Memories of the DREAM come true .. 08/09 All 30 days done!

[Wicket's Mom]

Our winter so far has been mild, although there have been some pretty cold days. Up in Alaska they have been having -35 for highs. I figure that cold will be down here at some period. It's just stuck up there for now.

 

[Linda67]

Morning Karin

All I can say is thankyou

It's freezing here today and a little bit of Caribbean sunshine was just what the doctor ordered

 

[dvc4life]

Love the pictures of CC Karin. Thanks. We will be there in about 7 weeks! Can't wait. That water is so crystal clear. Ahhhhhh. Heaven.

And your breakfast looks really good. I just wish they would get rid of the fast food type hashbrown squares for some real hashbrowns. You get the same thing at McDonald's. Just sayin.

Looks like you are in for a gorgeous day though at CC. Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[dizneeat]

How odd the weather is this year. Today (in mid-Michigan) it was in the mid-50s. Generally, at this time of year we are lucky if we get up to 20 degrees. I have to say, I am enjoying our "warm" winter. But as jenseib said, we still have a couple of winter months when anything can happen.

We have had such a crazy winter this year. It was way too mild, then before Christmas lots of snow in higher regions, but it was all gone within a few days and now we have that huge cold front that is coming through and it is getting colder every day.
I cannot wait to leave the winter behind for a week!

That doesn't sound like any fun at all! We've had an exceptionally mild winter this year...still not warm, really, but it was over 50 here today. But you'll be basking in the warmth soon enough.

Castaway Cay really does look like heaven!

It's been pretty cold today and it is supposed to get colder day by day until the weekend - I SO could live without the cold.

Castaway Cay doesn't only look like heaven ....... it IS heaven!

Our winter so far has been mild, although there have been some pretty cold days. Up in Alaska they have been having -35 for highs. I figure that cold will be down here at some period. It's just stuck up there for now.

I really hope your weather continues to stay warm - no fun in the cold weather!

Morning Karin

All I can say is thankyou

It's freezing here today and a little bit of Caribbean sunshine was just what the doctor ordered

Glad I could send you a few "rays" of Caribbean sunshine, Linda - it makes me feel better too, just looking at them.

Love the pictures of CC Karin. Thanks. We will be there in about 7 weeks! Can't wait. That water is so crystal clear. Ahhhhhh. Heaven.

And your breakfast looks really good. I just wish they would get rid of the fast food type hashbrown squares for some real hashbrowns. You get the same thing at McDonald's. Just sayin.

Looks like you are in for a gorgeous day though at CC. Can't wait to hear about it.

for being at CC in only 7 weeks! We have a little less than three weeks and I am REALLY ready for it!

Breakfast was nice, even though I am not so happy as everything is just luke warm once you get to your table ..... and yes, the hash browns are very McD.

We had a blast on both of our CC days, sadly we missed one day because of Hurricane Irene - two Nassau days instead

 

[dizneeat]

Day 11, August 23

Finally back to Heaven on Earth - Part 2

It was wonderful, crystal clean and warm, but we had to walk out pretty far to hit "deeper" water, as in up to your waist.
We spent quite a long time in the water and would have stayed even longer if my eyes hadn't started to hurt pretty bad. At first I thought that it was because of the salt water getting into my eyes, to only later find out that even though I was wearing sunglasses it actually was the sun that hurt my eyes, so I had to borrow Tom's cap.
We stayed at the beach for some time until my eyes had somewhat recovered. In the meantime we ordered some drinks from the Cast Members roaming the beach in order to serve the guests. We both ordered

a Konk Kooler made with rum, coconut, pineapple and orange juices, and passion fruit. We relaxed on our beach chairs while enjoying the drinks and when we were finished we went back into the ocean.

My eyes only hurt again after a while so we had time to play around for quite a while. Once we were back on dry land we rested in our chairs for a bit and watched a couple who had obviously been just married have their wedding photos taken at Serenity Bay.

We all sat and watched and when they were finally done we had gotten hungry and decided to head over to the barbeque area to have some lunch.
We both grabbed a plate and I did not feel like meat, so I filled my plate with salads.

Tom took some salads too,

but he ordered a grilled steak as well.

In the meantime my eyes started to act up again and I had to dry off my eyes ever so often. Tom went and got us some desserts. He got a piece of

Pineapple Upside Down Cake, a Chocolate Chip cookie and some ice-cream. We shared everything and were stuffed when we left the table to head back to our lounge chairs.
More rest was in order, so we laid down in the shade and watched the waves roll in. Needless to say we couldn't stay on our chairs for too long and we headed back into the water.

The tide had started to roll in and the water had gotten a tad deeper, so we played for quite some time until my eyes gave in again.

To be continued ..........

 

[annmarieda]

I am sorry your eyes were giving you so much trouble. Sun tends to make my eyes water too... not much fun.

Your day looks pretty nice though... sun and sand. The water is of course beautiful!

 

[pinkxray]

I love the pictures of the bride and groom. It must be awesome to get married at Disney or on DCL. I just showed Caitlin the pictures and told her "Caitlin, look you can get married at Castaway Cay when you get older."

Of course her response was "I'm never getting married, what are you crazy?!"

Sorry to hear your eyes were bothering you Nothing a little DCL food, drink and shade won't fix hopefully.

 

[dizneeat]

I am sorry your eyes were giving you so much trouble. Sun tends to make my eyes water too... not much fun.

Your day looks pretty nice though... sun and sand. The water is of course beautiful!

I think we are just not used to sun being so intense and I am overly sensitive to sun in the first place.
It bothered me the year before as well, but I was blaming it on the sea. Now I know that I just need to provide as much shade as possible for my eyes.
We did not let it spoil our fun, even though I had to keep my eyes shut for some time.

I love the pictures of the bride and groom. It must be awesome to get married at Disney or on DCL. I just showed Caitlin the pictures and told her "Caitlin, look you can get married at Castaway Cay when you get older."

Of course her response was "I'm never getting married, what are you crazy?!"

Sorry to hear your eyes were bothering you Nothing a little DCL food, drink and shade won't fix hopefully.

We saw quite a few people getting married on the ship and it was fun to watch. What better place to start your life together?
As for Caitlin ....... let her get a few years older and she might surprise you. You better start saving now!

 

[gallmcduck]

Castaway cay beautiful, blue and clear.

I was sorry to ready about your eyes, hope they do not trouble you on this trip

 

[dizneeat]

Castaway cay beautiful, blue and clear.

I was sorry to ready about your eyes, hope they do not trouble you on this trip

Castaway Cay is paradise, even if I am "crying my eyes out" because of the sun.

We will be way better prepared this summer, now that I figured out it's the sun! Cap and sunglasses will be a must!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I love the pic of Serenity Bay with all the empty chairs lined up - looks so peaceful!

At first I was thinking maybe your eyes were hurting from the sunscreen - it always melts and burns my eyes. But the sun I guess you will need to have your SPF sunglasses and hat for sure.

 

[dizneeat]

I love the pic of Serenity Bay with all the empty chairs lined up - looks so peaceful!

At first I was thinking maybe your eyes were hurting from the sunscreen - it always melts and burns my eyes. But the sun I guess you will need to have your SPF sunglasses and hat for sure.

Serenity Bay looks so peaceful, doesn't it? It nearly broke our hearts when we got back again a few days later after the storm and even though they had had nearly a week to clean up you could still see the devastation (coming up in another update!).

My eyes have always been sensitive to the sun and since I use sunscreen that can be used on babies and kids I knew it could not be that. But I never expected the sun to hurt my eyes even if I had my sunglasses on.
Well, live and learn.

I am new in this forum. But i will keep visit here again. I like it so much.

Welcome!
Glad you enjoy reading along.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 11, August 23

Finally back to Heaven on Earth - Part 3

The tide had started to roll in and the water had gotten a tad deeper, so we played for quite some time until my eyes gave in again.
In the end we took some chairs down to the water and sat there, enjoying ourselves.

By 3pm we packed up our stuff and headed back to the tram that took us to the first stop.

Since my eyes were giving me grief again we didn't go back to the shops but waited for the next available tram back to the ship.

Once back at the ship we joined the lines of people getting back on, but it all moved fairly quickly and we were back on board.
Our Fish Extender was full again and we were pretty happy with the new gifts.

Since we still had on our wet swimsuits we took turns taking showers and then sat out on the veranda for quite a while. When we felt like a snack we walked up one flight of stairs and had a look at what we could have as a snack. We chose

a hotdog and loaded it up at the condiments bar. When we were done we went back to our stateroom and were right in time to see the DREAM pulling out of Castaway Cay.

When we were out on the open seas again we got our Fish Extender gifts and went out to deliver them. We took our time and looked at more of the enchanted art and had another good look at the merchandise and when we finally got back to our stateroom our host had turned down the bed and left another fun towel animal.

We crashed on the extra bed and watched a little TV before our Pirate dinner at Animator’s Palette. The restaurant was already open when we arrived and we were led to our table.

Everyone had donned some pirate gear and we were in high spirits for our dinner. Again, we had brought some candy loot for our server pirates and it was very much appreciated. Since it was pirates night we had decided on ordering some adult drinks. I had

the Captain’s Treasure, Absolute Mandarin, Peach Schnapps and Orange Juice, while Tom had ordered

the Rusty Anchor, Midori, Captain Morgan Rum, Passion Fruit and Cranberry Juice. Nobody really wanted to try the bread that had been served, Johnny Cake with a pigeon pea relish. It didn't take long for our appetizers to be brought out. Tom had ordered

the Pirates Golden "Pot Stickers", Oriental Pork "Dumplings" deep fried and served with a Tamarind-Ginger soy sauce and Pickled Vegetables and I had ordered

Blackbeard’s Jumbo Crab Cake with a golden raisin-carrot and coconut slaw served with a spicy Calypso dressing. We all laughed a lot during dinner and it was soon time for our main courses.
Tom had decided to try

Jack Sparrow’s Barbecue Marinated Beef Short Ribs, Rubbed beef short ribs with tamarind-barbecue sauce served with onion red bliss mashed potatoes and plantain chip and I enjoyed

Captain Hook’s Macadamia Nut-Dusted Mahi Mahi, Jasmine rice and sauteed pineapple on a mild curry sauce. All the servers got in on the act and Sapto played more tricks on Stephanie who couldn't stop laughing and told everyone that it was always her that was picked to play tricks on.
Soon enough it was time for dessert. Tom and I ordered the same thing,

the Crunch Time Sundae, Rum Raisin Ice Cream, pineapple, whipped cream and croquant. When we were finally finished it was time to head up on deck for pirates night.
We said goodbye to Ali the Head Server and since he had chatted very nicely with us the day before I thought why not ask if it would be possible to have the same servers for our next cruise.
He took out a bunch of papers, looked up our stateroom and made a note that we wanted to have Sapto and Ana as our servers again. And his next question was if we would like to have a table for two. We could not believe he really offered this to us and jumped at the opportunity of having a table to ourselves. We loved our tablemates this cruise, but being seated at a two top would be the ultimate in service.
So once all of that was done we thanked him again and Tom and I agreed that Ali had just earned himself an extra tip bonus. And then it was time to head to deck 12 and find a spot to view the fireworks from. There was a lot going on on deck 11 and we watched for quite some time and finally it was time for the fireworks.

Again, they are different from the fireworks on the Disney Wonder, but still they were amazing to watch. There were lots of people watching and hadn't we been so full we would have loved to check out the pirate's buffet, but instead we watched the Pirate show for a while and then headed downstairs to our stateroom.

More loot in the Fish Extender and we grabbed an adult beverage and sat outside on the veranda enjoying the night air and listening to the music that was coming from above. At around 11.30 we called it a night and headed to bed. At least the next morning we would be able to sleep in a little.

To be continued ..........

 

[Linda67]

Wonderful photos yet again Karin

How sweet of your head server to offer you the opportunity of a table for two; I can't wait to hear all about it

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Looks like a perfect ending to an almost perfect day (except the eyes ) So nice you got your server requested granted, and can look forward to special service!

 

[jenseib]

What a fabulousserver. I am one who loves the private tables. WE prefer to just be able to talk to family while eating.

 

[dizneeat]

Wonderful photos yet again Karin

How sweet of your head server to offer you the opportunity of a table for two; I can't wait to hear all about it

Thank you, Linda!
Ali, the head server was such a sweetheart! We never even thought about asking for a table for two, and were so surprised and happy when he offered it to us.

Looks like a perfect ending to an almost perfect day (except the eyes ) So nice you got your server requested granted, and can look forward to special service!

I had asked Ana if it was even possible to request a server and she just said, "SURE!" So we thought since we had had some fun conversations with Ali that we would just ask.
It was such a fun cruise and it was only part 1 of 3.

What a fabulousserver. I am one who loves the private tables. WE prefer to just be able to talk to family while eating.

They were all really nice. But then, apart from our first cruise on the Wonder we had always had a super sweet server team.
During our first cruise our dining room server was sooooooooo slimy sweet that it crept me out. I think he was the only one I did not like on that cruise.

And we never thought they would do tables for two. So we were on when we were offered one!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 12, August 24

Exploring the DREAM and BELIEVE!! - Part 1

We slept in and only got up around 8am. So, after taking a shower and getting ready we set out to have another breakfast at the Royal Palace.
We hopped into the elevator and soon were in the Atrium and found ourselves walking over to the restaurant. After using another antibacterial wipe we were led to a table.

Once seated we ordered some Coffee and some Hot Tea

and checked the menu again. Tom found something on the menu that he really wanted to try,

the Swiss Bircher Muesli, Muesli with raisins, shredded apples and yogurt. It tasted really nice. His hot course was

the Express, Scrambled eggs, grilled ham, bacon, sausage. and hash browns, which he enjoyed a lot. I wanted to try something different, so I ordered the

French Toast and Pineapple Stack, Layers of French toast and grilled pineapple, topped with strawberry coulis, maple glaze and fruit salad. Bellies filled we first stopped at the future cruise desk to book next summer's cruises.
Since we could not get the same stateroom we chose the one next door and will now be able to spend another 9 glorious days on board the Disney DREAM in 2012. Then we walked along the running track on deck 4,

exploring more of the ship. When we got to the area where all the bars are, we went to explore the Skyline bar

and Pink

without disturbing a lot of other guests.

We finally got a chance to explore the toilets our tour host had pointed out during the tour and she was not mistaken, they are a sight in itself.

Shortly before 11am we headed to the D-Lounge to watch a cooking demonstration.

To be continued ..........

 

[MAGICFOR2]

It's great you took the time to explore the ship! The Skyline bar and Pink look so elegant! Even elegant toilets!!!!

 

[Linda67]

Sounds like my kind of day; a wonderful breakfast followed by exploring the ship