Trip Report Buffalo, Bugs, and Beer - A lostpro9het Surf 'n' Turf report.

Alright, alright, alright let’s get this beast going! As pointed out in the PTR, this trip had some purpose to it and I wont rehash the reasons why here. I will say that we had an amazing time saying goodbye with some great surprises along the way. With that, lets go!

Saturday May 11th
We got up bright and early at 04:00 and were pulling away by 04:30. This seems to be the only time one can navigate through Atlanta without hitting traffic, sadly the same cannot be said for Henry County’s traffic. Anyway, our go-to pit stop is always Tifton where we fueled up and grabbed some breakfast at Starbucks, we skipped ChikFilA for some reason. About an hour later and we passed the boarder.

All was going swimmingly until around the time we hit Gainesville. Then it was tick….tick…tick..tick. The swarm made its first appearance. The windshield started to look like a Jackson Pollock painting that could not be undone with wipers and fluid. I swear, lovebugs bleed quick dry contact adhesive, more on this later. Soon we were hitting the turnpike and then 429 to Western Way. We made right for home.

 

[krisri18]

Finally submitted my final grades for Summer semester just in time for the new school year to start, crazy times! Anyway...

Saturday May 14th, Nassau, cont.

After cleaning up we explored the ship a little more before 80's music trivia. We started aft and walked forward. We began in the adult district. Here's a wonderful view of the bathroom corridor.
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We walked all the way forward to Walt's Disney Theatre before heading aft again.
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As we headed back to 687 for trivia we noticed this contraption at the Bon Voyage bar. It sounded kinda amazing but no one was working the bar yet and we had to get back for trivia.
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Straight out of chemistry class... Or maybe Potions with Snape. Lol

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay

Another great night of sleep and with a veranda free of lovebugs we would be eating breakfast on our deck! I went topside to grab a few pics until Cabanas opened. It was beautiful out.

Cabanas opened and I got the text from my bride that room service had delivered their part so I made my way back to our room just in time for us backing into CC.

Things looked promising for a great day!

Straight out of chemistry class... Or maybe Potions with Snape. Lol

I would so be scoring all O's in my O.W.L.s in that class if this was the subject matter!

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

Like I said, room service had arrived with our juice, coffee, and english muffins.

These cups...soooo tempting.

I brought back hot food from Cabanas to go along with room service.

Can't complain about our breakfast view one bit!

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

So after breakfast we decided to disembark with the Castaway Cay 5K group to get out a little early, 8:30ish. As we disembarked we grabbed some towels and followed the race herd.

We stayed with the pack until we hit the Pelican Point tram stop and grabbed a tram to Serenity Bay.

We were one of the first trams to arrive and pretty much had the run of the beach.

We picked a spot out about mid way down under an umbrella.

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

After claiming a spot we waded out to test the water. Water was fine! There were a few clouds out but the temp was good.

After exploring for a bit we made our way to shore for some drinks. I mixed up my Castaway Cocktail mix before disembarking and the DW went with a Konk Kooler.

We relaxed for a bit on the shoreline enjoying our drinks before heading back out to look for wildlife. The water was pretty clear and made spotting things pretty easy.

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

We continued our way around the water. I don't know what it is but I LOVE looking for wildlife in the water. I could search for critters for hours. A first for us in all our times to Serenity Bay was finding this fella.

It wasn't long before we came upon another one of these guys too.

We were also being followed by a few friends . These guys made random appearances all day long. They sure weren't scared and took a real shine to the tourists.

We were a few hours in when it looked like trouble may be headed our way. Couldn't really tell if it was headed our way or running parallel with the island.

Beach still looked good.

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

Not deterred by some ominous clouds we continued to forage for sea life and struck some conch gold. This guy blended in so well with the sand I think we may have walked by him a few times.

Once we realized how well they were camouflaged finding more was easy.

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

Around 11:00 it was clear that the ominous clouds were heading our way and not out to sea. We weighed the idea of getting back on board for lunch or hitting up the Serenity Bay BBQ. The BBQ is one of my DW's favorite meals on the cruise so the decision was easy. We packed up our gear not knowing how bad/long the storm was going to be and headed for the BBQ.

Somehow we beat the crowd and were right in the food queue.

As we exited the line, we were fortunate to find a nice spot under an umbrella. The line to get food now was a good 20 yards long AND the skies opened up! I felt bad for the folks standing in line during the downpour but, honestly, the food is worth it. Speaking of which.

Now, again, if you followed along in the past you know what I went with for dessert. The only sad part about dessert is they no longer have the banana ice cream, boo, and I had to settle for vanilla/chocolate swirl.

As we finished lunch, as fast as it started, the rain stopped and the sun came back out! So back to the beach we went!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Oh no, I loved that banana ice cream! Hopefully, it will be back for our 2021 cruise!

@imahistorygeek , I love your red swimsuit!

 

[MinnieM123]

Oh no, I loved that banana ice cream! Hopefully, it will be back for our 2021 cruise!

@imahistorygeek , I love your red swimsuit!

I'm seconding the red swimsuit great style, @imahistorygeek . Reminds me of a retro style from years ago -- very Hollywood classic, and I love the color!

 

[imahistorygeek]

Oh no, I loved that banana ice cream! Hopefully, it will be back for our 2021 cruise!

@imahistorygeek , I love your red swimsuit!

Thanks! It was a bold choice for sure. I get all of my swimsuits and coverups from Lands End. Great quality and excellent customer service.

 

[cfry06]

The banana ice cream is my favorite, too! I can report it was on the Fantasy/Castaway in late June, along with strawberry. Hopefully it’s back to stay!

Loving the report as always!

 

[cfry06]

Thanks! It was a bold choice for sure. I get all of my swimsuits and coverups from Lands End. Great quality and excellent customer service.

Love the red! Lands End suits are great!! I get my suits there, too or Athleta. Agreed on quality & service. I’ll have to try a cover up, thx!

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

So after lunch we made our way back to the beach and things were looking good!

All the weather seemed to have passed over us and now out of mind.

This meant we were back on the prowl for more wildlife. It didnt take long before we struck conch again. This time two of them were right next to each other.

The first one we pulled out looked like your typical conch.

The banana ice cream is my favorite, too! I can report it was on the Fantasy/Castaway in late June, along with strawberry. Hopefully it’s back to stay!

Great news! I hop its back for good!

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

The second conch we pulled was unlike any we had seen before. This guy was pretty unique and was the only one of this type we would find this trip.

We were still being stalked by these guys.

And we found one more five legged friend.

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

We swam and looked for wildlife for another couple hours then decided to head back to our chairs to hydrate. I grabbed the DW a mojito.

I got a cup of ice for my CC mix. Speaking of cup, it seems DCL has moved to paper based cups now for Castaway.

We sipped and relaxed for a while before deciding to head back to the ship. It was pushing 4:00 and all aboard time was closing in. We took a terrible selfie before embarking too...

Tonight was pirate night and our Mickey pirate gear was delivered to our room.

We still had about 2 hours till Palo and decided to relax on the veranda for a bit as we pulled away from the island. This was a great time to try the next beer from the exchange.

This was Local Legend by Deep Ellum Brewing. My untappd notes read: 3.75/5, Smooth, slightly smoky, and subtly sweet.

As I said, we were pulling away and the timing was probably ideal as it looked like the skies were about to open up.

 

[imahistorygeek]

The pink conch is a queen conch and the other (I think) is a helmet conch.

If I'm wrong, I blame the internets.

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

So we relaxed on the veranda for a while before cleaning up for dinner. It was Pirate Night and if you've followed along in the past you know how we dress for Pirate Night and why.

You also know this means one thing

With Palo comes spaghetti & meatballs...

...and some ornate restrooms.

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

As is tradition for us, we forgo the Pirate Night insanity and head for more peaceful dining. We had another wonderful ocean view table this experience.

We were greeted by our waitstaff and presented menus. We chose some regulars and and some first timers. After ordering, the antipasto cart was brought to our table. A custom plate was created and given to us along side bread service. All was excellent as always.

Typically we roll with a bottle of red wine but tonight's wine list wasn't resonating with the both of us so the DW went with a glass of read.

And I went with a double of Disney Select Bourbon by Creek.

In addition to the antipasto we shared the arugula salad and the caprese salad.

So far so excellent!

 

[lostpro9het]

Wednesday May 15th, Castaway Cay, cont.

After our apps we were given a palate cleanser, very refreshing as intended I suppose.

Time for the main event. The DW decided to go with the Wild Mushroom Risotto.

And it should come as no surprise that I went with the Palo tenderloin

We asked to sample the Osso Buco which meant they brought out the whole dish. If the tenderloin wasn't on the menu I would probably get this every time. It was so tender and just melted as you ate it. Tons of flavor too!

You'd think that after all that we would be tapped. We probably should have stopped but you just cannot come to Palo and not get the souffle, it is amazing. We had a cup of coffee to accompany it.

To close out the meal we were given an after dinner drink that was strong and tasty.

[TANGENT_TIME]
We've got a cruise planned for Thanksgiving week and of course creep has just set in as we were able to add two nights at the end today.

[/TANGENT_TIME]