The Time I Did A Disney Transatlantic Cruise - Days 11 & 12 (Complete!)

(Previously: Days 1 & 2, Days 3 & 4, Days 5 & 6, Days 7 & 8, Days 9 & 10)

Day 11 - Tuesday, September 29th

Last full day of the cruise... and Castaway Cay Day!

I had never been to Disney's private Bahamian island before, but I'd read about it and knew a little bit about what to expect.

I'm not a huge beach person, but I do like to swim. Also, I have terribly sensitive skin, so nearly the whole time I was at the island, I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, sunglasses, hat, etc.

I woke up when they made a ship-wide announcement over the PA at 8:30. I had some breakfast and watched a The Jungle Book on TV before getting ready to go. As I was heading off the boat (around 10am) they were making an announcement that they'd be doing a test of the emergency generators in a few minutes. I'm leaving, I'm leaving!

I got off the boat and walked down the gangway to the island. It was so pretty! The water was turquoise. One of the workers was handing out towels. I asked if we could get towels at the beach, too, but he said no, just here. So I took one even though I wasn't planning on needing it for a while.

I ended up walking (not riding the tram) to Pelican Point. Once there, I caught the tram to Serenity Bay, the adults-only beach. I only stayed there about 5 minutes, though, because Serenity Bay was packed! Barely a beach chair to be had, and besides, Pelican Point had a ton of chairs. Back on the tram, back to the family beaches....​

At the family beaches, I put my stuff on an empty beach chair and went toward the water. I swam a bit, then I went down one of the 2 water slides twice (I did the open one, as opposed to the enclosed slide.)

It had been many years since I'd swam in warm, calm saltwater. One thing I didn't like about the CC beaches, though, was the sand. It's different from the soft sand we have here in Oregon. It's really course and parts were poky, like there was glass in it. If I ever go back, I will bring sandals or water socks for swimming.

At lunchtime, I went to get lunch from the BBQ. I was impressed by the variety! Fruits, burgers, veggie burgers, cake, corn on the cob, chips, salads, coleslaw, drinks, and ice-cream. I had been a little worried that there wouldn't be enough that I could eat, but there was more than enough, as you can clearly see....

After eating, I relaxed in a beach chair. I headed back to the ship around 2pm. I went straight up to deck 9 and found the family pool area empty. Frozen was playing in the big screen. I rinsed off, then got in one of the hot tubs, and had it to myself. Nice!

At 4pm, I went to "Anyone Can Cook" at the Oceaneer Lab's Open House. They were going to "make" chocolate chip cookies. I had caught the tail end of this same event a night or two before, and I wanted to do it. Sure, you can get those cookies other places on the ship, but hey. The event was cute. It was the counselors ("chefs"), me, about five kids, and a dad.



They had us design chef hats; our chef name was supposed to reflect the name of our favorite food. So mine was....

The counselors had us mix various ingredients... sugar, flour, water....

We didn't do exact measurements, and there's no way ^THAT could make THIS...

but I'm not complaining, because it was delicious! They told us some story about how they were going to take the ingredients to a kitchen via a crazy path that included going up the Aquadunk waterslide. Okay, sure!



That would be some serious Disney magic!  

After leaving "Anyone Can Cook," I went up to Deck 9 to get a beverage, and I saw that it was now raining! People were coming back from the island, sopping wet. The morning and early afternoon had been lovely, but dark clouds had now come in. The ship pulled away from CC in the rain.

 This being our last day on the ship, I was taking a lot of pictures....

I went into the shops, and it was then that I suddenly remembered I had a Disney gift card! A year or two before, my cousin had given me this $25 card, and I'd brought it on my trip fully intending to spend it in the shops. Only I had forgotten about it till tonight. So I went and got it, then bought a couple more pins, as well as a postcard.

 At 6:15 I went to the final show of the cruise, "Disney Dreams." I sat in the 2nd row (I had never sat so close to the stage before) and was in the perfect position to be showered upon by confetti, glitter, and snow-bubbles. I don't know if this particular show was designed to make the audience feel emotional about leaving the ship, or if that was just a byproduct of it being the last day, but I was pretty emotional/nostalgic by the time it was over.

 This was waiting for me back in my stateroom....

(Someone pointed out to me that the letter above says that "Port Canaveral, Florida" was our end destination, when in fact it was Miami. Must've just been a typo, because in the end, the captain did actually get us to Miami, hehe.)

I was so excited about the lithograph. As I understand it, they don't give out lithographs on every cruise. Mainly just the "special itinerary" or "holiday" cruises; or, if you sail concierge (aka rich-person-style).

Dinnertime -- our last night at Lumiere's. I hadn't had a great experience my last 2 times there. Would I at least get what I ordered tonight? I wondered.

For my appetizer I ordered the "Grilled Potato and Goat Cheese Napoleon". For my main course, "Sweet And Sour Tofu." Annnd... yes, I got what I ordered! No meat!

Ah, yes. But I didn't really care for it, so... meh.

But the desserts were great!

 The "Celebration Cake" was especially delicious.​

I was feeling pretty sad about having to pack up and get off the ship the next morning. I was going to do the quick "walk-off" option the next morning (since I could easily carry my own bags), so I'd be getting up early and would miss breakfast at Lumiere's with my tablemates. And did I mention I really didn't want to leave the ship?

Oh, by the way, this (September 29th) was the day I ran out of internet.  I had gotten the free 50mb package on day one, and that lasted a couple of days. Then I got the $19/100mb package, and that lasted me until the very last full day of the cruise. I decided I could live without it for the last day, though, rather than buy another package or pay by the MB.

SO... the final night. Time for some magical goodbyes... "'Til We Meet Again"....

 I played with some settings on my camera...

And then it was time for bed. :(

Day 12 - Wednesday, September 30th

 Departure...

Alarm at 6:15am... made coffee, went to Cabanas for breakfast. Back to the room to finish packing. 7:30, time to depart. I showed my KTTW card for the last time. Bypassed the baggage claim area (I was carrying all mine). Went through customs pretty quickly. Then I was out in the real world.

My trip didn't end here (read all about my month-long adventure, here), but everything seemed darker once off the boat. The first time I encountered a cashier who didn't greet me in a super pleasant manner, I found I was a bit stunned. The real world left me going, "but... but... why aren't you magical?" It took about a day and a half to get used to the outside, non-Disney world again.

For weeks after cruising, I thought about my time aboard, and wished I could go back. What things would I do this time? What would I eat this time? Hey, I'd eat bread and water if it meant I could get back on the boat.

I'm super stoked to be able to go on the Magic's sister ship, The Disney Wonder, this coming summer on a trip to Alaska. I hope to do another trip report afterwards.

Until then... thank you for reading!