Castaway Cay Double Dip

[JM_97]

I’m not seriously considering it quite yet, but there’s a 4 night Double Dip in March ‘22 that I have my eye on. I was close to booking a 5 night Double Dip before COVID. For a two adult trip, it looks like a good price and honestly I won’t be upset about missing Nassau.

My questions are what is the weather at CC like in March and has anyone ever done this sailing? Or one similar to it? Just looking for your experiences. I won’t start real planning until I know more about when Disney will be sailing again and/or when vaccines are available. Thanks!

 

[Marc D]

We haven’t done this specific sailing but we’ve had a surprise double-dip in March 2017 when they replaced St-Marteen with a second stop. We also did two B2B trips in March, each one including two stops at CC. The weather and the water temp is definitely hit-or-miss. On the last two trips, the water was barely tolerable on stop one and nice and warm on stop two. We’ve had one half-day with rain, a few cloudy mornings and a lot of stops where all the tours were cancelled because of the wind. We always go the first week of March because it is the winter break here, and CC is our favourite stop every time.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

The weather and the water temp is definitely hit-or-miss. On the last two trips, the water was barely tolerable on stop one and nice and warm on stop two. We’ve had one half-day with rain, a few cloudy mornings and a lot of stops where all the tours were cancelled because of the wind.

I've been visiting Nassau (Atlantis) during spring break for nearly 20 years, and I agree with the above. In early-March you can have some days that just barely get into the 70s, but there can also be days in the high 80s. The water temp for most of March will be cool. On the warm days its pleasantly refreshing, and on the cool days it can feel brutal.

I'd say 85% of the time the weather is very pleasant and swimming and beach time is quite comfortable. But there are definitely those 15% days when the breeze is too cool or there are too many clouds for it to be comfortable being wet.

 

[easyas123]

My parents, until just earlier this year, lived in the Abacos. March can be a bit breezy, but still pretty nice!

 

[j2thomason]

I’m not seriously considering it quite yet, but there’s a 4 night Double Dip in March ‘22 that I have my eye on. I was close to booking a 5 night Double Dip before COVID. For a two adult trip, it looks like a good price and honestly I won’t be upset about missing Nassau.

My questions are what is the weather at CC like in March and has anyone ever done this sailing? Or one similar to it? Just looking for your experiences. I won’t start real planning until I know more about when Disney will be sailing again and/or when vaccines are available. Thanks!

I have a cruise that has been rebooked about 4 times. When I saw this double dip pop up I jumped on it! So we are booked on the Castaway Cay double dip for March 22!! I'm SO excited and praying it doesn't get canceled again!

 

[JM_97]

I have a cruise that has been rebooked about 4 times. When I saw this double dip pop up I jumped on it! So we are booked on the Castaway Cay double dip for March 22!! I'm SO excited and praying it doesn't get canceled again!

I still want to wait but it’s so tempting! I wasn’t willing to pay Fantasy’s prices and I’ve been on the Wonder so I definitely want to try the Dream class. I’ve done the Nassau/CC 4 night on the Wonder so it would be awesome to do a double dip

 

[bakerworld]

4N DD in March sounds wonderful - the weather should be good as it wouldn't be too hot. Remember to wear sunscreen. We did a DD in June and the first day was a riot with the 2nd day being much quieter. When I remarked on it my husband pointed out all the sunburned people.

 

[ghtx]

I have done the 5-night double-dip, in June 2017. It was great! In fact, we booked the exact same cruise, for June 2020, but it was canceled.

 

[JM_97]

4N DD in March sounds wonderful - the weather should be good as it wouldn't be too hot. Remember to wear sunscreen. We did a DD in June and the first day was a riot with the 2nd day being much quieter. When I remarked on it my husband pointed out all the sunburned people.

that would make sense. If it works out I think one day would be spent lounging on the beach and then the other day would be more activity based

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I’m not seriously considering it quite yet, but there’s a 4 night Double Dip in March ‘22 that I have my eye on. I was close to booking a 5 night Double Dip before COVID. For a two adult trip, it looks like a good price and honestly I won’t be upset about missing Nassau.

My questions are what is the weather at CC like in March and has anyone ever done this sailing? Or one similar to it? Just looking for your experiences. I won’t start real planning until I know more about when Disney will be sailing again and/or when vaccines are available. Thanks!

We did a 4 night DD on the Dream for my Birthday in June 2019. It was a bit different in that it was Castaway - Nassau - Castaway. I would have preferred if the Nassau day was a day at sea instead but it wasn't a big deal.

March weather is... finicky. Most of the time its warmer but there is that off chance that you can get a low with cooler weather moving through. We went on a short 3 night before everything closed this year (3/6 - 9) on the Dream. It was cold (60s during the day) while we were on the ship compared to what I am used to on a sailing however they had really nice fleece blankets available in the adult areas to bundle up in and the hot tub is GREAT when its cold.

Castaway was kinda a bummer because the water was far too cold to really swim in, but the beach was gorgeous even with a light jacket on. As the saying goes, a day on a cruise is always better than a day in the office!

 

[JM_97]

We did a 4 night DD on the Dream for my Birthday in June 2019. It was a bit different in that it was Castaway - Nassau - Castaway. I would have preferred if the Nassau day was a day at sea instead but it wasn't a big deal.

March weather is... finicky. Most of the time its warmer but there is that off chance that you can get a low with cooler weather moving through. We went on a short 3 night before everything closed this year (3/6 - 9) on the Dream. It was cold (60s during the day) while we were on the ship compared to what I am used to on a sailing however they had really nice fleece blankets available in the adult areas to bundle up in and the hot tub is GREAT when its cold.

Castaway was kinda a bummer because the water was far too cold to really swim in, but the beach was gorgeous even with a light jacket on. As the saying goes, a day on a cruise is always better than a day in the office!

where I’m from March is the same way. It can be 75 or 65. You never know. I like the 5 night west Caribbean out of Miami too but I would want to try a dream class ship. i haven’t made any decisions but regardless of weather going to CC twice will be hard to beat

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

5 nights are my favorite sailings by far. Price it out, see what offers the best deal including flights etc.

Honestly, one of the best things about a double CC is that if one day isn't great (Weather, etc.) you have another day on the Island to make up for it if needed. When we did our double, the second day on the island was the hottest they had ever recorded there with a ship and I believed it. It was 98 + humidity. They said 3/4ths of the people who went ashore were back on the ship by noon. We basically had the island to ourselves after 2 PM.

If you haven't sailed on the Dream/Fantasy, take the opportunity to do so. The variations in offerings between the ships are really wonderful. Beauty and the Beast is not to be missed!

 

[onesam319]

For those with experience at the double dip, since lunch is on the island, is it the same menu both days?

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

For those with experience at the double dip, since lunch is on the island, is it the same menu both days?

There were variations for us at the adults buffet! Some different menu choices and desert options. Overall it was pretty much the same, just a few things switched out. They had a little pineapple dessert cake on the second day on the island that I had never seen before that was amazing.

I cannot speak for the regular buffet, although I would assume if the Adults buffet had some alternate choices, the regular ones would too.

 

[JM_97]

5 nights are my favorite sailings by far. Price it out, see what offers the best deal including flights etc.

Honestly, one of the best things about a double CC is that if one day isn't great (Weather, etc.) you have another day on the Island to make up for it if needed. When we did our double, the second day on the island was the hottest they had ever recorded there with a ship and I believed it. It was 98 + humidity. They said 3/4ths of the people who went ashore were back on the ship by noon. We basically had the island to ourselves after 2 PM.

If you haven't sailed on the Dream/Fantasy, take the opportunity to do so. The variations in offerings between the ships are really wonderful. Beauty and the Beast is not to be missed!

Miami would require a flight but PC wouldn’t, so any cruise out of PC has a leg up. In a perfect world, the Dream would have a 5 night West Caribbean cruise.

That’s what I was thinking about CC as well. As long as it isn’t brutally cold, I’m happy on the beach. I’m a beach bum and fairly easy to please. Especially if there are beverages nearby

 

[AnnaS]

I saw this Double Dip for March. I would love to do it. We did one a few years ago in October. For us, the ocean was a bit cool at Serenity Beach. The family beach seemed to have more people in the water. I wondered back then if it was possible to be a bit warmer.

I would be concerned too if the water is warm enough for swimming. We did love the two CC stops.

 

[Intr3pid]

We are from the northeast and have had no problem with CC's water temperatures in March.

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

We are from the northeast and have had no problem with CC's water temperatures in March.

Same here. I guess it mostly depends on what you're used to. We've only been on CC twice in March; the first time everyone was happy, the second time people from farther south were complaining that the water was too cold. It felt like bathwater to us.

 

[JM_97]

Same here. I guess it mostly depends on what you're used to. We've only been on CC twice in March; the first time everyone was happy, the second time people from farther south were complaining that the water was too cold. It felt like bathwater to us.

I’m from the south, and the cold water usually doesn’t bother me after awhile. I’ve swam in some cold water on the Carolina beaches before. The key is to dunk your whole body in. Eventually you’ll adjust.

What was the weather like when you went? I know for air temperature, hot and cold is also a regional thing but previous posters have said March can be both

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

I’m from the south, and the cold water usually doesn’t bother me after awhile. I’ve swam in some cold water on the Carolina beaches before. The key is to dunk your whole body in. Eventually you’ll adjust.

What was the weather like when you went? I know for air temperature, hot and cold is also a regional thing but previous posters have said March can be both

We do a lot of freshwater swimming up here -- it's always on the cold side, even in the summer -- and I'm like you, I like to just jump right in. It's a bit of a shock but I get used to the water temperature more quickly that way. Re: our March visits to CC, it was sunny and in the low 80s both times (I checked our old Navigators to make sure I wasn't misremembering). For us, that's balmy.