Make Sure You Get My Shake in the Pic *~* A Lavenous SWDAS Trip Report *~*3/4/17*~*

[franandaj]

If that's the same "alternate docking point" as we went to it was pretty sad. No point in getting off the ship unless you had an excision booked.

I really want to try the mid ship detective agency.

 

[Malia78]

excision booked

Ouch!

Sorry--taking a breather at work and I needed a chuckle (certain auto correct is to blame).

 

[franandaj]

Ouch!

Sorry--taking a breather at work and I needed a chuckle (certain auto correct is to blame).

Yes I'm sure I meant to type excursion!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

It's so cool to see what other people did on our cruise! I finished my report on Saturday (finally...)

I love reading other reports it's so cool to see how different the same cruise can be for everyone - there's just SO much to do!

If that's the same "alternate docking point" as we went to it was pretty sad. No point in getting off the ship unless you had an excision booked.

I really want to try the mid ship detective agency.

You are absolutely right - there was nothing to do at the port if you weren't going on an excursion. Midship detective is really fun!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Rum Point *~*

The tender boats all pulled up to a very small docking area.

This next pic will give you an idea of how the alternate port docking area was set up - it was pretty much a small area with some tents set up for the cruise lines inside a fenced in area.

I admired the crystal clear water on the way by

We had to line up and wait behind our tour leader with the Pocahontas sign and wait so we used the time to pile on some more sunscreen. It was WARM while we were waiting there for the excursion to start. They gave us all tickets which we would use for our bus ride, as well as food and discounts at Rum Point, etc.

Once everyone was there and had their tickets we moved up to the gate area to get on the bus which was going to take us to the catamaran. The bus ride was a 15-20 minute ride.

It wasn't too long before we were at the dock where the catamaran was waiting. You had to go in the building first and fill out a little paperwork before you could board the catamaran.

Here it is - the Spirit of Cayman

There is seating inside which is shaded and you could also sit along the back or on a wide open netted area in the front of the catamaran.

Zoe and Piper initially chose a spot along a bench on the back of the catamaran. One plus is I will definitely say this was NOT crowded at all. We were easily able to roam around and sit pretty much anywhere they chose.

After a little bit Piper joined Andy at the front netted area as well.

There are cooler jugs with water and lemonade on the catamaran which are included or they do have a bar inside as well if you wish to purchase liquor.

The catamaran ride is about 45 minutes and is absolutely beautiful. We HIGHLY enjoyed it. It was very peaceful, the water was gorgeous, and we were able to see a sea turtle along the way which was awesome. Pretty soon we could see that we were nearing Rum Point. Honestly, we would have been happy just staying on the catamaran it was a lot of fun and very relaxing.

It was too pretty here not to take a ton of pics so this post will be continued

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Rum Point #2 ~*~

I kept snapping away taking pics of the journey

Then we neared the docking area

When you arrive you are greeted by the gentleman in the navy blue shirt who tells you a little bit about the day and then you are free to come ashore and enjoy the area.

The beach area you see below is one that you are welcome to explore if you like and is to the right of the pier while you are walking up. To the left is an area that is reserved for Disney Cruiseline guests only and that is where we spent the bulk of our time.

Sign on the tree by the reserved area

The girls headed straight for the water - Piper had brought her goggles

Shockingly, I wandered around taking a few pics for my trip report - you know, for research purposes

I checked out the bar

There were people sitting around the bar and food area enjoying their day

This "Questions not to ask" sign cracks me up! My favorite is "can you swim under the island" ummmm......

There was a bird flying and swimming around that didn't seem to be at all afraid of people. It did not bother anyone at all but was just "there" going after it's lunch

To be continued......

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Rum Point #3 *~*

Apparently I took a whole lot of pelican photos!

This next picture is of the reserved side for Disney Cruise guests. There are lounge chairs, picnic tables, unbrellas, and this is also where they set up the small lunch buffet that is included on the excursion.

More pics of the area

After a little while the girls decided they wanted to rent snorkel gear so we went up to one of the buildings where you can rent equipment and got masks, fins, etc

This pic of Zoe trying to walk in the flippers is hysterical to me - from the look on her face she was amused with herself as well

Meanwhile - Andy said since were WERE at RUM Point - he had NO choice but to go get a drink from the bar. I believe if memory serves me correctly this was $14!!!

Earlier I mentioned the tickets we were given by our tour group leader. Here is the ticket for you use for your lunch.

We tried the buffet they set up in the Disney area. I took a pic of the menu which is below:

I also took a couple of pics as Andy was getting his food

This pic turned out horrible but here is my plate - I had salad with a vinegrette dressing, fried plantains, rice, jerk chicken, mac and cheese with hot dogs in it, and a brownie.

There are plenty of picnic tables in the area to eat your lunch at

Overall the buffet was OK. Was it great? No. Was it horrible? No. It was OK and was good for a quick break and then everyone was right back in the water for more snorkeling time.

I pretty much wander around taking pics as I do NOT snorkel due to my fear of....pretty much anything and everything that could be in the water!

I *AM* a really good shopper though! So I went to check out the "Treasure Chest" island shop while the rest of the crew snorkeled. I picked out tshirts for our sons Zach and Chase since they weren't with us. I wish I would've taken a pic of the tshirts but I didn't. There was a coupon for I believe 10% off in the little coupon book we were given as well. Guess who forgot to use the coupon until after they paid?

To be continued....again

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Yep.....More Rum Point *~*

You have a few hours on the island and then it's time to head back to the catamaran. I took a few last pics before we left

Andy with the Rum Point sign that tells where they are all from

Goodbye Rum Point!

We enjoyed a very relaxing ride back to shore

And way too soon it was over and we were back at the dock

Once the bus ride back to the port was over we headed straight to line up for the tender boats

There was an ice cream truck there

Along with a few small vendors that had set up for the day

There were chickens roaming around

The line to get back was HUGE!

There's the Fantasy!

We were at Rum Point from 12:30-3 and after the catamaran ride, bus ride, and tender line we were back on the ship at 5:25.

Next up - dinner!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thanks for the posts. It's so neat to hear about your trip!

I've never really looked into any of the Beach Port Adventures so was surprised that you had an area set aside just for Disney guests. Do you know if this is the norm for Beach excursions?

I was also glad to see that you had your own buffet. Similar question, do you know if this is the norm?

One of the hesitations I've had about a Beach excursion is the food. I was concerned about eating from locals as I didn't want to risk getting sick. It's great that your food was provided as I'd assume it was approved by Disney?

I could be way off here but just curious. Thanks!!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Thanks for the posts. It's so neat to hear about your trip!

I've never really looked into any of the Beach Port Adventures so was surprised that you had an area set aside just for Disney guests. Do you know if this is the norm for Beach excursions?

I was also glad to see that you had your own buffet. Similar question, do you know if this is the norm?

One of the hesitations I've had about a Beach excursion is the food. I was concerned about eating from locals as I didn't want to risk getting sick. It's great that your food was provided as I'd assume it was approved by Disney?

I could be way off here but just curious. Thanks!!

I'm honestly not sure if this is the norm for Beach excursions or not as this is the only Disney cruise excursion we've booked other than ones on Castaway Cay. It was definitely nice though that we had our own, very uncrowded area with plenty of seating, shade, etc. I really enjoyed that part of it and I definitely feel that it made it seem more enjoyable than it would've had we been on the more crowded/non Disney side. By no means is Rum Point packed, but it was great having a reserved area and not having to worry about seating, etc.

I'm also not sure if the own buffet is typical or not but that was another nice factor about this excursion. No big lines of people, very few people eating so it was easy to just walk up and grab what you wanted when you were ready, and no issues with sickness whatsoever. Spoiler alert but we DID repeat this excursion on the western caribbean Disney cruise we just took 11/24/16 - we just REALLY enjoyed it and everyone in our group of 11 this trip loved it.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thanks so much @PiperGirlInWondrland! Glad you enjoyed Rum Point...both cruises.

If you head to Grand Cayman again I see that Disney offers this tour with a Stingray City option as weall. I would highly recommend considering this. We did the Stingray Port adventure in 2015 and it was SOOOO good and such a neat experience!!

 

[franandaj]

Yup. That was the same place. I remember the chickens!

Looks like a fun excursion for able bodied people. A nice relaxing day.

$14 for a drink????? That's crazy!

 

[TigerTown]

It's been fun reading your trip report! We were actually on the same cruise with a large group of friends so I've been reliving our cruise through your report. We must have been just ahead of you guys on the Cozumel day because the couple in your photo below are our friends Laurie and Angelo

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Thanks so much @PiperGirlInWondrland! Glad you enjoyed Rum Point...both cruises.

If you head to Grand Cayman again I see that Disney offers this tour with a Stingray City option as weall. I would highly recommend considering this. We did the Stingray Port adventure in 2015 and it was SOOOO good and such a neat experience!!

The girls keep asking to do a Stingray excursion so that is good to know!

Yup. That was the same place. I remember the chickens!

Looks like a fun excursion for able bodied people. A nice relaxing day.

$14 for a drink????? That's crazy!

The excursion was definitely a lot of fun. I about died when Andy told me the drink was FOURTEEN dollars!!!! insane! Needless to say that was the only one we purchased there! Heck the tshirts were only about $17 I believe!

It's been fun reading your trip report! We were actually on the same cruise with a large group of friends so I've been reliving our cruise through your report. We must have been just ahead of you guys on the Cozumel day because the couple in your photo below are our friends Laurie and Angelo

Thanks so much for reading along! That's awesome that you were on the same cruise and how cool is that seeing your friends in the pic! Love it!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Enchanted Garden & Room Service *~*​

After boarding at 5:25 we only had a few minutes to quickly get cleaned up and head down to dinner in Enchanted Garden at 5:45. Piper decided that she was going to stay in the room and order herself room service. She ended up ordering chicken noodle soup and oatmeal cookies.

I honestly still cannot believe Andy ordered this next appetizer as it is not something I would picture him eating in 10000 years. It involves vegetables so normally that is a deal breaker right off the bat. I don't know what he was expecting but I don't think it was this:

I had the shrimp and rice appetizer which Andy ended up ordering even though he normally doesn't eat shrimp at all. The rice is a bit spicy but it was tasty.

I had pasta which i didn't seem to describe in my trip notes but I liked it.

\

Andy had a steak

Zoe chose the turkey dinner which looked delicious and she really loved it!

Next up was managed to have desert - so good!

After dinner it was time to head back to the room to check on Piper and see if she wanted to join us for this evening's show. We found our latest towel animal and sleepy chocolates as well as the Navigator for the most anticipated day of the cruise - Star Wars Day at Sea!

This is how we found Piper who was watching Monsters Inc and claimed to be "not tired". Remember that later on folks!

Piper decided she wanted to go to the show with us so she got out of bed and we went downstairs. We came across the officer pin trading in the area by the shops.

We ducked into the shops quickly for vinylmations before heading to the show

Next up - a Lavenous evening!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* The Lavenous Mike Super *~*​

Lavenous -

• Having or demonstrating a lavenous quality
• a Super pseudo word funamentally at odds with non-lavenousness.
• used to identify individuals possessing a nature or special level of intelligence that allows one to feign understanding of, or agreement with, absolutely any word that is presented with conviction

Tonight's show was Mike Super the Magician. It was totally Lavenous! Lavenous is a word Mike Super came up with and uses for his shows and merchandise. It can be anything you want it to be! As long as you say it with conviction.

Zoe and Piper LOVED the show! There was a meet and greet with Mike Super right after the show and we quickly went and lined up. We were just a few people back from the front of the line. Remember how "not tired" Piper was? This is the face of a "not tired" Piper waiting in the line to see Mike Super. I'm honestly not sure how she was keeping her eyes open but she was determined to meet him because she enjoyed the show so much.

Oddly enough when it was our turn to meet Mike Super she perked right up like she had never been tired!

There were "I'm Lavenous" tshirts for sale for $25 which the girls both asked for to get autographed by Mike Super.

I thought you all might enjoy this amazingly Lavenous family photo we took where the girls had their I'm Lavenous tshirts on after the cruise while we were at Daytona Beach. Those surprise guests are Andy's parents who live in Florida.

The Mike Super meet and greet turned out to be absolutely hysterical! The girls got a HUGE kick out of it. Zoe and Piper asked him to autograph their tshirts. When he did, he kept going on and on about how this would devalue their shirts even further and that they were absolutely WORTHLESS now. The girls were CRACKING UP! He's a trip! Honestly, if you get a chance to see his show, don't miss it! LOVED the entire evening!

Here's Zoe, Mike Super, and a completely rejuvenated Piper!

If you can believe this one, after the meet and greet everyone including Piper decided that rather than calling it a night we would go check out the 10:15pm Saludos Amigos Fiesta in the D Lounge.

They were teaching lessons on how to dance!

After our dance party we had worked up an appetite so we made our way up to watch UP on funnelvision and hit up Flo's for a 2nd dinner We had spicy chicken sandwiches, fish sandwiches, and fries.

After this late night feast, it was time to head back to the room and fall asleep to The Goofy Movie.

Stay tuned for a positively lavenous Star Wars Day at Sea!

 

[richkaryn]

Who forgets underwear?​

Unfortunately they did not carry the batteries. They had all kinds of accessories but no battery packs which means there are sadly NO videos or underwater pictures this entire trip.
But it was now official - we were ON OUR WAY!!! Soon we would be at the port! I believe it was about a 45 minute drive.

​

LOL!! I feel like I'm reading a re-hash of some of my past vacations!! We couldn't find our battery charger for our camera and had to stop at a few stores in search on the way to the airport flying to Hawaii in May of 2015 and then I realized I somehow packed a few less pairs of undies than days on trip when we went on our Alaskan cruise May/June 2015 (Then repeated that same issue on our Disney trip this past October---who does that twice??? )

 

[bcwife76]

Finally catching up (although we got off the Fantasy two weeks ago so what's my excuse?! lol) Our trip was totally LAVENOUS by the way! Not sure if I'm going to get around to doing a trip report or not, there are so many fabulous ones out there (yours included) that I'm just not sure my SWDAS cruise trip report would be worthy of the Disboards! Still, can't wait to read how your SWday went and compare to ours this year (I heard they made some slight improvements this year, for example, Jedi Training was very well organized and our girls loved it, not sure what yours was like last year, if you did it. ) We loved the Fantasy so much that now I'm hoping to book a Western Itinerary for Fall 2018 so I'm gonna have to come back and re read yours again closer to it.

 

[KBOhio]

Following along and loving your trip report!

 

[kkayluvsdis]

I just read through this entire trip report so far last night. I love it and it sounds like you all have the most amazing trips together!

We finally took a year off from the parks for our first Disney Cruise last month and LOVED it! We were only on a 4-day on the Dream but we have a 7-day Eastern Caribbean with SWDAS booked for next February. I'm already excited! Do you still have links to any of your prior Trip reports?

Thanks so much for sharing!

-Kelly