Overnight on Castaway Cay

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Has anyone done any overnight on Castaway Cay? I saw an itinerary with an overnight stop and I am intrigued. How late are you allowed to remain on the island?

 

[Marc D]

The ship never stays overnight at CC. They leave the dock at the usual all aboard time, go to sea and come back the next day.

 

[lorimay]

In January, I saw someones Vlog where they pulled into CC in the evening to be ready for the special 5K they were running for marathon weekend. The race started very early the next morning so they had to prepare.
Only the crew was off the ship that evening, no guests.

 

[RedHead0186]

In January, I saw someones Vlog where they pulled into CC in the evening to be ready for the special 5K they were running for marathon weekend. The race started very early the next morning so they had to prepare.
Only the crew was off the ship that evening, no guests.

I saw about this too. The 5k runners were able to get off the ship really early the next morning (before the sunrise). But this was a special thing, totally not the usual for CC. (And this 5k you had to register for through RunDisney in conjunction with the Marathon weekend, it wasn't the usual Castaway Cay 5k).

 

[CamColt]

We too did the CC Challenge in 2016. We arrived at CC just before midnight and went outside on the deck to watch the ship dock, as we were on our way back to our room from the night club at this time. So technically we stayed 'overnight" at CC but could not get off the ship until very early the next morning.

It was unusual to see the ship in the dark from the island, and watch as the sun came up there.

 

[tvguy]

The Magic got stuck at Castaway Cay at least once due to sea conditions. As I recall they were stuck for both Friday and Saturday night, so two overnights. Someone can correct me, but as I recall from posts here nobody was let off the ship the extra time they were docked at Castaway Cay because they wanted to be able to leave immediately when sea conditions improved.

 

[JM_97]

There are no official overnight stays at Castaway Cay. There have been special circumstances but even with those, the ship is just docked there until the next morning. There's a lot of logistics that make it hard to do and there's rumors that the bugs are awful at nighttime on the island.

 

[Capt_BJ]

I believe the reason is simple

not 'lit' for night time operations . . . much less staffed.

 

[lanejudy]

The Magic got stuck at Castaway Cay at least once due to sea conditions. As I recall they were stuck for both Friday and Saturday night, so two overnights. Someone can correct me, but as I recall from posts here nobody was let off the ship the extra time they were docked at Castaway Cay because they wanted to be able to leave immediately when sea conditions improved.

It's my understanding this experience is why DCL does not attempt to remain docked overnight except in very specific circumstances.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Thank you everyone for the helpful, if disappointing, information. I still find 2 days at CC to be appealing, but less exciting than being able to stroll the beach at dusk.

Now that I think about it, I can see how they might worry about guests going missing on the island after dark.

 

[JM_97]

Thank you everyone for the helpful, if disappointing, information. I still find 2 days at CC to be appealing, but less exciting than being able to stroll the beach at dusk.

Now that I think about it, I can see how they might worry about guests going missing on the island after dark.

I would be cool if they could install lighting and have some sort of night time event with fireworks or the ability to watch the sunrise on the island. But it just doesn't work like that.

I'd still go for two days at CC if you can swing it (those cruises are usually a little bit pricier)

 

[tvguy]

I would be cool if they could install lighting and have some sort of night time event with fireworks or the ability to watch the sunrise on the island. But it just doesn't work like that.

I'd still go for two days at CC if you can swing it (those cruises are usually a little bit pricier)

In the past, Castmembers who live on Castaway Cay have said the bugs at night make being outside on Castaway Cay very unpleasant.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

In the past, Castmembers who live on Castaway Cay have said the bugs at night make being outside on Castaway Cay very unpleasant.

How many people live on CC?! I got the impression that everybody gets off the ship in the AM, works through the day, and packs up as the guests are leaving.

Bugs or no bugs, I think it might have found my “in retirement” job.

 

[tvguy]

How many people live on CC?! I got the impression that everybody gets off the ship in the AM, works through the day, and packs up as the guests are leaving.

Bugs or no bugs, I think it might have found my “in retirement” job.

I think about 100 castmembers live on the island. If you look at Castaway Cay from Google satellite view and zoom in you can see the staff housing buildings. Sure a lot of people waving goodbye from Castaway Cay to the ship as it left.

EDIT: Here is a short video that shows some of the castmember housing on Castaway Cay.