Getting off the boat is a big part of cruising! We had one island we loved and another we didn’t. Here’s the recap of our two Disney cruise islands. Check out my Disney Cruise overview and my recap of the food here. If you’d like to see the video version, check my Instagram highlight.
Disney Cruise Islands
My favorite part of a cruise is the boat. I love the coziness of having everything we need at sea, and I also love the thrill of being in the middle of the ocean (as long as the weather is good and the seas are calm!). But a big part of cruising is getting off the boat to see different spots. It’s so convenient to keep all your things on board and get off at a different island each day. This is why we are doing a European cruise this summer – so we can see more of Europe without having to lug a suitcase to train stations or airports.
Our cruise itinerary took us to two different islands. The first was Nassau in the Bahamas and the second was Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. As a reminder, here was our itinerary:
Itinerary
- Depart Port Canaveral
- Nassau, Bahamas
- Castaway Cay
- Day at Sea
- Arrive Port Canaveral
Not being a big “cruise guy,” I knew Thomas would want to get off at both islands. And I wanted to as well! So we planned a paid excursion to Atlantis and to enjoy Castaway Cay the day after.
When we were docked in Nassau, we were right next to the Disney Dream! The two ships ended up having a Disney song horn competition later that afternoon. So cool!
On our opposite side were some huge ships from other cruise companies.
Island One: Atlantis
Since the weather can be very hit or miss this time of year, we didn’t want to plan any snorkeling or boating adventures for our excursion in Nassau. We decided to do a day pass to Atlantis, which we thought would be great for the kids. And they have indoor / aquarium activities if it was cold or rainy. The downside was that this was pretty expensive, and the super downside was we really didn’t have a great time. Part of that was on us for being disorganized.
My sister and her family and my parents all ended up staying on the boat. They didn’t want to spend the money and also knew the boat would have plenty of activities. At the end of the day, we wish we had stayed on the boat, too. But you live and learn!
Disembarking
We met in one of the closed dining rooms to get off the boat in a group. Everyone was putting on sunscreen and given instructions on when to return. The whole process of getting off in a group, walking in a confusing line, getting on busses, signing waivers, and getting wristbands for the day was a bit of a drag. It took us almost two hours from breakfast ending to walking through the Atlantis lobby.
Despite his face, Mazen was excited LOL
The sharks and turtles were cool!
While our plans were to go to the waterpark, we decided to go put our toes in the ocean first, which ended up being a 30 minute detour that left us all a bit grumpy. The kids wanted to swim a little, but there were no chairs, no towels, and no shade, so we wanted to set up somewhere else before they got dripping wet. We finally convinced them to go to the beach (after they got their feet wet and had to de-sand their Crocs!).
River Rapids Ride
Once we were heading back in the direction of the waterpark, we stumbled upon the River Rapids ride which I would describe as a lazy river with rapids and wave features. We didn’t want to commit to a $20 locker OR leave our credit cards, so we decided that Mazen and I would go and Thomas and Birch would splash around until we returned. The river was very fun but it was way longer than we thought it would be and we felt bad we made them wait as long as they did (about 25 minutes!).
Kids Play Area
After that we settled into the kids splash fort in some chairs that had used towels on them. But there were zero empty chairs anywhere. Birch was starving, so I waited in a very long line to get him a pizza (The rest of us filled up on breakfast so we didn’t need to eat).
They also closed the fort down for a while for a cleaning inspection, so our timing this whole day was just off! Birch never really wanted to go in and play.
While Birch ate, Thomas and Mazen went to ride this slide that had a 35 minute line for a 35 second slide. They said it wasn’t worth it.
Cove Beach
When we all reconvened, we walked to Cove Beach in an attempt to do some snorkeling. There were no chairs, so we put our towels in the sand and just sat in the sun. Not ideal for such a steep day pass price. 🙁
Mazen ended up having a great time snorkeling with his goggles. It was too deep for Birch to swim. Thomas and I both went for short swims with Mazen.
Another major complaint we had was that all of the water bottle refill stations were out of order. After the third one I asked someone if any were operational and she just shrugged at me. I ended up spending $15 on bottled water. I also got the adults some hummus to snack on.
The Cove Pool
While Mazen snorkeled, Birch and I went to this pool for a swim. It was a huge nice pool and luckily not as crowded as the other ones. But we were basically ready to go back to the boat.
Our time at Atlantis was a complete bust. Part of this was us being unprepared, and part of it was that the resort was just too big and too crowded for our taste. Had we known it would be crowded, we would have stayed on the boat and saved $1000. It was pretty, and Mazen at least had a great time, but we won’t be going back.
Island Two: Castaway Cay
The next day we woke up docked in Castaway Cay! This is Disney’s private island that they’ve leased for 100 years from the Bahamas. You have to go on a Disney cruise to get there. It’s a true paradise! It’s also perfectly set up to receive the cruise guests, and we LOVED it!
Unfortunately, we woke up to rain! We delayed getting off the boat until most of it had passed around 10:30. The forecast looked good for the rest of the day, and the sun came out right after lunch.
The Beach
Unlike Atlantis, there were TONS of chairs and umbrellas on the beach. Even with the 3-4,000 cruise passengers getting off, there were no lines and plenty of chairs and towels to go around.
We were so happy when the sun came out!
The play fort in the water was so cool, and I loved that they had lifeguards everywhere and plenty of life jackets for young swimmers.
Lunch Buffet
Also, lunch is provided!! There is a cookout-style buffet with burgers, chicken, BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, pasta salad, desserts and more.
They also had plenty of whole and sliced fruit at a fruit stand
And the famous ice cream machines with a few different flavors!
And needless to say, water bottle refill stations were available. : )
Snorkeling
The only thing we paid for on the island was snorkel equipment. We rented 3 sets (2 adults, 1 child) for $90. Thomas, Matt, Me, Mazen, and Emerson all rotated through to use them (sometimes the kids just wore their googles). The snorkeling cove was so cool because there were Disney features under the water! They had Dumbo, Mickey, the statue of Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid and more. It was like a scavenger hunt!
Bars
There were also several bars scattered about (and a secondary food area that I never laid my eyes on). Also, an adults-only beach that I suspect was really nice!!! I could only dream about spending the day there. : )
In the second bay, they had a water slide into the ocean that Thomas and Avery did!
The Kids Club
One REALLY COOL part of Castaway Cay is they move the kids club onto the island! Birch and Avery went for about an hour and had a great time. I’m not even sure what was inside, but I think it was a lot of sand and sports activities. They used their same wrist bands to get in that they brought from the boat.
Tiki Bar
While they were in the kids club, the adults got drinks! I was so happy that my marg was only $8.75. What a great price!
Walking Back
We had to be back on board the ship around 4:00, so we took the long sandy walk back. I always feel so happy when I’m back on board.
In conclusion, I would recommend staying on the ship in Nassau and definitely getting off at Castaway Cay! That’s what we wish we had done. It’s the best bang for your buck and also the best beach experience!
That wraps up my Disney cruise blog posts for the week. Hope you enjoyed reading about our trip! Feel free to ask me any more questions about specific things I may have overlooked. I found it so helpful to read blogs before we left.
xx,
Kath
