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

[dizneeat]

Day 19, August 31

Cabana 19 - Part 1

We were up pretty early that day, as we were excited to return to Castaway Cay. We were out on the balcony watching the sun coming up

and then finally watching how Captain Henry,

very carefully manoeuvred the Disney Dream into its dock.

Then we had a good laugh looking at the towel monkey that our stateroom host had left us the previous night, as I felt like there was someone behind me several times, then turned around and found out that it was just the monkey.

We both took showers and then waited for breakfast to arrive. While we waited we watched a little TV and saw the devastation Hurricane Irene had done to the New York area.

At 7.35 there was a knock at the door and our room service breakfast had arrived.

We had ordered it the day before and were now enjoying coffee and tea, some orange juice, Tom had ordered

a Bagel and cream cheese and I had a

Danish pastry to enjoy and they had thrown in a croissant as well. There was also some chocolate milk and a fruit cup as well. We took everything out onto the veranda and had a leisurely time, enjoying our breakfast.

Once we were done we packed everything we would need for the day, put on our Cabana wristbands and finally when they announced that the ship was cleared, we headed to deck one to disembark and head onto the island.
In no time we were off the ship and walking towards the tram.

No need to pick up a towel this time, there would be plenty in the Cabana. We missed the first tram out, but were within the first people to get on the second. In the meantime we had time to look around. The island still looked the same, but the vegetation had changed drastically.

The lush green plants had changed to a sad brown. Our tram driver than told us that the seawater had damaged the island badly during the storm and that the plants would grow back, but for the moment they were this sad colour.

It didn’t take long and we reached the area where you change trams. There are a few shops nearby and we headed there to make our purchases. We bought quite a few items and took them with us.

We hopped on the next tram out to Serenity Bay and once we arrived we went to check in for our Cabana. The CMs working the registration were very nice and explained everything we needed to know and when they were done our Cabana host took over and we hopped on the golf cart and were taken to our Cabana.

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

 

[dizneeat]

I will keep this in mind.

 

[annmarieda]

The sunrise looks beautiful!

Breakfast on the veranda looks so relaxing!

The veggiation.. I guess that makes sense that the salt water would do that.

Glad you got checked in for your cabana fine.

 

[dizneeat]

The sunrise looks beautiful!

Breakfast on the veranda looks so relaxing!

The veggiation.. I guess that makes sense that the salt water would do that.

Glad you got checked in for your cabana fine.

We usually don't catch sunrises on vacation, but during the cruises I have seen many. So peaceful being out on the ocean, tea in hand and watching the sun.

We were heartbroken to see what had happened to the island in just a week's time. Half of the beach at Serenity Bay was missing and there was so much brown, where it used to be green. But at least it was fine again in February!

Ann, you would love the Cabanas. They are expensive, but boy are they worth every penny. I have loads of photos coming up!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 19, August 31

Cabana 19 - Part 2

The CMs working the registration were very nice and explained everything we needed to know and when they were done our Cabana host took over and we hopped on the golf cart and were taken to our Cabana.

Our host walked inside with us and showed us everything that was waiting for us. There was a large bowl of fresh fruit,

a fridge full of cool, damp face towels, soft drinks and water,

several bags of chips

and some more large towels.

There is a nice sitting area,

a safe

and changing area inside the Cabana

– on the veranda we found some lounge chairs and a small table,

there was a hammock

and even a sweet water shower.
The decorations inside and outside were awesome and we felt right at home.

If you looked out the back window you could see the DREAM in the distance –

it was absolutely wonderful.

The beach looked wonderful like always, only if you walked down to the beach you could tell the difference.


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

 

[dizneeat]

Day 19, August 31

Cabana 19 - Part 3

The beach looked wonderful like always, only if you walked down to the beach you could tell the difference. Where there had been a soft slope there was now a huge step down to the beach area

and when you walked into the water, it wasn’t as shallow as it had been before.
It started to get deeper far closer to the beach than before.
The skies were still a bit overcast, but we decided to hit the water anyway. It was far cooler than it had been only a week before but it was still nice and once you were fully “emerged” in the water it didn’t feel so cool any more.

We stayed in the water for about ¾ of an hour, then walked back to our Cabana,

dried off and hit the lounge chairs on the veranda. In the meantime our neighbours had arrived and we waved and said our hellos before they went into the water.
We didn’t want to trouble our Cabana host when we felt like a drink, so I just walked down to the CM who was walking the beach selling drinks. I ordered two

Konk Koolers and the server brought it right up to our Cabana. We then sat on the veranda, munching some fruit and chips and enjoying our drinks.


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

 

[annmarieda]

Your cabana looks awesome...as does your drink skies... they look a bit scary.

 

[dizneeat]

Your cabana looks awesome...as does your drink skies... they look a bit scary.

We just LOVED the Cabana - luxary yes, but so worth the expense! And those Konk Koolers are just so yummy - unfortunately there is lots of alcohol in them, but since they taste very fruity you will only discover lateron.

Yes, the skies looked a bit scary, but it never rained all day. We were pretty lucky!

 

[jenseib]

The cabana looks so awesome. I have drooled over them, but it won't be in my budget.

 

[dizneeat]

The cabana looks so awesome. I have drooled over them, but it won't be in my budget.

Jennifer, the Cabanas are just awesome! So worth the money .... there is still time for you to come up with the funds.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 19, August 31

Cabana 19 - Part 4

We then sat on the veranda, munching some fruit and chips and enjoying our drinks.
At around 11am we headed back to the water. There were just a few people enjoying the ocean and it was fun to join them.

People were picking up lots of items from the bottom of the ocean and we found some interesting things too. There was a large Conch shell, some smaller ones and some pretty interesting shells that looked like Sand Dollars.

We all took photos and then returned them to the sea. This time I was far better prepared for our beach/sea time and had my sunglasses and a hat on. Even though my eyes started to slightly tear up again, it was far less painful than the last visit.
We stayed in the water until around noon and then headed back to our Cabana. Again we dried off and sat on the veranda. We were still discussing to walk down to the buffet when we heard a knock at our Cabana door.
Our host was asking if we already felt like lunch and he was here to take us down to the Barbeque station. Since he was here already we picked up our stuff, threw on a T-shirt and off we went the short distance to the buffet. We were told that the host would be there any time we wanted to go back to our Cabana and to enjoy ourselves.
They had some different offerings this time, but the salad bar was still the same, so we both filled our plates

with delicious salads and tried the ribs, which fell off the bone. When we had finished our first plates, Tom went back for

a freshly made Hamburger, which he really enjoyed and I got some more of

their wonderful Chocolate Chip Cookies. We sat there for quite some time before we went for a restroom break and then headed back to the golf cart for a ride to our Cabana.
And after a short rest on the lounge chairs it was time for water fun again. We walked down to the beach where there were more people by now and walked right into the water. It was so interesting to see the fish and shells and to just float and enjoy some leisurely time at this heavenly piece of earth.
There were clouds rolling in and we tried to stay in the water as long as possible and while doing so we decided that instead of going to WDW for a whole week during our half term break we would go back on the DREAM and enjoy the hospitality of Disney Cruise Line. So, once we would be back another visit to the Future Cruise Desk was in store.
At around 3pm we started to get ready to head back to the tram when our Cabana host told us that if we were willing to wait until he was done closing everything down he would take us back to the ship in his golf cart.

Well, that was something we didn’t want to slip away, so we got ready, got our Cabana as neat as possible and then waited by the golf cart for our host. Within 5 minutes we were all seated and off we went.


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

 

[annmarieda]

I bet it was well worth waiting for your cabana host to be able to ride in the golf cart back.

 

[dizneeat]

I bet it was well worth waiting for your cabana host to be able to ride in the golf cart back.

I was just because I was posting on YOUR thread when you were posting here.

Waiting for the Cabana host was great as it was a very special "welcome" to the ship!

 

[annmarieda]

I was just because I was posting on YOUR thread when you were posting here.

Waiting for the Cabana host was great as it was a very special "welcome" to the ship!

I think we do that quite often.

 

[dizneeat]

I think we do that quite often.

 

[Teri1]

Wow Karin I just love your pictures of your cabana! You must have felt so pampered with the great service of your CM. Mick and I will spend our CC day on the beach or in the water, weather permitting. We can't afford the cabana on our next trip. It sure is nice to see how great it is to get one through your trip report! You and Tom know how to cruise! You are like VIP's on the Dream now.

 

[dizneeat]

Wow Karin I just love your pictures of your cabana! You must have felt so pampered with the great service of your CM. Mick and I will spend our CC day on the beach or in the water, weather permitting. We can't afford the cabana on our next trip. It sure is nice to see how great it is to get one through your trip report! You and Tom know how to cruise! You are like VIP's on the Dream now.

We loved our Cabana and I was very disappointed not to score one for our February trip this year (even though we survived without it too )
But we got lucky for this summer again ... and it is actually the same one, as we had last year!

 

[jenseib]

You know my favorite picture is the cookie ...right?

 

[dizneeat]

You know my favorite picture is the cookie ...right?

I had that one just for you, Jennifer!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 19, August 31

Cabana 19 - Part 5

Within 5 minutes we were all seated and off we went. He had to hand in some paperwork at the sign-in station and then we went back to the ship. Boy, was it fun to ride past the tram and all the people looking at you. We were prepared to get off at the second tram stop, but Bagus, our host had other ideas.
He took us right back to the gangway of the ship. Now, driving past people getting on at the first gangway was even more fun than driving past the people on the trams. We thanked him a thousand times and asked exactly where he was working because we had completely forgotten to bring some money to tip him accordingly.
But since he was going to work around the adult pool later that day, we promised to see him and bring him a little reward. So, once we had gotten off the golf cart, we went back on board and up to our stateroom

where our host had left us a surprise after I had asked if there was a way to buy some of the items in our bathroom. We were stunned and I guess it showed in his tip and the surprise we left for HIM when we left. After we had recovered from the initial surprise in our stateroom we quickly took showers and went in search for our stateroom host to say thank you.
We found him right down the hallway and when he saw us, his smile got really wide. We hugged and talked for quite some time, and then went to find our Cabana host to give him his tip. We walked up to the adult pool area, where he was supposed to work and did notice him right away. After handing him his tip we still chatted for a while and then decided to quickly stop at the Cove Café for another coffee. We both ordered a Cappuccino and enjoyed the afternoon, when Andreas, the hotel director, who had been having a coffee himself, stopped at our table to chat for a while too. Once we had finished our coffees it was about time to go back to our stateroom to pack up our stuff.

But before we actually started packing we watched the Disney Dream pull out of Castaway Cay.

Now packing was a real task, as I now had to fit in another half suitcase full of items. I packed, and I repacked and repacked once again. Time just flew by and again we found more and more stuff after 10 nights on board. And it very soon became obvious, that if we wanted them to take our luggage off the ship for us, we would never make it to dinner.
We did our best, but there was just so much stuff left, which needed to be “stuffed” somewhere. So when 8pm rolled around we walked down to the restaurant, to let the Fishermans know that we would not make it and to let our servers know too.
On the way out we passed the head server and we briefly talked to him, mentioning that we hadn’t finished packing and had to skip dinner. Now, imagine our surprise when he offered to order off the menu and he would have someone deliver it to our room.
It was a sweet offer, but we didn’t want to bother anyone and told him that we were okay the way it was. Around 9pm we had finally finished packing and put our luggage outside our stateroom door and were now in search of a bite to eat. We walked up to Flo’s Café and got

three Hot Dogs and

two pieces of Pizza and took them down to our stateroom. There we sat and enjoyed some of our left over drinks

and munched our food. It was a different kind of dinner, but still very nice. And finally it was time to take down the door decorations and put them into our carry ons.
We took a walk around the ship to take it all in one more time, before we went back to our stateroom and sat out on the veranda, watching the ship going back to Port Canaveral. It was time for one more sleep and then we would have to leave our swimming home.


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