Castaway Cay Wind Concern!

[tlovesdis]

Sadly you just never know what will happen! My first DCL cruise was last April on the Dream. It was a 5 night to Grand Cayman and CC. We couldn't go to Grand Cayman, which was a bummer, but we had an amazing sea day. Then we almost didn't get to CC. The captain tried 4 times before being able to pull in. People were so upset when they thought we wouldn't make it. I heard a lady yelling at a bartender in Cove Cafe about it! So we made it, but no bbq lunch was served as we got in about 2 hours late. Had we not got to CC I would have really been bummed (but would never had yelled at a CM). I guess just let them know that safety is the captain's first priority and he/she will try their hardest to get you there!

 

[71 Truck]

Sadly you just never know what will happen! My first DCL cruise was last April on the Dream. It was a 5 night to Grand Cayman and CC. We couldn't go to Grand Cayman, which was a bummer, but we had an amazing sea day. Then we almost didn't get to CC. The captain tried 4 times before being able to pull in. People were so upset when they thought we wouldn't make it. I heard a lady yelling at a bartender in Cove Cafe about it! So we made it, but no bbq lunch was served as we got in about 2 hours late. Had we not got to CC I would have really been bummed (but would never had yelled at a CM). I guess just let them know that safety is the captain's first priority and he/she will try their hardest to get you there!

Sorry you had to hear this.
In the 20 plus years my wife and I have cruised with Disney we have never seen anyone yelling at crew members, although on our last cruise I did see a lady crying at the guest service desk. I did not know what was going on, I felt bad for her.

That is pretty sad someone would do that. What did she think the bartender had anything to do with making the decision?
It's natural for some people to be upset however no one should ever be yelling at the crew. If there is a problem there are proper channels to calmly voice their complaint.

Our very first Disney cruise back in 2001 we could not dock because of weather. The captain tried for several hours but was unable to dock safely.

On a kind of funny note, our very first NCL cruise back in February 2020 we could not dock on the island due to wind.
I don't remember anyone being upset however I am sure there were some people that were.

 

[tlovesdis]

Sorry you had to hear this.
In the 20 plus years my wife and I have cruised with Disney we have never seen anyone yelling at crew members, although on our last cruise I did see a lady crying at the guest service desk. I did not know what was going on, I felt bad for her.

That is pretty sad someone would do that. What did she think the bartender had anything to do with making the decision?
It's natural for some people to be upset however no one should ever be yelling at the crew. If there is a problem there are proper channels to calmly voice their complaint.

Our very first Disney cruise back in 2001 we could not dock because of weather. The captain tried for several hours but was unable to dock safely.

On a kind of funny note, our very first NCL cruise back in February 202 we could not dock on the island due to wind.
I don't remember anyone being upset however I am sure there were some people that were.

I mean I get being upset but yelling at a bartender was just plain wrong.

She was the only person I encountered being just plain rude. Funny part was when we finally docked the whole ship erupted with applause and cheers!!

 

[Dug720]

Keep in mind it's not just the wind, but the current (both speed and direction) that affect docking at CC. So even if the wind isn't that bad, the current could be 'wrong' for docking.

Very true! And those days that "look" gorgeous with very little wind where the current isn't right are the toughest for the crew in terms of passengers complaining because it looks like there's no reason they shouldn't be docked.

 

[Cheburashka]

I've cruised to Castaway Cay 11 times at different times of year, including mid-March 3 times, and have only missed Castaway Cay due to inability to dock there once (in January).

 

[SteveMouse]

Wind and tide. No predictions, but manage expectations

Tide is highly predictable. Just sayin'.
I used to memorize the depths on nautical charts for the Florida Keys and The Bahamas. The tide tables were required morning reading.

My father was a captain for Windjammer cruises and my mother and grandfather were both sailors as well. I could use a sextant when I was 6.

 

[SteveMouse]

My father got in very few arguments. He was the captain. One argument he did have was with a US Navy admiral, who had chartered the yacht my father was running. The admiral ordered my father to sail, no motors, due north. straight into the wind. My father flat out refused. The admiral insisted, publicly. My father then told the admiral that he was on a sailboat. The one direction no sailboat can go because it is physically impossible is directly into the wind. Any other heading (direction) is no problem, but not directly into the wind.

 

[sponica]

Scott just posted this on his DCLBlog facebook page

 

[RedHead0186]

Very true! And those days that "look" gorgeous with very little wind where the current isn't right are the toughest for the crew in terms of passengers complaining because it looks like there's no reason they shouldn't be docked.

Yep! Part of why I always like to share that when this question comes up, to help people better understand the factors and set expectations.

 

[RedHead0186]

Scott just posted this on his DCLBlog facebook page

View attachment 844238

Not sure if it's good or bad that they proactively did this. On the one hand, it does let people know there's a good possibly CC won't happen. On the other hand, some people will gripe and complain and it might turn out to be just fine.

I'm guessing because this is an actual storm and they thought people might be worried about it so they wanted to give advance notification.

 

[sponica]

Not sure if it's good or bad that they proactively did this. On the one hand, it does let people know there's a good possibly CC won't happen. On the other hand, some people will gripe and complain and it might turn out to be just fine.

I'm guessing because this is an actual storm and they thought people might be worried about it so they wanted to give advance notification.

He posted a video of the projected wind speeds and directions, and it didn't look fun to try and dock.

 

[Flossbolna]

He posted a video of the projected wind speeds and directions, and it didn't look fun to try and dock.

Yes, I saw that. I was wondering if they might even have to try to go in a direction away from CC in order to try to avoid weather. So it might not just be a question of being able to dock, but a question of are they even going to get there.

 

[loislane]

Over the years, out of the 14 cruises we have done with Disney, we have only missed Castaway Cay once due to weather and it was because of wind. This was back in may 2001, our first Disney Cruise.

Since then we have sailed in spring time and winter time and have not missed being able to dock on the island so far, but that can always change.

As a side note our first cruise on NCL that was back in February of 2020 and we could not dock on their island due to wind.

Over the years that we have been to Castaway Cay, at times we noticed certain activity's being canceled because of the weather so this is also something to think about.

We just sailed NCL last month and our stop at GSC got cut short due to wind and the danger it created with the tendering. Thankfully, that isn't a concern on CC.

 

[Aaryana]

Making me nervous for our upcoming trip in April. Hopefully by the second week of April, conditions are clear.

 

[Garyjames220]

What’s the dock like at Lighthouse point

Is that easier to dock at

 

[RedHead0186]

What’s the dock like at Lighthouse point

Is that easier to dock at

It's not finished yet; no one knows.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

What’s the dock like at Lighthouse point

Is that easier to dock at

Based on the artist rendition, it's infinitely easier to pull alongside at LP vs CC

 

[MomOTwins]

One tip: I’ve seen some youtube vlogs where they give a “pro tip” to stay on the ship in the morning and go onshore midday to beat the crowds. While it is true the afternoon is less crowded on castaway as a lot of folks leave after lunch, it is also risky. We’ve never missed castaway, but twice they had to clear off the island and sail away early afternoon: once due to weather, and once due to a medical emergency with someone needing to be taken to a hospital in nassau.

 

[edudansil]

We were on the Fantasy last week and CC was cancelled for us. Tried twice to dock and both times could not. After that they made the decision to cancel the port day and made it a sea day. SUPER bummed since it was going to be our first time. SIGH.

 

[ThatDisneyGal]

So we survived the cruise and are back home! Definitely not our thing!!! The kids had a good time and although we were very thankful that we did get to port at Castaway Cay, we had super rough seas that night, rocking and bumping for hours and it made our poor son so sick. The waves were so intense for hours with the rocking from the storm - I read online that lightening struck a carnival ship and caused a fire that night on their ship around the area we were in. It was really bad, just constant rocking back and forth and bumping for hours - doors swinging open back and forth, hangers clinging back and forth on the rod. I’ve never experienced anything like it! Somehow, our 2 youngest slept through it. But the rest of us were all just wanting off that boat the next morning! Never again! We were so happy to be off the ship and back at Disney World. We went straight to our favorite restaurant Toppolinos and had amazing service. For whatever reason we had terrible service on our cruise. One of the servers even spilled coke all over me and was pretty indifferent about it. I couldn’t believe it. I had to go change. We never got our kids meals served first even when asked about it and they never remembered our drinks and sometimes even minutes later would forget our order! Usually Disney is great with service but we just had really bad luck on the cruise and it was soooo crowded, lines everywhere, even for ice cream it was crazy. It was just not what I expected it to be and I wish that we would have just gone to Disney World the whole time but you never know until you try it! But then we went to Disney and all was right with the world again! Disney is definitely more our thing and we had a great day at Epcot!