One of the highlights of any Bahamian cruise on the Disney Cruise Line is a visit to Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. Here you’ve got an island in the Bahamas with all of the magic, charm, and service that Disney has to offer – plus a healthy dose of Mickey and friends, of course! We’ve visited Castaway Cay twice. Once in 2016, and more recently in 2018.
You can use your Key to the World card to charge to the room if you’re ordering drinks, but any food you might want to enjoy on Castaway Cay is included! So go for that buffet and as much of the soft serve ice cream as you want.
Beaches
There are two beaches on Castaway Cay – the family beach and Serenity Bay, the adults-only beach. The family beach is large, with plenty to do, including two water slides at Pelican Plunge that empty into the ocean. Plenty of umbrellas, beach chairs, and hammocks are around. You’ll also find the snorkeling lagoon here. Nearby is the teen beach, where organized activities for teens take place, as well as a volleyball court.
Serenity Bay is only for adults, and as a result it’s a bit quieter and more peaceful! It’s generally less crowded and a great place for those without kids to relax.
Both beaches have private cabanas available to rent. The cabanas have some comfy chairs, a fridge, safe, and outside shower. The price of the cabana includes non-alcoholic beverages, towels, and lotion. You can also get a private cabana host, who will bring you food and drinks. These are popular to rent and can be done before the cruise online.
Food and Drink
Cookie’s BBQ is the main place to get lunch on the beach, while Cookie’s BBQ Too is the spot by Serenity Bay. These locations offer a number of foods from the barbecue such as your typical burgers and cheeseburgers, but you can also get grilled chicken, ribs, and a few other things. There are lots of accompaniments including various salads, fruits, chips, etc. And of course some soft serve ice cream machines! Pop’s Props and Boat Repair, Gumbo Limbo, Grouper, and Dig In all offer covered seating.
Of course, there are also a number of bars around for those tropical beach drinks! Often servers will come around to your chairs and deliver drinks, but if you’re ready for one yourself and don’t want to wait there are a few places you can go. The Conched Out Bar, Heads Up Bar, and Sand Bar all have frozen specialty drinks, beer, and cocktails on the main beach. For a non-alcoholic alternative, you can check out Summertime Freeze for specialty smoothies. Over at Serenity Bay you’ll find the Castaway Air Bar.
Merchandise
Two shops on the island offer specific Castaway Cay merchandise – you’ll find it at She Sells Sea Shells and Everything Else, as well as Buy the Seashore. For Bahamian arts and crafts and hair braiding visit the Bahamian retail shops.
Attractions
When you first arrive at the dock you’ll find a few places immediately when you get off, including a post office – send someone a letter or postcard right from Castaway Cay!
There are plenty of places to rent equipment for use on the beach – check out Gil’s Fins and Boats and Flippers and Floats for snorkel, tube, and float rentals. The Windsock Hut on Serenity Bay has float rentals at the adult beach. There’s also a spot for bike rentals if you want to ride around the island while you’re there.
For the kids, visit Scuttle’s Cove, which is for guests ages 3-12. There will be cast members to supervise them so mom and dad can spend some time by themselves, and the kids will do fun activities such as sand castle building, water games, scavenger hunts, etc. Monstro Point is right next to Scuttle’s Cove and is a popular excavation/dig site for the kids. The youngsters may also enjoy Spring-A-Leak, a large splash area with fountains and splash pads.
In-Da-Shade Games offers an area with a basketball hoop, oversized board games, and other activities. If you want to play volleyball, tetherball, or other sports there’s an area for that too! Finally, for a great view of the island, head to the observation tower.
Excursions
If you’re looking for a little more excitement and want to book an excursion, there are a lot of the options on the island. Marge’s Barges and Sea Charters Dock is the place to go if you’re participating in an excursion such as parasailing, fishing charters, glass bottom boats, and more.
Another excursion option is Castaway Ray’s Stingray Adventure, where you can feed and snorkel with stingrays. You can also rent snorkel equipment to snorkel on your own, floats, bicycles, and tubes for your day on Castaway Cay.
In addition, they host the Castaway 5k, a 3.1 mile run around the island that occurs before everyone else on the ship gets off. It’s free to participate (you just need to sign up ahead of time), and you’ll get a rubber participation medal at the end. Be warned though – it can be very hot running in the Bahamas!
Other
There are a number of different tram stops for getting around the island, including to and from Serenity Bay. You’ll find plenty of restrooms, as well as outdoor showers if you want to wash some sand off! There is a bike/walking trail if you’re looking for a little exercise. Keep your eye out on the island for some fun photo spots and characters!
Have you been to Castaway Cay? What’s your favorite thing to do there?
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