This short story accounting of Week 6 covers March 9th (Day 35) through 15th (Day 41). Over the course of this week I was on a Caribbean Cruise aboard the Disney Cruise Line’s “Dream” ship and enjoyed runs onboard along with the Castaway Cay 5K. This was a birthday cruise for my incredible wife, a woman who truly deserves much.
So without further ado, let’s dig in and you’ll see how I almost got kicked off Disney’s private Island, Castaway Cay and how this was the absolute best cruise I’ve ever been on.
I grew up in a single-wide trailer in a small town in Northern Idaho and we were poor. Most of our meals were from the local food bank, store purchases were with “Food Stamps” and the prospect of eating fast-food only happened a few times per year. Most of the canned food in our house had the White Label with Black Lettering, it was “govt rations”. We literally at the government cheese. We did have a television and a VHS player however cable was for “rich” people.
I remember as a child watching Disney Movies on broadcast T.V with our rabbit ears. We would watch the Super Bowl and always listen to the winners when asked “You’ve just won the Super Bowl, where are you going next?” and their answer “Disneyland” or “Disney World”. It was clear to me that those places weren’t for me, they were for Football Players and Superstars. As far as I was concerned, Disney was as far away as Italy and a place I’d never see.
Fast forward just over three decades and I’m boarding a Disney Cruise Ship! The cruise is celebration for my wife’s birthday and something she’s been looking forward to for almost 20 years now. I’ve never been a huge Disney fan, matter of fact I’m rather impartial to the company and their products and services. However, I am a huge fan of my wife and seeing her happy makes my life better. So, if she’s into Disney, then so bet it, I’m all-in as well!
This particular sailing featured a “Marvel Day at Sea”, where guests were invited to dress up in their favorite Marvel character along with the ship having Marvel themed meals, music, shows and more. Of course my wife bought us costumes to wear for this themed night! In addition to not being a Disney fanatic, I’ve never been into superheroes or Marvel characters. I think out of all of the Marvel Universe movies, I’ve probably watched only a dozen or less. Again, I’m not a huge fan.
Despite my lack of interest in things Disney and Marvel, I support my wife in her passion and she loves both so I’m onboard! Our friends Rob and Stacy joined us on this cruise and they are also big Disney and Marvel fans.
I woke up early on the Marvel Day at Sea to get in a run on Deck 4 of the ship before our big day. We had a scheduled brunch at Palo restaurant followed by an evening of dressing up, dinner and dancing. As soon as I stepped out our stateroom it was clear that TODAY was Marvel day at sea. There was marvel suspense music playing throughout the ship as I made my way down to Deck 4 for the outdoor running track. Even at 6:30am, there were kids and adults already dressed up.
I made my way down to Deck 4 and found the outdoor track. It was marked at 2.5 laps for 1-mile. Since the ship was moving, I decided to set my COROS watch to “Indoor run” and that worked almost exactly right! I did 5 laps and my watch beeped for 2 miles just feet away from where I started. It was a great way to start the day at sunrise. While I may not be a Disney fan, I do enjoy cruising and waking up stress free on a ship feels good.
After my 2-mile run I went to the onboard gym to lift some weights. The gym was packed! I found a few open machines and got in another 20 minutes of work before calling it a morning. By the time I was done, Elizabeth was awake and wanted to meet for a morning cappuccino.
After our morning coffee we explored the ship and ran into Dr. Strange! Of course my wife wanted a picture and the Disney cast members were more than happy to her day. Throughout the ship we would come across multiple Marvel characters and the kids dressed up were great!
After our coffee’s and exploring the ship we had a scheduled brunch and the famed “Paulo” restaurant. My wife was telling me this brunch usually sells out and we were lucky to get a spot.
Nobody told me that this Disney cruise was going to be culinary experience! Every single meal we ate, from the sit down restaurants to the buffet were incredible. Every single dish! I think I have as many pictures of food as I do the cruise itself.
Brunch was a 5 course meal that started with an omelet and ended with grilled grouper! We also put down four mimosa’s and even dessert. This was by far the best brunch I’ve ever had in my life. It lasted about 2 1/2 hours and by the time it was over I was full and feeling great!
Over the course of brunch we each had 4 mimosas at breakfast, the day drinking aboard the Disney Dream simply continued! By the time it was all over and said, we found ourselves in an 18+ dance club closing out the night with the Guardians of the Galaxy! Around 1:15am we eventually stumbled our way back to our cabin and called it a night. The next morning was Elizabeth’s Birthday and I was going to call it a ZERO day to drink water and recover.
Following our Marvel Night at sea I took a ZERO day to recuperate. While the ship docked in Mexico we decided to stay onboard and enjoy the ship with less of a crowed. We were really expecting the crowed to thin out and allow an opportunity to ride the Aqua Duck which we’ve been looking at for 2 days straight.
Boy were we surprised! It seemed like 3/4 of the guests stayed onboard and had the same idea we did. Maybe that’s because almost EVERY cruise eventually docks at Cozumel and most guests have already been there two or three times. The line for Aqua Duck was extremely long and neither of us had the patience to stand in the sun for over an hour to ride it. We then made our way to the 18+ area on the upper deck and enjoyed empty lounge chairs and an empty pool.
Dinner that evening featured a Marvel themed menu where everything was incredible. On all the other cruise ships we’ve been on, you are almost guaranteed to find the sit-down dinner menu items at the buffet as well. Not on this ship! The food offered in the sit down restaurants were incredible and only available at that particular restaurant and not at the dinner buffet.
The next morning I was feeling great and made my way back down to Deck 4 for a run. My initial thoughts were to get in a 5K, so I set the watch and got started. Surprisingly I was feeling great and the laps continued to tick by. There was a serious head-wind on one side of the ship and on every lap I was getting sea-spray to the face. While it could have been easy to complain about such a problem, I found it refreshing and accepted it as a great experience from my normal weekly runs.
Before I knew it I was knocking out lap after lap after lap for 12.5 laps and 5 miles.
So what’s it look like to run 5 miles on a cruise ship? Here it is wrapped up in 90 seconds.
The next day was our stop at Disney’s private island in the Caribbean, “Castaway Cay”. I’ve been planning on running this famous 5K for a few years now and my opportunity was at hand! As we left the ship, my wife and our friends made their way to the Cabana at Serenity Bay (18+ beach) while I found my way to the 5K Start.
It was cool when we left the ship and we were actually wearing sweatshirts as we departed the ship! While this may not have been ideal for a day at the beach, it was about as perfect as it got for running a 5K!
Luckily by 2pm, the sun warmed everything up and we went snorkeling! By that time I was already done with the 5K.
I almost got kicked off Castaway Cay and it was totally my own fault! We were not allowed to depart the ship until about 8:30am so everyone decided to go get breakfast before we left the ship. Lunch wasn’t going to be served until 11:30am so everyone wanted a little food. At breakfast I kept things light and when everyone else ordered a coffee, I got some too.
That was the beginning of the downfall!
The start of the Castaway Cay 5K was great! The weather was cool and the scenery was great. There was a handful of other runners on the course and families walking and riding bikes. It was a peaceful 5K route and I was taking in the scenes and taking my time. This was no race, this was a 5K fun run.
After climbing the observation tower and taking in the panoramic views of the island and the ship I made my way back onto the trail and picked it back up. It was right around mile 2.2 that I almost lost my socks!!
I was desperate and searching for a place to answer nature’s call! There was NOWHERE!! I was wearing a red shirt and this was a tropical island teeming with families, kids and people! There was no restrooms that I could find on the route and only signs warning people to “Stay on the trail” and “Poison Tree’s beyond”. This was insane!
If the call of nature couldn’t be answered soon enough I would be forced to ruin a few people’s vacation. A grown man losing his socks in paradise would certainly lead to removal from the Island and possibly a ban from Disney Cruise Lines! With the fear of being banished and the resulting disappointment from my wife, I dug down deep, used every ounce of will power and made it to the finish line and restrooms! No worries about being kicked off the Island.
I finally got my much anticipated Castaway Cay 5K Medal and enjoyed the rest of the day laying on the beach and snorkeling amongst the starfish and underwater statues.
The next day we were back in Florida and the amazing Disney Cruise came to an end! The entire cruise was simply incredible. The shows were Broadway quality and the foods was phenomenal. We really had no complaints about anything on the cruise. My wife and I have done about a dozen cruises with multiple companies and this was the absolute best one yet.
Before we got off the ship we booked our next Disney Cruise with a 10% discount and by the time we got home, we were already planning and excited for the next one.
Back in North Carolina I was up 5lbs from the cruise and decided to get back to my regular running. I logged another 8.12 miles and closed out the week with a Pi(e) Day Run on March 14th. (3.14). It was a 5-mile run with friends followed by an entire spread of pies to share! It was a great event under great weather with great people!
Another great read. I relish in your running misgivings.