Wednesday, October 1, 2008 –
Castaway Cay
I think above all else, I personally was looking most forward to our day at Castaway Cay. I spent the last few weeks before our cruise obsessing about the weather and checking the National Hurricane Center several times a day, but all the worry was for nothing because we woke up to beautiful weather Wednesday and got to see the sun rise from our veranda as we were pulling into Castaway Cay. We ate a quick breakfast – DH & I ran up to the BBB and used the “secret aft stairwell” coming back. We didn’t realize that these stairs led you straight into the back of the buffet without having to go through the main line. This would have come in handy for running up to get chocolate milk. I’m not sure what the benefits of being in the forward part of the ship are, but we found being in the aft very convenient to the drink station, buffet, and pizza! I would definitely recommend booking an aft room. We were off the ship before 9:00 a.m. There was someone handing out towels when we got off the ship. I let my husband get five for us and I got five as well so we could have extra. We walked instead of taking the tram and stopped at the post office to mail our post cards (which still haven’t arrived) and didn’t have to wait at all. There are several nice photo ops to get if you walk instead of taking the tram also. We walked to the far end of the family beach (a tip learned from the Disboards!) and got a couple of lounge chairs and a hammock. That end of the beach never did fill up and it was close to the restrooms so I thought it was a great place. We rented a couple of floats that are $6 each. We first got the round intertubes, but found they were to big for DS5 and even DD10, so we traded them in for the blue mat-type floats. They didn’t seem to have a problem with us trading them in and we found they worked much better as both DS5 & I could use one at the same time. We played in the water for a while and then DD10 wanted to check into the club for a scavenger hunt. DH, DD14, DS5, and I rented bikes. It was an easy ride, but we were all pretty tired at the end. I’m glad we did the bike ride, but it seemed to take up too much of my beach time so next time (IF there’s a next time) I’ll let DH & DD14 go without me. After our ride, we ate lunch. I got a hot dog AND the chicken. (I figured I bicycled off enough calories to justify it.) The chicken was great! And the chocolate chip cookies on the island were warm, soft & gooey! DD14 got the ribs and really enjoyed them. DH got the hamburger and wasn’t very impressed. We were all too stuffed to try the ice cream, but DH & I left room for a Konch Kooler we heard so much about, but we both agreed we prefer Pina Coladas so we had to try one of those too! By this time they were 2-for-1; probably the best deal we got on the whole cruise! They were too filling though. After lunch, we got DD10 from her club and sent DS5 to his so he could have a chance to dig in the whale bones. We played in the water while DD14 hung out in the hammock and read (she doesn’t care for the beach – I just don’t get it!). I took DD10 to the play area in the water. It’s for kids under 14, but the water is 8-9 feet deep there so I didn’t think DS5 was a strong enough swimmer for that. By the time DH got DS5 back from the club, the girls were ready to go so DH walked them back to the ship while I stayed with DS5, but by the time he got back it looked like rain so we all headed back to the ship by 3:00. After we all showered and changed, we took the kids to the “graduation” (aka free t-shirt!!!). There wasn’t that many people there so we sat way up front. We liked those seats and decided to get to the show (Disney Dreams) early so we could get good seats for a change. We did just that – 2nd row center! I got a lot of pictures at Disney Dreams but most were blurry because I don’t have an image stabilizing lens. Disney Dreams was the best show we’ve ever seen including shows at the parks. Whatever you do, don’t miss this one! And try to get up toward the front too, it was AWESOME! DD10 & DS5 decided not to dine with us, but go back to their clubs instead so we went up to deck 9 and fed them. DH, DD14, and I had another great dinner at Parrot Cay. Romy even let us take DD10 a piece of crème brulee cheesecake back to the room. After dinner we went back to the room and packed up, then went shopping, and walked around before going to get the kids. DD10 begged to stay, but DS5 was already asleep. DD10 was playing trivia and ended up winning a hat and pin for both her and her brother!
From our veranda:
Paradise!
This is a great photo op!
The Flying Dutchman - looks bigger in the movies!
Our first intertube:
The mat-type float worked better for us:
Learning how to use a hammock:
Didn't take long to get it down pat:
Sand toys we bought on the island for $18 - it was a nice souvenier if you have the room:
The water play area - at one time it was 9 feet deep there:
The view to our left (pretty crowded):
The view to our right - lots of chairs left:
This is the "secret" deck on 7 aft:
Oceaneer Lab counselors getting ready for "graduation":
DS5 at graduation:
Cruise Director Peter introducing Disney Dreams:
Disney Dreams - AWESOME show!!! Sit toward the front and you get a surprise during the Beauty & Beast segment:
Still to come...embarkation day and navigators.
The billboards and the "cafe" are gone now though! 
