Trip Log Day 3: 4-Night Halloween on the High Seas Bahamian Cruise on Disney Dream – Castaway Cay

Trip log, day three. Castaway Cay.
4-Night Halloween on the High Seas Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral
October 28, 2015
Day 3 – Personal NavigatorStateroom TV Map Disney Dream 20151028

Wednesday started like most other days with Emily at the gym before we decided to wake up. Today, the ship’s alarm clock, the thrusters, woke me up when we began to maneuver into position to back into Castaway Cay.Backing Into Castaway Cay It was a great time to wake up as Emily was just heading to Cabanas. We got ready and met her up on the outside aft seating area at Cabanas for breakfast around 7:30am.DIY Cabanas Breakfast Sandwich

We took advantage of the early start and headed ashore before the all clear announcement was made on the ship. We found a hammock in the shade to lounge while Isabelle ran around the shoreline getting used to the water temperature. I decided to take advantage of the early start and photograph the Frozen inspired Summertime Freeze shack. Castaway Cay Summertime FreezeCastaway Cay Summertime Freeze Olaf

Please remember, Olaf likes warm hugs. Not tugs on his nose. If you happen to have orange touch up paint at home Olaf would appreciate it if you brought it to Castaway Cay next time and fixed his nose.Castaway Cay Summertime Freeze Olaf Warm HugsGuess what… The Frozen songs are playing from speakers above the Olaf photo op. I will leave it up to you if this is a good thing or not.Summertime Freeze Castaway Cay Reindeer Inner Tube Summertime Freeze Menu Summertime Freeze Circular Menu Summertime Freeze Olaf Sippers

Check your times guide if you want to get a picture with Olaf with his golden tan before turns into a… ‘happy snowman’…. back under his personal backstage flurry.Olaf At Castaway Cay

I noticed the DCL-Guest Wi-Fi network covered more of the island this trip, so I tested the waters with a Periscope video walking tour around the beach, Pelican Plunge, then over to Summertime Freeze before walking into a Wi-Fi dead zone. I think it worked well when the signal was strong. If you watched, I hope you enjoyed the video stream — please let me know as it was hard to keep up with the comments and walk around. Below is a deleted scene from the Blair Witch Project filmed on Gorda Cay… Here is an slightly edited replay of the original Periscope. Sorry the comments are not included, I was unable to grab that version of the video before Periscope purged the replay.

Isabelle was now ready to get into the water and wanted to head over to the play on the water feature in just off shore on the Family Beach. After a while, the combination of swimming and climbing the ropes over the water meant it was time for Izzy to take a break. It was nearing lunch time, but we still had some time to kill so I wanted to revisit one of my favorite photo ops on the island, Mount Rustmore. Frankly, I am not sure why this wasn’t renamed Mount No-longer-Rustmore Presented by Disney•Pixar’s Cars Medicated Rust•eze Bouy Ointment. I realize this is not new, as a friend (Cristy Nelson) shared some pictures at the end of last year or early this year (I cannot remember the exact time frame) of the refurbished Mount Rustmore. Mount (No Longer) RustmoreI even went as far as writing an article that was mostly a rant, but I decided not to post until I had the chance to see it for myself. Trust me, as a fledgling blogger, this click bait article would have been awesome, but I think it is now time to revisit that draft which I still have saved. Bottom line — I’m sad it is no longer in a rusted state, but I can understand how some lawyers would feel differently with the potentially sharp rusting edges. I do have a wonderful origin story Mount Rushmore that I’d love to finally share & will do soon.

In a strange turn of events, we went to Cookies BBQ instead of our typical stomping grounds Cookies Too BBQ. It was nice to see a few seasoning changes to the proteins and the pineapple cake was delicious!

This is the part of the our Castaway Cay day where we split up. Isabelle heads over to Scuttle’s Cove while Emily and I walk around the island. We sat over by Heads Up bar near Pelican Point for a bit and took cover under the umbrella for a brief (really brief) shower. We decided to go check out the wares at Buy the Seashore to pass some more time. The sky looked a bit ominous, but thankfully the showers never materialized. I’m sure there is a Halloween on the High Seas tie in I could make with that last sentence, but I will save that word play for next fall’s interns.

Tammy from Storybook Destinations invited us over to tour her Castaway Cay cabana. Family Beach Cabana GateIn all of our trips to Castaway Cay, we have only once been able to book a cabana; but alas, that sailing of the Disney Magic was canceled because they didn’t schedule nearly enough time to properly finish re-imagineering. Sorry not sorry — I’m still a bit bitter, I hope DCL doesn’t plan to do too much in too little time on the Disney Wonder in 2016. Dear DCL, Please do it right and take the Wonder offline for longer than you think you need like you just accomplished with the enhanced Disney Dream. Sorry for that mini rant. Where was I? Oh yes… Tammy and her husband were nice enough to give us a tour of their Castaway Cay cabana, which was #6.Family Beach Cabana 6 Entrance All I can say is wow! I would spend the entire day in this cabana if the stars ever align and we decide to treat ourselves. DCL had me at the padded lounge chairs, ceiling fan, and quiet.Family Beach Cabana 6 Patio Family Beach Cabana 6 Covered Seating Area Family Beach Cabana 6 Refreshments

The Family Beach Cabana offered a nice view of the Disney Dream.Family Beach Cabana 6 ViewFamily Beach Cabana 6 Disney Dream

The cabanas include inner tubes and floats which are in a bin on the beach. Snorkeling equipment is also included in the cabana rental, but you must pick that up at one of the rental locations on the island.

Family Beach Cabana 6 Rafts And Floats

Below is a look at the newest addition to the family beach cabanas, Castaway Cay’s castle. Ok, it is really just a gigantic beach cabana fit for a royal family.
Family Beach Cabana 6 Wading Pool

We headed back to Scuttle’s to pick up Isabelle and head back to the ship. This is the first trip to Castaway Cay for use since the new Bahamian security checkpoint has been put into play. Now you must show a photo ID and your Key to the World card. So, if you have been lax in the past (like myself) since DCL never seemed to check photo IDs when returning to the ship at Castaway Cay, times have changed. Grab your ID before leaving the ship.Castaway Cay Security Checkpoint

We enjoyed a few cups of the infused ice water before rebounding the ship.Castaway Cay Infused Ice Water

We dropped off our unused snorkeling gear & bags in the room and headed up to the pool deck for a spin on the AquaDuck and pools. We saw Monsters Inc on Funnel Vision from start to finish. Hot tub status update: second day with the family hot tub out-of-order. I realize I can go to the adult area, but my child who had blue lips after swimming in the cold pool and AquaDuck cannot. The Mickey Slide was also out of order due to… um how do I say this… an unfortunate event resulting by a child’s distance to the closest bathroom.

After Monsters Inc finished, it was about 5:20pm and it was time to head to the room to get showered. Once we were all sparkly clean, we headed to Cabanas for our sit down dinner. Cabanas Dinner NapkinPer her request, Isabelle dressed in her pirate costume as this was Pirate Night. Cabanas for dinner is amazing. It’s a sampling of the main dining room menu and it is super fast.Cabanas Pirate Night Dinner Menu I ordered the potstickers and the entree salad, Emily ordered the smaller starter salad and then the baked chicken with vegetables and warm fingerling potatoes, and Isabelle was able to get her favorite, the Treasure of the Seas pasta.Cabanas Pirate Night Potstickers Cabanas Pirate Night Grilled Chicken Breast Cabanas Pirate Night Warm Fingerling Potatoes Cabanas Pirate Night Cabanas Salad Bowl Cabanas Pirate Night Treasure Of The Seas Pasta Isabelle told Emily earlier that she was ready for shrimp and scallops because she already had mahi mahi at lunch. Emily wasn’t very hungry so she picked at her dinner, while Isabelle gobbled her delicious entree up. Service was good and quick in Cabanas and once Isabelle & I had our Mickey bars, it was time to head out.Cabanas Pirate Night Mickey Bar

We headed into the gift shops since Isabelle hadn’t been in them yet. She has her eye on an Ewok plush and a Remy from Ratatouille plush. Emily did a good job of distracting her away from them. Shockingly, the Sanders family made zero purchases and it was time for the family to split up. I was headed to the 8:15pm showing of Bridge of Spies, Isabelle was off to check herself into the kids clubs, and Emily was headed back to our stateroom to enjoy a nice glass of wine & book on the verandah. Isabelle was told to be back at 9pm, so we shall see how this goes. Give the kid some responsibility and wait…… Given the fact it is not easy to keep time, we were happy that she returned about quarter after 9.Buena Vista Theatre Bridge Of Spies

Here is my mini-review of Bridge of Spies. I liked the film based on my initial interest in the story and the subject matter. However, while I am glad I saw the movie, I am grateful I did not spend the money on land to see the film. My main problem with the film was that I did not care about any of the characters fate especially considering one didn’t bother to spend the dollar as he was trained. I thought Tom Hanks did a great job carrying the film on his shoulders, but it is not enough for me to go out and pre-order the film. Maybe if it is on TV in a few years and I struggling for something to watch I leave it on.

OK, that’s it for today. Tomorrow is the final day – a relaxing day at sea. We absolutely love ending cruises with a sea day rather than a port day.

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14 Replies to “Trip Log Day 3: 4-Night Halloween on the High Seas Bahamian Cruise on Disney Dream – Castaway Cay”

  1. Cam

    I saw your periscope live and there was a few pauses here and there due to wifi connection but if you went back and rewatched like I did after it was only like 15 seconds long really weird

    Reply
  2. Pete

    I watched your Periscope also on Castaway, worked fairly well thanks for that! How much did the wifi package cost for your cruise? Also what were some of the protien changes at Cookies? We are going to be in Castaway on soon on a Wonder cruise and are hoping for some changes in the food, getting a little tired of the well done burgers.

    Reply
    1. Scott Sanders Post author

      I purchased the 1GB data plan for $89. The changes at Cookies BBQ were just different recipes for the flavor on the chicken and ribs. The same terrible (my opinion) burgers are available. On our recent visits they have been offering the breaded spicy chicken cutlets found on the pool deck.

      Reply
  3. Lauren

    Thanks for the Cabanas menu from Pirate night. We are planning eat at Cabanas on our February Dream cruise. I’m excited to hear it is super quick too. With a 2 year old and a 4 year, MDR dinners frequently take a bit longer than we would like.

    Reply
  4. Charlotte

    Hey Scott,
    Love your blog! We will be going on our first cruise on the Fantasy over the week of Thanksgiving and will be at Castaway Cay on the Friday after Thanksgiving. You mentioned that you all usually go to Cookies Too BBQ but this time went to Cookies BBQ for lunch. Can you tell me what the difference is? Thanks for of the wonderful posts!

    Reply
    1. Scott Sanders Post author

      We usually go to Cookies Too BBQ because it is closer to where we typically sit on the beach. On this cruise, we changed things up and we were much closer to Cookies BBQ.

      Reply
  5. Robin

    We have never eaten dinner at Cabanas (or the equivalent on the other ships). Do you go any time or at your assigned dinner times?

    Reply
  6. loriketcherside

    We’re excited to have our big family reunion on the Wonder coming up. We managed to snag the “castle” cabana. I will say the rest of Castaway Cay rarely gets a visit when we hang out at our cabanas. Which is a shame because the rest of Castaway Cay is also awesome! I do love the quiet and watching kids is much easier when you’ve got your own little bit of the beach to yourselves.

    Reply
  7. Heather

    Oh the double wide CC Castle – one of the best days of my life.

    That Tammy sure is one awesome person to invite you for a tour 🙂

    Reply
  8. ktbos

    Regarding the closed Mickey slide, our last cruise saw 4 pool closings over three days for “potty” accidents. One of them involved a kid in a diaper whose grandmother was holding him in the Donald pool and staff had repeatedly asked her to move to the splash area. The others happened while I wasn’t around. I don’t know if there’s something Disney can do to reduce the amount of times this happens. Maybe making the Donald pool only for kids over 8 or something just so that they aren’t out of luck when a younger kid has an issue? I will say that I got to see the same pool staff over and over again inside the pools with the pressure washer and they are thorough and fast – amazing that they can empty the pool and then refill it so quickly.

    Reply

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