Over 2000 pix! Our first Disney Dream cruise + Fantasy pix + Our Wonder cruise!

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I've been MIA and this is why!

This is our newly adopted cat. We just got him yesterday, but we chose him on Friday. We went to the Humane Society to get my sister a cat for her birthday, and when I saw Mickey, his "cage" name I was like...HE IS MINE! He looks so much like my sweet Boo Boo. He acts a lot like her too, in some ways. Boo Boo didn't stand a lot and Mickey likes to. I've never had a cat that would hang out and stand in the corner. Maybe he does this because he was confined to a cage.

Mickey was dropped off at the shelter at age 4 months. He was in there for 14 months. Lived in that cage every single day. Going into the shelter broke my heart. You can't adopt them all, but we adopted three total. The other two will live at my mom and dads house. They will be having their surgeries on Wednesday and can come home then.

One more pic...then an update!

Isn't he precious?

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Okay finally, after a dozen or so attempts I am sitting here writing this portion. I am going to use the pictures in order as I see them. It's just easier for me and I'll know where to start back up next time. The first few pictures are from our second same day visit to CC. We went out the first time to take professional pictures of everything, then came back to the ship and locked up the cameras. It had been raining off and on so all I brought out the second time was a little $99 Kodak digital camera. It fit perfectly inside the waterproof case I had won at the DVC sales pitch meeting. I won a lot of cute things...I can share pics of that if you'd like.

The first pictures are from our bike ride on the island. Bike rental isn't much, and it's a great way to explore! If you are rushed for time and want to get a lot in skip the first bike path and go to the second. IMO it is a better journey. This picture is taken on the first path. About midway you come across a tall watch tower. Climb this and you will see a lot of the island with a bird's eye view. This is a picture of DS6 at the top.

From the other side you can see The Dream in the back.

They took this one of me from the top.

The trails are wide. Plenty of room for those running and biking.

Most of the first trail looks like this.

Along the way you see things like this, and water is available at several stops.

This is what you see out by the runway....this leads to the first trail.

On the second bike trail you see this at the end!

It's a good ride down there, and you can tell the ocean is nearby. You can't see it 'til the end though.

When you first turn down the path you will see the spas. I love the way these little houses looked. I told Sidney I wanted him to build the dogs (and cats) a house that looks like these. It'd match our yard perfectly.

The path...

Down by the second path is the adult only beach. We wanted to check this out because we never go anywhere without our children. They waited for us here, at the adult only lunch buffet the island has. It was closed so it was okay.

The beach! It was beautiful but man oh man these beaches hurt my lawnmower foot!

Sidney at the beach....you could see big 'ol fish swimming around your feet!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Haha, good to know about the adult beach! I told DBF I wanted to check it out but I don't mind being on the family beach either hehe... biking looks fun!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

I love the bathroom pictures! I also have total bathroom envy when looking at yours. It is always true that you finish one home improvement and can't help but want to plan the next. We recently did a big expansion to our 2nd floor and now all I can think about is the bathrooms!

We plan on renting bikes on CC and your pictures make we want to even more!

Thanks for the great details!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Haha, good to know about the adult beach! I told DBF I wanted to check it out but I don't mind being on the family beach either hehe... biking looks fun!

I should have used the word boring instead. When I use the term "old/retiree" I don't mean it by age. My parents are in their 60's and act 20ish. I think it had a lot to do with the weather that day too. You didn't see many people anywhere really. When you go make sure you check all of the beaches out! Biking was fun!

I love the bathroom pictures! I also have total bathroom envy when looking at yours. It is always true that you finish one home improvement and can't help but want to plan the next. We recently did a big expansion to our 2nd floor and now all I can think about is the bathrooms!

We plan on renting bikes on CC and your pictures make we want to even more!

Thanks for the great details!

Yes, that is true. We always have something planned before we're done with the current whatever. I just really need my shower back, like right this second! OMG. This is misery. The only other shower is upstairs and I hate using the kids' bathroom. You can save a fortune doing it yourself, and you get a lot of pride out of it too.

Biking was a lot of fun and it's like $7 a person. All kids are required to wear helmets. My kids were like, "Eww. Someone else just had this on their sweaty head."

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

...after our fun bike ride we left our bikes near the adult beach (you can do this) and took the tram back to the family beach. We wanted to hit the beach and it was getting late. There was hardly anyone on the slides or at the family beach. The water was full of empty chairs and floats. Sidney went here...

We went this way

Turns out the drop off at the end of the slides on this day was @ 8-10 feet! (Way over Sidney's head, and it was freezing cold.) Probably due to the downpour that had went on a couple of hours earlier. The kids wanted nothing to do with it, so we just went to the beach. I think it's normally about 6 ft at the end of the slides. I'm pretty sure that's what the CM said. Anything over 4 ft is a no no for me.

See. Not many people at all. It was like having a private island that afternoon.

When we woke up we were already docked at Castaway Cay. It was overcast, but not raining or anything. In the middle of the day, after our first island visit, it started to pour rain. We spent that rain time riding the Aqua Duck over and over. (No one was riding so it was a walk right on...we rode it about 6-7 times) We went back to the room for a few minutes, and by the time we left the ship the rain had completely stopped. For whatever reason they canceled all of the excursions that day! (We saw those signs on our first visit) We didn't book anything, but I read the papers and it said no refunds for cancellations. I wonder if people lost money because of this, or if they do that to protect themselves. Late in the afternoon we saw some people snorkeling, but nothing else was going on.

Now keep in mind my pictures loaded in backwards so I am sort of updating backwards as well. In this picture we were washing up so we could go shopping a bit before heading back to the ship.

These shots are the decorations I saw around the shower. I always document this stuff so we can make it later if we choose. LOL

See ya later family beach!

Looks more like a ghost town, don't it?

This is one of the picnic areas...I will have really good pictures of all of this later on. These are all quick snaps on the way back to the ship.

CC has some gorgeous trees. I am a palm tree fanatic so this kind of thing makes me happy.

You should see our yard! It looks like a tropical island too. You could take it and put it on the beach at the Polynesian and people would flock.

I love these colors!

OMGosh! Everything is closing! Are we gonna make it to the gift shop in time?

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

We made it right before they pulled everything in. They were closing up shop, and we were less than 30 minutes away from "all aboard" time. We ended up buying a CC T shirt for Sidney, a CC metal sign for my office, and a photo album.

Then it was time to jump on the tram and head back to the ship.

This was C's first time (at Castaway Cay) on a tram. He loved it. He had always seen them at WDW, but never got to ride 'em.

Palms, palms, and more palms. Just the way we like it!

Look at that! Isn't she beautiful?

Castaway Cay has it's own post office too! Rumor has it that mail takes a while to reach it's destination, but it will come with a sweet looking Castaway Cay postmark!

I have a so much to do tonight, it's unreal. I wanted to get an update in though. So....here's one more pic for tonight. This was my favorite view from the island. Palms + Dream = Paradise.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Happy Halloween!!!

Great update!! How were the prices in the gift shop compared to WDW?? I really liked that beach towel and I'm thinking maybe a Tshirt and fridge magnet?? What are typically big sellers at CC???

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Happy Halloween!!!

Great update!! How were the prices in the gift shop compared to WDW?? I really liked that beach towel and I'm thinking maybe a Tshirt and fridge magnet?? What are typically big sellers at CC???

Thank you. Same to you. The prices are comparable to WDW. On the ship they had a deal, just like Disney...when you spend ___ you can buy ____ for a discounted price. They offered a towel or a bag on the ship. At Castaway Cay you could do the same thing. One of the choices was a beach bag, but I can't remember the other now. Maybe a photo album? Sidney's T was less than $20. Magnets were from $4-$7.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Happy Halloween everyone!

Stay safe.​

 

[Prozac07]

Hi! I was in the mood for a trip report and started reading yours.. love it so far! I live in the Dirty Myrtle too... and if you decide to open up that Vibe club let me know, I'll be your first customer

 

[DesertSky612]

Thanks so much for your trip report and all the pictures! I am taking my daughter on our first ever cruise to the Bahamas on the Dream in March. It will be her (and 3 of her friends) senior trip! We can't wait!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Hi! I was in the mood for a trip report and started reading yours.. love it so far! I live in the Dirty Myrtle too... and if you decide to open up that Vibe club let me know, I'll be your first customer

Thanks, I wonder if I know you. That would be cool. Could you imagine Vibe at Broadway or on the Blvd? It would be slammed during the summer.

Thanks so much for your trip report and all the pictures! I am taking my daughter on our first ever cruise to the Bahamas on the Dream in March. It will be her (and 3 of her friends) senior trip! We can't wait!

What a wonderful senior trip! They are going to have a great time. Have ya'll been before? If not keep reading...I have a lot more pictures coming up that can help you plan. Thanks for posting.

 

[DesertSky612]

Only one person in our party has ever been on a cruise before! We are all looking forward to it, and I really appreciate and enjoy all the tips and pictures on here!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Massage anyone?

Now we will back up to the beginning. We've arrived at Castaway Cay! It's a little overcast out there today, and pretty much all of the excursions have been canceled due to weather. In the middle of the day there was a heavy downpour of rain, but to be honest we never felt wind or out of the ordinary type weather.

Every place on the island looked like this!

Even this spot was clear.

Someone in my group was having a fantastic time!

View from ship

Thanks Sidney for all of those fun fisheye shots of the island. I love them.

Now I am curious to all of you who have sailed on this ship before. (Or visited Castaway Cay) How does my trip compare to a full (sunny) sailing? I know our ship was not all that busy, but this island was like LOST. The only time we really encountered more than a few people was during the buffet lunch. Even then we had an entire eating area to ourselves with one other family. It was like this for the most part.

Personally, we were very happy to have the place to ourselves. It made for a fun, truly "private island" experience. Plus I could get bathroom pictures without people in them. HA HA

Aren't they cute and rustic? Loved them!

Sorry the updates aren't coming as fast lately. We have a WDW trip coming up soon, and I have been planning my sons 7th birthday party at Art of Animation. I am so overwhelmed, but in a good way. New career, two week vacation to prep for, a birthday surprise, and the holidays....not to mention Sidney has gutted the toilet/shower part of the master bath. <----yikes.

I need my bathroom back!!!!

Okay, hope everyone had a super Halloween. Happy November! It will be Christmas before you know it!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Only one person in our party has ever been on a cruise before! We are all looking forward to it, and I really appreciate and enjoy all the tips and pictures on here!

This is a great place to find travel information, that's for sure. Trip reports can teach you things tour guide books can not. Plus, you meet some great people along the way and form friendships for life. You are in the right place.

 

[jennab05]

Love your trip report and your photos are fantastic! looked like you guys had a great time

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Love your trip report and your photos are fantastic! looked like you guys had a great time

Thank you. We had a great time and can not wait to go again!

 

[wiigirl]

Love your trip report!

 

[CrawfordMomof2]

This is a great place to find travel information, that's for sure. Trip reports can teach you things tour guide books can not. Plus, you meet some great people along the way and form friendships for life. You are in the right place.

One Tree Hill, I have been reading your thread over the last few days, and it is great! Wonderful pictures, and I love the fact that even though you take picures professionaly, not all of the pics were "set up". We get to see what Castaway Key actually looks like!

And as far as finding travel information, you couldn't be more right. We are planning our first cruise, and I have learned sooooo much here! Can't wait until 2014!