Castaway Cay?

[tvguy]

I would need a wool-lined wetsuit in that water. I think we wait until 79 or 84 degree water temps before we swim at home. At least dad and me. Wimps!

I used to keep my hot tub at 85......Doctor's orders....due to high blood pressure.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

Can I just go back and say DITTO! to what @brentm77 said, as usual.

 

[John VN]

One of the cleanest, prettiest, safest, beaches in the world, with a passable lunch included, soft serve, easy to access drinks, nice clean facilities, and quick access from the ship. What isn't to like?

I get it if you aren't a beach person, but if you are, it seems so obvious to me that I don't even know how to really explain it. We have been to other beaches that are rated the best in the world, and Serenity Bay easily compares, without many of the downsides of the other beaches (crime, garbage, lack of facilities, etc.). And when the kids were young, there was plenty to keep them interested. We have never had trouble getting chairs either, but we get off the ship early. After the long treks on excursions to other beaches on our last cruise, some of which were beautiful but filled with garbage or had gross facilities, it was a breath of fresh air. You get so much more time than you do on excursions to beaches too. It's the perfect day for us, but we love just relaxing, swimming, enjoying a fruity drink, and feeling the warm sun.

The appeal to me is the Gilligan's Island like feel. I am afraid overtime that may change to more like the water park feel other cruise lines have with their private islands, and we have been to Labedee and Great Stirrup Cay....both twice. But that was in the 1980's before Disney cruise line even existed. And they have gotten too commercial for me.
And I am afraid Lighthouse Point may fall into that trap too.
And I LOVE the option of just jumping back on the ship if your forgot something. Although we got off the ship and spent the entire morning snorkeling........at lunch......and spent the entire afternoon bike riding despite the light rain the entire day. A lot of people did end their day early because of the rain, but we were already wet, and it was warm, so no big deal to us.

CC had always been our favorite Island Destination because it exuded relaxation as soon as we stepped off the ship. Not what many other cruisers want from a Private Island and so there are other islands that cater to their wants.

By design and Bahamian Rules, our current Private Island of choice has no rides and never will, has no Hub-Bub, there are NO BIKES to rent, has some Pay For Activities and on many visits, you wake up in the morning to the SAME VIEW that was there when you fell asleep the night before = (an overnight stay.) In our opinion, it's CC only more laid back.

Remembering the days when Uncle Walt came into our home, when Parks were relaxing, there was a Train at FW, an Island called Discovery, lakes to dip in, a ground breaking theme area call River Country, a Kids Club on TV. Guess an *Old Geezer* am I.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Beautiful beach where you can do exactly what you want-sun, snorkel, bike, snooze, swim. Grab some beach-type food. Can it be busy?-sometimes. Are you alone? -no, you have to come by cruise ship. But we always manage to carve out some quiet space. A day I can wander in flip flops, hear quiet music and feel the sun on my face. Being from the northeast, where we have beautiful beaches in their own right with rocky shores and lighthouses, I am in heaven. A place I dream of while shoveling snow. I love to visit there-always have, always will.

 

[Flcruising]

Plus Like someone mentioned clean safe bathrooms. Not many beaches have that amenity.

 

[Calantha]

Plus Like someone mentioned clean safe bathrooms. Not many beaches have that amenity.

Yes, this 100% and the main reason I don't usually want to go to the beach.

 

[OpieDoodle]

I think a big thing for why I like it so much is it felt safe and I could really relax. My only time I've been there I was in Nassau before that. In Nassau I had a really not so great experience around the straw market where I felt so uncomfortable and unsafe -- I had two of my kids with me so honestly I was a wreck by the time I got back to the ship. So castaway was my first experience where I finally felt I could relax. I've since been back to Nassau and haven't had such a negative experience but still.

I love the theming of the island, food being free, and so much to do at your leisure. I felt on all the cruises I've been on (I've been on quite a few) other ports I felt rushed trying to see everything I want to see or trying to do excursions. Castaway just is so much calmer for me.

 

[randumb0]

I'm going to assume that OP was on the Bermuda cruise. That cruise had a high ratio of adults and I'm sure they wall went to Serenity Bay. The family beach had plenty of available chairs and is a nicer beach imo

 

[OKW Lover]

Can someone please explain the hype to me? Husband and I just got back from our first Disney Cruise and LOVED it, but were immensely disappointed with Castaway Cay.

If after having been there you weren't impressed with CC then there really isn't anything we could do to explain it. Perhaps a different destination/cruise line would be a better choice for you next time you sail.

 

[Mango7100]

Is it the most spectacular beach ever? No. But it’s clean, has tons of working restrooms, don’t have to worry about being pestered to buy stuff, dont worry about leaving my stuff on a chair (except for lounge stealers), and I will let my kid do pelican plunge/walk to the bathroom/ walk to stores, etc by herself which I would not do on other Caribbean beaches. So convenient to get back to the ship. We aren’t huge beach people in general, so I’m sure that there will be sometimes where we maybe just get off the ship to have a drink at the outdoor bar and walk a little.

 

[sponica]

It's a beach where I don't have to deal with the hassle of parking? And I don't have to pay for food? I'm not even a beach person but I don't mind Castaway Cay.

Granted we've only been once, and we did accidentally walk all the way to serenity bay....but it was a nice break.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

For me, it's not the look of the island, but the experience my family has there. I enjoy just spending a day relaxing and having lots of fun family activities and entertainment at my fingertips. The magic of Castaway Cay for our family is no schedules and everything we need or want right there for us. Want to play in the water for hours? No problem. Do something active? There are snorkels, bikes, and kayaks right over there. Hungry? The buffet is just steps away. My daughter also enjoys the Disney magic of meeting characters right on the beach.

 

[Flcruising]

Can someone please explain the hype to me? Husband and I just got back from our first Disney Cruise and LOVED it, but were immensely disappointed with Castaway Cay. I had heard SO MANY great things about it, and it just felt like a very touristy, artificial, basic, crowded place? We walked all the way to Serenity Bay on accident, because we couldn't find the tram (oops), so I'll admit we were a little cranky at the time. Every single chair was already taken by like 10 AM, but the beach wasn't even pretty? We took one look at it and turned back around (we found the tram on the way back, lol). We briefly checked out the family beach, which seemed a little better, but we just went right back on the ship. We might have been beach-spoiled because we had just been to Bermuda, but dang.

People on my social media group for the cruise were being so emotional about Castaway Cay and not wanting to leave etc, and I still just don't get it!
Is it the excursions that make it special?? We chilled in the (empty for once! ) hot tub and watched people do water sports-y excursions, which looked cool. Seeing the characters in their outfits was nice, too, but not like CASTAWAY CAY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND IN THE WORLD nice. Which is the kind of thing I was expecting after seeing all the vloggers gush about it, posts on here, etc.

AM CONFUSED.

Please don't hurt me

Sorry you didn't have a good experience. Would you share what you would like to see, what would have made it better, what you expected, etc.?
Your answers may help others point out If you missed something or show some of us what we are missing and don't realize. Or your answers could help us give people more realistic expectations when we talk about CC.

 

[disneyandcandles]

Can someone please explain the hype to me? Husband and I just got back from our first Disney Cruise and LOVED it, but were immensely disappointed with Castaway Cay. I had heard SO MANY great things about it, and it just felt like a very touristy, artificial, basic, crowded place? We walked all the way to Serenity Bay on accident, because we couldn't find the tram (oops), so I'll admit we were a little cranky at the time. Every single chair was already taken by like 10 AM, but the beach wasn't even pretty? We took one look at it and turned back around (we found the tram on the way back, lol). We briefly checked out the family beach, which seemed a little better, but we just went right back on the ship. We might have been beach-spoiled because we had just been to Bermuda, but dang.

People on my social media group for the cruise were being so emotional about Castaway Cay and not wanting to leave etc, and I still just don't get it!
Is it the excursions that make it special?? We chilled in the (empty for once! ) hot tub and watched people do water sports-y excursions, which looked cool. Seeing the characters in their outfits was nice, too, but not like CASTAWAY CAY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND IN THE WORLD nice. Which is the kind of thing I was expecting after seeing all the vloggers gush about it, posts on here, etc.

AM CONFUSED.

Please don't hurt me

What did you love about the beach in Bermuda and which beach did you go to? I posted my own thread, I am trying to decide between a Bermuda itinerary and an Eastern Caribbean one. Would love any tips you have about Bermuda!

 

[SleepyDeb]

I agreed with the OP that it is overhyped as the most wonderful experience in the world. It is pretty and nice. Our most recent experience with chairs on Serenity was the same. (Next time we're going to either try the family beach or just stay on the ship.) It is not the prettiest beach I've ever been to. That is tied between Nantucket and Hawaii. Almost all the beaches on Cape Cod are almost as pretty. It's also not the beach where I've felt safest. That's a small little private beach attached to a boutique hotel we try to go to every year. Step out of my hotel room and my feet are in sand.

I can certainly get that people's love for it is the experience. I'm really glad that other's have had the time of their lives there. We've done the parasailing and it was awesome. We've never been there with kids so can't comment on the family experience. I bet it's extra cool for people who don't live near beaches.

We just don't love it. I'm guessing that some other's wouldn't love some of the places where I've had time of my life. It's ok to absolutely adore CC. It's also ok to think "Pretty, but not loving it".

 

[randumb0]

What did you love about the beach in Bermuda and which beach did you go to? I posted my own thread, I am trying to decide between a Bermuda itinerary and an Eastern Caribbean one. Would love any tips you have about Bermuda!

Bermuda will give you an extra night on the ship

 

[Lilias]

What did you love about the beach in Bermuda and which beach did you go to? I posted my own thread, I am trying to decide between a Bermuda itinerary and an Eastern Caribbean one. Would love any tips you have about Bermuda!

The beach in Bermuda we went to was Horseshoe Bay, and it was the most beautiful beach I've ever been to. I've been to Pensacola Beach (used to be my favorite and it's the one in my profile pic) and Panama City Beach in FL, and now Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda and Blue Lagoon and Castaway Cay in the Bahamas.

Husband is very adventurous and I just like looking at stuff (I typically don't actually swim at beaches--I just bask in them, lol). Horseshoe Bay was just so interesting with huge, towering rock formations and a ton of little side pools. The sand was a lovely shade of pink, the beach was basically empty of people. We could have explored it all day had I not injured myself on one of the smaller rocks in the sand that I didn't see because I was too busy gawking, lol. But the beach keeps going to the left from the main beach. It looks like it's just one big beach and that's it, but if you walk past the rocks on the left you'll find there's way, way more to the beach! There were little rock caves to poke around in, etc. Maybe we're just ROCK people, haha.


Here's a side beach that you discover after walking through the rocks on the left of the main beach. The lil spec in the water is my husband's head

The Blue Lagoon Adults Only beach in Nassau was also very beautiful and had rock-y tide pools to hang out in. We sat in there for a while and got nibbled on by colorful fish. I enjoyed that beach and excursion a lot, too! Was pricey, though, so not sure it would be worth it to do more than once.

So we go to these really interesting, exotic beaches, and Castaway Cay was just disappointing by comparison! I'm gonna give it another chance, though The ice cream and stuff wasn't open yet by the time we bailed, and that probably would have cheered us up a lot lol

 

[lscrivan18]

What did you love about the beach in Bermuda and which beach did you go to? I posted my own thread, I am trying to decide between a Bermuda itinerary and an Eastern Caribbean one. Would love any tips you have about Bermuda!

Not the OP but wanted to chime in on Bermuda! I adore Bermuda. Personally it's tied with Turks and Caicos as having the best beaches I've had the pleasure of visiting. I've been to three beaches on Bermuda and love all of them for different reasons.
Horseshoe Bay - the only one with amenities - restrooms, food and drink vendors, chair/umbrella vendors. Con is it's the busiest/most crowded.
Elbow Beach - I felt the sand was extra powdery and pink here.
Warwick Long Bay - The most isolated, felt like no one was around.

My husband and I loved all of the beaches above and would re-visit any in a heartbeat, depending what we were looking for.