A Miser's Trip Report: Lots of Pics/Food Pics, 4/18/09 Western Magic: UPDATED 5/24

[msmith07101]

I love your trip report and all the great pics! Can't wait for more...keep it coming

 

[Kelcot]

Loving the trip report so far, esp the food porn! Hope your DH and DS are feeling better?
My DH and I are doing a Western this Oct and I'll have to check out Moby Dick tours. Thanks for the info!

 

[Erikas4228]

Thanks for posting your report. Looking forward to our cruise in 2 weeks.

 

[TotallyAngelic]

It all sounds absolutely wonderful - we missed Grand Cayman on our cruise due to bad weather and I was gutted. Great photos!

 

[kmab00]

Grand Cayman was beautiful! I bet the sting ray experience was awesome! We didn't kiss one...I hadn't heard about 7 years of good luck! lol! Snorkeling is so neat, too! I'm glad you got to do it even while holding your son! Looks like he was enjoying himself, too!

 

[goofygal1975]

Jumping in now. Just finished reading all posts to date! What a great trip so far!!!I am way too scared to get in the water with the stingrays, but it does look like everyone had fun! Can't wait to read more!! We cruise on 5/23 and reading the reports helps pass the time!

 

[castlegazer]

your mushroom comment about the stingrays is perfect! That is exactly what its like!

That day on Grand Cayman was amazing! We weren't able to sail because of no wind - but that was a worthy trade off for the ability to snorkel in such calm crystal clear waters!

You had a very nice experience!

I am putting my pics up on on our other site for our group if you want to go look. Hopefully I will get Crand Cayman done soon!

 

[princess aleya]

What a great TR, keep it coming.

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

What a fantastic report with amazing pics ... please keep it coming!! Sorry about your near scare with the swine flu ... thankfully it wasn't that. We've done the Wonder once, an Eastern on the Magic ... going on the Wonder again in a week and a half and the Western is ON MY LIST!! LOL Your report is really making me excited for next week!!

Kat

 

[Alice_on_WONDERland]

Up next: An unexpected visit from Alice in Wonderland and my disappointing night.

DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THAT! I am an Alice FREAK! I am so excited to read your next post - hurry!

 

[peaches26]

When we woke up the morning of the Cayman Island day, this was our view

We ordered room service for breakfast since we had to be ready so early (well, for us). The first tender was at 7:30 and we weren’t even close to making it. I had not been good about reading our paperwork. On the last cruise I studied everything and practically memorized the navigators. This time I’ve been on a need to know basic with the information. I have really surprised myself by being this way since I am such a planner. Anyway, this relates to the story because I didn’t know we had to meet in the Theatre to get to tender. It was probably written somewhere. By the time a tender boat came and picked us up, we were already fifteen minutes late for the Sting Ray Adventure we were doing with Moby Dick Tours. The paperwork said to meet at 7:45 with a leaving time of 8:30. I thought it was weird that we had to be there 45 minutes early. I hoped they would let us go but we made a back up plan to go to 7-Mile Beach if we were too late.

Tendering

We arrived at the Moby Dick booth at 8:20 and they said, “Perfect timing. We are leaving in ten minutes.” So they say you have to be there 45 minutes early for people like me who can’t show up on time. Shortly after this, we boarded an air-conditioned bus and rode through Georgetown and some other parts of the Cayman Islands. I kind of hoped the bus driver would give some information about the sites we were seeing but he didn’t. He had about five signs up in the bus that said, “TIPS ACCEPTED.” I was thinking he would probably get better tips if he gave us some facts about the island or said anything at all Oh well. The bus ride was 10-15 minutes long. We then arrived at the site where the Moby Dick boat was waiting for us.

We met these characters

I think Moby Dick Tours is completely underrated here on the Disboards. I really have mostly read about the other tour groups around here. These guys are the number #1 stingray tour on Trip Advisor and they have been voted best of Cayman Islands for the last two years. They are a hidden gem.

I was thoroughly entertained on the way to our snorkeling stop. Mr. England taught us a few things about stingrays while Mr. Italy narrated.

DS not impressed

We listened to some music as we took in the beautiful sights. The boat’s thermometer read 93 degrees and there was ZERO wind. The guys told us that they had not had a wind free day in two months. LUCKY What a perfect day to swim in the ocean!

Mangroves

DS got sunscreen in his eye from laying his head on my shoulder so we spend about five minutes grabbing water from the cooler and flushing his eyes. We had to continuously remind him not to rub his eyes because he had sunscreen on his hands too. I was cursing myself in my head for buying the cheap sunscreen and not going with the tear free Waterbabies stuff

I thought DH and I would have to take turns snorkeling or not snorkel at all but...

The water was so calm thanks to the lack of wind and I saw they had nice toddler sized life vests. DH and I got our snorkel gear on. I jumped in the water with DS first. He floated very nicely

After I got comfortable holding DS, I did some snorkeling while I held him in my right arm. He really enjoyed himself. I tried to get him to wear the snorkeling gear but he refused. He was much happier just floating around with me. DH took DS for a while so I could swim further out.

There wasn’t a huge amount to see here but I but find some “Dori” fish (like Finding Nemo) and a lot of coral. My first snorkeling experience was at Trunk Bay in St. John, which had beautiful coral formations. I didn’t realize how beautiful it was until I snorkeled at some other spots. After about thirty minutes, a whistle sounded on the boat to indicate we should return.

We took a short boat ride to our next destination: Stingray City.

Even though the crew kept telling us how tame and loving the stingrays were, I was a little apprehensive. I tried not to let DS notice so he wouldn’t get scared. Our group brought some squid into the water with us so the stingrays visited immediately. They feel like big mushrooms when they glide across your legs.

I looked back at the boat and I was surprised to see most of the kids ages 3-7 were sitting on the boat with various looks of terror on their faces. About half of them were crying. I guess they knew about Steve Erwin. DS never heard of him.

I got braver when I discovered for myself these really were gentle creatures. Mr. Cayman picked one up like a big floppy pizza.

DS and I petted one and then kissed it for seven years of good luck.

I had to feed one so I could feel the “vacuum cleaner feeling” they were talking about. You are supposed to hold the squid in your fist like an ice cream cone top. Right away one came up and slurped the squid out of my hand. It makes a weird noise when it slurps too. It was audible above the water. DH refused to feed or kiss the stingrays. I think he was scared of them

We interacted with the rays for about forty minutes until all the squid was gone. The ride back in the boat was awesome because it was such a nice day. They put on some music again while we cruised back to the starting point. I commented to DH that I thought the weather was probably the nicest I could recall in the history of my life. DH agreed.

Half way through the bus ride back, they stopped at Seven Mile Beach for those who wanted to but we decided to skip it. DS had already fallen asleep, we were hungry, and we wanted to eat the free food on the Mickey Boat. I would have liked to buy some rum cake to take back but, once again, it sucked to carry DS around in the heat. It would have to wait for another trip. The tender boat was waiting for us when we arrived.

Back on the boat, we ordered some room service and relaxed for a bit while DS finished up his nap.

Up next: An unexpected visit from Alice in Wonderland and my disappointing night.

We were on the cruise along w/you guys and were also on the same stingray/snorkel tour w/you! We had an awesome time. We were the ones w/the 10 month old that was crying and finally went to sleep!! We would definitely do this again, had an awesome time!

 

[KandiB47]

Thank you so much everybody for the nice feedback I am writing up the next installment. DH and DS are both fully recovered from the flu. Thankfully, I never did get sick.

We were on the cruise along w/you guys and were also on the same stingray/snorkel tour w/you! We had an awesome time. We were the ones w/the 10 month old that was crying and finally went to sleep!! We would definitely do this again, had an awesome time!

Did you let your little one "go for a ride" on one of the stingrays? I just missed the picture. Is this you?

 

[KandiB47]

After the exciting morning in the Caymans, DH and I decided we needed a nap too. We took a little nap while DS finished up his nap. When we woke up, it was time to get ready for the evening. I opened up a bottle of wine.

I liked this one. DH didn’t but he’s not really a red fan. I think it was about a ten-dollar bottle.

Tonight’s show would be Twice Charmed. I really wanted to see this one. After taking our time getting ready, we were running late again (of course). We walked into the Theatre at 6:15, maybe a minute before the show started. I was surprised when we walked down to the front and found seats in the front row. They weren’t in the center but they were the first three seats to the left of center The view was awesome. I was hoping DS would really pay attention since we were almost in the action.

I didn’t take any pictures but I stole some from the Internet

DS was very good for about the first thirty minutes. He started to get restless after that. He started flopping around in my lap, asking to sit in DH’s lap, and walking around in front of me DH and I tried to quiet him down for about ten minutes but he got more and more restless. He started loudly saying, “We’re done!” I know we were ruining the show for the people around us so we got up and left When we stood up, DS actually clapped and said, “Yah! We’re done!”

After a bit we went to get pictures taken but the lines were so long and I knew DS wouldn’t do very well with long lines after the way he acted in the theatre. We opted to just stand in line for the beach background and skip Sorcerer Mickey.

I tried to keep DS occupied in line. I can’t remember what was funny.

One of the pictures we took with the beach background was one of the few we ended up buying. DS did not smile but he didn’t frown either.

Our server, Jayson, had been telling me for the last several days that he hoped DS would be able to attend the “show” at Animator’s Palate and stick around for the whole thing. I reserved some hours at Flounder’s just in case but I hoped DS would enjoy himself and stick around for the show too.

DS’s apple juice was waiting for him, as usual. DH and I got the drink of the day, Caribbean Dream

For appetizer’s, DS got creamy chicken soup (no picture) & DH and I got the same thing.

Seafood and Avocado Wrapper

We also got:
Butternut Squash Soup

Salmon, Trout, & Goat Cheese Salad

Jayson brought DS’s meal out with our soup and salad. Tonight DS got fish nuggets.

DS had a restless theme for the night. He would not eat his fish nuggets and was acting really tired. I tried to point out how the pictures were changing on the walls but he didn’t seem to care. I looked over, longingly, at the well-behaved girl about DS’s age at the table next to us. It was about 9pm and I knew DS would never make the end of dinner with this behavior. I asked him if he wanted to go to the club. “Yah!” was his reply.

I snuck out the door with DS before Jayson saw me. I was thinking Jayson must think I’m a horrible parent. He has a little girl at home, who he barely gets to see, yet, here I was, pawning my child off to a nursery so I could be by myself.

I changed DS into his pajamas in the public restroom near Flounder’s. What happened next snapped me out of my sadness for a little bit. Right before we entered the door of Flounder’s, Alice in Wonderland walked out. She surprised me by saying to DS, “Hi Kaden! Remember me? We read stories together the other day.” And then she gave him a hug. It was so cute.

DH and I returned to dinner and I explained, sheepishly, to Jayson that DS was very tired and restless. I did not enjoy the rest of dinner due to mommy guilt.

We both got filet mignon and scallops for the main course

For dessert we both got the Disboard famed Chocolate & Peanut Butter Pie

I was trying to internally tell myself to stop being a baby, I’m on vacation, etc, etc but my feelings were getting the best of me. DH could sense it so he came and sat at my side of the table for the “show.” I thought that was sweet.

After dinner, I wanted to go right back to our cabin because of my funk

Our towel animal was a dog, I think

DH went and picked up DS from Flounder’s. He was already sleeping when they got back to the cabin. I decided to go to sleep too.

I woke up the next morning in a much better mood. I promise

Up next: Paradise in Cozumel: An all-inclusive beach.

 

[Alice_on_WONDERland]

I changed DS into his pajamas in the public restroom near Flounder’s. What happened next snapped me out of my sadness for a little bit. Right before we entered the door of Flounder’s, Alice in Wonderland walked out. She surprised me by saying to DS, “Hi Kaden! Remember me? We read stories together the other day.” And then she gave him a hug. It was so cute.

This is why I LOVE Alice! She's so sweet, both in "real" life and in the world of Disney. This made me smile.

 

[kmab00]

Loved Twice Charmed! You guys had great seats! Sorry you had to leave early!

Alice is too cute! That's awesome that she remembered him and talked to him! Very cool!

Great update!!

 

[LaddB]

hi, any more trip news. the ones you have done were good

 

[TammyNC]

Loving your TR and all the pictures. I'll check back soon for the next installment.

 

[KandiB47]

hi, any more trip news. the ones you have done were good

Well you found me


I plan on writing the next installment tonight. Thanks everybody!

 

[Tink-RN]

I am really enjoing your TR! I saw that you work in a cath lab, I work in a post interventional unit!

 

[KandiB47]

I am really enjoing your TR! I saw that you work in a cath lab, I work in a post interventional unit!

Cool, I used to do that and the cath lab until they separated us about a year ago.