Welcome aboard, Kimberly!
I always enjoy our Disney Cruise Line vacations, but there is something even more magical about sailing during the holidays with Disney. The
Very Merrytime cruises are some of my family's favorites! Besides all of the amazing
activities and
entertainment that are available on every Disney Cruise Line voyage, we get to enjoy even more Christmastime fun! You're in for such a memorable adventure!
Disney offers so many awesome
Port Adventures in every single one of their ports of call, so sometimes it's hard to decide which one to book. But, alas, I guess that's a good problem to have, right? Go onto the Port Adventures page of Disney Cruise Line's website. There you can select
Caribbean and also
Bahamas to view all of the Port Adventures for your trip. There will then be a drop down menu on the top left of the next screen that allows you to choose which exact port you'd like to narrow the adventures to, so you're not scrolling through (and being tempted by) a bunch that you won't be able to enjoy since you won't be visiting those other ports of call. Check out those Castaway Cay adventures, the Nassau adventures and the Key West adventures.
You mentioned Bahamas. Does that mean that your itinerary includes a port day in Nassau, or were you just referring to
Castaway Cay which is in the Bahamas? If you do have a day in Nassau, that will be the place you'll find the dolphin swim adventures for this cruise. In fact, it was a Very Merrytime cruise on which my daughter and I experienced the completely awesome and memorable
Blue Lagoon Island Dolphin Swim. It was winter when we were there, but we received wet suits to wear and the water was remarkably warm for December. But, it's the Bahamas after all! While they do offer dolphin swims and experiences at the Atlantis Resort through Disney too, which you'll see listed on the Port Adventures page, I would highly recommend choosing the swim or encounter at Blue Lagoon for a couple reasons. First of all, Blue Lagoon island is simply breathtaking. It's a lot less hectic than the big Atlantis Resort, and besides swimming with the dolphins, we also enjoyed the rest of the day lounging on the beautiful beach there. Secondly, I believe the groups interacting with the dolphins were smaller at Blue Lagoon too, which allowed us more time to get to know those gorgeous creatures. We loved being pushed across the water with two dolphins at our toes and kissing them, allowing them to retrieve "gifts" (of rocks) for each of us from the bottom of the pool, and so much more. It's something the two of us will remember forever, Kimberly, so I do hope you get to experience it.
Depending on the ages of your kiddos, you can choose either the swim, (ages 6 and up), or the
encounter, (ages three and up). If your family includes older kids, I hope you choose the swim. It's worth the extra cost!
Have fun planning, Kimberly!
Marcy