Parasailing at Castaway Cay questions

[michellekcm]

I've searched the forums, but haven't been able to find an answer, so hopefully I'm not repeating an often-asked question.

We are cruising to CC in January, and my daughter is finally old enough to parasail, so of course that's what she wants to do. I know that high winds can (often?) cancel parasailing. Is there a time of day that there tends to be high winds there, or is it just luck of the draw? Ie should I try and book for the morning or the afternoon or?

Also, one thread talked about tipping the parasailing operators. I hadn't even thought about that on CC. I guess I just assumed they were all Disney employees. What do people tip? I'm assuming US dollars are ok? When do you tip?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

It's luck of the draw with wind. One trip for us it was completely calm all day, another we couldn't even dock because of wind, the third was calm in the morning, windy at lunch and calm late afternoon.

We tipped the guys (2) $5/each for each of us, so for our family of 4, we tipped a total of $40.

 

[Quellman]

I vote scheduling an early parasailing adventure, this way if weather clears up and they can squeeze you in, you can still go. If you plan for an afternoon sailing, and it gets windy then, there is no other option for you and you will surely miss out.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

The one time I booked it, it was for the morning and they cancelled the entire day's worth before we got off the ship. The weather did seem calmer in the afternoon, but no parasailing excursions happened. I think that's because the parasailing people come from another island and if they cancel in the morning, they may not come at all that day.

 

[MickeyEarrings]

I tipped $20 total to the two-man crew when I parasailed. They told me I could add a tip on my kttw card, but added that they very often don't get those tips.

For what that's worth....

 

[michellekcm]

Thank you all!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I tipped $20 total to the two-man crew when I parasailed. They told me I could add a tip on my kttw card, but added that they very often don't get those tips.

For what that's worth....

I'm not sure what they would be referring to. The gratuities on onboard account are designated to room hosts and the dinner service team (3 positions). There's no way a gratuity "added to the KTTW card" would go to an excursion.

 

[tink1970]

I've been parasailing twice and scheduled both in the am (want to get up, get down and hit the beach!). I do agree that there isn't a good way to predict whether it will be cancelled due to weather, though.

I believe I tipped about $20 for DD and myself and $40 when DD, DM and I went. The operators come over from the next closest island (?Abaco) and are not Disney employees (contracted).

 

[2Bnºoºt2B]

It's the luck of the draw ... on our 1st of our B2B, weather was great ... on the 2nd, parasailing was cancelled due to the very high winds. Remember to wear plenty of sunscreen as you are out on the boat for a while as the operators cycle through everyone going up and down. Our boat broke down so we had to wait for a replacement to come out ... as a result they paired up family members who were hoping for individual flights, tandem style, to save time. Tipping the operators had not crossed my mind at all as I thought there was no need to bring $$ ashore - so my bad ...