We were really looking forward to our Magic cruise that visited
Lookout Cay. We were originally on the preview cruise in June but had to change, so ended up at the end of July. I was really excited about the island, and then there were a number of early reviews that made us nervous about this. The trip was my sister, my mom, and myself. I was concerned about the walk for my mom. She is in good health, but does not walk very fast due to her age and knee issues. I was also worried with some of the reports about the food and flies on that first cruise, but we were well after PIF and decided to just go and see what we thought ourselves.
The first issue I wanted to address was the transport for my mom. It was not a problem to reserve a ride on the golf cart for the three of us so that we could ride together, we did not have to leave her on her own. We were able to make arrangements to get off the ship early, we also like to get our morning started when we visit Castaway. She did not have any issues at all boarding the tram, and we did notice there seemed to be a number of the tram cars that did allow people to travel in wheelchairs without having to get out. We decided to set up on the southernmost part of the beach because we thought it would be a little quieter. This turned out to be an excellent location. No problem at all with getting loungers in a way that allowed us to all have shade. We got our chairs set up, and decided to head right into the ocean. I have been to Eleuthera twice before for very short visits. The beaches around the island are great, but the location that Disney has at Lookout is just amazing. The sand is very soft and the ocean there has nice wave action without being difficult for smaller kids or people with mobility problems. Spent much of the morning in the ocean, and also did a little snorkeling. There was some weather that was starting to form so we decided to go and have some lunch and make sure my mom had some cover in case it started to rain. The lunch options were so much better than Castaway. There is nothing wrong with hamburgers and hot dogs, but I don't care for them so much and so often on CC I would mostly have salad and fruit. The Bahamian Pigeon rice was excellent as was the tomato salad and the fried okra. I also tried a very small portion of the jambalaya which was also very good with nice large shrimp in it. My mother and sister really enjoyed the ribs and the chicken. We did not try the fish dishes, but based on the number of plates around us that were empty, I'm thinking those were also very good. Like you would see at any outdoor dining area, there were occasional flies. But not a problem at all during our lunch. So whatever was done to eradicate the flies, has worked. The day continued to be a little bit cloudy, but no real rain.
My mom decided to head back to this ship a little early. It was not a problem for her to get a ride back to the ship. We spent more time in the water. The other thing that we spent time doing was at the Play-Play pavilion where there were some different activities involving the characters. We really enjoyed some bucket races and limbo with Chip and Dale. They were so funny, and great with both the kids and adults. Thanks to
@Mags2002, for her help with that! We had to get back for dinner and wanted to do a little bit of shopping. So we boarded the tram back at about 4:00. The walk back is a little long at the end of the day when you have spent lots of time in the sun. There were quite a few CMs that I saw that were driving people back and forth. So it appeared to me that if you had a need for a ride, that that would be available for you. You might have to wait a little while for the next cart to come back, but it would be available. We did not go at a rapid pace, and did spend some time looking at the ocean. In addition to the fish that we saw in the beautiful clear water, there was also a really beautiful spotted eagle ray. I didn't keep an exact time, but I would guess it took us about 15 minutes to walk back to the ship. I did notice at least one area where there appeared to be a water station set up, but there was no water there. Maybe because of the time of day we were there, or maybe they haven't quite set that up. Upon returning to the ship there were the wonderful cold washcloths that you always get when you come in from the beach or an excursion. As always, we watched the onshore cast members take their bows as we listened to the Magic's wonderful horn.
I know this review is a little bit long, but I wanted to be as informative as I could. Lookout Cay is amazing, and in my mind it beats CC in every category except for the walk. And I love Castaway. It's one of my favorite places in the world. I have loved it for 25 years. But, the water, the beach, and the food, are all better on Lookout. As the foliage and trees grow in, the addition of more shady areas will make the beach even better. There are a few things that Disney will need to continue to work on. I really like the boardwalks, and the way they protect the environment, but there do need to be more signs. They also still don't have the bicycles, but I'm sure those will come. We enjoy the nature trail and the views there, as the foliage grows there also I think it will become more interesting. We noticed that several people set up their own private beach area at the end of the nature trail. This would be a nice quiet location away from the bustle of the bigger beach areas. As a side note, and this was not an issue for my family, but we did talk with one family who were a little disappointed because there were no beach wheelchairs. I think this will also be remedied but should be soon to make the beach more accessible. It seemed to us, that everyone that wanted a lounger or a chair was able to find those on the beach side. But, I can understand why the Dream and Triton ships may be an issue and some people may not like where some of the lounging areas are behind the dunes. I think this can also be a place where Disney can look at where there may be some more room on the beach itself. Where we were was very close to the South end of the beach, and there were areas where you could have some additional loungers and chairs.
TL;DR - Loved Loved Loved Lookout, and can't wait to go again. Wish we had an upcoming cruise with a stop there!
