Today was our last full day on the cruise and we were going to spend it at Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line’s private island in the Bahamas.  Nancy had signed up for the Castaway Cay 5K, so she was up early and off to the buffet to get some breakfast before the race.  She got some pictures of the island as the Magic was pulling in and watched them unload some supplies onto the island as well.

Since she was doing the 5K, she was one of the first passengers off the ship.  She was the first in our group to see all the Christmas decorations on Castaway Cay.

The runners for the 5K met in the D Lounge, then made their way to the starting line, which is near the end of the Family Beach.  On the way to the starting line, Nancy got a picture of Mount Rustmore.

The route for the 5K takes you onto the runway that is on the island, over to the bike loop, down to the adult beach and back, through the bike loop once more, and then back to the starting line.

While Nancy was off doing the hard work, the girls and I headed over to Marge’s Barges for our Parasailing excursion.  My older daughter and I went parasailing last year during our Star Wars Day At Sea Cruise.  My younger daughter had decided she wanted to do it as well, so the three of us checked in to get ready.  Our group was called and we headed to the small speedboat.  There were a total of eight of us on our boat.  The boat headed out past the Magic and into the open water.

The first group to go up was a brother and sister.  They went up in tandem with one behind the other. 

Once it was our turn, the three of us headed to the back of the boat to hook up.  We were hooked up side by side, with me in the center.  Once we were all ready, we were told to sit down.  They released the chute and we rose into the sky.

 The girls settled in and really enjoyed the flight.  You could see the other parasailing boat as well.

We were up high enough to be able to see completely over Castaway Cay.  Not very much of the island is actually developed.

We were also able to get some great pictures of the Magic.

Soon, our flight was coming to an end and we started descending back down towards the water. 

Someone else on the boat got a great picture of us as we were headed down towards the boat.

Once we landed on the boat, we got unhooked and back into our seats while the last family took their turn.  The boat was soon headed back to the pier and our excursion was over.  Parasailing at Castaway Cay is really fun and easy to do.  My younger daughter was glad she was able to do it. 

Once we got off the parasailing boat, our younger daughter and I headed over to the family beach to meet up with Nancy.  Our older daughter spent the rest of the day hanging out with her new friends from the Vibe.  Meanwhile, we relocated next to Gil’s Fins and Boats.  This is on a small point that separates the Castaway Ray’s Stingray Adventure from the snorkeling lagoon.  The point doesn’t have an entrance to the water on it, but it does have lounger chairs and hammocks.  We camped out there and just relaxed in the sun.

The weather wasn’t super warm, so we didn’t miss not getting in the water.  We each had a hammock and spent the time napping, looking at the water, and talking.

We had a great view of the stingrays as well.

The snorkeling lagoon was right next door as was the family beach.

We took turns going to get lunch.  We went to Cookies since it was closer to us this time.   Eventually, it was time to head back towards the ship.  The family beach had started to empty out at this point.

We decided to take our time getting back to the boat, so we went through the equipment rental area.   Here are the current rates for all the equipment rentals.

Here are the Sea Kayaks and Paddle boats:

The aqua trikes are pretty cool looking.  We rented them on a previous trip to Castaway Cay.  I remember having a great time on them, but they are a bit tiring to pedal.  I think its mainly because I was the only one doing the work while my passenger just got a free ride.

 There are a couple of Hobie Cat sailboats you can rent as well.

We continued our walk back towards the ship, stopping occasionally to snap a few photos.

We saw an old friend as we arrived back at the ship, so we had to get a picture with him.

We cleaned up and the girls went off to the clubs.  Nancy and I headed to deck 4 to watch the ship pull away from Castaway Cay.  Castaway Cay is always a great day, but it also usually means its the last night on the ship.  Nancy went back to the room to start to pack a bit before dinner. 

Dinner tonight was back at Cariocas!  It was the “Till We Meet Again” menu.  I like the appetizers on this menu, but don’t care too much for the entrees.   This was the first time we ordered the Porcini Sacchetti.  I don’t usually care for mushrooms, but this was similar to the Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes.  I also made sure to get an order of the chicken satay, which is always delicious. 

For soups and salad, we ordered the White Cheddar and Broccolini Soup and the Crisp Romaine Wedge Salad.  The soup wasn’t very exciting but the salad was good.

For entrees, we selected the Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington, the Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb, and the Grilled Garlic-Marinated Shrimp.  I had ordered the Wellington, but not caring for mushrooms results in me stripping off the outside.  The meal itself was fine.  The Lamb, which I tried some of, was actually really good.  My younger daughter reported the Shrimp was good, but she didn’t really eat the pasta that came with it.

For dessert, we selected the Chocolate Decadence, the sugar free Cappuccino Mousse, and the Creme Brulee Cheesecake.  The Chocolate Decadence and the Cheesecake were great.  The Mousse was bland.  I took a small bite and left the rest.  I should have gone for the cheesecake!

The kids went off to their clubs.  They both stayed out super late because they were hanging out with their new friends.  Since this was the last night of the cruise, Nancy packed the room as much as she could.  We found our cabin steward and let him know that we wouldn’t be putting our suitcases out, we would instead carry them off the ship through express walk off.

Tomorrow was going to be the saddest day, disembarkation day.  We weren’t too down about it, because we had a few more days left at Walt Disney World, including New Years’ Eve!

Full Trip Report:  Planning | Travel  | Boarding | Day At Sea | Cozumel | Day At Sea | Castaway Cay | Disembarkation 

If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!

* Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Email!