best port adventure at castaway cay

[JenPinks]

There are two snorkeling excursions. One is the rigid hull and the other is the catamaran. I did the catamaran excursion in October. They took us out to a reef. We saw more variety of fish and coral there than what you would find in the snorkel lagoon. It was a good excursion and I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if I would do it again. It takes up a few hours of your CC day and I later felt that I would have rather spent the time lounging on the beach in a chair, enjoying an adult beverage. But that's more a personal preference thing.

We're doing the parasailing when we go in June. I'm really looking forward to that.

That is my concern as well. I hate to wait an hour just commuting. I am deathly afraid of heights but my 13 yr old son is dying to go parasailing! I may have to take one for team.

 

[Melissa S]

my favorite is the lunge chair excursion.
Get on the island pretty early grab a lunge chair in a good location and hold it down.I read,people watch and eat.Makes a very relaxing day.Thought thats
what we were there for.

That and the all you can eat ribs excursion

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I am deathly afraid of heights but my 13 yr old son is dying to go parasailing! I may have to take one for team.

I am afraid of heights but I can handle certain things. My 11 year old DD was the one to bring up parasailing, otherwise I wouldn't have even considered it. It took some time but she talked me into it. I started to look forward to it after talking with a friend who is afraid of heights but loved parasailing. I also watched some videos on youtube. Of course, you need to skip over the ones that say anything about "parasailing fail" or "parasailing accident".

 

[CTdaizy]

my DD was 9 when we did parasailing on CC- we went tandem, and it was fine. She was maybe 65 pounds, so weight wasn't a problem. And the view is sooooo spectacular that you won't even think about the heights!! We went in the morning and were finished by about 10:15am, still had more than enough time on shore-

 

[ciniminis]

Umm about the lounge chair and the all-you-can-eat excursions (which BTW are sounding like excellent choices)... can we do both at the same time? I mean, do they allow taking the food from Cookie's/Cookie's Too to the beach and eat picnic-style? Do they provide umbrellas or any kind of sun cover for the beach chairs? Do I need to pack a beach blanket?

Also wondering how crowded the Castaway Cay family beach get when Fantasy is there - you guys said to hold down a chair, does that mean it can be hard to get hold of one if we don't go to the beach early enough?

My son (or myself for that matter) may not last for a whole day on the beach. Is it easy to go back to the ship for a nap, then come back to play at the beach?

 

[Eeyorebabies]

We were on the Dream and when we went to CC, we saw lots of people bringing food back to their lounge chairs. It was pretty packed, and not a whole lot of seating for lunch, so I think they expect people to take the food back with them. We took the food to our Cabana and ate there. They have trays so you can haul the food as well.

There are some areas with chairs that have shade, but the issue is people move the chairs. Some move them to the water edge, some want them in the sun, some want them in the shade. So my guess is you can always move your chair too if needed.

You can easily go back and forth to the ship on CC. In fact, a lot of people prefer to go back for a nap, pool break, less lines for Aqua duck, etc. the ship is much less crowded when in port somewhere. But more specifically less crowded at CC because just about everyone wants to go on the island since you can enjoy the whole day for free without having to be transported anywhere. The food at CC was probably the best food of the entire cruise IMHO. So I would highly recommend eating on the island

 

[Dug720]

There are things besides to do besides just chilling in chairs or hammocks?? What??

My "adventure" is whatever I happen to be reading at the time - read while just relaxing on Serenity Bay.

 

[cashe]

My daughter was excited about the parasailing but we found out you must be 90 lbs to fit into the harness...

well there goes my chance. i'm only 87#!!!

 

[Take-the-cards]

my DD was 9 when we did parasailing on CC- we went tandem, and it was fine. She was maybe 65 pounds, so weight wasn't a problem. And the view is sooooo spectacular that you won't even think about the heights!! We went in the morning and were finished by about 10:15am, still had more than enough time on shore-

Hi, funny I asked shoreside concierge about the weight requirements specifically since we planned on going tandem.... different people different answers I guess...still said DD had to be 90... I guess its possibly back on the table as an option

 

[JenPinks]

I am afraid of heights but I can handle certain things. My 11 year old DD was the one to bring up parasailing, otherwise I wouldn't have even considered it. It took some time but she talked me into it. I started to look forward to it after talking with a friend who is afraid of heights but loved parasailing. I also watched some videos on youtube. Of course, you need to skip over the ones that say anything about "parasailing fail" or "parasailing accident".

I read that you are only up there 5-7 minutes? Did you find it worht it for the price?

 

[Quellman]

I read that you are only up there 5-7 minutes? Did you find it worht it for the price?

You can find a few videos on youtube. I think for people who never have or want to really make it a fun time with kids or adults who have also never been, it can be a great bonding activity and well worth it. For anyone been parasailing before (including me), I'm not sure the $100+ price tag is worth it. Based on the 2 videos i watched, you don't see much of the family beach areas, just the area of the island south of the docking pier. Granted you do get to spend some time zipping around on a boat during other folks turns. But chances are there are other parasail excursions on most itineraries that feature some equally nice views for less (especially if you book on your own)

 

[MelInAZ]

We just visited CC on 3/15 and my son and I did parasailing (my daughter wasn't 90 pounds and they implicitly denied her because she didn't meet the minimum weight requirement) then the 4 of us (2 adults, kids 13 & 11) went jet skiing. Parasailing was nice and relaxing, not sure I'd do it again (I'm afraid of heights - it was a very mellow adventure - glad I did it, don't get me wrong, just won't do it again). Jet skiing was amazing - the guides were awesome and those of us on our excursion were experienced drivers (licensed race car driving instructors, I've done legal drag racing, etc) and the guides went with it. My 11 year old daughter squealed with delight and wanted me to go faster, but I couldn't because I was already going as fast as I could. My husband had my 13 year old son on back and he was equally excited about the adventure. We're considering buying jet skis to use at our local lakes this summer - that's how much fun we had.

That being said - it is definitely a personal choice but the jet ski guides were great at understanding the comfort level of the attendees and adjusting as needed.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I read that you are only up there 5-7 minutes? Did you find it worht it for the price?

We haven't gone yet. I did look into parasailing on St. Thomas and it was a little cheaper but a lot cheaper. I would bet we'd have more time in the air going with another provider, but for a first time I feel better going with the Disney excursion. It certainly is a lot of money so I do hope it's worth it.

 

[CTdaizy]

Maggie's Mom- just remember the parasailing on Castaway isn't an actual DCL thing. Disney just contracts it out to a local company.

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

I'll throw you a curveball and suggest parasailing. Quite simply, one of the most amazing experiences of our lives. Absolutely beautiful views and completely quiet. This coming from someone who is totally afraid of heights.

Does parasailing "mess with your stomach" like big roller coaster drops?

 

[elfandrents]

Does parasailing "mess with your stomach" like big roller coaster drops

excellent question I want to go but also would love to enjoy the rib excursion and don't want an angry belly

 

[TigerGuy]

The private cabana excursion.

 

[Kimosabe]

Parasailing is not typically a "bumpy ride" type of experience. You fly up...float around for a while...then they bring you down. Haven't done it at CC, but have done it elsewhere, and there is very little in the world that is more relaxing.

Having had four days at CC over three cruises, we have never done a formal excursion (other than the 5K), as we see CC as an excursion unto itself. With that said, we will either bring our own snorkeling stuff or rent it (available in advance or walk-up with no problem) and spend some quality time in the snorkeling lagoon looking at the underwater statues, submarine from 20K Leagues at WDW and the fish. Seeing "good" fish can be hit or miss, but last week, I was pretty stunned at the plentiful amount of fish swimming amongst the sunken treasures. Even stuck my head out of the water at one point, and another guy said "I brought some fish with me." I looked underwater, and he was being followed by TONS of beautiful fish....courtesy of the food he was giving them! Sort of freaked out my 10-year old daughter, who assumed she was about to experience death-by-fish but I thought it was pretty awesome.

I would indeed like to do parasailing at CC sometime to see a different view of the island. I would take that over parasailing in another port. For stingrays, however, I'd hold out for the Caymans and Stingray City.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Maggie's Mom- just remember the parasailing on Castaway isn't an actual DCL thing. Disney just contracts it out to a local company.

Yes, I'm aware of that. Just as the people running the snorkeling excursion I went on in October were not DCL employees. But since it takes place on CC and is booked through Disney, they are not going to contract to just any old company and not follow up to make sure equipment is in good order and that safety precautions are followed. Disney doesn't want to open themselves up to any more liability than they absolutely need to. DCL has cancelled contracts with excursion providers at ports when they feel the experience doesn't live up to their expectations.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Does parasailing "mess with your stomach" like big roller coaster drops?

Not at all, it's so smooth and quiet, very relaxing. By far my favorite of all cruise excursions