2017 Disney Cruise - More from Castaway Cay Day 1

When last we left the 2017 Disney Cruise trip report, we were waiting out some rain at Castaway Cay, the Disney Cruise Line’s Bahamas Island…

Once the rain let up, the older Burnses and the Bramletts left to go back to the ship, but we decided to stay around a little while longer, hoping that the rain would let up some. We enjoyed some more time at the edge of the water, and the kids (and Laura) took a few more trips down the water slide. The clouds looked pretty intense, but we kept hoping they were going around us.

Those were some pretty impressive clouds. Too bad I am not a meteorologist.

But the more we waited, the more it kept on raining, so we finally gave up and decided to head back to the ship as well, and the Jamersons decided to do the same. We caught the tram back to the main stop, and the rain really came down hard while we were on the tram, hard enough that we did not exactly stay dry even though the tram has a roof. Those open sides let in a good bit of rain when the wind is blowing. There was also a good bit of thunder and lightning, too, and some of it sounded really, really close. Close enough that there were a couple of small shrieks from some tram passengers whenever the lightning would strike.

Here comes the tram to take us away.

Unfortunately, the tram does not take you all the way back to the ship, so we had a little bit of a walk in the still pouring rain. It was not that big of a deal, because we were dressed for the beach and had already been in the water, but for some reason walking in the rain is different from swimming in the water. It was a cold rain, too.

Raindrops keep falling on my head…

When we got back to the ship, some of the crew were serving hot chocolate and cookies inside the ship, and you could also trade your wet towel for a dry one. They certainly know how to make you feel better after being out in the rain. Instead of walking all the way back up to Deck 8, we waited for the elevator. I am all about getting in my flights of stairs for the day, but I prefer to spread them out over a few hours if I can. And fortunately, the elevators were running pretty quickly at that time.

Once we got back to our room and started getting cleaned up, we looked outside to see the sun coming out. Well of course it was, because it would have made too much sense for it to be out while we were actually out on the beach, wouldn’t it? Actually, we were not all that upset, because we had enjoyed our time out there. Besides, we knew that we would be back in a couple of days, anyway. We considered going back out, but by the time we got to the beach there would not be all that much time before we would have to head back, so we decided against it.

Jaylin had been wanting to go do some of the teen activities, and since we did not have anything else to do, we decided it was as good a time as ever. Andrew Jamerson was also going, so Daniel and I escorted them to the teen club, just to make sure something was going on and we all knew where it was. Once we got there, we realized that the next activity did not start for about 15 minutes. But there were some other kids there waiting as well, and Jaylin and Andrew said they were fine waiting. Anything to ditch the grownups, I guess. Jaylin knew what time he should be back, and besides that, he had his phone so that we could text each other if necessary. Daniel and I went on our separate ways, leaving them there.

The people down below were in line to see Stitch, in case you were wondering.

We took some time to explore the ship some more, and then we sat on the Deck 4 Promenade for a bit, just to have some relaxing time. Down on the island, a couple of characters were greeting guests for photos and such, and I was a little surprised at how many people were in line, given the fact that it looked like most everyone was leaving during the rain. Maybe some of them went back out there when they saw the characters.

Laura relaxes in a deck chair.

Our view from the deck chairs. From the post What To Do When It Rains During Your Cruise - read more about it there.

The girls in our group wanted to do a craft in one of the lounges, making a coaster souvenir. So I went along with them just for the fun of it. Laura and I got to the lounge early, and so we just sat around for a while, looking at the photos on the wall of the ship under construction. Mom joined us a little later, and Beth came soon after that.

However, time kept ticking away without anyone showing up to be in charge of the craft time. Someone went to ask to make sure we were in the right place, and we were. Finally, the craft girl showed up, almost 15 minutes late because whatever activity she had been doing before had run long, and she said that she still had to go get the supplies. I finally decided to bail out at that point, because it was getting close to the time that we told Jaylin to be back at our room, and I didn’t want him to be wondering where we were. I waved at Mickey Mouse who was taking photos with guests and got back to our room at just about the same time as Jaylin. The girls came back not too long after that, saying that they had given up as well because the girl did not have enough supplies for everyone. That was a little bit of a disappointment for them, but so far that had been the only slightly low point of the cruise.

Before changing for dinner…

But anyway, it was time to get dressed for dinner, and so we did. And then we went to dinner, too, because obviously that is what you do after you dress for dinner.

After changing for dinner.

Our restaurant for the evening was Animator’s Palate, which is probably the most popular of the Disney Dream restaurants because of its interactive nature. The restaurant is themed to an animator’s work room, with large drawing boards on the walls that are actually video screens. Several of the characters from Finding Nemo make appearances, and the highlight is when Crush the turtle comes by and actually talks to guests. Pretty cool trick, actually.

Our view inside Animator’s Palate

When we arrived, we were led to our table, where we actually beat the Burnses and Bramletts. We couldn’t let them be first to dinner every time, could we? Our table was somewhat in a corner, but we were also right by one of the large screens so that we might get to talk to Crush. Andrea and Mariya soon came to start taking our requests for the evening.

Once Crush started doing his thing, he did come our way, using some of his usual jokes that are still funny even though we have heard many of them before. Of course, he was mainly interested in talking to the kids and not to those of us who think we are still kids, but that’s okay. It is still fun, and several in our group were trying to figure out just how he could hear us.

After dinner was over, we said goodbye for the night to Andrea and Mariya, and we made our way up to the upper decks. We had arranged to meet the Jamersons up there in between our dinner time and theirs for some group photos. There was a nice sunset going on at that time, so that worked out well. The only downside was that it was a little windy, which meant that the girls had to watch their skirts at times, and their hair, too. I never did have a problem with hair in my face, unless it was Laura’s hair in my face. We had fun being out there all together once again, and then we went our separate ways.

One of our family photos, from the post The 50th Anniversary Cruise - see more of the photos there.

We had decided to once again go to the evening show, which was Villains Tonight, featuring several of the famous Disney villains. There are some great lines in the show, especially when Hades, Pain, and Panic deviate from the script a little bit. Except for those times, much of it was similar to what we had seen before. As with the Golden Mickeys, it was enjoyable, but not essential, and the three of us Burnses decided we would probably skip the next show in a couple of nights.

The view inside the theater, before the show started, since you can’t take photos during the show.

After the show was over, it was starting to get late, so the Bramletts and older Burnses headed to their rooms to get ready for bed. We younger Burnses decided to take our usual walk along the Deck 4 Promenade, enjoying the cool evening air for just a while, and then we headed to our room as well.

The view down the Promenade at night.

When we got there, we found that Rey had made us a lobster on the bed. Instead of just being a towel animal, this one was a towel and blanket animal, because he had used the red blanket from the end of the bed as well as a towel. Pretty creative! I almost hated to move it from the bed. But we were tired, so the lobster went to the counter, and we went to bed.

Don’t worry, this lobster doesn’t pinch.

Read all about the next day at Nassau as the 2017 Disney Cruise trip report continues!