Excerpts

Port Adventures on Castaway Cay Parasailing Guests looking for a bird's-eye view of paradise should check out this excursion. Floating hundreds of feet in the air, you're master of all you survey, or at least it seems that way for several minutes. You board a speedboat and travel several hundred yards away from land. Then, in singles or pairs, you stand at the back of the boat and are harnessed to a line-bound parachute that is slowly let out until you and the parachute are 600-1,000 feet above the water. Enjoy panoramic views of your ship, Castaway Cay, and beyond. Each excursion takes about 10 people onto the boat. There are no ride-alongs; every guest on the boat must pay. Your actual parasail event will last about 5-7 minutes. Depending on the number of other guests, the entire experience lasts 45 minutes-1 hour. Open to guests age 8 and up, parasailing excursions cost $110 for both adults and kids. Guests must weigh between 90 and 375 pounds; those who weigh less than 90 pounds may be able to ride if they go in tandem with another guest, but their combined weight may not exceed 375 pounds. Determination of single or tandem rides is fully at the discretion of the staff. Kids under age 13 must be accompanied by a paying adult age 18 or older. Guests ages 13-17 may go on the excursion unaccompanied but must be escorted to the Marge's Barges excursion meeting site by an adult age 18 or older. All guests must sign a safety waiver. You must leave your shoes on the dock and are strongly discouraged from wearing a hat or glasses during your sail; there is a storage area on the boat for your personal belongings. Wheelchairs and other wheeled mobility devices cannot be accommodated. No photography service is provided during the excursion--you're welcome to bring cameras onto the boat, but you assume all liability for the loss of anything you bring up with you. (Understandably, anything dropped into the ocean can't be retrieved.) Snorkeling This is one of the least expensive, most rewarding shore excursions offered on a Disney cruise. We recommend it for every family. Cost is $18 for kids ages 5-9 for one day, $23 for two days; $34 for age 10 and up for one day, $45 for two days. First, find some chairs on the family beach, where you can store your stuff while you're in the water. If possible, choose something near a vertical landmark such as a tree; it will be easier to find when you come back to shore. Next, pick up your snorkeling gear at Gil's Fins and Boats, a short walk from Scuttle's Cove, the island's first tram stop. You'll be given a mask, snorkel, fins, and an inflatable buoyancy vest to make swimming easier. Also pick up a blue-mesh gear bag, which makes it easier to haul your stuff back to your beach chairs. Put on your vest before you get in the water, but don't inflate it just yet. Wait until you're in hip-high water to put on your flippers because it's impossible to walk in them on shore (and they'll get sandy). Keep your mask off until you get into the water. If you're snorkeling with younger children, plan on spending 10-15 minutes adjusting the fit of masks and vests. Inflate their vests by blowing into the vertical tube on the left side of the vest, adding just enough air to keep the top of their heads above water. (If you over inflate the vests, they'll have trouble getting their masks below the surface.) Also, practice using the flippers, which work best with slow, deliberate leg movements. Once everyone's gear is working, take one last look at the lagoon to get your bearings. Disney has placed orange-and-white buoys above the underwater sites, so head for those. There usually aren't a lot of fish in the first 30-40 yards nearest the shore, though it's possible to see almost anything once you're in the water. Fish species in the lagoon include yellowtail snapper, sergeant major, banded buttery fish, blue tang, and barracuda. Obviously, you shouldn't try to catch any of these fish with your hands. If you've snorkeled before and you enjoy it, Castaway Cay offers another snorkeling excursion in the waters off the island. You board a 28-foot Zodiac rigid-hull inflatable boat and head 30 minutes offshore for a 90-minute open-water snorkeling session. Cost is $122 for adults, $109 for kids ages 6-9. Walking and Kayak Nature Adventure This port adventure begins at Marge's Barges, where everyone boards a tram to the Serenity Bay adult beach. Next you walk behind the adult beach cabanas to a nature trail, which leads to the beach beyond. During the walk, your guide will point out interesting plants and animals and talk about the history of the Bahamas. Upon reaching the beach, participants don their life jackets and head out in their kayaks. This is the part where you're at Mother Nature's whim. We took this tour after a friend raved about it. She headed out in the morning and was able to kayak to the interior of the island. Our own tour was later in the afternoon as the tide was going out. The interior of the island was inaccessible by kayak, and the tides made piloting our single kayak very difficult. We wouldn't book this adventure in the afternoon again, even if it were the only time available. Even if you're able to book this in the morning, however, the tour is 3-3.5 hours long--time you could spend snorkeling, biking, or lazing on the beach. Ideally, you would book this on the morning of the second stop of a five-night Castaway Cay cruise. Be sure to bring walking shoes, sunglasses, a hat, sunscreen, and an underwater or water-resistant camera; consider gloves for paddling to avoid blisters. Wear a swimsuit under your clothes for swimming. You must stow your belongings on the beach for the kayaking, so leave the doubloons in the cabin. Water is provided. Cost is $73 for guests age 10 and up. Excerpted from The Unofficial Guide to the Disney Cruise Line 2023 by Erin Foster, Len Testa, Ritchey Halphen All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.