I wish the new private island had a pool.

[JWG]

Actually, it's not so bad. The ship uses a new dock that doesn't require dredging and is a fair bit away from the island itself. The trash is returned to the ship.

Besides, it's not about the overall impact. It's about not making that impact even worse. Disney had to do a lot to convince the Bahamian people that they were going to be as environmentally friendly as possible and that they would develop a small percentage of the land. Running a pool requires a lot of energy, a lot of chemicals and a lot of space. Who needs it when the ocean is right there? Better to spend your limited power and land budgets on other features.

Do a salt water pool. A little harder on the equipment, but better overall footprint.
Some people like pools and not sand and a pool doesn’t take that much space In the grand scheme of things.

 

[anricat]

We have a saltwater hot tub and it's so much easier to maintain a balance than our old traditional hot tub. I don't know if that translates to pools though.

 

[DLgal]

We have a saltwater hot tub and it's so much easier to maintain a balance than our old traditional hot tub. I don't know if that translates to pools though.

Larger pools are mostly automated as far as balancing is concerned.

 

[bunnm09]

Not me. Castaway Cay doesn't have a pool. Why should the new destination have one?

To provide a different experience than the same one that already exists at Castaway. I imagine there will end up being itineraries that stop at both places and you’re getting the same exact day twice. If the island was built with more things to do than sit at the beach then there is a legit reason to want to see both on the same trip. The beach is fine and I’m sure will be nice but there are only so many beach days i need on the trip. I’d have loved a pool with a swim up bar like CoCo Cay has. I’m not asking for a water park here

 

[MomOTwins]

To provide a different experience than the same one that already exists at Castaway. I imagine there will end up being itineraries that stop at both places and you’re getting the same exact day twice. If the island was built with more things to do than sit at the beach then there is a legit reason to want to see both on the same trip. The beach is fine and I’m sure will be nice but there are only so many beach days i need on the trip. I’d have loved a pool with a swim up bar like CoCo Cay has. I’m not asking for a water park here

I very much doubt they will have both islands on the same trip. With 5 (soon 6) ships I have noticed many of the bahamas/Caribbean itineraries are skipping castaway and just stopping at nassau and grand cayman or cozumel. They can only dock one ship in castaway at a time and know sailings with a private island stop sell better so will almost certainly have some ships go to castaway while others go to lighthouse point to maximize the number of sailings with a private island stop.

 

[bunnm09]

I very much doubt they will have both islands on the same trip. With 5 (soon 6) ships I have noticed many of the bahamas/Caribbean itineraries are skipping castaway and just stopping at nassau and grand cayman or cozumel. They can only dock one ship in castaway at a time and know sailings with a private island stop sell better so will almost certainly have some ships go to castaway while others go to lighthouse point to maximize the number of sailings with a private island stop.

Eh, we’ll see but I bet they will just like Royal does CoCo and Labadee in the same trip

 

[Sykes]

I very much doubt they will have both islands on the same trip. With 5 (soon 6) ships I have noticed many of the bahamas/Caribbean itineraries are skipping castaway and just stopping at nassau and grand cayman or cozumel. They can only dock one ship in castaway at a time and know sailings with a private island stop sell better so will almost certainly have some ships go to castaway while others go to lighthouse point to maximize the number of sailings with a private island stop.

That seems like an odd stance since we already have trips that have Castaway double dips (and they haven't eliminated those even with the Wish in the mix). I agree it won't be one of the standard itineraries, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it on a dozen or so itineraries a year.

 

[Flagondry]

Def would have liked a pool to create a new experience. I have zero doubt they will have new two island double dips. They have them now and they tend to be popular. A pool would not have been a challenge since basically every single beachside resort across the world manages them just fine. I think it would have been a nice option for increased accessibility.

 

[TeamRiley]

Why add a pool when you don't need to? The cruises will fill up with or without a pool. The number of people that will not go because there is no pool is most likely statistically insignificant.

 

[anricat]

Why add a pool when you don't need to? The cruises will fill up with or without a pool. The number of people that will not go because there is no pool is most likely statistically insignificant.

Why add a _________ when you don't need to? (Insert any number of things Disney offers that people would still book even if they hadn't added it.) For example, I think bookings wouldn't have been any different if Disney hadn't built the Aqua Mouse on the Wish, for example. And yet, there we have it.

 

[JM_97]

Def would have liked a pool to create a new experience. I have zero doubt they will have new two island double dips. They have them now and they tend to be popular. A pool would not have been a challenge since basically every single beachside resort across the world manages them just fine. I think it would have been a nice option for increased accessibility.

Royal has two private islands and both are comparable to Castaway and Lighthouse. They have sailings that only visit their islands all the time.

I am sure there will be lots of Bahamian cruises that will skip Nassau and add Lighthouse Point. You'll still get the traditional Nassau stop on most of them, but no way they don't have special double dips.

 

[TeamRiley]

Why add a _________ when you don't need to? (Insert any number of things Disney offers that people would still book even if they hadn't added it.) For example, I think bookings wouldn't have been any different if Disney hadn't built the Aqua Mouse on the Wish, for example. And yet, there we have it.

My point exactly. They don't need a pool.

 

[TXDCLfan]

Does anyone else?

No I would rather be in the ocean than a pool any day

 

[asgur5]

My point exactly. They don't need a pool.

But people would be happier with one.

and it does influence demand. There will be a number of families who choose royal over disney with the private island being the deciding factor. Especially with kids starting to hit their pre teen years.

 

[MomOTwins]

But people would be happier with one.

and it does influence demand. There will be a number of families who choose royal over disney with the private island being the deciding factor. Especially with kids starting to hit their pre teen years.

Well and plenty of families who would rather have a quiet natural beach and not chase their kids around a concrete pool complex or water park. And/or who feel the the water slides on the ship are enough for their teens.

You could make the same argument for anything. There are some people who are turned off of disney because it doesn’t have a drinks package or casino and others who prefer disney because of that. Different cruise lines appeal to different sets of people.

 

[bunnm09]

Well and plenty of families who would rather have a quiet natural beach and not chase their kids around a concrete pool complex or water park. And/or who feel the the water slides on the ship are enough for their teens.

You could make the same argument for anything. There are some people who are turned off of disney because it doesn’t have a drinks package or casino and others who prefer disney because of that. Different cruise lines appeal to different sets of people.

But you could have both with castaway already existing and adding something like a pool here.

Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean there isn’t a large group that does. CoCo is extremely popular and we are considering leaving DCL to sail Royal to go there. I’d prefer to sail Disney because I felt Royal nickel and dimed us to death last time but we really want to see CoCo. Just not excited about lighthouse as all since it seems like just another castaway(and we love castaway)

 

[MomOTwins]

But you could have both with castaway already existing and adding something like a pool here.

Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean there isn’t a large group that does. CoCo is extremely popular and we are considering leaving DCL to sail Royal to go there. I’d prefer to sail Disney because I felt Royal nickel and dimed us to death last time but we really want to see CoCo. Just not excited about lighthouse as all since it seems like just another castaway(and we love castaway)

I don't think that's how businesses think. Companies want a consistent experience across the brand so that people know what they're getting. They don't try to create 10 different experiences for 10 different sets of customers.

I think about Halloween Horror Nights at Universal compared to Mickey's Not So Scary Party at Disney. I've seen some people say that Disney should take a few nights in the fall where they do something more "adult and teen" experience because they really love Universal's product and disney's is too "little kid". But it's not consistent with the Disney brand so they choose to lost customers to Universal rather than changing their product.

 

[Jsoenning]

My kids would love a pool for many of the reasons listed throughout as when we go to all inclusive excursions at various ports, they love the beach until it gets hot (where the sand is burning your feet) and then most of the time can switch over to the pool. I like the pool as they typically have float up to bars.

 

[TeamRiley]

But people would be happier with one.

and it does influence demand. There will be a number of families who choose royal over disney with the private island being the deciding factor. Especially with kids starting to hit their pre teen years.

Once they choose Royal and have to pay for each different activity at their private island they might change their minds.

 

[bunnm09]

I don't think that's how businesses think. Companies want a consistent experience across the brand so that people know what they're getting. They don't try to create 10 different experiences for 10 different sets of customers.

I think about Halloween Horror Nights at Universal compared to Mickey's Not So Scary Party at Disney. I've seen some people say that Disney should take a few nights in the fall where they do something more "adult and teen" experience because they really love Universal's product and disney's is too "little kid". But it's not consistent with the Disney brand so they choose to lost customers to Universal rather than changing their product.

What you’re describing with teen nights isn’t the same as this at all. No one is asking Disney to recreate CoCo Cay. We are talking about a pool lol. Disney has tons of pools. Every resort has themed pools. It’s very on brand to offer such a thing.

I also don’t think because castaway is the way it is means Disney would be going “off brand” by creating something else. We aren’t talking about building a water park on the island