Pool at Disney Castaway Cay, private cruise island?

[abitjaded]

O.K., not that you regulars monitor the Disney Cruise line, and we admit we are a little slow in the rumor department. But does anyone know where a rumor of putting a pool on Castaway Cay may have come from? There is a thread on the cruise board about just such a thing:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=422260

TIA,
Carla

 

[KNWVIKING]

Aren't insects a major issue at CC ? I read on one of these boards that the bugs at night are terrible. Fact or Fiction ?

 

[ohanafamily]

If I recall, it is sand lice or mites. they can make the beach very uncomfortable.....

 

[abitjaded]

Since I am my family's mosquito magnet, I personally can vouch for the fact that they could be a problem. We took a bike ride late in the afternoon and the mosquitos were out in force. The area "behind" the public areas of Castaway Cay has a lot of still water, mangrove swamps. Other islands in the area have similar problems. Eluthera was miserable after sun down. Many of these island that are coral based are very flat and filled with boggy areas where mosquitos breed. I would imagine abatement could be expensive and environmentally touchy for the Disney corporation.

Sand lice can be found on just about any beach early in the morning, especially if you make the mistake of walking around sea grapes. Sadly, I know this from personal experience, too. And Man, they itch like the Devil and last a loooooong time.

So sounds like the rumor was only that, if you guys have not seen/heard anything. Any other input?

Carla

 

[Kaitysmom]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we overheard a conversation a few years back. We heard that there are all kinds of restrictions in place for Disney to even use the island. We were docked in Nassau for around 16 hours or more. Castaway Cay was only a 3/4 day, we were really surprised that we didn't get to stay longer. Maybe it's the bugs... Anyhow, people were asking a crew member why we had such a short time on the Disney island and they were told that due to Bahamian rules, etc., the ship had to dock in Nassau for a certain number of hours in order to dock at Castaway Cay for a certain number of hours. If that is the case, I don't think this rumor will pan out.

 

[ohanafamily]

it is probably due to the gambling. When we were on the DC 7 day cruise, we were told by a CM that the other Cruise Ship, that was on the same itinerary (except that they went to their private island and we went to castaway cay) left St thomas earlier by about 4 hours. it seems that they wanted the patrons to gamble on the ship not in ST

 

[Demosthenes]

Originally posted by ohanafamily
it is probably due to the gambling. When we were on the DC 7 day cruise, we were told by a CM that the other Cruise Ship, that was on the same itinerary (except that they went to their private island and we went to castaway cay) left St thomas earlier by about 4 hours. it seems that they wanted the patrons to gamble on the ship not in ST

There is no gambling in St. Thomas; however, port taxes increase the longer a ship stays in port. Most ships make more money on the casino and drinks than on excussions. Maybe Disney uses the extra time in port to push their excusrsions since there is no casino.