When You Wish Upon A Star...POOF your teens vanish!

Disneyfalcon · Feb 1, 2013

I am in love with your Cabana. That is all.

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

Disneyfalcon said:
We have talked about that before! You're so right! I totally agree with you.
Dublin? Maybe now that you have conquered the cruising world, you should try an ABD to Ireland! Although I've heard once you go an an ABD, you never want to go on any other kind of vacation again.
That Mushroom Risotto is one of my favorites too. I love it!! So much!!
Oh my word, when I saw you all on the balcony waiting to get off, I was dying to go with you. Dying!!!
Yay! CC toes!!

Tammy, girl, you just don't know! That ABD book KK sent us is brutal. BRUTAL! Oh what I wouldn't do to take the 'Once Upon a Fairytale' Germany tour!!! When I read about that one I flipped out. I WISH with all my might! But then, there's not one single ABD tour I wouldn't do! They all look amazing!

If I'm not mistaken, Chandler actually ordered 2 dishes of the risotto. He really loves it, too.

September, my friend. In September we'll be standing out on our balcony gazing across the island anxiously waiting just a few more short moments and we'll be dashing out there like kids in a candy store! I can't WAIT!

Uncle Lupe said:
It's edutainment!!

It's what us homeschoolin' mommas do bestest!

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

Disneyfalcon said:
I am in love with your Cabana. That is all.

So shall we put #6 on the short list??? Just you wait! I was thinking #17 wasn't so swooft but I've changed my mind...

Disneyfalcon · Feb 1, 2013

sweetpee_1993 said:
So shall we put #6 on the short list??? Just you wait! I was thinking #17 wasn't so swooft but I've changed my mind...

Yes. #6 on the short list. Definitely the family beach.

Disneyfalcon · Feb 1, 2013

sweetpee_1993 said:
Tammy, girl, you just don't know! That ABD book KK sent us is brutal. BRUTAL! Oh what I wouldn't do to take the 'Once Upon a Fairytale' Germany tour!!! When I read about that one I flipped out. I WISH with all my might! But then, there's not one single ABD tour I wouldn't do! They all look amazing!

If I'm not mistaken, Chandler actually ordered 2 dishes of the risotto. He really loves it, too.

September, my friend. In September we'll be standing out on our balcony gazing across the island anxiously waiting just a few more short moments and we'll be dashing out there like kids in a candy store! I can't WAIT!

Haha! I had a feeling it may be right up your alley. And I agree with you again! The Germany tour looks amazing, and I wouldn't turn my nose up at any of them.

I may need to order the risotto twice next time. Good idea Chandler!!

Oh my word!! I can't wait either!! Is it September yet?!!!

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

Not ones to waste any time we immediately suited-up for snorkeling. Yes, I say "suited-up" because us thin-skinned ol' Southern souls can't hack cold water. No sir-ee Bob! We "invested" in springsuit wetsuits to bring with us. Yes, we are wusses and we have no problem owning it. Tracey & I already had our own masks & snorkels. We purchased the boys' back in October. The fins were a late addition to our plethora of gear arriving just 2 days prior to sailing.

Got your camera ready, Brian?

Oooooh...it's my fiiiiine hunka manly-man!

I dunno. This expression could be anything: not impressed, excited, irritated, happy. You tell me:

Ready!

Chandler tends to be a very reserved fellow. If he's doing something for the first time he's going to be very apprehensive. At first he stayed right with me then he grabbed my hand for a bit. He got used to it, tho, and detached. When snorkeling it's hard to tell who is who. I can identify my guys by the colors of their fins, masks, snorkels, and wetsuits. This would be Chandler whose favorite color is blue:

Fishy!!!

Chandler definitely finding a new activity that he really enjoys:

Somewhere there's a boat in desperate need of direction!

Brian!

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

Disneyfalcon said:
Yes. #6 on the short list. Definitely the family beach.

Oh yes. Family beach is THE way to go!

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

We swam all the way out to Mickey. All the little "treasures" to see in the lagoon are marked with buoys. That way, when you're out there you can poke your head up, look for a buoy, and swim to it. You gotta work for Mickey, though. He's the farthest buoy out in the lagoon. The plan was to get everyone's pics with Mickey but underwater photography is HARD! Here's 2 attempts at Tracey:

And Brian:

Chandler was smart. Why work so hard to dive down when you can just do this???

And, finally, me:

I surfaced for a rest and basked in the glory of such a "Magic"al view:

The only video I shot this time isn't the best. There were big schools of fish that I totally geeked out over. Hopefully my video won't make you seasick. LOL!

And then there was this grouper. He was soooo big but you just can't get the scale of his size in the pics:

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

Next we swam over to the sunken Nautilus. Yep, for those who don't know, one of the old subs from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is sunk out here in the lagoon for you to snorkel around. I didn't video it this time because I thought I pretty well covered that in September when Tracey & I were there. Here's the video again, just in case. My vocalizations you hear are reaction to what I was seeing. I hadn't seen one of these in many years...and last time I'd seen one it didn't look like this. I kept remembering it the way it used to be as I was swimming around it...

Trying to get pictures of the inside:

Tracey on the right, Chandler swimming away on the left:

Tracey:

Brian:

Who else remembers peering out these windows from the other side of the glass?

I guess at this point Chandler was tired and started heading in on his own. I tried to keep an eye on him and make my way in behind him. Eventually, though, I lost sight of him. I wasn't worried. I knew he'd make it back. I just didn't want him worrying about where we were. Plus, my left fin was digging into the hole in my left leg so I was ready to get those things off my feet, too. I broke off from Brian & Tracey and headed in, too. Eventually we all met back at the cabana within a fairly short period of time. I had time to rinse Chandler's & my gear in the shower and lay our springsuits out across the shrubs to dry.

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

The boys headed off to catch up with their friends and do whatever they wanted to do. Explore? I dunno. Anywhoo, Tracey and I took a little stroll and snapped pics.

Love the detail! These are on the side of the bath house that's right by the entrance to the cabanas path:

This is the entrance to the cabanas path. I love love love the repurposing and how it makes the overall theme so rich!

Still standing in the exact same spot I was in when I took the last 2 pictures, if you turn around some more you see Cookie's Too, one of the food service places that serves up the ever-popular island bbq lunch:

We made our way on towards Pelican Point and the Heads Up Bar. I had a beer and Tracey had what else besides a double Crown & Diet Coke?

Just an FYI, bar drinks are NOT included in the island's offerings. You gotta pay extra for those. Anything you purchase on Castaway Cay you pay for with your Key to the World card. No cash. But don't worry. Sodas, water, ice cream, lunch, etc. are all free for the taking! It's just the drinky-drinks and souvenirs you'll have to cough up some card for!

While we waited for our drinks I was totally soaking up all the details inside the bar structure. Seriously. Look inside. All the way up to the ceilings on every surface there was something cool to look at!

This is the Heads Up Bar from the outside:

I made Tracey take another pic of me similar to my avatar pic:

Then there was a nice couple nearby who offered to take our pic together. So sweet!

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

We took our drinks and mosied over towards one of the shops. For whatever reason, I thought taking a merchandise pic was the thing to do:

But then I could smell the food from Cookies, Too and found I was super starving! This is the central area where the food is being cooked inside:

Some of the grub in the grub line:

Even in here, look up and drink in the eye candy!

Tracey & I took our trays and walked back to our cabana to eat in peace. It really wasn't far to walk at all. Here's my tray. Let's see what I had:

On the plate there's a hot dog, sauerkraut, pineapple upsidedown cake, tomato salad, and (my favorite!) couscous salad. That's another Disney food I really want the recipe for! I also see a chocolate chip cookie, some mini banana bread loaves, and a cup of ice water. No, I didn't even come close to eating all that. LOL!

What'd Tracey have???

I see tomato salad, sauerkraut, a hot dog, bbq ribs, some mini banana bread loaves, and 3 cups of ice (for Sprite and munching).

After we filled our bellies we naturally needed a nap. How convenient! Just steps away are cushy loungers just for US! We pulled the loungers out of the direct sun, stretched out, and snoozed. I slept like a dead person. It was wonderful!

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

When I got up I walked down to the water to put my toes in:

The private little lagoon for the family cabanas is absolutely incredible. Seriously. Words just don't do it justice. Still lovin' that view:

If you look to the right there's a little sandy point with a smaller lagoon of sorts tucked back. That's what this is. See cabanas # 16 & #17 on the right???

The water is pristine. It's very shallow so you can walk around out there if you wanted to. Or lay in the cool water and bask in the sunlight:

Here I've walked out into the cove. I'm looking back at the line of cabanas. The sandy point is on the right:

Looooooove....X 2!

Just out of that last shot was a little girl by herself building a castle at the water's edge. When we strolled by she was chattering away talking to the castle's inhabitants, weaving an elaborate tale for her 2 or 3 little figurines she had. I was totally enchanted by the scene, whisked back to the days when I was the imaginitive little girl totally immersed in my daydreams. As we passed she didn't miss a beat and addressed us, "Hi. I'm building a castle for my dolls!" I wanted to play with her, too, but that woulda been super-creepy, I'm sure!

Still totally amazed...

See how busy the regular family beaches get? But not over here.

Tracey found a piece of coral. So cool!

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

We took a stroll over to the shops that were farther from Pelican Point. I wasn't looking for anything in particular and didn't find anything I couldn't live without. Sneakin' a peak off the beaten path:

The 'Conched Out Bar':

I took this pretty pathway pic:

But then Tracey had to show me how it's done:

We returned to the cabana and found someone snoozing:

This was my attempt at cabana napping toes for Tammy:

I was inspired to score a couple more travelin' toes shots for Tammy's blog. Happy Hammock toes:

Showerin' toes:

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

I walked down towards the water again and took this beauty:

...and back, I took this of our cabana number:

I'm seriously obsessed with this view!!!

Tracey had packed up all our gear but I was far from ready to return to the ship. It was drinky-drink time! I pressed the concierge call button and in a flash our concierge had arrived. And guess who it was?!?! Yep! It was our concierge from onboard the ship, Tawanda! Remember, the ship cast staff the island and Tawanda was taking care of cabanas guests today. I requested a beverage menu:

And we had a lovely visit with Tawanda. Since I'd never had a mojito before I decided to give the Melon Mojito a try:

Chandler asked for a coffee chiller (like a Frappucino) but the bar sent a "leaded" version that was akin to a mudslide. Tracey wasn't letting that go to waste so he offered to kill that one while the gal from the bar scurried off to grab Chandler a non-alcoholic coffee chiller. LOL!

I caught up my notes and sipped my drink. It was quite tasty!

In the meantime, we'd had another sleepy soul emerge from the wilds of the island. That does NOT look comfy, son.

**edit** Brian does NOT have an injured finger here. He was with the teens doing something with tie-dye. I'm not even going to ask why his middle finger is dyed.

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

Can I just stay here forever????

It was about 3:30 now and all-aboard would be at 4:45. No matter how long we prolonged it, eventually we were going to have to leave our little haven. We decided to get it over with and start making our way back. We called for the golf cart and loaded up. Looking back is such sweet sorrow...

Did you have fun, Brian?

How about you, Chandler?

Here comes the Serenity Bay tram!

On our way back to the ship. Hey! Photo-bombed!!! Good one, Chandler!

Such a nice aft to gaze upon in the sunlight...

Heading towards the ship I spotted this on the side of the pump house near the pier. Too funny! Whatabargain!!!!

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

When we returned Tracey dumped all the snorkels & masks in the tub to give them a thorough washing in fresh water. We clipped our wetsuits to the verandah chairs using jumbo plastic clamps I brought. All the wet clothes were hung up to dry on hangers. We did a general pick-up & clean up of all the stuff we'd just hauled into the stateroom. We even made the boys help! I had time to wash my hair before we were shoving off. We stood out on the verandah and watched as we sailed away.

I kid you not, I cried. I truly love Castaway Cay. This impossible un-beach-girl really, really does!

I dried my hair and straightened it. I mention it because it's a lot of work, an hour at least. By the time I was done and we ventured back out of our room it was like being on a ghost ship again. Everyone was either pooped-out from the day on the island, in the first seating for dinner, or at the early show. It was like being on our own little boat again. We were famished so we hit up Pluto's Doghouse for some walk-up munchies. The boys? Yeah, like we knew where THEY were. LOL!

Everyone eventually reconveined back at our room to prep for dinner. Sean had paid us a visit and left us a cool little bunny:

Dinner was at Parrot Cay tonight. I had a salad and rib-eye steak. Both were perfect for the moment.

I had some sort of bread pudding for dessert, I think, but I didn't eat much of it. I was too full:

On our way out of the restaurant after dinner we spotted Cinderella headed towards the lobby/atrium to meet her adoring fans. I snapped a pic. It was such a serene little moment walking along at a distance:

Tracey & I were in bed by 11:00. We knew we had an early morning. The boys even came in around midnight-ish. Apparently a lot of kids stayed in tonight and didn't go to the late night pool party. I'm betting Mom & Dad made them stay in so they'd be rested for tomorrow's adventures!

ZipaDeeDooDad · Feb 1, 2013

Cabana = $500 well spent.

sweetpee_1993 · Feb 1, 2013

ZipaDeeDooDad said:
Cabana = $500 well spent.

Word.

I'd do it any day of the week and twice on Sunday. It. Is. WORTH. IT.

sam&mia · Feb 1, 2013

firstly you looked fabulous all dressed up that dress is stunning!!
we hired a beach cabana in Labadee when we sailed on the Oasis and it was amazing too and like you when we pulled out of port i stood on the balcony and cried it was one of the best days of our life so i totally know how you felt in that moment. they are worth every cent you spend on them there is nothing like having your own little private place on a beach as i am no beach girl.
loving your trip report xx

RobnRachal · Feb 1, 2013

sweetpee_1993 said:
Word.

I'd do it any day of the week and twice on Sunday. It. Is. WORTH. IT.

I SOOOOOOO hope we can get one!!! I can't even show this to Rob he'd probably try to pay someone off for theirs, if we can't get our own.

lol

When You Wish Upon A Star...POOF your teens vanish!

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