Two stops at Castaway Cays

[Jaylie]

We'll be on a 4-night Dream cruise next summer. We will be with many grandchildren (12), but we don't want to spend two days at the beach, so I'm wondering what we can do on the ship while its docked. The kids range from 3 to 18. Thanks for any advice!

 

[dcassetta]

There will be many activities on board and the pools are likely to be less crowded. You might look at some navigators from previous cruises to get a sense of possible offerings. http://disneycruiselineblog.com has lots to look at.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

As the PP mentioned, there's lots of things to do on the ship. But I'm wondering why you chose the 4 night double dip (as the cruises with 2 stops at CC are known) if you don't want two beach days. The double dip cruises are so popular they tend to be priced higher than other cruises of the same length that don't stop at CC twice. A quick look at the 4 night double dip in July of next year shows it's around $500 more expensive than other 4 night cruises in July 2017 without the double dip. I was seaching for just two cruisers. I didn't look at what the price difference would be for more people in a stateroom. If I didn't want two beach days, I'd opt for a cruise with the standard itinerary of just one stop at CC, a stop at Nassau, and a sea day and save some money.

 

[Otimon]

I, too, would wonder why you chose a cruise with two stops at Castaway Cay if you didn't want to go to Castaway the second day. Is this a
decision of the adults only or did it include all the grandchildren as well?

There is much to do on the ship if you choose to stay onboard.

If you've never been to Castaway before, you may find you'll change your mind after the first visit and decide to return!

 

[lanejudy]

As others have stated, the onboard services remain open during a Castaway Cay stop. The pools, AquaDuck, spa, movie theater, eateries, etc. are all open. However, I don't think there is a lot of extra programming offered onboard as most activities move to the island. Since you mention the grandchildren I want to point out that all kids' programming moves to the island for the day, except for the Nursery. The kids' locations will be in "open house" mode onboard for the day. I suggest you check out some Navigators to see what activities occur onboard during a CC stop. http://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[MUN]

We'll be on a 4-night Dream cruise next summer. We will be with many grandchildren (12), but we don't want to spend two days at the beach,

I'll spend them on the beach for you.

 

[dclpluto]

You think you might not be a beach person but you might change your mind once you see castaway cay. I'm from south jersey the beaches suck around here IMO. I haven't been to a beach in New Jersey for over 20 years but I love castaway cay and some other places I been to.

 

[MUN]

You think you might not be a beach person but you might change your mind once you see castaway cay. I'm from south jersey the beaches suck around here IMO. I haven't been to a beach in New Jersey for over 20 years but I love castaway cay and some other places I been to.

I agree with you about South Jersey sucking. CC is great! My offer to spend those days at CC for the OP still stands. I'm not sure how the logistics will work out.

 

[steves100]

That's the reason you book double CC : )

 

[Jaylie]

As the PP mentioned, there's lots of things to do on the ship. But I'm wondering why you chose the 4 night double dip (as the cruises with 2 stops at CC are known) if you don't want two beach days. The double dip cruises are so popular they tend to be priced higher than other cruises of the same length that don't stop at CC twice. A quick look at the 4 night double dip in July of next year shows it's around $500 more expensive than other 4 night cruises in July 2017 without the double dip. I was seaching for just two cruisers. I didn't look at what the price difference would be for more people in a stateroom. If I didn't want two beach days, I'd opt for a cruise with the standard itinerary of just one stop at CC, a stop at Nassau, and a sea day and save some money.

We booked the "double dip" because it was the only date that ALL 22 of us could do! I was just wondering what could be done onboard if some wanted to only go once to the beach. Good to know that the kid clubs go to CC.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

We booked the "double dip" because it was the only date that ALL 22 of us could do! I was just wondering what could be done onboard if some wanted to only go once to the beach. Good to know that the kid clubs go to CC.

Makes sense! So some might want both beach days. I just felt bad that you are paying a premium over top DCL's already premium prices if you didn't want 2 days at CC. As others have mentioned, you might find out that you want to take advantage of both days at CC.

Yes, the Oceaneers spaces onboard will be in open house mode and the secure kids club programing moves to Scuttles Cove. But the pools and Aquaduck will be open while the ship is at CC, and it would be a great time to take advantage of those since most people leave the ship at CC. There will be movies playing. I believe all the character greetings will be on CC until later in the day. I think around 4:00 they start having character greetings back on the ship.

 

[Churchladychurchlady]

You could always do a dry day at CC and rent bikes, do the nature walk, go fishing, take the glass bottom boat tour, walk the 5k etc... and then hop back on the ship early and take advantage of the emptier pools, etc..

 

[usetr99]

I know that on the larger ships, there is fun scavenger hunt that everyone can do, but typically Disney does nto schedule things on the boat during port days. There are other things to do, like turtle races and bike riding. Or what you could do is have one of the days be a family day at the beach, then the other day have the kids go to kids club (which is on the island, but not directly by the beach), while the adults go to the adult beach or do the activites where you have to be 18+ (like paddle boarding or jet skiing).

 

[kiford]

We usually just get off at CC, go to the adult beach, have a drink, lunch and then head back to the ship. Pools aren't crowded, Aquaduck isn't crowded, there are still other activities and movies. We like CC because everyone else gets off and we have a nice quiet ship with many fewer people. Not as many activities as a normal day or day at sea but still very nice

 

[phinz]

That's the reason you book double CC : )

You wouldn't believe the number of people complaining about doing a double dip at CC a couple of years ago when we went. They acted like they were stunned that we weren't going to Nassau. All I could think was, "Well, that's what happens when you let somebody else do your planning and don't pay attention to the itinerary." Seriously. There were a *lot* of people who were hopping mad, even complaining to Guest Services.

 

[steves100]

You wouldn't believe the number of people complaining about doing a double dip at CC a couple of years ago when we went. They acted like they were stunned that we weren't going to Nassau. All I could think was, "Well, that's what happens when you let somebody else do your planning and don't pay attention to the itinerary." Seriously. There were a *lot* of people who were hopping mad, even complaining to Guest Services.

We probably wont even get off the ship in Nassau next cruise when we do a double CC next year. Might try to do a private boat to outer islands...
Booked this SPECIFICALLy for the double dip. Only issue will be the cost of 2 cabanas, assuming I can get them : )

 

[phinz]

We probably wont even get off the ship in Nassau next cruise when we do a double CC next year. Might try to do a private boat to outer islands...
Booked this SPECIFICALLy for the double dip. Only issue will be the cost of 2 cabanas, assuming I can get them : )

We're doing the double plus Nassau next year and unless we can get a cabana we probably won't go ashore anywhere.

 

[steves100]

We're doing the double plus Nassau next year and unless we can get a cabana we probably won't go ashore anywhere.

Wait you wont go to CC unless you get a cabana?

That seems like a REALLY expensive cruise to do nothing.

Just saying...

 

[bumbershoot]

Wait you wont go to CC unless you get a cabana?

That seems like a REALLY expensive cruise to do nothing.

Just saying...

I totally agree.

I enjoyed CC *more* withOUT the cabana. With the cabana I wanted to get my money's worth, which meant sitting in the cabana. Well that's not all that much fun LOL. Especially since all I could imagine was other peoples' sweat on the upholstered cushions. YUCK. I didn't even go sit on an innertube or go snorkeling, even though the equipment was included, because that meant being away from the expensive cabana. I did finally go out to the beach, but then I felt like the cabana was useless and what was the point?

When NOT in a cabana, I wander, I lounge, I relax, I enjoy myself without feeling tethered to anything.

Castaway is the place that taught me that maybe I *am* a beach person after all. And that was nearly 2 years before we got a cabana...



ETA:

The cruise when we got the cabana was a double dip. Cabana was on the first CC day. We all thought we would miss it the second day. I didn't miss it for even a second. I was so glad to be free.

 

[phinz]

Wait you wont go to CC unless you get a cabana?

That seems like a REALLY expensive cruise to do nothing.

Just saying...

I'm not doing nothing. I don't cruise for the ports. I cruise for the big floating hotel with all sorts of entertainment, food and comfort. If it were about ports I'd just fly to the destination and have more than a few hours to explore at my leisure. If a cruise could just go to sea and do circles for 7 days before returning I'd be just fine with that. If everybody else wants to leave the big floating hotel and play in the sand, that's even better. I get the whole hotel to myself.

I've been to CC without a cabana. I spent a total of about 3 hours on shore between the couple of times I haven't had a cabana. My wife and I don't care for beaches, though we love the coast and the sea. We don't like being extremely hot and we both spontaneously combust in direct sunlight. A cabana is the perfect place to rest, read, relax and drink a bucket of beer. If I can't have one then I'd just as soon sit at the Cove Bar or on the verandah.