The Twelve Days of Swinter: From Castaway 'Key' to a Partridge in a Palm Tree!

[CandleontheWater]

What lovely, tropical pictures! Just looking at them warms me right up!

Glad your dolphin encounter was such a success (minus the skimpy bathing suit). I've always wanted to do something like that, and DH and I wanted to do Discovery Cove before we moved away from Florida, but it didn't work out. We'll just have to wait until DS is older and we'll take him too!

You know, you could always take a boat to Europe, like one of those repositioning cruises! 14 days on a Disney ship sounds pretty awesome to me!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Yeah, I guess that might be a dollar's worth of my blabber.

My DH is very happy that we are visiting London where they speak English too! We had to get an iPhone app for French. We definitely prefer visiting "westernized" countries.

Canada is pretty easy to manage too - I like what you said about the same style of government too. The countries that are similar in those ways are much easier to visit!

I don't think I will ever visit anywhere near the Middle East. My friends recently went to Egypt and I'm too nervous about that. No thanks. My dad is from Syria originally and I used to think it would be interesting to see where he grew up. Uh - uh. Even he said he'd never go back. Plus it isn't the same anyway.

Sometimes traveling is hard and daunting and there are some very serious concerns - obviously there are people out there who don't like us and we have reason to be nervous and scared.

Anyway - sorry to hijack and lecture about traveling! I hope you do get to go to some fabulous places - just like Blue Lagoon! That was just gorgeous!!!

Wow! Syria! That is right smack in the middle of the hotbed. Yikes! I wouldn't be going there either. I agree with you, the Middle East is not an option. I think that's probably the most dangerous place on Earth right now. Africa too... no way is that happening either. And it's a shame because both of those areas of the world are so unique and have so much cool stuff to see. That is really fascinating though that your dad came here from so far away. I bet he has many stories to tell.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall while you and your DH are translating French on your phones to figure out how to ask where the bathrooms are! I have no room to talk though. The only French I know is 'Target'.

What lovely, tropical pictures! Just looking at them warms me right up!

Glad your dolphin encounter was such a success (minus the skimpy bathing suit). I've always wanted to do something like that, and DH and I wanted to do Discovery Cove before we moved away from Florida, but it didn't work out. We'll just have to wait until DS is older and we'll take him too!

You know, you could always take a boat to Europe, like one of those repositioning cruises! 14 days on a Disney ship sounds pretty awesome to me!

We want to do Discovery Cove too. It looks awesome! Don't feel bad about not getting to go there yet though. Everything is better when you experience it with your kids.

I'd love to do a European cruise but man do they put a sting in your wallet! They are REALLY expensive! There's a 14 day to Hawaii too that is also outrageous. Honestly, I don't know if I could handle being on a ship that long. I think I would be very, very sick.

 

[jenseib]

Love the beach pictures. But were was miss "lady". Did she come and sit near you guys? .....become your new best friend.

Love the pictures from the dolphin package too

Loving the pictures. We really are thinking of booking again for Dec 2013. Your pictures are making me want it more. My youngest would love the doing the dolphin excurisne. Did you book that thru disney?

You do "HAVE" to book with Disney to do it. I inquired about doing it on my onw and found that Disney has a contract with them and so the ycan't take anyone coming off a disney ship independently. And when you fill out the form to do it, you have to put your resort or ship.

I have been MIA for a while! I was on a family cruise. It was 87 when we left Mexico and 12 when we got back to Boston! But these updates from the Bahamas have warmed me up! Such great photos from Dolphin Encounters! We did the full on swim a couple years back, that place was awesome. I wish we had more time on the island but my friends "insisted" on going to the gym for 2 hours before they would go off the boat (as if the gym won't be there when we got back).

I am so jealous...I could use a cruise and some nice weather...all in one package there.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Love the beach pictures. But were was miss "lady". Did she come and sit near you guys? .....become your new best friend.

I nearly choked when I read this! I won't ruin the TR suspense, but you just remember that you said this. That's all I'm saying for now!

 

[jenseib]

I nearly choked when I read this! I won't ruin the TR suspense, but you just remember that you said this. That's all I'm saying for now!

I'm guessing that my psychic abilities have shown through

 

[Mndisneygirl]

THe first thing we asked the app was how to ask where the bathroom was!!!

By the way - it is Ou est toilette
Pronounced: Ooh AY twa let

Yeah, my dad has some interesting stories about when he was young. But he's been here for over 50 years now.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I'm guessing that my psychic abilities have shown through

My lips are sealed...

for now.

THe first thing we asked the app was how to ask where the bathroom was!!!

By the way - it is Ou est toilette
Pronounced: Ooh AY twa let

Yeah, my dad has some interesting stories about when he was young. But he's been here for over 50 years now.

Oh darn, I didn't give myself proper credit. I forgot that I also knew 'toilet' or 'twa let'! 'Tar jeh' is still my favorite though! I just know you are going to have some stories to tell about this trip when you get back. I always think about that in the back of my head when I am experiencing one of 'those' moments. I think, "Yeah this is crazy or annoying right now, but at least it makes for interesting TR material later!" Always trying to think of the lemonade from those lemons!

I know you are glad that your Dad made that monumental decision so many years ago. Your life would have turned out so differently if he hadn't come here. Being a woman over there would have been a whole different experience and in my opinion, a very bad one. And, of course, the DIS wouldn't have our wonderful friend Sheree if he had stayed there! Good choice Dad!

 

[pooh'smate]

Wow! Indonesia! You are adventurous! I bet that was an awesome trip! I hear they have the best reefs there too, so some really good snorkeling.

It was a really neat trip. I was 16 and it was a mission trip. We went to help build dorms for married students at a Bible school. We did get to go snorkeling and the last week we were there we were able to go to Bali.

 

[Woth2982]

Welcome back! That is quite a temp difference though! Yikes!

I'd love to know what you thought about Mexico. Did you do Disney's Western Car. cruise? I've been thinking about doing the Eastern Car., but the Western has more ports. Did you feel safe there? That's my only hangup with going to the Mexican ports. I'd love to hear your opinions.

I really want to do the dolphin swim! That's what I wanted to do this time but I knew DD would freak out in that deep water. I know I made the right choice, but if we go back, I'm doing the swim. Or we may do it at Discovery Cove. Either way, I WILL do it eventually!

I really liked Mexico. The cruise went to Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel. The ONLY place I felt unsafe was Roatan, however we paid about $60 each for a day trip to a near by private island, and given the way the city was we made the right choice. It had animals like you would see at Animal kingdom (only in cages), snorkeling, and I think float rentals, but we just hung at the beach. It also included lunch and had a cash bar. Belize had a little shopping area with an open air bar right at the port, so after our tour (we went through the cruise ship for that), we hung out there. Costa Maya was my favorite. It had a cruise ship only beach right off the dock, it had a huge out door shopping area, and it had a Senor Frogs on the beach. My new BFF Nesto would come over and refil my drink every 20-30 minutes so I didn't even have to get up! It had a dolphin swim area right on the beach, and a pool which also had a swim up bar to Senor Frogs! So amazing! Cozumel I felt safe but was not my favorite stop. It was "cold" that day (Costa Maya was 91 Cozumel was 74), so the snorkeling trip we went on made me very cold for the rest of the day, but after the trip we went shopping and ended the day at my favorite place......Senor Frogs. We went on the Norweigan Star. I liked it enough. I am not sure I am a 7 day cruiser (I think 5 would be a good amount of time), it also could have been that it was a family thing and my family drives me insane lol. I had a good time and I would DEFINITELY do Mexico again!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

It was a really neat trip. I was 16 and it was a mission trip. We went to help build dorms for married students at a Bible school. We did get to go snorkeling and the last week we were there we were able to go to Bali.

That sounds like a great trip! Our church is preparing to go to Honduras to build houses. I'd really love to go on a foreign mission trip someday soon. I think I want to start small though and go somewhere that speaks English and is safe. Then maybe I can venture out to some exotic place.

I really liked Mexico. The cruise went to Roatan, Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel. The ONLY place I felt unsafe was Roatan, however we paid about $60 each for a day trip to a near by private island, and given the way the city was we made the right choice. It had animals like you would see at Animal kingdom (only in cages), snorkeling, and I think float rentals, but we just hung at the beach. It also included lunch and had a cash bar. Belize had a little shopping area with an open air bar right at the port, so after our tour (we went through the cruise ship for that), we hung out there. Costa Maya was my favorite. It had a cruise ship only beach right off the dock, it had a huge out door shopping area, and it had a Senor Frogs on the beach. My new BFF Nesto would come over and refil my drink every 20-30 minutes so I didn't even have to get up! It had a dolphin swim area right on the beach, and a pool which also had a swim up bar to Senor Frogs! So amazing! Cozumel I felt safe but was not my favorite stop. It was "cold" that day (Costa Maya was 91 Cozumel was 74), so the snorkeling trip we went on made me very cold for the rest of the day, but after the trip we went shopping and ended the day at my favorite place......Senor Frogs. We went on the Norweigan Star. I liked it enough. I am not sure I am a 7 day cruiser (I think 5 would be a good amount of time), it also could have been that it was a family thing and my family drives me insane lol. I had a good time and I would DEFINITELY do Mexico again!

Wow that sounds like a fantastic trip! I'm glad to hear that you felt safe in Mexico. I have no doubt that the ports there would be beautiful, but I've just worried about crime, so that gives me a lot to think about. Thanks for sharing about your trip!

I'm not sure I am a seven day cruiser either. I really liked the 3 day cruise and I am not even sure that I would want to go for longer than that. My favorite parts were the ports. I think just hanging around on the ship for more than a day would drive me nuts. That's why I am reconsidering the Eastern Car. cruise. It has 4 days at sea. As much as I would like to see the virgin islands, I'm not certain I can handle 4 days at sea. At least the Western Car. cruise had 4 ports and only 3 days at sea. Who knows though, I may decide on something totally different.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[sjs314]

Hey Rinky - I somehow fell behind but finally got all caught up this evening. Loved the Dolphins. The beach pics were beautiful and those conch shells reminded my of my childhood, my aunt had one she had brought back from a trip to FL and I use to pick it up and listen to it every chance I could. I would have definately bought one.

Years ago a friend of mine went to the Bahamas on her Honeymoon and I remember when she came home her talking about how high the food prices were, I do recall toast was $5. Also I know she said you did not stray to much off the beaten path, they advised you to stay on the resort properties.

You had a perfect day and now pirate night coming up can't wait!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

So we made it back to the ship relaxed but hungry after our day at Blue Lagoon. We had very little time to get ready for dinner since we stayed for the last boat off the island. We were really rushed, but made it there pretty close to on time. This was our night to eat at Enchanted Garden.

The menu…

Our view…

DD ordered a Sprite in this flashing Pirate glass. I think the glass was $5 without an alcoholic beverage.

She still drinks out of this all the time.

DH ordered the Pomegranate Tea. He said it was really good. As usual, I was still trying to ward off any seasickness so I ordered Ginger Ale.

For appetizers DH and I both got the Lobster Ravioli. OH MY! YUM! YUM! YUM! This was one of the best things I ate on the cruise!

DD ordered the same thing that she would order every night, a salad. She’s crazy about a salad!

I got the Caramelized Sea Scallops for my main course. Again, YUM! YUM! YUM! Soooo good!

The ship started to pull out of port and we enjoyed watching the sail away.

While we were waiting on dessert, Roque came over and drew Minnie Mouse onto the table cloth! Then he told DD to color her in. She just sat there with her mouth hung open. I know she was thinking, “If I colored on the table cloth at home, I would be in BIG trouble!” I assured her it was ok so she got to work.

Next was dessert… DH had the Banana Foster Sundae and I had the Dark Chocolate Mousse. Both were very good.

DD had the strawberry shortcake.

(Some of these pictures are really bad. I think I had the wrong setting on my camera by accident. )

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Roque and Kristina came out and decided to have a good laugh at our expense.

DH and DD were given the Eeyore look!

Ok, I got it too, but you aren't seeing mine!

We finished up our meal and headed out, but not before getting a few pictures around this beautiful restaurant.

Time to get back to the room and transform ourselves into scallywags! It was Pirate Night after all!

This was waiting for us when we walked through the door. We really did have a fantastic stateroom hostess.

Some chocolate pirate coins were on the bed as well.

We donned our Pirate gear and headed out for the deck party.

DD really got into the whole pirate thing!

We went straight up to the pool deck after dinner without wasting any time, but as you can see, the hoards of people were already in place and there was no space left up front.

DD of ‘course couldn’t see anything so DH lifted her up on his shoulders.

Light up drinks were being sold.

I basically watched the show on the big screen because I couldn’t see the stage. I did lift my camera and take a few pictures, but they were pretty bad considering I couldn’t see what I was taking.

Arrrrrgh!

Just as with the Sail Away Party, we packed it in and left early. It was just too crowded and we couldn’t see what was going on. We were a little bummed as we headed back to the room to change before the night’s theater show.

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

In a flash DD ditched the pirate duds and we left for the show. We would be watching…

This guy was the narrator so to speak.

Sorry, I didn’t take many pictures during the show.

Ok, I know this is the DIS and all of us are here because we love Disney. And believe me, I love it just as much as a person possibly can, but that doesn’t mean that I have to think that everything Disney does is the best thing since sliced bread. It is very rare, but sometimes they do get a few things wrong in my opinion. So I’ll be very honest… I did not like this show…. at all. I was very surprised because I have never met a Disney performance that I didn’t love. I think they do live entertainment like no one else, but this just missed the mark for me. The storyline was boring, the music was blah, some of the characters were just plain annoying, and it wasn’t ‘classic’ Disney. The whole thing was one pop culture joke after another. Well, I don’t keep up with or care about that sort of stuff, so it just wasn’t very funny to me. I think everyone should try it for themselves though as each person has different tastes, but we will not be watching this one again the next time we sail with DCL. I’m ok with that though because it will give us more time to check out some of the other things on the ship like the detective game, comedy shows, or some of the other family entertainment.

We left straight from the theater and went back to the pool deck to try to get a decent spot for the fireworks! I was really excited about this! Fireworks are something that Disney ALWAYS gets right and I knew we were in for a treat!

I was so surprised to see that the deck had really cleared out and we had no problem at all finding a place to stand. I guess there were a lot of people still at the second dinner seating. Whatever the reason, it was nice to get a spot without feeling like a sardine!

The show was FABULOUS, but my pictures are really horrible! My camera couldn’t figure out whether it was supposed to focus on the light form the Aquaduck or the fireworks, so I didn’t get much worth sharing. I should have just videotaped them.

Told you they were bad!

Then Captain Jack came flying down from the smokestack! (No good pictures here either because I was still set on fireworks mode! It just wasn’t my finest picture taking moment!)

We really enjoyed ourselves watching the fireworks! We will probably pass on the deck parties next time, just because of the crowds, but the fireworks will always be a must-do!

They were having a special pirate buffet in Cabanas that night and we wanted to check it out. None of us had any room left for food, but we wanted to see what they offered.

The gorgeous mosaics again…. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of that thing!

I could just hear the scenes playing in my head while looking at this.

‘Children! Get out of Mr. Johanson’s yard now!’

‘Ok, well I do know this one joke… you see there was a mollusk and a sea cucumber…’

‘Hello, name’s Bruce!’

Did I ever mention that Nemo is my favorite Disney movie? I may have seen it just a few times too many!

Cabanas was a little busy so I didn’t want to get in the way taking pictures of the buffet. I just took this one and we went back to the room.

And you would think that after getting up at 5:00 that morning and having the really busy day we had, that we would be hitting the hay. Nope! We went back to the room and got our bathing suits on!

I can’t remember now if the pool and Aquaduck had reopened or if we just got in the hot tub. This is the only picture I have so the other stuff may have still been closed because of the Pirate Party.

And believe it or not, that was finally the end of this very long and wonderful day! We slept really, really well that night, and it was a good thing because we would need all our energy for our next day at Castaway Cay!

Up next: On the fourth day of Swinter my vacation gave to me, a private island for the Dream and an escape from reality!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

The Enchanted Garden reminds me so much of Crystal Palace. Neat!

I'm sorry the show wasn't really your thing Rinky. If you won't tell anyone, I am not really a fan of the parades in WDW. To each his own, right?

I think watching fireworks aboard a cruise ship would be so neat!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Hey Rinky - I somehow fell behind but finally got all caught up this evening. Loved the Dolphins. The beach pics were beautiful and those conch shells reminded my of my childhood, my aunt had one she had brought back from a trip to FL and I use to pick it up and listen to it every chance I could. I would have definately bought one.

Years ago a friend of mine went to the Bahamas on her Honeymoon and I remember when she came home her talking about how high the food prices were, I do recall toast was $5. Also I know she said you did not stray to much off the beaten path, they advised you to stay on the resort properties.

You had a perfect day and now pirate night coming up can't wait!

I know, I am kicking myself for not buying one of those conch shells. They were enormous!

$5 for toast! I would starve to death if I lived there.

I know people who don't mind strolling around Nassau, but I'm not one of them. I just don't trust people at all, and I know I wouldn't even enjoy myself for looking over my shoulder.

Pirate night is up!

The Enchanted Garden reminds me so much of Crystal Palace. Neat!

I'm sorry the show wasn't really your thing Rinky. If you won't tell anyone, I am not really a fan of the parades in WDW. To each his own, right?

I think watching fireworks aboard a cruise ship would be so neat!

EG is really beautiful, just like CP. And the food was good too, just like CP!

I won't tell a soul. That's funny though because I love the Dreams Come True parade at MK. We paid for a day's park admission one year just to get in and see it and then we left! That's why I say that everyone should try things out for themselves because everyone is so different. I will say that I am not a fan of the AK parade though and the one at HS is not a must do either. But it's ok not to like something at Disney. Some people on the DIS freak out though if you say that you aren't in love with all things Disney. I don't quite understand that. When I read a TR, I want the writer to be honest b/c I am taking notes on what I'd like to do on my next trip... KWIM?

The fireworks were one of the best things about the ship to me. I loved it!

 

[jenseib]

I didn't like Villians either. It was Claire's favorite...go figure.
I don't think we had half that many people for our deck pirate party...I am amazed how crowded your pictures look, but for fireworks it was crazy. And we totally forgot about Cabanas buffet that night, so I never even got to see what they had out. I am sitting at Claires dance class right now...freezing and starving...and I just want to jump right in your post and eat that food then relax in the hottub!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I didn't like Villians either. It was Claire's favorite...go figure.
I don't think we had half that many people for our deck pirate party...I am amazed how crowded your pictures look, but for fireworks it was crazy. And we totally forgot about Cabanas buffet that night, so I never even got to see what they had out. I am sitting at Claires dance class right now...freezing and starving...and I just want to jump right in your post and eat that food then relax in the hottub!

That is so strange that your pirate night was the complete opposite of ours. I was really surprised that so many people had cleared out for the fireworks. I thought that would've drawn the largest crowds of anything on board. I was glad though. By that point, I was getting weary of the crowds.

I couldn't get a good look at the buffet b/c I didn't want to be rude since I wasn't eating, but I didn't see anything special. Maybe I missed it though.

 

[sharonW]

Wow!!! not a good show, eh??? Guess it happens!!!

The food looked delish, nice presentation.

I thought all your pics great, YES,even the fireworks!!!

Totally enjoying this marvelous disney adventure!!!

The only negative thing I will say is UGH to the looks
of those crowds...but have been to WDW many times
at christmas wk which is absolutely crazy with crowds.
Would it stop me from going?? "NEVER"!!!

Cannot wait for more updates!!!

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi Rinky, looked like a great evening - we loved the theming at the Enchanted Garden.. I think this restaurant is going to be on the Fantasy ship too so I'm looking forward to going to it again next year!

I sort of agree with you on 'Villains Tonight' - it was the one show I wasn't as worried about seeing, but DH said that he wouldn't mind seeing it so we went... he didn't know most of the villains though! (Yzma, Kronk, Hades, Pain & Panic lol) ... I liked the storyline but didn't feel the pop culture jokes were necessary - I loved the Cruella De'Vil scene & Scar too


Looking forward to more updates, your TR has been so good so far



Emma x