Last Stop: Castaway Cay

Our last stop on the cruise happened to be my favorite! It was Castaway Cay, Bahamas -- which is Disney's private island. This place felt like paradise!

It was gorgeous and Disney had thought of everything to make it easier on families -- strollers and wagons, beach chairs, bikes, swimming gear and zip lines, etc. There was a splash pad and snorkeling gear. The hours on this island were definitely too short!

 The water on my shirt I dumped on my to cool off. It's not sweat!

 

For being athletic all my life, and running on my treadmill several times a week for the nine years I've owned it, I have actually never ran a 5K race. This is something I've wanted to do, but it's either never worked out or I've been too chicken to try something new. So, when I heard a 5K race was offered at our last stop, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to do it. And, better yet, my sister Heather wanted to as well!

I just kept thinking that it was my first 5K and it was in Castaway Cay, Bahamas!! Talk about a thrill!

The day was so relaxing! It felt like Disney World on an island and was truly just an extension of the boat. It had dozens of family-friendly activities, was super clean, and was so well thought-out! They fed us a delicious lunch on the island too and had all you can eat ice cream and drinks all day.

One of the most exciting parts of the island for the girls was that Grandma paid for all the big-girl cousins to get Caribbean hair!

They could choose their bead colors, and the way they wanted their hair braided.

This was a good hair-do for Ellie because it eliminated the need to straighten her curly-hair bangs everyday!

Teyah chose pink and blue beads with diagonal braids.

I think I loved Teyah's look the best.

Aubrie has an extremely sensitive head and only wanted two long braids. She also kept hers in the shortest amount of time.

Grandma got a kiss of thanks!

They were all smiles when they were done (we were a little worried there might be drama, but fortunately there was none!).

The worst part of Castaway Cay was that it mean it was our last day on the cruise. From now on when I visualize paradise, I will envision Castaway Cay! Thanks grandma for the best times of our lives! Recently, Ellie told me "the best day of my life was the day I got on the cruise and the worst day of my life was the day I got off!" I think that pretty much sums it up! Recently, I observed a conversation where someone asked Teyah what she would buy if she was given some cash, and her response was: "I would buy a Disney Cruise boat because I want to go back!"

Stop#3: Viva Cozumel

In Cozumel, we had the chance to see the touristy beachfronts as well as the backstreets of the Mexican island. Several years ago, my brother had spent a summer there working (even endured a Category 5 Hurricane) and was eager to show us the true side of Cozumel living.

Our kids know very little of what it's like to live outside of the United States, so we felt like it was a good chance to give them the first-hand opportunity to see a third-world country.

We ambled through a local mercado. Surprisingly, the kids hardly discussed or even seemed to notice the extreme differences to their own neighborhood. We tried to point things out and discuss it afterwards, but I think our kids are so young that they are still very colorblind to not only race but socioeconomic status of living. However, I think they did notice differences because the local mercado apparently wasn't as appealing to them as the touristy part of town because nobody asked to buy anything there.

Dave didn't stick out as a tourist, did he?

After shopping around, the big purchase of the day was made, not surprisingly, in the touristy part of town -- a hand-made bracelet for each of the girls that had their names embroidered. Since our kids have uncommon names, the chance to have 'Aubrie,' 'Elliana,' and 'Teyah' on a bracelet was nothing but endearing!

The end results were Mexican treasures that the girls cherished!

For lunch we sought out some true local cuisine at an outdoor restaurant located in the backyard of a small house in town.

The setting was gorgeous and the food was delicious, but the price tag for the kids' quesadilla's was fairly alarming! True to Mexican form, we were a bit taken since we were considered the rich Americans!

After a busy, tiring day on another Caribbean island, we headed back to the ship to prepare for a magical evening.

Arrr.....it was pirate night on the boat!

Everyone on the ship was decked out in their best pirate gear. At dinner, all of the servers were also properly attired and even interupted dinnertime with a pirate mamba line complete with banging pots from the kitchen.

We then headed to a movie theater (this ship had both a full-size broadway stage and movie theater). We watched Beauty and the Beast in 3D.

At about 10 pm, we went to the deck of the boat for a pirate dance party.

Captain Dave and the princess pirate, Elliana had a blast!

We danced and danced under January starlit, warm, moist sky of the Caribbean! It was surreal!

Captain Hook, Pirate Mickey, and many other Disney characters joined us until late into the night.

To conclude the perfect evening, we enjoyed fireworks shot above the boat. Earlier in the night, it had been storming, and we later learned the captain of the ship had turned the boat around to find a quiet area of sea to have our party. This was definitely a treat because this was hands down the best night of the cruise!

Port#2: Grand Cayman

The cruise ships are not allowed to pull right into the dock of Grand Cayman, in order to protect the reef, so we had to take a tender into the port.

On our short journey, Kyler was thrilled to see a real pirate ship.  Throughout the week, he found his true calling in life .... to be a pirate of the Caribbean.

Notice the pirate in front interrupting this princess picture.

After staring into the sun for a quick snapshot, we crammed into a local bus and took a wild ride on the wrong side of the road.  It was the first time our kids have experienced a foreign country. Of course, we were too cheap to pay for the planned-out Disney-sponsored excursions, so our family tried to experience Grand Cayman on our own, which led to a bit of an adventure.

Our kids loved the white sand beaches...

turquoise coastline and crystal-clear water.

While daddy and the girls splashed around in the warm ocean,

Kyler spent most of his time soaking in some rays at the beach.

We wandered the beaches for a little while, seeking the perfect spot to settle. But they were either too crowded or not enough fish (for Dave's taste), or rocky (not to mention the sting ray Jeni almost stepped on!), so we finally decided to take a local taxi to Cemetery Reef. The taxi was completely sketchy! The lady we had asked about it told us several times to make sure the driver agreed on the price before getting into his totally run down, not really marked van. Dave had snorkeled at Cemetery Reef during high school and remembered the schools of fish that swim all around you. He was determined to match that experience. So, trying to be the supportive wife, we carried onward with our four kids and swim gear exploring a foreign country. As a side note, Dave and I have explored many countries on our own without kids, but it was certainly a different experience with the four of them in tow.

Finally satisfied with this destination, both Ellie and Aubrie went snorkeling with mom and dad. After seeing a few fish here and there, we finally found the magical spot that had schools of fish swimming within inches of your face.  It was like pigeons gathering around waiting for a piece of bread.

Of all of our adventures, this was Dave's favorite experience and my most stressful! However, snorkeling was like nothing any of us had experienced before, especially being just right off the shore (even though this picture clearly doesn't do it justice). Amazing!!

 

Back at the beach, Kyler was munching on sand and snacks and flashing smiles at the locals. Even though we lost our sunscreen on one of the many beaches we sampled, and we all still burned, it was certainly another magical day on our Disney Magic Cruise.

1st Stop: Key West

Our first stop of the cruise was Key West, Florida. The kids were excited to explore a new place with their cousins and Aunt Lauren.

This was our first time seeing the outside of the boat up, close and personal, and it was impressive.

  

As we walked along that mammoth ship, we kept saying, "This is surreal!' The kids compared it to the Titanic.

We decided to keep it low-key in Key West by only taking a quick stroll through the main town area of the harbor.

Ellie and Aubrie just couldn't resist the quaint romantic setting of old-town Key West as they embraced in front of this statue. This pose was all their idea!

 

This being Key West, we had to stop at the Original Key Lime Pie Shop for a treat. 

Our kids also loved all the "wildlife" around town. We sighted several wild turkeys strolling around, had lizard and snake photo ops in the shopping center, and encountered tamed exotic birds (that's an interesting oxymoron!).

All three of our girls loved getting to know this little white bird in one of the shops we stopped.

Teyah continually talks about having this parrot stand on her shoulder!

Key West was a fun, low-key warm-up to the adventures that lay ahead.