Princess Cays; Cruise Day 3
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| Princess Cays |
Day 4 of the trip, Day 3 of the cruise, was our first port of call, and the one we were all most excited about: Princess Cays, Carnival’s private island for its cruisers.
My kids love the beach. LOVE. IT. So, this was the day to make this vacation.
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| morning view from U73 balcony |
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| water shuttle information |
Again, our suite status afforded us priority debarkation and we were on the very first shuttle boat to shore.
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| Princess Cays |
We walked all the way to the end of the beach area where we read the best snorkeling would be but and back-tracked a bit to get back to a more sandy area for the kids to play.
My husband splurged $30 to rent a sunshade over 2 beach chairs to make our spot on the beach a bit more comfortable. Chairs are complementary – and there are thousands – but planning on being there all day meant that even chairs shaded by trees in the morning would be in full sun later. Plus, it helped to block out some of the crowds that overwhelm me.
I parked myself and all of our things there and began blowing up the flamingo and unicorn floats my daughters brought from home, as they began exploring the water.
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| exploring the water as more shuttles head to the beach |
My husband took the kids snorkeling up and down the beach and they were lucky enough to see a wild stingray and a variety of colorful fish.
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| snorkeling |
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| school of small fish |
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| one of the many fish seen while snorkeling |
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| wild stingray seen while snorkeling |
I did venture into the water a few times but felt uncomfortable leaving all of our things unattended up on the beach. Turns out that was warranted as, later in the day, I witnessed a teenage girl swipe a snorkeling mask off of an unattended chair. I called her out on it, there was a bit of back and forth before she put the mask back where she had taken it from and left the area shouting, “You’re not my mother!”
I didn’t leave our stuff unattended again the rest of the day.
We enjoyed the complimentary lunch on the beach and John rented a peddle boat to take the kids out in the afternoon.
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| out on a peddle boat |
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| Carnival Ecstasy at Princess Cays |
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| crab on the beach |
We definitely made the most of the day – first shuttle to the shore and one of the last couple to leave to head back to the ship. The kids were in the water nearly the whole time.
We all agree, it was the best day of the vacation.
We were exhausted by time we made it back to our cabin. But we freshened up and headed to dinner which gave us all a little second wind.
The kids decided to head to Camp Ocean movie night where they watched Peter Rabbit and ate popcorn while John and I enjoyed the breathtaking night sky.
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| last hints of the sunset with the moon and stars shining |