Help with castaway cay

[poggs]

we (mum dad boy 15 girl10) heading on our 2nd Disney cruise in July

1st one was sept 17

Everything was great except castaway cay which was a total bust so looking for help as to where we need to improve

We delayed getting of the ship until 1030 as we didn’t want to wait in hour long queues, so that probably didn’t help!

Anyway when we got to the beach there were no spare loungers anywhere. So we just lay on the sand, but it was too hot. The kids swam over to the raft but there was a 90 min queue for the slide so they came back.

Tried to get some lunch but they closed the tent as there were too many people in there.

Got the bus thingy to the next beach but it was similar. Ie no loungers free and beach packed.

That lunch tent was also closed to new queuers and we were told to come back after 2 (it was 12.30)

We then just decided to head back to the ship and enjoy the pool and eat at cabanas.

Is it always like that? If so what is the point?

Suggestions as to what I need to plan to try and make something of castaway. Family simply hate queues!

 

[ahain]

In my experience, literally NONE of this seems accurate. There have ALWAYS been loungers - perhaps not in the shade or in your most desired locations, but ALWAYS some available somewhere. And have NEVER seen lunch areas closed due to lack of space.

 

[ivanp91]

I've been to CC 5 times - 3x on the Dream class, and twice on the Magic, and aside from maybe the lounger situation (when the Dream/Fantasy is in port), I have never experienced any of that. A 90 minute wait for the Pelican Plunge doesn't seem realistic, particularly because the pontoon itself wouldn't be able to hold enough people for a line that long.

My recommendation is to aim to be amongst the first off the ship.

 

[diznymom]

The only suggestion I have is to do everything earlier. Castaway Cay is very popular and just about everyone on the ship is going to that beach. The first ones off the ship are going to be the ones doing the 5k race. The tween and teen clubs have activities on CC. Also, maybe look into doing some excursions.

We are early people. I don't think I have ever stood in a line to get off the ship at CC. We usually eat lunch as soon as we can (around 11:30) and it was not very crowded. The slide gets crowded fast, no help with that one.

 

[poggs]

Ok element of hyperbole going on.

The lunch tents were not erm “closed” just that there were no tables available to sit at and the cast members told us that if we joined to line we would have to take the food away to the beach to eat or come back after 2pm

The kids were not allowed to climb on the raft as the line for the slide was too full. Again to come back after 2pm

We did try to get off the boat earlier but the line was snaked back to the 3rd deck when we 1st tried and we didn’t fancy the wait.

There were definately no loungers for 3 or 4 people anywhere on the beaches

Occasional 1 or 2 but not 3 or 4 together.

I’m guessing that I should plan to get off the boat before breakfast or after 3?

Just seemed such a disappointment to us all‍

It’s just made out to be great but it was the only part of the cruise that was not awesome.

We will try again and hope to get a better experience

 

[lklgoodman]

We've been to CC 5 times and have never had to deal with what you went through. People start to gather to get off the ship before they start allowing it, but it doesn't take anywhere near an hour once they start letting people off. We got in line right when they started letting people get off and it only took around 15-20 mins, at the most. We also try to get lunch soon after it opens, the later it gets the more crowded. Sometimes you have to walk through the rows of chairs to find some, but we've never had a problem getting some, they may not be in the exact area we like, but they have enough for everyone. Not sure why they'd tell you there was a 90 min wait for the slides, like another pp said, there wouldn't even be room on the structure for a line that long. We've never waited more than 15-20 mins, usually the average is more like 10 mins. Hopefully you'll have a better time on your next trip.
Edit to add, looks like we were typing at the same time. I also don't like long lines. I don't think you have to hang out in the atrium for a long time like some people do in order to get off right away. Like I said, we get in line right when they start letting people off, the line might look horrible, but it really does move quickly. I think if you get off earlier, you'll have a better luck getting 3-4 chairs together.

 

[ahain]

OK, your renewed explanation makes more sense. Getting 3-4 loungers together could definitely be a challenge if you wait to get off the ship. We are early risers so we get up and eat breakfast at Cabanas and are still off the ship right after the 5k racers. Note that even when there is an initial crowd waiting to get off the ship, as soon as they open the gangways for passengers to get off, the line moves quickly. We generally get in line for lunch right after the lunch venues open as well, so even though there may be a line, we can usually find a table pretty readily. So, yes...I would say to plan to rise/eat a bit earlier. IMHO, I would not wait until after 3:00 to get off the ship, as you won't have very much time to enjoy the island and could end up being one of those "stragglers" that have to be shoo'd back to the ship because you don't want to leave but it's past all-aboard time.

 

[xiphoid76]

Ok element of hyperbole going on.

The lunch tents were not erm “closed” just that there were no tables available to sit at and the cast members told us that if we joined to line we would have to take the food away to the beach to eat or come back after 2pm

The kids were not allowed to climb on the raft as the line for the slide was too full. Again to come back after 2pm

We did try to get off the boat earlier but the line was snaked back to the 3rd deck when we 1st tried and we didn’t fancy the wait.

There were definately no loungers for 3 or 4 people anywhere on the beaches

Occasional 1 or 2 but not 3 or 4 together.

I’m guessing that I should plan to get off the boat before breakfast or after 3?

Just seemed such a disappointment to us all‍

It’s just made out to be great but it was the only part of the cruise that was not awesome.

We will try again and hope to get a better experience

Loved this post! We all hyperbolize so much to make our point, but very few own up to it. You are awesome for posting that!!!

What we have done is get off when we are awake and ready - not the first ones, but before lunch for sure. If you can find one or two lounges, snag them and ask for help to get two more. The cast members and other vacationers I have found are happy to help. You can move them around and find a nice place to relax. I try to move them back to the original place when I am done so that is a little less work for the cast members on the island.

For food, it can be a bit of a scrum at times. Secret is that there are four lines at Cookies and Cookies Too. Go to the back and get your food - usually minimal waiting time even at the busiest. Bring your trays to the tables and a cast member is usually there to help find you a seat. It may be a few minutes, but usually people move pretty quickly. Or get there right at 11:30 for optima space - but beware, I have found the birds to be especially hungry at that time for my burger and banana bread

I think sometimes people’s expectations are too high the first time. We have now been there 13 times and it gets better each time - we hated the adult beach and thought, ugh, CC sucks, but now we have found what we love to do. Another tip we love is to go on the ship and take a nap, then come back out around 2:30 for 90 minutes of empty beach experience - it is wonderful!

 

[quickcat]

The beach lounger thing, yes- it is crazy busy. There are always open ones as people pointed out but they are way back by the walkway and while it’s a chair, not convenient at all. If you want a “good” spot, yes, you have to get off early. No way around that, especially on the Dream class.
We have eaten on our beach chairs at lunch before but to be honest, if we don’t have a cabana, we will usually go back to the ship for lunch. For us, that is more convenient and relaxing than eating on the island.

 

[cadien]

The ship that you're on makes a difference. We've gone to Castaway Cay on the Magic and the Wonder, so there are fewer passengers. But even on the Magic there seemed to be no loungers by noon because it was one of those windy days where they canceled almost everything, leaving people nothing to do but the beach. When we were there on the Wonder, all the excursions were running so the beach was much less populated.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I've never run into the issues you've described. I don't aim to be the first off the ship but am usually heading off a little before 10am and while there will be a line, it will go very quickly and we'll be off in 15 minutes or less.

I don't mind loungers in the back, towards the walkway. Getting off around 10am, I've always been able to find a few empty ones together. You may need to walk down the beach a bit though.

We usually aim to get in line at Cookies either right at 11:30 or wait until 1:00. Going at those times, we've never waited more than a few minutes in line to get food and can find seating in the covered area if we want to eat there. More often, we take our food back to the beach and eat on our loungers. This is when being in the back, near the walkway, is an advantage.

My DD has never wanted to play on Pelican Plunge so that's never been an issue for us.

 

[Quellman]

I've been to CC 5 times - 3x on the Dream class, and twice on the Magic, and aside from maybe the lounger situation (when the Dream/Fantasy is in port), I have never experienced any of that. A 90 minute wait for the Pelican Plunge doesn't seem realistic, particularly because the pontoon itself wouldn't be able to hold enough people for a line that long.

My recommendation is to aim to be amongst the first off the ship.

There is a queue on the beach before they let you in the water. I don't know if that fills up or not. I visit pelican plunge as soon as I complete the 5k, go down it and am done for the day. I wouldn't doubt that on hot days there is a line for the queue.




As for the original poster. On castaway cay day, you want to be up and moving early. Grab breakfast early or order room service the night before. "But I want to sleep in..." Don't! You can sleep on the beach in the shade of your personal umbrella. We find that we are usually hungry by the time the lunch places open, so we have not had an issue getting space to eat or food. There is always room at a table somewhere. That said I am sure there are busier times, like 1pm. If you can avoid peak times, you'll have a better experience. This is true for anything Disney. Want to be in the parks? Everyone starts showing up around 1030am. If you were there before you'll find low lines and less crowds (except on holidays). Don't be the typical tourist. If you plan on doing snorkeling in the snorkel lagoon. You need to do that first thing, otherwise the silt starts getting whipped up and visibility goes down, plus the tide has an impact.

I hope that your next visit to the island will be much more relaxing. I also find that when people are heading back to the boat, the island really does become tropical. People will leave their floats around, that you can just use. You can make multiple trips down the slides.

 

[Jess_S]

We got off the ship at around 10:30 on our CC day. We took the tram to the family beach and followed the sign posted by Olaf telling us to look to his left for chairs. There were plenty there. Beach in front of the Pelican Plunge did look full, so maybe we would not have found chairs together if we had not listed to Olaf. But even at 10:30 coming off a fully booked Fantasy, there were plenty of chairs elsewhere. No hammocks though. Those were occupied by beach bags and towels whom I am sure were really enjoying their seats.

We went to lunch at 12:30 right when everyone else did. There was a bit of a wait for food, but the CMs helped me find the shortest line. We carried our trays back to the beach and ate there. Later I went back for ice cream.

At around 2, the people who had to be on the beach right at 8:30 started to leave. We stayed for about 2 more hours and then made our way back to the ship in a leisurely fashion. The only line I found too long the whole day was the line for photos with pirate Stitch near the ship.

My overall impression was that CC was less crowded than I expected. I thought if I didn't come running off the ship at 8:30, we wouldn't be able to find umbrellas or a good spot. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wrong. I am glad that I used my morning to do the 5k while my family slept in. Rushing everyone off the ship wouldn't have been worth it.

My guess is that your next CC day will be better than your first. Now that you have low expectations, it will almost certainly exceed them.

 

[aliceinvunderland]

On our next cruise, we are planning to switch it up and stay on the ship to enjoy empty pools and slides for a while in the morning, and eating lunch onboard before we head out to the beach. We will be doing beach stuff in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, so it won’t be our only opportunity. We will probably rent bikes and ride around for a bit before heading to the beach to snatch up the loungers left by those who have headed back to the ship. Has anyone ever done this, and does it sound like a decent plan or a terrible idea?

 

[miller4x4]

As previously mentioned, the class of ship can make a big difference.
Since the dream class ships potentially carry double the number of passengers, the ratio of cruisers to resources will be more scarce.

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

On our next cruise, we are planning to switch it up and stay on the ship to enjoy empty pools and slides for a while in the morning, and eating lunch onboard before we head out to the beach. We will be doing beach stuff in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, so it won’t be our only opportunity. We will probably rent bikes and ride around for a bit before heading to the beach to snatch up the loungers left by those who have headed back to the ship. Has anyone ever done this, and does it sound like a decent plan or a terrible idea?

^^This. There is no better time to enjoy the pool deck than Castaway Cay morning. We take our time over breakfast, ride the AquaDuck with no line (literally, no line, you can hop off and get right back on again), swim in the uncrowded pools, eat lunch in Cabanas, and then go down to the beach for a few hours as people are starting to straggle back. Never any problems finding chairs then and the beach becomes less and less crowded as the afternoon goes on. Win/win. But shhhh... don't tell everyone or they'll all start doing it.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

I would plan to get off the boat much earlier and take the tram to the further side of the beach. We were kind of in between Pelican plunge and the family cabanas. It was a great location, really close to a bathroom and to Cookies Two. I think most people go to the other side of the family beach because it's much closer. We also did lunch at 11:30 when they opened.

 

[pixiedustedme]

How do you know the wait for Pelican Plunge was 90 minutes if the kids didn't actually wait in line? That line can look very long, but it moves quickly. We've been at the back of a very long line there, yet still never had to wait over 30 minutes.

We now prefer to stay on the ship all morning, and hit Castaway after lunch. So you don't need to be an early bird to have a good experience there. There are always loungers. Not right by the water, but there are always loungers somewhere. This is coming from someone who's sailed there on both classic and Dream class ships.

 

[pixiedustedme]

On our next cruise, we are planning to switch it up and stay on the ship to enjoy empty pools and slides for a while in the morning, and eating lunch onboard before we head out to the beach. We will be doing beach stuff in Cozumel and Grand Cayman, so it won’t be our only opportunity. We will probably rent bikes and ride around for a bit before heading to the beach to snatch up the loungers left by those who have headed back to the ship. Has anyone ever done this, and does it sound like a decent plan or a terrible idea?

That's exactly what we do. It works well in the dry season (winter), but in the summer it might be problematic if there are afternoon storms.

 

[kiford]

Can't say we've ever had these issues and we've been on all four ships to CC. The first couple of times we did get off right at docking and managed to get lounge chairs (2 only) at Serenity Bay. Since then, we typically only go out to Serenity Bay just before lunch, have a drink, have lunch, and maybe spend a bit of time in the water. Since we're not really beach loungers, we usually just drop our stuff off at one of the chairs and then pick it up just before heading back to the ship. Last time we were there, there was 4 of us and we did the same thing (parasailing was cancelled) then went on the AquaDuck about 6 times in a row because there was hardly anyone on the ship. It's never been so busy for us that we couldn't get a seat for lunch or at least a chair or two. Could just be time of year. We're usually there early December.