Disney Cruise Day 4: Castaway Cay

Disney's private island in the Bahamas was our favorite day! The island is so much fun and the water and sand are gorgeous. You had to be at least 10 years old to run the 5k, so Chase and Brielle ran it together while Beckham and I set up camp on the beach. It was already so hot and humid by 8:30 in the morning and Brielle DID NOT like running in the humidity. But it was a good experience for her with her dad and I was proud of her for doing it. Little Buddy felt a bit left out at first that he could not participate. But then he realized we how much fun Pelican's Plunge would be and that he would rather get going on the waterslides than be dying in the heat running! Smart boy ;)

Brielle and Chase before the race.

People who run the 5k are the first off the ship and families can come too even if we aren't running. So we literally got first dibs on a great spot to set up camp for the day. We also had the waterslides all to ourselves for about an hour! Beckham was the second one down. I also remembered a lot on this trip how impressed I am with my kids swimming skills. They are the best little swimmers! It was so fun swimming out into the ocean with Beckham and racing him down the slides! The water was perfect. 

Post race! Brielle couldn't strip down to her suit fast enough to go cool off in the water. 

We bought snorkeling gear for the kids specifically for this island. They have a HUGE lagoon for snorkeling with tons of sunken statues and ocean life. The only statue we found was the ship.

Chase and Brielle swam down far enough to peek inside the ship. I think buddy tried to swim down but it was hard for him. His body is very buoyant and just likes to stay afloat 😂 But it paid off for him because we saw a GIANT sea turtle! Beckham was in perfect position and took off after him. He swam over top of this majestic sea creature for a good few minutes. I loved seeing his excitement in the moment. We all saw the sea turtle but Beckham was the only one who stayed with him for a while. 

Sadly I did not capture a picture of the sea turtle because my GoPro was not cooperating so I gave up and enjoyed the moment instead. 

A family selfie in the waves of the ocean is harder than you think! 

After snorkeling we came back to relax and grab some lunch. Here on the island Disney makes an incredible BBQ lunch. They even have snow cones, water stands and ice cream machines on the island! We ate amazing BBQ ribs, fish, chicken, fresh fruit, desserts, side dishes and more! It was probably one of my favorite meals of the whole trip.

Dad and Buddy

Dad and Boppers

Dad decided he needed a nap.

Buddy was about to fall asleep on my chair at this point.

We headed back to the cruise ship around 2:30 or 3:00. We enjoyed dinner this night at Animators Palate which I loved! It shows how all of the animation comes to life, of course Disney puts on a show during dinner and Mickey came at the end! I got zero pics because I was burnt out of taking pictures (surprising coming from me 😉).

We came back to a teddy bear and our chocolates for the night. One of mine and Chase's favorite things to do after the kids were asleep was go hot tub at Quiet Cove, which was the adult only pool area. The ambiance was beautiful and relaxing. We made friends with this guy we ended up seeing every night in the hot tub. He was from Texas and there with his family and was so nice! He had such an interesting life story and I loved getting to know someone new.