Is it is just me or is CC not that great as it should be..

[Crispen]

Hi all -

been to Castaway Cay twice and both times didn't have a great time.
the water is not deep enough for me to stand in and be covered - i think they did that on purpose

the water visibility is terrible and makes snorkeling a waste of time
when in the water its hard to walk around as there are so many rocks there - it is insane

i got attacked by bugs that bit the heck out of me.

anyone else agree or disagree?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi all -

been to Castaway Cay twice and both times didn't have a great time.
the water is not deep enough for me to stand in and be covered - i think they did that on purpose

the water visibility is terrible and makes snorkeling a waste of time
when in the water its hard to walk around as there are so many rocks there - it is insane

i got attacked by bugs that bit the heck out of me.

anyone else agree or disagree?

Sorry, disagree. CC is an outdoor venue. Nature has rocks, bugs, and murky water (especially after 1500+ people start swimming/playing in it).

I like the shallower water, I don't get knocked down as much by the waves. My guess - yes they try to have the water shallow, it makes it more fun for everyone to just be "in" the water and not in deep water.

 

[Fuzzywuzzy]

What, no beefs with the water temperature?

 

[tobikaye]

Well, I only did Serenity Bay, but I had no real problems. The water came up almost to my neck in some areas, but I am only 5' tall. There were only a few places were the rocks seemed to group that I found. I did not have any bug bites. The water was clear enough for me to easily see small schools of fish and a few starfish.

I am not big on hanging out at beaches for long so it lived up to what I expected. I think if I do another DCL cruise I know I would do some things differently. I would probably head out early for the 5K or Yoga and then either go bike riding or head back to the ship for a while. Then I would head back to the beach about 1 or 2 pm. It seemed most people on my cruise headed back to the ship about 2 or 3 pm even though the all aboard was 4 pm.

 

[clten]

Personally, I enjoy Castaway Cay for what it is. Not everyone enjoys it and that's okay. I think it is hyped up a bit too much as the best stop ever, so I can understand having some disappointment if expectations are too high. Sometimes you have to decide what a port can offer you that you would enjoy. Would your visit have been better if the snorkeling was better? The water gets murky as the day goes on. So if snorkeling is important, I'd be among the first off and head directly to the snorkeling area. (Snorkeling right from the beaches doesn't yield as much as the snorkeling lagoon.)

If you want water that is deep enough, did you try the different beaches? (and check the tides?) I too find Serenity Bay is not deep enough -- but if I just want to sit at the water's edge, it's a great beach for that. The family beach is deeper and depending on tide I've often found it plenty deep enough to swim.

Castaway Cay has a lot of coral surrounding it so the sand is not the nice fine powdery type. I always wear water shoes on Castaway Cay. Sometimes the coral and seashells are worse than others but I figure with water shoes, I'm prepared either way.

You said this was your second stop at CC. Did you learn anything from the first trip to make the second one better? (Were there no bugs the first time or did you forget and not bring bug spray?)

 

[Smeece]

My family loved it!

 

[MUN]

Hi all -

been to Castaway Cay twice and both times didn't have a great time.
the water is not deep enough for me to stand in and be covered - i think they did that on purpose

the water visibility is terrible and makes snorkeling a waste of time
when in the water its hard to walk around as there are so many rocks there - it is insane

i got attacked by bugs that bit the heck out of me.

anyone else agree or disagree?

I agree, they should remove the rocks. Did you like the food?

 

[Crispen]

You said this was your second stop at CC. Did you learn anything from the first trip to make the second one better? (Were there no bugs the first time or did you forget and not bring bug spray?)

The first time we had very cold weather so we never went into the water.

the weather was awesome on the 2nd trip, and i was excited to snorkle with my mom, whom i just had an amazing snorkling experience at grand cayman [i give 10 stars to the snorkle trip there over the kittihawk!!] and it was insanely bad at CC.

anyone else able to snorkle and see stuff?


and in regards to the rocks - the cayman and other beaches on islands nearby have zero rocks.

anyway - i appreciate the other peoples insights.

 

[Crispen]

I agree, they should remove the rocks. Did you like the food?

it was ok - not great
the cook the heck out of the burgers!

the hot dogs are good

 

[PrincessShmoo]

and in regards to the rocks - the cayman and other beaches on islands nearby have zero rocks.

The beaches on the other islands are natural beaches. The beaches on CC are manufactured, I believe. The natural beaches have more broken down coral/rocks (softer sand). Man made beaches haven't had the time (or the natural destructive weather) to break down the coral/rocks as much.

 

[DCLDVC1]

the water is not deep enough for me to stand in and be covered - i think they did that on purpose

It depends on the tide. I've been able to walk out to the ropes and the water was about knee deep. I've also been neck deep 50 feet from shore.

 

[MUN]

The first time we had very cold weather so we never went into the water.

the weather was awesome on the 2nd trip, and i was excited to snorkle with my mom, whom i just had an amazing snorkling experience at grand cayman [i give 10 stars to the snorkle trip there over the kittihawk!!] and it was insanely bad at CC.

anyone else able to snorkle and see stuff?


and in regards to the rocks - the cayman and other beaches on islands nearby have zero rocks.

anyway - i appreciate the other peoples insights.

7 Mile Beach in Grand Caymans has rocks, Paradise Beach in Cozumel has rocks, Orient Bay Beach in St. Martins has rocks. Magens Bay in St. Thomas - no rocks, yea!

 

[bumbershoot]

CC is where I learned that I can, actually, be a beach person.

the water is not deep enough for me to stand in and be covered - i think they did that on purpose

I find the water at the family beach to be plenty deep, so they can't really have *done* anything. Were you at Serenity or at the family beach?

i got attacked by bugs that bit the heck out of me.

I've never even encountered one bug at CC, let alone a swarm.

when in the water its hard to walk around as there are so many rocks there - it is insane

Gotta bring water shoes. For those who have never been to CC when the weather has swept out all the soft stuff, they don't undetstand bringing the water shoes, but for those of us who have been when it's rocky and painful, we get it.

anyone else able to snorkle and see stuff?

Yes. You go out in the snorkeling area and swim around and it's quite deep and there are fish to be seen. Visibility is better earlier in the day.

and in regards to the rocks - the cayman and other beaches on islands nearby have zero rocks.

Probably in your experience, yes. But weather is fickle and storms bring in (and out) rocks.

 

[ludari]

I actually enjoy CC but as an active scuba diver I wish they offered scuba diving as one of their port adventures at CC. I can think of numerous reasons why they don't offer it but I can dream can't I.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

anybody seen the sign they have there about all the "wildlife" to be careful of? Bugs are the least of it. But that's true at any beach. I went to one in Australia where you had to wear all-over blue wetsuits because of the jellyfish.

It's a nice beach with some upgrades like water slides and snorkeling area, that's about it.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I've only been once and there weren't any bugs. It was in February 2011. I stayed at the adult beach and can't comment on the family beach, but I liked it a lot. The tide was out, though and we walked quite a ways out without the water ever hitting our knees. It didn't matter to us as we did a massage as soon as we got there. So, wasn't too interested in a swim at that time.

 

[OKW Lover]

Really disagree with the OP on this one. For us a day at CC is nice and relaxing. We've spent time on both the family and adult beaches over our 14 visits and enjoyed each one of them.

 

[Bree]

I'm with ya OP. CC is pretty, but I've got better beaches here at home in FL that give me the same secluded feeling and are less crowded. We prefer bigger waves and sandier beaches. When we were at the Cabana family beach in November I went all the way out to the ropes and the water was at my thighs (I'm 5'4"). Food is okay. I like the couscous salad and the fruit.

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

I compare CC to other cruise lines' owned private islands--I like CC the best. I don't think it is fair to compare CC to other world famous beach. In my opinion, CC has the best amenities, very friendly and helpful staff, very good activities and plenty of free beach chairs. I wouldn't mind trading a Nassau stop for another day at Castaway Cay.

 

[Sir William]

CC is basically just a beach, and I don't much care for beaches ANYWHERE as they tend to be hot and sandy (or have lots of rocks). About an hour fulfills my beach requirements for the year. I basically tolerate CC for the day to keep DW happy, but I'd much rather have another sea-day.