Excellent Vacation

Earlier last year, my DIL contacted me and told me she was planning her vacation for 2013.  She said, "We're going on the Disney Cruise, you're welcome to come with us."

I marked my calendar and began saving my pennies. What could be more fun?  A Disney cruise with the grandkids?  It was a no-brainer for me.

We all booked with the same travel agent who coordinated travel for three sets of grand parents and the kids with the grands.  We came from three different states.

We cruised out of Port Canaveral, FL on the Disney Dream.  It was phenomenal.  Disney sure knows how to do customer service and entertainment.  Other than it being a little pricey, I have NO complaints.  The highlight of the trip is the stop at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island.

When a cruise ship hits a port like Nassau, there is a flood of people out into a port town that caters to tourists.  Generally, a lot of shopping and not much else of a draw.

Disney knew it would use the island for cruise ship stops and designed it to be natural but still offer nice amenities.

There was a short shuttle ride from the ship dock to the main beach area.  There were bicycles to ride if you wanted to do a scenic lookout of the whole island.

There is a nominal staff that maintains the island year round, and we chatted with some personnel from the ship who rotated onto the ship for a few days, but worked the island as their main task.  Pretty interesting, really.

Disney creates a more natural, less theme park area for family fun on Castaway Cay.  As a pasty white redhead, I don't generally enjoy whole days in the sun.  There were plenty of chairs, umbrellas and trees to provide shaded spots.

And, of course, the characters.  As the ship unloaded, Captain Hook and Smeed posed for pictures with the kids.

Further down the beach, both Goofy and Minnie Mouse showed their beach duds and took pictures with anyone who wanted to capture the moment.

One of the more interesting facts was that the stuff that was staged around the island as decor was all there when they took over.  They painted it up and placed it around strategically, but it was all there on the island.

I don't know what those big metal balls were originally but they made a great backdrop for photos.

There was also a plane fuselage and tons of stuff from wrecked ships.  Pretty cool, really.

Lunch was served and everyone went through a line and then sat in big covered picnic areas.  I truly enjoyed everything about the day.  Good food.  Plenty of shade.  And the kids had a blast!

-- Sandee Wagner