The ultimate destination for any Disney Cruise Line Caribbean itinerary is Disney's private island, Castaway Cay (pronounced "Key"). Disney purchased the island, once known as Gorda Cay, and transformed it into a tropical paradise for cruise Guests. Best of all, a full-size pier was built, allowing the ships to pull right up to the island. No lining up for tenders to take you back and forth here!
Step off the ship, and step onto Castaway Cay, where you can immediately tell this is a Disney destination. Of course, there are the friendly Cast Members and top-quality amenities, but there are also doses of storytelling.
The Castaway Cay Post Office is a functioning facility, where postcards and letters may be mailed with a special postmark. Look closely, and you'll see that office manager May B. Tamara specializes in Mail by Sea. She even has plenty of message-carrying bottles in her incoming and outgoing mail boxes. Just don't ask when your message might get delivered. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the next day. Things run on Bahamian time around here.
Nearby you'll spot some other island businesses. Some are legitimate third-party operators offering excursions for Disney Cruise Line Guests, but others are pure fiction. Take, for example, Big Al Weiss Shrimp Distributors. It's the Castaway Cay equivalent of a window on Main Street. Al Weiss (who happens to be fairly tall) was President of Walt Disney World when Disney Cruise Line was launched. Today, Al is head of worldwide operations for Disney Parks & Resorts.
What most Guests look forward to on Castaway Cay is the beaches. From the family beach to Serenity Bay, the adults-only beach, they really are spectacular, with white sand and clear blue water.
There are lots of other fun sites to discover, though, as you wander the island. Most folks like to stop for a photo at Mount Rustmore, a pile of marine scrap metal turned cartoon pop art.
There's also an old airstrip on the island, complete with a couple of World War II vintage planes. Labeled "Castaway Air," the planes sport Disney character insignia actually designed by the Studio for the military back in the 1940s.
Just off the airstrip is a biking and hiking path that leads to an observation tower. The tower offers great views of the entire island, the Caribbean Sea and the Disney ship in the distance. There's another little surprise for those who make the trip out to the tower: these wacky vignettes, featuring a cast of comical pelicans.
Back closer to the pier, pirates have approached the island. Lurking just off shore is Davy Jones's ship, Flying Dutchman, from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The ship is a near-full-scale prop actually used in the production of the film, parts of which were shot nearby. If the top of the ship looks odd, it's because it wasn't built with full rigging. Instead, poles stick out from the masts to hold the ropes in the right places, as if the ship were complete. Shots of the whole ship at sea were produced as digital effects.
Inevitably, the day at Castaway Cay must come to an end. It's not the end of the pirate fun, though. The swashbuckling continues on board that evening with the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party, fireworks at sea, and a visit from the one and only Captain Jack Sparrow.
It's the perfect conclusion to a fabulous day of Disney adventure on Castaway Cay.
