A Magical Anniversary in the WILDERNESS *Pixie Dust Everywhere* Completed 11/19 New TR Link

[disneyAndi14]

Wow, how fun so far. The cruise looks really nice and relaxing. Your excursion to Atlantis looked really fun! We were there years ago when it was still a casino/resort, way before it became Atlantis. We did a cruise for our honeymoon back then, not Disney! Disney would be the one I want to do at some point!

I like your Halloween costumes, I’m a huge fan of GoT, love Tyrion and Daenerys!

 

[bushdianee]

My sister and I did the 3 night Disney cruise for my birthday 15 years ago! Loved it! We did the Atlantis Beach Day and didn't enjoy it at all. We took a water taxi over to Atlantis rather than a bus. It sounds like the water park was a much better option. We compared walking on the beach to walking in Buffalo snow!! We almost didn't do Castaway Cay the next day after our experience at Atlantis. We decided to check it out and were so glad we did. Castaway Cay was like heaven on earth! We loved it.

 

[buzzrelly]

No we didnt! We want to do Aruba and Disneyland next year (and Im planning on throwing a DW trip in there, too!) So a cruise will probably have to wait until 2020! We'll definitely do one again eventually!

Just FYI for next time, if you book a placeholder cruise while onboard, you put down $250 and that gets put towards any future cruise for the next 2 years while keeping the onboard booking benefits of 10% off that next cruise and I believe some stateroom credit. It's fully refundable if you decided not to cruise within 2 years

No pressure, just wanted you to know for next time because I was kicking myself for not booking a placeholder in 2016.

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like you threw a fun Halloween party!!

What a great day at the Atlantis! And sounds like a great night on the ship!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Wow, how fun so far. The cruise looks really nice and relaxing. Your excursion to Atlantis looked really fun! We were there years ago when it was still a casino/resort, way before it became Atlantis. We did a cruise for our honeymoon back then, not Disney! Disney would be the one I want to do at some point!

I like your Halloween costumes, I’m a huge fan of GoT, love Tyrion and Daenerys!

The cruise was a great way to wind down after our whirlwind trip to Disney. And we still did a lot! I would definitely check out a Disney cruise if you ever decide to try one, I think you would love it!

And thanks! My sisters bf is a big fan of GOT too (me too) and they considered being Khalessi and Khal Drogo at first but this felt more relevant with the current seasons!

My sister and I did the 3 night Disney cruise for my birthday 15 years ago! Loved it! We did the Atlantis Beach Day and didn't enjoy it at all. We took a water taxi over to Atlantis rather than a bus. It sounds like the water park was a much better option. We compared walking on the beach to walking in Buffalo snow!! We almost didn't do Castaway Cay the next day after our experience at Atlantis. We decided to check it out and were so glad we did. Castaway Cay was like heaven on earth! We loved it.

Oh wow! Thats terrible that the beach was so bad! I had a hard time deciding what excursion to go with (including the beach option) so I'm glad we went with the one we did! We liked it too because it gave us one fun waterslide day and then the relaxing day in Castaway Cay. I'm currently sitting at work while Buffalo snow is starting outside so that comparison really does not sound fun!! haha I'm glad you enjoyed Castaway Cay though, I was so in love with that stop. I wish they would like dock there overnight and give you two days there!

Just FYI for next time, if you book a placeholder cruise while onboard, you put down $250 and that gets put towards any future cruise for the next 2 years while keeping the onboard booking benefits of 10% off that next cruise and I believe some stateroom credit. It's fully refundable if you decided not to cruise within 2 years

No pressure, just wanted you to know for next time because I was kicking myself for not booking a placeholder in 2016.

They definitely should advertise that better! Because we did go and look at the cruise offerings but all the signs just showed the $100 onboard credit which I didn't feel was all that special. Good to know for next time!

Sounds like you threw a fun Halloween party!!

What a great day at the Atlantis! And sounds like a great night on the ship!

It was definitely a good time! We were pretty stressed leading up to the party since we've never thrown one at our house but it all worked out and I think everyone had fun!

It was a great day!

 

[Cloe Colton]

I apologize how long its taking me to get these posts up! I cleared out my phone prior to my October Disney trip so its been a huge pain to find the photos I want! But lesson learned for future TRs! I should be able to get this report done in the next week or two, I can't believe it's coming to an end!

DAY 11 Part 1

We woke up around 7:30 and were excited to see that we were already safely docked in Castaway Cay. When booking the cruise, I was most worried that the weather conditions would prevent us from docking and we would miss the stop we were most looking forward to! But everything was perfect so we got up and quickly got ready for the day. (These worries were pretty much pointless because if you look up how often that happens it is actually pretty minimal. I was only worried because the vlog that convinced us to go missed their Castaway Cay day. I suppose it was good to know that could happen though, because I certainly would have been devastated!)

I had wanted to order room service for breakfast the night before but since I’d had no voice from the slides and we really had no idea how to go about doing it we just skipped out on getting breakfast. (I've since learned you hang something on your door? Not sure where those were kept though) I think we both just snacked on granola bars and other snacks we had brought with us in the room instead. We wanted to get off the boat as soon as we could!

Dan used the cooler we had received as part of the beer package earlier to pack some beers for himself at the beach. Our stateroom host was awesome and filled it up with a ton of ice!

We were off the boat right at 8:30 and it was so amazing to be on Disney’s private island. I almost wish Disney would just build a hotel there or make it so the cruise would dock there overnight and you could spend a couple of days there (whenever we do another cruise I will definitely try to find one with two Castaway Cay stops! Does that exist?? If not, it should.)

First things first we stopped for some pictures with the Dream.








One last picture with my favorite hat!



One of my best friends bought me this hat for my bridal shower and I used it on our honeymoon in Hawaii. But it had to make a come back on our anniversary trip!

We had a vague understanding of where to go based on all of the vlogs we watched in our research but we still took a quick look at the map.



There was a tram waiting so we decided to take that instead of walking. It was already SO hot out so we were happy to get a nice breezy ride to the first stop. But first look at that beauty!



Onto the tram! I was literally jumping out my skin at how beautiful Castaway Cay was. All I've ever wanted to see what water that blue and here it was! (Hawaii had blue water - but there's isn't quite turquoise like this is!) And those palm trees heaven on earth!





We were on a mission to get to serenity bay (the adults-only area) so we took a quick walk around the shops (nothing had opened yet). Although, I was able to convince one of the CMs to sell me a bottle of water. The heat was already getting to me and I was desperate for some hydration so I am thankful he took pity on me! Pretty soon after, the next tram for Serenity Bay was pulling up and we hopped on.

As if Castawy Cay wasn't amazing already, then we got to Serenity Bay. Serenity bay was so beautiful and peaceful. It was amazing to just be away from everyone else and just chill out. Especially because we were one of the first people over there it felt like an oasis.





I took some pictures right away since no one was around







All that beauty...and then a crazy storm rolled in It felt like we were outside in a hurricane there was so much rain but we actually stayed pretty dry under our umbrella and towels so we just waited until it passed. I was surprised that they didn't make us leave the beach but there must have been just rain and no thunder. Dan loved it though, he loves a good rain storm so for him it was cool to be in the middle of it but not getting soaked

After the storm moved out, we relaxed in our floats out in the water. We tried to find starfish but didn’t have any luck. It seemed like in most people’s vlogs there was always a huge starfish over in serenity bay so if it was there this day we didn’t find it!

Around this time, we were both getting pretty hungry and lunch would be opening soon so we decided to go do a little shopping back by the first stop and then by the time we got back we could have lunch.



I wanted to get some specific Castaway Cay pins and I got myself and my Mom a towel. It was a successful mission! But again, I found nothing my sister would want I could have probably bought her something that said Castaway Cay but as someone who loves to travel she would probably be more upset that its a place she hasn't been so it wasn't worth it!

After shopping, we hopped back on a tram back over to serenity bay to eat some lunch! We probably could have eaten over where we were but we wanted to be on the adults-only side!

We ate our lunch which was really tasty and then made our way back to the beach. They had bartenders walking up and down the beach taking drink orders so I enjoyed a nice strawberry daiquiri after lunch.




It was pretty hot at this point so we took our chairs and sat in the water. It was perfect.




While we were sitting there I also had a little fishy friend who would come and swim by my feet and basically just sit with me. It was super cute! And I was REALLY missing Joy (my dog) at this point so I enjoyed my little friend



After a couple of hours of just sitting in the sun Dan was getting pretty bored (he has a hard time just relaxing on a beach) so we decided to head over to the main beach to at least check in out and see what it was like. And man did it look busy!



We were happy to check it out because the view with Dream was definitely an awesome view but very happy that they offer Serenity Bay. Definitely A LOT calmer!

We had to take some pictures!




(Cooler we received shown in this picture)



I think the morning of Castaway Cay I had realized I never wore my ears I made specifically for the cruise! So I had to get a picture with them too



We found some chairs off to the side that seemed a little calmer than being over in the main area.



While we were laying there we overheard a family talking about snorkeling and how cool it was. So we asked them how far they went out and what to look for and put on our snorkel gear we brought from home and went out into the water. We had bought snorkel gear from Target in Hawaii and packed them with us on our trip (we left the fins at home - we probably could have used them). We figured it would save us a few dollars and we had the room! You just had to wear a yellow life jacket that they had available and you were all set!



We saw a couple of fish and the underwater hidden mickey but that was about it. It was fun but I would have been mad had we rented snorkel gear to do it. Maybe there’s a better spot to do it in?

When we got out of the water another storm blew in and it was raining like crazy. We thought about taking the tram back to the ship but a hundred other people had the same idea so we would have gotten just as soaked if not more having to wait for another tram. Instead we just walked! I basically just walked in my swimsuit at that point, no sense in getting all of my clothes wet!

When we got back to our room we relaxed and freshened up. One of my favorite moments of the trip was when we were pulling away from Castaway Cay and it seemed like everyone on our side of the ship was out on their verandahs waving to the CMs still on land and they were waving back. It was so fun and I wish I had recorded it!



Overall, I loved loved loved Castaway Cay. And I can't wait to get back there!

More to come from our last night on the cruise in my next post! ​

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Despite the rain, it looked like a great beach day, which are the BEST vacation days in my opinion...

 

[Cloe Colton]

Despite the rain, it looked like a great beach day, which are the BEST vacation days in my opinion...

It really was! We honestly didn't even really mind the rain!

And I agree, I love being on a beach without a care in the world so this was great!

 

[missangelalexis]

Glad you enjoyed Castaway Cay! Definitely a reason why I would love to do a Disney cruise one day! All your pics came out great

 

[Cloe Colton]

Glad you enjoyed Castaway Cay! Definitely a reason why I would love to do a Disney cruise one day! All your pics came out great

That alone was worth the cruise to me! My brother did a Norwegian cruise and I think he said they have a private island as well but they weren't able to dock right at the island so he had to wait forever for the ferry to get over to the Island and he said it was super aggravating. (I said Island way too many times there ) Whereas here, you literally walk off the boat and you are there! Plus we never waited more than one or two minutes for a tram to get around the island so everything was super easy to get to!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Dan used the cooler we had received as part of the beer package earlier to pack some beers for himself at the beach. Our stateroom host was awesome and filled it up with a ton of ice!

That's so awesome. I have read conflicting reports about the coolers and if you can/cannot bring your own drinks off the ship onto Castaway Cay. I hope we are lucky, too, because this sounds like a perf plan!

One of my best friends bought me this hat for my bridal shower and I used it on our honeymoon in Hawaii. But it had to make a come back on our anniversary trip!

Such a cute hat!!! I have a similar one that says "Off Duty," which I like to wear on the last day of school (I'm a teacher!)

One of my favorite moments of the trip was when we were pulling away from Castaway Cay and it seemed like everyone on our side of the ship was out on their verandahs waving to the CMs still on land and they were waving back.

Awww, that sounds awesome!!!

 

[Cloe Colton]

That's so awesome. I have read conflicting reports about the coolers and if you can/cannot bring your own drinks off the ship onto Castaway Cay. I hope we are lucky, too, because this sounds like a perf plan!

No one said anything to us so I would just try to do it and not ask. I live by more of ask for forgiveness than a beg for permission kind of girl lol

Such a cute hat!!! I have a similar one that says "Off Duty," which I like to wear on the last day of school (I'm a teacher!)

Thats perfect! haha which would probably also work for your cruise too!

Awww, that sounds awesome!!!

I mostly went out just to hear the horns since its so unique on DCL and it just interested me watching them bring all of the millions of towels in and then I started looking around and realized SO many people were out on their verandahs waving and enjoying the view. It was great!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Cast Away Cay looks lovely, I love your hat, you look so chic in it!

Great pictures, you both are so photogenic!

I would definitely hang out on the adult beach!

 

[buzzrelly]

Looks like you had a great day on Castaway Cay, despite the rain! Our first time on CC we had terrible storms on and off all day. We did get some peeks of sun in-between but then the crazy storms would roll back in and we'd scramble off to find shelter. It was still fun though

(whenever we do another cruise I will definitely try to find one with two Castaway Cay stops! Does that exist??

Yes, they do! I've seen 4 and 5 days cruises with 2 CC days…we were actually going to do one in June last year but it didn't work out.

One last picture with my favorite hat!

Cute!

(Cooler we received shown in this picture)

I have that same cooler! I use it as my work lunch bag now

I think the morning of Castaway Cay I had realized I never wore my ears I made specifically for the cruise! So I had to get a picture with them too

Those are great!

 

[thumper*]

I had realized I never wore my ears I made specifically for the cruise! So I had to get a picture with them too

cute ears good job

Castaway Cay looks amazing

 

[Cloe Colton]

Cast Away Cay looks lovely, I love your hat, you look so chic in it!

Great pictures, you both are so photogenic!

I would definitely hang out on the adult beach!

Thank you!

Yeah the adult beach was definitely more our speed!

Looks like you had a great day on Castaway Cay, despite the rain! Our first time on CC we had terrible storms on and off all day. We did get some peeks of sun in-between but then the crazy storms would roll back in and we'd scramble off to find shelter. It was still fun though

Yeah we really didn't mind the rain! A lot of people still went in the water when it was raining, I mean you'll be wet either way! haha

Yes, they do! I've seen 4 and 5 days cruises with 2 CC days…we were actually going to do one in June last year but it didn't work out.

I feel like that would be awesome to get two days there. One day to just completely chill and the other to do something fun like the jet skis!

I have that same cooler! I use it as my work lunch bag now

I love having Disney things to use in every day life. Brings that little extra spark of magic to an otherwise boring day!

Those are great!

Thanks!

cute ears good job

Castaway Cay looks amazing

Thanks!

It really was!

 

[amazingact21]

Castaway Cay is the only reason I'd go on another cruise! Isn't it the most beautiful, relaxing place to spend a day? I would love to do a double dip (where they go to the island twice). And I mean, if they offered a cruise where they just docked at Castaway Cay for 2-3 nights, they'd have no trouble getting people to book it.

Your ears were adorable and good thing you remembered to grab a picture with them with the ship in the background.

Serenity Bay is a lot quieter than the family areas.

Sorry to hear about the two different rain storms that rolled through.

I was laughing out loud at how you were describing your husband being utterly bored just sitting on the beach. My husband can't stand to just sit around and do nothing, and he dislikes the beach so I could relate to you just wanting to sit in the water while your hubs was all antsy next to you.

 

[Cloe Colton]

Castaway Cay is the only reason I'd go on another cruise! Isn't it the most beautiful, relaxing place to spend a day? I would love to do a double dip (where they go to the island twice). And I mean, if they offered a cruise where they just docked at Castaway Cay for 2-3 nights, they'd have no trouble getting people to book it.

Same! haha Nassau was cool but really feels like a one and done stop for me so I would definitely take a double dip to Castaway Cay!

Your ears were adorable and good thing you remembered to grab a picture with them with the ship in the background.

Thanks! It actually worked out pretty well that I didn't remember until that day because it was such a great backdrop for photos! Even if my hair was a mess! hahaha

Serenity Bay is a lot quieter than the family areas.

Definitely was! I think its awesome that even though DCL is geared towards families they offer areas so those who Disney obsessed without kids can still enjoy, too!

Sorry to hear about the two different rain storms that rolled through.

It really wasn't too bad! I wish I had videoed the storm in the morning though, I don't know why I didn't! The afternoon one was actually not the worst timing since we were ready to head back to the boat anyway and were already wet from snorkeling! haha

I was laughing out loud at how you were describing your husband being utterly bored just sitting on the beach. My husband can't stand to just sit around and do nothing, and he dislikes the beach so I could relate to you just wanting to sit in the water while your hubs was all antsy next to you.

I could feel it radiating off of him how bored he was getting! lol I mean it worked out going to see the other side but he was definitely ready to get movin! He did last longer than I thought he would so I guess thats all I can ask for!

 

[Cloe Colton]

DAY 11 Part 2

After I enjoyed my verandah time it was time to get ready for our evening. I think we took an hour to get ready and then took some pictures out on the verandah.




It was very windy! haha

It was time for the last show of the cruise, Believe, so we made our way down to the theater. Thankfully, because Dan had loved Beauty and the Beast as much as I had the night before it was much easier to get him to see Believe. In the elevator on the way down to the theater, Dan was standing basically in front of the elevator buttons and on one of the floors a little boy barreled on and told him to “get out of the way, dude!” because he wanted to press the buttons. I found it pretty funny at first but was kind of annoyed that the parents didn't really say anything to him like how he should ask politely, they just walked on and smiled. I get it, kids will be kids but maybe teach them how to not do the same thing the next time. Especially because he didn't just say it, he also started shoving Dan to move. It was just strange.

We didn't let it bother us though and were still happy as can be as we made our way to the show!



When we got down to the theater we grabbed popcorn and some drinks from the concession stand prior to the show. Which I pretty much devoured before the show even started I guess our day of fun in the sun was really hitting me and making me hungry!!

I have to say, Believe was definitely not as good as Beauty and the Beast. The beginning was just a little hokey and hard to get going. But overall, was still a fun show! And once they got into the performances of Disney songs then I really enjoyed it!



I know there are no photos allowed but I had to just get one of the finale, the colors were so pretty!

Does anyone know if every show has the same actors and actresses? Or do the leads just do one show and then everyone else does all three? It seemed like there were a lot of people in Believe who looked familiar from Beauty and the Beast but I couldn't really tell. I imagine they would have to be in all of the shows to keep costs down!

When we stopped back at our room after we found a long neck dinosaur? waiting for us haha (we are really bad at guessing what these are supposed to be! )




Because we knew we were going to have some extra time between the show and dinner at Palo this night, Dan chose to wear something more comfortable to the show and decided to change once we got back for dinner. Which probably worked out better for him!

Once he was changed, we enjoyed some more time out on the verandah before heading to dinner




Tonight we had made reservations for Palo. We had hard time finding our way over there because we took the elevator up to the 11th floor from the midship thinking there had to be an entrance up there. Well, there wasn't and we eventually realized we needed to go back down and take the elevator up in the aft. I should have probably realized this because it didn't seem to make sense to make people dressed so fancy walk next to the pool



We finally made it to Palo and were escorted to our table. We had a great table right by the window and were able to watch the sky grow dark and watch the lights of Freeport pass by.




This was THE fanciest dinner I have ever been too. When we were seated our waitress went and grabbed us black napkins to match our clothes (what do they do if you aren't coordinating? ). They also had fancy plates that were on the table that were just there for looks, no other reason haha When Dan asked where the restrooms were our waitress escorted him there and back and then relaid his napkin on his lap. I told him after that he had to hold it for the rest of the meal!

When it came time to order some drinks the menu appeared to only offer wine (which was perfect for me because that's my drink of choice!) but for Dan he isn't really much for wine and always prefers beer. Since it was already so fancy he decided not to ask if they had any beers to offer (I imagine they did) and instead, asked for the waitress' recommendation for a wine pairing with the meal he chose, like he's some fancy wine connoisseur Because of this, he ended up with the dryest, earthiest red wine I have ever tasted. He pretended to like it but I know it wasn't what he was hoping for (and also was $16 for the glass! He choked it down to prove a point lol) I on the other hand, do not care what wines I am supposed to pair with certain entrees and asked for a sweet white and was very happy with mine!

I'll be honest, we didn't take any pictures of the food at Palo because it was pretty dark so I wasn't sure they would look all that great, and with it being the last night of the cruise (and our trip) I just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere and be in the moment. But also because of this I don't have a clue what either of us ate, I just know that it was all super delicious! The only thing I do remember is that we had both versions of their souffles and they were amazing!

Overall, we really enjoyed this dinner and it was the perfect way to end our magical trip! Although, I am not sure I am that fancy of a person. I think signature Disney dining is the fanciest that I am! It definitely made me think Victoria and Albert's probably wouldn't be for us but I am still glad we did it! I am also happy that we switched Palo to the last night on our cruise to really have a special meal to end on.




We stopped in the bathrooms outside the restaurant before heading back to the room. And boy were they fancy! I couldn't believe how gorgeous they were!

Can I have this mirror in my house???



Or this one!



I had been worried when I booked the Palo reservation at 8:15 that it would mess us up in putting our luggage out this night. On the cruise on your last night from 8-10PM you leave your luggage in the hall and they come and grab them for you. That way you don't have to lug them off of the ship in the morning and will be waiting for you in customs. I really didn't want to have to carry our luggage with us so we were happy we made it back just in time to get them out!

We thought about going down to the bars after dinner but we were both pretty tired and just decided to relax in the room rather than try and do something else. If there had been an event to go to we probably would have gone but nothing really interested us. And it would be an early morning to get off the ship so instead we hung out in our room and enjoyed some Disney movies.

Was a great last day on our cruise!

Miles walked: 3.3

​

 

[Mr. Drauer]

If you tell your server at Palo, they will let the room host know that you are eating there and they will do a later luggage pickup for you, and you don't have to rush out of there.