Castaway Cay 5K questions....

[pittsburghmarc]

For those who have participated, could you offer some insight?

Do you need to pre-register?
What time does it start?
After the race, do you still have time to get a decent spot on the beach?
If my wife and I participate, can our kids stay on the ship in the clubs?
- if not, can the kids walk/jog with us even if we go over a 16 minute pace?

I understand it's very casual, but I was curious what the kids could do.

Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

For those who have participated, could you offer some insight?

Do you need to pre-register?
What time does it start?
After the race, do you still have time to get a decent spot on the beach?
If my wife and I participate, can our kids stay on the ship in the clubs?
- if not, can the kids walk/jog with us even if we go over a 16 minute pace?

I understand it's very casual, but I was curious what the kids could do.

Thanks!

Yes, you pre-register
Not sure of exact start time, but fairly early.
There's lots of room on the beaches.
Nursery is still onboard the ship. Other kid's clubs are on the island.
Minimum age for the 5K (most of the time) is 10.

 

[Sir William]

DW and I did the 5K in March.

We pre-registered at Guest Services.

We were supposed to start about 8 or so, but we had a delayed disembarkation so it was actually closer to 9. We walked to the starting point where we were briefed on the route, safety, water stations, etc. They discouraged bringing bags and packs with you but if you did there was a large bin that you could put them in (CMs were nearby).

A few children participated, and a few people brought their very young children along in a pack carrier or in a stroller.

How fast you run and/or walk is totally up to you. About 25% of our group walked, including us as I'd recently had foot surgery.

Afterwards, some people headed straight to the beach, while others returned to the ship to change and pick up their beach bags. We went back to the ship and then to Serenity Bay. Had no trouble finding loungers. We later moved back to the the family area and there were still lots of empty loungers.

 

[bumbershoot]

Apart from Nursery, the kid clubs are on the island for CC day. You can drop them off in the way to the start if they aren't old enough to participate.

 

[easyd]

I just ran the 5K last week.

You can preregister at the Port Adventures desk, but it's not required.

Meet on the ship at 0815 to get your bib. They went over the route, water stops, etc. We were then walked to the gangway and off the ship about 0830. They asked that all those with children going to the clubs stay at the front of the group as you walk to the start line. The kids will get dropped off on the way to the start line. They also pointed out the bag storage bin, which is close to the start line.

They started the timer at 0900. I headed right back to the ship for a shower after finishing. Ended up doing the Aquaduck twice, and back to the island about 1045. I had no issues at all finding a hammock at Serenity Bay.

As PP mentioned, age limited to 10 and above. There's no formal race timing. Plenty of walkers and interval runners. Everyone that crossed the finish line got a medal.

 

[Krissy22222]

I've been told by some others on this board that my 7 yo could walk/jog with me but not receive a medal. Is this still the case, in your experience? He won't go to the kids club without his sister, who will be 10 and running.

 

[bumbershoot]

Whether or not a younger kid can go is going to be entirely up to the CMs on your specific sailing and what you're willing to put up with. It's the Bahamas. It's almost certainly going to be HOT. It's a *boring* run for many adults, let alone a kid. And you do the loop TWICE. Yawn.

I left my son with his dad, sleeping in the room, the first time. I watched a kid's mom con a CM into letting him run. Later, I passed kid and mom, and both were utterly miserable. Kid was dragging, being like Russell in Up..."I don'wannnnn'tooooooo". Mom just wanted to run her event. It did NOT look like fun.

If there is another adult along, I'd leave the 7 year old with the adult. Or I'd make this one of those "I insist" moments. You'll be gone 30-45ish minutes.


And...everyone....remember that any one person's experience with what time you meet, what time you dock, what time you disembark as a group, whether or not there's room for joining in without pre-registering (that has NOT been possible the two times I've done it since they got more strict), what time the run starts...those are all highly variable and canNOT be expected.

On my second (?) CC 5K I saw a woman highly angered because she had arranged nursery time for *an hour*. And that time was up by the time we merely got off the ship. She thought the timeframe was an absolute, when it's merely a timeframe, a possibility. I have never once gotten off the ship earlier than 9 for the free island CC 5K. (January of this year I participated with the inaugural Castaway Challenge, a PAID 5K held with the marathon weekend events, and that one started before dawn...we docked around midnight to make sure we were there)

So just be aware that there is very little set in stone about it.

 

[Krissy22222]

Thank you, bumbershoot, this really makes me think twice. I appreciate all the good information. Yes, running in the heat will not be fun, especially if the course is boring. Maybe we can stay out and wait for the others to finish.

 

[cgattis]

On our one and only (yet!) cruise, I was SO excited to do the 5K (before the medals--you just got a certificate). Until I stepped off the ship...ugh. Granted we sailed in June, but I decided there was no way I was running in that heat and humidity for a piece of paper. And we had TWO CC days! No thanks. But I would probably do it for a medal LOL!

 

[dsdeleon]

I did the 5k a couple weeks ago, so in Dec as cool as it could get and man, that hot asphalt is painful but the lack of any wind was the killer. No way would I have one of my kids with me. I left mine on the ship but they let you take the kids with you and sign them into the kids club on the island. The group is supposed to stay together and I am sure you heard you have to walk a 5k before the 5k, but I did sneak over and set my bag on a chair. My family was right behind so it wasn't mandatory. I thought it would be much more crowded then it was.