Mike sez: This was Castaway Cay Day on the cruise. It is the best part of a Disney Cruise as far as I'm concerned. I was especially looking forward to it the last time I was here, I spent the entire day at Serenity Beach (the adults-only beach...another thing Disney got right about the cruise. I was determined I was going to do 'stuff' this time. Really helps that Donna likes to do 'stuff' too.
We booked a couple of excursions. The first was on the glass bottom boat. I have done this in other places. The big difference with this one was Marcus, the first mate. He is a 'local' and knows the islands, their history, and the waters that surround them. He made this trip. He was so entertaining and knew the answer to everything...except one thing. We had seen a LARGE red snapper and I ask him if he knew what we called them in Georgia. Naturally, he said 'no'. Me and my SA mouth told him "Dinner". He laughed, told me that was a good one and he was going to remember that. So...if you ever go on the glass bottom boat tour with Marcus as the first mate and he mentions dinner when talking about the bigger fish, remember when he gets his jokes! All in all it was a wonderful experience!
Because we had some time before our next tour, we stopped at the BBQ shack for lunch. This is so efficient...line moves smoothly and quickly. For some reason, I ended up with ribs and Donna had the chicken...again. I was beginning to notice a trend in our eating habits! But the entire time we were on this vacation, we made it a point to never get the same thing so we could taste as much as was offered as possible.
Our second tour was Castaway Ray's Stingray Encounter. This is fun! The resident 'stingray-ologist' gives a lesson on local rays, what to look for and the differences of the rays in the immediate area. Very educational (on vacation even!). From there, its down to the water for a little more on rays habits and a chance to feed them...by hand. A very strange feeling as they suck their food from the bottom. Each on hangs around for a second or two for a noggie under the chin. They seem to love that. And its fun to watch them scramble back to the entrance of the feeding thing they have for another taste. The third part of the encounter is snorkling with the rays. They give you a life vest, goggles and a snorkle. While we didn't do this very long, it is still fun.
Just to make sure we saw all there was to see, we took the tram out to Serenity Beach...after a visit with Diana, Darryl and Laura. Kinda hard to tell who was having the most fun...think it was a big ol tie between all of us.
Leaving Castaway Cay is so hard to do. This place practically defines the Caribbean. It is what you always see in the tour brouchers. But alas, leave we must.
We did go to the show that evening. This is what Disney live entertainment is all about. The sets, costumes, music, even the story line is worth watching. I agree with Diana...it is easy to see why this show has won Best of...for 8 years running!
Our dinner for the evening was at Animator's Palette. I love this place. The big difference is 10 years ago, Disney did not have as many movies out as they do now. The pictures were constantly changing, making sure each was represented. I thought the room itself changed color a little more, but I may be wrong. But watching the room change is great. And the servers, waiters and whoever else they drag out do put on a show for the passengers (they used to have a 'chant' they did, thanking the passengers for cruising with them).
Again, we spent way too much talking with our dinner companions. And as a result, I have no idea what the on-deck show was. We did manage to get to the ship stores and spend our obiligatory arm and leg for souvenirs! But thats OK...everybody needs souvenirs!
Unfortunately, our last day is tomorrow.
Donna sez... Ok..I'm in love with this island. I enjoyed the glass bottomed boat, but I really liked playing with the rays. They are intelligent and beautiful creatures. Before we went to play with the rays, I thought I might want to get used to the water temp so I waded out into the water. Having fish around you is one thing...being able to see them is another. Mike noticed one fish following me and a minute or two later we found out why. Out of nowhere a large shadow came zipping right between Mike and me. By the speed of this fish we knew two things...he was hungry and my little shadow was his lunch. It got a good squeal out of me. (Mike added...as best as I could tell, it was a 3 foot or so hungry barracuda!)
As mike said, we then went to Serenity Beach. For right now I'll just say it was Heavenly. On to the pictures.
Funny, I never noticed this before now.
We know Capn' Jack's in there somewhere
What is it with Disney and characters hanging off the back of the ship?
Doesn't he look relaxed?
Me and my Baby
Looks like Mike is hooked in more ways than one.
Ok now I'm going to continue about Serenity Beach. I left this for last because something happened that just absolutely made my trip on this beach.
Mike was sitting on a beach chair and I decided to take a real swim. I had noticed that most of the shells I had seen were pretty much either all broken up or microscopic so I picked up a couple pieces of coral to bring home and put in my catch all out back. As I was wading out to find the deep part so I could swim I looked down to make sure I wasn't stepping on anything that might be alive. I happened to see something lying on the bottom and I gingerly used my foot to flip it over, making sure I moved back quickly in case some critter scuttled out of whatever it was. Nothing attacked me so I bent down and picked it up.
It was a beautiful conch shell. It was perfectly shaped and all in one piece. It was overlaid with worn white coral. I couldn't believe my luck. of all the people who had been passed this spot...I was the lucky one to find such a treasure. To find this shell on our honeymoon was so neat. I packed it in my bag and brought it home. It will hold a place of honor with all the special things we have from our wedding and honeymoon.
We booked a couple of excursions. The first was on the glass bottom boat. I have done this in other places. The big difference with this one was Marcus, the first mate. He is a 'local' and knows the islands, their history, and the waters that surround them. He made this trip. He was so entertaining and knew the answer to everything...except one thing. We had seen a LARGE red snapper and I ask him if he knew what we called them in Georgia. Naturally, he said 'no'. Me and my SA mouth told him "Dinner". He laughed, told me that was a good one and he was going to remember that. So...if you ever go on the glass bottom boat tour with Marcus as the first mate and he mentions dinner when talking about the bigger fish, remember when he gets his jokes! All in all it was a wonderful experience!
Because we had some time before our next tour, we stopped at the BBQ shack for lunch. This is so efficient...line moves smoothly and quickly. For some reason, I ended up with ribs and Donna had the chicken...again. I was beginning to notice a trend in our eating habits! But the entire time we were on this vacation, we made it a point to never get the same thing so we could taste as much as was offered as possible.
Our second tour was Castaway Ray's Stingray Encounter. This is fun! The resident 'stingray-ologist' gives a lesson on local rays, what to look for and the differences of the rays in the immediate area. Very educational (on vacation even!). From there, its down to the water for a little more on rays habits and a chance to feed them...by hand. A very strange feeling as they suck their food from the bottom. Each on hangs around for a second or two for a noggie under the chin. They seem to love that. And its fun to watch them scramble back to the entrance of the feeding thing they have for another taste. The third part of the encounter is snorkling with the rays. They give you a life vest, goggles and a snorkle. While we didn't do this very long, it is still fun.
Just to make sure we saw all there was to see, we took the tram out to Serenity Beach...after a visit with Diana, Darryl and Laura. Kinda hard to tell who was having the most fun...think it was a big ol tie between all of us.
Leaving Castaway Cay is so hard to do. This place practically defines the Caribbean. It is what you always see in the tour brouchers. But alas, leave we must.
We did go to the show that evening. This is what Disney live entertainment is all about. The sets, costumes, music, even the story line is worth watching. I agree with Diana...it is easy to see why this show has won Best of...for 8 years running!
Our dinner for the evening was at Animator's Palette. I love this place. The big difference is 10 years ago, Disney did not have as many movies out as they do now. The pictures were constantly changing, making sure each was represented. I thought the room itself changed color a little more, but I may be wrong. But watching the room change is great. And the servers, waiters and whoever else they drag out do put on a show for the passengers (they used to have a 'chant' they did, thanking the passengers for cruising with them).
Again, we spent way too much talking with our dinner companions. And as a result, I have no idea what the on-deck show was. We did manage to get to the ship stores and spend our obiligatory arm and leg for souvenirs! But thats OK...everybody needs souvenirs!
Unfortunately, our last day is tomorrow.
Donna sez... Ok..I'm in love with this island. I enjoyed the glass bottomed boat, but I really liked playing with the rays. They are intelligent and beautiful creatures. Before we went to play with the rays, I thought I might want to get used to the water temp so I waded out into the water. Having fish around you is one thing...being able to see them is another. Mike noticed one fish following me and a minute or two later we found out why. Out of nowhere a large shadow came zipping right between Mike and me. By the speed of this fish we knew two things...he was hungry and my little shadow was his lunch. It got a good squeal out of me. (Mike added...as best as I could tell, it was a 3 foot or so hungry barracuda!)
As mike said, we then went to Serenity Beach. For right now I'll just say it was Heavenly. On to the pictures.
Funny, I never noticed this before now.
We know Capn' Jack's in there somewhere
What is it with Disney and characters hanging off the back of the ship?
Doesn't he look relaxed?
Me and my Baby
Looks like Mike is hooked in more ways than one.
Ok now I'm going to continue about Serenity Beach. I left this for last because something happened that just absolutely made my trip on this beach.
Mike was sitting on a beach chair and I decided to take a real swim. I had noticed that most of the shells I had seen were pretty much either all broken up or microscopic so I picked up a couple pieces of coral to bring home and put in my catch all out back. As I was wading out to find the deep part so I could swim I looked down to make sure I wasn't stepping on anything that might be alive. I happened to see something lying on the bottom and I gingerly used my foot to flip it over, making sure I moved back quickly in case some critter scuttled out of whatever it was. Nothing attacked me so I bent down and picked it up.
It was a beautiful conch shell. It was perfectly shaped and all in one piece. It was overlaid with worn white coral. I couldn't believe my luck. of all the people who had been passed this spot...I was the lucky one to find such a treasure. To find this shell on our honeymoon was so neat. I packed it in my bag and brought it home. It will hold a place of honor with all the special things we have from our wedding and honeymoon.
