Only Castaway Cay cruises

[Joe Brig]

Could Disney change its current cruises to remove all ports except Castaway Cay? Just replace them with sea days. Disney has more cruisers who care more about the ship then the ports. Look at high number of people who stay on the ship in Nassau. I have a cruise to Puerto Rico in November and wouldn't be mad if it just sailed around it, if the alternative was cancelling.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Could Disney change its current cruises to remove all ports except Castaway Cay? Just replace them with sea days. Disney has more cruisers who care more about the ship then the ports. Look at high number of people who stay on the ship in Nassau. I have a cruise to Port Rico in November and wouldn't be mad if it just sailed around it.

Yes, legally, a cruise to only Castaway Cay is a possibility. However, that's not what's keeping the ships from accepting passengers.

This thread is helpful in understanding why ships are not sailing with passengers.

https://disboards.com/threads/cdc-color-coded-covid-19-ship-status.3804692/

 

[T & R]

Could Disney change its current cruises to remove all ports except Castaway Cay?

Yes, they actually have four bookable cruises already set up like that on the Fantasy. 08/22/20, 08/25/20, 08/28/20 and the other on 06/17/21. They go from Port Canaveral to Castaway Cay only and no other ports.

The 08/25 and 08/28 cruises actually go to Castaway Cay twice.

 

[JM23457]

We've sailed two Castaway Cay-only cruises and loved them both. Would do it again in a heartbeat, even though we do want to visit Nassau someday.

 

[WickstarRunner]

Could Disney change its current cruises to remove all ports except Castaway Cay?

Not until the Bahamian Government allows commercial ships to dock, they still have jurisdiction over CC. After that, maybe...depends on if Disney can get enough of the local employees to work in whatever the health climate is at that time.

 

[izzinmac]

I’ve always thought longer cruises to nowhere would appeal to some. I know I would personally love it. One of the appeal of transatlantic cruises is the consecutive days at sea. You could do the same with a PC to PC seven day cruise with or without a CC stop. No overseas travel issues, save fuel by slow cruising, better deck-side experience with less wind, and sooo relaxing. My personal idea of a perfect cruise.

 

[T & R]

I’ve always thought longer cruises to nowhere would appeal to some. I know I would personally love it. One of the appeal of transatlantic cruises is the consecutive days at sea. You could do the same with a PC to PC seven day cruise with or without a CC stop. No overseas travel issues, save fuel by slow cruising, better deck-side experience with less wind, and sooo relaxing. My personal idea of a perfect cruise.

Yes, and fewer port fees. I would book a sea days only cruise in a heartbeat. The PVSA has a clause in the law that says it can be waived in the interests of national defense. Since we already have various states of emergency and disaster declarations, could it resonably be argued that exceptions to the PVSA be in th interest of national defense so that we do not visit foriegn ports and re-import a deadly disease? Prolly and worth a shot for one of the cruise lines to step up and ask.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

I’ve always thought longer cruises to nowhere would appeal to some. I know I would personally love it. One of the appeal of transatlantic cruises is the consecutive days at sea. You could do the same with a PC to PC seven day cruise with or without a CC stop. No overseas travel issues, save fuel by slow cruising, better deck-side experience with less wind, and sooo relaxing. My personal idea of a perfect cruise.

Sign us up. Cruising the EBPC was perfect for us. 14 days with very few ports. Learned so much about the ship (kitchen tours, meeting with the officers, lectures). Just cruise, entertain and hand me a menu; that is relaxation and I'm willing to pay (even Disney prices).

 

[SirDuff]

Yes, and fewer port fees. I would book a sea days only cruise in a heartbeat. The PVSA has a clause in the law that says it can be waived in the interests of national defense. Since we already have various states of emergency and disaster declarations, could it resonably be argued that exceptions to the PVSA be in th interest of national defense so that we do not visit foriegn ports and re-import a deadly disease? Prolly and worth a shot for one of the cruise lines to step up and ask.

What part of the national defense is taking a pleasure cruise? Possibly, if something came up during a cruise, one could make that argument, but I don't see it working in advance as they'd have to argue that a fully optional pleasure cruise was in the interest of national defense first. You could argue that restoring cruises is good for the economy and mental health, but national defense would be quite a stretch.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

Yes, they actually have four bookable cruises already set up like that on the Fantasy. 08/22/20, 08/25/20, 08/28/20 and the other on 06/17/21. They go from Port Canaveral to Castaway Cay only and no other ports.

The 08/25 and 08/28 cruises actually go to Castaway Cay twice.

What about 8/31? That’s when my cruise on the Fantasy is supposed to set sail.

 

[T & R]

What about 8/31? That’s when my cruise on the Fantasy is supposed to set sail.

That one is not a CC only cruise

 

[T & R]

What part of the national defense is taking a pleasure cruise?

I'm not sure that the law says that exemptions are granted so that the cruise ship can participate in national defense. Just says that you can request a waiver in case of national defense. Cutting out foreign ports in order to prevent the re-importation of a deadly communicable disease could successfully be argued by some as defending one's nation. Why not put in the request, worst that could happen is they say no? Clearly these are unique times and I've seen a lot of long standing laws be set aside, waved, exempted or even broken by all levels of government during this national emergency.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I’ve always thought longer cruises to nowhere would appeal to some.

Cruises to nowhere are no longer allowed.

For anyone interested in why, I found this explanation on another site:
The PVSA was revised a few years back to allow cruises to nowhere, and they are still legal under the PVSA. What has changed is that CBP has ruled that while crew on foreign flag cruise ships that call in US ports need a crew visa (C1/D1 depending on whether they are joining/leaving in the US or not), crew on a foreign flag vessel doing cruises to nowhere would need a H1-B work visa. The H1 work visa is more difficult to obtain, costs more, and has more financial and legal responsibilities placed on the "sponsor" (cruise line). The cost for a cruise line to get these visas for a thousand crew for one or two voyages (sometimes separated by months) would not be cost effective.

 

[T & R]

Cruises to nowhere are no longer allowed.

For anyone interested in why, I found this explanation on another site:
The PVSA was revised a few years back to allow cruises to nowhere, and they are still legal under the PVSA. What has changed is that CBP has ruled that while crew on foreign flag cruise ships that call in US ports need a crew visa (C1/D1 depending on whether they are joining/leaving in the US or not), crew on a foreign flag vessel doing cruises to nowhere would need a H1-B work visa. The H1 work visa is more difficult to obtain, costs more, and has more financial and legal responsibilities placed on the "sponsor" (cruise line). The cost for a cruise line to get these visas for a thousand crew for one or two voyages (sometimes separated by months) would not be cost effective.

Dang, that kills my long shot for the national defense loophole. I love loopholes and most laws are written by attorneys so they are full of them. It's amazing how one little word like "may, shall, and, or" can change the whole outcome of the application of a law.

 

[goterps1986]

We are booked on the double dip on 8/28. We booked it SO long ago when we saw we could do CC twice on the Fantasy! Now our PIF date is approaching and don't know what's going to happen. But we figure that's the best cruise to be on right now-just the ship and CC. And how many people do you think will actually be on the ships? We're just trying to figure it all out. We also have our daughters May graduation trip to Aulani trip that we had to move to Oct but still not sure how Hawaii will be then!! We are using old banked DVC points so we have to try Oct before they expire! Decisions decisions!! Was supposed to be a big year on trips we had saved up for but now who knows!!!

 

[T & R]

We are booked on the double dip on 8/28. We booked it SO long ago when see we could do CC twice on the Fantasy!

Actually as far as immediate upcoming DCL cruises go, this is prolly the best one to be booked for. If DCL does start back up, this is the most convenient and permissible itinerary to start back up with and it’s the furthest one out, out of all the upcoming CC only cruises for this year. Plus as far as the new CDC color coding whatever thing goes, the Fantasy is the most ready sail ship in the fleet.

 

[fredandkell]

We are booked on the double dip on 8/28. We booked it SO long ago when we saw we could do CC twice on the Fantasy! Now our PIF date is approaching and don't know what's going to happen. But we figure that's the best cruise to be on right now-just the ship and CC. And how many people do you think will actually be on the ships? We're just trying to figure it all out. We also have our daughters May graduation trip to Aulani trip that we had to move to Oct but still not sure how Hawaii will be then!! We are using old banked DVC points so we have to try Oct before they expire! Decisions decisions!! Was supposed to be a big year on trips we had saved up for but now who knows!!!

From some of the social media posts I’ve seen, don’t bet on Hawaii being open. I’ve been honestly shocked by the vitriol aimed at tourists.

 

[T & R]

I’ve been honestly shocked by the vitriol aimed at tourists.

Me too. Considering how much Hawaii makes off of tourism, it was crazy watching how they throw everyone in jail who shows up. The hotel staff (Stasi in training) would report on you if you left your room.

 

[T & R]

The Castaway Cay only cruise would seem like the safest way to start back up. It's a controlled environment and there really isn't any Bahama residents needed to be present. There are some locals who operate the water excursions and a vendor or two (that she sells sea shells thing) but wouldn't be a big loss if they cut that part off until things return to normal. Plus the Bahamian Government could still get the much needed approximate 6 figure port fee every time a ship ported at CC.

Also, someone mentioned this idea somewhere on this board a few months ago but it would be awesome if the cruise lines would get together and let each other port at each other's private islands with the above scenario. So you could have an itinerary with a few different stops and it would still keep the locals safe and the cruisers safe because they would not be coming into contact with each other. Also, I would like to see CoCo Cay and the over water cabanas but it will never happen since we only cruise DCL, this could be my only shot. It would be great to see the cruise lines working together to get their industry back up and going. Great for them and for us.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I’d happily take a cruise to nowhere with every day at sea. In the Caribbean we have been to most ports so rarely get off anyway except CC. We are taking the transatlantic next May with 6 sea days in a row. Sounds wonderful to me.