Disney Dream - towel pets

It's Disney and they like to have fun. So, I thought I'd share some of the towel pets that we came back to our room to. They actually had a class at one point on how to fold these things, we didn't make it to it though.

Sea Turtle (wearing my sunglasses)

Frog (wearing my dad's sunglasses)

Dog (wearing my dad's sunglasses) and snake (wearing mine)

Dinosaur.. I forgot to leave my sunglasses out for the host to put on his creation, so they're missing here.

Day 4 - Castaway Cay

Yes, I skipped Day 3. We were out at sea all day on Day 3 and I didn't get any photos (though hubby probably did). I did get to the Spa and have my first hot rock massage (OOOHH). My kids were turned loose on ship. They each had a wave phone (phone provided to each stateroom for just that purpose). My daughter spent the day in the Oceaneer lab, my son in the Edge (tween hangout). The rest of us kind of floated around doing whatever until it was time to eat.

Day 4 we were back in Castaway Cay. We decided before going ashore that we weren't staying too long (just until lunch).

For all that my kids said they were tired and didn't want to swim, they seemed to have no problem with it once they were in the water.

A view of the ship from the beach.

Yes, there were more crab races..

Day 2 - Nassau

On the second day of our trip, we were in port at Nassau, Bahamas. My daughter and I wanted to geocache, so we found an easy one near the port. I won't give clues or even a true location (though I'm sure you could figure it out if you wanted), but here's a picture of us in front of where the cache is.

Apparently, the Bahamas has been celebrating their independence day. The big "party" stuff was the day before we were in port, but the streamers and signs were still everywhere.

For my husband's sake, I took a picture of this place. This particular store front was actually closed, but I did find an open one later.

My family gave up on my mom and I as we went shopping. They headed back to the ship while we wandered around. If you go to the sessions on jewelry shopping on board, you get coupons for free stuff. I highly recommend taking advantage of the deals they show you. My daughter was quite thrilled to get a free amethyst necklace and matching earrings. We also got a couple of free bamboo necklaces and more. Just make sure you take along your ability to say 'no'. They're very good at attracting your attention and keeping it. You just have to say 'no' to what they're selling, or you'll end up in major debt fast.

Around lunch time, my mom and I wrapped up shopping and headed back to the ship. I stopped and snapped this picture of the Atlantis resort from the pier to the ships.

Day 1 - Castaway Cay

Our first day out at sea, we put in to port at Castaway Cay around 7:30am. The whole process was fascinating (we watched from our balcony).

This is the lagoon area where the main family beaches and activities are held.

After disembarking, we walked past where Daisy was holding court. I had to stop and get my picture taken.

After a little bit of a walk, we found Captain Jack Sparrow. This was a must for me and the kids.

We swam until lunch time and when we headed to get food we encountered a group having crab races. It was quite funny to watch the people cheering the crabs on the hot brick. I'd want off of it quickly too.

After lunch, we had a swim with the sting rays in the lagoon. Approximately 57 rays were in a large enclosed section. We were able to feed them (imagine putting your hand up to the end of the hose part of a vacuum) before swimming with them. The kids had a blast following the rays around. We also spotted a rather large barracuda swimming in the area. (The pen is a rope netting, the gaps just small enough to keep the rays from leaving, not from keeping other animals out.) No pictures from the swim, though. My kids took off with their dad after to snorkel around the lagoon. They said they saw quite a bit, though the only problem was the grass that was everywhere (and quite thick in spots).

For those of you not familiar with Castaway Cay, this is called Mount Rustmore.

Some time around 3:00p we headed back to the ship. Max is/was one of my son's favorite Disney characters. You don't get to see much of him (unless you watch "A Goofy Movie"), so visiting him on the way back onto the ship was a must as well.

Disney Dream

This was the main reason for us to be at Cape Canaveral. We were headed out on the Disney Dream (their newest ship to launch) for a 5 day cruise to the Bahamas. You know how big these ships are, but it really doesn't click until you see them up close. This thing was huge.

There were a lot of people around the pier doing various tasks (including loading luggage). It was interesting to watch.

This is a view of the Disney terminal from deck 11 on the ship.

We could see the Freedom of the Seas from our terminal (even bigger than the Dream)

This is one of the Carnival ships. The Freedom and the Carnival ships both left port earlier than we did. We caught up to the Carnival ship later in the day.