Trip Report #tonyfromspain: A Prophet Surf ‘N Turf story

Whelp, now that the Freestyle/Greco season is over, I’ve completed my course setup for my summer class, and I’ve finished my laundry I can kick this beast off!

!!!DISCLAIMER!!!​

For those overly sensitive to satirical sass, poor spelling, and overall weak grammar then please feel free to excuse yourself now because all bets are off from here on forward… As @Zipitidoda would say, there are plenty of prophetisms to come.



Still here? Swell!



Most of the backstory can be found here How to celebrate a proper 20/40 in just 18 months.... For those suffering from krikosophobia (I’ll let you stew on that one), the long and short of it is that we’ve been planning this trip for over 18 months and we are celebrating our 20th anniversary and our 40th birthdays since they both occur this year! I have mentioned that one of us has yet to hit that milestone and the other is indeed a full 40? I can tell you who still 39 but that would just lack class…it’s me…I’m still 39 and she’s older me! ;):D Anywho, there will be some park visiting, WDWMagic member meetup, and a 7-night cruise in this TR.



Anyway, this journey starts out with a late flight out of the busiest airport in America. We worked to late afternoon and drove down the northern most Marta station. We took Marta down to ATL thinking this would not only save us money on parking, which it did, but also time since Hotlanta has some of the worst traffic, ever. Sadly, we didn’t win the “saving time” game as about half way down a train on the same track broke down causing some delays that put us at the airport less than 2 hours before our flight. We quickly checked our bags and waded through security. We had planned on having a nice sit down meal at the airport but settled for Jersey Mikes since we were now time strapped.
IMG_2270.JPG


IMG_2271.JPG




Unfortunately, 24 hours prior to our flight we forgot to log into Southwest and complete precheckin and we ended up with a real late boarding group. I was legitimately concerned we would not be sitting together on this trip but thankfully we found a pair of seats together near the rear of the plane. I’ll let the DW speak to how this affected her trip. IMO this was one of the BEST flight experiences we’ve had! The head attendant seemed like he was classically trained in the Jungle Cruise Skipper arts and was VERY entertaining. There were no issues with our flight at all! We even got to see the HEA fireworks as we approached MCO! As we made our descent we were notified that it was one of the attendants birthday and a request was made for all of us to turn our flight attendant lights. We all followed the request and they then turned off the cabin lights as we all sang happy birthday to the birthday boy. He then “blew out his candles” as we all turned off the lights as he blew, a very cool experience! As we disembarked I, of course, had to get a photo with the birthday boy and his crown!
IMG_2272.JPG


IMG_2273.JPG




We took the MCO monorail to the main hub and collected our bags. We were flying later than normal and I didn’t want to leave bag pickup and delivery to the Disney folks because I didn’t want to be woken up at 1am when our bags got delivered to our room. Our luggage was on the carousel quickly but I got us turned around and took a small detour before we finally made it to the DME queue:

IMG_2274.JPG




Thankfully they opened another line up and we were quickly waiting in our bus queue. There must have been a slew of cheer and or teen events going on this week because the DME lines were chalk full of rowdy teens and inappropriately dressed 7 year olds. Soon we were on our bus with about 12 other people but then just sat there for at least 15 minutes. We waited and waited and then, all of a sudden, a mass of teen conventioneers with a few parent chaperones walked on and filled up the remaining seats. Finally we pulled away with the notice that we would be hitting POR first before making our way to the POLY. It wasn’t long before were in the bubble! We unloaded our teen patrons and made for what should have been a short trip to the POLY but the Mouse’s road construction turned it into an almost 30 minute drive! We finally arrived at the Polynesian sometime between 11:30 and midnight!



Still to come: Our room!
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 Castaway Cay:

We arrived at Serenity Bay and were greeted by some feathered friends.
GOPR2538.JPG


We were among the first folks to make our way to the beach and had plenty of choice seating to choose from. The weather was still fantastic and the water was beautiful.
GOPR2539.JPG


We claimed our spot under an umbrella and did was what we do best...starfish hunting!
GOPR2540.JPG

GOPR2541.JPG

GOPR2542.JPG

GOPR2544.JPG



Tide was still low and we waded our way out to the buoys since we noticed some birds having a go on them..
GOPR2547.JPG

GOPR2545.JPG

GOPR2550.JPG
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 Castaway Cay:

We continued on our starfish hunt for a while and found some other interesting things along the way.
GOPR2549.JPG

GOPR2551.JPG

GOPR2553.JPG

GOPR2556.JPG

GOPR2557.JPG


We had been exploring for a while and I looked at my watch to see that it was half past time to drink so we made for the shoreline to fuel up. I made my way to Castaway Air to grab my bride a Konk Kooler and some ice for me for a Castaway Cocktail (today's mix was 1-to-1!). We pulled some chairs to the water, soaked, sipped, and enjoyed the sounds of the ocean for a while.
GOPR2560.JPG

GOPR2561.JPG

GOPR2562.JPG

GOPR2564.JPG
 

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
Can't get over how clean Serenity Bay is. In your photos, the water was so clear and just sparkling. You can easily see through the ocean water to the sand underneath. What a gorgeous place!!

I had forgotten how clear the water was on this trip. I know I've already said this, but this was probably our best visit to Serenity Bay.

For all of you that may be on the fence about an adults-only cruise, Serenity Bay should convince you that it's worth it. That and Palo/Remy, the adult pools/deck areas, adult district, etc. A Disney cruise isn't just for the kids.

We'd love to meet up with some of y'all on a cruise!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
I had forgotten how clear the water was on this trip. I know I've already said this, but this was probably our best visit to Serenity Bay.

For all of you that may be on the fence about an adults-only cruise, Serenity Bay should convince you that it's worth it. That and Palo/Remy, the adult pools/deck areas, adult district, etc. A Disney cruise isn't just for the kids.

We'd love to meet up with some of y'all on a cruise!

Serenity Bay is one of the main reasons we love the Disney Cruise. Last summer we did a double dip and on one of the dips to Castaway Cay we had a cabana, now that was heaven! We only had to press a little button and soon someone would appear to take our order and soon a Konk Kooler was in our hands.:cool:
 

MomofPrincessGrace

Well-Known Member
Serenity Bay looks so much more peaceful than the family beach. When we were there in April I looked for starfish, or any fish for that matter and was sorely disappointed. I dont blame the sealife though, hundreds of little grabby fingers would run me off too. My ONLY complaint was the water was FREEZING! I also got suckered into buying one of the bamboo shaped souvenir cups. Love the cup, didnt love spending like $20 for a pinacolava. I do like their selling point though that if you get a souvenir cup, you get more alcohol with refills though because the cups are bigger.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 Castaway Cay:

After relaxing for a bit the tide started coming in and we decided to take a walk and wade in some deeper water. About 3 minutes later and we came upon these guys! If you watch the video I believe that may be a sea cucumber doing its thing before we circle on the ray. This guy was pretty chill and didn't seem to mind us at all. We ooh'd and aah'd for a bit before he decided to go off for some privacy.
GOPR2568.JPG

GOPR2569.JPG




We swam a bit more before seeing it was time for some lunch! We came ashore and made for Serenity Bay BBQ.
GOPR2570.JPG

GOPR2571.JPG

GOPR2572.JPG

GOPR2573.JPG


The smells from the BBQ were amazing, us starving didn't hurt either. They have so many food options that its hard to choose but after 6 days of fancy eating I was actually just craving something simple! I opted to go with a burger and a dog with some potato salad and greek salad.
GOPR2574.JPG

GOPR2575.JPG


As is my Castaway Cay tradition, I closed lunch with some banana ice cream and a chocolate chip cookie!
GOPR2576.JPG


We couldn't eat anything more and decided it was nap time! To our surprise when we returned to our chairs we were introduced to some interlopers who decided to make camp on our smaller chairs in front of our lounge chairs! Thanks to a 50/50 Castaway Cocktail blend and a full belly I just didn't care at this point and just relaxed in the lounger where I'm certain I took at least a 10 minute nap. I must be an offensive napper because when I woke up the interlopers were gone!
GOPR2577.JPG
 

LadyBelle

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
For all of you that may be on the fence about an adults-only cruise, Serenity Bay should convince you that it's worth it. That and Palo/Remy, the adult pools/deck areas, adult district, etc. A Disney cruise isn't just for the kids.

I’ve been trying to tell my friend that for years. It’s a bucket list item for me. If I can convince my sister to go, we may be going in a couple of years.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 Castaway Cay:

After we napped away our interlopers we decided to go exploring some more. I, of course, refueled with some Castaway Cocktail for the journey.
GOPR2578.JPG

GOPR2579.JPG

GOPR2580.JPG

GOPR2581.JPG

GOPR2583.JPG


While looking around we came upon our ray friend again! This time he had a little less patience for us and scadoodled before we could get friendly.


We floated for a while enjoying the surf. It was closing in on 3:30 and folks were starting to head back to the ship and it felt like we had much of the water to ourselves.
GOPR2588.JPG


After a short while more we made the sad trek back towards the boat. We were so fortunate to have another fantastic day of weather and water at CC!
GOPR2589.JPG

GOPR2591.JPG

GOPR2592.JPG

GOPR2593.JPG
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 Castaway Cay:

We decided to head out on deck to enjoy our ice cream. Along the way we noticed the princesses were out doing their thing, making kids happy!
IMG_2826.JPG


We grabbed a few lounge chairs on deck. We were out in open water now, the sun was fading, and the breeze was warm and comfortable! We enjoyed our ice cream lamenting the end of our trip but enjoying the great memories we had over the past 6 days.
IMG_2827.JPG

IMG_2828.JPG

IMG_2829.JPG


We were finishing up our treat when we noticed Donald decided to make an appearance and show off his shuffleboard skills. The kids really enjoyed this magical moment!
IMG_2830.JPG

IMG_2831.JPG

IMG_2832.JPG

IMG_2833.JPG
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 Castaway Cay:

After our sweet treat and DD run in we decided to make our way to the final show of the cruise. I honestly don't recall which show it was, Believe maybe? We decided to sit in the balcony tonight. The seats were great and it gave us a great view of the preshow entertainment.
IMG_2834.JPG

IMG_2835.JPG

IMG_2836.JPG


After the show it was time for our final diner of the cruise. Tonight we would be dining at Animator's Palate again though the experience would be much different than our first night. We were greeted by our service team as well as Team Nashville and Team Buffalo. We each had, what I thought was, a kids place mat on the table. Turns out it wasn't a place mat at all but the template for tonight's entertainment. We were instructed to draw a character inside the template and give it a name. We all spent a few minutes completing the task and our service team collected the drawings and told us a surprise would be coming soon.
IMG_2839.JPG

IMG_2854.JPG


Midway through dinner our efforts were rewarded all around the restaurant. Disney magic had taken hold and our creations were now animations moving and dancing across the dining room.
IMG_2845.JPG


It was very cool to see our art in action however Scuba Steve did not come through too well, not sure the color green was the best choice for this activity.
IMG_2848.JPG


The activity ended with the rolling credits of each character.
IMG_2849.JPG


While enjoying the show I noticed more animation occurring on the floor! There were illuminated puppies running along from under the floor.
IMG_2850.JPG

IMG_2851.JPG
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 7 Castaway Cay:

Now on to the food! We started with the bread service and caramelized onion and roasted tomato dip.
IMG_2840.JPG

IMG_2841.JPG


For apps tonight there was only a sampler option that included Smoked Duck Breast, Dill-marinated Shrimp with Tomato-Mayonnaise and Horseradish Cream, and Smoked Salmon Tartar with Sour Cream and Cream Cheese. We each ordered one and I ate the duck off of them and DW sampled the rest. The duck was excellent
IMG_2843.JPG


For mains, there were two that really sounded good. Both the chicken schnitzel, which came with bacon potatoes, and the roasted filet of beef wellington both sounded great so we did as cruisers do...ordered both!
IMG_2844.JPG


Zero regrets! Both were perfect and I'd absolutely get both again. To close out the meal we pushed the envelope of reason and got dessert despite not having much room left for it. We shared the celebration cake, which was a strawberry cheesecake, and the chocolate decadence.
IMG_2852.JPG

IMG_2853.JPG


WE closed out meal with some nice conversations followed by some sad goodbyes with Team Nashville and Team Buffalo. We also said goodbye to our service team but not before a little selfie to cement the memory.
IMG_2855.JPG

IMG_2856.JPG


We made our back to our state room and had one more sad goodbye to make. Tri throughout the entire trip was perfect. He was johnny on the spot with every request and was genuinely happy every time we spoke with him, at least three times a day! We grabbed a quik selfie with him as well and thanked him for a great experience.
IMG_2857.JPG


Not to be out of character, Tri left of with this...ya got me.
IMG_2858.JPG
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom