at Sea & CocoCay Wildlife
Apparently, some of our favorite cruise moments happen when we aren't looking for them. On our first night aboard Disney Wish, Mom and Dad happened to catch the tail end of a SpaceX launch lighting up the night sky as we sailed from Florida. Then, years later at CocoCay, a walk to a quieter stretch of beach turned into an unexpected wildlife adventure as we discovered fish and marine life just offshore, putting Gryffin on cloud nine. Two completely unplanned moments, and two reminders that sometimes the best parts of an adventure are the ones nobody scheduled.
🍽️ Favorite Dining Experience
Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure | Disney Wish
Still undefeated. Because really, who doesn't want to have dinner with Anna and Elsa while singing along to live music? Arendelle turned dinner into part meal, part show, and part family experience, and even after another cruise, it remains our favorite dining experience at sea.
👨👩👧👦 Favorite Family Memory
We're cheating slightly, but this time we have a winner. Our entire Utopia of the Seas adventure became one big family memory. The ship surprised us, the kids loved it, CocoCay delivered, and we came home genuinely blown away by how much fun cruising could be for all four of us.
Our Utopia of the Seas Adventure
🏝️ Favorite Port Experience
A Tie: Ketchikan, Alaska & Perfect Day at CocoCay
We can't choose, and this tie actually makes sense. Kayaking through Ketchikan surrounded by Alaska's wildlife was an unforgettable Mom-and-Dad adventure. CocoCay was something completely different: a full day of tropical exploring and family fun that all four of us could experience together. Two completely different kinds of adventures. Both deserve the spot.
Latest Sea Adventures & Stories
The ship may dock, but the stories keep going. Explore our latest cruise adventures, planning guides, family experiences, lessons learned, and everything we've discovered while exploring the world at sea.
"Every voyage ends with a return home, but the stories travel with us forever."
🌴 Early Spring 2027
Star of the Seas
After Utopia of the Seas completely changed our expectations for cruising as a family, it didn't take long for us to start wondering what might come next. We're currently working on a return to Royal Caribbean aboard Star of the Seas and can't wait to discover what one of its biggest family-focused ships has waiting for all four of us.
🔵 In the Booking Process
Currently Exploring: Dates • Staterooms • Itineraries • Family Activities • What Makes Star Different From Utopia
Some adventures begin long before we step aboard. Here’s what’s currently on our family’s horizon and what we’re already researching, planning, and looking forward to at sea.
🧭 On the Horizon
❄️ June 2027
Star Princess
Alaska Family Adventure
Five years after Mom and Dad first experienced Alaska aboard Discovery Princess, we're finally bringing the kids back to experience the glaciers, wildlife, and enormous landscapes that made such an impression on us the first time.
This time, we're experiencing Alaska through four sets of eyes, and we're already planning how to make the most of one of the biggest family adventures we've taken yet.
🟡 Adventure Booked
Currently Planning: Excursions • Seattle • Packing • Family Activities • Alaska With Kids • Life Aboard Star Princess
"Adventure is simply anticipation waiting to become a memory."
Join the Adventure
Our favorite adventures aren’t only the ones we’ve already taken. They’re also the ones still waiting on the horizon. Join us once a month for new family travel stories, planning updates, lessons learned, and the adventures we’re getting ready to take next.
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