Pixie dust on our DREAM vacation! Update 06/08 TR finished!!

[bluejasmine]

Hey Karin

thought... Have you thought of doing this for a living? LOL

 

[jenseib]

I'm not sure what looked better, Captain jack...or the cookies.

 

[Time4disney]

Hey Karin! This was a perfect day to spend on CC, wasn't it. We were the first people on the adult beach and had the beach to ourselves for some time before others arrived. It was awesome! We took pictures of the same items that we found washed up on the beach. I did hear one person say she wanted to bring home some corral and such and that it would make a nice souvenir. I was cringing when I heard that and hoped they decided to leave it there.

Meeting Captain Jack was quite a surprise! This was the first time we have ever seen him walk along the beach. We actually had a comical conversation with him.

Okay, I am now hungry for a lunch on Serenity Bay! I just loved the Greek salad, steak and mahi mahi. This was the first time we have seen real dishes along with forks and knives. That was also a pleasant surprise.

I went into the water up to my knees after lunch. I enjoyed walking in the water looking for starfish. I'm sure we passed one another and didn't even know it. We were settled for the day near the first set of 2 hammocks that were together.

I am really enjoying reading your trip report. My DH asks me everyday if you have the next installment on your report. Can't wait to read more!

 

[dizneeat]

I love the picture of the bunny!! So cute Happy Easter to you!

More great pictures of CC. I love that Captain Jack is walking along the beach, I hope they are still doing that when I go on my cruise!

Thank you!
It was the first time Captain Jack was walking the beach and I guess it was to entertain the guests, as the water was pretty "chilly". He was so much fun and he started up a conversation with everyone I think!

Ah, Karin, this is making miss the beach so much. We had a wonderful time while we were at Serenity Bay. We rented one of the Cabanas with a group of people and it was beyond wonderful. If you ever get the chance I would recommend renting one.

And I loved it that Captain Jack came around. How fun is that! What a character he is.

And yes, having two more cruises booked is so exciting. We are looking very forward to the one next March. We are taking our girls, as they will both be on Spring Break that week, and they can't wait to see the Dream.

It is beautiful, isn't it? We had one of the Cabanas last year too and loved it. Unfortunately we were not able to secure one this time, but I am going to try for the summer.

Having Captain Jack there on the beach was just such a surprise and welcome fun! We loved it so much.

Shame you are going again in March, we could have cruised together in February!

Hey Karin

thought... Have you thought of doing this for a living? LOL

Hm, don't give me any ideas. I might give up my day job!

 

[dizneeat]

I'm not sure what looked better, Captain jack...or the cookies.

At that time Captain Jack definitely had an advantage!

Hey Karin! This was a perfect day to spend on CC, wasn't it. We were the first people on the adult beach and had the beach to ourselves for some time before others arrived. It was awesome! We took pictures of the same items that we found washed up on the beach. I did hear one person say she wanted to bring home some corral and such and that it would make a nice souvenir. I was cringing when I heard that and hoped they decided to leave it there.

Meeting Captain Jack was quite a surprise! This was the first time we have ever seen him walk along the beach. We actually had a comical conversation with him.

Okay, I am now hungry for a lunch on Serenity Bay! I just loved the Greek salad, steak and mahi mahi. This was the first time we have seen real dishes along with forks and knives. That was also a pleasant surprise.

I went into the water up to my knees after lunch. I enjoyed walking in the water looking for starfish. I'm sure we passed one another and didn't even know it. We were settled for the day near the first set of 2 hammocks that were together.

I am really enjoying reading your trip report. My DH asks me everyday if you have the next installment on your report. Can't wait to read more!

The beach was still pretty deserted when we arrived, so we MUST have crossed paths. Shame we didn't recognize each other.

We had such a fun little conversation with Captain Jack too! I could not stop laughing.
And for us it was the first time seeing him there too! We had two days at CC in the summer and he never ever was there, so we were just really surprised to see him.

I don't know if you saw that too, but when we got back on the ship there were several Konks and corals that they had to take away from the guests. We overheard one conversation and I was asking myself what these people were thinking.

I just love the Greek salad they have at Serenity Bay and only at the table did I realize that we were handed real plates and that there was real cutlery on the tables. It was such a wonderful surprise.

We DID go swimming that day too, but you had to go WAY out to find water deep enough to swim. Once you were emerged in the water it was okay, but the first few steps it was quite "chilly".

 

[eandesmom]

is it normally shallow? we've never been so I have no frame of reference. What a gorgeous peaceful day, the definition of serene! And yummy food and drink. I really can't wait, I just hope the heat isn't too awful...though it may well be (August).

 

[dizneeat]

is it normally shallow? we've never been so I have no frame of reference. What a gorgeous peaceful day, the definition of serene! And yummy food and drink. I really can't wait, I just hope the heat isn't too awful...though it may well be (August).

Well, it is a shallow beach to begin with, but not THAT shallow. .... and I can only comment on Serenity Bay, as we have never been to the Family Beach.

We have been in August several times, and while it is hot, it is "bearable" hot. The water is nice and warm and we usually spend a lot of time IN the water.
Hope you get the Cabana you are looking for ..... they are awesome!

 

[Linda67]

Hi Karin

Love the photos of Captain Jack

Looks like you had a wonderful day at CC

 

[Shazzasmd]

Wonderful review of your day at CC. I can see why you and Tom take so many cruises - you guys know how to have a good time!

 

[dizneeat]

Hi Karin

Love the photos of Captain Jack

Looks like you had a wonderful day at CC

It was such a surprise to see Captain Jack watch the beach. And our day was picture perfect!

Wonderful review of your day at CC. I can see why you and Tom take so many cruises - you guys know how to have a good time!

CC is such an awesome little paradise! It's very easy to have a wonderful time there.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Yummmm, Captain Jack!

The water looks so inviting.

 

[dizneeat]

Yummmm, Captain Jack!

The water looks so inviting.

It was such a surprise to see him there.

Even though the water was not "warm", it was so fun to be able to swim in February.

 

[KatMark]

Karin, I've been reading along, but just haven't had time to post (I can't even update my TR with all that has been going on). Everything seems to be going great on the trip...and you guys sure do love your cruises.

 

[podsnel]

Jack Sparrow? Walking along the beach at Serenity Bay?



That will work!!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Wow just wow!! I am all caught up again The food continues to look yummy and the scenery isn't so bad either

Looking forward to more

Heather

 

[dizneeat]

Karin, I've been reading along, but just haven't had time to post (I can't even update my TR with all that has been going on). Everything seems to be going great on the trip...and you guys sure do love your cruises.

It's been a busy week here too, Kathy! So I completely understand about not posting.
Our trip was awesome and YIP, we LOVE cruising (with Disney that is! )

Jack Sparrow? Walking along the beach at Serenity Bay?



That will work!!

Oh Ellen, Captain Jack was such a nice surprise to see on the beach. It's been the first time we saw him there though.

Bring some rum, just in case!

Wow just wow!! I am all caught up again The food continues to look yummy and the scenery isn't so bad either

Looking forward to more

Heather

CC is beautiful, isn't it?
And the food ...... but that's what cruises are for ...... eating too much!

More coming up shortly.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 4, February 21


“Is that Captain Jack over there?“ - Part 4

More sunscreen and a little while later we decided to “brave” the sea, seeing that some people actually did swim.
At first it felt cold, but once you were immersed in the water it actually felt quite nice.
The only downside was that you had to walk really far out into the ocean to find water deep enough to swim. We stayed in the deeper water for about 45 minutes, then slowly made our way back to the beach.

We were amazed at the sea creatures we did find. Lots of starfish,

big and small and lots of smaller fish, whole Konk shells and lots of sponges. It was fun looking at them, even touching them and then release them back to the ocean.
We sat in our chairs for about an hour or a little more until we had dried off.

And while we did so, we ordered some more drinks, a

Corona beer for Tom and a

Pina Colada for myself. The server couldn’t help but mention that the Pina Colada was the most ordered drink that day.
Needless to say, it was a very nice drink and Tom’s beer came in a fun shaped glass, which we were allowed to take home as a souvenir. And right around that time my eyes started to bother me again.
First I thought that it was just sweat getting into my eyes, but I soon found out that it was the sunlight again. Since we were mostly dried off and didn’t want to have to rush back to the ship we decided to pack up our things and just go back to the ship.

We had a nice ride to the first tram stop,

changed trams and soon were back at the ship.

The air conditioning on the ship felt rather cold and we hurried back to our stateroom to take showers and finally sit out on the veranda, enjoying the view.
Once my eyes had stopped bothering me we picked up our Fish Extender gifts and started another round of deliveries.
We were walking up and down the ship, then turned a corner and froze! There was Narciso our stateroom host from our summer trip and he came running towards us and we all hugged and were so happy to have met each other. That definitely was another magical moment we had had.
We talked for quite a while and told him that we would be back in the summer and we are now looking forward to trying to check out where he will be working then, as we would love to see him again. He is such a wonderful Cast Member and made our trip last year extra special.
Once we had said our goodbyes we finished our round of Fish Extenders and went back to our stateroom. We still had a little time until dinner, so we both grabbed a beverage out of the fridge and sat out on the balcony.

All too soon we could feel the ship moving and were happy to hear that Captain Gus went through the whole repertoire of Mickey Whistles while pulling out of Castaway Cay. Always fun to hear those whistles.

Once we had left Castaway Cay behind, we changed and walked up to Palo for dinner.

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

 

[dizneeat]

Day 4, February 21


“Is that Captain Jack over there?“ - Part 5

Once we had left Castaway Cay behind, we changed and walked up to Palo for dinner.
Ann Marie had climbed up the ladder and is now a hostess and she was sure she remembered us, but could not quite place us. She definitely remembered when I told her that we were the ones who had brought our own tea for Palo High Tea last summer.
So, after a short chat she told us to please take a seat at Meridian until our table would be ready. Again, it didn’t take long and we were escorted inside. Ann Marie introduced us to Collette,

who was to be our server that night. We were seated in a nice booth and Collette filled our glasses with water, then left us to study the menu. It didn’t take long and she came to take our order and after that she brought over the Antipasti Cart. She put samples of all the antipasti on a plate, sprinkled it with aged balsamic vinegar and placed it on the table.

Another server came over and put a

basket full of samples of their housemade Italian breads. Needless to say that we had to try all of the wonderful food after we had taken some photos of them. We were still nibbling away on our antipasti when our starters arrived at the table. Tom had ordered the

Fritto Misto di Pesce con Olive all' Ascolana, Deep-fried Calamari, Scallops, Mussels with Lemon and Deep-Fried Green Olives. Collette proceeded to squeeze some lemon onto the food and most of it went all over Tom, but he was a good sport and did not mention anything.
On second try the calamari were the recipients of the lemon juice.
My starter was the

Mozzarella and Plum Tomatoes with Balsamic Dressing, Their Modern Interpretation of a Traditional dish, which was very good.
Once we had finished our starter our plates were cleared and we sat their enjoying the view and nice ambience of the restaurant. Then we were served our palette cleanser,

Lime Sorbet. A little later our main courses arrived. Tom had ordered the

Grilled Tuna Piemonte, Truffle-infused Potato Risotto with Garlic marinated Artichokes and a Tarragon Veal Jus, which not only looked fantastic, but was well received by Tom as well.
My main course was the

Oregano and Parmesan Crusted Rack of Lamb, With Sangiovese Roasted Shallots, Olive Oil baked Roma Tomatoes, Potato Pave, and Herb Jus.
The meat was cooked to a perfect pink and the potatoes were delicious. We both happily finished our dishes, as the food was just outstanding.
There was still dessert to come and we didn’t even have to think about looking at the menu, we both had known long before we went there, that there was only one dessert we longed for, the

Chocolate Souffle, With Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Sauce and Vanilla Bean ice-cream. When it arrived Collette opened it up for both of us and left us to pour in the chocolate and vanilla sauce. We were in dessert heaven. This was a truly outstanding dessert. Once we had finished it all we were handed the bill to which we added a good tip.
There was one last delicious little treat to come, the

digestive "shot".

Prosecco with a dollop of lime sorbet on top!
Then we said our goodbyes to Collette and had a fun little chat with Ann Marie on the way out.
Back in out stateroom we changed into some more comfortable clothes and walked down to the Royal Palace to at least spend some time with Dania and Jimmy, our tablemates.
We had a lot of fun sitting with them, even without eating something. But we could not linger too long after they had finished their dinner, as it was pirate’s night and we all wanted to watch the fireworks.
A few minutes before the fireworks were supposed to start we walked up to deck 12 and found a nice spot from where to watch the fireworks. As always there were lots of uuhs and aahs when the bursts of light appeared in the night’s sky.

We all loved it and felt very special to be able to watch them that night. All too soon the big finale was lighting up the skies

and after that many people went back to the party.

We had planned on hitting the buffet, but both of us were just too full, so we skipped it all along and went back to our stateroom. We sat out on the veranda for a while, then tried to organize some of our stuff and packed the first few things we no longer needed. Shortly after that we called it a day and went to bed.

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

 

[michelle9343]

I have been enjoying you report so much Karin, especially all of the lovely pictures!!

 

[jenseib]

Fantastic day!

I have a question and I know the answer, but my memory is fuzzy today.
On 4 night cruises the pirate night is not on CC day right? And the day at sea doesn't have a main show correct?