Rachel and I rinsed off and got ready for the beach, then we headed back out to Castaway Cay.

In case you forgot, it's still beautiful.

When you're getting off the ship, they have an area where they are passing out towels, selling bottles of water, and also distributing bug-repellent (lotion, not spray). Make sure to get at least two towels per person, maybe three, because there is no other place to get fresh towels on the island, and it will most likely rain at some point during the day, soaking at least one of your towels.

You can pass on the water if you bring your own bottle and fill it before leaving the ship - there are soda/water fill stations on Deck 11 of the Disney Dream (and Fantasy, Deck 9 of the Wonder/Magic). But a trick I like to use is to get ice delivered to the room the night before, let it melt a little overnight, then fill the bottle with icy water the next morning.

If you were wondering what the view is for the majority of the 5K, it's pretty much this -

We got off the ship and headed straight for Serenity Bay, the adults only beach. You have to take two trams to get there (unless you walk... or run!) - the first tram to Pelican Point, then transfer to the Serenity Bay tram. Also, the Pelican Point/Scuttles Cove trams are the larger truck-looking ones with the doors on them. The Serenity Bay trams are the older-looking ones that don't have doors enclosing the seats.

The best thing about Serenity Bay is that it's so quiet! Also, though you might have to walk a ways to find a chair, we've never had a problem finding a spot here, even when we arrive later in the day. The great thing about being an adult on a Disney Cruise is that the adult-only areas are rarely crowded.

Oh, hey Moana...

The good thing about scattered thunderstorms in the Caribbean is that you can see them coming. Take cover!!!

This afternoon shower was more intense than expected and also almost made us miss lunch! But the sun came back out!

The rain left things a little scattered...

It's my family! (Minus me)

We decided to leave Serenity Bay so we'd have enough time to go down the slides at Pelican Point.

Something to note is that a lot of the merchandise you can buy on Castaway Cay is only available on Castaway Cay - you can't get it later on the ship. The good thing about the Castaway Cay double dip itineraries is that if you decide you want something later, you have one more opportunity to buy. Anything with the Castaway Cay logo and those cute Mickey Mouse sand toys are only for sale on the island.

During the morning and afternoon, there are lines for the slides at Pelican Plunge. If you want to do the slides with little to no wait, go late in the afternoon, around an hour and a half before all aboard time. (Which is a benefit to having the 8:15 dining time - you don't need to rush to get back on the ship.) Both days we were on Castaway Cay, we would just wait until around 3 or 4 PM to go do the slides, and we didn't have to wait!

So if you remember from last time, we were very upset that the water was too low to do the ropes playground thing. We had fond memories of doing it as kids, trying over and over again to make it all the way to the end of the rope (Dad promised us he'd buy us a Goofy plush magnet we wanted - and he did!). We really wanted to go out again and see if we could do it (ideally beast it the first try). Dad swims out there ahead of us and climbs up on the platform. Well, it turns out that it's just for kids 14 and under. So we weren't allowed to do it. If Dad wasn't out there with me, I bet I could have passed as a 14 year old...

This evening was "Dress Up" night - dress up as in put on slightly nicer clothes (or a princess dress - princess dresses are always welcome). The 3/4/5 night sailings on the Dream do not have a true formal night or Captain's dinner. It was also the night of The Golden Mickeys. Rachel had read on Disney Cruise Mom Blog that this is the best show and not to be missed, so we made sure to get to the theater in plenty of time to get good seats. Outside the theater, right before the show, they had a red carpet on which they interviewed guests on their outfits - "Who are you wearing?" It's cute, but I'd recommend going inside the theater and getting a seat, rather than waiting outside for the pre-show.

The show is set up like an awards show where they're awarding Golden Mickeys to various Disney movies. Only - oh no! - the host of the show (ship captain) can't make it, and a stagehand lacking confidence is thrust into the position. As she gives away awards throughout the night, she meets different Disney characters who encourage her. In the final number she shines out in the spotlight - happy ending!

The narratives that tie the Disney stage shows together are typically pretty corny, but with an uplifting and positive message... encouraging you to follow your dreams. In-between number cheesiness aside, I really enjoyed the Golden Mickeys. The sets were elaborate, and as always with Disney, great talent and choreography. What really made Golden Mickeys stand out for me was the inclusion of Out There from Hunchback of Notre Dame - it's a great song and often forgotten to more popular songs from princess movies, and Son of Man from Tarzan because the Tarzan soundtrack is one of the best to jam out to. Also, the Cruella de Vil number wasn't elaborate as far as set (just a car) but the actress who played Cruella was really great, and the dalmatian print tuxedo jackets on the dancers were adorable. I'll go ahead and say that I thought the Golden Mickeys was the best production on the Disney Dream.

Dinner this evening was in Royal Palace (I had called to request Royal Palace for Dress Up night because it's the most formal of the three dining rooms). I remember that Royal Court was our favorite dining room on the Disney Fantasy, but I can't say the same for on the Dream. I don't know if it was where our table was located in relation to the kitchen (I believe that the kitchen is shared between Animator's Palate and Royal Palace), but we found our service to be very slow in this dining room both nights we dined there. Also, the acoustics in the room were not great (more tile in here compared to Enchanted Garden which is very carpeted and has a lot of soft finishes) because the dining room was very loud and we heard a lot of plate stacking/clinking noises.

Moving on to the food. For the appetizer, I recommend both the Escargot Gratinee -

And the Breaded and Deep Fried Brie (if you only get one, maybe go with the brie, I feel like it's more special to DCL, you can get escargot on any cruise line) -

I think it was Dad who had the Rack of Lamb -

And I had the Chateaubriand-Roasted Filet Steak because steak is life (though I must say I preferred the medallions from the night before) -

On the first night, our serving team asked us if there is anything that they could do for us so we have a great cruise, and we mentioned that we love Key Lime Pie (it's not always on the menu). Well, tonight they didn't bring us dessert menus and instead served us Key Lime Pie. This is where I've consistently seen Disney service go above and beyond - they also brought us Key Lime Pie on our Disney Fantasy cruise.