On the final day of our Marvel Day at Sea cruise onboard the beautiful Disney Dream I woke up after a good night’s sleep and immediately walked out onto our verandah where I could already see Castaway Cay ahead in the distance. It was so strange to be back at Castaway Cay as I really was not expecting to visit at all this year but that is what happens when other cruise companies cancel your long-awaited trip and mess you around leaving you to find alternative (and as it turns out, much better) plans!

It was an absolutely beautiful morning out with a few clouds in the sky and a little mist in the distance and just after 7:00am, I walked up to a very quiet Cabanas (it was the quietest I had seen it the entire cruise) to get some pastries as well as a cup of tea for us both to enjoy as we sat on the verandah. Not long afterwards, the ship started to slowly turn in the water to be able to dock alongside the pier and just like that, we were at Castaway Cay once again and I could not have been happier.

I do not think that I will ever get bored of seeing that view of Castaway Cay (this was our seventh visit) and it’s one of the reasons why we always book a stateroom on the starboard side of the ship. The last time that we sailed on the Disney Dream back in September 2022 in the same stateroom, we were unable to dock at Castaway Cay due to Hurricane Ian but we definitely did not have that issue on this trip and I felt incredibly grateful and lucky to be back once again in this little bit of paradise in the Bahamas.

The When You Wish Upon a Star horn was blasted at 7:47am to signal that we had docked and the ship was cleared to disembark a little while later at 8:35am – two hours earlier than our original scheduled time which was incredible as that meant more time than we were originally expecting that day at Castaway Cay.

Since our Back to Back cruise on the Disney Wish last year when we both completed the Castaway Cay 5K, I always said that I would love to do it again but I wasn’t expecting to do it again so soon – I thought it would be at least another year before it happened! As I wanted to complete the 5K as early as possible that morning, I left our stateroom (my boyfriend stayed onboard whilst I did the 5K) at 8:40am and walked down to the gangway located on Deck 1 forward to the sound of the Mickey Mouse March which was playing throughout the ship. The forward stairs were completely empty at this time and there was no line to disembark the Disney Dream so I was standing on the dock at Castaway Cay only a few minutes later at 8:45am.

There was a steady stream of people disembarking from the Midship and Aft gangways as well as a few people already stood waiting at the Kargo Handling tram stop close to the ship. However I quickly walked past everyone and onto the Island Pathway which was completely empty and as it was a beautiful morning with blue skies and sunshine, it was the perfect time to take a few photos along the way as everywhere was still very quiet at this time.

The starting line for the Castaway Cay 5K is located next to the Bike Rental stand (which is found to the left of the By the Seashore shop next to the Pelican Point tram stop) and as it is no longer an organised event that you have to sign up for onboard, you can begin it whenever you are ready. However I would always recommend completing it as early in the day as possible when the weather is a lot more comfortable and before it gets too hot and humid.

If you would like to read all about the Castaway Cay 5K in detail, I have a full and detailed blog post about it including plenty of photos which you can find here.

I began the Castaway Cay 5K at 9:05am and the entire route was very peaceful at this time and extremely quiet (there was only a handful of other people on the course) which was exactly what I wanted that morning. However it did start to get very busy just as I was finishing the 5K so I timed it just right as it also started to get very humid which really surprised me as it was the end of January which is usually a lot cooler.

I finished the Castaway Cay 5K in forty seven minutes which I was personally proud of especially as I never go to the gym and also as I had recently recovered from the worst cough and cold ever (amazingly it wasn’t Covid this time) which had left me feeling completely wiped out, drained and exhausted – I would have loved to have done it a little quicker but that will come with time which means I will have to do the 5K again on a future visit to Castaway Cay.

After collecting my medal from the Bike Rental stand, I got myself a cold drink and slowly walked back towards the ship. Along the way I made a quick stop at She Sells Seashells and Everything Else where I finally treated myself to the Castaway Cay Tervis tumbler that I had been looking at for at least my last three cruises as well as a brand new Castaway Cay Christmas decoration that I had never seen before. A handy thing to know is that there is no discount on merchandise for Gold, Platinum and Pearl Castaway Club members in the shops on Castaway Cay (unlike onboard the ship) and 10% Bahamian sales tax will be added to all purchases on the island.

At this time, the main areas of Castaway Cay were so busy compared to first thing that morning and as I was walking back along the Island Pathway towards the Disney Dream, I saw both Minnie and Goofy heading out to their meet and greets on the island – these are usually located at both Scuttles Cove and Mount Rustmore as well as at the Post Office or on the pier itself.

On the walk back to the ship I also made sure to stop and take a photo with my medal with the Dream in the background as once upon a time I once wondered who would ever want to do a 5K whilst in the Bahamas and here I was completing it for the second year in a row! We all change so much as people over the years so always try to do something new and give yourself a challenge as you will never regret it.

When I got back to the pier, there was a lot of activity happening including work being done on one of the lifeboats which had been lowered onto the dock as well as on the outside of the ship which was being hosed off after a very windy few days at sea.

I also got a massive hug from Donald who had just disembarked and then I actually followed Daisy back onto the ship – and yes she remembered to use the provided hand gel to sanitise her hands before she got back onboard!

As soon as I was back onboard, I met up with my boyfriend and we walked straight up to Cabanas to get some much-needed breakfast as it was open until 10:45am. The best thing about having such a late breakfast on Castaway Cay day is that Cabanas is very peaceful and quiet as the majority of people are already off the ship and enjoying the island. The only other people having breakfast at this time were the few others who had been doing the 5K at the same time as me that morning and we were all now doing the exact same thing again! The best and simplest motivation to complete the Castaway Cay 5K is knowing that you can have your breakfast straight away afterwards.

Once we had finished our breakfast, we stopped by Vanellope’s Sweets and Treats next door to Cabanas on Deck 11 as we wanted to buy one of their cupcakes to eat later that day. There were several Marvel Day at Sea items available including an Iron Man Vanilla Cupcake (which is the one we chose), a Spiderman Chocolate Cupcake, a Marvel Cookie Sandwich and a Baby Groot Marshmallow.

There was absolutely no one sat by any of the pools onboard as we walked back to our stateroom so if you want to have a quiet pool to yourself, this is definitely the day and the time to do it! Sadly the Aquaduck was not due to open for another hour as we would have definitely made the most of no one waiting as there was always a very long line for it at all other times during this cruise and it had also been closed a lot due to the very windy weather out at sea. We also found out that over 80% of the passengers onboard were first time cruisers so they were definitely making the most of their first visit to Castaway Cay.

Mickey Mouse luggage tags were waiting on the bed for us when we got back to our stateroom which we were not planning on using as we always do Express Walk-Off when disembarking which means we are never in a rush to pack all of our bags on the last day (which means we can enjoy every minute of our time onboard) as we simply carry them off with us when we leave. However if you prefer to have your luggage taken off the ship for you, your bags need to be placed outside your stateroom door by 10:00pm on the last evening onboard and remember to keep some clean clothes to one side to put on when you get off the ship as otherwise you will be wearing your pyjamas to disembark!

After having a shower, we walked down to the lobby atrium to take some photos with the Marvel Day at Sea sign as it was so quiet as well as getting some other photos of a very empty Disney Dream before heading back up to Cabanas to get some lunch before spending the rest of the afternoon off the ship and relaxing on Castaway Cay.

We disembarked the Disney Dream just before 1:00pm and ever since our last visit to Castaway Cay, we now love spending the entire afternoon on the island as it gets quieter and quieter as people start heading back onboard the ship after being outside in the hot sun all morning. This cruise was so busy and very noisy (the ship was at near capacity – and it felt it too – and there were times that you could not even hear yourself think onboard) that we were making the most of the peace and the quiet when we could get it.

Cheeseburger in Paradise was playing as we walked along the dock (it would not be a visit to Castaway Cay without hearing at least one Jimmy Buffett song) and we also took a few minutes to look at the new Castaway Club fence where you can have your family name engraved once you have sailed with Disney Cruise Line more than fifty times – and a great little hidden detail is that the nautical flags above the fence spell out “Castaway Club”.

Our first stop of the afternoon was the Boat Beach as we had booked one of the Paddle Boats online before our cruise though there is often availability on the day as well. We had originally booked this Port Adventure last year on our Disney Wish cruise but it was sadly cancelled on the day due to the strong currents in the water but thankfully this was finally our lucky day as all the activities on the island were running.

We rented a two seat Paddle Boat (there are also four seaters available) which cost a total of $20 for both of us for thirty minutes. There is a storage bin available on the beach where you can leave any of your belongings whilst you are in the water so we left our bags as well as our shoes there and just took our phones onto the Paddle Boat with us. We were each given a lifejacket which is mandatory to wear and also given a safety briefing which included information such as where we could go, where we could not go, areas that we needed to stay twenty feet away from (such as the stingray lagoon, the breaker wall and the shallow waters) and if we needed help at any time, all we had to do was wave and one of the lifeguards would head straight over to us on one of the jet skis.

It was so good to be able to do something new again on Castaway Cay but the Paddle Boats are hard work especially when you have already done a 5K that morning and your legs will hurt! However the views of Castaway Cay as well as the Disney Dream more than make up for any discomfort – and when you need a break, you can simply stop pedalling and sit back and enjoy the sunshine for a few minutes.

Once we were back on dry land, we treated ourselves to an ice cream before we spent the rest of the afternoon chilling on the beach before making our way to the Head’s Up Bar at Pelican Point for a well-deserved cocktail. I ordered the Pelican Mule (which is made with Ciroc Pineapple Vodka and Ginger Beer) which was delicious and we soon had the entire area to ourselves once the bar closed so it was just the two of us left there enjoying our drinks with a perfect view of the Disney Dream and Castaway Cay. We also had to get our traditional photo together which we take at the exact same spot on each visit and as there was no one else around, we had to balance the camera on one of the stools!

Just after 4:00pm we left Pelican Point and slowly started walking back towards the ship. The island was absolutely deserted and there were only a handful of people left on the beach enjoying the last few minutes in the sunshine.

We reached the dock at 4:35pm which was only ten minutes before the all aboard time. In any other port we would always be back onboard at least an hour early but you never need to worry about this at Castaway Cay as they will not leave the island without you – on a previous cruise one of the Cast Members once joked with us that they know where all of the good hiding spots are on Castaway Cay so they will very quickly find you if you decide to go missing!

We were the last ones to board the ship via the Midship gangway – the Aft gangway stays open until the end – and we quickly made our way up to the lobby atrium as we had received a tip off that Loki might be found walking around at this time. We discovered him on Deck 4 and it was great to finally meet the God of Mischief himself on the final day of our cruise.

We made ourselves a Mimosa each (using up the last of the Prosecco we were given as returning Platinum Castaway Club members) when we got back to our stateroom and just before we left Castaway Cay, Captain Damir made an announcement to let everyone know that we had 145 nautical miles to sail overnight to reach Fort Lauderdale and that we would be picking up the harbour pilot at 5:15am.

We left Castaway Cay at 5:00pm and once the island had disappeared in the distance, we decided to go for a walk to watch the sunset as well as stay awake – if we had sat on the bed, we would have fallen asleep as we were both so tired! It was also nice to get out of the room at this time as there was a lot of shouting and tempers fraying in one of the cabins close to us and it was all we (as well as everyone else nearby) could hear.

Our final dinner of the cruise was in Royal Palace and one thing that I never knew is that there are separate rooms located off the main restaurant that can be used when the cruise is busy (which this one definitely was) and our table was located in the Tiana room and I loved being able to look at all of the details whilst we had dinner.

As promised the evening before, Nele brought me a Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower from Enchanted Garden as he knew I loved this dish so much and we also shared the Breaded and Deep-Fried Brie starter between us. For my main course I ordered the Grilled Marinated Tofu, Roasted Zucchini, Eggplant and Red Peppers and we also shared the Opera Cake for dessert as it is very rich and heavy (albeit delicious) so we would struggle to finish one each.

After finishing our dinner and thanking our incredible service team who looked after us so well during our five nights onboard, we went for a walk around Deck 4 before grabbing a spot ready to watch See Ya Real Soon which was due to start at 10:15pm. I was so looking forward to seeing this show once again (the last time I saw it was back in 2016) as it had still not returned onboard after the pandemic when we last sailed on the Disney Dream in 2022 so it had been quite a while!

See Ya Real Soon is your final opportunity during the cruise to get any last minute photos with the characters before they say farewell for the final time. I was not expecting it at all but I did get really emotional and I completely welled up at the end. The cruise that I was not expecting to be on at this time had turned out to be absolutely perfect and it was a wonderful feeling – I guess everything turned out exactly how it was supposed to!

Once See Ya Real Soon had finished, the lobby atrium very quickly emptied but as normal there was a long line of people waiting at Guest Services. If you ever have any issues onboard, try not to leave them until the final night to sort as it is always very busy.

After collecting a cup of tea from Deck 11 to enjoy with the cupcake that we had bought that morning, we walked back to our stateroom to start packing which did not take long as we did not bring much with us on this trip and as we had another night in Florida before flying home, we could also throw all of our belongings quickly into our bags as we would be able to pack everything properly once we got to our hotel the following day.

Our stateroom had also been selected as part of a trial to fill in the end-of-cruise survey online by scanning a QR code which we much preferred to the normal paper version. It was very quick, easy and simple to do and worked free of charge using the Disney Cruise Line wifi. We did however have a separate survey on paper left for us on the bed which related exclusively to our Marvel Day at Sea experience.

It was another early start when we were woken up by the thrusters on the ship as we began docking back at Port Everglades after cruising for a total of 1658 miles. I felt like I could have easily slept for another few hours but I was also extremely happy that we were not flying home that evening and had another day of our holiday left which was a great feeling.

Cabanas is open for breakfast on the last morning of the cruise albeit with a limited breakfast selection which was perfect for us as all we wanted was a cup of tea and a croissant to eat as it was so early. Once we were showered and dressed, we grabbed all of our belongings and left our room a few minutes after 8:00am and a top tip is if the elevators are busy (which they were on this day), get in one even if it’s going up as at least you’ll be on the way back down to the deck that you need soon enough!

As the cruise had been so busy I was expecting long lines to disembark but we were able to walk straight off the ship and back into the real world and into the terminal building where there was a short line at immigration which stopped moving for a few minutes when a large family got pulled into secondary inspection.

We arrived back at our rental car twenty minutes after leaving our stateroom and the final thing we had to do was pay for our parking which cost $100 for our five night cruise and there are pay machines located on Levels 1 and 5 of the parking garage which accept both Visa and Mastercard but not American Express.

Our amazing Marvel Day at Sea cruise was as epic as we hoped it would be and we had a wonderful time sailing onboard the beautiful Disney Dream once again. However five nights was simply not long enough so we both think that a much longer cruise is definitely needed next time.

Stay tuned!

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