current serenity bay situation? seaweed? need an update

[daisyx3]

Our first two DCL trips in 03 and 04 the kids were younger. On our last DCL trip we were finally able to go to Serenity Bay (our youngest was 17 and with other teens) but when we arrived they said they were closing it down due to weather and then the monsoon followed. We will be back next week, no kids, and we are going straight there!
I plan to plop myself down, maybe rent a float. DH and I will eat lunch there. The only other priority is to stop at the family beach on the way back and jump off that huge play structure.
As to Serenity Bay, I've seen some posts about low depth and some others about seaweed, but those have varied due to season, etc. Any recent cruisers want to share the situation there? Am I setting myself up for disappointment or will I be gazing at cool crystal waters?

 

[DVC Jen]

We were there on June 22nd and it was beautiful. Very little seaweed on the beach but there were areas of heavy grasses in the water. The tide was very low in the morning and we easily walked out to the sand bar. It started coming in during the afternoon hours and got deeper quite quickly. Now I am only 4ft 11 inches so deep to me is not deep to most people. LOL

We had a wonderful time and I hated to leave. Enjoy and remember the sunscreen. Even with using it generously we all burnt a little bit. We have olive skin tones and we don't burn nearly as quickly as others do.

 

[Quellman]

Your plan is spot on how you should handle your time at Serenity. I would mention this. The bar on the beach is close to the entrance. That area of loungers tends to get much more crowded vs the other side of the life guard stand. But of course the fewer neighbors come at a price of walking that much further for lunch, pool floats, bathroom breaks. There are waiters who will come and collect drink orders. Just remember they'll stop off at along the way back with your drink handing out other orders, so your frozen drink might be a little bit more mushy too.

 

[dprincessmom]

AS of this morning, there's a Hurricane in the Atlantic. Storms have a way of churning up and spitting out the seaweed, so just be prepared it may or not be seaweed-y. I wouldn't let that stop you from enjoying the beach though.

 

[lorimay]

We were there in May and it was beautiful. There were people sitting in the middle of the ocean on a great sandbar.
My only boo-boo, I forgot my water shoes and it was very "grassy" as you get in the water and that creeps me out to begin with, then a man stepped on a sea urchin and his foot was full of the spikes....poor guy yuck, so my advice is water shoes.

 

[DVC Jen]

We were there in May and it was beautiful. There were people sitting in the middle of the ocean on a great sandbar.
My only boo-boo, I forgot my water shoes and it was very "grassy" as you get in the water and that creeps me out to begin with, then a man stepped on a sea urchin and his foot was full of the spikes....poor guy yuck, so my advice is water shoes.

I have heard of that before - stepping on sea urchins. What a way to ruin a great day. I made sure my whole family had water shoes before we left home. I am also with you - the grass wigs me out too.

 

[daisyx3]

Thanks! We have flip flops and that will have to do the job. That would be my husband's luck to step on a sea urchin.