NOTE: This post mainly consists of 33 photos with captions. Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro, unless otherwise indicated. (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)
TUESDAY 27 February (T7-C5) — Castaway Cay; Last Night on the Ship
Today was our second, and last, port-of-call. Like many cruise lines that sail the Bahamas, Disney Cruise Line (DCL) has a private island here. It’s named Castaway Cay, and we spent most of the day there. The day started in earnest, however, with the Meet the Princesses event onboard the ship. Sadie got to meet the four princesses shown in the following eight photos.
At age 5, Sadie understood that these were not real princesses, just actresses in costumes. Or did she? Here she is in her princess outfit, very much in the moment. (Photo by Linda)
Sadie meets Aurora, who has the same color outfit. They are obviously having an important conversation. Like her older sister, Sadie is very comfortable talking to adults. (Photo by Linda)
Sadie possess with Aurora. (Photo by Linda)
Next up was Belle from Beauty and the Beast. (Photo by Linda)
Another photo with Belle.
Sadie with Mulan and Commodore Donald Duck (statue, in the background).
Another photo with Mulan. (Photo by Linda)
Sadie poses with Rapunzel. (Photo by Linda)
While we were docked at Castaway Cay, some of the crew took the opportunity to deploy and operate some of the life boats. One is already in the water and another is in the process of being lowered.
A closer view of the mechanism for lowering and retrieving the lifeboat.
Madeline (L) and her mom (R) on the outside aft section of the Cabanas Buffet.
Madeline (L) and Sadie (R) on the outside aft section of the Cabanas Buffet. Sadie was still eating her breakfast, and didn’t fully appreciate Madeline’s proximity. (Photo by Linda)
Part of Castaway Cay, Bahamas (Disney’s private island) as seen from our stateroom balcony. (Photo by Linda)
The port-side bow of the Disney DREAM with multiple shore lines securing the ship to the dock. Part of an anchor is visible at the lower right on the frame.
A view from the dock looking aft along the port side of the Disney DREAM.
The stern of the Disney DREAM as seen from the dock. Note the large 3-D characters hanging off of the stern on either side of the DREAM emblem. This is a hallmark of all DCL ships.
As shown in this information sign, all of the guest areas on Castaway Cay are to the left of the dock, with most of them located along the shore. Much of the island is actually not accessible, at least to guests. The long horizontal yellow line is the centerline of a runway/airstrip which is still used if/when needed. All guests arrive on cruise ships, however, and there are no overnight guest accommodations on the island.
One of the activities on Castaway Cay is a 5K walking/jogging circuit. Shown here is the sign designating the official starting (and ending ?) point. We did at least part of the circuit and, ABIR, Meghan and Chris did the entire circuit.
I think this is an actual Beechcraft Model 18 twin-engine airplane, or what is left of one. It’s long decommissioned, of course, but is one of the classic/iconic aircraft in the history of flight, along with planes like the DC-3. It is, appropriately, displayed adjacent to the airstrip and speaks to the historical commercial use of the island for a long period of time before it was purchased by the Disney Corporation.
A display of a DCL anchor and mooring balls somewhere along the 5K walking/jogging circuit.
A panorama formed by stitching together (compositing) nine (9) separate images from my SONY a6400 using the Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE) software. The photo is 1920 x 345 pixels, and can be displayed full-size on a suitable display. This image was taken from the top deck of the observation tower along the 5K walking/jogging circuit. Most of Castaway Cay looks like this, and is not accessible by guests.
Me (Bruce) with some additional decorative/thematic elements along the 5K walking/jogging circuit. I presume the wood barrel represents the storage and transportation of rum. (Photo by Linda)
One of the shuttlebus-trains on the runway. As shown in a previous photo of the island map, there is an “adults only” beach area at the far end of the road system, and the farthest point from the dock. “Adults only” in this case simply means no guests under a certain age. This is Disney, after all, so nothing risqué going on there.
Whether on a cruise ship, or at a Disney resort, being there with younger children, and first-time visitors of any age, lets you experience it through the wonder of their eyes. While Disney certainly caters to families with younger children, they are also very much aware of their adult guests (who pay for everything) and provide plenty for them to do on their ships and at their ports-of-call. The one thing that is missing onboard their ships, however, is a casino. That was just fine with us, but it is something Meghan and Chris would have enjoyed. Would we do another Disney cruise without out grand-daughters? Probably. The ships are nice and provide a nice experience.
This photo provides a sense of the size of the runway/airstrip; it’s wide and long and can handle larger aircraft. The sign at the left says “BEWARE of Low Flying Aircraft.” It’s decorative in its appearance, but it is an actual warning sign. Not that aircraft are likely to land here while guests are on the island, but we could imagine that they might, for instance to affect an emergency medical supply or evacuation. Linda is visible at the right edge of the frame (white hat and towel draped over her shoulder).
Another Beechcraft Model 18, underscoring the iconic nature of this aircraft and its importance in the history of commercial aviation and its use in the Caribbean.
All of the architecture and décor is suitably Caribbean, as you would expect from Disney. This building is a gift shop.
Another view of the main beach area on Castaway Cay as we walk back to the dock.
A marker buoy on display labeled “Castaway Cay.” I think this is positioned so that it’s one of the first things we passed as we headed down the dock onto the island. We did not photographer going onto the island, so snapped a shot on the way back to the ship. I do not know if the Latitude and Longitude are correct for the buoy’s current location.
This is a panorama of the main beach area of Castaway Cay. Notice the absence of people. It was taken moments before 4 PM, which was probably the “all aboard” time. One of the things you do not mess around with on a cruise is the all-aboard time. The image is a composite of three photos from my (Bruce) Google Pixel 6 Pro. The resolution is 1920 x 548 pixels.
A photo of the TV in our stateroom showing 5:00 PM in the upper right of the screen. The map display shows the location of Castaway Cay, essentially due east of Miami Florida. The light blue color is the continental shelf, where the water is relatively shallow. The dark blue is where the continental shelf ends and the ocean depth plummets. The left side of the screen shows that the ship is located at 26 deg 04 min North latitude, 077 deg 32 min West longitude.
Sadie and her mom posing with tonight’s dessert choice, featuring “Mickey ears.” This is our final dinner meal aboard the Disney DREAM, and our only meal in the Enchanted Garden dining room. (Photo by Linda)
Enough with the photos, lets dig in.
I think our final towel art animal was a dog, but you can decide for yourself. I also think these are my reading glasses, which I must have left out in the room. Very clever on the part of our cabin steward to make use of them. (Photo by Linda)
One of the things that happens on cruise ships is that you can put your luggage outside your stateroom door the night before you debark, and the stewards will move it to an area of the ship where it is off-loaded to the terminal and set out in a large baggage claim area. Alternatively, you can keep your bags in your stateroom, and take them with you in the morning. We have always set out our larger suitcases as it makes debarkation the next morning much easier for us. The staterooms have to be vacated fairly early, and this way we do not have to take them with us to the buffet for breakfast. It is important, however, to NOT pack anything in those cases that you turn out to need the next morning, like medications, ID cards (cruise, passport, driver’s license, etc.), wallets/cash, or even the clothes you plan to wear. We typically each have a smaller, carry-on, suitcase which we do NOT put out or check when flying. This suitcase has an essential change of clothing, all of our technological gadgets, medications, and any other small items that we cannot afford to lose.
Since we would be flying tomorrow we were allowed to check-in online within 24 hours of our scheduled departure time. We always do this with our phones, if we can, so we end up with the QR code boarding passes on our phones. We also take a screen shot of the boarding pass so we don’t have to actually be online to use the airline app to display it. I do not recall how we managed to get connected, but I suspect we did this while the ship was still at Castaway Cay.
…