Castaway Cay not out of the woods yet..

[Warm Hugs]

noticed that some forecasts are expecting Matthew to do a loop back south toward castaway cay... so looks like any ships may not be going to castaway anytime soon not including any clean up they would have do. Considering the loop, i would not expect them to even start cleaning up until the hurricane makes its second pass after turning back to castaway

 

[Garyjames220]

When is this mathrew due to end. I never knew they went for so long

 

[lanejudy]

When is this mathrew due to end. I never knew they went for so long

As with any kind of storm, some are bigger/stronger/last longer than others. Some hurricanes move quickly but lose strength fairly soon as well, also some only reach category 1 or 2. Others continue to build and gain strength. Matthew is a massive storm -- physically covering a much wider path than most. It's also moving relatively slowly and holding strong. I believe it did reach category 5 stage at one point earlier this week, though it was category 4 last I knew and could drop to category 1 or 2 by next week when it may loop back around. It may or may not loop, though that model has held for at least a couple of days now. Plus there is hurricane Nicole out there as well which may collide with Matthew on the loop-around. There's no controlling Mother Nature.

 

[LoveMickey]

They will have to inspect the island and the channel prior to ships going back.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

They will have to inspect the island and the channel prior to ships going back.

IMO, of the two, the state of the island itself will be the greater issue. If the channel is silted in and the seas are calm, they can still tender guests onto the island.

 

[lorimay]

I think this storm must have broken some kind of record, its been around forever.....
Now it might come visit me again........

Go Away Matthew..........

 

[PlanoNana]

IMO, of the two, the state of the island itself will be the greater issue. If the channel is silted in and the seas are calm, they can still tender guests onto the island.

I don't believe DCL has ever used tenders at Castaway and they don't have the tenders available to use. If the channel is silted in they won't dock until it's dredged out.

 

[tee11]

I think I just read somewhere today that Matthew is the longest lasting system turned hurricane after September 28 EVER. (I think Matthew started as an Invest in the last week of September)
He is the hurricane that did not want to die.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

I don't believe DCL has ever used tenders at Castaway and they don't have the tenders available to use. If the channel is silted in they won't dock until it's dredged out.

They have eight on each side of the ship if they need them.

 

[PlanoNana]

They have eight on each side of the ship if they need them.

The lifeboats can also be used as tenders but I don't ever remember hearing that DCL used them that way and they don't have the specialized "tender style" ones with windows that I've seen on another cruise line. A big part of the CC experience is that you're able to walk off and back on the ship when you want to. Servers and other crew from the ship work the island as well as bring food from the ship to the island. I'm not sure that's practical unless the ship is docked.

 

[Buzzsawelp]

I seriously doubt they will tender at Castaway Cay even if they could use the life boats or their small boats onboard. I believe they supply the Cookies kitchens with supplies onboard the ship which is some of the first items to come off ship with crew members once docked. If they had to tender, all meals would have to be served onboard the ship and people would have to tender back to eat lunch. Logistically, it sounds like way more hassle than it's probably worth on top of guests losing several hours of Castaway time in the process.

 

[ivanp91]

They have eight on each side of the ship if they need them.

Have you ever seen the photos of the insides of the lifeboats? They aren't really suitable as tendering vessels at all and would really hurt the DCL experience if they forced people to use them.

 

[RobynPrincess]

I'm pretty sure I've read online that people have been on a ship trying to dock at Castaway Cay but when it couldn't they sailed away and made it another at sea day.

 

[com_op_2000]

I think this storm must have broken some kind of record, its been around forever.....
Now it might come visit me again........

Go Away Matthew..........

Per Weather Underground:
Duration (days) Name Date
27.75 Hurricane San Ciriaco August 1899
27.25 Hurricane Ginger September 1971
24.75 Hurricane Inga September 1969
22.25 Hurricane Nadine September 2012
22.00 Hurricane Kyle September 2002
21.00 Storm 4 September 1926
20.75 Hurricane Carrie September 1957 & Storm 9 September 1893
20.25 Hurricane Inez September 1966
19.75 Hurricane Alberto August 2000

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I'm pretty sure I've read online that people have been on a ship trying to dock at Castaway Cay but when it couldn't they sailed away and made it another at sea day.

Yes. That is very typical if the seas are to rough or the wind is to strong. It is also common in other ports of call. I've had the ship turn away from Costa Maya, Mexico on a different cruise line.

 

[Dug720]

Yes. That is very typical if the seas are to rough or the wind is to strong. It is also common in other ports of call. I've had the ship turn away from Costa Maya, Mexico on a different cruise line.

Or the currents are too strong. That can be a big issue too.

 

[PlanoNana]

The good news is the NHC is now showing Matthew disintegrating on Monday and they believe that if anything remains it will just be an area of low pressure. So the "loop de loop" is GONE. Yippee!!! Someone posted on another thread that the Captain of the Dream told the guests that CC had suffered minimal damage. That's great news especially for folks cruising soon.

 

[DLM1980]

They have eight on each side of the ship if they need them.

I never made it awake in time to watch them unload the ship but I have watched them load the ship at the end of the day. Forklifts and mobile pallet jacks are used. Don't think they can tender pallets of product back n forth