Sea lice. Yuck!

[conandrob240]

I should add that I have never had an issue with sand fleas at CC. They are generally nothing to worry about in general- a quick spray on ankles, legs and arms once or twice and even if they are in full force, they will stay away with use of bug spray. They mostly are an issue at dusk or on very still/no wind days.

It was the sea lice we (and others we talked to) had an issue with at CC. Mostly on one trip four years ago. Didn't notice an issue the two trips before that. We always cruise 3rd or last week of August.

 

[twopeasonepod]

You are correct - a wet suit won't keep you dry. Apologies for the incorrect statement. I think what I was trying to say (albeit poorly) it's that it will stop water flooding in against your body.

I do, however, stick by my suggestion of wearing a wetsuit. I was trying to contradict some earlier suggestions of wearing baggy clothing.

Like a pp poster said you can sometimes see sea lice (they are tiny specs which make the water a little bit hazy), but by the time you see them it is usually too late. If you swim into them with a big billowing t-shirt, or loose gaping swimmers, the openings in your clothing are acting like the opening of a funnel or net allowing potentially hundreds of sea lice to be funnelled in against your skin. The minute you move in a way that traps the sea lice (kick your legs, stand up in the water, turn over, wipe your arms against your side etc etc etc) the sea lice could sting.

The sea lice are too big to filter through the fabric of the wetsuit, so while they might sting at the wetsuit openings (wrist and neck) it's less likely they will reach other areas of your body.

From what I understand, the next best thing to wearing a full body wetsuit, is wearing nothing at all. Lol, now that would be a sight to behold at Castaway Cay.

I'm pretty sure they have the "nothing at all" approach on some other cruise lines haha. Thankfully, we won't be experiencing that -- at least not until my kids grow up and I have about 10 plastic surgeries haha.

 

[Valentine]

We were just on the Dream 4th of July Weekend... We had done a day at Blue Lagoon and spent the day in the water, playing with sea lions and a full afternoon on the beach and in the water... Not one issue... Castaway Cay however was a whole other story... we did the Stingrays, and then headed over to the beach near the Slides... my nephew did the slides.. I did not... he then went in the water with me on the beach and about an hour into swimming he was begging to take his swimshirt off as he was itchy... I took off the shirt and saw little red marks all over him. I took him to First Aid and they declared it Sea Lice. Told him to get under the showers... and then go into the hot tub on the ship and it would work wonders. We cut out trip to CC Short and headed back onto the ship.. a shower and hot tub trip later .. all the itchies were gone as were the red marks.

Now.. I believe that the weather, which had been stormy... as well as the tide which was VERY low caused the sea lice issue. I did not have an issue at all and was in both the Stingray area and the beach. So.. hoping it was a fluke and it won't happen again.. as I am booking another trip for next summer!!

 

[mcd2745]

We're going the very last week of August....hopefully when the sea lice season is winding down, ha ha. Anyone ever have any trouble with them at that time of year at CC?

I did buy a bottle of the Safe Sea stuff, though, just in case, from their official website. They shipped super quickly, I received it within 2-3 days without any expedited shipping.

I got some stings the last week of August last year. The problem area was only by Pelican Plunge - which seems to be the common trouble spot I later found out. Apparently, they like the area around the platform. As soon as we went in the water and started to swim out to the platform we felt very itchy. While we were all feeling itchy the entire time we were in the Pelican Plunge area, I was the only one to get stung (on my upper arm and back) - likely because I was wearing a rash guard shirt. On the way out of the water, the CM there notices we were itchy and tells us about the sea lice and to go over to the showers and rinse off. She should have told us about the sea lice in that area when we passed her on the way in.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

.... and I have about 10 plastic surgeries haha.

Ahaha, you and I both.

 

[conandrob240]

Thanks for the Pelican Plunge theory. That could explain why our only issue was 3 or 4 yrs ago and not prior. Nobody like pelican plunge anyway so it should be easy to avoid.

 

[cakiesmom]

It was our experience at Pelican Plunge that started the thread so, I will try the things all of you have suggested and just avoid this slide area. Thanks so much!!

 

[Meghatron]

We spent our entire day at CC at Pelican Plunge itself and the water right next to it. Not a single sting on any of us. First week of May.

Sent from my Tricorder using DISBoards

 

[msd1776]

I did a little reading about this on the Florida DOH's website. It says that this is primarily an issue (in Florida at least) from March to August. We are going on our cruise in November. Does anyone have any experience with this being a problem at Castaway Cay from September to February?

Yes, we sailed on Disney Fantasy and stopped in St Johns in December 2012. Both my husband and daughter had a multitude of bites. My daughter's sea lice bites were concentrated on her shoulder ...in an area not underneath a swimsuit.