Showing posts with label Serenity Bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Serenity Bay. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Day 8: Castaway Cay

On our final day on board the Disney Fantasy, we made a stop at Castaway Cay! This is always my favorite stop on our Disney cruises! Sadly, our time on the island was cut short by several hours due to the "pit stop" the day before at Turks and Cacos, but we all understood the reason. (A patient needed medical attention.)

With a few extra hours on board the ship, a new navigator was released which included an extra "Art of the Theme Show" tour (which I LOVE)! I also decided to get up and run a few miles on deck since the Castaway Cay 5K clearly wasn't happening that day...sad times.


After my run, I stopped in the Cove Cafe one last time for a cold brew. Y'all, this stuff is SO good.


Jason and I also had breakfast at Cabanas.


Jason decided he didn't want to go on the tour with me since he did it on our last cruise. I've actually taken these tours on every since Disney cruise I've been on, because you get something different from each guide.  This time, we had a semi private tour as it was just me and one other cruise guest in our group!

This tour is a walking tour of the ship, where cruise staff informs you of the secrets and facts behind the art work, layout, and design of the ship. It really is a neat tour that's usually held on at sea days, and I encourage everyone to go!


We weren't set to land at the island until 12:45 p.m. or so, and the captain announced that BBQ would be served in the restaurants on board instead. We were looking forward to said "BBQ", but it sadly was not anywhere near the Cookies standard. (Still good, just not what we were expecting.)


When we finally docked at Castaway Cay, we were ready to disembark and because of all the people, we decided to walk to the next tram stop.


I felt like I was walking to the start of a runDisney corral with all the people!


Sad times for no 5K!


We very briefly shopped around here but didn't buy anything and said we would on the way out. Sadly, by the time we made it back, all of the shops were already closed.


By the way, I think everyone had on this swim suit coverup that was available at Target this past summer! It was so funny to see it everywhere we went on the ship!

The tram to Serenity Bay arrived and we couldn't wait to finally relax on the beautiful beach.


It was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time in the water and swimming!


We also decided to walk over to Cookies II to relax for a few minutes and were shocked by the emptiness of it all!


This is totally unusual for Cookies!  I guess everyone ate on the ship!


We went back into the water for a little and enjoyed seeing a stingray and a starfish!


Before we knew it, the lifeguard was notifying us that it was time to leave. We seriously felt like we'd just gotten there.


We took our time getting back to the ship and stopped for a few pictures along the way!


Dinner on our final evening was in Animator's Palate where we had the chance to animate our own Disney characters! Mine is the second one from the right! (I'm NOT a artist!)


We also said goodbye to our servers for the final time as our flight was set to leave early the following morning.


They were awesome!!


In the atrium that evening, they held a "See Ya Real Soon" farewell show where the characters stop by for a few pictures and a final farewell.


We were already standing down on the floor where  Mickey and Minnie were stationed, so hopped in line to take a picture with them. 


We also decided to watch the Incredibles 2 which was playing that night at 10:45 p.m.  Our goal on this cruise was to watch Christopher Robin, Ant Man & The Wasp, and the Incredibles 2 throughout the 7 days on board the ship. We were able to watch all three and Jason added Solo to his list! I'd say it was a pretty successful cruise!


While disembarking the next day, we noticed that they were setting up for the Halloween on the High Seas cruises. Hi Mickey pumpkin!


...and just like that, our cruise was over! After arriving at the airport, Jason realized that he forgot to grab our garment bag from the cruise terminal. We still had about 2 hours until our flight, so we stopped by the Disney Cruise Line relations desk where we were handed a card for lost and found. We called the number and left a voicemail and within 10 minutes, we received a call back. Sadly, they didn't think they would have enough time before our flight to bring the bag to the airport, so we decided to have it mailed via UPS. We chose the regular/ground option and literally three days later, it arrived at our front door! Thankfully, we didn't have anything super important in that bag, but it was definitely a lesson for us to always keep our important stuff or souvenirs in our carry on bags!


We had a blast on our cruise and loved the Eastern Caribbean itinerary with the extra "at sea" day! This is such a neat itinerary and we can't wait for our next cruise!

Thanks for following along! :)

Monday, August 13, 2018

VLOG: Disney Cruise Line Day 7 & 8 (At Sea Day & Castaway Cay)

Here we are, just a few weeks before our next cruise, and I finally finished the video recaps of our previous cruise last October. I would have had these done sooner, but Vlogidays came into play and so did our January Marathon Weekend trip. So, here we are almost a year later and they are finally complete! Better late than never I say!



Our final two days consisted of an at Sea Day where we completely and 100% enjoyed a brunch at Palo. We might have also won a trivia game that day, too!



Last but not least, our final day on the cruise took us to Castaway Cay where we ran the 5K, snorkeled, and spent time at Serenity Bay!


In all, we had a fantastic time and loved our fabulous 10th Anniversary celebration spent at sea!

If you're interested in these recaps and want to see more, stay tuned this fall because more will be coming your way! Also, I'll be in and out of Instagram throughout our cruise posting updates, so be sure to follow along with our adventures there!

Missed a recap? Check them out here:
 Thanks for following along!

Thursday, December 14, 2017

10th Anniversary Vacay - Day 8 Castaway Cay

Our final day on board the Disney Fantasy was spent at Castaway Cay! We had a blast on the island and loved running the 5K! If you've missed previous recaps, check them out below:

Our morning began with room service breakfast that we enjoyed on the verandah while watching the sunrise!


We also had the chance to watch the ship dock at Castaway Cay which was super fun!


Our group was set to meet early in the Walt Disney Theater for the 5K. I am seriously amazed at the volume of people doing these races now over the past few years. I still remember our first cruise in 2009 when only like 8 of us showed up for the 5K!


We were delayed with the 5K due to a decent sized storm that was passing through. After it mostly passed, we were directed out to the pier for our long walk to the start line of the 5K. They were also randomly handing out ponchos at the gangplank - you know, those $20 ponchos from the parks? Yes, they were handing them out to us like no big deal. They might not actually be $20 but I'm pretty sure they are like $16!


By the time we made it to the start line for the 5K, the rain had completely passed and it was turning out to be a beautiful day!


Up next on our agenda was a snorkeling adventure. I'd never snorkeled at Castaway Cay and I wanted to see the hidden Mickey and Minnie underneath the water!


Mission accomplished! We spent a little over an hour snorkeling the entire area here. It was really pretty and I liked the themeing but there weren't a lot of fish which was kind of disappointing.


The boys had taken a fishing excursion that morning so we waited for this at Cookies 2.


 They joined us not long after we arrived and we dug in and enjoyed some BBQ!


This cookie was as big as my head!


After lunch, we spent the remainder of our time at Serenity Bay, just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. We also got in the ocean for a little while which was fun!


After a FULL day at Castaway Cay, we decided to head back to the ship to change for dinner! We were excited for Animator's Palate that night!


Goodbye, Castaway Cay! Until next time!


As we pulled away from the dock, these workers were waving with their giant Mickey hands! So cute!



I'd never eaten at the new and improved Animator's Palate, so this was super fun!


We also had to snag a picture with our wait staff on our final night.

Aaaaand being the big nerds that we are...so, we all purchased these outfits on Castaway Cay and so did half of our ship because EVERYONE had these on! You see the guy behind us that photo bombed us in the above picture? Yes, he had one on, too! Hah!


After dinner, we walked around and took pictures with a few characters who were out and about!


I'm still cracking up about our matching outfits. We are so dumb.


We also watched the "Until We Meet Again" presentation in the lobby which was really cute and sad all at the same time.

 
It was our final night on board the ship and our final towel creation!


We had such an AMAZING time on board the Disney Fantasy and I can't wait to do it all over again! We loved spending time with our friends and being on board a new (to us) ship! Now we've officially traveled on all four Disney Cruise Line ships! How fun!

Thanks for sticking by through all of these recaps! We really had a great time and I'm looking forward to a repeat next year (hopefully with an Eastern Itinerary) on the Disney Fantasy again! See ya real soon! :)

Monday, April 14, 2014

Disney Cruise Line Adventures Part One

The final part of our Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend trip included a Disney Cruise onboard the newly re-imagined Disney Magic. Even though I’m a little behind on this recap, it’s still fun to look back at the pictures and re-live memories! :0)

It is not my goal to go moment by moment with this recap as I do have a vlog I’m going to make – in this post, you’ll find glimpses of the things we saw while on board. Stay tuned for the video! :0)

This was not our first time to cruise the Disney Magic but it was my parents first.  I was excited to see the changes that were made during the re-design and I was also excited to share the experience with my parents!

Disney Magic (3)Disney Magic

The first major change I noticed was the lobby – they removed an entire staircase, moved Mickey to the side, and re-designed the chandelier. Also, the carpets in the ship are fresh and new!

Disney Magic (4)

Adventures Away Sail Away Party – now that song is stuck in my head! Hah!

Disney Magic (5)

Everyone at the Sail Away party received these wand things – somehow, they all ended up in my hair!! (Yes, I also wore my Glass Slipper Challenge medal on board!)

Disney Magic (6)

Love sunsets at sea!

Disney Magic (2)

Mickey Waffles, anyone?

Castaway Cay (5)

A fish-eye-view of Castaway Cay

Castaway Cay (7)

My mom and I ran the Castaway Cay 5K, returned to our rooms to change and eat breakfast, then took the tram to Serenity Bay. My dad and husband were out on a fishing excursion that began as we disembarked the ship. In order to find each other, we took our wave phones and I’m pleased to say, they DID work on Serenity Bay/Castaway Cay!

Castaway Cay (2)

One of my favorite places in the world!

Castaway Cay (3)

This was our first time to actually spend most of our day on Serenity Bay. I would do it all over again, exactly the same way in a heartbeat. This area of the island is so quiet and peaceful – like nowhere I’ve ever been before!

Castaway Cay (4)

Funny story…I was reading on my kindle when I looked up and saw a random pirate stumbling (wandering?) through the island (obviously Jack Sparrow…but he was so out of place which was the random part). Overall, his time spent in our area of the island was hilarious and he played his character well!

Castaway Cay (6)

Starfish! Among other sea life we saw at Serenity Bay were several stingrays and two barracudas.

Castaway Cay

We could see a storm rolling in, so around 3:30 p.m. everyone packed up their belongings and headed back to the ship. I really was amazed to see how fast the island cleared out!

Re-Imagined Animators Palate

Formal night was in the also newly re-imagined Animator’s Palate. Someone forgot to wear sunscreen on his face. I wasn’t very happy with him, either. Can we say hat tan? Hah!

Re-Imagined Animators Palate 4

My parents at Formal night.

Re-Imagined Animators Palate (3)

Y’all. I’m in love with the re-design of Animator’s Palate. It’s incredible. (I have video footage I plan to include with the vlog.)

Re-Imagined Animators Palate (2)

That’s all for now…stay tuned for Part 2 and a vlog of our cruise adventures coming up soon! :0)

Have you ever cruised before? If so, what’s your favorite cruise line/ship? If you’ve never cruised, what’s your favorite Disney food?

Blog Archive

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...