Disney Cruise 2015 ~ Castaway Cay

(Tuesday, Feb 24, 2015)

Our ship stopped at Castaway Cay last year but between the cooler weather and rain I can’t say we were overly impressed with Castaway Cay (*gasp!*) so this year I was neither here nor there if we stopped there again this year.  We were told that the 2 cruises on the Wonder prior to us had not been able to dock at the island so had had an extra sea day and that was just fine with me.

Well, let me be the first to admit that if this had happened this year we would have missed out on a lot!!  I now understand the love people have for Castaway Cay!!

The day dawned bright, sunny and warm and we disembarked shortly after breakfast.  I was thankful to finally get a picture of all 7 of us together!!  Not the most perfect picture but one I’m still so thankful to have!

I love this little pic that we snapped on the way off the ship.  Heh…check out Hannah’s face!

We took a tram to the second beach stop and found our spot on the beach.

Hannah spent ages digging in the sand and was a happy, happy little girl!

Many of us also went snorkelling and that was a real treat too!  There weren’t many fish but it was still a fun little adventure.

Hannah came out for a little bit and then chose to go back to the sand with the grandparents and mommy ventured off alone.  (I keep my camera in a waterproof case while near the water which is why you sometimes see round black shadows in the corners of some of my pictures.)

I ventured out quite a long ways and had to search for a while but eventually located some of the treasures sunk at Castaway Cay. 

It was fun to find these but I’ll tell you, the swim back in was a long one and I was pooped!  It was nice to stop and tread water at a couple of the lifeguard towers and get to know these folks a little bit.  It was here that I found out there are about 100 people who call CC home that live there!  I can’t imagine!!!  There is nothing…n-o-t-h-i-n-g there!  Once a month they go to FL for immigration purposes and then after working for 4 1/2 months go home for about 6 weeks.   I’m thankful they’re there but that would not be my idea for a choice of employment.

By the time I got back mom and dad had enjoyed their lunch and the rest of us went once they returned.  Cookies Too is one of the delicious BBQ restaurants featuring a number of delicious BBQ treats to eat and fresh salads too.

We got ice cream that quickly turned into ice cream soup in the beautiful sun and heat!  (We were so NOT missing the snow and cold at home!!)

By this point in the day Nana had worked her magic and talked Rebecca into going into the water.  She hadn’t brought her bathing suit and went back to the ship to get it but found out that unfortunately as she wasn’t 18 if she went back on the ship she wouldn’t be allowed to get back off.  A quick improvisation and she swam in my bathing suit cover up and some of her own clothing.  She’s not a fan of heights so we were even more impressed when she climbed up Pelican’s Plunge and rode the water slide down!  Way to go Bec!!!

Late in the day we bumped in to Hannah’s pool buddy Miranda and the girls had fun swimming together.  They could have splashed in these inner tubes for hours.

All too soon the day was drawing to a close and it was time for us to make our way back to the ship.  It was nice to be greeted with cold flavoured water to refresh us after a day of fun in the sun!

There was still much more fun and excitement before us this final day on our ship but I’ll save that for the next post.

Castaway Cay

(Friday, February 28, 2014)

Friday morning we woke to our first cloudy day since our trip began.  Thankfully it was still dry as today was our day at Castaway Cay (pronounced Castaway ‘Key’), Disney’s private island.  After breakfast we prepared for a day of beach fun!  I’ve heard a lot about this beautiful island and was excited to see and experience for myself!

We popped back to the room to get our beach stuff and Hannah took the opportunity to hide on Miss Gisele so she came in and found her.  I love that my clever little girl still thinks she’s ‘hiding’ when she’s under the covers.  So sweet!

We met up with Tonya’s family and made our way off the ship ready for a day of beach fun.

The characters headed off the ship too!

We stopped for a few pictures with our beautiful ship in the background.  We are so thankful for the friendships that were formed this cruise and we continue to keep in touch.

When we arrived at the beach I asked Hannah if she wanted to try out Pelican’s Plunge and she was all for it!  That’s my girl!!

Go Hannah!  Go Hannah!!

Our ship from the top of Pelican’s Plunge. I still love the look of the Disney ships!

After Pelican’s Plunge Hannah and I headed into the water to play with Jacob and his parents.

Unfortunately soon after that the skies opened and the rain didn’t stop for a long time.

We decided to head to Cookies to enjoy a BBQ lunch and hope that the rain would pass.  Lunch was delicious but the rain continued so we, like many others, chose to return to the ship.  Hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to return to Castaway Cay someday and enjoy all that it has to offer!

A quick shower for our feet and then we got in line. 

This was one time that there was longer lines to board the ship but it only made sense as hundreds of people decided to board at the same time.   After we’d been in line for a few minutes Hannah told me she had to go to the washroom so we left the line and quickly headed towards some buildings I could see close by.  Unfortunately when we got there there weren’t any washrooms.  Uh oh!  One of the crew members took a look at Hannah’s little potty dance and quickly ushered us up the gangplank reserved for crew members only.  After scanning our Key to the World cards we went through security and the kind crew member ushered us to the nearest washroom.  Thank you!! 

As we were in the washroom I could hear Cruise Director Clayton announcing a number of changes they were making on the spur of the moment to accommodate the extra passengers onboard.  ‘Frozen’ would play in the main theatre (yes, we were tempted!) and characters would be appearing around the ship greeting guests. 

Hannah and I were walking to our stateroom when suddenly Goofy was there with nobody but his companion with him.  Hannah was thrilled as Goofy is her favourite character!!  He immediately began interacting with her as you can see here.  A wonderful moment for sure!!

‘Hannah Red Riding Hood’ with ‘Wolf Goofy’!

Yes, these are the moments that make our Disney time so special and truly they happen often to us and to others!  It’s these little, unexpected moments that cause me to fall in love with Disney over and over again!