Oh the Places We Go, The People We See Updated 11/03/2013 About This Page:

[Cinderbrella]

I totally understand your big sigh!! I wish I was right there now, too. Love your update of Castaway Cay. We signed up for the Family Excursion that included the Sting Ray encounter; hopefully it will be worth it?? I was not sure which thing to pick while I was still in my Easter hosting exhaustion stupor at 12:01 AM on Fool's Day. What do you think?

[rlb38]

Castaway Cay ! It was my favourite day of my cruise.

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by mommapants

I have to admit Castaway Cay is the one thing that may get me back on a cruise ship. We did the NY weekend so we didn't get to CC. I was seasick so I said I didn't want to cruise again but seeing CC - it is just paradise. I might need to reconsider.

I suggest taking bonine every day and it does really help. Also bring along ginger snaps to snack on.
It is a fun place to go.

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Castaway Cay does look very brown! But still one of my favorite places to be!

It was brown, be we didn't let it get us down.

Originally Posted by Cinderbrella

I totally understand your big sigh!! I wish I was right there now, too. Love your update of Castaway Cay. We signed up for the Family Excursion that included the Sting Ray encounter; hopefully it will be worth it?? I was not sure which thing to pick while I was still in my Easter hosting exhaustion stupor at 12:01 AM on Fool's Day. What do you think?

We did the Sting Ray encounter. I will hopefully get that written up in the next week. I leave next Friday for a week in Williamsburg Virginia and my goal is to get as much of our CC day done as possible, but I just can't seem to find the time to work on updates. LOL

Originally Posted by rlb38

Castaway Cay ! It was my favourite day of my cruise.

I dod like it too. It's not an absolute must for me, because i do like other islands as well ,but it does make you feel special.

[jenseib]

After admiring the views from the decks outside of the Meridian, I headed back inside.



Of course I shot a couple of pictures.









A quick walk through Cabanas.







The guy posed for me!



I walked around snapping away some more.



These stairs lead up to the AquaDuck.





I need this guy to come clean at my house. He actually pulls things out and cleans behind them.



Back to looking out at Castaway Cay.



A look down to where I had just been.







I just want to be there right now!



Looking down, one level is part of Cabanas outside seating and the other is Aft room balconies.





The infamous Palm tree.



Earlier when I had been on my balcony watching us dock, My Dad was next door watching as well. I pointed out that this was a fake palm tree that was really a tower for cell phones, etc. I really don’t think he believed me at first. I had to explain how it was so much bigger than the others and they just made it to look like a palm tree. And as you can see, up close, it doesn’t look real at all.
While we were talking about this, I had looked down and there was our fellow Dis member JohnPA a deck below us. What a small world. It never dawned on me when looking at the fish extender list that his room was practically right below us. We waved at each other and my Dad was all curious as to why I was waving at strangers. LOL

More pictures of my beloved island. I am sure someone in the family would be going down these slides later.

















Here comes the parasail boat. Geoff and Pete had the first appointment of the day for this excursion.















A few more ship pictures.







And back to Castaway Cay.









Look at all those towels waiting for us.

[jenseib]

I really like this shot.







After taking that shot, I headed down to the Port Adventures desk. I kept thinking about how my Dis friend Rinky had talked about the Jet Ski excursion. I knew I would enjoy it, I was pretty sure Claire would too, and I knew it would be right up Rob’s alley as well.
I inquired about it and I was told there wasn’t anything available for double riders, only singles and not for the same times. She then told me to check on the island itself, as they often have more openings there. I will tell you this now. Don’t even bother with the desk. They don’t have the correct info. All the jet skis hold 2 people for one and they had plenty of openings as well.

I headed back to the room then and got dressed for the day of activities and packed our bag. I switched over to the waterproof camera for the day as well. Claire was ready to go, but we had to eat some breakfast first. We met up with the family at Cabanas and got a little bit of breakfast. For some reason the kids were not in the eating mood this morning. But we did make them take a few bites.



Notice Claire’s Mickey waffle across the table is missing his ears? LOL

Abby was refusing to eat as well.



I made Claire take a few sips of her milk.



Geoff and Pete had already gotten off the ship and were on their way to parasailing. They were really excited about this, but it sounds a bit too scary for me. My mom actually wanted to go as well, but her bone Dr. suggested she not do it, so she passed on it.

After breakfast we decided to put the girl’s hair in ponytails and went back to Gail’s room to get the rubber bands. Abby went off with Mom and Dad.

I have no clue where I took these pictures. I do know I took the first one because the parasailing boat was just going around the front of the ship, but I just barely missed it. It almost looks like I am hanging in midair taking them.







While we were getting ready to get off the ship, Geoff and Pete already had started their adventure.







They we weren’t the first to go in their session, so they got to see a few before taking their turn.

Pete went up first of the 2 of them though.















They were given an option to have a toe dip when they came back down and they both chose to do it.



And then it was Geoff’s turn.















Coming in for the toe dip.



Touch Down!





It appears they went up fairly high and they said each turn was a good amount of time. They both enjoyed this quite a bit and were very happy they did this. I still think it looks scary, but there is a part of me that wants to try it. That crazy part that I keep locked up and the key hidden!


It was time for us to get off the ship and head to our Port Adventure. I think Rob had to run back to the room for something, so Gail, Claire, Alexis and I got off and walked slowly.





We grabbed some towels to take along and spotted some characters, but the girls did not want to stop.



Um I swore we got pony tails holders for the girls, but obviously we didn’t put them in their hair at this point.





It was sad to see the brown up close, but I knew the island would bounce back soon.



And then we spotted him! My boyfriend, my future husband, the man I am leaving Skip for …..Captain Jack Sparrow.



I was informed I was not allowed to stop and see him at this point. The line was too long. What kill joys!

Hi Honey!





I did however stop at the little hut to inquire about the jet ski excursion.



I didn’t have many people in front of me, but they were so slow, asking so many useless questions. Well they were useless because they didn’t pertain to what I needed! LOL

Finally I got up there and was told that the jet ski sign up was actually right up next to the jet skis. UGH. Wasted time!

I did however have the girls stand for a picture.



I think Rob did catch up with us at this point and we were off. We now were getting a little too close to our own port adventure time and needed to make some tracks.

[rhinohunter]

CC looks like FFUUNN. did I say it looks like a LOT of fun. Can hardly wait to see how you girls did.

[chezp]

What great shots of the parasailing!

[Cinderbrella]

You're at Castaway Cay! Great update. Captain Jack looks spot on!! Love your shots around the ship and island!
DH and I parasailed at the Contemporary a few years ago, and it wasn't so bad. We went up together, and the turns were a little bit scary because we would shoot up a little bit higher/quicker than I wanted to. It was fun though. Looking forward to your next update.

[pamcarey]

Great shots of the parasailing! I went parasailing on my honeymoon, many years ago. It's really not that scary... you should definitely try it! We were actually supposed to go parasailing last April on Castaway Cay, but it got cancelled due to high winds .

[lauriep]

The island looks beautiful, despite the brown foliage. They did a great job of cleaning up the sandy parts.

[JKnott17]

Great pictures! I love the ones of the parasailing, you should totally let the crazy side out from behind her locked door and try it I did it years ago in Ocean City, MD and was scared as all heck before we did it, but it was actually one of the most peaceful and serene experiences I ever had, not scary at all. I'm looking forward to hearing about your excursions!

[OhToodles!]

I'm enjoying all the pictures! I can't wait to get on that ship!

[jenseib]

Originally Posted by rhinohunter

CC looks like FFUUNN. did I say it looks like a LOT of fun. Can hardly wait to see how you girls did.

LOL! We did have a fun day!

Originally Posted by chezp

What great shots of the parasailing!

Thanks. Geoff and Pete took those. They both really enjoyed it too.

Originally Posted by Cinderbrella

You're at Castaway Cay! Great update. Captain Jack looks spot on!! Love your shots around the ship and island!
DH and I parasailed at the Contemporary a few years ago, and it wasn't so bad. We went up together, and the turns were a little bit scary because we would shoot up a little bit higher/quicker than I wanted to. It was fun though. Looking forward to your next update.

Yes we are! Thanks

I was sad I couldn't say hi to by "man".

Geoff and Pete pretty much only had good things to say about it. maybe someday I'll give it a try....maybe.

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Great shots of the parasailing! I went parasailing on my honeymoon, many years ago. It's really not that scary... you should definitely try it! We were actually supposed to go parasailing last April on Castaway Cay, but it got cancelled due to high winds .

I was worried after the hurricane it would get canceled too. I knew many boats got damaged, so not everything was running. I was glad it was a go, because that was the one thing Pete wanted to do.

Originally Posted by lauriep

The island looks beautiful, despite the brown foliage. They did a great job of cleaning up the sandy parts.

I was impressed at how well the island was cleaned up.

Originally Posted by JKnott17

Great pictures! I love the ones of the parasailing, you should totally let the crazy side out from behind her locked door and try it I did it years ago in Ocean City, MD and was scared as all heck before we did it, but it was actually one of the most peaceful and serene experiences I ever had, not scary at all. I'm looking forward to hearing about your excursions!

That crayz side has gotten me in trouble before, so I try to keep her unlock lock and key! I have hear it is very peaceful though.

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

I'm enjoying all the pictures! I can't wait to get on that ship!

Thanks. You will have a great time. I always tell people it won't be 100% perfect, but just let those moments go that aren;'t so great and enjoy the rest of the time.

[jenseib]

We now are heading to our excursion. This was something Claire had REALLY been looking for. Over a year ago I got a Castaway Cay Poster that showed snorkeling. Claire asked about it and I told her that they had a few options of snorkeling on the island. She was sold and said she must try it. After doing some research, we decided that it needed to be something easy for Claire since this was her first time. We also thought the stingray feeding looked neat and that offered snorkeling after it. We went with this. I had read mixed reviews on it. Most said it was neat, but not something they would do more than once. I will tell you now, I agree with that review.
When it came time to make our excursions online, I picked ours out right away. Gail was undecided, but I let her know the things we were planning on doing. She ended up going with the same things. She figured that Alexis would enjoy this as well.

So we were heading to do the Castaway Ray Stingray Adventure. Now you know me. I took pictures along the way, of course.









Let’s just say there wasn’t much time for slacking. Gail got my mother’s genes. If you need to be somewhere at a certain time, you are not going to waste time getting there. Gail was doing a major power walk and it took all I had to keep up with her and take pictures at the same time.



Notice Gail’s bag? She got that gene from my Mom too. She can pack a bag! I swear you can say, “I need a razor blade, an onion and some rope” and Gail would have all of those things in her bag. If she didn’t, my Mother would. LOL!



A look back at the ship and the jet skis.





We arrived!



We were given our gear and told to take a seat on a bench.
Alexis modeled the look for us.



I think we made a quick dash to the bathrooms before it started as well.
We settled in then and waited for the class to start.

The class was informative and since I knew next to nothing about stingrays, I found it interesting.







Soon it was time to head out to feed the rays. We picked a table to feed them and watched them swim around. I believe we had the 2nd feeding of the day, so they were still pretty hungry and they were swarming the area.









We were instructed how to hold the food and were to place our hand. The girls were a little iffy about this. We also were told they might slightly bite, but they don’t have teeth, so it wouldn’t hurt.





We got comfortable by petting them first. They felt so weird. Very soft and velvety. I think Rob and I took the plunge first and fed them.





What a weird feeling that was. It was like a suction or vacuum. Very strange. And then I was the first ….yep to get bitten! I had my knuckle slightly bent and when the ray came to take the food he got my knuckle as well. I screeched out of surprise and yelled “I got bitten!” Not a smart thing to do around kid’s who all had a look of horror on their faces. I quickly said, “It didn’t hurt, just surprised me and felt weird.” Luckily it didn’t scare anyone off.





Over the course of the feed, Rob also got bitten. He said he had his knuckle bent as well and agreed it was more shocking than anything.

After we filled the bellies of the rays, we then were allowed to go and snorkel with them. We instructed the girls on what to do and how to breathe. Both were instant pros. I was really impressed, amazed and proud at how fast they caught on to this.
Now for the down side …pretty much all you will see here are stingrays and a few random fish. It’s not an exciting snorkeling spot at all. The girls enjoyed it as they knew no difference, but we all have snorkeled before and got bored with it fast.



My little fish.







A few adjustments.



And then we have to have a picture of us looking our best.





There’s Rob!





Rob had found a few fish, so we headed over his way.





Swamp Monster Claire.



A shell!





Claire once again.



We were instructed that when you walk around you had to shuffle your feet so you didn’t directly step on a ray as they like to bury themselves in the sand.







This fence is around the area to keep the rays inside from what I was told. I heard it broke during the hurricane, which is why the cruise before us didn’t offer this excursion. They had to round up the rays again and get the fence repaired.





Gail’s’ family.



Alexis found a shell.



I had applied rainex to my camera lens before the Sept. cruise, and it worked really well, but I notice it must’ve been wearing off now as I had more spots on my camera today. I need to remember to reapply some more for a future trip.







We started to get cold and had seen all we wanted to see, so we did get out a little earlier than we had too, but not too much earlier.

We enjoyed this excursion, but it won’t be something I’ll be doing again. The feeding was fun, but the snorkeling was not. Claire did learn how to do it and that was a plus. But what we actually saw was pretty much nothing and for the price of this, there should be more. We will however be snorkeling again in the future and I now know Claire can handle it and we can do one that is more exciting.

[JKnott17]

Thanks for the review of the Stingray Adventure! I am still contemplating this one for our trip in August, both of my girls seemed a little interested in feeding the rays, but my oldest really wants to do snorkeling. Now I'm thinking we might be better off just renting snorkeling gear, she might see more at the snorkeling beach.