Still reading eh? OK, please keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times 
. . .
Today's cast continues to be myself, DW, DS7 and DS5.
On to Castaway Cay . . . .
As I said before, it was another late night for the family what with Pirate Night
and swimming. So we all slept in a bit (a nice advantage of an inside cabin - no early morning sunlight to wake you up 
). Just like yesterday, I was the first one up. I made it up to deck 9 to fetch our morning coffee and suprise, we were already docked at Castaway Cay 
. I would have tought we would hear the engines when Captain John backed us in. Slept right through it all.
BTW, the weather was absolutely perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, air temp around 80 and a very light breeze
Anyway, I took the required pictures of the nearly deserted island and made my way back down with two coffees (from the beverage station this time). DW was stirring, but both boys were still dead to the world. DW wanted to let them sleep some more (plus she wanted a few extra Z's), so I headed back up to deck 9 to have a quick breakfast at Beach Blanket Buffet. This was the only trip up to the buffet on the whole cruise. Last trip on the Wonder, we ate breakfast and lunch there most days - go figure.
After eating, I went back down to deck 2 to rouse the family. By this time DS7 and DW were ready for breakfast, so they headed off to Parrot Cay. Soon DS5 was up and ready to go, so we met them there. Pretty soon we were making our way down to deck 1 aft an on to the most perfect island in the Atlantic
.
We stopped by the post office to snap a couple of pictures of Chip and Dale, then made our way down to the family beach. We set up camp near the water play structure and hit the lagoon. The signs posted near the tram stop said the water temp was 74 degrees. It was a bit cool, but given time you could get used to it. Especially if you have a wet suit
. Except the wet suit does not do you any good if it is still in your cabin 
. I decided to play for awhile before heading back.
Back to the ship I walk to fetch my wetsuit and the two inflatible water floats. At least I was able to catch the tram on the way back to the beach. By the time I got back, it was time for lunch. We all had some good food from Cookie's then made our way to Grouper's game pavillion to digest and get out of the sun for a bit.
This is a neat place to take a break. They have foosball, pool, checkers, chess, basketball, shuffleboard, and a big Connect Four game. Along our way to Grouper's, we passed the bike rental. They had adult bikes (single speed) and BMX-type bikes for kids. Some of the bikes had training wheels and there were child seats on some of the adult bikes. They also had helmets available. We decided to wait on the bikes since some of us did not have shoes (never did make it back - next time).
After Grouper's, we went back to the beach to play. DW stayed with the kids so I could take a run at the snorkle lagoon. First stop was to change into my wetsuit (not much fun with sandy feet
). It made a big difference in the water. I was very comfortable swimming around. No sunken Mickey yet. Must still be out for repairs 
.
The fish were very friendly. I think they are very used to people being in the water. Everytime I would turn around, it seemed that there were 4 or 5 coming to check me out.
Back over with the family, I took DS5 out to the play structure (water depth around 4-5 feet) so he could climb. DS7 built sand castles and DW took a break. Finally it was time to call it day, so we started to pack up. I went with the kids to de-sand and to change out of my wetsuit. We then stopped by She Sells for some last minute shopping (didn't buy anything) and made our way back onto the ship.
Everyone then went up to deck 10 to watch sail-away. The CMs that work on the island full-time send you off in Disney style
. We also waved to the folks that run the various watersports as they took their boats back to Abaco Island. Soon we were pulling away.
Some general thoughts/tips for Castaway Cay:
1. If you want to have an early day on the island, you might need to forego some of the festivities of Pirate Night (or just go sleep deprived).
2. Try to remember everything when you leave the ship. While having the ship tied up at the pier is great, it still takes time to go all the way back
.
3. Make sure to have some down-time out of the sun. Grouper's was a very nice break.
4. Keep an eye out for the ship's photographers. They took some fantastic pictures of us playing around on the beach.
5. My kids did not go into the club on the island. It looked like the kids were having a fun time, mine just wanted to play with us.
Soon it was time to dress for dinner. Tonight we were in Triton's so we all dressed up (shirt and ties for the boys, dress for DW and suit for me). We had a great dinner, then took DS7 to the lab. DS5 and DW went in search of autographs and pictures until it was time for the Golden Mickeys (seats in the front row again).
After the show, we went to the Who Wants to Be A Mouseketeer show in Studio Sea. It was a cute show. When you go into the show, you are given a number. Then they call numbers randomly to get the contestants. No free cruises on this one, nice prizes though.
Soon we were all just too tired to carry on, so it was off to bed. Thank goodness it was a sea day tomorrow.
Rick
. . . Today's cast continues to be myself, DW, DS7 and DS5.
On to Castaway Cay . . . .
As I said before, it was another late night for the family what with Pirate Night
and swimming. So we all slept in a bit (a nice advantage of an inside cabin - no early morning sunlight to wake you up ). Just like yesterday, I was the first one up. I made it up to deck 9 to fetch our morning coffee and suprise, we were already docked at Castaway Cay . I would have tought we would hear the engines when Captain John backed us in. Slept right through it all.BTW, the weather was absolutely perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, air temp around 80 and a very light breeze
Anyway, I took the required pictures of the nearly deserted island and made my way back down with two coffees (from the beverage station this time). DW was stirring, but both boys were still dead to the world. DW wanted to let them sleep some more (plus she wanted a few extra Z's), so I headed back up to deck 9 to have a quick breakfast at Beach Blanket Buffet. This was the only trip up to the buffet on the whole cruise. Last trip on the Wonder, we ate breakfast and lunch there most days - go figure.
After eating, I went back down to deck 2 to rouse the family. By this time DS7 and DW were ready for breakfast, so they headed off to Parrot Cay. Soon DS5 was up and ready to go, so we met them there. Pretty soon we were making our way down to deck 1 aft an on to the most perfect island in the Atlantic
.We stopped by the post office to snap a couple of pictures of Chip and Dale, then made our way down to the family beach. We set up camp near the water play structure and hit the lagoon. The signs posted near the tram stop said the water temp was 74 degrees. It was a bit cool, but given time you could get used to it. Especially if you have a wet suit
. Except the wet suit does not do you any good if it is still in your cabin . I decided to play for awhile before heading back.Back to the ship I walk to fetch my wetsuit and the two inflatible water floats. At least I was able to catch the tram on the way back to the beach. By the time I got back, it was time for lunch. We all had some good food from Cookie's then made our way to Grouper's game pavillion to digest and get out of the sun for a bit.
This is a neat place to take a break. They have foosball, pool, checkers, chess, basketball, shuffleboard, and a big Connect Four game. Along our way to Grouper's, we passed the bike rental. They had adult bikes (single speed) and BMX-type bikes for kids. Some of the bikes had training wheels and there were child seats on some of the adult bikes. They also had helmets available. We decided to wait on the bikes since some of us did not have shoes (never did make it back - next time).
After Grouper's, we went back to the beach to play. DW stayed with the kids so I could take a run at the snorkle lagoon. First stop was to change into my wetsuit (not much fun with sandy feet
). It made a big difference in the water. I was very comfortable swimming around. No sunken Mickey yet. Must still be out for repairs .The fish were very friendly. I think they are very used to people being in the water. Everytime I would turn around, it seemed that there were 4 or 5 coming to check me out.
Back over with the family, I took DS5 out to the play structure (water depth around 4-5 feet) so he could climb. DS7 built sand castles and DW took a break. Finally it was time to call it day, so we started to pack up. I went with the kids to de-sand and to change out of my wetsuit. We then stopped by She Sells for some last minute shopping (didn't buy anything) and made our way back onto the ship.
Everyone then went up to deck 10 to watch sail-away. The CMs that work on the island full-time send you off in Disney style
. We also waved to the folks that run the various watersports as they took their boats back to Abaco Island. Soon we were pulling away.Some general thoughts/tips for Castaway Cay:
1. If you want to have an early day on the island, you might need to forego some of the festivities of Pirate Night (or just go sleep deprived).
2. Try to remember everything when you leave the ship. While having the ship tied up at the pier is great, it still takes time to go all the way back
.3. Make sure to have some down-time out of the sun. Grouper's was a very nice break.
4. Keep an eye out for the ship's photographers. They took some fantastic pictures of us playing around on the beach.
5. My kids did not go into the club on the island. It looked like the kids were having a fun time, mine just wanted to play with us.
Soon it was time to dress for dinner. Tonight we were in Triton's so we all dressed up (shirt and ties for the boys, dress for DW and suit for me). We had a great dinner, then took DS7 to the lab. DS5 and DW went in search of autographs and pictures until it was time for the Golden Mickeys (seats in the front row again).
After the show, we went to the Who Wants to Be A Mouseketeer show in Studio Sea. It was a cute show. When you go into the show, you are given a number. Then they call numbers randomly to get the contestants. No free cruises on this one, nice prizes though.
Soon we were all just too tired to carry on, so it was off to bed. Thank goodness it was a sea day tomorrow.
Rick
