Castaway Cay

We were really excited for our day at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas.  When we logged into the Disney Cruise Line website on our booking date, we had a fantastic surprise.  There was a Cabana available on the family beach at Castaway Cay.  Without even asking Nancy, I immediately booked it.  I figured I could always cancel it later if she didn’t want to use it.  The Cabanas at Castaway Cay are open air cabins that are available to rent during the hours of 9 AM to 5 PM.  The cabanas have a private beach that only cabana guests can access.  They also come with unlimited sodas, water, snacks and fruit;  the use of snorkel equipment, floats, bike rentals, and beach toys; and a supply of sunscreen.  All this, including the first 6 guests, can be yours for the low price of $549 (it has since gone up to $599).  Yes, I know that is expensive, if not outrageous.  However, it was the only excursion we did on the entire cruise, so we felt it was worth giving it a try.  Getting a cabana is similar to hitting the lottery (except the money flows the other way), they are very difficult to get.

Waiting in our room the night before Castaway Cay day was a letter telling us all the benefits of the cabana rental as well as a paper model of the cabana.  We hadn’t told the kids about the cabana, so they were really surprised and excited when they saw the paper model and learned what it meant.

When we woke up the next morning, we were greeted with the beautiful site of Castaway Cay.  Nancy hurried to get dressed and grab breakfast, as she had to meet early for the Castaway Cay 5K.  The rest of us got ready in our swimsuits and then went off to breakfast as well.  We took the tram from the ship to the last stop on the family beach.  After going past Cookie’s Too (one of the open air dining spots on the island), we found the entrance to the cabana section.  We found our cabana hosts at the entrance and they escorted us to the #6 Cabana.

At this point, it was just the girls and I in the cabana, as Nancy was finishing up the 5K.  We checked out the cabana as well as the beach.

Because it was January and we didn’t know what the water temperature would be like, we had bought the girls wet suits to use while we had the cabana.  They put on their suits in the cabana and ran off to the beach.  They quickly grabbed some of the floats that were provided and plunged into the water.  The water temperature was cool, but the wet suits kept them warm enough to enjoy the water.  While they swam, I tried out the hammock.

Nancy finished the race and joined us in the cabana.  The cabana has a fresh water shower in it, so she was able to take a quick shower and get her suit on.  We joined the kids on beach and took advantage of the lounge chairs and umbrellas that were there.

We spent the rest of the day going between the beach and the cabana.  We enjoyed the sodas, water, and snacks that were in the cabana.  We also very much enjoyed the private section of beach reserved for the cabanas.  The only time we left the cabana or beach was to head to Cookie’s Too for lunch (which we brought back to the cabana to eat).  Nancy actually went over to the adult beach via the tram to see if they had any different food and to see what it was like.

As 5 pm approached, we slowly gathered our stuff up and prepared to leave the cabana.  We had the best time enjoying the beach and the cabana and hoped to get to do it again in the future.  It was definitely expensive, but we felt it was worth it.  We’ve spent other days on the beach with everyone else and we’ve enjoyed it as well, but this was almost like having the island to yourself to enjoy.

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