Castaway Cay Destroyed!

[traycie2201]

The island may have been underwater ? wow that's scary, not living in an area that experiences such weather extremes i find it hard to picture, i do hope the little castaway cat managed to cling to a tree and stay safe.

 

[lovepuzzles]

I'm stuck yet another night paying at the GF....

If I were you I would ask about this. When I finally got through last night with DCL I asked what I was supposed to do about a hotel at this point. They are putting me up for the night at one of the Disney Resorts. They should be calling me this morning for the on which one. This is not information they offered.

Note: They did not say it would be a Disney Resort, they just said they would be putting us up in a Resort. I'm assuming it is Disney, but won't be disappointed if it isn't. Got to run. My flight is in 2 hours.

Hope this info helps someone else out there.

 

[spankey1473]

I just spoke to a cruise rep today/ Monday morning that is.. I am having an issue with luggage and transfers on the 19th... Any rate... I aksed her if she knew of any info.. She did state as all of us could already imagine... Castaway Cay got hit pretty hard.. So thats off the itinerary for awhile... She did assure me though that Disney is making every possible arrangement to sail to other places besides Cozomel...... Just to give future cruisers a heads up... So I don't think CC is going to be an option for awhile...

You gotta admit. Disney is trying everything it possibly can to try to make the best of this horrible sittuation for everyone....

The rep I spoke with kept her cool and such even with having to deal with all they are going thru down there... I thought I lost the connection three times it was crackling so bad and horrible static?

Hats off to them for being there NO matter WHAT!!!! She sounded so sad that they had to cancel a cruise and re-route everyone and shorten other cruises.... At least there seems to be one person out there that seems to like her job and the company she works for..... They must treat those people well.

Then she also spoke about IVAN... So you can imagine the pressure they are under right now... She did kinda say one thing that kinda bugged me though? She said " I hope people didn't book this cruise just to go to the islands!" I thought to myself.. No offense thats the only reason why we did... They can occupy the kids and we get to go to the carribean? To me that wasn't a smooth coment but again.. She is under ALOT of stress right now I am sure.. Not to mention I was on hold for 15 minutes till I got to speak to anyone.. I am Disney'ed out for the on hold music.... I need some Asprin......

Good luck to this weeks cruisers.. Keep us posted on where ya go...

Spankey

 

[amymouse]

What is wrong with me? For the past few days I have been listening to the facts and figures about property damage and potential loss of life from Frances. But it hasn't brought much "emotion" for me, other than just feeling bad that folks are having to go through this again so quickly.

However...when I just read the post about the poor little Castaway Cay Cat possibly having to "cling to a tree" during the horrendous storm, I actually got a lump in my throat for the kitty!!!

Where's the remorse for the people?!!

I'm such a freak.

 

[mmouse37]

I think we all get desensitized by hearing so much doom and gloom.....when you read about a poor helpless creature you realize that it is not about facts and figures but about life.....be it a cat or a human.....maybe now you can feel something more for the human creatures affected by this as well. You are not a freak, but human.

MJ

 

[traycie2201]

amymouse, didn't mean to make you feel bad, mmouse 37 is right and we do have mechanisms in our bodies that stop us from going under most of the time with the emotional weight of bad things in the world , this doesn't stop us caring just enables us to cope with life, however when we think of animals and babies or anyone that can't look after themselves it tends to hit a bit harder.

I hope kitty was evacuated along with the other cms last friday and i hope that all of our disfriends and dispets in the areas were safe too.

 

[cjsmith]

Originally posted by SueEllen
Travis,
No one has been able to assess the damage at Castaway yet. I think someone has jumped the gun giving you that answer.

However, I'm sure that there was likely extensive damage and it will be some time before the ships visit again while Disney gets it up to what it should be again.

This happened after Hurricane Floyd several years ago.

Hang tight. I know that there is a lot of stress and disappointment with the cruises that were scheduled. I wish you all the best.

Sue Ellen

They may have already been there. My girlfriend finally got off the Caribbean Princess into Fort Lauderdale this morning and the Captain on the ship announced that their private island, Princess Cay was destroyed and they were the last people to have been able to enjoy it.

 

[Dancind]

Wow! I though Princess Cay was a larger island. Where is it located in relation to Castaway Cay? We are not sailing until Dec. 18, it would be like a miracle if CC was restored and just as remembered.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Princess cays is on an island called Eleuthera in the Bahamas, it looks like a long thin fish hook 100 miles in length and only a 2 mile width.

When I visited it in the past its set up was very simular to Casterway cay, but they tendered in, they didnt have a harbour for the ship to port in.

If Princess cays was damaged badly Casterway is likly to have the same fate.

 

[tvguy]

Originally posted by spankey1473
Then she also spoke about IVAN... So you can imagine the pressure they are under right now... She did kinda say one thing that kinda bugged me though? She said " I hope people didn't book this cruise just to go to the islands!" I thought to myself.. No offense thats the only reason why we did... They can occupy the kids and we get to go to the carribean? To me that wasn't a smooth coment but again.. She is under ALOT of stress right now I am sure.. Not to mention I was on hold for 15 minutes till I got to speak to anyone.. I am Disney'ed out for the on hold music.... I need some Asprin......

Spankey

No offense, but for a lot of cruisers, the SHIP, the Magic, is the destination, not the ports, so the comment isn't odd to me.
Now, Castaway Cay is not a normal port, so that would be a loss to us. I can get to any of the other ports for a lot less money on other lines.

That's why we thought it was such a bummer that you HAVE to be up SOOOOO early in St. Thomas for immigration. We've been there before, and after the first trip have always used that day to sleep in. And since our excursion wasn't until 1 pm, other than immigration, there wasn't a reason to be up early.

 

[inkkognito]

I think the purpose really differs for different people. I adore Castaway Cay, but I can take or leave Nassau. But still, if we have to miss CC, I know that I will have a blast on the ship. Granted, I have been to CC almost 40 times, but even if it was my first, I would figure it was part of the hazards of sailing during hurricane season. But if you are a first-timer who has spent months of happy anticipation dreaming of Castaway Cay, I can see where it could be a major dissapointment.
On the other hand, I have met people on the ship who weren't even planning to disembark on CC because they are not "beach people." For them, the ship was definitely the definition itself.
Many people, many different tastes!
Barb

 

[small6no0]

Thought this might interest all. This info. is from the Pan American Disaster Relief Unit. Sounds like there will not be any official word about the islands closest to Castaway Cay until tomorrow. I doubt they will comment on CC even then, but it might provide a first idea of the damage sustained.

-------------------
Evaluations for the Northern Islands have not been made. A flight has been planned, if the weather conditions allow it, for tomorrow morning (Tuesday) at 7:00 am. to Grand Bahama, Abacos, and Berry Island.

After the field assessment today and the cabinet meeting with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Prime Minister, we received additional informed that Grand Bahamas has suffered serious damages, and that shelters are still operational and have between 1,200 to 2,000 people in them, a significant part of them from the Haitian community. It was also reported that the infrastructural damages are severe. There is no electricity, telephone lines and water supply. According to the governmental technicians to restore the services may take 10 days.

 

[felixdacat]

A reminder about something I have not seen mentioned yet.
The Wonder is due to be in dry dock for a few weeks in October.
An educated guess would be that Disney would work to get CC presentable enough for passengers as soon as they can, but wait to do the bulk of the repairs while there is only one visit a week from the Magic in October.

 

[macbasset]

I found this recent report from green turtle cay which is in the abacos and i believe the closest point to castaway cay.
http://www.hopetownfirerescue.com/

 

[lrodptl]

CC could be in for more trouble before this season is over!

 

[allears]

From the map I have Elbow Cay and other's mentioned on that report are on the other side (east) of the Abacos. Though I hope it still bodes well for CC. I really think as long as the dock and harbor came through okay, we may not be more than a few weeks with out stops there.