Day 3 Castaway Cay
Even though Mickey woke us up on time (7:30 AM) our group was a little tired and we spent a portion of the morning watching Captain Henry dock the boat at CC. Un fortunately we were on the port side of the ship and because t the Wonder is backed in at CC we only had the water and the dock to view. There are a lot of people already on CC that assist in the docking and it is just amazing that they are able to maneuver such a large vessel so accurately. I tried to get everyone up and ready so that we could be one of the first families off the ship, but it was a tough sell. Forty fours hours of cruising had taken a toll on our little group and although the day bags were packed and the snorkel equipment was right by the door, everyone was very happy to sleep for just two more minutes or (in the case of my beautiful wife) enjoy their room-service coffee on the verandah and enjoy the sun. When I was finally able to get everyone in gear, fed, and headed toward the gangway, it must have been almost 10:00 (shamefully late, IMHO). Our first stop on CC was the post office. We had brought some pre-addressed mail with us and stopped off to get stamps. We claimed some very nice chaise lounges on the family beach (no hassle whatsoever, even at 10:00) and proceeded to don our snorkel equipment (they give out complimentary vests at the lifeguard area) and headed over to the snorkel park Very clean and calm water, the only unfortunate thing was the lack of fish or vegetation. I heard that there was a ray swimming around that morning, but did not run into anyone that had actually seen it. I went all the way out to the submarine (they could have done a much, much better job with the snorkel area. I thought that snorkeling at CC was going to be the highlight of our trip and I was very disappointed), but found only a few fish. While I was out finding Nemo (sorry, I couldnt resist) the kids had rented the floats and tubes and were having a great time in the surf. When I returned to shore it was 11:45 and we wanted to get to Cookies BBQ and grab lunch so that we could comfortably make our 1:25 Banana Boat excursion. Cookies BBQ was great! There was a very short line and the food was very good. Great hamburgers, franks, Ribs, & chicken. The Lobster burger (it was really just a crab cake) was excellent. My wife said the chocolate chip cookie was one of the best shes ever had. Plenty of room to sit and eat and a very memorable and enjoyable meal. We walked down to the beach after lunch and found the Banana Boats. This was definitely one of the highlights of our cruise. My two kids (boys, ages 8 & 11), my wife and I, and my parents (ages 68 & 70) all got on the Banana Boat and were taken for a ride (pulled by a small speedboat. You can see a picture of it on the DCL website) around the Disney Wonder. Its bumpy and wet and more fun than you will ever have at home. The screaming and laughing and sights of driving by the Wonder, will be remembered for a long time. After the Banana Boat ride, we played Frisbee at the end of the family beach (in between the family beach and the teen beach), till it was time for us to get our bike rentals. This was definitely another highlight of our trip. I dont think that we have ever gone on a family bike ride before (my kids have bikes, but my wife and I dont), but we will definitely do it again. The path takes you up the road to the airstrip and then out to a spot past the adult beach, where there is a water station and a beautiful viewing point that has a great view of the Caribbean. They told us that the whole path was 3 miles (round trip), but it was glorious. We felt as if we were a million miles from home. We didnt really do any shopping on CC. My wife looked in She Sells, but came out empty handed. We went back to our lounges and collected our stuff and headed back to the ship. It was about 4:00 and we could have easily spent another few hours on the island. It was wonderful and Im sure that DCL will figure out a way to have their guests enjoy more time at CC (that seemed to be the biggest complaint on the trip not enough time at CC). We returned to the ship and I (once again) headed up to the Rainforest room for a steam and shower. That night we had dinner at Tritons. This was definitely the best of all the restaurants on the ship. My father and I brought sport jackets to wear for dinner and entering the beautiful dining room, through the main entrance in the atrium, was a great experience. The maitred walked my mother down the aisle to our table as we celebrated my fathers 70th birthday.
I started with the Deep fried camembert and the escargot (both excellent, get them both, dont be shy, youre on vacation), followed by the roasted duck breast (very very good) and the cheese cannelloni (very good). They brought a cake to the table to celebrate my fathers birthday and we had that with a Grand Marnier soufflé. The cake was good and the soufflé was just OK. The soufflé at Palo was excellent and the difference was noticeable. The bread, the wine (again, we had the Robert Mondavi cabarnet sauvignon), the food, the service & the setting definitely made this one of the best family meals weve ever had. After dinner the kids played some Bingo and then we were off to see the Golden Mickeys. They had Rona Rivers interviewing various stars and celebrities (the kids on the Wonder) on a red carpet as they entered the theater, and the show was very good. That night the kids and I went to shutters and Mickeys mates to do some shopping and we met up with some wonderful crew members. We checked some parts of the ship that we hadnt seen and really enjoyed the walk. I believe that nights specialty pizza (I told you I was on vacation) was ham & pineapple. We made it a point to visit Pinochios every night and Im glad we did. Very soon after it was bedtime. We were getting ready for our day at sea
Even though Mickey woke us up on time (7:30 AM) our group was a little tired and we spent a portion of the morning watching Captain Henry dock the boat at CC. Un fortunately we were on the port side of the ship and because t the Wonder is backed in at CC we only had the water and the dock to view. There are a lot of people already on CC that assist in the docking and it is just amazing that they are able to maneuver such a large vessel so accurately. I tried to get everyone up and ready so that we could be one of the first families off the ship, but it was a tough sell. Forty fours hours of cruising had taken a toll on our little group and although the day bags were packed and the snorkel equipment was right by the door, everyone was very happy to sleep for just two more minutes or (in the case of my beautiful wife) enjoy their room-service coffee on the verandah and enjoy the sun. When I was finally able to get everyone in gear, fed, and headed toward the gangway, it must have been almost 10:00 (shamefully late, IMHO). Our first stop on CC was the post office. We had brought some pre-addressed mail with us and stopped off to get stamps. We claimed some very nice chaise lounges on the family beach (no hassle whatsoever, even at 10:00) and proceeded to don our snorkel equipment (they give out complimentary vests at the lifeguard area) and headed over to the snorkel park Very clean and calm water, the only unfortunate thing was the lack of fish or vegetation. I heard that there was a ray swimming around that morning, but did not run into anyone that had actually seen it. I went all the way out to the submarine (they could have done a much, much better job with the snorkel area. I thought that snorkeling at CC was going to be the highlight of our trip and I was very disappointed), but found only a few fish. While I was out finding Nemo (sorry, I couldnt resist) the kids had rented the floats and tubes and were having a great time in the surf. When I returned to shore it was 11:45 and we wanted to get to Cookies BBQ and grab lunch so that we could comfortably make our 1:25 Banana Boat excursion. Cookies BBQ was great! There was a very short line and the food was very good. Great hamburgers, franks, Ribs, & chicken. The Lobster burger (it was really just a crab cake) was excellent. My wife said the chocolate chip cookie was one of the best shes ever had. Plenty of room to sit and eat and a very memorable and enjoyable meal. We walked down to the beach after lunch and found the Banana Boats. This was definitely one of the highlights of our cruise. My two kids (boys, ages 8 & 11), my wife and I, and my parents (ages 68 & 70) all got on the Banana Boat and were taken for a ride (pulled by a small speedboat. You can see a picture of it on the DCL website) around the Disney Wonder. Its bumpy and wet and more fun than you will ever have at home. The screaming and laughing and sights of driving by the Wonder, will be remembered for a long time. After the Banana Boat ride, we played Frisbee at the end of the family beach (in between the family beach and the teen beach), till it was time for us to get our bike rentals. This was definitely another highlight of our trip. I dont think that we have ever gone on a family bike ride before (my kids have bikes, but my wife and I dont), but we will definitely do it again. The path takes you up the road to the airstrip and then out to a spot past the adult beach, where there is a water station and a beautiful viewing point that has a great view of the Caribbean. They told us that the whole path was 3 miles (round trip), but it was glorious. We felt as if we were a million miles from home. We didnt really do any shopping on CC. My wife looked in She Sells, but came out empty handed. We went back to our lounges and collected our stuff and headed back to the ship. It was about 4:00 and we could have easily spent another few hours on the island. It was wonderful and Im sure that DCL will figure out a way to have their guests enjoy more time at CC (that seemed to be the biggest complaint on the trip not enough time at CC). We returned to the ship and I (once again) headed up to the Rainforest room for a steam and shower. That night we had dinner at Tritons. This was definitely the best of all the restaurants on the ship. My father and I brought sport jackets to wear for dinner and entering the beautiful dining room, through the main entrance in the atrium, was a great experience. The maitred walked my mother down the aisle to our table as we celebrated my fathers 70th birthday.
I started with the Deep fried camembert and the escargot (both excellent, get them both, dont be shy, youre on vacation), followed by the roasted duck breast (very very good) and the cheese cannelloni (very good). They brought a cake to the table to celebrate my fathers birthday and we had that with a Grand Marnier soufflé. The cake was good and the soufflé was just OK. The soufflé at Palo was excellent and the difference was noticeable. The bread, the wine (again, we had the Robert Mondavi cabarnet sauvignon), the food, the service & the setting definitely made this one of the best family meals weve ever had. After dinner the kids played some Bingo and then we were off to see the Golden Mickeys. They had Rona Rivers interviewing various stars and celebrities (the kids on the Wonder) on a red carpet as they entered the theater, and the show was very good. That night the kids and I went to shutters and Mickeys mates to do some shopping and we met up with some wonderful crew members. We checked some parts of the ship that we hadnt seen and really enjoyed the walk. I believe that nights specialty pizza (I told you I was on vacation) was ham & pineapple. We made it a point to visit Pinochios every night and Im glad we did. Very soon after it was bedtime. We were getting ready for our day at sea
