Jessica Johnson - November 2006

For some reason, when we travel, I wake up at the crack of dawn, and today wasn't an exception. I was up way too early, so I did my best to stay in bed and read until it was a somewhat normal time to get up. Well, really until the alarm went off and we decided we should get up. Today was Castaway Cay day number 1, so we put on bathing suits, cover ups and lots of sunblock, then loaded up our bag for the day and headed off the ship.

Castaway Cay is amazingly beautiful. I remember being a young child who's only experience with the ocean was the Jersey Shore (and given my age, you couldn't even go in the water, because of the hospital waste), and my grandfather would tell me about how the water in Hawaii was so clear you could see the bottom. It was one of those things I always sort of brushed off, because, after all, it was the ocean, and I could see that the water didn't look like that, but it IS true at Castaway Cay. It really is a little bit of paradise.

Chris and I took our time heading off the ship, deciding to walk instead of taking the tram. We stopped in several spots along the way to take pictures of the Flying Dutchman- on our June cruise it wasn't yet in it's "position", it had been kind of anchored off to the left of where the ship docks. So, it was cool to have a closer view of it, as we hadn't been able to see that much of it before.

We were planning to meet up with the others on what used to be the teen beach, so we made our way down past the Heads Up Bar, where we soon spotted Pam, Steve and Hanna playing in the water. They had grabbed some chairs, with some under umbrellas, so we got settled. Hanna showed Chris the Contemporary she'd made in the sand, and we hung out for a while, before taking a walk over to the Heads Up Bar.

The sun and I don't get along too well, so I parked myself under an umbrella, with a book, and tried to stay in the shade. The others played until we decided to head over to Cookie's for lunch, where we ran into Tom and Carla. They joined us to eat and then headed off to do other things, and we went back to our area of the beach. I made it a few hours before my head started pounding, so Chris and I decided to call it a day, and head back onto the ship. When we got there, I took some meds, and then laid on the bed for a while until the headache subsided a bit, and then I was able to shower and get cleaned up.

Though we'd wanted a late seating, we ended up with a 6 pm one, but it worked out fine. We met up with Pam, Steve, Robin and Vince, and soon were checked in and settled at a booth. The girls decided to order one of the specialty martinis, I know Robin got the Espresso one, and I got the Crème de Menthe one. I think Pam got the Tiramisu one, but I don't really remember. I was disappointed with mine- it just wasn't that good, so I didn't finish it.

The food, of course, was fabulous though. I love the aioli mayonnaise they offer for the bread at Palo. We were given an antipasta platter in addition to our appetizers, which for me was a Pizza Proscuitto. Chris loves the Calamari they serve, so that was his choice. Between the appetizers and the entrees, we were brought a palate cleanser of Kiwi Sorbet. For an entrée I got, as I always do, the Grilled Filet Mignon with a Port Wine Reduction and a Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce, and it was amazing, as it always is. Chris got the Chicken Breast Stuffed with Shrimp Scampi served with a Limoncello Sauce. He has ordered this in the past, and always loves it.

For dessert, there is really only one choice- the Chocolate Souffle. Everyone ordered one, and we had our choice of sauce, chocolate or vanilla, or both. I opted for both, and it was wonderful. Our server also brought us one of each of the other desserts to try. There was a wonderful Panna Cotta, Tiramisu, and a Cappuccino Cheesecake.

At the close of the meal, we were presented with what I refer to as a "vodka slushie" It's Prosecco, Vodka and lemon sorbet in a shot glass, and it's absolutely wonderful. I wish they served these at the various bars on the ship!

We were all totally stuff, so decided that we'd head downstairs to the Promenade Lounge and get some drinks and figure out what else to do. When we got settled, I went to check my email, and while I was going through my inbox, Steve came over to tell me that I needed to Google Smurf names. I'm still not clear on why though- but I tried, and couldn't find anything. I did learn, though, that there is a Smurf name generator, and I put in everyone's names to see what they would be. I am As-Seen-on-TV Smurf, and I am married to Super Absorbent Smurf.

When Steve and I got back to the table, Tom and Carla had joined us for a bit. We hung out and talked for a while before heading off to the shops to see what they had. After shopping, we hung out for a while talking outside the shops, and then called it a night, with plans for our very full day the next day.

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