Category: fun

This morning we woke up extra early to get dressed and pack our last minute things.  We do the express walk off to avoid standing in line at customs.  That means you carry your own bags off the ship and you don’t have breakfast onboard.  OMG! we had SO much stuff! I swear we didn’t get on the ship with that much stuff!!!  We got off the ship and went through customs in record time.  No lines at all!

We packed up the car and went to breakfast.  CSP found a good prospect on Yelp so we went there.  It’s called Southern Charm Cafe.  Good thing we got there when we did (about 8:15am) because once we got seated, with no wait, a huge line appeared and people were waiting all out the door and down the sidewalk!

All the waitstaff wear t-shirts with cute sayings on the backs like “Raised on Sweet Tea” and “There’s Nothing Biscuits and Gravy Can’t Fix”.  Well one of the servers’ shirts said “Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit!”  CSP apparently had never heard that saying before (being from Minnesota and all).  He laughed about that all the way home!  Breakfast was really good.  We decided to make that place our go to spot for post cruise breakfasts from here on out!

We hit the road for home and should have been home around 5:30 pm but somewhere in v rural SC on I 95 there was a HUGE accident.  So Nigel, my phone’s navigator voice, rerouted us through this TINY town to bypass the wreck.  That added about an hour onto our trip.  We finally got home around 7 pm to some really excited pugs!

Now….to save our pennies for the next cruise!!!

Castaway Cay Day!!!  Our 17th anniversary!!!  So, back to the island!  While CSP was out riding his bike I read my book out on the mini sofa. All around the cabanas are trees and lush vegetation.  Birds were flying everywhere!  In and out of the cabana.  Hummingbirds and sweet little tiny colorful birds. They were sure not scared of us!  I was drinking a Sprite and a wee bird came and perched right on my can and helped himself to a drink!  He wasn’t even a foot away from me! Then he must have gone and told his friends because within a few minutes there were tons of birds hanging around, drinking CSP’s Coke, eating CSP’s chips (!!!) and dive bombing us!See the bird on the left side of picture? Contrasted against the towel.

CSP came back from biking and we took a couple of the low beach chairs down to sit in the water.  

Our cabana is number 15, to the right of our yellow umbrella. To the left of the umbrella you can see the bin of floats & tubes.

The weather was AMAZING!  74* and a few tiny clouds in the sky.  The water was pretty cool, but I like it cool. It wasn’t too cool for the cabana kids to be swimming and playing in it- they were having a great time!  And the fish- lots of tiny fish swimming all around our feet and we even saw a huge white fish swim by.

Next thing we knew it was time for lunch.  We walked down to Cookies Too BBQ and got a table.  The tables are all under this big structure so you’re in the shade for lunch.

CSP went and got his food first.  Kwan was there (our assistant server).  She is SO sweet! She came right over to talk to me and kept asking could she go get my food.  CSP came back and I went to the buffet to get my lunch.  On the way back to the table 3, THREE different crew members asked to take my tray to the table! Finally a man just took it from me! I led him to our table and we had a nice lunch. They have all kinds of stuff for you to choose from.  I had a spicy chicken sandwich, corn on the cob, and some potato salad.  CSP had some mahi mahi and chicken and a bunch of other stuff I can’t quite remember. Kwan brought us some coconut and banana bread to try and it was lovely.

We walked back to the cabana

(coconuts in that tree!!!) after lunch and CSP had a wee nap.  I chatted with our neighbors and read my book.  We had another little wildlife visitor in the form of a curly tailed lizard. So cute!  Before we knew it Glenn, the concierge guy, came by to tell us the island taxi would be by to pick us up at 3:30.  The afternoon just FLEW by.  I got my stuff together but CSP decided he would rather walk back to the ship on his own.  He wanted to stop by the shops on the way to the ship. While I waited for the taxi I took a selfie and that’s when I realized I’d forgotten sunscreen on my face!!!  Doh!

I looked like a tomato!!! Soon enough the golf cart came and I piled on with Laci & family.  Here are some pictures CSP took on the way back to the ship.

I got back to our room at about 4.  Soon after the phone rang.  It was Guest Services looking for CSP!  Is he there? No. When did you last see him?  I left him in the cabana.  What’s going on?  Just have him call us ma’am.

OMG!!!! CSP is causing yet ANOTHER international incident! Click here to read about his first incident!  A few moments later CSP walked through the door. I filled him in and called Guest Services.  The lady who answered said “Oh yes, we’ve been looking for him.  I’ll let the officer know.” WHAT??  Turns out that what happened was when I boarded the ship they logged in my Key To The World Card and I guess just assumed he was with me because they asked for just one KTTWC per stateroom.  But then he didn’t tap his card in when going through security when I went through because he wasn’t with me.  So I guess they thought I lost him somewhere between the security checkpoint and the ship!

All’s well that ends well!  Next up: pool time, extreme winds, & Mardi Gras!!!

Stay tuned for Part 3!

Castaway Cay Day! Our 17th Anniversary!!! It’s a big day with lots to talk about and tons of pictures to share so I’m breaking it up into parts.

Last night when we entered our room we found an envelope.  Inside was a map of Castaway Cay, a lot of information, and 2 wristbands for our CABANA!!!!  Yep! I miraculously scored a cabana on the family beach (the best side in my opinion)! Gather round and I’ll tell you how it happened.  Our new friends Laci and Rusty sailed concierge this cruise.  Concierge gets first dibs on the cabanas and there are only 25 on the whole island! 21 on the Family Beach and 4 at Serenity Bay, the adult only beach.  Well, Laci and Rusty ended up with 2 cabanas and they only needed one.  So they offered up the 2nd cabana to our cruise group! So generous and nice!!!  I plead our case, that it’s our 17th anniversary and we reeeeeaaaalllly wanted one and they let us have their spare! Woot!!!  I mean, we still paid for it but just getting the cabana is a huge feat in itself so we are immensely grateful!

Fast forward to this morning.  The golf cart island taxi was scheduled to pick us up at 9:30 am.  Well you’re allowed to leave the ship for Castaway Cay at 8:30 am.  So CSP said SEE YA and went on without us.  He really enjoyed having the cabanas all to himself! He was the first of the cabana guests to arrive and instead of stopping to check in like he was supposed to… CSP just bypassed that altogether and walked straight to our cabana with the cabana crew members running behind him yelling “Sir!  Sir!!!” because they are all about only letting the cabana guests into that area.  OMG! CSP’s causing an international incident!  Knucklehead!

Once they determined that CSP was legit, a crew member gave him the grand tour of our cabana, #15! To get to our cabana you walk down this lush path.  Our’s was right near the restrooms which is v v convenient!

Here it is!

When you walk in there’s a closet immediately to your right that holds a safe and some towels.  Then there’s a counter top with a drink menu and a basket full of snacks. On the wall above the counter there’s the controls for music and there’s a button.  Push the button and a cabana crew member will appear to help you! Under the counter are more towels, a garbage bin, and a mini fridge that’s stocked with water, soda, a fruit bowl, and chilled towels. V v fancy!  To your left is the main living area. There’s a sofa, a couple chairs, some small tables, a bench, and a changing area.  Keep walking forward and there are 2 chaise lounges and a mini sofa with a couple more tables.  On one of the tables is a basket with sunscreen in it. Overhead is a sail cloth shade so you’re not in direct sunlight. Walk down the stairs and to the right is the shower and to the left is the hammock. Walk straight ahead and there’s the Caribbean sea and the private beach. Amazing!  Just check out our views! Your own private world!

There are sand toys on your deck ( we gave ours to the Atkinson kids next door to play with.) Oh I forgot to mention that our next door neighbors were Laci & Rusty and family! Best neighbors ever! The cabana also comes with usage of bikes and snorkeling equipment, beach chairs, an umbrella, and a huge bin full of floats and inner tubes! Everything you could possibly need for a fabulous day at the beach!

I arrived at around 10am and found CSP snoozing on the hammock.  He woke up and I slathered him with sunscreen then he was off to ride a bike around the island and up to the observation tower. Oh, how I wish in that moment I had remembered to slather my own face with the SPF 100 sunscreen I brought with me.  CSP put sunscreen on my arms & neck and I did (most) of my legs.  I missed one spot on the inside of each knee somehow.  Burn, baby, burn. While CSP was out riding his bike I read more of my book “My Not So Perfect Life” by Sophie Kinsella.  V cute beach read, perfect for this trip.

CSP came back from his bike ride and……

More later! Stay tuned for Part 2!