"Winter" at Castaway Cay

[Dallas_Lady]

What's been your experience? I'm about to pull the trigger on a late November cruise but I am hesitating due to the weather. Maybe it's just too hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of being on the beach on Thanksgiving Our only visit to CC was in June and the water was perfect. I know we'll be pretty bummed if it's too chilly to swim.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's the Bahamas. Check out the weather channel for typical weather.

Sometimes there are cold snaps. During a trip to wdw when it got cold on feb my cousins were on a cruise. It was cold on their cruise too. Not as cold though.

Late November is still solidly Fall though so don't go by "winter" temperatures.

 

[dcassetta]

I have found the water warm enough to swim in October and November. Third week of December was only willing to wade.

 

[Tractortom]

We were there two years ago, on a family cruise, in November. I live in South Florida and really like warm water, and it was warm enough to snorkel and enjoy the water. Granted, I had my shorty wet suit on, but like I said, I like WARM water. My son, from Michigan, was in the water with me for over an hour as we snorkeled with just trunks on. The weather was perfect, and water was plenty warm.

Tom in Okeechobee, FL

 

[mandylovesdisney]

That time of year is hit or miss. Our first year to CC in late Nov. the water was freezing! The second time we went, same time of year, the water was a little cool getting in but we got used to it quickly and it was nice. I just got back from CC in Feb. of this year and on SB the water felt really cold but over on the family side it felt fine. LOL

Edit: Our second and third cruises were B2B... the first leg was amazing. Perfect weather and as mention above the water at CC was great. Second leg....not so much. It was rainy and cold on CC.

 

[apathetic]

I've been there in Dec and Jan and it was warm enough to swim. The water is cooler, so you need a few seconds to acclimate. Best to jump right in and get it over with quicker. If you are from the north, it is like getting in the lake that first time in summer. Once you are used to it, the water is great. The weather was great too, lots of sun and a lot more comfortable than the July visits.

 

[lklgoodman]

Just keep in mind that Nov. is during hurricane season, so IF a hurricane were to happen during your cruise time it could affect your trip some.

 

[KdKyA]

We went in December and April, the water was warmer in December than it was in April. However the outside temperature was warmer in April than it was in December. The temps can fluctuate a lot. You can google search and find historical temps for the area and get an idea of what to expect.

 

[Disneymadhouse]

We were on CC on boxing day in 2015 and there were plenty of people swimming etc. It was a beautiful warm day. I think my DD probably spent about 6 hours in the water

Claire

 

[mmouse37]

We were at CC in January and were downright cold and then again in January where it was lovely weather.

November should be warmer.

MJ

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We have been to CC several times in December and while the water was cool when first stepping in; once we started moving we became acclimated to it pretty quickly. I would have to think that in November it should be warmer to start out with in comparison to December.
And if we could swing it, I would LOVE to be on CC during Thanksgiving. Have a great vacation

 

[phinz]

I've done the week after Thanksgiving twice and the water/air were fine both times. I've done a week later in December and it also was fine.

 

[m3owbox]

We were doing plenty of swimming when we were there in Nov 2015! It was hot!

 

[Barbydoll8]

Ilive here and you being from north-easter TX, you are probably cooler than WDW is in Nov but CC is slightly SE of Orlando. (you can actually take a ferry to Nassau from Ft. Lauderdale. It's not far) and whatever the weather is in Miami is what you can kind of predict.
We haven't had a "cold" November here since 2010. That being said, most FL people will not swim that time of year. It is usually too cool for us but normally the rest of the country finds it fine. We'd be wearing wetsuits like TractorTom mentioned.

November is also the END of hurricane season and storms are extremely rare - especially the later the month goes on. Early to mid Sept is the height of the season. You should be find on that front.

 

[Mitura]

We have gone Thanksgiving week and 3 times the week after. Weather was great. We're from Phila so the water was cold but the novelty for us was being in the ocean in December. We were in the ocean all day every day.

Joe

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

I've been to Castaway in April, May, November and December. I've found the water to be equally as cold each trip and didn't enjoy the water temp. Although I was able to enjoy wearing my bikini on the beach, none of these times were incredibly warm!

 

[The_Olivas_4]

I'm hoping Oct 2018 will still be warm enough to swim... First Timer!

 

[jessrose18]

We were there in December 2010 "record cold" streak. We were on the beach and waded our feet, very windy. We went again in December 2012 adn were full on swimming, but we are from MN, but really the water was ok. We are now thinking about mid October and I have some concerns about rain of course