Family Vacation Journal: My Bahamian Cruise

If Disneyland is the “Happiest Place on Earth,” then a Disney cruise is the happiest place on the Seven Seas. I found this out firsthand when my family and I departed from Port Canaveral, Fla., and sailed to Nassau and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, in the Bahamas onboard the magical Disney Dream.

We spent our first afternoon exploring the ship and trying out all its different activities. I rode the AquaDuck, the ship’s wild and slightly intimidating waterslide, several times that night (and many more times throughout the trip). I also obsessed over the Midship Detective Agency game onboard, which was a lot of fun, as I enjoy solving puzzles and playing detective.

I had never been to the Bahamas, so it was exciting to visit on our second day. The capital, Nassau, wasn’t what I expected, but I got to try some delicious food, including conch, which kind of tasted like chicken. The third day was even better. We spent the day at the beach at Castaway Cay, snorkeling the lagoon and going down the waterslide at Pelican Plunge. The best part was Castaway Ray’s Stingray Adventure, where we got to feed and swim with stingrays.

I think my favorite part of the cruise was spending a few hours each night at Vibe, the ship’s teens-only club. I met a bunch of people my age and hung out with them. Most of my time there was spent playing the video game “Super Smash Bros.” with my new friends. We also played group games such as Crown the Couch Potato and got to know one another. I often stayed at Vibe late into the night, just having fun and making friends — which was OK, because we were in the capable hands of the cast members.

This Disney cruise is the only cruise I’ve been on, but I’m sure it will always be one of my favorites. It takes the wonderment of a Disney park and the adventure of cruising the high seas, and combines them to create the perfect family vacation. I’m dying to sail again with Disney, maybe this time to a different part of the world.