Convince me on Castaway Cay

[cadien]

Having done Mexican Riviera cruises, with all the beach vendors, I really appreciated CC. I am not at all a beach person but my husband and son love nothing more. I really enjoyed our time there. I bought the sea lice repellent, but we ended up just skipping Pelican Plunge. DS was 7 and not yet a strong swimmer. So we just used floats down at the other end of the family beach. I was pleasantly surprised by the food but they shut off the soft serve machine before they’d even stopped serving lunch, so we missed out on that completely. Most excursions were cancelled due to earlier winds. That seems to be pretty common.

 

[AuroraB]

I do agree not having the beach vendors is a plus, but I didn’t see any in the Virgin Islands either.

Our cruise wasn’t filled to capacity, and it was just too crowded in the family areas. The wait for the Pelican Plunge was crazy, I can’t imagine what it would have been like if the cruise was full.

No problems with sea lice, but that could happen at any beach, and for whatever reason tends to be worse some years. I did have Sea Safe, but forgot it on the boat!

To each his own of course, I was just curious to see if I was the only one who was perplexed regarding what the fuss was about. Don’t get me wrong, it was certainly nice, but nothing to plan my trip around. It is unlikely we would do a Disney cruise other than the Caribbean, how does that is a fact

 

[MomOTwins]

I loved how safe CC felt. There were so many lifeguards everywhere, the beach was soft sand, not rocky like a lot of other beaches, and since everything could be charged to the room I did not have to bring any cash or credit cards, so I could just leave my beach bag on the chair and go for a swim without issue.

The ocean slides were also very fun and unique. We went first thing in the morning, had our choice of shaded loungers, and had zero wait to ride the slides over and over for the first hour. We then spent the rest of the morning just swimming and reading in our beach loungers while the kids built sandcastles. By the time we left to get lunch, though, we could see most of the loungers were full and the lines for the slides were massive. Of course, OP's ship arriving late meant that everyone went ashore at once, whereas on normal day, there are lots of non-morning people who don't show up until 2 or 3 hours after docking, so you can avoid crowds by going early.

The one thing I did not like one bit was the food. Next time, I will avoid their attempts to cook "real" food (the chicken/mahi/ribs were all inedible) and just cave in and eat a hot dog. Nobody can screw up a hot dog.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

I like Castaway, until I have to use the bathroom. It is not disability friendly for my needs, so unfortunately, I have to go back to the ship early. The fact that you experienced no food or drink on the island is definitely an anomaly. Give it one more try on a day that everything is going smoothly. If they dock late, you’ll know to stay on the ship. However, there isn’t much to do on the ship when you’re docked there. I think that’s by design so you get off the ship. I don’t think the children’s programming is open except on the island, for example.

 

[Vovin]

Hi Disney Mac,

All of the excursions on CC are weather dependant even though it doesn't seem like it. Most of the CC island vendors/excursion people live on Great Abaco and travel to the island by boat.
If they are unable to get to the island then they cant run the excursions.

I can see your frustration with not being allowed to snorkel but there must have been a good reason, the only thing that DCL care more about than its customers is the customers safety.

CC is definitely somewhere id recommend you visit and I , like others here, would advise against letting one anomaly spoil it and put you off.