Castaway at Serenity Bay and the Pirates in the Caribbean

Our alarm was set for 7am and we reluctantly crawled out of bed but the view from our balcony made us wide awake. We had already docked at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. We both were torn about that day. Tom and I are not beach people and today was to be spent on an island and it was more or less a “beach day”. But we wanted to be out there and at least stick our toes in the water and take a lot of photos, before we intended to head back to the ship.

Now, that was NOT in the stars for that day! We got ready and at 8am sharp we heard a knock at the door and a server brought our breakfast. All the items were very good, tea and coffee, orange juice, some fresh fruit and some bagels and cream cheese and a muffin and a croissant. We enjoyed our breakfast thoroughly and then started to get ready to disembark. Once we were ready we knocked at Mary Ellen’s door, but there was no answer so we thought they were gone for breakfast and would follow soon after, so we left and made our way to Castaway Cay.

First off it was already really hot and we used the little tram to get to Palm Central Tram Stop. We checked out the Family Beach and the shop and were sure we had to stop and shop on the way back to the ship. From there we took another tram to Serenity Bay, the adult only beach at Castaway Cay. Once we entered the beach area we were just stunned. This were the bluest, clearest waters we had ever seen.

The beach was practically empty and we were still standing there in awe when we heard someone call our names. Moley, one of the Tag group members was already there and invited us to make use of two lounge chairs right next to her. She had picked the perfect spot, right behind the bar, where you could just hear the music, close to the food, showers and toilet. So, what more can you want. We sat and chatted for a while and more people of the group arrived and we all had lots of fun. AND what’s more, we both wanted to experience the crystal clear waters. So we let all our belongings on our chairs and went into the ocean. To be honest, we stayed in for a VERY long time. It was a wonderful experience. Once we emerged from the waters a server, Claudia, whom we had met on the arrival day came by to ask if we needed some drinks.
Yes, please!

Tom had a Captain's Mai Tai, Captain Morgan original spiced rum, amaretto, and pineapple juice topped with a float of Myers's Original dark rum. Strong, but nice, while I had a Pina CoLAVA, Bacardi Razz rum blended with pina colada mix and raspberry puree. It was sweet, thick and yummy. While we were relaxing, actually enjoying our time on the beach we watched some of the other members of our group using their floating devices or just swimming or sitting on a chair in the water. Once we had finished our drinks we needed to join them again for a while. Then we started over again. Claudia came by and we ordered some more drinks. This time Tom had a Tropical Depression, Light rum, vodka, gin and blue curacao mixed with grenadine, sprite, and a splash of sweet-and-sour. Definitely too strong for me, but he loved it. I had the Konch Kooler, Myers's Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Rum, and pina colada mix mixed with our orange passion guava blend!

That was such a wonderful drink, definitely my new favourite drink. I even found a “bubble Hidden Mickey” when I finished my drink. By then they had set up a barbeque at the bar behind our spot and at around 1.30pm we decided to grab a bite as well. Tom had some "roast beef" and some BBQ Pork Ribs. There was a salad bar and he had some creamy potato salad, some cucumber - olive salad and some coleslaw with it. It was really good stuff!  I had the Grilled Mahi Mahi Sandwich, again with some salad, tomato and creamy potato salad. The sandwich was really nice. I LOVED the potato salad, creamy and not too sweet and finally tomato which actually tasted like tomato, wonderful. All the time the barbeque area was not crowded at all and there were really only a few people at Serenity Bay! We were still waiting for Mary Ellen and Joe to show up, but it was not to happen that day.

 After lunch we had another dip in the ocean and at around 2.30 we packed up our stuff and went back to catch a tram to the central area where the shop, another barbeque area and the family beach were. Needless to say we were in a really good mood and shopped accordingly. We had another look at the Family Beach and were delighted to find that even though Serenity Bay was nearly deserted, the Family Beach was packed!

It was loud and hot and people were everywhere. We slowly walked back to the ship, took loads and loads of photos of the Flying Dutchman, which had been positioned right in front of the Disney Wonder. There is a small post office on the island and we bought a few stamps to send some postcards to our friends.

Then it was time to get back on board.

Once back on board the ship again we decided to chill a while before the Pirates in the Caribbean Dinner and Party.

My starter was "Black Beard's Jumbo Crab Cake" with a Golden Raisin-, Carrot and Coconut Slaw served with a spicy Calypso Dressing. That was a really nice starter! The crab cake was huge and very moist and tasty. Tom had Pirates Golden "Pot Stickers", Oriental Pork "Dumplings" deep fried and served with a Tamarind-Ginger soy sauce and Pickled Vegetables, which he really enjoyed.

I had The Dutchmen's Roasted Dijon-Crusted Sirloin of Beef, thick cut of beef with roasted sweet potatoes and a black spot tomato with a deep red wine glaze. I loved the sweet potatoes, crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, the tomatoes were yummy, but the beef was as tough as old boots. Tom tried Captain Hook’s Macadamia Nut-Dusted Mahi Mahi, Jasmine rice and sauteed pineapple on a mild curry sauce and this was really nice. Once we had finished our main courses they invited everyone to join in a pirate parade around the restaurant.
It was fun to watch the kids and grown ups singing and dancing around the restaurant. Then it was time for desserts.I had opted for the Pirates of the Caribbean's Sweet Temptation, A trio of Shiver-me-Timbers White Chocolate Cheesecake , Rum Barbossa, Walk The Triple Layered Chocolate Gangplank Cake.

Unfortunately none of those desserts really was a winner.

Tom had the "original" version of the Rum Barbossa, Captain Barbossa's own recipe of the famous dessert rum baba. It looked totally different to what I had had and it did taste different too, it actually was really nice. After dinner it was time for the Pirates In The Caribbean Deck Party. We really enjoyed the party and the characters and it was fun to watch Captain Mickey save “the ship” from the pirates.

Once he had done that there were fireworks! Now, the Disney Cruise Line is the only cruise line (I know of) that does/is allowed to do fireworks at sea and it did show. There were at least two other cruise ships nearby watching the fireworks, which were really beautiful and fun. We were so tired that we left after the fireworks.