Day 7 & 8: May 12 & 13, 2006
I knew today would be a hard day, and I was disappointed to wake up and see a gray sky when we docked; however, I was relieved to know that at least we made it to
Castaway Cay. We got up and got off the ship as soon as we could. Our cruise director Brent indicated that it might be a good idea to get some beach time and water time in before it started raining, and I was determined to get my last day of snorkeling in.
Gray start to the day:
A few hours later:
Tip #whatever: At Castaway Cay, take your underwater camera but dont take any pictures until you are snorkeling back. We missed a lot because we had used up all of our film.
So, we started snorkeling and were all the way out to the Nautilus (several hundred yards) when the lifeguards started hollering for everyone to get back to shore. I wasnt worried, but I did start heading back to shore. I was enjoying the snorkeling though and that is where most of my focus was. At one point, I looked up and it was like being in the Perfect Stormhard rain swishing the water everywhere. DH said the rain was coming down sideways. I really couldnt see out of the water and could breathe just fine through my snorkel, so I kept on at while I worked my way to shore. At one point, I saw a stingray swim by and I pointed it out to DH. He got really irritated and pointed, rather angrily if I do say so myself, to a sandbar that we could stand on. I immediately thought Why bother standing there because I am doing just fine? So, I kept at it. I had a strange calmness during the storm as I watched the fish and felt the rain on my back.
We finally reached the shore just about the time the rain let up. I got out and thats when DH told me his version. He said thats the first time he actually thought he might die. He said people had stopped swimming and were calling for help because they couldnt go on. He helped a couple onto the sandbar to stand and saw the lifeguards grabbing people and helping them make it to shore. I was absolutely oblivious to all of this.
We got out and everyone had to stay out of the water for about half an hour. When they let us go back in, we snorkeled back out. By this time it was about noon, so we headed to Cookies for lunch. Everything was very good. I especially liked the ribs and chocolate chip ice cream. We could hear the steel drums and it was my definition of paradise.
After lunch, we headed back to our beach chairs, and I had to make the decision if I wanted to snorkel again or go to the adult beach. I chose snorkeling. I LOVE to snorkel.
We headed back to the ship at about 3:00. We showered and went to deck 9 for a snack. Just after we finished, they played the ships horn. I instantly started bawling. This is when it really hit me how much I was going to miss this wonderful time and beautiful ship. I managed to pull myself together and we wondered for a bit. Shutters was a madhouse and I ran one crew member working that night who I felt was a bit rude. It irritated me then, but looking back Im sure she was probably just stressed by the huge swarms of people all wanting to buy their pictures.
We went to the show and had 7:30 reservations for Palo. I only saw one guy that was dressed inappropriatelyjeans and a plaid button up shirt. DH and I are pretty simple people, so I felt a bit out of place. Kristian was our server and he was really a nice guy. The tortellini stuffed with crab was wonderful and the chocolate soufflé was excellent. He gave us 2 free drinks to top off our night. I dont know what they were called, but they had champagne, vodka, and something that made them taste like lemonade. I could have drunk a gallon of the stuff.
I was very nervous throughout dinner because I hadnt gone to the debarkation meeting and I wasnt sure when our luggage needed to be out. I also felt fidgety because it looked to be a beautiful sunset and we missed it. We did see a beautiful full moon, though.
I dont think I would do Palo again on the last night. Someone on these boards said it was a good way to end the trip on a high note, but I think it would work better for me earlier in the trip.
We finished up just after 9:30 and headed straight for our stateroom. We were almost all packed, so it wasnt an issue and we made it far in advance of the 11:00 deadline. I peaked out the verandah and saw that we were passing some island. My heart sank a little to know this would be my last look out at night. I had a really hard time going to sleep. The slight rocking of the ship was my last memory of the night.
We woke up at 7:00 on Saturday. Both of us were rather silent and I thought about skipping breakfast. I was worried about making it to the airport for our 12:15 flight. I took one last look out on the verandah and saw them loading up a billion or so melons for the next round of cruisers.
We made our way to deck 3 and saw it was swarmed with people in a huge line to leave. At this point, I decided breakfast would be fine. So we chatted one last time with our tablemates over breakfast, and said official goodbyes to our server Roberto. Claudia had disappeared and we didnt get to tell her goodbye. I think thats a good thing though because she does this wave thing like the Queen of England and Im pretty sure I would have cried if I had seen her doing it.
We made it through customs with no problems and found our luggage quickly. We got outside of the terminal and found the huge line for Delta. One thing that was really convenient about booking airfare through Disney was that we gave them our bags at the terminal, and they gave us our boarding passes at the terminal. So, we didnt have to mess with baggage until we got home and we already had our boarding passes when we got to the airport.
Of course I sniffled a little as we left port and for a few minutes after. Im sure who saw me each time I cried but they must have thought I was a nutcase.
I loved, loved, loved our cruise and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Despite the rough start, it really was perfect.