Wish/Castaway Cay - first timer questions

[XoxoAmy]

Hi all - we will be sailing DCL for the first time in Feb 2024 on the Wish (soooo excited!).

My day to book excursions is tomorrow (at midnight).

We plan to book the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Swim in Nassau. Any thoughts/feedback? Any chance it's already sold out as we are the last group to open our booking window?

For Castaway Cay, we plan to just enjoy the beach and the island. Anything we should make sure to book in advance that will enhance our beach day? I'd love a cabana but I'm sure those are sold out.

We also want to book either Enchante or Palo for an adult dinner, but my TA told me I won't know my restaurant night assignments until we board the ship (to know which night is the free night) so I guess I have to wait to book that?

Any other tips for what else should I book on the ship? We are 3 adults (40s) and 3 kids, 15, 12 and 11.

Thanks so much for any tips!! xoxo

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Can't comment on the rest but for dining:

You can go ahead and book Palo or Enchante, then go to dining changes if there is conflict when you board to either move it or change your rotation.

 

[Dug720]

We plan to book the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Swim in Nassau. Any thoughts/feedback? Any chance it's already sold out as we are the last group to open our booking window?

Just to be prepared, the ferry service that Blue Lagoon ran to and from its island was involved in an accident that included one fatality a few weeks ago. I don't know if the government has concluded their investigation and allowed the service to re-start, but...there is a strong possibility that any excursion to Blue Lagoon may not be available regardless of Castaway status.

A number of cruise lines have cancelled their excursions to Blue Lagoon indefinitely. I don't know if Disney is one, but I do know that the day of the accident Disney had proactively cancelled their excursions there because of the water conditions - so they were already more proactive than Royal Caribbean (which had not, and people from one of their ships were on the ferry that sank) - and Royal (and their sister Celebrity) have removed all Blue Lagoon excursions from their offerings.

 

[Mommb]

You are correct that cabanas on Castaway Cay will almost certainly be sold out. However, you do not need to book any excursions to enjoy your time on the island. If you decide to rent a bicycle or water vehicle, you will probably be able to do that while on the island without an advance reservation.

You won’t have a “free night” for dinner — you will be assigned to one of the 3 main dining room with its signature menu each night. If you are on a 4-night cruise, you will be assigned to one restaurant twice, with the Pirate Night menu one night. You won’t know which restaurants you are assigned to which nights until you board. You can figure out which night is Pirate Night by looking at the night Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique does Pirate makeovers. As mentioned above, you can choose a night for Palo/Enchante and then try to change your reservation onboard if you want a different night.

Happy planning!

 

[soniam]

Do not wait to book Palo or Enchante. Book it as soon as you can. They go quickly.

 

[Mango7100]

Blue Lagoon is iffy due to the recent accident. As far as Castaway Cay, there is no chance of a cabana being available. platinums and concierge are even out of luck sometimes with those. We did the stingray excursion first thing in the morning last time and really enjoyed it—it’s only an hour so we had plenty of beach day left and it was a fun way to start the day. Palo and Enchante may be completely booked when it opens for you since first time cruisers are the last to be able to book anything. If they are you can go to the dining team as soon as you board the ship and see if something opens up—we have had success doing that. Enjoy your cruise! The Wish is beautiful.

 

[kshu2014]

We did Blue Lagoon for our cruise on the Disney Dream and (if available) it was a very expensive beach day. We prefer Castaway Cay much more than our time on Blue Lagoon. We did the Disney Wish back in January (and will go again in a few weeks) and we used our day at Nassau and Day at Sea to explore the ship. There's honestly so much to see/play/do onboard and it was so nice to explore while many were off the ship.

As for dining, we're Gold Castaway Club members and the Enchante brunch was already sold out by the time we were able to book. Palo/Enchante dinner had availability though and is something you could hold. We also called the dining line when we boarded and there was some availability for Enchante brunch, but decided to use the time to try out the pre-paid dining options.

 

[RedHead0186]

Hi all - we will be sailing DCL for the first time in Feb 2024 on the Wish (soooo excited!).

My day to book excursions is tomorrow (at midnight).

We plan to book the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Swim in Nassau. Any thoughts/feedback? Any chance it's already sold out as we are the last group to open our booking window?

For Castaway Cay, we plan to just enjoy the beach and the island. Anything we should make sure to book in advance that will enhance our beach day? I'd love a cabana but I'm sure those are sold out.

We also want to book either Enchante or Palo for an adult dinner, but my TA told me I won't know my restaurant night assignments until we board the ship (to know which night is the free night) so I guess I have to wait to book that?

Any other tips for what else should I book on the ship? We are 3 adults (40s) and 3 kids, 15, 12 and 11.

Thanks so much for any tips!! xoxo

I would have a backup excursion for Nassau. As others said, that one might not be available due to recent events, and if it is, it might be sold out so good to have a second choice ready to go.

Nothing really to book on Castaway Cay if you don't want to do an excursion. You can rent bikes to ride around the island, or rent tubes/snorkel equipment/etc., but you can do all that on the island.

Don't wait to book Enchante or Palo. Since you're on the Wish, offerings will be limited so if you see something you like, take it. If it's a 3-night cruise, you'll miss one of the three main dining rooms. If there's one you are sure you don't want to miss, you can request a specific rotation that 'fits' with your adult dining reservations. If it's a 4-night, you'll repeat one of the dining rooms, likely in the 'middle' of the cruise, so if you can snag Palo or Encahante for one of those nights then at least you get to experience all 3.

The other thing to book for the adults would be any beverage tastings. Those are fun, and they can fill up as well.

For excursions, tastings, and adult dining, if you don't get what you want, keep checking back, especially really close to sailing. People will change plans and cancel things, so random openings will pop up. It's also helpful to join the Facebook group for your cruise, as sometimes people post there when they're cancelling something and you can snag it.

 

[anjuan]

I'm going on the Wish in 10 days. I've heard that DCL cancelled the blue lagoon excursions for our cruise. People just found out this week. So like others said I wouldn't count on it.

 

[chuff88]

I don't know what week you're going, but I'm on back-to-back cruises on the Wish in February 2024 (4-night starting on 2/19, 3-night starting on 2/23). We're Silver Castaway Club and all of the cabanas were gone before our booking windows opened, so I wouldn't expect those. They tend to go very fast and are often gone even before Gold Castaway Club gets to book.

For the 4-night, I believe that night 3 has traditionally been Pirate Night, where the menu is the same in all of the main dining rooms. The Pirate Night menu is fun, but if you want to be sure to experience each dining room's regular menu, night 3 might be the best night to try to do Palo or Enchante (assuming you're on a 4-night).

If you're interested in any of the beverage tastings definitely also try to book those right when your window opens because they tend to fill fast. I can say that the World of Old-Fashioned and Reserve Bourbon and Whiskey tastings are already full for my two cruises.

I have no opinion on Blue Lagoon, but if you really want to do something off the ship in Nassau, the Atlantis Aquaventure appears to be a popular choice. That's what we're doing on one of our two Nassau days, and like others have said we're using the second Nassau day to just enjoy the ship.

 

[RedHead0186]

We're Silver Castaway Club and all of the cabanas were gone before our booking windows opened, so I wouldn't expect those.

Not even everyone in Concierge (earliest booking opportunity) who wants a Cabana gets one (and it's worse on the Wish than other ships because the Wish has twice the number of Concierge rooms but still the same number of Cabanas, lol. I think every once in a while a Platinum cruiser may luck into a Cabana, but I'd never expect availability to make it to Gold or Silver, unfortunately.

I have heard a couple of success stories of people randomly logging into the app and seeing an open cabana (and being able to book it), regardless of CC level. That's pretty rare though, and would require faithful stalking of the app and a bit of luck.

 

[Cleocatra]

Do not wait to book Palo or Enchante. Book it as soon as you can. They go quickly.

Do you have to pay extra for the Palo or Enchante?

 

[SnowWhite2]

Do you have to pay extra for the Palo or Enchante?

I know that Palo is a $50pp uncharge plus tip. I don't have info on Enchante.

 

[Mommb]

Do you have to pay extra for the Palo or Enchante?

Brunch at Palo is $50 per person, as is the prix fixe Palo dinner menu. Palo also has a la carte options for dinner. At Enchante (and at Remy on the Dream/Fantasy) brunch is $80 and dinner starts at $135 per person. This does not include alcohol or optional gratuity. As with other onboard activities, you will be charged on the day you dine, not in advance, but there is a 24-hour cancellation policy.

 

[onesam319]

The port at Nassau has been recently upgraded. We were there in December 23 and it was soooo much nicer than our last visit in February 22. Just a leisurely stroll through the port area was nice. You can also walk to the Queen's Staircase on your own.

On Castaway, I recommend renting bikes. You don't need to book them ahead of time. They have plenty. Bikes are an easy and fun way to get yourself to every guest accessible part of the island.

 

[enzy65]

The port at Nassau has been recently upgraded. We were there in December 23 and it was soooo much nicer than our last visit in February 22. Just a leisurely stroll through the port area was nice. You can also walk to the Queen's Staircase on your own.

On Castaway, I recommend renting bikes. You don't need to book them ahead of time. They have plenty. Bikes are an easy and fun way to get yourself to every guest accessible part of the island.

We love just wandering around Nassau, we were there April 2023 and construction was being done in the port area.
I second the bikes we love to do that on castaway, it’s fun riding down the airstrip.

 

[rea59]

Hello Everyone
Has anyone done the Castaway Cay Triple Adventure Bottom Fishing, Snorkeling and Sand Bar (C90) excursion? I was wondering if it's hard to get back onto the boat. I was reading that a lot of people were having a hard time getting back on the boat on the Snorkel Boat Adventure.

Thanks for any info and photos.

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