Our amazing 7-night eastern cruise - 9/26/09

[praisehisname]

Beautiful pictures!!!

So glad you finally got the great dinner at Palo that everyone raves about! The server really make a difference!

 

[fourgonefishn]

Sure do wish we would have meet with more of you onboard. We had a great time and now that temp outside is 1 degree above 0 we really want to go again.
I do wish I had or knew how to load our photo's so everybody could see them . I guess for know I'll be selfish and look at them my self.
Was a great cruise and will do it again in the future!
fourgonefishn

 

[Crystal_27]

I'm so sorry everyone for the delay...but here I finally am!!

Before I report on Castaway Cay, I will quickly report on what we did for our last sea day. By this time, all three of us were in full vacation mode, and really were concentrating on eating and lazing as best we could. However, I did attend the Palo High Tea (with my tablemates and my DIS friend "A") and we had a great meal of tea, sandwiches, and scones (plus we had the added bonus of seeing our Palo server Dobi one last time). All in all, our Palo meals were just incredible this trip, and I know now why most rave about them. Other than the wonderful High Tea experience we had, I did have to share something else amazing that we saw this day. We saw one of the ship's ice carvers turn this:

Into this:

All in the matter of about ten minutes with nothing more than a saw and an ice pick. Talk about artistry at its best.

I would like to say that we lazed about so much because we knew we were in for a big day at Castaway Cay the next day, but the reality was that we were just enjoying each other's company and starting to dread our vacation coming to an end. Still, we had Castaway Cay to look forward to, and we were stoked about what was in store for us.

The start of our last day aboard started as perfectly as the rest. Our DIS group had a pajama breakfast planned at 8:00 a.m. but, upon looking at my still-sleeping DH and Big, I decided that I would attend the breakfast alone and let them continue to enjoy their beds. The DIS breakfast was wonderful (naturally) and it was so great to see everyone one last time before the end of the cruise. I wish I could have stayed longer, but, since we had booked the early jet ski excursion, I didn't have time to delay. However, since this was the first time that I dined in the dining rooms for breakfast, I will say that I was a bit disappointed with the offerings, both in terms of selection and taste. I think that the buffets offered a much better breakfast.

Anyway, I got back to the room and was glad to see that my sleepyheads were awake and getting ready. We disembarked the ship easily and got The Big to the Club with no issues. Then, we headed to the jet ski area on the beach. We were of the first to arrive, which meant that we had a couple of minutes to snap a couple of pictures.

I'm not sure if you can see it from the pictures, but the new play area that was under construction really does look like it's going to be great. After taking a couple of pictures, we got into our life vests, got a quick tutorial on how to operate the jet skis, and were off.

Since neither DH or I have ever been on jetskis before, I had no idea what to expect. I actually booked a double jetski because I wanted DH to have control of the thing (and I wanted to take pictures, of course). We had a freakin' blast!! Our guide was a hoot and, after we got out to the open water, we got to let loose. At the end, my belly was soooooo sore from laughing the entire time. Also, since it was only an hour, I thought that it would be over in a flash, but it felt like it lasted several hours. Here are some picture that I took (using my waterproof camera, not my SLR (so please forgive the quality)).

If I had to say something bad, it would be that we did get quite a lot of saltwater on our lips and sunglasses. By the end, we could hardly see and were craving water, but that didn't stop us from still laughing ourselves silly.

For our next cruise, we get to stop at Castaway Cay twice, and I can imagine that we will be doing the jetskis both times. My only hope is that The Big can join us next time.

Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for the rest of our day at Castaway Cay. Thanks for reading everyone.

 

[Crystal_27]

Thank You for sharing your TR! Our family will be taking the same cruise on Jan. 30 and I am glad to hear your thoughts. Your pictures are absolutely FABULOUS! You rival Shutters!!!

Anxiously awaiting your CC Experience....the best stop of the whole cruise!

Rae

Rae, thank you so much - - I'm sure that you are going to have an AWESOME time on your cruise. Just a couple more weeks to go.

So glad you finally got the great dinner at Palo that everyone raves about! The server really make a difference!

Very true. DH and I still talk about Palo...I can't WAIT to do it again.

Sure do wish we would have meet with more of you onboard. We had a great time and now that temp outside is 1 degree above 0 we really want to go again.

Yes, it would have been great to meet all of the DISers - but those we did meet were so sweet.

Try and stay warm - - we are at a blistering 20 degrees today with snow on the way (which, in Atlanta, is going to shut the city down).

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Wow, those pics of the icecarving look amazing!

Had a small grin when seeing the pic of R. Funny pic.

 

[Crystal_27]

Wow, those pics of the icecarving look amazing!

Had a small grin when seeing the pic of R. Funny pic.

I know - - that ice carving had us captivated!!

AND, R. would probably murder me if he knew I had posted that picture - - but it made me smile (he was so excited about the jetskis).

We might get a snow day tomorrow which means I can get my final installment posted. If not, will be this weekend.

 

[Live4FW]

We might get a snow day tomorrow which means I can get my final installment posted. If not, will be this weekend.

I wish....but I wouldn't count on it. Great TR

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

I know - - that ice carving had us captivated!!

AND, R. would probably murder me if he knew I had posted that picture - - but it made me smile (he was so excited about the jetskis).

Don't want any murders going on here!

We might get a snow day tomorrow which means I can get my final installment posted. If not, will be this weekend.

Hun, you can have all the snow they've predicted for the coming weeks for us. Fingers crossed it'll be fun-level-snow so TB can have a blast, not the scr*wing-all-things-up-level-snow a lot of places see at the moment. And if you do get snowed in, you could always start a snowreport.

 

[Crystal_27]

All right, guys, here it is..the last installment:

After DH and I got finished with our jetski adventure, we headed to the Club to pick up The Big, taking pictures along the way.

When we got to the check-in podium, we were directed to the dinosaur dig site. When we got there, we were told by the CM that The Big won a prize for being the first to find a fossil at the dig site. Now, if I know my Big, because she is so darn competitive, she was probably knocking the other kids to the ground in order to be the winner. I wish I could say that I didn't know where that competitive streak came from, but DH and I both handed down that particular trait to her. Anyway, here she is with her winning tooth fossil.

After picking up The Big, we made a beeline for the beach. For this cruise, instead of using The Perfect Gift to send sand toys, The Big actually received a visit from "Tink" the night before our cruise. As is usual with these types of things, "Tink" went waaayyy overboard with the sand toys, and I can't tell you how many times as we were hauling our crap around that the sand toys almost didn't make it. However, I'm glad that we kept the toys because The Big (and her crafty dad) had a great time playing with them, and they even managed to build a sand castle.

After playing at the beach for a while, we started to get hungry and headed to Cookie's for lunch.

We actually had great timing in that, literally the minute we headed under the pavilion to sit down, the bottom fell out and it started pouring. I'm not talking a calm rain, either...we were in the middle of a torrential downpour (which somehow made the food taste all the better - LOL). Since this was our first time eating at Cookie's, I wasn't sure what to expect but the food was hearty and very good - it hit the spot.

The rain actually only lasted about 20 minutes or so and, after it subsided, we decided to head back to the beach for some more goofin' around.

After another hour or so, we decided to head back to the ship for a shower. We also wanted to look at our rebooking options again to see what else was available (we had actually booked ourselves on the 2011 Alaskan cruise, but, at $6,700 *without* airfare, I was already having serious doubts). Also, since it was the last day, we had packing to attend to, and I definitely didn't want to leave that to the last minute (the Fish Extender gifts aside, it seemed like we tripled the stuff that we had carried onto the ship). So, we bid Castway Cay a fond farewell and off we went.

Back on the ship, DH and I decided that we were definitely canceling Alaska in favor of seeing what the prices would be for the Dream in 2011. As a side note, I'm so glad we waited on the Dream. We actually were able to book our 2011 Dream cruise on DVC points, and are going to be spending the holidays at Disney World this December, so it all worked out (certainly better than spending $6,700++ for just a cruise - - ouch!!).

Our last dinner was very bittersweet. The Big had developed such an amazing repore with our waiter, and we with our tablemates, and DH and I were definitely saddened by the thought of not having gourmet meals prepared for us every night. However, our tablemate "J" made the last evening a tad easier to handle by offering us the bottle of wine that she had gotten with her romance at sea package. I don't know how I managed it, but, by the end of dinner, I was three glasses down and not feeling so sad anymore.

After dinner, we just strolled around the ship trying to cement it firmly in our heads until we could cruise again. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but this vacation was more than amazing. I think that a large part had to do with the fact that we had such a great DIS group, and it was so wonderful to see friendly faces at every turn. Also, the Fish Extender was a constant source of surprise and fun (it's really amazing how creative people can be). Also, the jetskis and ATVs were such incredible life experiences for DH and I. And, who could forget our servers who were always so sweet and considerate -- I understand now why people say they want to kidnap their servers and take them home.

I don't know when we'll make it onto the Magic again, but it will always hold a very special place in my heart for giving us such an amazing cruise experience.

I want to thank everyone for reading my trip report. It really means a lot to have had you guys with me as I re-lived our trip. If you have any questions, please just feel free to post. Thank you so much!

 

[Crystal_27]

I wish....but I wouldn't count on it. Great TR

LOL - - we didn't do too bad with the snow. School was canceled Friday and yesterday, and The Big got to make about a 12" snowman out of the deal. Hope you guys didn't have too hard a time up in Kennesaw!

And if you do get snowed in, you could always start a snowreport.

LOL - I thought about it. I actually didn't leave the house from Friday-Sunday afternoon (although I had to work from home on Friday - booo!!!). Now, you would have never guessed that it snowed at all. It will be in the 50s tomorrow - go figure....

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

I don't know how I managed it, but, by the end of dinner, I was three glasses down and not feeling so sad anymore.

Oh, it's very simple my dear. You took a zip. And another. And another and a couple more.

After dinner, we just strolled around the ship trying to cement it firmly in our heads until we could cruise again. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but this vacation was more than amazing. I think that a large part had to do with the fact that we had such a great DIS group, and it was so wonderful to see friendly faces at every turn.

Couldn't agree more! Our group definately made this an extra special time.


In the 50's tomorrow? Please send some of that my way.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

Crystal--

Thank you for your trip report! We are hoping to go on the same cruise but in early 2012.

I was wondering something...you mentioned your DD was not old enough for the ATVs or the jet skis. Do you know what the minimum ages are for those?

Thanks!

 

[praisehisname]

The jet skis sound like a lot of fun!

So sad your cruise is over, but at least you have another one to look forward to!

 

[Crystal_27]

In the 50's tomorrow? Please send some of that my way.

LOL - it will be like a heatwave after all the miserable weather we had these past couple of weeks.

I was wondering something...you mentioned your DD was not old enough for the ATVs or the jet skis. Do you know what the minimum ages are for those?

Thanks!

Thanks for reading!! I believe the minimum age for both is 8. However, with the ATVs, I'm sure that you can fudge a year or two since they only care about collecting your money. With DCL, obviously, if your kiddo doesn't meet the age requirement, it will be a no go. I'm a bit bummed that The Big will only be 7 when we do our double dip in 2011. Guess its just another excuse to cruise again when she's 8 - LOL.

So sad your cruise is over, but at least you have another one to look forward to!

Definitely glad to have another cruise to look forward to.

 

[pumpkin21]

Excellent Trip Report! I keep rereading to get ready for our March cruise!

 

[Crystal_27]

Excellent Trip Report! I keep rereading to get ready for our March cruise!

You're going to have a great time!!! Happy sailing!

 

[ducky_love]

Love your TR!!

Can you tell me if they are enforcing a weight limit on the jetskis? I'd love to do this if I could ride with my DH.. but he is a bit on the pooh side. Thanks!

 

[Crystal_27]

Love your TR!!

Can you tell me if they are enforcing a weight limit on the jetskis? I'd love to do this if I could ride with my DH.. but he is a bit on the pooh side. Thanks!

Thanks for reading!! About any weight limit on the jetskis, DH and I weigh about 365 together and nobody said anything to us about it. However, before you spent the money for the excurison, it might be worth a call to DCL to confirm. Hope that helps!! Have fun!!

 

[angelabielanin]

Do you have the info on booking the ATV tour on St Maarten? We are going 10-23-10

 

[Crystal_27]

Do you have the info on booking the ATV tour on St Maarten? We are going 10-23-10

Of course - - here is the link:

http://www.stmaartencruiseexcursions.com/ATVStMaarten.htm

Enjoy!!