Castaway Cay or Lighthouse Point

[RoseMom]

Planning a cruise with some first time DCL cruisers. A few of us have been to Castaway Cay and love it there but none of us have been to Lighthouse Point. Since some who are going have never been on DCL, what do you think, Castaway Cay or Lighthouse Point for their first Disney private island experience?

 

[sponica]

I would try and find an itinerary that goes to both...if that's an option.

 

[NAB]

I would say Castaway. We were at Lighthouse point in October.

The long walk down the pier then the tram right to a bunch of board walks to different places. The water is beautiful but the trees etc aren’t build up yet. Most of the chairs are over the dune from the beach. If your planing on the adult beach it is literally right beside the family beach, heck we had families right on the adult beach and no one said anything. People said the flies were gone. They weren’t on our cruise.

Castaway feels like a private island the other didn’t. And is build up already.

I guess if they haven’t been to either they won’t know the difference. We did do both same cruise it did make Castaway look old…lol the sand is a different colour too . No stones on the new island.

 

[OKW Lover]

We've been to both in the past 6 months. Since some of your party hasn't been to the new island I'd pick that one for you this time. Otherwise, I'd just go with Castaway Cay which I feel is the better island and does not have the issue with the long pier.

 

[poohs4me]

Castaway Cay! Looking at the ship while on the beach is a favorite of mine

 

[firstwdw]

Castaway or a sailing that goes to both. Lookout has a gorgeous beach and water but it's just not as easy as going to Castaway

 

[bakerworld]

We're partial to Castaway Cay but I think that's because LP is so new so the landscaping is small with tons of sand on the walkways. Of course, it was very windy the day we did LP.

 

[MomOTwins]

I definitely think Lighthouse Point is inferior to Castaway. I wouldn't mind doing a cruise that went to both islands, but I would definitely never again do a cruise that only goes to Lighthouse Point unless they fix some of the glaring problems (long pier walk with no shade and no option to wait for a ride unless you have a specific type of qualifying medical condition, insufficient loungers on the beach itself as opposed to behind the dunes, dining kiosks where you have to queue up individually for different food items leading to long lines, insufficient seating in dining area and lack of shade generally).

 

[stkgator]

Having visited Lighthouse a few times last year, I would choose CASTAWAY KEY any day of the week and twice on Sundays!!!

 

[Aussie RJ]

Im just off the Fantasy which visited both islands. The facilities at castaway were much better. BUT in my opinion the beach is far better at Lookout Cay.
BTW, those saying the chairs are beyond the dunes.. You can move them without hassle

 

[NAB]

Im just off the Fantasy which visited both islands. The facilities at castaway were much better. BUT in my opinion the beach is far better at Lookout Cay.
BTW, those saying the chairs are beyond the dunes.. You can move them without hassle

But should we have to move chairs. Especially the loungers. Umbrellas too?

Yes I agree the beach is beautiful and sand is the best , I don’t like the family beach so close to the adult beach either.

 

[Love4Eeyore]

You can move them without hassle

That is, if one is capable of doing so. I am not able to, along with many others I noticed. The guest shouldn't be required to do this themselves to be able to watch their children playing in the water!

 

[dreamer17555]

Is everything else the same? Same ship? Cost? Etc? What is the age of those traveling?

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We were at Lookout Cay/Lighthouse Point at the end of the WBTA last November and at both Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay on the Fantasy earlier this month. We’ve been to CC many times previously as well. For us, there is no comparison. Castaway all the way. Food at LC was terrible while we enjoy the CC lunch a lot. If you’re not doing the beach, there is much less to do on LC, since bicycles are not yet available to rent, there is no DIY 5K, and once you’ve walked out to the lighthouse itself, you wonder what the big deal is in the name.

 

[Andrew96]

I will be sailing to Lighthouse Point for the 3rd time in May. 18th cruise with DCL, so plenty of stops at CC in the past. To me, I prefer LP.

 

[ShaneDJ]

Castaway Cay 100%!!

We will avoid DCL itineraries in the future that stop at Lighthouse Point.

 

[Lorana]

I think this can be HIGHLY subjective.

Do any of your party have mobility issues or difficulties with long walks? The biggest issue with LP is that long, long walk without shade down the pier. Arguably the walk there isn't as much of a problem as the walk back when you are done and tired. ;-)

I do find the water and beach at LP to be serene and beautiful, but it feels like such a trek to get to the beach, and less so at Castaway Cay. That said, we consider CC to be paradise and our favorite place to be, so we are a bit biased and would choose it over LP That said, we enjoyed LP and will gladly do it again (in fact will be doing so in December on the Destiny).

 

[Joanna71985]

I've done both and I prefer Castaway Cay

 

[TSR6]

I definitely think Lighthouse Point is inferior to Castaway. I wouldn't mind doing a cruise that went to both islands, but I would definitely never again do a cruise that only goes to Lighthouse Point unless they fix some of the glaring problems (long pier walk with no shade and no option to wait for a ride unless you have a specific type of qualifying medical condition, insufficient loungers on the beach itself as opposed to behind the dunes, dining kiosks where you have to queue up individually for different food items leading to long lines, insufficient seating in dining area and lack of shade generally).

The walk isnt terrible - no worse than rope dropping our favorite ride at WDW.

They may have changed the ride options - I remember hearing/seeing something about booking a ride from the ship across the pier. On the way back, one of the golf carts actually stopped and asked us to climb on. Not sure why we were picked, but we didnt turn down the ride. They were shuttling people back and forth, and there was no line at the waiting spot.

Lighthouse Pro's:
-Warmer water (December trip)
-Pink Sand
-I liked the BBQ foods...
-So many chairs on the beach

Lighthouse Cons:
- Kids activities in the water are limited to just swimming
- Trash in the water - there was a lot of floating plastic.
- Longer walk to get drinks (from where I was sitting) - yes they have beachside service, but i like to go up to the bar

Castaway Pro's
-Kids swimming area has activities / playground in the water
-Closer walk to the bar(s)
-More shopping
-View of the ship from the entire beach

Castaway Cons:
-Water was cold (December)

 

[lukemorenus]

Having recently completing our first DCL sailing, we liked Lighthouse Point much more than Castaway. Castaway felt like a giant version of Typhoon Lagoon, where Lighthouse felt like a tropical paradise.