Castaway cay or stay on board?

[jlwhitney]

Honestly, Castaway Cay is pretty to us but it is a beach. We are also from FLorida. We have actually found it wonderful to get off early hang out and then eat lunch. Then head back to the ship and enjoy the abadoned pool deck. SO NICE! no lines for the aquaduck, there were like 10 people on the deck total. Non one in the family pool or hot tube and maybe like 4 adults in the adult area pools.

 

[KaryCam]

I understand what you are saying.
I am a Florida native. My local beach is #1 in the country right now. It has powder fine White quartz sand. No rocks, etc. Just a beautiful crescent beach and clear water.
The sand at CC is brownish and coarse compared to mine.
That said, CC has it's own kind of charm that you can't get other places. Semi-private and free food. LOL.
No really, we were there for the first time over Christmas vacation. We didn't lay out or swim like some others. Weather was warm enough for sitting but water was too cold for us. We sat for a while talking and enjoying the scenery, visited with the characters, ate lunch, etc. We went back to the ship after lunch and did some things on board. Probably spent 2 hours on CC.
CC is beautiful and an oasis from reality. It is easy to see why so many people fall in love with it. We appreciated it and enjoyed it.
There are things to do on board but not a lot. Don't feel bad if you would prefer to stay on board. It's your vacation. If you decide to not eat lunch on board, you could always get off and have lunch on CC and then get back on board - the ribs were delicious.

 

[momof2minnies]

Stay on board- NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Linda

 

[gotomu212]

Another thing to keep in mind is that you are only about 10 minutes from your room (as long as you aren't on one of the bike rides around the island). So if you get off and are like yeah had my fill, you jump back on the little tram and walk right onto the ship and to your elevator.

We dislike the general hassle of going to the beach elsewhere- the huge bag, the towels, enough to entertain us for hours, then finding a parking space, and a pack mule to get all the stuff from the car to the beach...you get the picture. It was such a new experience for us to walk off the ship with a book and a hat each and jump out the tram that let us off right at the sand. My son lost his t-shirt (still can't figure out how that happened although he swears a crab took it). So we hopped back on the ship, grabbed a new o e, and was back in a flash.

 

[suebedo]

[/IMG]
My son and mom on Castaway Cay.

The beach is really beautiful! We are not beach people but we love Castaway Cay. Get off the ship as soon as it docks and you will have the beach all to yourself for at least an hour. I say get off the ship for sure!!

 

[disneyholic family]

on our second cruise we didn't swim or spend any time on the beach - we spent our day biking, boating and eating!! oh and souvenir shopping as well!

we had a great time!!!

 

[Disney1fan2002]

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My son and mom on Castaway Cay.

The beach is really beautiful! We are not beach people but we love Castaway Cay. Get off the ship as soon as it docks and you will have the beach all to yourself for at least an hour. I say get off the ship for sure!!

Oh my! Your mom has a Mini-Me...LOL. Great picture!

 

[michigan829]

Not too impressed with Castaway Cay. We're getting off the ship around 11am for lunch on the island at Cookie's Bar-B-Q, then right back on the ship to enjoy some peace and quiet in the pools while everyone else is gone.

p.s. This will be our 6th cruise so maybe we've had our fill of the island??

 

[DVCNuts]

We were on the 6/29 double dip, and we were lucky enough to grab a cabana that became available for both CC days. It was absolutely the highlight of our cruise-- both days! Without a cabana we probably wouldn't have stayed all day. If you have the opportunity to book one, go for it.

Incidentally, we decided to take a bike ride. At first we thought it would be hot and miserable. It was actually very nice and breezy while riding. I would recommend that to anyone.

 

[jbernatz]

We did a double dip last month and we loved it both days! We got the floats/snorkels etc the first day and didnt need them the second, we just played in the water and explored. We live near the beach in California and arent beach people/ really never go, but this was just different and so much better. Castaway Cay was my favorite part of the cruise.

We did the 5k the first day but not the second-once in the humidity was enough for me!

 

[Chim]

We were on the 6/29 double dip, and we were lucky enough to grab a cabana that became available for both CC days. It was absolutely the highlight of our cruise-- both days! Without a cabana we probably wouldn't have stayed all day. If you have the opportunity to book one, go for it.

Incidentally, we decided to take a bike ride. At first we thought it would be hot and miserable. It was actually very nice and breezy while riding. I would recommend that to anyone.

This x10. We were on the 6/24 cruise and had a cabana both days. I don't know if our CC stop would of been as awesome without the cabanas. I guess my opinion is biased, for we did not deal with the normal CC experience.

 

[Cmbar]

I think it depends on the day. CC is beautiful but it is limited to what it is you like to do. If you like to spend the beach in a hammock by all means get off early and grab one. If you are the adventure type of family that likes to seek out stuff and go hiking or do rentals on the island by all means take advantage of the amenities.

BUT.... if its hot. go back to the ship and enjoy all the relaxing wonderful things the ship has to offer. We were just at CC on Friday and while it is a beautiful island, in my opinion SATELITE FALLS is better! We hopped off just to say we did. Had some early lunch at Cookies BBQ and then headed back to the ship where my DH and I enjoyed the peace and quiet of Satelite falls. It still had a great view of the water and quite honestly I don't like swimming with fish so the pools on board are much nicer to me than the fish filled water

If this is your first time, by all means go see the island, but by the fourth or fifth time you get there, it can be a bit blah.