castaway cay

This was our FIRST CRUISE EVER and I'VE always wanted to do the Disney Cruise. Getting there was a day of travelling...drove from Vancouver to Seattle; then two flights. We went on the Fantasy. There was so many things to do for my 7, 5, and 3 year old daughters that we it was non stop everyday. There were several things that we did not get to that I wish I had but can't be at two places at once. I didn't have any other cruise to compare it to but the service was exceptional and they don't get a day off!!! Other cruisers I spoke to said DCL is by far the best cruise they have been on. It is an expensive cruise but what I've heard is other cruise lines nickel and dime (including pop!!!) you for everything and that the costs is quite close!!! Best of all we were allowed to bring on our own alcohol and my husband was walking around with HIS drink in his hand. Every port, he bought some beer and it was no problem to bring it back onto the ship!! It was crowded by the pool but that didn't stop my girls. I was able to watch whatever moving was playing. My husband and I did take advantage of the kids club and we went to the adult section. So peaceful. The pirate night was excellent and no other ship has fireworks. I think the Star wars theme will be excellent for next year. By far Castaway Cay is the best port stop. I could have stayed for a week!!! All of the watersport activities were cancelled because of the weather conditions but my girls were too young. The food was fabulous and my husband was too full to eat dinner that night. They have made up that island very nicely. I don't think I will want to try any other cruise line after this experience...I don't want to be disappointed. I'm hoping to go again in 2-3years....I think I'm hooked on cruising. I will probably consider using the DCL shuttle to the port next time. We did a car rental since we had time to spare and wanted to show the girls around town. But the price came to the same and TOLLS are terrible!!

Went to Castaway Cay for a port visit. Weather was quite windy, but the Captain hauled butt during the night and was able to dock in the wee hours of the morning. Yay! Most of the island adventures were cancelled due to windy conditions, but we had a great time. The water was a little chilly, but the kids enjoyed it anyway. The adults just laid out and enjoyed the warm sunshine. The food was good. Service is wonderful. Disney is top notch.

We had never been on a cruise before, ever so we decided to go with Disney of course, just a quick 4 night cruise to Castaway Cay and Nassau over our kids' winter break holiday. First things first, We absolutely love Disney, from the films, parks, characters etc... it's a young fan of five, me, my wife, our son age 9, daughter age 7 and youngest daughter age 4. As you can imagine kiddos were over the moon about cruising for the first time ever on the Dream which I believe is one of the newer DCL ships. Start with what we liked: service (wait staff at dinner each night, cabin attendant, room service) excellent, food was just fine, able to bring our own fave wine bottles on board ($20 corkage fee at dinner), the kids club was fantastic, from the high tech hand wash station each kid did at check in and check out of the club, beacon bands each kid wears at all times in ship to tell staff where each kid is in the club, security for parents as to pick up to the fun activities our kids enjoyed it there. So, as a novice cruiser, really had no idea it is very common a ship cannot dock at all ports so we were unable to spend any time at Castaway Cay, it looked really lovely from a distance (all dependent upon parking the ship safely, which the captain could not do there), we had skipped Nassau the first port and stayed on the ship the first port day, (DCL was able to park it there and that was a great day because many families were off the ship and the upper deck was enjoyable). Because there were 2 days at sea and no day at Castaway Cay though, the rest of the time on board was just far too crowded. This is quite frankly why we likely will not be cruising again. There was no space. Kids and parents packed like sardines in the 2 tiny pools , there are only 2 small pools in the family area of the entire ship, it was really awful. That as well as the fact that there were no deck chairs available each day on upper deck by the tiny pools was challenging.Not a good experience. We would have liked to enjoy the upper deck and get some sun but it was far too crowded. Perhaps DCL should consider limiting the number of cabins/families each day allowed on the upper deck so that those that are there can enjoy. It was really no good. Over capacity. We love Disney but the sheer volume of people in and around the pools made us avoid the upper deck altogether. Even our kids did not want to go back to the pools area because they could barely move in the pools, now that s telling. The Aqua Duck water slide was fun but the lines were so long to ride so we didn't do that but twice, we found ourselves avoiding he pools area since it was chaos there and watching a movie or going to a live show which was just fine. So that's it, I hope this review is helpful for those considering a cruise with kids, there is a lot expense and travel time just getting to Port Canaveral, hotel night before and night after as well as flights to and from FL. I wish I had the full scoop before, but it was just OK. Maybe it would have been much different if the captain had been able to park it at Castaway Cay that day, not sure but we will never know.

The last full day of our cruise was spent at Castaway Cay. During the cruise, many of the "cast members" were warning us that we might not be able to port there, as the previous two cruises weren't able to land there due to weather. The day we arrived was absolutely beautiful! One of my friends and I ran the Castaway Cay 5K in the morning. By the time we'd gotten off the ship and actually started the race it was already very sunny and warm. Not the best weather for running, but definitely amazing for being at the beach.When we went snorkeling we were able to find of the hidden Mickey's underwater, but the currents were a little strong. The island was very well kept up. Everything was clean and easy to access. Although I am a Disney fan in general and enjoyed the cruise overall, Castaway Cay solidified my desire to go on another Disney Cruise.

We have always wanted to go to CC. It lives up to the hype! Snorkeled and saw Minnie and all the underwater items. Took my own fins, mask and snorkel (they rent for $36) if I remember correctly but I couldn't imagine putting a snorkel in my mouth that was in a strangers mouth! Plenty of beach chairs and plenty of things to do. BBQ was great also. Disney knows how to do everything wonderfully.