Getting off the boat is a big part of cruising! We had one island we loved and one we didn’t. Here’s the rundown of our two Disney cruise islands. Check out my Disney cruise overview and my food recap here. If you want to see the video version, check out my instagram highlights.
Disney Cruise Islands
My favorite part of a cruise is the ship. I love the convenience 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 nice and the sea is calm!). But a big part of the cruise is getting off the ship to see different places. It is very convenient to leave all your things on board and go down to a different island every day. That’s why we’re taking 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
- Departure from Port Canaveral
- Nassau, Bahamas
- Castaway Cay
- day at sea
- Arrival at Port Canaveral
Not being a big “cruise ship guy,” I knew Thomas would want to get off at both islands. And I wanted too! So we planned a paid excursion to Atlantis and enjoying Castaway Cay the next day.
When we docked in Nassau, we were right next to the Disney Dream! The two ships ended up having a Disney trumpet competition that same afternoon. How wonderful!
On our opposite side were some huge ships from other cruise companies.
Island one: Atlantis
Since the weather can be very unpredictable this time of year, we didn’t want to plan any snorkeling or sailing adventures for our Nassau excursion. We decided to do a day pass to Atlantiswhich we thought would be great for kids. And they have indoor/aquarium activities if it was cold or rainy. The downside was that this was quite expensive, and the super downside was that we didn’t really have a great time. Part of that was our fault for being disorganized.
My sister, her family, and my parents ended up staying on the boat. They didn’t want to spend money and they also knew that the ship would have a lot of activities. At the end of the day, we also wish we had stayed on the boat. But you live and learn!
Land
We met in one of the closed dining rooms to get off the ship as a group. Everyone put on sunscreen and gave instructions on when to return. The whole process of getting off in a group, walking in a confusing line, getting on the buses, signing waivers, and getting wristbands for the day was a little boring. It took us almost two hours from finishing breakfast to walking through the lobby of Atlantis.
Despite his face, Mazen was excited hahaha.
The sharks and turtles were cool!
While our plans were to go to the water park, we decided to go dip our feet in the ocean first, which ended up being a 30-minute detour that left us all a little cranky. The kids wanted to swim a little, but there were no chairs, towels, or shade, so we wanted to settle somewhere else before they got wet. We finally convinced them to go to the beach (after getting their feet wet and having to remove sand from their Crocs!).
River rapids ride
Once we headed back toward the water park, we came across the River Rapids attraction, which I would describe as a lazy river with rapids and waves. We didn’t want to commit to a $20 locker OR leave our credit cards behind, so we decided Mazen and I would go and Thomas and Birch would splash around until we got back. The river was a lot of fun, but it was a lot longer than we thought and we felt bad for making them wait so long (about 25 minutes!).
Children’s play area
After that, we settled on the chairs where the children were splashing around and which had used towels. But there were no empty chairs anywhere. Birch was starving, so I waited in a very long line to get him a pizza (the rest of us stuffed ourselves with breakfast, so we didn’t have to eat).
They also closed the fort for a while for a cleaning inspection, so our timing for this entire day was off! Birch never wanted to come in to 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 met up again, we walked to Cove Beach in an attempt to do some snorkeling. There were no chairs, so we put the towels on the sand and sat in the sun. Not ideal for such a high 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 went swimming briefly with Mazen.
Another major complaint we had was that all the water bottle refill stations were out of service. After the third one, I asked someone if any were operational and she just shrugged. I ended up spending $15 on bottled water. I also bought hummus for the adults to snack on.
The cove pool
While Mazen was snorkeling, Birch and I went to this pool to swim. It was a nice huge pool and luckily it wasn’t as crowded as the others. But basically we were ready to get back to the ship.
Our time in Atlantis was a complete failure. Part of this was because we were unprepared and part of it was because the resort was too big and crowded for our liking. If we had known it would be full, we would have stayed on the boat and saved $1000. It was nice and Mazen at least had a great time, but we won’t be back.
Island Two: Castaway Cay
The next day we woke up docked at Castaway Cay! This is Disney’s private island that they have leased for 100 years from the Bahamas. You have to take a Disney cruise to get there. It is a true paradise! It’s also perfectly set up to welcome cruise guests, and we LOVED it!
Unfortunately, we woke up in the rain! We delayed taking the boat down until it was mostly over around 10:30. The forecast looked good for the rest of the day and the sun came out just after lunch.
the beach
Unlike Atlantis, there were TONS of chairs and umbrellas on the beach. Even with the 3-4,000 cruise ship passengers getting off, there were no lines and plenty of chairs and towels for everyone.
We were so happy when the sun came out!
The play fort in the water was great and I loved that they had lifeguards everywhere and plenty of life jackets for the young swimmers.
Buffet lunch
Plus, lunch is provided! There’s a cookout-style buffet with burgers, chicken, BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, pasta salad, desserts and more.
They also had lots of whole and sliced fruit at a fruit stand.
And the famous ice cream machines with different flavors!
And needless to say, there were water bottle refill stations available. 🙂
snorkel
The only thing we paid for on the island was the snorkeling equipment. We rented 3 games (2 adults, 1 child) for $90. Thomas, Matt, myself, Mazen, and Emerson rotated wearing them (sometimes the kids just wore their glasses). The snorkeling cove was great because there were Disney features underwater! They had Dumbo, Mickey, the statue of Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid and more. It was like a treasure hunt!
Gate
There were also several bars dotted around (and a secondary food area that I never saw). Plus, an adults-only beach which I suspect was really nice! I could only dream of spending the day there. 🙂
In the second bay, they had a water slide into the ocean that Thomas and Avery made!
The kids club
A REALLY COOL part of Castaway Cay is that they moved the kids club to the island! Birch and Avery stayed 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. To enter they used the same wristbands they brought from the ship.
Tiki Bar
While at the kids club, the adults had drinks! I was so happy that my margin was only $8.75. What a great price!
Walking back
We had to be back on board the boat around 4:00, so we took the long sandy road back. I always feel very happy when I come back on board.
In conclusion, I would recommend staying on the boat 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!
This concludes my Disney cruise blog posts for the week. I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip! Please feel free to ask me more questions about specific things I may have missed. I found it very helpful to read blogs before we left.
x,
Kat
