Another Review of Lookout Cay

[meremac]

We just returned from our 4-night Bahamian Cruise with a stop at Lookout Cay. Here are my thoughts:

PIER: Definitely wasn't as bad as many people are saying. It offers a beautiful view, and the walk isn't any farther than the average first walk of the day at a WDW theme park (think getting off park transpo, getting through security and the tapstiles, and making it to your first attraction). There were lots of wagons available, golf carts were running constantly, and CMs were waiting with cold towels at the end of the pier each way.

BEACH SEATING: There are PLENTY of seats, but it's true that the ones right by the water are at a premium. Those didn't fill up until about 10am, though, so if you get off the ship early, you should be able to get one. Worst case scenario: You get off later and you have to settle for seats behind the "dunes". And I put dunes in quotation marks because, based off of some descriptions, I was expecting large sand piles that fully obstructed the view of the ocean. That is NOT the case. You can still see and hear the water from these "behind the dunes" seats. In fact, after a very short period of time in our seats by the water, we kind of wished we had opted for seats behind the "dunes" as they were shadier and more private.

FOOD: Quality was no better or worse than at CC. Seating was MUCH better than at CC: plentiful, open, and breezy.

ACTIVITIES: The on-land splash pad and water play areas are great. If my kids were still little, I would have felt MUCH safer with my kids playing on those than with the in-water play areas at CC. Not a lot for teens to do at this time, but mine were content relaxing in the sun and the water. I did miss the floats, though, and excursion options are very limited. We did a catamaran/snorkeling excursion and it was great, but there was NO place to sit in the shade while we waited for it to begin. They definitely need to add seating with the umbrellas near the excursion check-in area like CC has.

WATER: The water at LC is STUNNING. It's unlike any other water I've seen. We were in awe.

Lmk if anybody has questions!

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Thanks for your perspective, now I am looking forward even more to my own visit in a month. Does sound like Disney can improve the shade situation...but even Castaway Cay needed some improvements the first year.

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks for the report. Looking forward to experiencing the island soon.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Did they fix the fly situation completely?

 

[ironz]

Thanks! Did you happen to notice if bike rentals are available yet?

 

[meremac]

Did they fix the fly situation completely?

Yes! Aside from the errant fly here and there, we didn't notice any at all.

 

[meremac]

Thanks! Did you happen to notice if bike rentals are available yet?

No, they weren't available.

 

[angel's momma]

Thanks! Did you happen to notice if bike rentals are available yet?

They were recently added for booking for the WBTA, which will be at Lookout 11/1.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Thank you for your review! I saw a couple videos of that long pier with not trams or golf carts in sight. I had taken it off our possible list of cruises. There was no mention of this on the DCL website that I saw. Hopefully they will make a note as it caused a great amount of anxiety for me so much that it was a hard no!

 

[RedHead0186]

Thank you for your review! I saw a couple videos of that long pier with not trams or golf carts in sight. I had taken it off our possible list of cruises. There was no mention of this on the DCL website that I saw. Hopefully they will make a note as it caused a great amount of anxiety for me so much that it was a hard no!

There are no trams, and I think the golf carts were a last-minute addition based on guest feedback/complaints about the long pier. So it's likely any DCL marketing around LCLP wouldn't have planned to include that (hopefully they'll update, but I wouldn't hold my breath).

Sounds like the only videos you watched were from the inaugural visit. According to posts here, they got the golf carts up and running real fast (though it did take a bit to iron out some of the kinks).

 

[disney2you]

Did you sail on the Magic or the Fantasy? I've heard most complaints on Fantasy as has more capacity so beach seating is more of an issue there.

 

[MICKIMINI]

There are no trams, and I think the golf carts were a last-minute addition based on guest feedback/complaints about the long pier. So it's likely any DCL marketing around LCLP wouldn't have planned to include that (hopefully they'll update, but I wouldn't hold my breath).

Sounds like the only videos you watched were from the inaugural visit. According to posts here, they got the golf carts up and running real fast (though it did take a bit to iron out some of the kinks).

You are correct. I did watch the inaugural visit videos. I only use an ECV at WDW, DS and at MCO so when I saw that pier, I was shocked that there was no alternative. I walk with a cane and even getting from HA parking to a gate is painful if I can't find a courtesy wheelchair. I am thinking I should rent an ECV for a cruise anyway. Thinking 2025 or 2026.

Thanks for your response!

 

[RedHead0186]

Did you sail on the Magic or the Fantasy? I've heard most complaints on Fantasy as has more capacity so beach seating is more of an issue there.

OP said 4-night Bahamian cruise; I think right now the Magic is doing those itineraries.

 

[disney2you]

OP said 4-night Bahamian cruise; I think right now the Magic is doing those itineraries.

There are 4-night HOTHS Bahamian cruises on the Fantasy to Lookout (I going in Oct). So I do expect beach seating to be more of an issue if OP was on Magic.

 

[RedHead0186]

There are 4-night HOTHS Bahamian cruises on the Fantasy to Lookout (I going in Oct). So I do expect beach seating to be more of an issue if OP was on Magic.

I think the Fantasy is still primarily doing the 7-night Caribbean itineraries, until the Treasure comes online. I do know there are a couple itineraries of different length thrown in there. So, balance of probability is that it was the Magic because I believe all its doing right now are the shorter Bahamian itineraries. But I'll stand slightly corrected here.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

We just returned from our 4-night Bahamian Cruise with a stop at Lookout Cay. Here are my thoughts:

PIER: Definitely wasn't as bad as many people are saying. It offers a beautiful view, and the walk isn't any farther than the average first walk of the day at a WDW theme park (think getting off park transpo, getting through security and the tapstiles, and making it to your first attraction). There were lots of wagons available, golf carts were running constantly, and CMs were waiting with cold towels at the end of the pier each way.

BEACH SEATING: There are PLENTY of seats, but it's true that the ones right by the water are at a premium. Those didn't fill up until about 10am, though, so if you get off the ship early, you should be able to get one. Worst case scenario: You get off later and you have to settle for seats behind the "dunes". And I put dunes in quotation marks because, based off of some descriptions, I was expecting large sand piles that fully obstructed the view of the ocean. That is NOT the case. You can still see and hear the water from these "behind the dunes" seats. In fact, after a very short period of time in our seats by the water, we kind of wished we had opted for seats behind the "dunes" as they were shadier and more private.

FOOD: Quality was no better or worse than at CC. Seating was MUCH better than at CC: plentiful, open, and breezy.

ACTIVITIES: The on-land splash pad and water play areas are great. If my kids were still little, I would have felt MUCH safer with my kids playing on those than with the in-water play areas at CC. Not a lot for teens to do at this time, but mine were content relaxing in the sun and the water. I did miss the floats, though, and excursion options are very limited. We did a catamaran/snorkeling excursion and it was great, but there was NO place to sit in the shade while we waited for it to begin. They definitely need to add seating with the umbrellas near the excursion check-in area like CC has.

WATER: The water at LC is STUNNING. It's unlike any other water I've seen. We were in awe.

Lmk if anybody has questions!

Agree 100% with your review. My family and I were just there at the end of July beginning of August and found the beaches so beautiful and the pier wasn't that bad of a walk. The only complaint we had was that, when we were there, cast members said we had to get into different food lines depending on what we wanted to eat ie one line for burgers and hot dogs and then we had to get into a different line if we wanted chicken and ribs. It would be nice to have one line to get all the items you want.

 

[meremac]

To everyone asking what ship we were on, it was The Magic. The Fantasy and Dream haven't started calling on LC quite yet. Even then, though, seating will not be a problem. There are PLENTY of seats on the beach. Some are closer to the water, and I'm sure these will continue to be popular. But there are also tons of seats a few rows back that are (as some have said) "behind dunes". As I mentioned, I was picturing sand dunes like what I'm used to in Michigan. These were small mounds of sand lol, and the seating is elevated. I tried out a few and I could still see and hear the water. We actually wished we would have chosen these seats because they were shadier and more private.

There are no trams on the pier. The trams are right at the end of the pier to take you to the beach. But there are lots of golf carts. If you need one to get off the ship to the tram in the morning, you'll want to stop by Guest Services to reserve one. On the way back, anybody can take one. We were coming back at around 4pm (a very popular time to return), and the line for the return golf carts didn't look long. If you don't have mobility issues, though, I think you'll find that the walk isn't as bad as it looks in pictures or as some people are making it out to be. For tired kiddos, they have lots of wagons available at each end of the pier. And the walk itself is absolutely no worse than what you'd walk getting into and out of a WDW theme park.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

To everyone asking what ship we were on, it was The Magic. The Fantasy and Dream haven't started calling on LC quite yet. Even then, though, seating will not be a problem. There are PLENTY of seats on the beach. Some are closer to the water, and I'm sure these will continue to be popular. But there are also tons of seats a few rows back that are (as some have said) "behind dunes". As I mentioned, I was picturing sand dunes like what I'm used to in Michigan. These were small mounds of sand lol, and the seating is elevated. I tried out a few and I could still see and hear the water. We actually wished we would have chosen these seats because they were shadier and more private.

There are no trams on the pier. The trams are right at the end of the pier to take you to the beach. But there are lots of golf carts. If you need one to get off the ship to the tram in the morning, you'll want to stop by Guest Services to reserve one. On the way back, anybody can take one. We were coming back at around 4pm (a very popular time to return), and the line for the return golf carts didn't look long. If you don't have mobility issues, though, I think you'll find that the walk isn't as bad as it looks in pictures or as some people are making it out to be. For tired kiddos, they have lots of wagons available at each end of the pier. And the walk itself is absolutely no worse than what you'd walk getting into and out of a WDW theme park.

We were just on the Fantasy 10 Night Southern Caribbean at the end of July and we had 1 stop at each of Disneys private islands (Castaway and LP) I don't think the Fantasy is regularly stopping at LP but they do the occasionally stopping there for certain itineraries.

 

[meremac]

We were just on the Fantasy 10 Night Southern Caribbean at the end of July and we had 1 stop at each of Disneys private islands (Castaway and LP) I don't think the Fantasy is regularly stopping at LP but they do the occasionally stopping there for certain itineraries.

Oops you're right, my apologies! Magic is primarily stopping there now and Dream/Fantasy will regularly start calling on LC soon, but I forgot about that random itinerary here and there!

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

Oops you're right, my apologies! Magic is primarily stopping there now and Dream/Fantasy will regularly start calling on LC soon, but I forgot about that random itinerary here and there!

No worries