Back and forth to ship on Castaway

MomOTwins

The Mommy Fairy
Joined
Mar 5, 2018
First-time cruiser - how easy/quick is it to get back and forth from the family beach at Castaway to the ship? We would like to book our littlest in the nursery for his early afternoon nap, but still enjoy a morning on the beach with him. Am I crazy to try to get back to the ship after lunch around 1:30, then back to the beach for a couple of hours in the afternoon without the baby, then back on the ship by 4:30 to pick him up?
 
I agree with that time frame. It is not hard but you do have to either walk or take the tram which takes some time.

MJ
 
Thanks! That’s awesome, I thought it would be much longer (I guess in my head I was comparing trams to WDW buses that you wait 40 minutes for...)
 


It's an easy walk. The family beach is pretty long, so if you are at the end nearer the ship it may take about 10 minutes. Possibly up to 20 at the far end of the beach. Security shouldn't be bad unless it is nearing the end of the day.
 
Easily doable but if wanting some quiet couples time (I'd not think the family beach the place for) you'd want to hit the far side that is not that much further but another tram ride and explore the Serenity Beach side.
 


Easily doable but if wanting some quiet couples time (I'd not think the family beach the place for) you'd want to hit the far side that is not that much further but another tram ride and explore the Serenity Beach side.

We have older kids too, so we’d be going back to the family beach with them. Our thinking is just that we want baby to get a full nap and some A/C time in the nursery because it will be hot when we are going. Also the kids may want to kayak or snorkel which we can’t do with the baby.
 
Now, if you want to mail a letter there, good luck. Three of four times we have been there it was closed. Guest services can do it for you if the place is shut down. You folks will have a boat-load of fun on the Cay. Enjoy!!
 
You could leave the older kids at the kids club on the island - Scuttles Cove - while you take the little one to the nursery. My DGD had the greatest time there this past March, even though she did not care for the club on the ship. It is at the tram stop. Lots of fun activities, sand, and water play. Drop them off before getting on the tram, stop by for them when you get back.
 
Helpful hint: Take baby powder with you on the beach. It helps get all the sand off.
 
My DGD had the greatest time there this past March, even though she did not care for the club on the ship.

My son was the opposite. Enjoyed the club on the ship, disliked the cove. Said it was "for babies". He was...9? 10? at the time and felt that Scuttle's Cove catered to the preschoolers and there was nothing for him to do. He's a joiner and he likes younger kids, so for him to say that was big.
 
Agree - a lot depends on the age. DGD is 5 and the activities she liked best were playing with new friends building dams and lakes in the sand with a hose running and being sprayed with a hose by the counsellors.
 
I think that's totally doable. If you go to the beach closest to the ship, the walk is not far. Plus that beach is super close to Cookies, In da Shade, etc. We found it very convenient.
 
A couple weeks ago I took my 4 year old daughter from the bike rental place back to our cabin, changed clothes, and walked back to the bike rental place in 30 minutes. There was a mild line to get on the boat, and we had to wait for one tram (she didn't want to walk the whole way). But very do-able.
 

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