We woke up to the warm breeze and beautiful sites of the Cayman Islands! It was a gorgeous day with highs around 80 degrees. After breakfast at "Topsiders," the buffet-style restaurant, we headed out to catch a tender boat, which is a ferry boat that took us onto the island. Since the Cayman Islands are surrounded by a coral reef, the cruise ships have to dock about a half-mile away and the tender boats pick up the passengers. There were 5 cruise ships docked on this day, but the island wasn't very crowded. There were a lot of people in the shops right off the pier, but we immediately tracked down a taxi to take us to a nearby beach. We had a few hours before our first excursion began, so we wanted to play in the waves and build sandcastles. I learned that the Cayman Islands are owned by Great Britain, so they drive on the opposite side of the road, but they are very American-ized.
Will took about 4,000 pictures with his camera during the week we were cruising!
Lindsey enjoyed using her new pink waterproof camera, although she didn't dare take it under water.
That's our beautiful Disney Magic cruise ship in the picture with the girls!
We stopped to buy a coconut from this stand, so the kids could drink fresh coconut juice. Yum!
I took this picture to show how the cars drive on the opposite side of the road. In the next picture, I sat in the passenger seat on the left of the taxi while the driver sat in the drivers seat on the right. It was an odd feeling to not be in control while sitting in the "drivers seat." This lady was originally from Jamaica, but was raising her son in the Cayman Islands. His name is Jordan, and she pointed to his picture on the dashboard while telling me about him. I loved driving around the town while talking to a local resident. The only downside to a cruise, in my opinion, is not having enough time on each island to explore and get to know the culture.
We were dropped off at a beautiful beach, where we spent the next couple hours soaking up the sun. Check out the color of the water! Brevan and Parker tried out the new snorkeling gear we had purchased for them.
Madelyn and Brynlie left their marks in the sand.
Christine's rock-hard body. She exercises religiously and has a fairly clean diet, so I felt like a big lazy doofus when I spent the week over-indulging. I've rarely met someone so motivated. I'm super envious of her energy and dedication!
After playing at the beach, we caught a taxi to the location of our snorkeling adventure. First we snorkeled by the coral reef, and then we were taken to an are where an abandoned ship has been under water for 50-some-odd years. I've snorkeled in much better places before, but it was fun to have the experience with our kids. Lindsey and Brevan were able to catch on pretty easily, but Logan mostly wanted to swim and Brynlie had trouble figuring out how to use the breathing tube. She grew frustrated after a while and sat on the boat for the rest of the time.
These were our snorkeling guides. Don't they look exactly how you would expect tour guides in the Cayman Islands to look?
How cute does Logan look in his snorkeling mask and fins? He held on to a floating device and went along for the ride with his Daddy.
While snorkeling, a "pirate ship" went by. It looked just like the Black Pearl!
Chloe decided to take her snorkeling advice from Logan apparently, because she went along for the ride with her own Daddy.
After a long, full day on the island, we went back on the cruise ship to get cleaned up. It was Pirate Night on the ship, but I had missed the memo on this one, too. Most people on the ship were dressed in costumes and were really playing up the pirate theme. I wore a floral shirt - not very piratey! If I go on a Disney cruise again someday, I will definitely plan to celebrate the themes each day!
Luckily, the best waiters in the world, Putu (from Indonesia) and Alan (from India), hooked us up with some pirate bandannas.
After dinner it was time for the Pirates IN the Caribbean party to start! We staked out a good spot to watch the dance party from the 10th level of the ship. The characters and pirates got the crowd dancing and cheering!
Then the "evil" pirates came from up high to ruin the party! Luckily, Pirate Mickey showed up a few minutes later to save the day!
This is Mickey flying above us!
After Mickey saved us, the fireworks started! I love the firework setting on my new camera!
The girls headed down to the 9th level for the dance party, and quickly worked their way to the front row. I followed behind them to take pictures of their excitement.
The girls really loved this counselor named Laura, so they made sure to find her when the show was done to give her hugs and get a picture taken.
The party didn't end until almost 11, but they opened up the Topsider Buffet afterward with a FULL meal! So off we went to enjoy more delicious food at midnight. Brevan's plate was piled high with turkey legs and every dessert he could find. He didn't lack for food all week long! He often got pizza from Pinocchio's Pizzeria or a hamburger from Pluto's Dog House as an appetizer to dinner at a nice restaurant! Some of my favorite items came from Goofy's Galley, a food place on the 9th level that had wraps and the freshest pineapple I've ever tasted.
Not sure why Brynlie is pulling a seductive look in this picture! The ice sculpture of a pirate was very impressive! The manager told me it takes the sculpture about 3 hours to create.
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