weather for CC - not docking??

[we4blairs]

We go on our first cruise next weekend. The forecasts I have found only go up to next Monday.

My big fear is it raining on our CC day and my kids not getting to experience the beach.

How good/bad does the weather have to be for DCL to decide whether or not to dock? For instance, this weekedn they are calling for "scattered clouds", which in my part of the world means probably rain. Does it mean the same in the Bahamas? If it is sprinkling off and on will they still stop? Is rain usual for April there??

I guess we just need some pixie dust to ensure a beautiful day. I'd hate for my boys' first trip to be spent on the boat the entire time and to never get to dunk their toes in sand and sea!

 

[Big15Foot]

Wind is the Issue
Speed & Direction

 

[mdoodle]

We were at CC last Friday. All week we had the most incredibly beautiful weather and the calmest seas you could possible imagine. Then overnight heading to CC we had scattered showers and the sea was moderate (as per the reports you see on the tv you see in the room).
Next morning, heading into CC it was rather windy and darkish looking clouds.
We docked at CC but the gangways definitely opened a bit later than they should have.
Later in the morning, speaking with a lady working in She Sells Seashells, she said that she was surprised we had even docked. I was shocked. She said that everything was wet when the staff had got off the ship to go man the stations. And if there is any question of safety they do not dock. Or they stay out to sea and dock later, maybe at noon.
It did not rain again during the day but was windy and overcast with lots of threats of more showers that look like they were passing just off shore. Sun did come out later in the day.
It was not the nicest day, but we still had a great day on shore, although the water was quite cool. I was so shocked to hear that we almost had not docked. It did not seem to questionable to me.
We did dock with the aft in and the bow out to see, which is opposite from how it looks in many postcards.
We would have been so disappointed to not dock. I guess the secret is... just don't get your hopes up too high. But then again, it's hard not to.
BTW, if they don't dock they apparently spend the day just motoring around at sea and they have a zillion activities on board that just appear on the schedule.

 

[Tiggerish]

We did the Magic the first week of April last year . It RAINED on our Castaway Cay day. But we did dock on Castaway Cay despite the rainy weather. We were allowed to get off the ship and Disney handed out rain ponchos.

It was chilly but I think you could swim when it was just cloudy with light dizzle but when the thunder storms moved in, no more swimming. Back on board for lunch was a very crowded, somewhat chaotic experience - not enough plates, places to sit, etc. but the staff was working very hard and trying to be cheerful and when they ran out of one type of food, tried to quickly get another choice out.

However, every time and I mean EVERY time, any one asks my niece (who was 8 yo at the time) about the cruise, the first thing she tells them is that it rained on her Castaway Cay day and Mickey owes her another cruise 'cause she did not get to swim there.

Also, the crew organized some extra activities on board to try an keep the passengers amused and happy.

 

[tecdavidt]

Unfortunately DCL can't control the weather. Any port stop is a hit or miss. We were on the 3/18 Magic cruise last week and we were thinking as we pulled into sight of CC that out of our 8 cruises we just might miss the island stop this time. The captain did a great job getting her docked. As my husband told me, "I wouldn't want to slip (dock) our boat in this mess."(We have a 44' cabin cruiser) It was windy and a lot of rain. We did joke that the captain was going to have to use the far pier area to spin off of for docking. I would not have wanted to be on the dock waiting for the docklines.

The afternoon did turn out OK, sunny but still windy. The water was cold but there were some hearty soles who still got in. The family beach was busy with activities as was the teen beach. Most of the excursions were cancelled and the Bahama shops were not opened so I assumed the workers couldn't come over from the neighboring island. As far as air temps, it was nice, in the mid 70's. A nice relief from the high temps we had the previous few days. Kathy

 

[scottishwee35]

Oh no, I hope the weather will be lovely and sunshine for us!!

Scottishwee35

 

[mitsguy2001]

What are the chances of being able to dock and having good weather in May? I hear some people post here that the weather in May is good. But checking the history on weatherundergound.com looks pretty grim. How often is it that they go to CC on the 4th day of a 4 night cruise if the weather is bad on Day 3? I've heard of it happening, but don't know how common it is or if it happens in May.

 

[kellimomo3]

We have been on two cruises. On the first one, we missed Castaway Cay. It was too windy for the ship to dock (January '05). We were really dissappointed as it was a beautiful day. This year (February '06) we were able to dock and realized what all the buzz is about. Castaway Cay rocks and if you are on one of the unlucky cruises that can't dock, you ARE missing out! Good luck!!

Kelli

 

[mitsguy2001]

What are the winds like in May? Also, why did they design the dock so poorly so that it's so difficult to dock there even in perfect weather? It seems that they rarely have any trouble with any other port.

 

[Big15Foot]

High Cross Winds while docking a ship is not
perfect weather for the Captain ;
Docking at CC is more difficult due to the narrow channel / slip
that Disney spent millions to dredge (it's wasn't all sand & mud).
All the food & water for CC comes from the Wonder & Magic
so tendering is not an option.
Chances are slim that both day 3 & 4 will be bad ; from what I have read in the past, Jan & Feb are the worst months.
My dec cruise's CC docking took over 2.5 hours due to an unusualy strong
north wind; Captain would have tried again at noon.
Enjoy your Cruise
don't worry...be happy ( I hate that song )

 

[mitsguy2001]

High Cross Winds while docking a ship is not
perfect weather for the Captain ;
Docking at CC is more difficult due to the narrow channel / slip
that Disney spent millions to dredge (it's wasn't all sand & mud).

So, why didn't Disney do a better job? Why did they spend millions to build a substandard facility? They should have saved money and made it work better like other islands.

All the food & water for CC comes from the Wonder & Magic
so tendering is not an option.

Maybe they should have come up with alternate arrangements like the other cruise lines aparently are able to do.

Chances are slim that both day 3 & 4 will be bad ; from what I have read in the past, Jan & Feb are the worst months.
My dec cruise's CC docking took over 2.5 hours due to an unusualy strong
north wind; Captain would have tried again at noon.

I checked the wind statistics, and unfortunately, May is almost as bad as January, and is worse than December.

http://www.go-abacos.com/clim/index.html

Enjoy your Cruise

Thanks.

 

[kty]

we were on the 4 night wonder this past jan 29th. our castaway cay day was windy but sunny. all excursions were cancelled. . We were able to get off the ship and enjoy the island - then it started to rain we made do by visiting the island tiki bar and kids ate ice cream and drank smoothies under the umbrellas. While on the ship getting ready for dinner the cruise director announced that the captain decided we would be heading back to cc the next day so we were luck enough to have two days at the cay instead of one at sea! the next day was beautiful.

 

[matsterrocks]

What size of waves do you need before they cancel? According to your stateroom tv?

 

[wdwturkeyleg]

So, why didn't Disney do a better job? Why did they spend millions to build a substandard facility? They should have saved money and made it work better like other islands.



Maybe they should have come up with alternate arrangements like the other cruise lines aparently are able to do.

Thanks.

Maybe they shouldn't have a private island like the other cruise lines. I think it's pretty cool they have their own island.

 

[crisi]

It isn't substandard. You have places that are natural ports - like Cape Canaveral - where you can dock in almost any weather. Then you have places where you "make due" Castaway Cay is one where the natural geography of the island means you need to make due. And there aren't exactly a plethorea of small Carribean islands with good natural ports. Small and natural port for a cruise ship don't go together.

Disney isn't going to risk millions of dollars of damage to the ship because the waves or wind push the ship into the dock. Nor will they risk the safety of their passengers. If you really want to sit on an island - don't book a cruise because you aren't guarenteed a chance to do so. Book a trip to St. Thomas.

All cruise lines will skip their private islands if the weather is bad. This is not unique to Disney. A few years ago, one of the lines spent months not going to their island because of regional political turmoil (RCCL? and Haiti?)

 

[Flagger]

If the waves are anything like this:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/poseidon/trailer2/large.html

My guess is you will probably not be docking.

 

[mitsguy2001]

Maybe they shouldn't have a private island like the other cruise lines. I think it's pretty cool they have their own island.

But the other cruise lines require tendering to the private island. Although that in itself might seem substandard, it at least allows for a contingency plan when the ship is unable to dock. And it means they have other methods of providing food service.

 

[mitsguy2001]

It isn't substandard. You have places that are natural ports - like Cape Canaveral - where you can dock in almost any weather. Then you have places where you "make due" Castaway Cay is one where the natural geography of the island means you need to make due. And there aren't exactly a plethorea of small Carribean islands with good natural ports. Small and natural port for a cruise ship don't go together.

Disney isn't going to risk millions of dollars of damage to the ship because the waves or wind push the ship into the dock. Nor will they risk the safety of their passengers. If you really want to sit on an island - don't book a cruise because you aren't guarenteed a chance to do so. Book a trip to St. Thomas.

All cruise lines will skip their private islands if the weather is bad. This is not unique to Disney. A few years ago, one of the lines spent months not going to their island because of regional political turmoil (RCCL? and Haiti?)

But it seems that the other cruise lines allow tendering to the private island, which would have been a good contingency plan for Disney.

 

[mitsguy2001]

If the waves are anything like this:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/poseidon/trailer2/large.html

My guess is you will probably not be docking.

That's strange; nothing at all shows up on my computer when I click that link. I'll try it at home tonight when I get home from work.

 

[crisi]

But it seems that the other cruise lines allow tendering to the private island, which would have been a good contingency plan for Disney.

They won't tender in bad weather either - tendering can be quite dangerous. There is no way to guarentee a stop on a cruise ship - no cruise ship guarentees any stop. They don't even guarentee the ship will sail!