Disney Wonder – Bless Your Heart

Today we woke up early to beat the crowds to Cabanas buffet for breakfast so CSP could get one last plate of lox and salmon. I don’t know how he can eat fish for breakfast but he loves it. We went back to the cabin after breakfast for a little nappy nap. After waking up and reading for a bit we got ready for the day and went to Triton’s for lunch. Then back to our room to pack. The saddest part of the cruise! Once we were all packed up we read out on our verandah for a while.

Later we went down to the Crown and Fin pub for The Feud. It’s the Disney version of Family Feud. It was so fun!

After The Feud we went up to the pool for a while so CSP could swim and I could read. While up there I thought to myself that I could really go for a cranberry bliss bar from Starbucks. So we went into the Cove Cafe to get a snacky snack and found….cranberry bars!!! It was fate!

Finally it was time to go back to the room to get ready for our last dinner of the cruise.

Tonight’s dinner was in Triton’s.

Triton’s is my favorite restaurant on the Wonder. I love Tiana’s but it can be SO loud. Triton’s is beautiful and elegant. Tonight was lobster night. CSP had 2 of everything! Did you know you can do that? He had 2 appetizers and 2 entrees. They’ll bring you the whole menu if you ask for it! A cruise is a fabulous time to try new foods.

After dinner we went back to finish packing

and hit the hay!

fun

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 7

January 24, 2020February 6, 2020 Shanny

Curacao!

We woke up and had breakfast at Triton’s. Nice and quiet this morning! My toe was still bleeding a little and all bandaged up. And hurting. Same with my left leg. Wait until you see the bruise! We had plans today to do Resort for a Day in Curacao. But with my foot all bandaged up I can’t go in the pool. Whomp whomp. So we decided to stay on the ship today.

After a nap and getting ready for the day we went back to Triton’s for lunch.

Hidden Mickey in the stained glass at Tritons.

We then went up to deck 10 to take some pictures of Curacao.

We decided when we come back we’ll rent a car like we did in Bonaire to tour Curacao. Such a pretty island!

We hung out around the ship taking pictures

and reading and people watching until it was time to get in line to see Pirate Stitch. Stitch is my favorite character and we’ve never met Pirate Stitch in person.

The line for Stitch stretched all the way around Tritons and down the hall!

He’s a popular alien. He was super cute the way he interacted with us. He made a big deal about how tall CSP is (6 feet 4 inches) and Stitch is MAYBE 5 feet tall. And he gushed over my Stitch lanyard and Stitch pins. SO sweet! Turned us into little kids again!!!

After seeing Stitch we went down to the Crown and Fin pub for Disney trivia.

Man! That was HARD!!! Who knows this stuff?? Some questions were: Where were Walt and Lillian Disney married? Who composed the music for some ride at Disney in Asia? What year did cast members start wearing name tags? WHO KNOWS??? Answers: Idaho, Danny Elfman, and 1970 something. Out of 25 questions I got 7 right! FOR SHAME!!!! I drowned my sorrows in 2 coconut mojitos. Yum!

We then went up to the pool so CSP could swim. I read my book and sipped on a frozen mango margarita. The lady next to me had never had one so she ordered one too. I saw her on the way to the airport to go home and she told me she had like 5 more during the cruise! I’m good for business Disney! Give me some discounts!

Ok so 3 mixed drinks in less than 2 hours made me a wee bit drunk. Just a lil bit. But enough that CSP gave me grief for it! Ha!

Dinner tonight was at Palo,

the adults only Italian restaurant onboard. It’s Pirate Night at all the other restaurants.

We’ve done Pirate Night and the menu isn’t our favorite so we always go to Palo on Pirate Night.

Nisha was our server tonight. So cute! She’s from Thailand. Dinner lasted from 8:30 to 11:00pm!!! Crazy!

CSP chose the cippino (a seafood stew),

antipasta (where they bring the cart around. It’s no longer automatic, you have to order it),

and Dover Sole for his dinner.

I had the calamari (which came with this HUGE shrimp),

the caprese salad,

and scallops on artichoke risotto. We both got the Amaretto souffle for dessert and

Nisha also brought us a limoncello tart.

I had some hot tea with dessert.

Everything was amazing! We were there so late we didn’t get to go up on deck to see the fireworks, but we could see most of them through the window.

After dinner we waddled back to our room and hit the hay!

Saw this cool door with lights on the way back to our room.

travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 6

January 23, 2020March 3, 2023 Shanny

Aruba!

We woke up at 6:30 am to get to Cabanas for breakfast at 7 am. Then we went back to our room to get ready for the day. We applied copious amounts of sunscreen as this is the closest we’ve ever been to the equator.

We got off the ship and took a taxi to Arubiana. A couple months ago I’d found Arubiana online and booked us a UTV to use for the day! A UTV is like a jacked up golf cart / dune buggy but it’s street legal so you can drive it on the roads. There’s a roof but no glass, so no windows or windshield.

Arubiana is great because they have you download their app which is so helpful!

It tells you all the interesting places to go on the island, has a map, and can even alert the Arubiana staff if you break down so they can come get you!

First we went to the California lighthouse. So pretty!

Next up was the Alto Vista Chapel.

It’s this gorgeous chapel out in the middle of nowhere that was first built in the 1500s. They still have weekly services there on Tuesdays!

Look how giant the cacti are in comparison to people at the chapel!!!

On the way to the chapel we spotted a trail off the main road. So we followed it down to the coast. While there we reapplied sunscreen.

After the chapel we drove to the Natural Bridge.

It was gorgeous! They have a gift shop

with restrooms (for $1 a use) and they sell Dutch stroopwafels (waffles). They smell sooo good!

We headed back to the city of Oranjestad

They have these cool blue horses all throughout town

for lunch at Red Fish. Really yummy! It’s an open air restaurant and they have birds flying through all the time looking for snacks. Bold little birds!

Next we made a beer stop for CSP at the 2 story supermarket called Super Foods. Something I found interesting in Bonaire and Aruba is that there are a TON of supermarkets but we never saw 2 with the same name. They all seem to be independently run. Here you can’t go 5 miles without seeing 3 Food Lions or Harris Teeters etc.

We gassed up the UTV and took it back to Arubiana. They then drove us back to the pier entrance. Which was about a mile away from our ship! We showed our credentials to the guards and they told us a shuttle would drive us back to the ship. Whew! I had prepared myself for a loooong walk but was so relieved because by now we were exhausted from our big day!

Back in our room I looked in the mirror and realized I had dirt and sand ALL OVER MYSELF! My face and hair and body- covered! I went to hop in the shower. On the Disney ships they have bathtubs with high sides that you have to step into to take a shower. I slipped and fell tonight getting into the tub! My right leg went to the right and my left leg slammed into the side of the tub. I yelped and CSP came in to see what was going on. He said “Where are you bleeding from??” I had no idea I was bleeding! Apparently my right foot slammed into the tub drain and gashed my big toe open. I looked down and blood was errrrrywhere! CSP helped me up and I took my shower then he bandaged up my toe, because his name isn’t Cap’n Safety Pants for nothing- the boy brought a first aid kit! He put about 47 bandaids on my toe! So many I could barely get my sandals on for dinner.

I hobbled to Tiana’s Place for dinner.

Tonight was Mardi Gras!

They had the limbo and live music and beignets.

So yummy!

We went back to the room after dinner so CSP could drop me off. The ship didn’t leave Aruba until midnight tonight so I sent CSP outside to take pictures of the ship all lit up at night.

So pretty! I know I’m biased but I think Disney has the most beautiful of all the cruise ships.

It was time for bed!

Tomorrow….Curacao!

fun, travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 5

January 22, 2020February 3, 2020 Shanny

Bonaire!

We woke up at 6:30 am and went up to Cabanas buffet for breakfast. Dede, our server, was working the fruit bar. I swear those servers get precious little time off! But he always has a smile on his face!

We have rented a car for the day. So we got off the ship and walked into town a bit and were picked up by the Budget Rent a Car dude. He drove us to the airport kiosk to do our paperwork and pay for the car.

The airport there is crazy! It’s all outside! So you get off your plane and drag your luggage through sand and a parking lot to get to the car rental kiosk strip. Wild!

Once we were settled in our Hyundai Creta SUV (fun to drive!)

I drove to the Donkey Sanctuary. I’ve been looking forward to this for over a year!!! Ok so back in the 1500s donkeys were brought to Bonaire (pronounced BONE AIR) to help mine the salt. Once cars and machines became a part of the equation they didn’t need the donkeys anymore. But the donkeys were getting hit by cars on the roads and whatnot. So Marina founded the Donkey Sanctuary. There are still over 400 wild donkeys on the island. We met Marina at the ticket counter/gift shop. She only charges $9 each to get in. She needs to be charging $20! It’s so fun! So Marina tells you about the donkeys and the facility and you buy your bag of carrots (buy more than 1- there are 743 donkeys who need carrots!) and get in your car then drive through the sanctuary.

As soon as you drive in your car is MOBBED by donkeys! They stick their heads in your windows

and let you pet them and feed them and they run alongside your car

and fuss with each other over who gets to stick their head in your window. We had a BLAST!!! While we were there I FaceTimed my mom and she loved seeing all the donkeys. We were dumb and only bought one bag of carrots so next time we know to LOAD UP!

After the donkeys we drove around the Southern side of the island. I don’t know about you but when I think island I think lush and green with white sandy beaches. Not Bonaire! They do have gorgeous beaches but a lot of the shoreline is super rocky.

And it’s not covered with lush jungle. It’s a desert island with cacti and wild goats! So interesting to see!

We stopped at the slave huts.

TINY little structures the slaves lived in who mined the salt. Then we came upon the salt mounds.

Mountains of pure white salt amidst pinkish purple water! So neat! They have this giant conveyor belt that brings the salt out to the sea for the boats.

We drove back to Kralendijk for lunch. Let me just tell you, driving around this Dutch island was so fun! But confusing. My poor GPS guy in my phone, Nigel, would tell us to turn on these roads with the longest Dutch names and we were just like WHUT???? For instance, the Donkey Sanctuary is on Kaya IR Randolph Statius van Eps. And that’s an easy street name to understand! So we naturally got turned around and lost in some neighborhoods along our journeys today!

Anyway, back to lunch. Before the cruise CSP went on Yelp and Trip Advisor and found Julian’s Cafe in Kralendijk for us to go to for lunch.

It is right on the water and a Princess cruise ship was docked right in front of us.

I had the garlic shrimp and CSP had the mahi mahi. It was so good and fresh! There is a restaurant across the street from Julian’s. But their kitchen is located BEHIND Julian’s up the hill. So while we’re at lunch we were amused watching the food runners come up the stairs, cross the street, climb past us going up the hill to get to the kitchen, then carry the food all the way back to the diners!

Our bill came and CSP opened it and it blew out of the restaurant and down the sidewalk! CSP had to run after it while I had a good laugh!

After lunch we toured the North part of Bonaire. So many wild goats running around! I wanted to snatch a couple up to bring home as pets! And the cacti are HUGE!!! Also, the roads once you get out of the cities are all one lane.

So we were constantly pulling off road to let taxis and tour buses etc pass by. We toured Rincon City and then stopped by a supermarket, natch.

With CSP being a grocery store manager we end up in a supermarket in every new city we visit. The one we chose is Van Den Tweel. SO nice! I sat in the cafe and made some phone calls

while CSP toured the store and picked up some Coca~Cola with real sugar in it and some water. CSP is pretty much ready to pack up the pugs and move to Bonaire after seeing that store!

It was coming close to the end of our day so we had to fill up the car with gas. There are only 2 gas stations on the island (that we could find). So we went to the one closest to the airport. We had to wait in line and then CSP hopped out to fill up the car. I had taken a picture of the dashboard so we’d know how much gas to put in the car at the end of the day.

It was a guessing game for sure because you can’t pay at the pump. And when we pulled up some guy kept asking CSP “how much? how much?” and CSP was like I DON’T KNOW MAN! It was just weird because it didn’t appear that the dude worked for the gas station. Anyway, CSP put the gas in and asked me if it was enough. I cranked up the car and said yes. He paid and got back in and it was then that I remembered the picture! OOPS! I pulled up the pic and sure enough we were one indicator line short of gas. Dang it! So we had to pull around and get back in line, much to the delight of Gas Station Dude who laughed out loud at CSP! Oy.

We returned the car to the airport (only $83 for the day! MUCH less expensive than paying at least that much each for 2 excursions!!!), and they drove us right back up to the pier.

Back in our room we made some phone calls home then got showered and ready for dinner. Tonight was Semi Formal night.

Dinner was in Animator’s Palate again and tonight was the figure drawing night.

Your servers give you a marker and a big sheet of paper with outlines of a person on it. You draw in your figure and they animate it and project them on the screens around the restaurant. SO cool! CSP’s little guy got to dance with Cinderella!

After dinner we ran into Donald Duck in the hallway. CSP was oblivious and I’m yelling “Honey it’s Donald!” like a fool when I should have been snapping pictures! By this time we were exhausted from our fun day so we went back to our room for bed!

Tomorrow is another early morning as we will be in Aruba!!!

travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 3

January 20, 2020February 1, 2020 Shanny

Today we are docked in Antigua! Because we have plans at 3 other islands this week we decided to stay onboard today to enjoy the near empty ship! We woke up early and had breakfast at the Cabanas buffet.

I’m not normally a buffet fan but Cabanas puts on a nice breakfast! After breakfast we went back to the room to get ready for the day and enjoy some verandah time.

Later, around 11:30 am, we went up to deck 9 (the pool deck) for a quick, light lunch.

We also filled up our Tervis tumblers and I got a Dole Whip.

We then watched Spider-Man: Far From Home. It was good! We spent some more time out on our verandah and before we knew it it was time to get showered for dinner.

Tonight was Formal Night so I took some extra time to get glam!

I brought with me some magnetic eyelashes and eyeliner to try for the first time. They are amazing and so easy to use!!! I’ll never go back to glue!

Dinner tonight was in Tiana’s Place.

It was delicious! CSP got rum marinated swordfish for dinner and he found a shrimp shell in the sauce. That could be a problem if he was allergic to shellfish. He told Dede (our server) about it, not wanting to cause a scene or a problem, just bringing it to their attention. Dede then went and brought the Head Server Devendra over. They both apologized and we thought that was the end of it. Then all the sudden the Chef de Cuisine was standing at our table apologizing! We never expected that! That’s Disney service for you!

After dinner we went to the Azure club.

The club host Derrell (hilarious!!!) led the room in a fun game of Intuition (just like the game Taboo).

It was really fun and our team won. I tried a mango mojito and it was ok, but I just can’t stop drinking my favorite coconut mojitos!

We stayed in Azure for the 10:30 pm magic show. Kyle & Mystie Knight were the magicians. They were really good!

After the magic show we went back to our room for bed.

It was such a relaxing day!

fun, travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 2

January 19, 2020February 1, 2020 Shanny

Today we woke up at 6 am to beat the rush to the free breakfast at the hotel. Then we came back to our room and had a we nap. We woke up, packed up, got ready for the day, and took a scary taxi ride to the port. Traffic rules don’t seem to really apply in San Juan!

We arrived to find millions of people in line for embarkation!!! The lines went on forever! First we had to stand in line outside on the surface of the sun with all our luggage to get to the luggage drop off.

Then we went inside to stand in another long line to check in.

Then we had to walk through a short maze that led us to a HUGE, air conditioned, EMPTY warehouse that we had to walk through to go back outside to walk the length of the ship. WHY couldn’t we have stood in line in the a/c in the warehouse?? I need answers Disney! We finally boarded the Disney Wonder! It took almost 2 hours to board! We are spoiled from the embarkation process in Port Canaveral, FL where it takes like 20 minutes from car to stateroom!

Our room was ready so we went to it and dropped off our day bags.

We went up to the Cabanas buffet for lunch, then back to the room to call home. Next it was time for the dreaded Muster Drill. We lined up on Deck 4. Luckily we were in the shade! And, we were even more lucky that it was over quickly! Shortest muster drill ever! Yay!!!

We went back to our room to watch the ship sail away from our verandah. There was an airfield across from the port. We watched as a helicopter went through a helicopter car wash! So cool!

We unpacked and it was time to get ready for dinner. As soon as we sailed out of the harbor the seas turned really rough! The ship was really rocking tonight! People (including me, I’m people) were pin balling down the hallways because the ship was rocking so hard!

On the way to dinner we stopped for a moment in Shutter’s (the photo gallery), and I’m so glad we did! Ariel stopped by to talk to us! She said my hair was aesthetically pleasing and did I do it with my dinglehopper?? She was so cute!!! I was so caught up in talking with her it didn’t occur to me to get out my phone for a picture! When she walked away CSP said to me “Who was that and what’s a dinglehopper?” Ha!!!

Dinner tonight was at Animator’s Palate.

I was so impressed that the servers were able to deliver meals to the tables without spilling everything everywhere with the rough seas! Our servers are Dede (male) from Indonesia and Judit from Hungary. They are fabulous and we liked them right away! Side note- Disney Cruise Line switched to paper straws. Yay for the environment! Luckily I’d heard about this before we boarded so I brought my reusable metal straws. Paper straws just don’t hold up unless you drink super fast!

After dinner we went to the Cove Cafe (the adults only coffee shop) for a whisky tasting for CSP.

I am not a whisky girl so I was there for moral support.

CSP had a great time learning all about the different whisky varieties! We were there until 11:45!

We finally got back to our room and to bed at midnight.

Tomorrow– Antigua!

fun, travel

Disney Wonder Western Caribbean Day 9

March 4, 2018March 16, 2018 Shanny

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!!!

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Disney Wonder Western Caribbean Day 8- Part 3

March 3, 2018March 15, 2018 Shanny

Our 17th anniversary!!! So we’re back on the ship and CSP said he wanted to go swimming. Up to the pool we went. We weren’t there 20 minutes before these crazy high winds came out of nowhere! One poor crew member was running around trying to tie down all the cushions to the lounge chairs as they were flipping and flopping in the wind. No rain, mind you, just crazy wind. I was trying to hold down our towels and stuff when CSP’s pool slide shoes just took off! Thankfully a nice man retrieved them for me (as well as a lip gloss that had flown out of my wristlet) while I was yelling for CSP to get out of the pool. It was like a cartoon- CSP’s slides went flying again so he was chasing after them and I was wind wrestling with our towels while trying to get back inside. Crazy! But! Foreshadowing!

We went back to our room and did some packing then got showered and dressed for dinner. We were so sad! It was our last dinner of the trip! I filled out the tip envelopes and threw in some extra for Neil our room steward, Alit our server, and Kwan our assistant server. I put the envelopes in my wristlet and we headed off to Tiana’s Place for dinner and Mardi Gras! When we arrived at our table our normal clear water glasses had been replaced by cool colored glasses.

Love the menus!

The frog plates were back.

So cute! Kwan gave us Mardi Gras beads! We had a fabulous dinner and we noticed that on our entree plates the frog was sporting a crown!

The band was back and so was Tiana. She sang and danced with all the kids again.

When it was dessert time Alit brought us out beignets with chocolate sauce, then he disappeared!

The beignets were really good but we could have shared a portion as they are filling!

The music started up again and Tiana led Louis and the Second Line through the dining room with kids (and grown ups too) following her dancing.

That’s when we spotted Alit and Kwan! They were part of the parade! There was even a limbo contest!

Once all the merriment died down (slightly), Alit and Kwan reappeared. For dessert CSP had ordered a 9 layer chantilly creme cake and I ordered the white chocolate bread pudding (OMG! so good!!!). We were enjoying our desserts when all the sudden Alit was there with ANOTHER dessert in hand! An anniversary cake! The little chocolate even says Happy Anniversary! He sang us a little song and gave us some sage advice. I gave him his tip envelope and he said “For my family” as he tucked it away in his pocket. GAH. I about cried when he said that and just wanted to give him everything we have. They work SO hard and are separated from their spouses and children for months and months at a time. But he never appeared without a giant smile and a spot on Mickey impersonation!

We gave Kwan her envelope and the one for the head server then it was time to go. We stopped to check out our photos in Shutters one last time and then stopped by the gift shop. On Castaway Cay CSP had stopped into the gift shop to buy a Castaway Cay magnet for our collection. While there he picked up 2 new Stitch pins for my lanyard as a surprise! Sweet! BUT one of the pins kept popping it’s back off and falling off my lanyard. So we stopped in the gift shop to see what could be done about that. Luckily they sell locking pin backs. Problem solved!

Now, I would be remiss if I came to the end of our cruise without mentioning one very special person, my friend Lisa. Lisa got us hooked on Disney cruises when we cruised the Wonder in 2008 as I was a bridesmaid in her wedding on Castaway Cay. Seriously, because we had a bad experience on a different cruise line in 1998 CSP said he was NEVER cruising again. Well I forced him onto the Wonder for Lisa’s wedding and by the end of it he said he would cruise, but ONLY Disney! Then a few years later Lisa started her dream job of being a travel agent who specializes in all things Disney! That girl knows everything from which rides to ride first at the parks to which rooms to book on the cruise ships to get the secret giant verandahs. Now, you can certainly book your cruise on your own but why would you? The price is the same whether you use a travel agent or not! I love knowing all I have to do is email Lisa about the cruise we want and everything is taken care of! I can rest assured there will be distilled water in our room for my CPAP machine, that we’ll be signed up for the 8 pm dinner rotation, etc. And if you’re wondering how Disney knew it was our anniversary? Lisa! So if you’re even just thinking that my cruise looked pretty fun and you’d sure like to cruise too…. email Lisa at Lisa@PixieandPirateDestinations.com and she will take SUCH good care of you!

Back to the cruise. When we were finished at the gift shop we went back to our room to finish packing and to fill out the comment card that was left in our room. The comment cards are super important so don’t skip them! It only takes a couple minutes. Then it was time for bed.

Well, so I thought. Remember all that wind I told you about? Our room was in the Forward section of the ship but I know Laci was feeling it in the Aft section where their room was too. We were rocking and rolling I tell you! It felt like we were on a little speed boat hitting those waves! The bathroom doors were opening and slamming shut. The closet doors were too! And through the whole thing CSP slept like a baby! I said an extra prayer that we make it back to Port Canaveral in one piece and went to sleep.

fun, travel

Disney Wonder Western Caribbean Day 8- Part 2

March 3, 2018March 14, 2018 Shanny

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!

fun, travel

Disney Wonder Western Caribbean Day 8- Part 1

March 3, 2018March 14, 2018 Shanny

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.