Day 4 we woke up to our day of a private sailboat adventure. We were approaching Grand Cayman and would drop anchor until about 10:30. In Grand Cayman the ship doesn't pull up to a dock, instead you tender to the port.
We were supposed to meet our driver at 11:30, so we headed to the Walt Disney Theater to get tickets and get in line to tender. We were in the 2nd tender boat and were on land by about 11:00. We had a short walk to the taxi and then we got a nice tour of Grand Cayman as we made our way to our sailboat.
I had found this private excursion on TripAdvisor, and we were really excited about it. A 40 ft sailboat with crew and the five of us for 3 hours. Our first stop would be at Stingray City to swim/snorkel with the stingrays for about 45 minutes. Then we would sail to the edge of the reef for another 90 minutes of snorkeling, then sail back to the dock and taxi back to the ship.
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| the day started with Don (Luchador) on the ship balcony before we tendered... |
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| on our sailboat |
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| Katie talking with Karyn ( the crew) to learn about Stingrays before she snorkled |
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| Carleigh, Don and Katie snorkeling off the sailboat |
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| it was a beautiful day |
Don got a new underwater camera for Father's Day and took some great pictures while snorkeling...
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| while in Stingray City |
Katie also got an underwater camera for Christmas...here are some of her pics...
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| Snorkel selfie! |
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| Don reading about the fish after snorkeling... |
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| the map of where we were - inside the horseshoe area, near the top where the color changes from light to dark |
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| in the center of the pic - you can see Don and Karyn (the guide/crew) snorkeling along the reef - he loved the privacy of it all, not another person around... |
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| approaching Grand Cayman from the sailboat |
The girls both bought dresses in Grand Cayman and wore them to dinner, so more photos in the new dresses..
We had cocktails in the Atrium, then went and saw the show before dinner. Don met us after the show for Phineas and Ferb pictures, then we went to dinner at Enchanted Garden.
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| We were met at the entrance by Ninja and Mahadi and they escorted us to our table. |
After dinner we enjoyed the atmosphere in the Atrium for a while, while the girls headed to their clubs for the night. Each evening they had live music before and after dinner until about 11:00 p.m. Sometimes singing and piano, and sometimes other instruments involved...and it wasn't all Disney songs. A good mix of oldies, current songs and Disney - something for all ages.
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| people would dance to the music, or just hang out and watch from all 3 levels. |
The above video is the Atrium on one of the evening with the music playing - lots of people, but not overwhelming...and so much fun. It was GREAT people watching, especially from the higher levels.
We then headed back to the room, and again, were nodding off to sleep before the girls returned...
Day 5: Falmouth, Jamaica
Our Jamaica day was going to be a different kind of day. I had researched things to do from the Falmouth port and none of the Disney excursions interested us, so I kept looking. I found Jamaicaforaday.com run by resortforaday.com. This company offers day trip to cruise visitors, so after exploring, I booked us a full day trip to a local, all inclusive resort - the Rose Hall Hilton Resort and Spa. We were picked up at the dock at 9:15 and transported to the resort (about 20 minutes) and then would be picked up at 2:45 to go back to the ship. We had full use of all of the resort facilities, unlimited food, drink (alcohol included) and towels/floats, etc. It was a fun day.
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| right off the boat - the shopping area, port was right as you walked the ganway |
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| waiting for the bus |
We started right away with the floats and the "swim up" bar - Katie couldn't wait for that. Then we went onto the Lazy River..
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| the "tube slide" was lots of fun |
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| Don enjoyed it also, as Katie watched on |
We enjoyed the day, and had a great lunch at one of the restaurants. When we were through, we went back into the lobby a bit early to use their internet cafe (free WiFi) for a few minutes before our bus came.
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| waiting outside for the bus back to the ship. |
We got back to the ship at about 3:15, did a little shopping...
and then it was time to board and get ready for PIRATE NIGHT!! Pirate Chip and Dale were meeting at 4:45, so we had to hurry! We were all given Pirates in the Caribbean bandanas in our staterooms to be used that evening, and the people watching hit a new level this night. There were many people (adults and kids) in FULL pirate regalia, and some just playing it low-key like us.
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| they are funny guys! |
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| Then we found Pirate Stitch! |
We then got in line for Captain Jack Sparrow!!
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| times have changed since our first cruise in 2008 - Katie wanted NOTHING to do with Captain Jack |
We still had time before dinner, and Don had met up with us, so we decided to go and watch the game show happening in the family club - The D Lounge. It was A Pirate's Life for Me, and unknown to us it was audience participation. Don tried very hard to be invisible, but he was chosen (against his will) to be the first mate for one of the teams.....he was a good sport and definitely played the part well, but wasn't very happy about it! It involves a series of games, and one of them was the 2 "adults" playing as masts/sails and the kids swabbing the decks around them...
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| getting ready |
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| there's the sail |
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| now he has a Crow's Nest on top of the "sail." |
We were laughing, but he kept shooting us looks. I felt really sorry for him because he didn't want to go to this show at all, and now he had to participate. :)
Then it was time for dinner - we were back at Royal Court, but with the Pirates Menu...
After dinner, we wandered for a bit. There would be a HUGE Pirate Deck party with a full fireworks show starting at 11:00. Believe it or not, Don and I didn't make it...the girls went to the clubs and went to the fireworks show on their own with the counselors and their friends.
Before heading to sleep, I snapped these pics (off of our balcony) of the water as we sailed - the lights were so pretty on the open sea....
Lots of fun for everyone, and tomorrow would be a day of rest.....a day at sea as we make our way back to the Bahamas.
It was sad to think that we were over halfway through our cruise, and only 2 more full days left. :(
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