This was the first day we woke up on the ship. We all had a late night last night, with Sam and I getting to bed by 11:45, but Maria and Ben didn't get to bed until 1:00 a.m. Still, we can catch up on sleep when we're home. So Ben got up at 7:00 to run, but before he started he took a short walk to loosen up, and got me a cup of coffee that he brought back to our room for me. So while he ran and the kids slept, I sat on our veranda and had a cup of coffee, watching the waves roll by. This would be our morning routine during the next two days as well. Should I have been running? Probably. But I don't regret that decision for one second - it was an awesome way to start each day.
This morning, I went back into the stateroom to shower, and when I returned, we were approaching the islands. I woke the kids up so they could watch the ship pull up to land. Originally, I didn't think we needed a veranda on our room, and would have done without to save some money if there had been any cheaper staterooms left when we booked the cruise. But it was incredible having that view, and I'm so glad we had it.
Anyway, even with the excitement of getting to Nassau, we had planned to not get off the boat there. I didn't hear very many good things about the city, and all of the excursions they offered were very similar to Castaway Cay, the Disney owned and much cleaner island. We were hoping crowds on the boat would be small if most people got off the boat. Our plans changed slightly, though, as we found we needed a couple of things - Sam needed flip-flops (his Crocs gave him a blister), and we got some cheap alcohol after realizing how very expensive drinks were on the boat.
So we spent the morning at the pool, and rode the Aqua Duck early with a short line. The breeze was a little too cool if you were in the water, so the kids and I spent time in the lounge chairs, in the sun, watching Disney movies on a huge screen above the pool. Eventually the kids got bored and went back to the room to change and then to the Oceaneer club while Ben and I spent another hour at the pool. Maria was really enjoying the freedom of being able to walk around the ship on her own, as long as they went straight to a place and then let us know when they got there. The kids were really the perfect age for this trip - old enough for some independence, but still young enough to get excited about kid stuff like characters and ice cream all day.
After another wonderful lunch at Cabanas, Ben went shopping off the boat and the kids and I played more of Goofy's miniature golf - they had a "Sports Deck" with mini-golf, basketball, Ping-Pong, and Foosball. We accidentally ran into all the main characters on the walk back to our stateroom, so I got pictures of them with all the main characters with very little waiting. Then I dropped the kids at the Oceaneer club so I could have a quick run on the treadmill in the fitness club (it was too hot to run on deck). I ran 3.5 miles while looking at the ocean, which was pretty cool. It would end up being my only run during the entire vacation.
When Ben returned we picked up kids and went back to pool for a little while - more Aqua Duck riding. Then it was time to change for our show and dinner. "Villains Tonight" was the show, which was great - better than last night's show, I think. Dinner was at the "Animator's Palette," where they had screens that opened up while Crush (turtle from Nemo) came on screens and had interactive chats with the diners. The kids loved this. This boat is brand new, and the technology was incredible. This restaurant was an example, but so was many other things - like the pictures near the elevators that came alive when they sensed motion, and the way our own pictures that Disney people took showed up on our own TV screen (well, technology and great marketing strategies). 
Anyway, after dinner the boys went to Oceaneer's club, the girls to Edge, and the adults went to see a ventriloquist/comedian act in "Evolution" lounge. We made a point to pick up kids by 11:15 so we could have an earlier evening than last night - we all had along day at Castaway Cay planned for the next day.
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