Snorkel Options on Castaway Cay

[DisneyByMarriage]

Wondering if anyone can give a review on Castaway Cay Snorkel by Boat (C89) adventure? My kids want to snorkel and I think we’ve decided against the Nassau excursion. I’m trying to figure out if the price is worth it over just doing the lagoon. I feel like the boat adventure means we will definitely see cool marine life but just doing the lagoon may be a let down. Third option would be the glass bottom boat (C11). We are cruising in July on the Wish.

 

[TeamRiley]

We have done quite a bit of snorkeling. The trips out of Nassau have been fun. The water is generally fairly shallow, the fish are plentiful, but the plant life tends to be less vibrant than you would guess. (This will be true everywhere the ship goes for the most part).

Just snorkeling in the lagoon will most likely be dissappointing. Not many plants, and as a result, not many fish. I think the C89 adventure (I have never done this one) goes out to one of the outer sandbars away from Castaway so it should be much better. If you want to see stuff, and don't want to go out of Nassau, do the C89.

 

[Husker Mike]

Just snorkeling in the lagoon will most likely be dissappointing. Not many plants, and as a result, not many fish. I think the C89 adventure (I have never done this one) goes out to one of the outer sandbars away from Castaway so it should be much better.

I don't know the history of how Disney developed Castaway, but it appears that Disney built the seawall to protect the beach and create the lagoon. My guess is that Disney dumped a few gazillion tons of sand into the lagoon (and the beach) to create a somewhat shallow bay, which also wiped out any seaweed that might have existed prior to development.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

Found this thread, one person who experienced it wrote a short review and posted some pics. It looks like they do take the boat out to a reef and that's where you typically see more marine life.
We did a snorkel package at CC that included the Ray's Stingray Adventure, that was a lot of fun as well.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/anyone-do-castaway-snorkel-by-boat-adventure-c89.3921527/

 

[DisneyByMarriage]

Found this thread, one person who experienced it wrote a short review and posted some pics. It looks like they do take the boat out to a reef and that's where you typically see more marine life.
We did a snorkel package at CC that included the Ray's Stingray Adventure, that was a lot of fun as well.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/anyone-do-castaway-snorkel-by-boat-adventure-c89.3921527/

Thank you for this. I think we decided based on this and searching for a you tube on this that we will go with the basic “non fish” snorkel for this cruise. I know my oldest would be okay but my 10 yo is semi convinced the Meg is coming back…..

 

[Scubadaddy32]

Thank you for this. I think we decided based on this and searching for a you tube on this that we will go with the basic “non fish” snorkel for this cruise. I know my oldest would be okay but my 10 yo is semi convinced the Meg is coming back…..

LOL... I feel your 10 year old. One of the first movies I remember seeing when I was really young was Jaws... I don't think I got in a pool without thinking in the back of my mind a shark might somehow get in there. Haha
Like I said, if you guys decide to pay for something on CC, I'd highly recommend the Stingray excursion. We spent a lot of time snorkeling around the stingray pen and getting up close and touching them and feeding was really cool as well. It was an interesting experience even for me as a long time diver. I've seen plenty of stingrays on my dives, but touching any of them in the wild is pretty much a no no and risky.
Hope you have a great time!