Disney Cruise Castaway Cay Guide

Disney’s Private Island Castaway Cay

First off, let’s get this straight- it’s pronounced Key, not Kay. When you get to Castaway Cay, all you’ll really need is a…

• A Day Bag
• Your ID
• Key to the World Card

No need to lug around those beach towels, as cruise staff actually provides each guest with a towel or two as you disembark your Disney Cruise ship. If you want to get an early start, why not run the Castaway Cay 5k (for guests 10 and older) or try out yoga on the island’s adult-only beach, Serenity Bay? Both are a great way to get going and see the island and they’re free! FREE. Just be sure to sign up at the spa so they know you’ll be attending. 

Castaway Cay Beaches

When you’re finally able to have your Castaway Cay day, you will have so much to do! But first, you need to get a lay of the land. After leaving the cruise ship, you will have two options to get to the beaches. You can take the tram or you can walk. The walk will take you about 6-7 minutes, and the tram will actually also take you about that much time. Especially if you factor in waiting for the other passengers and the fact that it takes a weird back route to get you to the beaches. They’re both fairly quick really a matter of preference. We enjoyed taking the walking trail as it is paved and very scenic. There are two family beaches here; a family beach and an adult beach.

Family Beach

The first beach you’ll come to has a great view of the cruise ship and is also where you’ll find the snorkeling lagoon. The second beach has Pelican Plunge, which is a water slide that goes right into the water, super awesome. Many families who didn’t book activities, or explore the island, just beach time. What a great way to spend the day. 

Beyond the family beaches, there’s a beach for those who have rented cabanas. We aren’t that fancy so we couldn’t see that area, but from afar it looked gorgeous. And the very last beach on the island is Serenity Bay, the adult-only beach. There’s also a “teen hideout” for those who have teens or tweens-just check your Disney Cruise Line navigator for when Vibe or Edge will be meeting there!

Serenity Bay

If you’re looking to get away from the kiddos and want a more relaxing beach experience, Serenity Bay is the place to go for adults. While there’s not much to do, that’s kind of the point. There’s a bar, some lounge chairs, hammocks, and open-air cabanas for the ultimate relaxation experience! You can also just sign up for yoga at the senses spa and the following morning voila! you’re on the beach with your fellow travelers. We love this as one of the 10 Things for Adults on a Disney Cruise. 

Photo Ops at Castaway Cay

In addition to the gorgeous beach scenery, you can also find cute photo ops everywhere! This cute buoy anchor collection is on the way in and you can catch an Olaf statue near the gift shop. Plus plan to meet Captain Jack and the beachy Mickey and Minnie as well.   

Things to do on Castaway Cay

There are quite a few excursions available while docked on the island. But mind you, your Castaway Cay day is going to go faster than you think! So choose wisely. You can choose to parasail, jet-ski, go on a banana boat, get some bicycle rentals, go snorkeling, etc. There’s a lot to choose from and it is very easy to book through the Disney Cruise line site leading up to your sail date, or you can choose to book once onboard. We chose the biking, snorkeling, and float rental package and it was much cheaper(about $18 less per person) than if we booked once on the island. Being lazy and beach bumming is also an option!

We found that there were plenty of beach chairs throughout the beaches so finding a place to lounge about was never an issue. I don’t know if there’s ever more than one Disney Cruise ship docked at a time, but our Disney Cruise ship was sailing full on our trip and even then the island never seemed crowded to us. Fresh off our Nassau, Bahamas Cruise port day, everyone just wanted to relax, and there was plenty of room everywhere. 

Biking On Castaway Cay

We aren’t too much the beach bumming types, so we loved the package we booked. We utilized the bicycle rental package. Having a bike to explore the island with was perfect. As the bike trail is clearly marked and will take you to Observation Tower where you can see some of the islands from above. You can also walk the paved trails throughout the island but we felt the bikes were the perfect way to get around. We definitely recommend exploring the whole island, it’s just beautiful!

Snorkeling at Castaway Cay

We also enjoyed the snorkeling portion of our day. When you add the snorkeling equipment to your day package, you can use them for as long as you like. While this is not the most amazing location for snorkeling as there aren’t any interesting reefs or anything like that, we did enjoy getting to see stingrays and sea turtles on our excursion. There is a snorkeling trail that will take you to see sunken treasures(placed there by Disney). But we actually weren’t told about the trail until after we returned our equipment. You can see things like a sunken ship, submarine and you should be able to find Mickey underwater! If you’re snorkeling and don’t find these things(like us!) just make sure you look for the buoys, that’s where you will find the hidden treasures. Also, note that all snorkelers are required to wear yellow life vests as a precaution. We did not do the Stingray Adventure but it is by far one of the more popular excursions you can take advantage of if you want even more activities. 

Disney Characters on Castaway Cay

If you are traveling with children, or are a child at heart, there are plenty of meet and greets with your favorite Disney characters. We loved seeing our favorite characters in island wear. You can also send a postcard from the post office here as a fun souvenir for yourself or someone else! You will need cash for this as they are one of the only places on the island that do not accept your Key to the World card.

Castaway Cay Restaurants

So what is there to eat on Castaway Cay?! A lot! Just like the Disney Cruise ship, drink stations are available during your day and there are soft-serve ice cream stations too. Lunch is served at either Cookies or Cookies Too and they both serve BBQ buffet-style lunches from 11:30-2. And yes, all the food at these restaurants is included with your Cruise. We found the food was very good, so no need to head back to the cruise ship for lunch. If you’re spending your day at Serenity Bay, you won’t need to leave the adults-only area as you can get the same kind of food at Serenity Bay BBQ. We went right around 11:30 and found there to be plenty of seating. It started getting busier as it got closer to noon, so I recommend either eating closer to the beginning or end of lunch.

You can also grab specialty drinks at Cookies BBQ, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. And if you need a drink, you can head to Castaway Air Bar on Serenity Beach, but drinks from the bar will cost extra. Even though alcoholic drinks are not included in your Disney Cruise, they can still be charged to your Key to World card.

Disney Cruise Cookies BBQ and Cookies Too BBQ Menu 

The current menu for Cookies and Cookies Too on Castaway Cay is below. Interestingly we couldn’t find this on any official Disney Cruise Line site, so this is pieced together from pictures we had of our lunch experience. We expect that as things change plant-based options will become available as well. 

Entrees

• Lemon and rosemary marinated chicken rotisserie-style
• Braised BBQ and honey pork ribs
• Flame Grilled Cheeseburger / Hamburger
• Cajun-spiced, chargrilled Mahi Mahi with tomato, red onion, and lime salsa
• New York Hot Dogs with sauerkraut
• Corn on the cob

Sides

• Traditional coleslaw
• Couscous taboule
• German Potato Salad
• Tomato Salad
• Garlic bread baguette

Deserts

• Apple and cinnamon-spiced cake
• Cookies
• Mini Banana bread loaf
• Fruit salad
• BBQ Potato chips
• Plain potato chips
• Fresh Fruit
• Ice Cream

Disney Pro Tip: If you want to make everyone jealous and enjoy a delicious sweet treat, grab two cookies from the buffet and make an ice cream sandwich! So good!

Castaway Cay Gift Shops

She Sells Seashells and Everything Else is the main gift shop located near the front of the island.  Here you can find Castaway Cay merchandise as well as sand toys, sunscreen, and more. Buy the Seashore is a smaller gift shop and has some of the same products. Know that you can’t grab this merchandise on the cruise ship, so if you want it, grab it while you’re on the island. There is also a small Bahamian store called Trinkets and Treasures. I’m not sure how “authentic” the merchandise is here, but they carry non-Disney-related apparel, like sundresses, tops, sandals, and sun hats and I believe they only take cash. If you are not planning to disembark on any other Bahamian island while on your Disney Cruise, then this is the place you will want to go if you’re looking for a “Bahamas” souvenir top.

See ya Real Soon!

The worst part of our island day was having to leave. We recommend staying right up until you’re called back to the shop if possible as it is so serene and you’ll get great photos without people.  This is one port that you are not at risk for being left on; the cast members do a full sweep of the island before the ship leaves.