After an perfect island getaway the previous day at St. Kitts, we were excited for our next stop in Tortola. We arrived and docked at the island of Tortola at 7:00 am, which is on the early side, due to the fact that the all aboard time was at 2:45, providing us enough time to get to Castaway Cay. Tortola was the only island on this cruise that we had visited previously (excluding Castaway Cay, of course), so we decided that we wouldn’t book any excursions this day and take the day to chill. The boys have been going from sun up to sun down so today was a day for them to sleep in and take the morning slowly. This gave me another perfect opportunity to catch up on my blogging with my Diet Coke overlooking the island.
After a relaxing morning of writing and consuming copious amounts of caffeine on deck 11, I returned to the room to aid in the getting ready for the day process. Sawyer ended up sleeping in until after 9:00 which didn’t give us a ton of time time get ready and up to Cabanas by 10:00 to get breakfast before they closed. We made it just in time by about 10:15 as we switched up our breakfast strategy this morning. The prior mornings we got all of our food first, then I got up to get the drinks and by the time I returned, most of my food was cold. Instead this morning I got the table and drinks while Emily got food with the boys. By the time they were done they got eating, and I went out to get my food. Worked like a charm. Most people had already eaten and gotten off on the island so the back deck wasn’t very busy, providing us a beautiful morning view of the island of Tortola. The only slight break in our moment of zen was the blowing of the evacuation whistle test.
Our next strategic thought was to get our pool and Aquaduck time in this morning when the ship wasn’t very busy. We got out to deck 11 and grabbed some deck chairs so we could see Big Hero 6 (one of Sawyer’s favorites) playing on the Funnelvision. The boys got right to their water activities starting with one of their favorites, the yellow Mickey slide. There was only one other kid using the slide besides them, so they got at least a dozen slides in in pretty short order. The Aquaduck was slated to open at 11:00 am, but due to the safety drill on the ship for the crew, it didn’t end up opening until 12:00. We used the time to explore the new splash pool that replaced the hot tub on deck 11 starboard side. The splash area still has the glass bottom so you can see down to the life boats. They also splashed around in both the Mickey and Donald pools which helped keep us cool in the warm Caribbean sun. This also gave us some time to eat a couple morning ice cream cones.
The water on the Aquaduck started running by 11:30 which meant that it would be ready to go by 12:00. We got in line just prior to 12:00 with a few other guests and were able to ride twice. I rigged up the boys with the GoPros to catch some fun Aquaduck video. After our rides Sawyer wanted to play in Nemo’s reef and Hunter wanted to check out the Aqua Lab area again on deck 12. At breakfast we discussed wanting to get off the ship for a quick stroll around Tortola if time permitted. We wrapped up our water activities by 12:30 and thought this provided the perfect opportunity to do just that.
After returning to the room to change into dry clothes, we grabbed our keys and passports and were out the door by 1:00, giving us roughly an hour for some island photos and browsing. Most of the islands we visited had shops that were literally feet away from where the ships dock, and Tortola was no exception. We got our photos taken care of first with the beautiful ship and island as the backdrop. We then explored some shops as well as got a couple of Rum Punches from an open air bar overlooking the water. Emily and the boys found a shop where we purchased a decorative bowl and post card from the island. I also purchased a couple of bottles of Carib beer to take back onboard, which I had seen at several islands that we visited and wanted to give a try. It was a quick visit, but we wanted to get off at all of the islands, and we had accomplished that so far.
In our planning process leading up to the cruise we each booked a massage day and today was mine. We also booked one day at the Rainforest room that we hadn’t used, so Emily and I thought today would be a great afternoon to send the boys to the Oceaneer Club while we enjoyed a couple hours at the spa. After getting back on the ship we went up to deck 11 and got some quick service lunch at Flo’s V8 Cafe prior to taking the boys to the club. It was a warm day at lunch as the air on deck 11 was quite still.
We ended up back in the room to watch the ship depart from our veranda deck. Then Emily took the boys to the Oceaneer Club and I headed up to Deck 11 forward to get ready for my massage. Emily arrived shortly thereafter and took her spot on the warm tile deck chairs overlooking the ocean in the Rainforest room. My massage was a perfect chance to relax and get some muscle tension worked out (hard to believe I had any of that). I joined Emily in the Rainforest room after my massage, where we sat in the small hot tubs overlooking the ocean. We followed that up with the dry and wet sauna, which Emily hadn’t done before. Her visit confirmed for her just why she hadn’t done it before, as it wasn’t the relaxing experience she was looking for. (What about suffocating in extreme heat or steam is fun for people? EGH) We took turns in the Rainforest themed shower areas and went back to the warm tile chairs to enjoy the remainder of our time at the Rainforest room.
With a full slate of nighttime activities once again ahead of us, we wrapped up our Rainforest room time at about 5:00. Emily returned to the room to get ready and I picked up the boys at the Oceaneer Club. Everyone took the opportunity to shower, and Emily and I got dressed and ready for dinner. We kept the boys in their day clothes because we wanted to visit the new Sweet on You ice cream and candy store after the Magic Dave show which was our first destination of the evening. We saw Magic Dave on a prior cruise, and Hunter absolutely loved him. He has a really entertaining show which is more comedy than magic. The boys loved him just as much the second time around, even though most of his show was the same as the first time we saw him. The highlight of the show came just prior to the performance, when Cruise Director Mike got up on stage, clearly excited for the news that he was about to share. Through many excited giggles, Mike informed the entire audience that Spider-Man Homecoming would be premiering in the Walt Disney Theater at 12:00 the following night. Both boys were super excited!
After the show we made our way up to deck 11 aft for a visit to the Sweet on You shop that was just added to the Disney Fantasy when it was in dry dock earlier this year. The shop is similar to Penolope’s that was added to the Disney Dream, and sells ice cream, gelato, an assortment of baked goods, and assorted candies. We got the boys ice cream cones, and Emily and I got some macarons to share. We took our treats out to deck 11 to enjoy our snacks and watch Little Mermaid which was showing on the Funnelvision. After the boys faces were painted with ice cream it was time to return to the room to get them dressed for our last dinner at Animator’s Palate.
The Hayes clan efficiently navigated getting ready for dinner which left us a little extra time to start up a Muppet Midship Detective Agency game and do a few clues before dinner. The game also gave us a chance to walk around the ship and get some photos before dinner. There was a fun dance party in the atrium that we watched from deck four and tried our best to groove along. Minnie walked by and gave both of the boys really big hugs which was awesome. We timed our arrival to dinner perfectly as our Animator’s Palate drawing sheets were at our places ready for our creations.
Dinner at Animator’s was not the best cuisine of the cruise, but the entertainment made it worthwhile. You could tell that lack of sleep was getting to the entire table as the kids were visibly losing steam. We turned in our animated creations to our servers which ended up on the big screen just prior to dinner. They take your stick figure drawings and through the magic of Disney, they animate them to music and even put them in their animated movies. It was a really fun show to watch followed by dessert for the entire table, one of the few that the boys were around to eat.
Following dessert we dropped the boys off at the Oceaneer Club so they could play for a bit, and Emily and I could continue our tour of the bars onboard the Disney Fantasy. We stopped in at the Ooh La La bar on deck four aft, which has a fancy champagne theme. We were determined to try some spots we had never tried, and this was one of them. We each got drinks from the menu and enjoyed the atmosphere, if not so much the drinks. Normally the bar would be a quiet and calm location, but tonight they had the doors open to the adjacent La Piazza bar that had a piano playing vocalist. He performed some fun tunes so it ended up being a great spot. After choking down the last of our drinks, Hunter wrote and indicated that he and Sawyer were ready to be picked up.
Quite possibly the strangest experience on our entire cruise happened next. We left Ooh La La and walked through deck four to take the midship steps up to the Oceaneer Club on deck five. I only mention the route because it wasn’t necessarily the quickest route to take but we went that way anyway. When we arrived up the stairs on deck five we saw a group of guys ripping up the carpet. Normally everyone on the ship is in costume but these guys, who looked and sounded a bit like pirates, were using their carpet knives to basically pull up the design sections of carpet in the elevator area. Emily, who had had a few drinks at this point and was feeling extra chatty, struck up a conversation with one of the guys. We both thought it interesting that he was using his cutting tool to cut around one of the sea star designs in the carpet. When we asked him why he was cutting out the sea star he said that inevitably someone will always ask for the star design from the carpet so he was thinking ahead and cutting it out ahead of time. Emily then asks him how he determines who will get the star to which he replies, “I usually give it to the first person who asks.” Emily, not missing a beat, says, “Can I have the sea star?” The man chuckles and graciously gives her the deck five sea star from the Disney Fantasy (see photos below).
We couldn’t stop laughing on our way to the Oceaneer Club as numerous guests were giving Emily strange looks as she carried this giant piece of carpet around the ship. When we got the boys from the club they got a good laugh as well. As we were walking back to our room, Hunter wanted to go past the area where the men were still working. We noticed that some of the kids we passed had small chunks of the carpet as well. When we got to the deck five stairwell to go up, Hunter asked if he could have a small piece of the rope section of the carpet, so he and Sawyer both got their own pieces of the Disney Fantasy as well.
Back at the room we were still laughing about the fact that we got a piece of one of our favorite floating vacation destinations in the world, the Disney Fantasy Cruise ship. We capped off our night with an order of warmed up chocolate chip cookies and an All Hands on Deck cheese plate with extra crackers. While we were waiting for our food we read the nightly message from Stateroom Santa:
It’s hard to say goodbye to Tortola, the beautiful Caribbean island
The turquoise water, sunsets, and don’t forget the soft, white sand.
Your favorite island of all is still lies ahead, we will be there in two days
But not before your relaxing sea day when we get to do your faves
Your mission for today if you choose to accept is to discover something new
When you visit the kids’ club and pick an activity you both can do
Try an activity like Detective School, Anyone can Cook, or the such
Just let loose and go with the flow – take it from your buddy Crush!
By the time the food got to the room Sawyer was already out cold. We enjoyed our snacks and crashed to sleep looking forward to our last Disney day at sea followed by our favorite place on earth, Castaway Cay!
