Disney Cruise - Castaway Cay

We're always cruising with a balcony from now on.

One of the most-anticipated parts of our itinerary was the stop at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas. We had been warned the night before by the cruise director Trent that rain was in the forecast, but with a little faith, luck, and pixie dust (and a good rain dance) we could hopefully still have a great day on the island. Matt and I were planning to run the Castaway Cay 5K race on the island, so we were some of the first to exit the ship. We dropped the girls off at the island kids club and headed for the starting line with, I don't know, say 100 other passengers. What followed was one of the hottest runs I've ever experienced! The race took us along a paved path cut through the island's greenery and then along the runway to the adults only beach, and back.

Running selfies... harder than you'd think! But look at that finisher's medal!

When we were finished (under 30 minutes, might I add!) we staked out some beach chairs under an umbrella and headed to grab the girls. As luck would have it, we spotted Mickey on the way! There were only a handful of people waiting to meet him, so I told the girls it was now or never! See how overcast the sky was? I said a quick prayer that we'd make the most of our time on the island so even if it rained, it wouldn't be a disappointment. And it never rained! The clouds dissipated and it ended up being a beautiful day!

Meeting Mickey!

Christmas card!

Finally at the beach!

The beach was great! There were plenty of chairs and umbrellas, life vests for anyone that needed one, two restaurants serving up lunch of various BBQ options, even the unlimited soda and ice cream machines turned up! Basically the ship's staff get off the boat, run the island, and then pack it all up at the end of the day. It's quite an endeavor! Matt and Violet went on the Pelican Plunge, a rather swift waterslide that drops you right into the ocean while Annie and I explored. After lunch we happened to park it near another family from our county (the running joke was that everyone on the ship was from one of three counties in Atlanta on fall break) and when they headed back to the Dream, they left us their floats that we took to the water. The beach never felt too crowded and like I mentioned, the weather ended up great. Annie even fell asleep in a beach chair for a much needed nap!

Just look at that water! Talk about no filter needed!

We returned to the ship for Pirate Night! Everyone showered and dressed, then we took the girls to the club while we got a much needed cup of "real" coffee from the onboard cafe. We met up with the kids in D Lounge to watch a family pirate game show, where Annie got picked to help swab the deck in a relay race - she had to push a mop and bucket around. I continued to be amazed at the people working the kids clubs - this was no simple babysitting service. They were always engaged the kids, finding things to play with them, interacting with them. It's no wonder the girls were so willing to return time and time again! After another early dinner via room service, we took the kids up to the pool deck to watch the pirate dance party, where Captain Hook attempted to take over the ship but was thwarted by Mickey and his brave crew!

Yo ho, yo ho!

Violet with her class pet, Alfred, who got to spend the week with us. She had to take pictures and write in a journal all about Alfred's adventures... something tells me this might be the highlight of his year!

One of our Fish Extender gifts was this perfect pirate eye patch.

Look at those scalawags!

Thanks to Annie's beachside nap, she finally managed to stay awake through dinner, ha! During dinner, our girls and the girls from the family that shared our table hatched a plot to go to kids club before the fireworks, and we were happy to let them. Matt and I walked around the outside of the ship on Deck 4, trying to work off our enormous dinner. We grabbed the girls around 10:30 and brought them back to our room so we could watch the fireworks from our balcony. (Pro tip - get a room on the starboard (right) side if you want an excellent view of Castaway Cay and the fireworks!) And so we went to bed, already sad that the next day would be our last on this beautiful Dream.

Goodbye Castaway Cay!