The heaven that is called Castaway Cay and another attack of the Pirates IN the Caribbean

We were up real early again this morning, as Castaway Cay was calling us again. And I wanted to see the ship approaching the island. So by 6am I walked out onto the balcony and you could already see the island in the distance. We went back and forth between the balcony and the stateroom for a while until we could see the Pirate ship in the distance and we watched the ship turn around and docking at Castaway Cay.

Then it was time to hop into the shower and dress for a day in paradise. We had ordered room service breakfast again and it arrived spot on at the time we had ordered it. We had ordered Tea and Coffee, a Fruit bowl, Tom had  Chocolate milk, and we had some Toast, a Bagel, a Croissant and a Chocolate Croissant. There were some little containers of cream cheese and jelly as well. We sat in our stateroom, enjoyed our breakfast, but were already eager to leave. 

And then finally the announcement that we were able to disembark. So we picked up our gear and headed towards the exit. After picking up a towel we headed for the post office to post the few postcards we had brought and which NEVER made it to their destination. Don’t know what they do to them, but this is the second time we posted some cards and none of them made it to their destination.

Then we finally headed to the tram. The first one took us over to the family beach and the shops. We walked towards the family beach, which was still empty and quiet and took a few photos before we strolled through the shops, met some Cast Members who we had already met earlier in the trip, had a little chat and finally hopped on the tram out to Serenity Bay.

There were very little people out there at that time and we chose some deck chairs, placed our towels onto them, our bags under the chairs and started applying sunscreen. We sat and enjoyed the sun for a while until we could not hold back any longer, we needed to play in the lagoon. So we put on the water shoes and off we went. The water was crystal clear and not cold all.

I don’t know HOW long we stayed in the water, but I guess it was quite some time as there were a lot more people on the beach when we came back to our deck chairs. While we were still trying to dry off, one of the friendly Cast Members, serving drinks came by to ask if we wanted something to drink. Yes, sure, we had not had a decent drink since the last evening.

So we both ordered a Konk Kooler, Myers's Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Rum, and pina colada mix mixed with our orange passion guava blend. Who ever came up with that drink deserves an extra bonus. Sweet, but not overly sweet and addictive! For a while we sat on our deck chairs sipping our drink, relaxing and enjoying this little piece of heaven.

After some time the ocean was calling our names again and we went to swim and play for a little while, well, actually quite a while. When we finally got back to the beach again we dried off and then decided to head over to the barbecue station and have some lunch. Since their salads are really good, I filled my plate with several of them and then chose the grilled Mahi Mahi. Tom got some salads as well, but he went for the Grilled Beef.

We found a table, sat down and enjoyed our lunch and when we went back for dessert we saw Monika and her husband having lunch there as well. We invited them over to our table and after we had picked up dessert, consisting of a Chocolate Chip cookie and some vanilla and chocolate ice-cream, they came over to chat for a while. They left before we were finished, but since Teresa and her husband Mick were there as well, we still had some nice company.

We had spent more time than usual at the barbecue and when we returned to our chairs, plopped down and just relaxed. It did not take long until another one of those nice Cast Members came by to offer to bring us another drink. I could not help myself and ordered the same “boring, old” drink I always have, a Konk Kooler! Myers's Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Rum, and pina colada mix mixed with our orange passion guava blend. Tom wanted to try something new and ordered a Rum Rudder, Dark rum, Blackberry and Banana Liquor, Sweet lemon mix and Grenadine.

We sat and enjoyed and people watched, even though there weren’t too many people to watch. Once we had finished our drinks we went for another swim and this is when we came up with another fantastic idea. While floating around I told Tom about an idea I had had during the night. Why not add a THIRD cruise for next summer? It would give us ONE more day at Castaway Cay in the end? We talked a while back and forth and could we wing it financially and then we decided to just go for it, book it now with the discount and we could always let go of it if we found out we could not go! So, after some time we went back to the beach, and again relaxed on our deck chairs, still talking about my faboulous idea of another Castaway Cay day! Then we had the wonderful idea of taking some chairs and pulling them down to the water’s edge and just sitting in the ocean! Time flies when you have so much fun and we did not realize HOW long we had been sitting there, grilling in the sun. Luckily we both had hats that day or we might have been sunstroke as well, as we both were a bit sunburned in the end, even though we did apply lots of sunscreen.

One last dip in the ocean for a while and it was time to pack up things and head back to the ship. We just put on our T-shirts as our swim suits were still a bit wet when we headed towards the tram. When we had to change trams we decided to walk through the shops on the island one more time, but didn’t buy anything. We had the choice of walking back to the tram or walking right back to the ship.

We decided on walking along the path which goes along the beach, so we could take a few more photos and enjoy the view of the ship docked at Castaway Cay. After a short, relaxing stroll we were back at the ship and joined the long lines to get back on the ship. But even though the lines looked long it actually only took about 5 minutes and we were back in the airconditioned cool of the Disney Wonder.

This is when you can feel that your swimsuit is still damp! We hurried back to our stateroom, lots of gifts in the Fish extender, which we emptied out before entering. Once we were back in our stateroom we changed into something dry, then took turns taking hot and relaxing showers, before we went to sit out on the balcony for a while. But not too long as we were hungry and so we decided to head up to the restaurants. Our first stop was Goofy’s Galley to pick up some wraps. We were hungry so we took two Tuna salad wraps, two Vegetable wraps and two Shrimp salad wraps, but that was not enough, we also wanted to try the pizza, so we headed over to Pinocchio’s Pizzeria and picked up two pieces of the Vegetarian Pizza and two pieces of the Pepperoni Pizza. We took all back to our stateroom, took some drinks out of the fridge and had a leisurely picknick out on our balcony.

Before it was time to leave the island we headed up to the open deck to see the ship pull out and see the island disappear in the distance.  Our next task was to head back to the stateroom, pick up our next round of Fish extender gifts and start our round all over the ship, handing out our goodies. Since there was no show to catch that night we were in no hurry and explored the ship.

When we got back to our stateroom, we found another fun towel creation, this time it was a monkey, hanging from a clothes hanger! We spent a little time in the room and then we got changed and it was time to walk down to the assigned restaurant for the night, Parrot Cay. They were not open when we arrived, but they opened soon after and we were the first at our table. We were handed our menus and while we were still reading it, Teresa and her husband Mick arrived to join us. We had not seen the forth couple yet and the other couple, who had been battling their sea sickness on the first night were no where to be seen either. We were soon served the Pigeon Pea Relish and a basket full of nice Bread. Needless to say that after a day like the one we had just experienced, we needed a drink too.

So after studying the drinks menu I ordered the Captain’s Treasure, Absolute Mandarin, Peach Schnapps and Orange Juice, while Tom tried the Rusty Anchor, Midori, Captain Morgan Rum, Passion Fruit and Cranberry Juice, which were both very nice. It was time for starters and since it was Pirate Night I chose Blackbeard’s Jumbo Crab Cake with a fruit Salsa and Honey-Lime Tropical Coleslaw, which was really good.

Tom ordered the Pirates Golden "Pot Stickers", Oriental Pork "Dumplings" deep fried and served with a Tamarind-Ginger soy sauce and Pickled Vegetables. Again they did not disappoint and we really enjoyed the start of the evening, especially since we had such nice company. Teresa and I talked a lot and I think I might have talked them into watching the next day’s show, Disney Dreams.

All the time our servers took good care of us and refilled our soft drinks. Then it was time for the main course. Alex, the server, recommended the Treasure-of-the-Seas Grilled Shrimp and Seared Scallops served on strings of pasta and fresh creamy tomato sauce. And he was right, the spaghetti with the well spiced tomato sauce were the perfect side dish for the scallops and shrimp! Tom really enjoyed it. I ordered Jack Sparrow’s Barbecue Marinated Beef Short Ribs, Rubbed beef short ribs with tamarind-barbecue sauce served with onion red bliss mashed potatoes and plantain chip. The short ribs fell off the bone and the mash was tasty and creamy, but it turned out I did not care for the plantain at all. We laughed a lot, and talked a lot and were still working on our main course, when most of the other diners were already done and put in their dessert orders.

There was no time for us to do so before the little show the servers put on, on Pirate Night. The Head Server led the parade, which included quite a few kids and even a few adult diners. Once the show was over we were able to put in our dessert order. Tom and I decided on the same dessert, The Calypso Ice Cream Sundae, Rum and Raisin Ice Cream, Caribbean Cake and a Rum Caramel Sauce, which was really wonderful.

When we had finally finished our desserts we had to hurry on deck to enjoy the Pirate Party. Teresa and Mick came with us and we all enjoyed the show and had a laugh when we saw another cruise ship close by.

I am sure they just wanted to watch our fireworks, as they stayed at the exact same location throughout the show. Then it was time for the fireworks which were amazing, considering we were out on the ocean, enjoying them. Then we were off to our next misson. On all our previous cruises we had never made it to the Pirate buffet, but all four of us were determined to make it there this time.

We headed down to the buffet, Tom went to take photos of the buffet, and then we picked up our plates and got in line. There were so many different things, but unfortunately most of the decorated round cakes were not cut, so everyone just kept on destroying the creations and the individual pieces on your plate did not look all that appetizing.

But we all filled our plates, found a table and enjoyed some more sweets. Neither Tom, nor I were able to finish our plates, so we took them back to our stateroom to nibble on them lateron that night. We sat for a little longer until all of us said our goodbyes and went back to our staterooms. But we all filled our plates, found a table and enjoyed some more sweets. Neither Tom, nor I were able to finish our plates, so we took them back to our stateroom to nibble on them lateron that night.

 We sat for a little longer until all of us said our goodbyes and went back to our staterooms. Around midnight we finally called it a night and went to bed.