Sharks at Castaway Cay?

[fairytalelover]

Just wondering if there have ever been any problems with sharks at castaway cay.

 

[Bareacuda]

Ive seen one... back in 2007. About 3' long and wanted nothing to do with people

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

No problems with the shark's or barracuda's.
Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone!

Sea Lice, sand fleas, sea anemones, coral/rock abrasions are much much higher up on the incident list!

Relax and enjoy!

Ex Techie

 

[Bear3412]

No problems with sharks @ CC Family Beach.

There is a family of Barracudas at CC. They are used to people though.

My suggestion is to remove all shiny items from your person (jewelry/piercings/shiny watches/etc)prior to swimming/snorkeling anywhere in the tropics including CC. Barracudas are attracted to the shine, the only sharks that will generally bother you, which you should rarely/never encounter are bull and white. Which, theoretically would never happen at CC on the Family Beach. It is fenced from the ocean technically.

Good Luck and Happy Snorkeling

 

[Disney Dreams]

Never really completely sure on the rules of posting links to outside sites and have been dinged for it once so I don't risk it, but Google castaway cay shark.

You will find some reports and a few YouTube videos.

- Dreams

 

[Bear3412]

....... but Google castaway cay shark.

...... some reports and a few YouTube videos.

Benign sharks, No worries unless you annoy them like one shown.

 

[Dislaney4n6]

No problems with the shark's or barracuda's.
Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone!

Sea Lice, sand fleas, sea anemones, coral/rock abrasions are much much higher up on the incident list!

Relax and enjoy!

Ex Techie

I have never heard of sea lice or sand fleas.. and I grew up going to the shore!!! I will be doing a google search in a few...

 

[Zandy595]

A couple years ago I stumbled upon a fb page for Castaway Cay CM's. They had pictures of them untangling sharks that got caught in the nets and died.

 

[lbgraves]

As long as the nets are up at the family beach you will be fine. There was one time after a hurricane blew through the area and the nets were ripped that they closed the beach and warned people about not swimming in the water there.

 

[rosermama]

Yes there are barracudas at CC and some of them are very large. You normally encounter these on the adult side of the beach because it is not enclosed.

Do not look them in the face especially with a snorkeling mask or eye protection on- if they see there reflection it spooks them and they will attack. Don't wear anything shiny in the water- frankly this should be a given unless you want to risk losing your jewelry.

More then likely the sharks you would encounter anywhere in the Caribbean on a beach are going to be nurse sharks or something similar that like the shallow water are not aggressive and don't like the taste of humans.

As with any place you swim in the ocean you are at risk but luckily the water is clear and beautiful not like say VA beach so you can see most anything.

As with any wild creature, if you don't bother them or worse agitate them by say poking them, they will leave you alone.

I always think of the geese at the zoo- they don't bother most people (they may want your popcorn) but the kids who get bit are the ones that chase them around and bother them. Same principal

 

[fairytalelover]

No problems with sharks @ CC Family Beach.

There is a family of Barracudas at CC. They are used to people though.

My suggestion is to remove all shiny items from your person (jewelry/piercings/shiny watches/etc)prior to swimming/snorkeling anywhere in the tropics including CC. Barracudas are attracted to the shine, the only sharks that will generally bother you, which you should rarely/never encounter are bull and white. Which, theoretically would never happen at CC on the Family Beach. It is fenced from the ocean technically.

Good Luck and Happy Snorkeling

"theoretically" and "technically" makes me a little uneasy

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

"theoretically" and "technically" makes me a little uneasy

If you want to be 100% Technical and Theorise about the probability of you, your child, or someone else in your party being attacked by a shark or Barracuda, then the best advice is not to step foot in the OCEAN period.

Disney may have the right to call the island, Disney's Castaway Cay, but they have no right's over the sea life that LIVE in the water, the OCEAN, they're HOME.

At the Family Beach yes they have shark net's to try to keep shark's out of the lagoon, but...... What about that one that got in?
And Barry the Barracuda as well?
SB and the other beaches has no protection at all.

You may notice the lack of people reporting shark attack's or barracuda attack's on here?

Staying on land is your best bet if you are that paranoid about sea life attacking you and yours.

Ex Techie

 

[TXDCLfan]

If you want to be 100% Technical and Theorise about the probability of you, your child, or someone else in your party being attacked by a shark or Barracuda, then the best advice is not to step foot in the OCEAN period.

Disney may have the right to call the island, Disney's Castaway Cay, but they have no right's over the sea life that LIVE in the water, the OCEAN, they're HOME.

At the Family Beach yes they have shark net's to try to keep shark's out of the lagoon, but...... What about that one that got in?
And Barry the Barracuda as well?
SB and the other beaches has no protection at all.

You may notice the lack of people reporting shark attack's or barracuda attack's on here?

Staying on land is your best bet if you are that paranoid about sea life attacking you and yours.

Ex Techie

 

[fairytalelover]

I won't be going in more than my ankles. I'm deathly afraid of sharks

 

[sissy_ib]

I won't be going in more than my ankles. I'm deathly afraid of sharks

Just wondering, have you never been in the ocean?

 

[fairytalelover]

Yes I have.

 

[owensamo]

Here's a point of personal experience. I've been on 8 Disney cruises, with 9 stops to CC total, and have never seen more than minnows in the water on the Family beach. I am not a huge ocean swimmer - mostly due to the fact that the idea of any fish even brushing against me freaks me out a little - but I'm perfectly comfortable in the water at CC. I don't usually spend a lot of time in the water - I enjoy sitting in the shade, sipping a frosty drink and reading - but I've never really seen anything in the family area that would be a problem.

With the number of kids splashing and kicking and flailing near the shore, I imagine most fish are scared off. The minnows are harmless, and I've never been able to get closer than a foot to them if I'm moving (I never tried sanding still to see if they came closer) so I know they're not going to get close to me.

We did go to the Adult beach once, and went out into the water for a little bit - mostly just to get wet so it wouldn't be so hot sitting on the beach! That side isn't protected - no nets, etc - and the bottom is rockier, but again I didn't see anything scary in the shallow bits we were in.

You do get brushed against if you go on the Stingray excursion, though. That kinda freaked me out a bit - we aren't really experienced snorkelers, so I was the only one who really tried it - and I was so freaked that I'd stand up and step on one that it didn't last very long! I wasn't really worried about them hurting me - more me hurting them! They were really cool to feed and pet, though!

 

[tander2026]

I don't think you have much to be afraid about. This will only be my 3rd time on castaway cay, but I am an avid scuba diver. I have seen the barracuda on castaway cay he is used to people. If there is a shark they are more afraid of you than you are of them. Just try to enjoy, your on vacation!

 

[sissy_ib]

Yes I have.

I see you're from California. If you've been swimming in the ocean in California you have nothing to worry about at CC.

 

[MelissaE1]

I was going to explain about how clear and calm the water is on CC so you can see quite a ways around you, but I'm guessing from your avatar that you've been there before. Obviously you can choose to just not go in the water, but I saw from your post in the other shark thread that you have a son -- is it maybe that you are worried for him?

There have been some good points made by people with experience, and I will add that I grew up in So. Cal and spent many a day at the beach, have done my share of scuba diving, live a mile from the beach in FL and have been to CC 5 times and have never seen anything to scare me off from going in or letting my kids swim in the ocean, especially in the netted area at CC. You are safer there than at many vacation destinations.

That said, sometimes there is no rational reason for our fear, but knowing that doesn't necessarily make it go away. I would suggest that if your son is interested in going in the water, go down there and try wading and see if you feel safe based on the visibility and number of other people around. If it still bothers you, go find something else to do. There are plenty of other fun things on the island besides swimming, and you can always go back to the ship and enjoy the relatively empty pools if you feel like a dip.