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Disney Cruise Ports – The Beauty of Key West

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IMG_0226Disney Cruise Ports – The Beauty of Key West, Florida

Just about this same time of year in 2007 – we cruised with Disney to celebrate Megan’s Senior year of high school and ring in the New Year for 2008.  On our Western Caribbean itinerary, the beautiful island of Key West, Florida was one of the first ports of call after sailing from Port Canaveral.  Recently I noticed that the Western no longer visits Key West, but some of Disney’s cruises in the Bahamas do stop there now.

We’d heard about Key West and had high expectations.  Let me just say, it’s one of the best IMG_0250places for living up to its reputation!  It was absolutely gorgeous, pedestrian-friendly and true to what we’d been told, there really were chickens everywhere, key lime pie stores on every corner, and wonderful homes with fabulous gardens that made this town look like paradise.  I’m only sorry we missed seeing one of the famed 6-toed cats!

Knowing that we had excursions booked in Grand Cayman and Cozumel, we decided to tour Key West on our own.  The plan was to debark as early as possible, walk to the continental United States’ southernmost point, then take a leisurely stroll around town – taking in all the sights.  The only important mission we had was to get back to the ship before all-aboard time.

IMG_0278Since Key west is only 4 miles long and 2 miles wide, we thought we could see quite a bit on foot.  As far as plans went, it was simple and, as it turned out, perfect.  Our time in Key West was as laid-back and relaxed as the town itself.  We had a such great day that Key West is now near the top of the list of places we’d love to visit again.

Here are the highlights:

Key Lime Pie-on-a-stick!  Frozen and dipped in chocolate, these delectable treats were a perfect way to sample one of Key West’s most famous foods.  Key West is also know for its conch fritters – unfortunately, we did not get the opportunity to try any of those.

A stroll through the heart of Key West’s Old Town – from the enchanting Victorian mansions toIMG_0265 the famous bars and restaurants on Duval Street, this was a walk through history – so much to take in!  Great little shops with an eclectic assortment of wares and curb-side hat weavers were a couple of more notable offerings.  We found a great tee-shirt shop where you could pick your design from a catalog and have a shirt printed while you wait.

The Southernmost Point in the U.S. – Cuba is

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just 90 miles away!  It’s a fun place to see/visit and a great place to rest for a few minutes and enjoy the view.

The Hogsbreath Saloon – on our way back to the ship, we just couldn’t help stopping in for a cold refreshment and a souvenir tee shirt.  A great way to end one very enjoyable day.

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Disney’s Castaway Cay – Paradise for Everyone

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IMG_1371If you’ve been considering a cruise on the Disney Cruise Line, consider this:  Castaway Cay.  Disney’s very own private island in the Bahamas, visited as a port of call on most sailings with departures from Florida.  What’s so good about it?  Every.  Single.  Thing.

Castaway Cay (pronounced KEY) is a tropical paradise with something for everyone in the family.  No matter what sort of beach person you are (or aren’t), you’ll find happiness on this beautiful island.  Bask in the sun kind of person?  Check.  Action lover who wants to bicycle, boat, snorkel, swim, or run?  Check.  Teen who wants to get away from the parents?  Check.  Adult who wants to get away from any and all children?  Check.  Family that wants to stay together and enjoy a variety of activities?  Yep, Castaway Cay is for you.  The worst thing about a day in this paradise is that it’s too short!  Even if you don’t like sand – you will like Castaway Cay.Castaway Cay - Disney's Tropical Paradise

Sometimes Disney Cruise Line offers “double dip” cruises that visit Castaway Cay twice on one cruise – awesome opportunity to pack in even more fun.  We took such a cruise in 2010 and had the best time ever.  Get up and off the ship ASAP!  All aboard comes all too soon and will most certainly leave you wanting more time in this Disney-style paradise.

Here are some things to do on the island that we recommend:IMG_4673

  • Snorkeling.  In the lagoon (equipment rentals available-$25 adults, $10 ages 5-9), the snorkeling is okay, but pretty barren with a few underwater surprises hidden around for you to discover – a better choice is the “Seahorse Catamaran Snorkel Adventure” (Currently $52 for adults and $36 ages 5-9).  Oh, the things we saw!  We swam with a sea turtle, saw tons of colorful fish, gorgeous reef plants, even a stingray joined us for a bit.  I highly recommend this fantastic experience, however, I think it could be a bit of a challenge for the very young or inexperienced swimmer.IMG_2291
  • Bicycling around the island ($39-adult, $19-child/1-hour bike rental).  If you’re not a huge fan of sand, exploring the island on a bicycle is a fun way to spend time and burn off some cruise food calories.  Park your bike and climb the observation tower for an incredible view of the island.  We thought this was a fun way to spend an hour and see what was “out there” away from the beach.IMG_4676
  • “Castaway Ray’s Stingray Adventure” ($35 adults, $29 ages 5-9, lasts an hour).  This is a ton of fun and a not-so-scary way to learn about and interact (by feeding and petting) some small-ish and harmless stingrays.  Then you get to gear up and snorkel with stingrays of all sizes in an enclosed lagoon.
  • Crab Races – this is hilarious!  Cheer your team’s crab on to victory!IMG_2044

 

  • Cabana Massage (Raymond’s recommendation) – I surprised Raymond with a booking through the ship’s spa for an open air cabana massage on Castaway Cay.  He said it was great – very relaxing – and he would most definitely do it again.

Lunch on the island is a very tasty buffet (no extra charge) plus there are souvenir shops, a bar (hammock-side service available), adult beach, family beach, teen beach, activities for little IMG_1853ones, a 5k run, and much, much more!  Once, while there was a dance party going on – I just happened to walk by and there was Stitch – he ran right up to me and made me dance with him.  (The Fam missed the whole thing and thought I was joking when I told them about it.)  That’s another great thing about Castaway Cay – it’s full of surprises just waiting to be discovered.

You can find the complete list of the current excursions / activities offered on Castaway Cay here.

Have you been to Castaway Cay?  What did you like best about it?IMG_4793

Disney Cruise Ports – Juneau Alaska Whale Watching

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DSCN1684Juneau, Alaska is one of the exciting ports visited on a Disney Cruise Line Alaskan Cruise.  While on the Disney Wonder in 2011, we booked an excursion called “Whale Watching and the Mendenhal Glacier” through Disney for our day in Juneau.  This excursion was interesting, action-packed, educational and still left us plenty of time to explore Juneau.

We met our group early (7:45 am) beforeDSCN1979 debarking the ship and taking a motor coach to a quiet marina where we boarded our whale watching vessel.  We had great weather for most of our cruise, but this day was chilly and overcast with a light drizzle. 

The tour guarantees whale spotting – and we did see a few whales (in the distance) and some seals, but there were not as many whales nearby as we’d hoped for.  I’m not sure if this was due to the time of year (early DSCN1988June) or simple bad luck, but we still enjoyed the experience and took lots of photos.  Our boat was enclosed with lots of windows for mostly unobstructed whale watching and there was a naturalist on board to explain the different types of animals seen on our tour.  I had heard that there were a LOT of bald eagles all around in Alaska and we found that to be absolutely true – we saw young eagles, old eagles, and even eagle nests (HUGE).  DSCN1983 

 

Next we re-boarded our motor coach and headed for the Mendenhall Glacier.  This 12-mile-long glacier has its own visitor center (operated as part of the Tongass National Forest) with many, detailed exhibits to explore.  It provides an excellent place to step inside where it’s dry and warm and learn about both Alaska and glaciers.  DSCN2012

The center also offers excellent glacier viewing areas.  The excursion schedule allowed plenty of time for touring the visitor center and walking outside to see and photograph the glacier.  If we had been there longer, there was a very interesting looking nature trail available for hiking that we would have loved to try.    

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We returned to the pier around 2:00 pm.  This left us time for exploring Juneau and allowed us to take advantage of the great souvenir shopping Alaska offers.  We could not believe the selection of tee-shirts, jackets, and other items at extremely reasonable prices!  The shirts we bought are still being worn regularly and still look great!   

 

This excursion is still available, but is now called “Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Quest” – it sounds exactly DSCN2027like what we did, but in reverse order.  The current price is $165 for adults and  $94 for children under 10.  If you are planning to visit Alaska on the Disney Cruise Line, this is a reasonably priced tour suitable for the entire family.  There was something enjoyable for all ages.DSCN1997

Disney Cruise Ports – Zip-lining in Skagway, Alaska

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Magical Memory Monday – Skagway! Alaskan Cruise 2011

I can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed our opportunity to visit and learn about the great state of Alaska aboard the Disney Wonder.  Skagway was the second of four ports on our cruise.  Our departure was from Vancouver (loved!) before the ship visited Skagway, Juneau and finally Ketchikan (more on those another time).  We also spent a day aboard ship in Tracy Arm Fjord which is a destination (allows you to see the Sawyer Glacier), but you stay on the ship to enjoy it.  We booked excursions in three ports (Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan) through Disney Cruise Line, and while all of the excursions were enjoyable, our favorite by far was our adventure in Skagway.

We like thrills, we like action, and only one of us is afraid of heights – so we thought zip-liningDSCN1879 sounded just right for us.   We met with our group on the ship at 8:45 am before heading off on our bus ride which included a short tour of Skagway before taking us to basecamp in Dyea.  The scenery is spectacular and, this may sound weird, but the air is the cleanest, freshest air – more on that in a minute. 

Once we reached the “Musher’s Camp” area, we boarded a Unimog for the upward climb to the zip lines.  A unimog is an open air, all terrain vehicle (Mercedes) that gained its fame during World War II.  Along the way, our driver pointed out the abundant sphagnum moss growing in this scenic rain forest –  he told us that sphagnum DSCN1881only grows where the air and water are both extremely clean.  So as we rode in the chilly air, we all stuck our faces out into the breeze and took deep breaths of the clean air – heading up, up, up towards our ELEVEN zip lines and four suspension bridges which would take us over glacier fed waterfalls and rapids in the incredible wilderness.  FYI:  The moss is extremely think and spongy on the ground – you can actually bounce on it.  If you ever find yourself standing on moss in the Alaskan rainforest, give it a try.  

First we were given our equipment (harnesses, helmets, and gloves) and received anDSCN1892 instructional lecture before practicing on the training line.  This line was short and low to the ground – easy.  We were ready!  Our small group consisted of the four of us along with a mother and her tween-ish son (also from our cruise).  Our two guides, young men both with a great sense of humor, were from other parts of the U.S., just summering in Alaska to work as zip line guides (we thought that sounded like a lot of fun).

The longest line was about 750 feet, but all the lines were a LOT of fun.  Megan is a tiny bit afraid of heights so we thought we might have to, well, ummm….shove her off the platform when her turn DSCN1917came, but she surprised us all with her bravery!  We all had a fantastic time and would do this excursion again in a heartbeat.           

Mammoth Waterfalls & Ultra Zip Line Adventure – was the name of the Disney Cruise Line excursion when we were in Skagway.  I see the name has been changed to Grizzly Falls Ziplining Expedition.  It is listed on the cruise line’s current excursion menu at $169 per person.  If you are booked on an Alaskan cruise, I highly recommend this activity IF you’re traveling without children or if your children are at least 10 years old.

Have you ever cruised or thought about cruising in Alaska?  I’d love to hear about it!