After such an exhausting day in Nassau followed up by the pirate party, we slept in the morning of October 15th. We had another big day ahead of us and we needed to be well rested! At quarter to nine I wandered out on to the veranda to find the sun welcoming us over the bay at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island.
(Side note: after arriving home I found myself interested in the history of the island and found a great article written about it here.)
The perfect tropical lushness of Castaway Cay beckoned us and we got dressed quickly, grabbed a quick breakfast at the Beach Blanket Buffet and went down to the Gangway to hit the island!
An excited Munchkin!
The back of the ship with Donald painting!
After just a little walk we saw Minnie giving autographs!
Minnie was so gracious and friendly!
Out of the 1000 acres on the island, Disney Cruise guests have access to about 110 acres of lush tropical paradise. The rest of the island is thick with tropical vegetation and wildlife.
The Flying Dutchman!
Close-up of the rear of the Dutchman, spooky!
More picture taking opportunities!
After taking pictures and a little tram ride, we dropped the kids off at Scuttles Cove for kids activities. They would be entertained by the Disney staff while The Man and I spent some time at Serenity Bay, the private adults only beach on Castaway Cay.
While sitting on this stunning beach, The Man and I enjoyed a couple of Bahama Mamas (10 AM isn't too early for rum, is it?) and that's when we noticed that there were no sounds of children. It was the first time ever that I can remember being on a beach and not hearing children playing and not having to make sure children were safe. We could lay back and listen to the waves gently lapping the shore and just relax...
It was beautiful, it was serene, it was nice... for about 1/2 hour. Then we got bored. :)
We attempted a little exploration but quickly found a "Crew Members Only Please" sign so we turned around. We decided to head back to the family area. We people watched for a bit and then found the rest of the family. My dad offered us a couple of tickets on a glass bottom boat ride which we gratefully accepted!
It was beautiful, it was serene, it was nice... for about 1/2 hour. Then we got bored. :)
We attempted a little exploration but quickly found a "Crew Members Only Please" sign so we turned around. We decided to head back to the family area. We people watched for a bit and then found the rest of the family. My dad offered us a couple of tickets on a glass bottom boat ride which we gratefully accepted!
The boat ride offered us a nice view of the ship docked in port.
Gorda Rock, on the northwest side of the island
The boat operator allowed us to throw oats overboard and these fish went bonkers for them!
The Man's hat blew off of his head and on to the glass bottom of the boat. :)
Jet skiers next to the ship
The lesser known side of the Dutchman!
This side was the part of the ship where film crews could install lights and cameras.
After the boat ride we went over to Cookie's Barbeque and grabbed a little lunch before picking up the kids from Scuttles Cove. On our way over to get them we noticed there was a place we could peek into the kids area and we caught a few shots of the kids while they were playing!
Goober was covered in wet sand when we picked him up!
Our beautiful girl, off to play
After we got the kids we got back on the ship and headed up to our stateroom to clean up. The Man jumped in the shower and Bug took a nap as we pulled away from the island. Munchkin, Goober, and I watched the Castaway Cay crew members waving from the island as we sailed off into the Caribbean for the last time.
Bye Castaway Cay!
After we were all cleaned up, Munchkin and Goober wanted to go back to their clubs and Bug wanted to keep napping so The Man and I decided to go watch a movie in the theater. We watched SwingVote, which was a cute movie... what I saw of it anyhow.
Because we needed to have our bags outside of our room by 11 PM for pick up that night and we needed to be at dinner at 8:15, I was anxious to get our stuff packed and out before dinner. I had done about half of the packing, but still had quite a bit to go so I just couldn't stop thinking about it during the movie. About halfway through the movie I couldn't take it anymore and excused myself to go back to the room and finish packing.
Bug never even woke up the whole time I packed our bags! I got them out into the hallway and woke Bug up so he'd be alert for dinner. The two of us went back to the theater and joined The Man to watch the end of the movie.
After the movie we grabbed Munchkin and Bug from their clubs so we could all have dinner together on our last night. On the way to dinner I thought I'd stop into Shutters to look at all of the pictures taken by the Disney photographers to see which ones we'd purchase. Evidently I wasn't the only person with that idea! Shutters was so packed I couldn't keep the kids together and I nearly had a panic attack right there amidst all those happy photos! I got us out of there as quickly as possible and decided to go back later that night when it was less crowded.
We had dinner that night in Animator's Palate. I wish I had some pictures, but I had left my camera in the room. Animator's Palate is an amazing restaurant. When we first sat down the whole restaurant is in black and white, with pictures of Disney movies all over the walls. Over the course of the evening, the walls slowly turn colors until at the end all of those beautiful images are fully colored! It's really quite a production and it was perfect for our last night on the cruise.
After dinner the kids wanted to go back to their clubs again as they were having a last night movie party. The Man and I took the opportunity to purchase some pictures from Shutters and to have a quiet last night drink at The Cadillac Lounge. The ship was really rocking on this last night as we had entered the Florida Straits and the Gulf Stream. Our waitress at the Cadillac Lounge had to walk very carefully to bring us our drinks. :)
After our drinks we picked up our very sleepy children from the clubs and went back to our stateroom to see our final turndown service.
Because we needed to have our bags outside of our room by 11 PM for pick up that night and we needed to be at dinner at 8:15, I was anxious to get our stuff packed and out before dinner. I had done about half of the packing, but still had quite a bit to go so I just couldn't stop thinking about it during the movie. About halfway through the movie I couldn't take it anymore and excused myself to go back to the room and finish packing.
Bug never even woke up the whole time I packed our bags! I got them out into the hallway and woke Bug up so he'd be alert for dinner. The two of us went back to the theater and joined The Man to watch the end of the movie.
After the movie we grabbed Munchkin and Bug from their clubs so we could all have dinner together on our last night. On the way to dinner I thought I'd stop into Shutters to look at all of the pictures taken by the Disney photographers to see which ones we'd purchase. Evidently I wasn't the only person with that idea! Shutters was so packed I couldn't keep the kids together and I nearly had a panic attack right there amidst all those happy photos! I got us out of there as quickly as possible and decided to go back later that night when it was less crowded.
We had dinner that night in Animator's Palate. I wish I had some pictures, but I had left my camera in the room. Animator's Palate is an amazing restaurant. When we first sat down the whole restaurant is in black and white, with pictures of Disney movies all over the walls. Over the course of the evening, the walls slowly turn colors until at the end all of those beautiful images are fully colored! It's really quite a production and it was perfect for our last night on the cruise.
After dinner the kids wanted to go back to their clubs again as they were having a last night movie party. The Man and I took the opportunity to purchase some pictures from Shutters and to have a quiet last night drink at The Cadillac Lounge. The ship was really rocking on this last night as we had entered the Florida Straits and the Gulf Stream. Our waitress at the Cadillac Lounge had to walk very carefully to bring us our drinks. :)
After our drinks we picked up our very sleepy children from the clubs and went back to our stateroom to see our final turndown service.
Perfect!
The morning came too early on October 16th, the saddest day of the cruise. The day was overcast which fit our melancholy mood as we dressed for breakfast on our disembarkation day.
The view from our veranda docked in Port Canaveral on disembarkation morning
Carnival's Sensation, our third sighting of her this trip
Disney Cruise Line transportation, waiting to take passengers to hotels and the airport
We sadly packed up our toiletries into our carry on and grabbed our pillows and said goodbye to stateroom 8044.
Ready to go home!
There's our van, patiently waiting for us to return.
During our long drive home everyone slept except for me, the driver, and I collapsed exhausted into bed practically the moment we got home.
Till the next vacation!
Till the next vacation!
