Does anyone just say on the ship?

[musical2]

Our cruise in June is going to Castaway Cay twice. Does anyone ever just say on the ship while docked at Castaway Cay? What is there to do on the ship all day?

 

[Kesohio63]

Our first cruise was a double dip, and we stayed on the ship on the second CC day. It was great! We had brunch at Palo, enjoyed the not-crowded pool, and saw a movie - altogether a great relaxing day!

 

[squirk]

The spas sometimes have deep discounts on treatments during port days. I’m not really a “spa” kind of guy, nor am I big on massages, but the men’s shave/facial/hand & scalp massage is nice, especially at 25-40% off.

 

[Agent 86]

Kind of. We mostly stayed on board because it was raining and somewhat cold. The weather pretty much forced us (and everyone else) to stay on-board.

I think we had a leisurely breakfast, went to the movies, had a leisurely lunch, explored the ship and went on the Aquaduck (thinking that it would be quiet due to the weather, but it was still pretty busy). Towards the end of the day, when the rain had turned into a light drizzle, we left the ship. But, we were the only people at the "adult" beach and probably two of only a handful of people on the main beach.

 

[Sergel02]

If it's just castaway Cay, especially a double dip, I would just stay on the ship one of those days and enjoy the ship a bit.

If it were any other port of call, even if I had been there before, is probably make an effort to go out and spend a little bit. But if it's only castaway I say enjoy the less crowded ship!

 

[GPaLarry]

If the grandkids are with us we are on the CC beach ASAP, weather or not. Here in Oregon they build sand castles, dig holes, play with Barbies, etc. when it is overcast, windy and 50 degrees. They are used to it because, even during summer, it doesn't get in the 70s very often. They have been to CC twice and hit it even in the rain. It could be just us, but the sand is always calling us. Now, it is your vacation and whatever you do that pleases you (legally), like Nike, just do it!

 

[Quellman]

My in-laws visit castaway cay for lunch usually and then are back on the boat.
Much of the entertainment and activities, especially in the morning are all moved to the island. So you won't find tons of stuff to do, but the kids clubs will generally be in open house mode. So you can finally check those out!

 

[lundve]

I can't imagine staying on the ship for the second Castaway Day unless the weather was poor. Priced out per night - the 5 night cruises aren't a very good deal compared to 4 night and 7 night cruises. Financially it just doesn't make sense IMO. While true there is probably fewer people onboard that wouldn't be enough to sway me to stay. Cold and rainy yes - just to do it no. Just my two cents.

 

[UNDDisney]

We are also doing Castaway double dip in June! We picked it because we love Castaway and will definitely enjoy it twice (weather permitting). However, we will stay on the ship when in Nassau and enjoy the less crowded ship. We have done this on previous cruises - stayed on the ship when in a port that doesn't appeal to us. It's really nice to enjoy the pool deck when it's not crowded!

 

[Gilrond]

Oh, yes - I am very sun and heat intolerant. Always find plenty to do on the ship

 

[YawningDodo]

On port days (including Castaway Cay days) you'll find that there are fewer activities scheduled on the ship -- if you're looking for trivia, Bingo, that sort of thing, it probably won't be offered (or at least not many options will be offered compared to sea days) until late afternoon/into the evening. They'll still have movies running in the theater, though, the spa will be open and likely discounted, and you'll have access to the pools and slides with very little crowds/no lines (be aware that the slides might not all open as early in the day as they do on sea days -- I found that the AquaDunk didn't open until 1:00 on port days). While I enjoyed Castaway Cay, I mostly used our Cozumel day to lay out on the top deck, read a book, take advantage of the slides, etc. If you want a truly relaxing day and CC isn't particularly important to you, it's a great time to get some peace and quiet.

 

[undertheradar]

With the premium pricing for a double dip, I could not imagine staying on ship at Castaway Cay.

 

[Dug720]

With the premium pricing for a double dip, I could not imagine staying on ship at Castaway Cay.

Agreed! Which makes me incredulous and sad that apparently on the 4-nights where it is Castaway - Nassau - Castaway they are only offering Palo brunch on the second Castaway day rather than Nassau day. I do not want to have to choose Palo brunch or Serenity Bay on my birthday!!!! And just a morning is not nearly long enough!!!! (And yes. I realize this is the epitome of a first world problem.)

 

[Sorcerer's Dad]

We finished out second cruise on 10 Feb, a western Caribbean 7 day with one day at Castaway Cay. Had beautiful weather while at Castaway Cay, but decided not to go ashore. We had many years of living in Hawaii, coastal Florida, and coastal Virginia so another day at the beach wasn't significant to us, and my wife - because of a handicap - cannot walk in the sand. I like to swim, but didn't enjoy the waist deep water in the adult section on our previous cruise. Enjoyed a relaxing day on board in the adult area of the ship instead. Very peaceful. We had signed up on-line well before the cruise for a Mohito tasting class, thinking that would be something to do that day on-board. Turned out the tasting is held on-shore and we didn't know that until looking at our tickets.

 

[disneyholic family]

we were on a single dip, not double, but we stayed on the ship most of the time..
we only got off to take a bike ride over to the adult beach to eat a nice leisurely lunch (chatting with many ship's officers who eat over there sometimes)..

then back on the ship...
in the morning, before we got off, we did about 8 rides on the aqua duck...then washed up and got off at about 11:30 for the bike ride and lunch..
we were back on the ship by maybe 1:30?

nice leisurely day....

 

[seacruise]

We typically pick a port to skip on a give cruise, but not Castaway. If stopping there twice I could see staying onboard one day if the weather wasn't great. As someone else mentioned the activities onboard are definitely more limited on port days, but that just makes for a great opportunity to just relax.

 

[disneyholic family]

i should add that we live 10 minutes from 3 gorgeous blue flag beaches and in a warm climate...so our not getting off the ship for the beach part makes more sense..