Castaway Cay VS Other private Islands

[jujubiee4]

Sooo... I saw a video of the Royal's private island that looked cool. Got me wondering if anyone
else has been to any private island of another line' and how was it? Does it compare?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Sooo... I saw a video of the Royal's private island that looked cool. Got me wondering if anyone
else has been to any private island of another line' and how was it? Does it compare?

We did Princess's Princess Cay. It's OK. Smaller, and you have to tender in. Not at many family friendly activities. It's on the south end of the same island that Disney is expanding to.

 

[KashasMom]

We've gone to RC's Labadee 2 or 3 times, which we enjoyed. We did a great excursion from there as well. We did the stingray excursion on CC and it wasn't too good. Other than that we don't do anything on CC. IMO, food on any of the islands is subpar. We don't really care for the private islands though - would rather go to a "real" port and go to a beach there if that's what we want to do for the day. I'd never choose a cruise because of any private island. RC's newest island does look cool though.

 

[tvguy]

We've been to Labedee (RCCL) and Great Stirrup Cay (NCL). Castaway Cay was the best, Labedee second best. Great Stirrup Cay was great the first time, but the second time a few years later, they has started letting outside vendors in, and it ruined it for us.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

Royal’s Perfect Day is the best in town , bar none hands down! I experienced it and thought to myself DCL needs to step it up!

 

[Intr3pid]

We don't do a cruise out of Florida without a private island stop - unless heading down to the southern Caribbean islands. If all I want is a beach in Cozumel or GC, I will fly down and spend a week at an actual resort. Private islands make these cruises unique. You are with your cruise cohort - and in a bubble without the outsiders or the vendors. There is the requisite level of quality and a continued feeling of an 'escape'.

RCL's Coco Cay is a mini water park resort. Lots of activities and great for an active day. Much better pools - or just pools in the first place. (You do have to pay for some of the marquee items.) It's a small island. You aren't going to find a tram or be able to cycle or 5K into the woods. And watch out if two ships are in port as it can get crowded.

MSC's Ocean Cay is a cross between the two - still smaller than Castaway Cay. Again, great pools, plus the ability to stay late and overnight. More recently completed and they are still adding to it.

We haven't been to Great Stirrup Cay, Princess Cay, or the formerly exclusive Labadee and Harvest Cay.

 

[Dug720]

Labadee is technically not an island. It's a private beach retreat on Haiti.

Amber Cove (not mentioned here yet) is also not an island. It's an area Carnival Corp developped in the DR.

Virgin's Bimini thing is also a private retreat on the island, they don't own the whole thing.

 

[MomOTwins]

I am a bit sad we haven't heard anything more about Lighthouse Point. Afraid it got put on hold indefinitely due to all the financial loss for Disney Cruise line in the past two years. *sigh*

 

[hrhdhd]

HAL's Half Moon Cay (which is also a Carnival stop, although they won't have a HAL ship and a Carnival ship on the same day) is probably my favorite. Mostly just a beautiful beach.

 

[Gramms]

CC is my happy place, specifically, serenity bay, the adult beach, and it’s own cafe/picnic area! It’s quiet, the snorkeling is great, there are plenty of fish around the sunken wrecks farther out, and the food at the adult picnic area is MUCH more varied than at the family beach! I’m talking salmon sandwiches and lobster burgers!
We did do a RC cruise and went to Labadee... we’re NOT IMPRESSED. Vendors chasing me trying to braid my hair, trying to force bracelets on our wrists, the whole place was dirty and seemed unsafe so we went back to the ship after just buying one seashell. That whole cruise turned us off and we were so glad to ’come home’ to DCL!

 

[anricat]

We've been to Royal's Cocoa Cay and it was pretty nice. There were so many different areas that you could enjoy a full water park, a quiet space on an isolated beach, a swimming pool and more. The main food area had MUCH better food than Castaway Cay, I have to say. (Otherwise, I thought the food on Royal in general was less good and less abundant than DCL - the island was the exception). Some things, like the water park, zip lining, etc. had an up charge, but I thought it was worth it. We really had a lot of fun. (However, for the rest of our cruise experience, we much prefer DCL.)

The negatives were that there are a LOT of smoking areas. I felt like I was always bumping into someone smoking (there are 12 smoking areas on the island in total) and that none of the infrastructure is hidden the way it is on DCL. The utility buildings, crew quarters, etc, are just sort of ugly eyesores hanging out in the middle of of the beauty. It wasn't created with harmony with the landscape in mind the way I feel Castaway Cay was.

If you want to read my full report about Cocoa Cay, it's in my trip report here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/t...ter-and-a-finish-at-wdw.3756073/post-60775281

 

[insureman]

I am a bit sad we haven't heard anything more about Lighthouse Point. Afraid it got put on hold indefinitely due to all the financial loss for Disney Cruise line in the past two years. *sigh*

Scott from Disney Cruise Line Blog just posted this today.
https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...ghthouse-point-october-2019-vs-november-2020/

 

[Scalemaster34]

Scott from Disney Cruise Line Blog just posted this today.
https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...ghthouse-point-october-2019-vs-november-2020/

Nov of 2020 was still long before the full effect of COVID were being realized... and how it would impact their foreseeable cash flow (still an unknown).

I love just the beach, and being able to dock rather than tender - like the "next door" Princess Cays Beach is a big plus (might be why they moved some of the crew areas as they'd only be a couple of miles away) . The Beach areas will be huge compared to tiny Castaway, as well as room for way more private cabanas. But other than size, what will differentiate it from CC? Other than it's about 5 hours further away from Port Canaveral, which mean no last day of your cruise... or leaving much earlier.

Still not seeing the features that would put it in the category of Perfect Day at Coco Cay... something "fun" other than just another day at the beach. The kids see these Perfect Day commercial and Pelican Plunge at Castaway is a let down. They are going to be expecting some type of water park.... but those details can come later

 

[OKW Lover]

In addition to CC, we've been to Labadee and Coco Cay. RCL isn't currently visiting Labadee because of unrest on the island. When we did visit it about 3 years ago it was OK. Nothing great, but OK. Coco Cay (last visit was in October) is very much on a par with CC. Some things Disney does better, like theming and sight lines, but RCL might have the edge in other things like shops and a full featured (extra cost) water park.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

We went to Perfect Day last month and enjoyed ourselves. However, we found it comparable to a great day at a waterpark and less of a private island feel. For that, I love Castaway Cay.

 

[soniam]

The negatives were that there are a LOT of smoking areas. I felt like I was always bumping into someone smoking (there are 12 smoking areas on the island in total) and that none of the infrastructure is hidden the way it is on DCL.

The smell of the outdoors now is cigarette smoke Can't get fresh air anymore it seems. I hate when I am riding my Vespa, and the car stopped next to me is smoking with the windows down. The car exhaust is bad enough.

 

[John VN]

We've enjoyed Castaway and Coco each for their own uniqueness and with MSC's Ocean expecting more in the future.

The smell of the outdoors now is cigarette smoke Can't get fresh air anymore it seems. I hate when I am riding my Vespa, and the car stopped next to me is smoking with the windows down. The car exhaust is bad enough.

I hate when I'm riding my BICYCLE and the VESPA stopped next to me has all that noise coming from the engine's exhaust.

BTW, 15.51 mile ride on my bicycle for my GROCERY STORE shopping today and I'm 71.5 years old.

 

[soniam]

We've enjoyed Castaway and Coco each for their own uniqueness and with MSC's Ocean expecting more in the future.



I hate when I'm riding my BICYCLE and the VESPA stopped next to me has all that noise coming from the engine's exhaust.

BTW, 15.51 mile ride on my bicycle for my GROCERY STORE shopping today and I'm 71.5 years old.

My Vespa is modern with modern emission controls, uses regular gas, and has a top speed of 85mph. It’s not a 2 stroke. It’s basically a small motorcycle. It’s quieter and pollutes less than most gas powered vehicles. However, I didn’t buy it for that. I could have just as easily said that I hate being next to cars with cigarette smoke when I am in my convertible with the top down, which I do.

Good for you for riding a bike. I guess you won the superiority contest.

 

[John VN]

My Vespa is modern with modern emission controls, uses regular gas, and has a top speed of 85mph. It’s not a 2 stroke. It’s basically a small motorcycle. It’s quieter and pollutes less than most gas powered vehicles. However, I didn’t buy it for that. I could have just as easily said that I hate being next to cars with cigarette smoke when I am in my convertible with the top down, which I do.

Good for you for riding a bike. I guess you won the superiority contest.

Mea culpa -- my reply was "in jest" as I thought the use of might have suggested