Update on Castaway Cay?

[kathi]

I hadn't considered that most travelers will have kids with them. That could definitely make Serenity Bay a much more peaceful place.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I hadn't considered that most travelers will have kids with them. That could definitely make Serenity Bay a much more peaceful place.

Definitely something to keep in mind. The ship was basically full but Serenity was a ghost town as was were the other adults only activities and areas on the ship. It was great. Not saying you would definitely have the same experience but I think there's a pretty good chance.

 

[Quellman]

We are on the Christmas Double Dip (Fantasy). I'm getting really bummed out about 2 days at Castaway Cay (something I thought I'd never say). Serenity Bay is so tiny now and chairs are stacked right on top of each other. That is not the paradise I was hoping for. I know that it's because of erosion from the storm, I'm just disappointed. I'd rather skip visiting twice and pick up a different port where we could go to a beach with a chance of escaping the crowds. I'm trying to make the most of it and booked the island walk/kayak adventure on the first day and the Wild Side adventure for our teen the second day. The tide is highest in the morning when we are there, so we will probably just go to the beach for a few hours on the second day and then go back to the ship (we are usually first off and last on when visiting Castaway Cay).

When I did the double dip in 2017, hardly anyone seemed to get off the boat the second day. The beaches, including family, were quite empty. Even if it were a full day, we just go all the way to the far end where less people are. Remember if you plan on doing the 5k race, they will probably only do it one morning.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Surly these issues will be fixed by then anyway ?

It's going to take time to bring in dredging equipment in order to pump the sand back onto Serenity Bay and reshape the sand into the desired slope to the water edge. How often is Serenity Bay closed for a week or more?

 

[Garyjames220]

It's going to take time to bring in dredging equipment in order to pump the sand back onto Serenity Bay and reshape the sand into the desired slope to the water edge. How often is Serenity Bay closed for a week or more?

i wonder when they will start this process

 

[Cruising Engineer]

i wonder when they will start this process

Like I stated, when will there be a week or so of downtime for the entire Serenity Bay? Dredging equipment, whether it's mechanical excavators or pumping, is very noisy and a safety hazard. Then, spreading and leveling the sand is normally done with heavy roadway equipment, which will also need to be transported to the island. Not exactly a "behind the sceens" job as Disney prefers to do.

 

[Spackle75]

Has the Stingray excursion started back up? Thank you.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Like I stated, when will there be a week or so of downtime for the entire Serenity Bay? Dredging equipment, whether it's mechanical excavators or pumping, is very noisy and a safety hazard. Then, spreading and leveling the sand is normally done with heavy roadway equipment, which will also need to be transported to the island. Not exactly a "behind the sceens" job as Disney prefers to do.

Ironically, they are coming into the busy season for Castaway with the Magic returning to Miami and the Wonder headed to Galveston. From Nov through April/May is prime time for Castaway. If the beach is usable, which it is, I would be surprised if we see any of the work done till next year.

 

[Garyjames220]

So no one is using Serenity Bay

surly it can’t be that bad or disney wouldn’t have it open

 

[Cruising Engineer]

So no one is using Serenity Bay surly it can’t be that bad or disney wouldn’t have it open

From the write-ups and photos, it does not appear to be a hazard, just not the wide gently sloping beach everyone who has been on Serenity Bay remembers. Accessibility to the area and the reduced beachfront for loungers appears to be greatly reduced.

 

[bostonluke]

We're going to be there the first week of Nov. Supposed to have Cabana 18... crossing my fingers that it is in use.

Shoreside told me today that 18 is back open.

 

[gometros]

We board the Fantasy this Saturday. Had Cabana 19 reserved and got contacted by Concierge this morning and told #19 is still damaged with no date for repair. They moved us to cabana #17.

Well, there goes my hope of it being available wen we board There were a few cabanas not showing up when you checked port adventures. They hold them back for last minute concierge requests. Or in this case emergencies. Glad they were able to switch you.

 

[mollygirl13]

I was at Serenity Bay yesterday. We had a great day on the island. Did the 5K in the early morning. Fabulous weather. No rain. Serenity Bay beach was definitely smaller but loungers and umbrellas were up. Not all but some. The water was deeper than on prior visits but water was clear and beautiful. My husband and I were in the water all day. The island still was as wonderful as I remembered and everyone had a great time!

 

[bostonluke]

Cabanas 19 and up are still out of service per shoreside concierge. There is plywood up just to the right of Cabana 18. They said that they generally don't do any construction while guests are on the island which really cuts down the amount of time they can work to get things back up.

 

[aurora22]

We sail on 11/3 on the Magic, and I am wondering if anyone knows if the stingrays are open? My son was really looking forward to this but I can't seem to get any info even when calling the cruise line! Thanks!

 

[Starwind]

We sail on 11/3 on the Magic, and I am wondering if anyone knows if the stingrays are open? My son was really looking forward to this but I can't seem to get any info even when calling the cruise line! Thanks!

A friend of mine sailed earlier this month, and the stingrays was NOT open. She wasn't sure if it was because of water depth issues (all that sand formerly on the beach now in the water) or because the stingrays (or not enough #) had not come back yet after being released prior to the hurricane.

SW

 

[n2mm]

Glad to see some loungers and umbrellas are back. We will be cruising in 3 weeks. Was hoping for an umbrella.

 

[Dug720]

I was at Serenity Bay yesterday. We had a great day on the island. Did the 5K in the early morning. Fabulous weather. No rain. Serenity Bay beach was definitely smaller but loungers and umbrellas were up. Not all but some. The water was deeper than on prior visits but water was clear and beautiful. My husband and I were in the water all day. The island still was as wonderful as I remembered and everyone had a great time!

Looks pretty normal to me... (And yes, I've only been to Serenity Bay as I'm either solo or only with other adults.)

 

[T & R]

We were there Saturday 10/26/19. We were at family side (not Serenity Bay) and we had Cabana 12. The cabana beach was so shallow it was about knee deep and even ankle deep in some places. I do not know if it was a combination of low tide and hurricane sand or what. If you had Cabana 1-6 you could practically walk out to the swimming boundaries and not even get wet. The back ropes that mark off the swim boundaries were actually on land and not even in the water. My kids took out chairs and floats and actually built a fort out on a sand island where there should have been a swimming area. Made for some great pictures though standing out in the middle of the water with the ship in the background.

 

[Haley R]

We were there Saturday 10/26/19. We were at family side (not Serenity Bay) and we had Cabana 12. The cabana beach was so shallow it was about knee deep and even ankle deep in some places. I do not know if it was a combination of low tide and hurricane sand or what. If you had Cabana 1-6 you could practically walk out to the swimming boundaries and not even get wet. The back ropes that mark off the swim boundaries were actually on land and not even in the water. My kids took out chairs and floats and actually built a fort out on a sand island where there should have been a swimming area. Made for some great pictures though standing out in the middle of the water with the ship in the background.

Is the snorkeling open? We leave on Saturday for our first cruise and were hoping to snorkel.