Earlier this year I took my 9 year old son, Braden, on a 4 Night Bahamian cruise on the newly re-imagined Disney Magic. The Disney Magic is Disney Cruise Line's first cruise ship, having first set sail in 1998. Our cruise departed from sunny Port Canaveral, FL and had stops in Nassau, and Castaway Cay plus one day at sea. Our first 2 days were full of Disney magic as one would expect but the weather didn't get the memo and insisted on giving us clouds, wind and rain. Would Disney's private island paradise, Castaway Cay, show us some much desired sunshine? Read on to find out!
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| My son, Braden, and I on Castaway Cay. |
You can probably see by the picture above that despite our best efforts in hoping, wishing and praying, we did not see typical sunny Bahamian weather at Castaway Cay either. Braden and I had been to Castaway Cay once before on our first Disney Cruise aboard the Disney Fantasy and we were very excited to return to this island paradise. We both love the beach and Castaway Cay has two perfect white sand beaches for kids and families to play in the sand, swim, snorkel, and relax.
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| Braden and his step-sister, Courtney, on our 1st visit to Castaway Cay. |
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| Braden in the water on our 2nd visit to Castaway Cay |
This day on Castaway Cay was in stark contrast to our first visit, when the skies were blue and went on forever in a perfect blend with the clear blue-green water. This time we saw clouds, clouds and more clouds, but once in a while the sun would taunt us by pretending it was about to make a guest appearance. It didn't, but we didn't let this stop us from having fun. I let the weather spoil my fun in Nassau, and I wasn't going to let that happen on my favorite, and still beautiful even when chilly, Bahamian island. Plus, there were positives for the tough minded such as ourselves.
After a wonderful BBQ lunch, at no extra charge, most people headed back to the ship. Not I, not Braden, and not our new friends, Bethany and Kylee. Braden and Kylee, being only 9 years old, were practically impervious to the cold. They jumped right into the water and swam until their hearts were content. I hate being cold with a passion but some magical force took over me that day and I took off my sweatshirt (which I had to buy on the island because I had not come prepared for cold weather) and bravely stepped into the water. I'm not going to lie, it was cold, but I didn't turn back. I kept on walking and I took the plunge and jumped right into that chilly water! I knew I needed to keep moving to stay warm so I did and we ended up having a blast while almost having the entire island to ourselves.
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| Castaway Cay is beautiful no matter what the weather is like. |
And so a day that could have been a disappointment, had I let the weather win, turned out to be one of the best days of my life. It was a day I snorkeled with my only son without worrying about kicking anyone. It was a day I forgot my cares and instead enjoyed exhilarating waterslide races with Braden, while Kylee raced her mom. It was a day that I got to enjoy one of my favorite activities in water all to ourselves. I swam, swam and swam some more and I have never felt so alive.
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| Pelican Plunge was the site of our waterslide races |
We were the only four crazies in the water and it was wonderful. I'm sure the lifeguards wondered what planet we were from but this will always be one of the most special memories that I will share with my son and it will always be the day we had our own private island paradise in the Bahamas:).
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| Nobody else was crazy enough to swim! |
The conclusion to a fun day on the island was Pirate Night on the ship, always a Disney Cruise fan favorite. For the dinner attire, you have your choice of either Pirate or Cruise Casual. At least half the guests, including adults, do indeed dress up as pirates. I love how effortlessly Disney can pull out the inner child, which gets stifled in everyday life, out of adults. It's fun for me to see the costumes, as the grown-ups enjoy turning into big kids for one evening.
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| Mickey in his pirate costume. |
After the nightly dinner and show on Pirate Night, there is a Pirate show out on the pool deck stage with Disney characters and crew members. In our show, the characters were having a pirate dance party when Captain Hook tries to steal the show. There was no need to fear, however, as Mickey zip lines across the ship and saves the day. Then right on queue, fireworks explode over the Caribbean Sea in a grand finale. It was a fun and fitting ending to a great day!
Stay tuned for Day 4 next week!
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| Despite the cold, we had a great day on Castaway Cay! |
I hope that you have enjoyed reading my entry from this Traveling Travel Agent's travels. I am a travel agent because I love to travel and I love helping other people discover our big beautiful world! Through strategic partnerships, I offer my clients preferred rates, complimentary upgrades and extra amenities. If you would like to receive weekly travel specials from my agency, Purple Palm Vacations, please sign up for our Exclusive Travel Specials.
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