Who? Me (37), DH (40) and twin DD's (9-nearly-10)
Friday: Castaway Cay
We were up around 8am. I still can't believe how well I slept on the ship every night! We had some breakfast in Topsiders. There was an omelet station, I believe. It was really packed; everyone was ready to get to Castaway Cay!!! There were empty tables to be found outside, but so many were covered with dishes; it seemed like the staff was way behind in clearing off tables. We ended up piling trays and dishes on another empty table to make a place to sit.
Dh was waiting to be one of the first off the ship, and made a dash to save us a spot at the family beach. He went down past Cookies and the hair brading station, nearly to the bike rental place. We had a great shady spot with a hammock and it was a perfect. (P.S. for the record, we were NOT hammock hogs. We all used it and enjoyed it, and we made a point to offer it to everyone sitting around us. All four of us had a turn dozing in it, and it was one of my most favorite moments of the trip. I took a turn with each dd and with dh as well, and made it a point to file away the moment in my mind -- the sun shining on us, splotchy through the shade, the wind rustling the palm fronds, the cool breeze, the smell of salt and sea air, the happy shouts of frolicking kids, ahhhhhh)
What can we say about Castaway Cay -- AWESOME!! Definitely the highlight of the trip, and we would love to do a double visit there. It is a gorgeous beach, and Disney has thought of eveyrthing for family fun. We'd thought that we'd have the girls visit the club on the island so that dh and I could got to Serentity Bay, but I wouldn't give up a minute of the fun we had with them. DH and I can go back to Serenity Bay when the kids are grown. In the meantime, what a blast!
We rented a float, a tube and 2 sets of snorkel equipment. DH took both of the girls snorkeling (one at a time) -- boy was he tired! But they absolutely loved it. It was the first time for one dd to try snorkeling (the other had jumped right in during our excursion at Grand Cayman), and it was the perfect environment for her to try it out. DH said definitely do snorkeling early, because the clarity of the water deteriorates as the day goes on.
It was a lovely day, bright sunshine, with a cool breeze. A cool breeze that keeps you from feeling how hot the sun is on your skin! SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN! It is deceptive with that bright sand and water reflecting, even though were were primarily sitting in a shady spot.
And the wind quickly took away dd's tube when we were out floating -- she tried to flip around and let go of it for a minute. We were fairly far out, and evern though she is a good swimmer, we couldn't catch it. In minutes it was all the way over on the rocks and completely inaccessible. DH went back to the rental place and they gave him another one at no charge -- I guess it happens frequently!
I was impressed with the lunch -- the hamburger was juicy and generous and very tasty. The fruit was very good and there was a Ceasar salad station (it was away from the main lines, by the pavillion). We saved our chips for a snack later. DD discovered the ice cream and quite enjoyed that! And... the big cookies... yum!
After lunch, more swimming and splashing and floating. The girls played in the sand with their bucket and sand toys from their Perfect Gift basket (complimetns of their grandmother). At the end of the day we just left them there. We'd also bought them some plastic characters from She Sells... that they played with in the sand. They made some friends and just had a blast. They are beach kids anyway, since we live near the ocean, and are always happiest with sand and sea nearby.
At one point, a family lost their four-year-old daughter and it was kind of harrowing. There is nothing worse than that feeling of missing a child. It judt made me sick to my stomach to see the mom in such distress. The lifeguards were calling for the child through the megaphone and everyone was looking for her. I think she had just wandrered down the beach when no one noticed. If you have kids that aren't used to the water, it's probably a good idea to lay down some ground rules to avoid that kind of situation.
The girls had hair braiding appointments for 2:30pm. If you have an appointment, you get the next available braider (there are 12 ladies). If you don't have an appointment, expect to wait awhile, especially as the afternoon goes by. You are supposed to bring your own comb and brush, which we did, but they hardly used it. A word about hair braiding: there are ladies on the ship, but I never figured out the trick to getting an appointment on the ship. I was glad that we waited until CC to get it done -- 1) we had nicer formal pictures without braids in their hair, and 2) the ladies that they bring in from the Bahamas to CC seemed to do a better job. By the end of the week, I saw plenty of girls who were starting to look ratty. (You can also have it done in port, especially in Cozumel, there are braiders everywhere!)
Another word about hair braiding: IT HURTS! One of my dd's sat there wiping away tears. The other didn't seem to find it pleasant, but didn't seem to be in pain. The hair braider was really trying to be gentle; I could tell that she felt bad. I think that my dd was just surprised that it was uncomfortable. They both got a half head -- one had it done at an angle, and the other had braids going straight back. It was just the cornrows, not the braids. I have a picture if you want to know the difference.
And another word... once they're in, it can be uncomfortable to lay down on the beads, or to put anything on your head, like a hat or snorkel mask or anything that goes on your head. And you definitely need to spray that poor scalp with sunscreen -- OUCH!! That would be misery. Another reason we were glad that we waited until the end of the last day and avoided the prime sun exposure. I can't even imagine how gross it would be if it got sunburned and then started peeling in between the rows -- yuck!
A final word -- it is expensive!!!! Remember, we just had the half head done. It was nearly $50 ($42 + tip) just for that. They don't have long hair either, for which there is an additional charge. I can't even imagine how much the whole head with braids would cost. I believe the cost breakdown is this: $2/cornrow and $1/braid. So if you have a whole head of rows/braids (a la Bo Derek in "10") that would $3 for each one, and for us that was 21 just for the front!
In hindsight, we would have probably forgone the hair braiding if we knew then what we know now.It does look cute and fun, and by the end of the week there is nary a girl on the ship that doesn't have it done. But, once you get home and back at school, it's a little weird and out of place. One of my dd's is still delighted with hers. The other wanted to take hers out as soon as we got home (DH put a stop to that, knowing how much we paid!). She lasted a week, and we took it out this morning.
We stayed at Castaway Cay as long as we possibly could because it was just a delightful day that we didn't want come to an end. Grudgingly we got back on the ship, stopping to take some pictures with Max (Goofy's son) and Captain Hook/Smee on the walk back. Captain Hook seems to be very popular on the sihp - he always had the longest lines!
We went out to the "secret" deck on Deck 7 to watch CC fade in to the distance, hoping that we will see her again in the NEAR future.
We skipped the Farewell Variety show to give ourselves some time to pack. What a bummer having to put everything back into our suitcases after such a wonderful week. Say it isn't so -- we have go HOME??? NOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Our dinner was in AP again. I had the artichoke and garlic dip, which was okay. I Loved the Florida Citrus and Baby Spinach salad, yum. It was probably one of the best things I ate all week. The Roasted Red Snapper was awesome. Baked Alaska for dessert was fantastic. He brought us an extra dessert to try, apple cranberry pie in a dish. We gave our servers their tips, and took lots of pictures. The girls had them sign their autograph books.
After dinner we hung out in the atrium unti the Farewell Kiss or whatever it is called. There are tons of characters with easy access -- hardly any lines at all. The girls got tons of autographs and we really had a lot of fun mixing and mingling. It is quite a madhouse, so it might not be quite as fun with littler kids, but we weren't too worried about ours getting lost by that point. They know how to get back to the room on their own!
Then back to the room for a good night's rest, boo hoo. DH and I hung out on the verandah some just to reminisce about the week and marvel at how much fun we'd had.
Go to Disembarkation Day (if we must....)
Friday: Castaway Cay
We were up around 8am. I still can't believe how well I slept on the ship every night! We had some breakfast in Topsiders. There was an omelet station, I believe. It was really packed; everyone was ready to get to Castaway Cay!!! There were empty tables to be found outside, but so many were covered with dishes; it seemed like the staff was way behind in clearing off tables. We ended up piling trays and dishes on another empty table to make a place to sit.
Dh was waiting to be one of the first off the ship, and made a dash to save us a spot at the family beach. He went down past Cookies and the hair brading station, nearly to the bike rental place. We had a great shady spot with a hammock and it was a perfect. (P.S. for the record, we were NOT hammock hogs. We all used it and enjoyed it, and we made a point to offer it to everyone sitting around us. All four of us had a turn dozing in it, and it was one of my most favorite moments of the trip. I took a turn with each dd and with dh as well, and made it a point to file away the moment in my mind -- the sun shining on us, splotchy through the shade, the wind rustling the palm fronds, the cool breeze, the smell of salt and sea air, the happy shouts of frolicking kids, ahhhhhh)
What can we say about Castaway Cay -- AWESOME!! Definitely the highlight of the trip, and we would love to do a double visit there. It is a gorgeous beach, and Disney has thought of eveyrthing for family fun. We'd thought that we'd have the girls visit the club on the island so that dh and I could got to Serentity Bay, but I wouldn't give up a minute of the fun we had with them. DH and I can go back to Serenity Bay when the kids are grown. In the meantime, what a blast!
We rented a float, a tube and 2 sets of snorkel equipment. DH took both of the girls snorkeling (one at a time) -- boy was he tired! But they absolutely loved it. It was the first time for one dd to try snorkeling (the other had jumped right in during our excursion at Grand Cayman), and it was the perfect environment for her to try it out. DH said definitely do snorkeling early, because the clarity of the water deteriorates as the day goes on.
It was a lovely day, bright sunshine, with a cool breeze. A cool breeze that keeps you from feeling how hot the sun is on your skin! SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN, SUNSCREEN! It is deceptive with that bright sand and water reflecting, even though were were primarily sitting in a shady spot.
And the wind quickly took away dd's tube when we were out floating -- she tried to flip around and let go of it for a minute. We were fairly far out, and evern though she is a good swimmer, we couldn't catch it. In minutes it was all the way over on the rocks and completely inaccessible. DH went back to the rental place and they gave him another one at no charge -- I guess it happens frequently!
I was impressed with the lunch -- the hamburger was juicy and generous and very tasty. The fruit was very good and there was a Ceasar salad station (it was away from the main lines, by the pavillion). We saved our chips for a snack later. DD discovered the ice cream and quite enjoyed that! And... the big cookies... yum!
After lunch, more swimming and splashing and floating. The girls played in the sand with their bucket and sand toys from their Perfect Gift basket (complimetns of their grandmother). At the end of the day we just left them there. We'd also bought them some plastic characters from She Sells... that they played with in the sand. They made some friends and just had a blast. They are beach kids anyway, since we live near the ocean, and are always happiest with sand and sea nearby.
At one point, a family lost their four-year-old daughter and it was kind of harrowing. There is nothing worse than that feeling of missing a child. It judt made me sick to my stomach to see the mom in such distress. The lifeguards were calling for the child through the megaphone and everyone was looking for her. I think she had just wandrered down the beach when no one noticed. If you have kids that aren't used to the water, it's probably a good idea to lay down some ground rules to avoid that kind of situation.
The girls had hair braiding appointments for 2:30pm. If you have an appointment, you get the next available braider (there are 12 ladies). If you don't have an appointment, expect to wait awhile, especially as the afternoon goes by. You are supposed to bring your own comb and brush, which we did, but they hardly used it. A word about hair braiding: there are ladies on the ship, but I never figured out the trick to getting an appointment on the ship. I was glad that we waited until CC to get it done -- 1) we had nicer formal pictures without braids in their hair, and 2) the ladies that they bring in from the Bahamas to CC seemed to do a better job. By the end of the week, I saw plenty of girls who were starting to look ratty. (You can also have it done in port, especially in Cozumel, there are braiders everywhere!)
Another word about hair braiding: IT HURTS! One of my dd's sat there wiping away tears. The other didn't seem to find it pleasant, but didn't seem to be in pain. The hair braider was really trying to be gentle; I could tell that she felt bad. I think that my dd was just surprised that it was uncomfortable. They both got a half head -- one had it done at an angle, and the other had braids going straight back. It was just the cornrows, not the braids. I have a picture if you want to know the difference.
And another word... once they're in, it can be uncomfortable to lay down on the beads, or to put anything on your head, like a hat or snorkel mask or anything that goes on your head. And you definitely need to spray that poor scalp with sunscreen -- OUCH!! That would be misery. Another reason we were glad that we waited until the end of the last day and avoided the prime sun exposure. I can't even imagine how gross it would be if it got sunburned and then started peeling in between the rows -- yuck!
A final word -- it is expensive!!!! Remember, we just had the half head done. It was nearly $50 ($42 + tip) just for that. They don't have long hair either, for which there is an additional charge. I can't even imagine how much the whole head with braids would cost. I believe the cost breakdown is this: $2/cornrow and $1/braid. So if you have a whole head of rows/braids (a la Bo Derek in "10") that would $3 for each one, and for us that was 21 just for the front!
In hindsight, we would have probably forgone the hair braiding if we knew then what we know now.It does look cute and fun, and by the end of the week there is nary a girl on the ship that doesn't have it done. But, once you get home and back at school, it's a little weird and out of place. One of my dd's is still delighted with hers. The other wanted to take hers out as soon as we got home (DH put a stop to that, knowing how much we paid!). She lasted a week, and we took it out this morning.
We stayed at Castaway Cay as long as we possibly could because it was just a delightful day that we didn't want come to an end. Grudgingly we got back on the ship, stopping to take some pictures with Max (Goofy's son) and Captain Hook/Smee on the walk back. Captain Hook seems to be very popular on the sihp - he always had the longest lines!
We went out to the "secret" deck on Deck 7 to watch CC fade in to the distance, hoping that we will see her again in the NEAR future.
We skipped the Farewell Variety show to give ourselves some time to pack. What a bummer having to put everything back into our suitcases after such a wonderful week. Say it isn't so -- we have go HOME??? NOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Our dinner was in AP again. I had the artichoke and garlic dip, which was okay. I Loved the Florida Citrus and Baby Spinach salad, yum. It was probably one of the best things I ate all week. The Roasted Red Snapper was awesome. Baked Alaska for dessert was fantastic. He brought us an extra dessert to try, apple cranberry pie in a dish. We gave our servers their tips, and took lots of pictures. The girls had them sign their autograph books.
After dinner we hung out in the atrium unti the Farewell Kiss or whatever it is called. There are tons of characters with easy access -- hardly any lines at all. The girls got tons of autographs and we really had a lot of fun mixing and mingling. It is quite a madhouse, so it might not be quite as fun with littler kids, but we weren't too worried about ours getting lost by that point. They know how to get back to the room on their own!
Then back to the room for a good night's rest, boo hoo. DH and I hung out on the verandah some just to reminisce about the week and marvel at how much fun we'd had.
Go to Disembarkation Day (if we must....)
