Saturday morning dawned with blue skies and one by one we awoke from our slumbers. It was a beautiful day and we were docked, aft-first, at Castaway Cay. Looking forward to enjoying the islands amenities, we got ready and headed down to get some breakfast. We arrived at the atrium just as Tritons was opening their doors, were seated promptly and were soon enjoying a tasty breakfast. Once again I had a ham omelet, Linda enjoyed the eggs benedict, Susan had a ham and cheese omelet and Duchess had a waffle. Temptation arrived once again, but since there were no chocolate croissants, and since the bearer of temptation was not a handsome young Turk, we were able to resist. During breakfast we discussed our plans for the day. We all planned to hit Serenity Bay first thing, grab some lounge chairs and a hammock and enjoy the beachs offerings. Duchess, however, is very sun sensitive and decided to just make a brief visit to the beach and then head to the spa for a massage followed by some Rainforest time and the 2pm showing of Chicago at the Buena Vista Theatre. I had been wanting to see this film so I agreed to join her at the cinema. Linda was going to catch the 3:15 production of Disney Dreams and Susan decided to join her for that. We all still needed to pack and get ready for disembarkation.
We left the ship and headed for the beach I almost forgot my snorkel gear but remembered it in the nick of time. We stopped for a couple of photo ops on the way to the tram stop. Duchess & I decided to walk to the family beach area she would be walking all the way to Serenity Bay. As we walked, I saw how empty the snorkel beach was so I made a change of plans and decided to head there before it got too busy. Linda & Susan had taken the tram so when we met up again, I asked them if they minded my change of plan. They were cool with it so we parted company. I found a lounge chair near the snorkel gear hut, dumped my stuff and grabbed a safety vest a requirement for all snorkelers. I was getting my gear in order using my anti-fog drops on my mask - when the rubber strap on the mask broke! Yikes! What should I do! I looked at the damage and realized that I could probably gerry-rig the strap to let me snorkel despite the break. I was able to get things in shape and started heading into the water when SNAP! the strap slipped out of the catches. I headed back out of the water and, using my hair barrette, re-attached the strap. Then, being a clever young woman, I decided to use the barrette to keep the strap from slipping again. I felt like MacGyver. LOL It worked beautifully except I put the barrette on facing the wrong direction and it did interfere a bit with my ability to get a good seal around my face, thus letting water get into the mask. But I didnt know that until after I got into the water again. I was able to get things working pretty well though. There were very few folks in the water at that point Im not sure if they were too wimpy and found the water too cold for their tastes or whether they just werent awake yet. At any rate, it worked to my benefit as I found the water to be very refreshing and it was a pleasure to not have to worry about swimming into people. I made my way out to the buoys - first the yellow and then the red. I noticed plaques at the bottom of the lagoon that I had not seen last time I went to Castaway Cay and tried to photograph them using Lindas underwater disposable camera. It was glorious to be out in the water, feeling weightless and graceful which is so unlike the way I feel on land. I just relaxed and swam and watched the fish swim around. Did I say it was glorious? I probably spent between 75 and 90 minutes in the water and loved every minute of it. But I wanted to see my girlfriends since that was the point of the trip so I reluctantly headed back to the beach, gathered my gear and headed up the path to the Serenity Beach tram. As I reached the path, who did I run into but the wonderful women from Your Magical Journeys (YMJ). Jean from YMJ was the travel agent who booked our trip and I count the women from YMJ as not just travel agents, but as friends.
As we walked to the tram stop, the ladies filled me in on their adventures from the day before. They had gone to Atlantis to do a bit of gambling. We made it to Serenity Bay and I headed down the beach, looking for Linda & Susan. A short distance down the beach I found them, sitting in lounge chairs next to the same photographers I had seen at Quiet Cove pool the day before. I joined them and then Linda got up to head back to the main area. Susan was ready to go back as well, so I decided to join them for lunch at Cookies BBQ and then head back to the family beach for another round of snorkeling. I would have liked to do some snorkeling at Serenity Bay but since there were no lifeguards there and there was no one else snorkeling, I didnt feel comfortable going out on my own. IMO, that is just asking for trouble no matter how good a swimmer you are.
So, we packed up and headed back to the tram. As we passed the photographers I finally broke down and asked what the pictures would be for. They told me that the photos were for Expedia and for Disney. Mystery solved.
Back at the family area, I went to drop my gear near the snorkel beach while Linda dropped their bags. We planned to meet back at Cookies. For some reason, Linda didnt realize that we had passed Cookies on the way to Serenity Bay and started heading in the wrong direction when I went to drop my bags. Susan arrived as I got back to Cookies and we searched for Linda. Finally, Susan found her and we got in line for our lunch. I wasnt in the mood to mess with the messy ribs so I just grabbed a hot dog and some chips, supplemented by some fresh fruit. We sat down and enjoyed a our BBQ lunch and then Linda & Susan headed back to the ship. It was around 12:30 so I headed back to the snorkel beach and into the water. I spent another glorious 45 minutes in the water, making it all the way to the ropes delineating the end of the snorkeling area. While out there I saw the most memorable sight of my snorkeling adventures a huge (to me) ray was settling into the sand surrounded by some other fish species that I had not previously seen in the snorkel lagoon. How COOL! Alas, it was getting late and I knew I needed to head back to the ship soon in order to change and make it to the theatre for the 2:00pm showing of Chicago. So, I made my way back to the beach and about 2/3 of the way there, the other side of the strap on my mask broke! Grrrr!!! I was not happy. Luckily I was most of the way back to the beach so I just swam without the snorkel and mask back to shore. I lounged on the beach for a while to dry off, enjoyed a Konk Kooler and then headed back to the ship.
When I reached our Stateroom, Susan & Duchess were there and Duchess waited for me to change before we headed to the theatre. Chicago was excellent and Im so glad I went to see it as it definitely deserves a viewing on a large screen. Had I not gone to see it on the ship, I probably would not have seen it until it came on cable. After the movie, it was time to shower and get ready for the rest of the day.
Once clean, I dressed in casual clothes and got a good start on my packing. Then Duchess & I headed down to the Promenade lounge to play bingo. The Jackpot was going to be over $600 so we figured wed take a shot. The only negative to this plan was that we missed the Castaway Club reception. The lounge was packed for Bingo and we joined an older couple who had 2 extra chairs at their table. I tried to engage them in conversation but they just werent interested. Susan made it to the lounge a bit later and she and I shared my seat, alternating between the chair and the floor. Unfortunately, we did not win this time but we still had fun trying!
After Bingo, I quickly proceeded to the Walt Disney Theatre to get us seats for Disney Dreams. We ended up just where I wanted to be 3rd row dead center. Great seats for a great show! I was chatting with a lovely young woman seated behind me as I waited it turns out she was traveling in the party that included the rude boor from the prior evening. Poor girl. Hopefully he isnt as obnoxious in the real world. I think sometimes people get a little weird on vacation and dont act the way they normally would. As we waited for Dreams to begin, I also saw Jason and asked if I would see him later at 80s night. Unfortunately, he was going to be hosting the Family Kareoke night at Studio Sea instead of being at 80s night in Wavebands. Boo hoo. We made arrangements to meet at Studio Sea though because I wanted to get his email address in order to send him a picture of the two of us that had been taken on my previous cruise in June 2002.
Disney Dreams was wonderful as usual although Cinderellas singing voice was not in best form that evening. But Peter Pan and Ann Marie were excellent, as were all the other performers. One thing that I really liked about the casting of the show was that the female performers were not all emaciated twigs. They were real women with real figures. Not that they werent in excellent physical shape and beautiful women they just werent unhealthily thin. I really appreciated that and felt that these performers were a much better influence on little girls showing them that they didnt need to starve themselves to a size 0 in order to be beautiful and to be a stage performer. Much better than Britney or Cristina, IMO! As we were leaving the theatre, Duchess echoed my thoughts.
After the show, we quickly ran up to our stateroom to change for our 8pm dinner at Palo. We arrived and were seated promptly once Linda & Susan arrived moments later. Our server was Stanislaw and we exchanged a few words of Polish exhausting my meager vocabulary, lol. (well, actually, I know how to say give me a kiss but I didnt think that was quite appropriate, lol) Dinner was excellent and Duchess & I enjoyed champagne and Bellinis with our meals. Linda & I had the calimari starter, Susan & Duchess had the mixed greens, Duchess also had soup, and we had the special pizza to share. For entrée I had the filet with wine sauce, Linda & Duchess had the filet with the gorgonzola sauce and Susan had roasted chicken. Unfortunately, Duchess filet came out overcooked more medium well than medium rare. We let Stanislaw know and within minutes Ali, Palos Maitre D was placing a new filet in front of Duchess that was cooked to the correct temperature. For dessert, Linda, Duchess and I each ordered the chocolate soufflé which was delicious. Susan didnt order anything but Stanislaw brought her a Panne Cotte anyway. Overall, dinner at Palo was very good and although there was a shaky start when Stanislaw was briefly delayed by one of his other tables due to picture requests, the service was excellent.
After dinner, we needed to get our tips to our dining room service team so we popped down to Parrot Cay to take care of that task. Then I needed to catch up with Jason and Duchess was going to see if she could finally hear Mike play Girl From Ipanema in the Cadillac Lounge. I met up with Jason, gave him my email and got his for the picture. Then I headed to the Cadillac Lounge where, sadly, I had already missed the song. It just wasnt meant to be. So I headed back upstairs to change and get my bags outside the door before 11pm. I put on my dancing clothes and shoes, put up my hair, and donned my glow jewelry. Then we headed down to Wavebands for 80s night. What fun! All those songs that brought back memories of Jr. High and High School. Truly a blast! We danced and danced and danced. We each also answered trivia questions so we got buttons for free shots! Woohoo! Samson, the bartender, wouldnt believe that Duchess was of legal drinking age so she had to go upstairs to get her ID for him she ended up missing the battle of the bands. We had a fabulous time and danced until about midnight when we headed back to Cadillac Lounge to listen to Mikes final songs. Hes a real sweetie. We ended up going to Wavebands after his final set for more chatting. The lounge closed and we were still talking Duchess has a way of asking probing questions and getting people to answer them or at least most of them. Finally, at about 3:15am Duchess & I called it a night. What a fun time we had and a great way to spend our final night aboard ship.
Coming up next Do we hafta leave the ship and some final thoughts .
We left the ship and headed for the beach I almost forgot my snorkel gear but remembered it in the nick of time. We stopped for a couple of photo ops on the way to the tram stop. Duchess & I decided to walk to the family beach area she would be walking all the way to Serenity Bay. As we walked, I saw how empty the snorkel beach was so I made a change of plans and decided to head there before it got too busy. Linda & Susan had taken the tram so when we met up again, I asked them if they minded my change of plan. They were cool with it so we parted company. I found a lounge chair near the snorkel gear hut, dumped my stuff and grabbed a safety vest a requirement for all snorkelers. I was getting my gear in order using my anti-fog drops on my mask - when the rubber strap on the mask broke! Yikes! What should I do! I looked at the damage and realized that I could probably gerry-rig the strap to let me snorkel despite the break. I was able to get things in shape and started heading into the water when SNAP! the strap slipped out of the catches. I headed back out of the water and, using my hair barrette, re-attached the strap. Then, being a clever young woman, I decided to use the barrette to keep the strap from slipping again. I felt like MacGyver. LOL It worked beautifully except I put the barrette on facing the wrong direction and it did interfere a bit with my ability to get a good seal around my face, thus letting water get into the mask. But I didnt know that until after I got into the water again. I was able to get things working pretty well though. There were very few folks in the water at that point Im not sure if they were too wimpy and found the water too cold for their tastes or whether they just werent awake yet. At any rate, it worked to my benefit as I found the water to be very refreshing and it was a pleasure to not have to worry about swimming into people. I made my way out to the buoys - first the yellow and then the red. I noticed plaques at the bottom of the lagoon that I had not seen last time I went to Castaway Cay and tried to photograph them using Lindas underwater disposable camera. It was glorious to be out in the water, feeling weightless and graceful which is so unlike the way I feel on land. I just relaxed and swam and watched the fish swim around. Did I say it was glorious? I probably spent between 75 and 90 minutes in the water and loved every minute of it. But I wanted to see my girlfriends since that was the point of the trip so I reluctantly headed back to the beach, gathered my gear and headed up the path to the Serenity Beach tram. As I reached the path, who did I run into but the wonderful women from Your Magical Journeys (YMJ). Jean from YMJ was the travel agent who booked our trip and I count the women from YMJ as not just travel agents, but as friends.
As we walked to the tram stop, the ladies filled me in on their adventures from the day before. They had gone to Atlantis to do a bit of gambling. We made it to Serenity Bay and I headed down the beach, looking for Linda & Susan. A short distance down the beach I found them, sitting in lounge chairs next to the same photographers I had seen at Quiet Cove pool the day before. I joined them and then Linda got up to head back to the main area. Susan was ready to go back as well, so I decided to join them for lunch at Cookies BBQ and then head back to the family beach for another round of snorkeling. I would have liked to do some snorkeling at Serenity Bay but since there were no lifeguards there and there was no one else snorkeling, I didnt feel comfortable going out on my own. IMO, that is just asking for trouble no matter how good a swimmer you are.
So, we packed up and headed back to the tram. As we passed the photographers I finally broke down and asked what the pictures would be for. They told me that the photos were for Expedia and for Disney. Mystery solved.
Back at the family area, I went to drop my gear near the snorkel beach while Linda dropped their bags. We planned to meet back at Cookies. For some reason, Linda didnt realize that we had passed Cookies on the way to Serenity Bay and started heading in the wrong direction when I went to drop my bags. Susan arrived as I got back to Cookies and we searched for Linda. Finally, Susan found her and we got in line for our lunch. I wasnt in the mood to mess with the messy ribs so I just grabbed a hot dog and some chips, supplemented by some fresh fruit. We sat down and enjoyed a our BBQ lunch and then Linda & Susan headed back to the ship. It was around 12:30 so I headed back to the snorkel beach and into the water. I spent another glorious 45 minutes in the water, making it all the way to the ropes delineating the end of the snorkeling area. While out there I saw the most memorable sight of my snorkeling adventures a huge (to me) ray was settling into the sand surrounded by some other fish species that I had not previously seen in the snorkel lagoon. How COOL! Alas, it was getting late and I knew I needed to head back to the ship soon in order to change and make it to the theatre for the 2:00pm showing of Chicago. So, I made my way back to the beach and about 2/3 of the way there, the other side of the strap on my mask broke! Grrrr!!! I was not happy. Luckily I was most of the way back to the beach so I just swam without the snorkel and mask back to shore. I lounged on the beach for a while to dry off, enjoyed a Konk Kooler and then headed back to the ship.
When I reached our Stateroom, Susan & Duchess were there and Duchess waited for me to change before we headed to the theatre. Chicago was excellent and Im so glad I went to see it as it definitely deserves a viewing on a large screen. Had I not gone to see it on the ship, I probably would not have seen it until it came on cable. After the movie, it was time to shower and get ready for the rest of the day.
Once clean, I dressed in casual clothes and got a good start on my packing. Then Duchess & I headed down to the Promenade lounge to play bingo. The Jackpot was going to be over $600 so we figured wed take a shot. The only negative to this plan was that we missed the Castaway Club reception. The lounge was packed for Bingo and we joined an older couple who had 2 extra chairs at their table. I tried to engage them in conversation but they just werent interested. Susan made it to the lounge a bit later and she and I shared my seat, alternating between the chair and the floor. Unfortunately, we did not win this time but we still had fun trying!
After Bingo, I quickly proceeded to the Walt Disney Theatre to get us seats for Disney Dreams. We ended up just where I wanted to be 3rd row dead center. Great seats for a great show! I was chatting with a lovely young woman seated behind me as I waited it turns out she was traveling in the party that included the rude boor from the prior evening. Poor girl. Hopefully he isnt as obnoxious in the real world. I think sometimes people get a little weird on vacation and dont act the way they normally would. As we waited for Dreams to begin, I also saw Jason and asked if I would see him later at 80s night. Unfortunately, he was going to be hosting the Family Kareoke night at Studio Sea instead of being at 80s night in Wavebands. Boo hoo. We made arrangements to meet at Studio Sea though because I wanted to get his email address in order to send him a picture of the two of us that had been taken on my previous cruise in June 2002.
Disney Dreams was wonderful as usual although Cinderellas singing voice was not in best form that evening. But Peter Pan and Ann Marie were excellent, as were all the other performers. One thing that I really liked about the casting of the show was that the female performers were not all emaciated twigs. They were real women with real figures. Not that they werent in excellent physical shape and beautiful women they just werent unhealthily thin. I really appreciated that and felt that these performers were a much better influence on little girls showing them that they didnt need to starve themselves to a size 0 in order to be beautiful and to be a stage performer. Much better than Britney or Cristina, IMO! As we were leaving the theatre, Duchess echoed my thoughts.
After the show, we quickly ran up to our stateroom to change for our 8pm dinner at Palo. We arrived and were seated promptly once Linda & Susan arrived moments later. Our server was Stanislaw and we exchanged a few words of Polish exhausting my meager vocabulary, lol. (well, actually, I know how to say give me a kiss but I didnt think that was quite appropriate, lol) Dinner was excellent and Duchess & I enjoyed champagne and Bellinis with our meals. Linda & I had the calimari starter, Susan & Duchess had the mixed greens, Duchess also had soup, and we had the special pizza to share. For entrée I had the filet with wine sauce, Linda & Duchess had the filet with the gorgonzola sauce and Susan had roasted chicken. Unfortunately, Duchess filet came out overcooked more medium well than medium rare. We let Stanislaw know and within minutes Ali, Palos Maitre D was placing a new filet in front of Duchess that was cooked to the correct temperature. For dessert, Linda, Duchess and I each ordered the chocolate soufflé which was delicious. Susan didnt order anything but Stanislaw brought her a Panne Cotte anyway. Overall, dinner at Palo was very good and although there was a shaky start when Stanislaw was briefly delayed by one of his other tables due to picture requests, the service was excellent.
After dinner, we needed to get our tips to our dining room service team so we popped down to Parrot Cay to take care of that task. Then I needed to catch up with Jason and Duchess was going to see if she could finally hear Mike play Girl From Ipanema in the Cadillac Lounge. I met up with Jason, gave him my email and got his for the picture. Then I headed to the Cadillac Lounge where, sadly, I had already missed the song. It just wasnt meant to be. So I headed back upstairs to change and get my bags outside the door before 11pm. I put on my dancing clothes and shoes, put up my hair, and donned my glow jewelry. Then we headed down to Wavebands for 80s night. What fun! All those songs that brought back memories of Jr. High and High School. Truly a blast! We danced and danced and danced. We each also answered trivia questions so we got buttons for free shots! Woohoo! Samson, the bartender, wouldnt believe that Duchess was of legal drinking age so she had to go upstairs to get her ID for him she ended up missing the battle of the bands. We had a fabulous time and danced until about midnight when we headed back to Cadillac Lounge to listen to Mikes final songs. Hes a real sweetie. We ended up going to Wavebands after his final set for more chatting. The lounge closed and we were still talking Duchess has a way of asking probing questions and getting people to answer them or at least most of them. Finally, at about 3:15am Duchess & I called it a night. What a fun time we had and a great way to spend our final night aboard ship.
Coming up next Do we hafta leave the ship and some final thoughts .
