As much as my family and I love going to Walt Disney World, there is just so much to love about being on a magical Disney cruise.
The service is phenomenal, the food is yummy and you will definitely never be bored! During our first cruise I was shocked at just how much there is to do while onboard the ship. Of course there are plenty of shore excursions to choose from as well. The great thing about a cruise is that you can do as much or as little as you want. The choice is yours. When we cruise we love to do lots of things as a family, but my kids did enjoy doing things in the kids clubs as well. We also chose to keep excursions on the more relaxing and cheap side!
Back in May 2009 we cruised on the Disney Magic on a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise with stops at Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and of course Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. For this post I’ll share some pics. of some of things we did while visiting our ports of call.
When we visited Key West we chose simply to walk to the Southermost Point, while enjoying looking for some of Hemingway’s cats and exploring the shops. Of course we did stop and eat some Key Lime Pie!
Next up was Grand Cayman and oh how I could not wait to sink my tootsies in that white sand and swim in the gorgeous clear water. We were trying to decide between the Turtle Farm or Stingray City as our excursion and instead just opted to just take a van to Royal Palms beach to relax and snorkel a bit. There are bathrooms there and even a place to eat. We found the people here to be very friendly. It was the perfect choice, as we all had a relaxing time.
In Cozumel, Mexico we chose to visit Chakanaab. It was a short 15 minute taxi ride up the coast from the port. The port itself was very clean and safe with lots of nice little shops and cheap things to buy. At Chakanaab we did swim with the dolphins, but there is so much to do there other than that. Relax, snorkel, eat, hike the trails and relax in the little pool they have there or play in the splash park. It was a very safe, family friendly place to visit and my kids always talk about how they can not wait to go back someday. I did not take as many pictures as I wish I had, simply due to the fact that we were doing lots of stuff and had 3 kiddos to keep track of while we were there.
Last, but certainly not least was our visit to Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. We could not wait to dock at the island, get off the ship and explore. I had signed my husband and older 2 children up to do the Stingray Adventure and they had a great time while Ryan and I watched and relaxed on the beach near them. After that we spent some time hanging on the family beach, eating a yummy lunch at Cookie’s bar-b-q and then had fun with the characters. Then I took Ryan back to the ship for a short nap while the older 2 played in the kids club on the island. After naptime we met up and took a few pictures by the Flying Dutchman. Castaway Cay is gorgeous and is a true Disney gem. All in all we had an amazing day!
Check back for my next post!
Tracey Hartley ~ As You Wish Vacations Disney Travel Specialist 