When we last left my first Disney Cruise Line adventure, I was getting fatter and fatter, eating all of the delicious yummies on offer aboard the ship. And I was getting ready to tell you about all of the super fun adventures there are to be had …
Let’s start with what you’ll see in Disney’s advertising: family fun area on Decks 11 and 12, where the Mickey Face Pool and AquaDuck reside. It’s loud there. Loud and busy and lots of fun if that’s the mood you’re in. I certainly had an enjoyable time checking out movies on FunnelVision and wooshing around the ship on the AquaDuck.
Actually, one of my absolute favorite events happened here: The Pirate Party and fireworks show. (I’ll definitely have a separate post about that in the future because it’s a great story!) This is something you’ll definitely hear about in the literature because DCL was the first cruise line to offer fireworks at sea–and they can do it because all of the colors are made with food-based ingredients so it doesn’t hurt the fish and marine life. Crazy, right?! That night, Deck 12 was the place to be. A lot of the time, Deck 12 was the place to be … but there is so much more to do on the ship!
Including the nightly stage productions, which were absolutely amazing. I’m not a huge Broadway lover like some of you, but as a native New Yorker, I’ve seen my fair share of big stage shows, and these are really impressive–fun and smart and mostly seamless. And when you add the fact that one cast performs all of the different shows and that the crew flips the stage every night. Then consider the fact that all of these performances take place on a ship at sea and that the stage is constantly moving. Crazy.
After the nightly shows, there was plenty to do. Lots of bars and lounges. I’ve never been a big club person. But these spaces! These spaces are just wow. Meridian Lounge (located between Palo and Remy) with its swanky interior and travel-centric vibe was clearly Dan’s favorite, and I loved it, too. But I think (maybe predictably) Pink–the upscale champagne-themed lounge in the ship’s nightlife district–was my favorite. What I took away from these spaces is that Disney clearly knows how to create fun, opulent settings for adults. It’s a shame we don’t get to see more of this in the Parks.
Because our cruise was a Castaway Cay double dip (with two stops at the island), we only had one stop at a non-Disney port. We were totally okay with that. But we did thoroughly enjoy our afternoon in the Bahamas. We toured the island in a van driven by the coolest driver ever, and then we got a closer look at Queen’s Staircase as well as two forts. We also toured the Educulture Junkanoo Museum … which is sort of like a combination of the Mummer’s Parade, Carnival and Mardi Gras wrapped into one. Just beautiful and fun all in one. I’d love to go back to Nassau during a Junkanoo Festival.
We opted not to book any excursions for Castaway Cay, spending one of our days on Serenity Bay Beach and another exploring the other parts of the island. Dan took some amazing underwater photos on Serenity Bay, and we’ll definitely be sharing those soon. And we spent the second half of one of our Castaway Cay days in Senses’ Rainforest Room–soaking and steaming and scrubbing and relaxing on soothing warmed tiled loungers overlooking Castaway Cay. Ahhh … to go back.
All of that said, the best activity we enjoyed while on Disney Cruise Line was … no activity at all. Just sitting on Deck 13’s forward veranda. Sipping coffee in the Cove Cafe. Reading on Serenity Bay Beach. The surroundings are so peaceful. And I can’t wait to get back aboard …
Over the next several weeks, I’ll be sharing some initial thoughts about my Disney Dream experience, which was absolutely magical. And over the next several months, I’ll be delving into more specifics about the adventure. If there’s something you’re interested in learning more about, let me know in the comments!