(Note: A very photo-heavy report after the break!)
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Early
the next morning, the ship docked at the private island, Castaway Cay.
While the majority of people immediately went to shore, I spent half of
the day on the ship, taking in the opportune time to try out the ship's
Aquaduck water slide multiple times thanks to the short (and sometimes
nonexistent) line!
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The Aquaduck
is a water coaster built by WhiteWater West, and is the first water
coaster to ever be put onto a cruise ship. After ascending the winding
staircase, riders board a double-person inner-tube then are pushed onto
the flume via a conveyor belt. From there, the slide does a small dip
and enters the first glass section and performs a 270 degree helix to
the left. Sliders then enter the first drop and are shot back uphill
with water jets, cruise forward for a bit, then repeat it (along with an
onride photo) before turning right and entering a enclosed starlight
tunnel. After exiting the tunnel, riders make another right turn heading
back towards the Aft side of the ship through a straight glass section.
Once at the end, the slide dips again, makes a U-turn and comes to a
close in the splashdown area where an lifeguard retrieves the raft to
put in a lift to bring back to the top.
The
slide itself isn't anything overly thrilling, like those found on the
Norwegian Breakaway ship, but the water coaster sections and the 765
foot length makes this slide pretty fun. If those aren't enough, then
the glass helix over the side and glass sections along the edges of the
ship are enough to make it a pretty unique ride. Keep in mind that the
height requirement for this slide is 54" to ride alone, so those under
that will have to find someone old enough to ride with them.
Soon, we ventured off-ship and onto Castaway Cay.
A trolly took us on to the main part of the island where most people
were around the beaches and in the water. Part of the beach includes the
Pelican's Plunge floating dock, which houses two body slides
that require people to swim out to it (very deep water, but life vests
are provided free of charge). The open flume slide has a longer course
and consists of a few figure-eight turns, and the enclosed flume does a
fast downward helix, both before dumping sliders right back into the
water. The floating platform also has a miniature dump bucket and spray
guns to aim towards targets placed on nearby rocks.
The
main part of the beach was nice, with it's white sand, free drinks and
ice cream (like on the ship), and little touches of Disney theming here
and there. There's a lot of activities provided on the beach as well
like snorkeling, parasailing, jet skiing, and even biking down trails
that go deep into the island.
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There was one part of the
island that blew me away and required a separate trolly of its own. It took you down a lush trail before speeding down a long
airstrip, coming to a stop at the opposite end to drop folks 18 years of
age and older to a secluded corner of the island. This area included
its own beach, plenty of cabanas and loungers, some hammocks, and a few
stands to buy drinks at. What amazed me the most about this area was how
the water was far more calm and somehow looked bluer than it did on the
other location. For cruisers looking to get away from the crowds, this
spot is definitely for them!
The next and last day was spent
out at sea, slowly cruising towards Port Canaveral and not arriving until the following morning.
As I said in the first part of this review, this ship definitely impressed me with what it had to
offer, plus the quality onboard the ship felt unmatched to any other ship I've been on. I felt that 3 days was almost plenty of time to take in what it
had, but I wouldn't mind doing the same cruise on a 4-day voyage so I would have more time to explore every aspect of the ship!
Ratings for slides ridden (N/A= Unavailable):
Aquaduck (Disney Dream Ship): 8/10
Pelican's Plunge (Castaway Cay Island)(2): 7/10
Aquaduck (Disney Dream Ship): 8/10
Pelican's Plunge (Castaway Cay Island)(2): 7/10
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