In this post, I want to talk about our stop at Castaway Cay. It is Disney’s private island. For us, it was our only stop during our 5-day Marvel Day at Sea Cruise. Bad weather and large swells kept us from getting off the boat in Grand Cayman because it is a soft tender port. The only way to get off at Grand Cayman is to get onto a smaller boat since they do not have a large pier for docking the ship.
Disney’s Castaway Cay is a private island in The Bahamas. It is small, is nearly five kilometers long and almost four kilometers wide. It may be small but it is full things for the whole family to do.
You need to take your stateroom key – or your Key To The World – with you when you get off the ship. Remember, this is all part of the Disney vacation! You can get off or get back on without your key. Be sure to pack sunscreen, water, a hat, your swimsuit and a change of clothes. You do not need to pack a towel since the Disney staff will give you one as you get off the ship!
We decided to book a package excursion for our day on Castaway. It included the Stingray experience. We got to feed the Stingray and then swim with them. Booking the excursion included a mask, snorkel, flippers and a flotation vest. This experience lasted about an hour.
The other part of our package was mask, snorkel and flipper rental for snorkeling, tube rental, and bike rental! We had a full day of activities!
We grabbed our snorkel gear and went out exploring looking for tropical fish! And took a little float around on our tube.
Don’t worry about packing food because there are a few places to eat FREE. It’s all part of the cruise. Just think of it like eating on the cruise ship but you are on land. You and the family can eat at Cookie’s BBQ and Cookie’s Too BBQ. there is a third location, a “secret” BBQ near Serenity Bay (the adult-only beach). The restaurant at Serenity Bay is solely for grown-ups and offers bonus entrees not available at the other two. We decided to eat lunch with the kids over at Cookie’s BBQ. There were lots of things to choose from, like hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, corn, and salads. There was even dessert! Oh, and don’t forget to grab you and the kids a soft serve ice cream cone!
TIP: Just remember, if you’d like to eat lunch on Castaway Cay, though, don’t wait till too late. The restaurants typically shut down for the day at 2 pm.
After lunch, we grab our bikes and helmets and hit the bike trails. The trail is a great ride. We didn’t bike all the trails but did manage to get to the tower so we could get a great view of the island!
We spent the full day on Castaway. We got off at 8:30 am because we picked the early slot, 9 a.m., for the Stingray experience. We headed back to the ship at around 4 p.m. We could have stayed a little longer on the island since the Captain gave us all extra time because we had to skip Grand Cayman!
TIP: Don’t walk take the tram. You can take the tram/bus to get from one end of the island to the other. Walking it is possible but will take time and energy.
Don’t forget to swing back and read Part 1 of our Disney Cruise adventure!
