Castaway Cay?

[PAGA2003]

The beach in Bermuda we went to was Horseshoe Bay, and it was the most beautiful beach I've ever been to. I've been to Pensacola Beach (used to be my favorite and it's the one in my profile pic) and Panama City Beach in FL, and now Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda and Blue Lagoon and Castaway Cay in the Bahamas.

Husband is very adventurous and I just like looking at stuff (I typically don't actually swim at beaches--I just bask in them, lol). Horseshoe Bay was just so interesting with huge, towering rock formations and a ton of little side pools. The sand was a lovely shade of pink, the beach was basically empty of people. We could have explored it all day had I not injured myself on one of the smaller rocks in the sand that I didn't see because I was too busy gawking, lol. But the beach keeps going to the left from the main beach. It looks like it's just one big beach and that's it, but if you walk past the rocks on the left you'll find there's way, way more to the beach! There were little rock caves to poke around in, etc. Maybe we're just ROCK people, haha.

So we go to these really interesting, exotic beaches, and Castaway Cay was just disappointing by comparison! I'm gonna give it another chance, though The ice cream and stuff wasn't open yet by the time we bailed, and that probably would have cheered us up a lot lol

Sounds like we enjoy similar beach experiences. I think that is the thing, if you enjoy more natural beaches with fewer people and little to no amenities there are so many lovely beaches out there to explore (even in the Bahamas- the Exumas are amazing!). What I'm gathering from most of the posts is that many folks enjoy having lots of amenities at their fingertips and CC definitely has a convenience factor. I think that Disney did a good job with CC from the standpoint it is a developed island that caters to up to 4000 guests at a time. But I'm with you, there are so many beaches out there that are beautiful, clean, and safe, with no vendors (the points I'm seeing brought up the most) so that isn't unique to CC.

 

[2boysmommy]

Is it the most beautiful beach or water we've ever seen? No way - not even top 10. But the fact that it's basically an extension of the ship on a beach makes it one of our favorite stops.
It's safe, it's clean, you see the same servers and same kids' club CMs (key when our boys were little and we wanted a couple of hours on our own...they ran straight into the kids' area to dig and play because they were comfortable with the people already)...it's just comfortable. The food is familiar (again key with kids) and free. You won't be hounded on the beach by those selling their wares. I don't have to be on heightened alert at all times worried about other people - I can just enjoy time with my family. For us it's a relaxing way to enjoy the beach during our cruise. Typically we do super active excursions at other ports and this is our chill out day.
I do know we have enjoyed our stops there when we were on the Magic more than the Fantasy...probably just due to fewer people in the space!

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We loved Castaway Cay not for the beach, although our kids had a lot of fun in the water and playing in the sand. We liked how contained it was, how friendly the staff were, the food available. Bathrooms were never far, seats with umbrellas were plentiful on the family beach even though we weren’t the first off the ship (on a full Wish spring break cruise). We didn’t have to worry about towels. It was an stress-free experience for us which outweighs a lot of its negative aspects for us.

 

[unrequited23]

If you are used to adults only, uncrowded beaches with breath-taking scenery Castaway Cay won't impress you at all. But if you are the parent, who has to pack, plan and carry everything for a beach trip and consider going to one of the great lakes a beach trip it will be very relaxing. It was easy and stress-free.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I like it fine, but I think perspective is skewed by experiences. If you haven't traveled to other just as safe, just as clean, just as uncommercialized beaches, you probably view CC as unique and original. It's definitely oversold in Disney fan groups and that's probably due to limited experiences with much better beaches.

I have a young child and it felt the same as going to my local beach by way of safety, convenience, and things to do (actually, the activities for the toddler set is terrible on CC - that splashpad is a disappointment). Was not any easier or harder than taking him to any other beach we go to

The food really needs work. My 2 year old struggled (as did I!).

 

[aliceinvunderland]

We’ve been to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and while Castaway Cay doesn’t rank as one of the very best, there are some things that make it a really nice place to visit for a day. Convenience (close to the ship, food and drink nearby, no need for cash or credit cards), the wonderful Disney customer service, and the relative safety of the island, to name a few. It’s an easy place to visit and my teens really enjoy being able to roam the island on their own. Sure, it’s more crowded than almost any beach we’ve been to (except maybe the jersey shore on a holiday weekend) and if you aren’t quick in the morning, you’ll have a tough time finding a few seats together, but with a little planning and tempered expectations, Castaway Cay is a really lovely day!

 

[holula]

The food really needs work. My 2 year old struggled (as did I!).

Agree, the food is definitely sub par on CC. What I’ve done on the last few stops is get off early, have a nice morning at the beach (really my limit of beach time anyway) and go back to Cabanas for lunch.

 

[MomOTwins]

I wouldn’t love it as much on an adult only trip but as a harried parent it is bliss. It’s basically the one day a year I truly relax without a care in the world. Top 10 reasons:
1) My older kids can ride Pelican Plunge over and over, while I watch my little one plays in the sand or shallow water without any big waves to worry about, and with lifeguards keeping a close watch as backup.
2) Konk coolers (best drink ever) delivered to my shaded lounger or beach chair by the water.
3) If I want to go for a swim or float in a tube, I can leave my bag worry free since I didn’t have to bring a credit card;
4) There is a kids club ON the island.
5) Impossibly soft sand with no rocks to cut up my kids feet (they have sensory issuee and loathe all forms of water shoe with a passion)
6) Kids can get burgers, hot dogs and soft serve ice cream while I have a nice salmon and ribs (and soft serve Ice cream for me too!).
7) No waiting for an excursion pick up time or riding local open-air trucks that aren’t designed with little kids in mind to get to the beach. Just ride the secure trolley or walk on and off the ship whenever we want on our own schedule.
8) Shops right by the beach with everything we could possibly need for a stress free fay (kid lost goggles? No problem. Ran out of sunscreen? No problem. I forget to pack the sand toys? You get the idea).
9) More konk coolers.
10) A beach is 100 times prettier when you can see a gorgeous disney ship in the background.

 

[Cheburashka]

Can someone please explain the hype to me? Husband and I just got back from our first Disney Cruise and LOVED it, but were immensely disappointed with Castaway Cay. I had heard SO MANY great things about it, and it just felt like a very touristy, artificial, basic, crowded place? We walked all the way to Serenity Bay on accident, because we couldn't find the tram (oops), so I'll admit we were a little cranky at the time. Every single chair was already taken by like 10 AM, but the beach wasn't even pretty? We took one look at it and turned back around (we found the tram on the way back, lol). We briefly checked out the family beach, which seemed a little better, but we just went right back on the ship. We might have been beach-spoiled because we had just been to Bermuda, but dang.

People on my social media group for the cruise were being so emotional about Castaway Cay and not wanting to leave etc, and I still just don't get it!
Is it the excursions that make it special?? We chilled in the (empty for once! ) hot tub and watched people do water sports-y excursions, which looked cool. Seeing the characters in their outfits was nice, too, but not like CASTAWAY CAY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND IN THE WORLD nice. Which is the kind of thing I was expecting after seeing all the vloggers gush about it, posts on here, etc.

AM CONFUSED.

Please don't hurt me

You had a bad day and didn't give it a chance. Oh well. More room for the rest of us, then. You should have at least rented a bike and rode the bike trail to the observation tower, so you could get a view of the whole island. Also, if you sailed on a Bermuda cruise from New York, you should realize that is an atypical type of cruise for DCL and therefore probably had a lot more adults than most cruises, which is probably why Serenity Bay was crowded (I sail DCL's more typical itineraries and I've never seen a crowded Serenity Bay).

Have you toured the other Bahamian/Caribbean islands much via cruise ship? Those other typical cruise ship island stops are what most people compare CC to. Not to Bermuda or to other islands that are far away. I actually haven't seen people claiming it's the world's most beautiful island, although it is beautiful (sorry you saw it on a bad day). It obviously doesn't compare to Hawaii, but its beaches are much safer than the average beach in Hawaii, and most of us don't have to travel halfway across the world to get to Castaway.

Castaway Cay is pretty, safe, family-oriented, fun, walkable, doesn't require advance planning, has clean bathrooms and decent food, doesn't require closely watching your property or worrying about violence, and doesn't have people aggressively trying to sell you things. This is a notable contrast from the typical Caribbean island port of call.

 

[Kwami]

Also, if you sailed on a Bermuda cruise from New York, you should realize that is an atypical type of cruise for DCL and therefore probably had a lot more adults than most cruises, which is probably why Serenity Bay was crowded (I sail DCL's more typical itineraries and I've never seen a crowded Serenity Bay)

Eh, I've seen Serenity Bay crowded even on the regularly-scheduled 4-night Bahamian cruises. I was still usually able to find two chairs together, but sometimes I had to wait for someone to leave and other times we were way down at the very end of the beach. We don't get off the ship super early like some other guests, though.

 

[Mango7100]

You had a bad day and didn't give it a chance. Oh well. More room for the rest of us, then. You should have at least rented a bike and rode the bike trail to the observation tower, so you could get a view of the whole island. Also, if you sailed on a Bermuda cruise from New York, you should realize that is an atypical type of cruise for DCL and therefore probably had a lot more adults than most cruises, which is probably why Serenity Bay was crowded (I sail DCL's more typical itineraries and I've never seen a crowded Serenity Bay).

Have you toured the other Bahamian/Caribbean islands much via cruise ship? Those other typical cruise ship island stops are what most people compare CC to. Not to Bermuda or to other islands that are far away. I actually haven't seen people claiming it's the world's most beautiful island, although it is beautiful (sorry you saw it on a bad day). It obviously doesn't compare to Hawaii, but its beaches are much safer than the average beach in Hawaii, and most of us don't have to travel halfway across the world to get to Castaway.

Castaway Cay is pretty, safe, family-oriented, fun, walkable, doesn't require advance planning, has clean bathrooms and decent food, doesn't require closely watching your property or worrying about violence, and doesn't have people aggressively trying to sell you things. This is a notable contrast from the typical Caribbean island port of ca

nevermind

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

We don't really get in the pools a lot on the ship, so CC is our big water day and it's perfect for that. At other ports we enjoy seeing the island more.

It's one of the cleanest beaches I've been to, bathrooms too. Beach porta pottys are so gross.
I don't have to schlep a bunch of stuff to the beach.
It's pretty calm compared to other places, even on the family beach. No road/car noise.
We liked the merch, I'm still wearing a coverup I bought there 7 years ago.