Is this a general benefit of most four night sailings or not?

[SL6827]

Just watched most of, not all, of Adam Hattan's latest 4-night cruise and they had the issue of bad weather and CC too. The captain announced that their CC day and their at sea day could possibly be swap out because of bad weather. Now I have no idea yet if they even made it, but that bit of possible "insurance" there with that ability seems nice to have. Qualifications would have to be having a sea day on your schedule and not having any other ships scheduled for that day.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Just watched most of, not all, of Adam Hattan's latest 4-night cruise and they had the issue of bad weather and CC too. The captain announced that their CC day and their at sea day could possibly be swap out because of bad weather. Now I have no idea yet if they even made it, but that bit of possible "insurance" there with that ability seems nice to have. Qualifications would have to be having a sea day on your schedule and not having any other ships scheduled for that day.

Any cruise that includes Castaway Cay, that has sea days in the itinerary after the scheduled CC day, will have that "benefit". As long as no other DCL ship is already scheduled to be there that day.

 

[SL6827]

Any cruise that includes Castaway Cay, that has sea days in the itinerary after the scheduled CC day, will have that "benefit". As long as no other DCL ship is already scheduled to be there that day.

Oh, ok that is good to know. So right there is a good reason to go with a four night over a three night if possible. Or better, a seven night, lol. But I see see where Micheal Kay missed CC once on a seven night cruise.

 

[Intr3pid]

Oh, ok that is good to know. So right there is a good reason to go with a four night over a three night if possible. Or better, a seven night, lol. But I see see where Micheal Kay missed CC once on a seven night cruise.

Not on most 7-nighters. CC is usually the last stop before PC, and the sea day prior is needed to get to it.

 

[mmouse37]

For example, we just got off the Fantasy Saturday the 8th. We had a sea day on Thursday and CC on Friday. We docked but heard that we almost didn't make it. Third try we were able to dock. The wind was really blowing that day. We had two hours of partly sunny skies and then the heavens opened up and it rained. We were back on the ship by 2:00. If we had missed docking at CC we would not have had another chance that cruise.

It has happened to us before but we made the best of it. If CC is missed it is usually treated just like another sea day.

MJ

 

[Dug720]

The wind was really blowing that day

Just to note: yes, the winds can play a role in problems docking, but more significant are the currents which you cannot see from onboard and which may be much stronger than any winds you might feel, hence why sometimes there are issues docking when "there was no real wind and the weather was beautiful".

 

[mmouse37]

Just to note: yes, the winds can play a role in problems docking, but more significant are the currents which you cannot see from onboard and which may be much stronger than any winds you might feel, hence why sometimes there are issues docking when "there was no real wind and the weather was beautiful".

Absolutely….currents can play havoc with docking. I should have mentioned that the seas were pretty choppy as well. Any combination of waves, wind or current could keep a ship from docking.

MJ

 

[Dug720]

Absolutely….currents can play havoc with docking. I should have mentioned that the seas were pretty choppy as well. Any combination of waves, wind or current could keep a ship from docking.

MJ

Yep! I figured you knew - I was just clarifying for newer cruisers who may not understand the current thing (like that poster who was complaining over the weekend that "It was a beautiful day with hardly any wind" but the ship was unable to dock).

 

[rramsr]

DH and I were on the Dream last April and the weather was lousy on the day we were supposed to be at Castaway Cay, thankfully no other ships scheduled to be there the next day so they swapped the sea day and the Castaway Cay day so we still made it

 

[T & R]

In 2016 instead of swapping we just missed the CC day entirely. DCL refunded us the port fees. Not sure if refunding the port fees is the norm since that was the only time we've ever been unable to port due to weather.

 

[MomOTwins]

Not all 4-nights on all ships have the same schedule, and depending on the time of year, there may be another DCL ship that is scheduled to dock at CC the day after. It is definitely worth checking your specific itinerary and also seeing what other cruises docking in CC are going on that week.

For example I see there is a 4-night cruise on the Magic on May 4 that has its sea day first, followed by Key West and the CC on the last day. Also, even on the Dream, which typically has the sea day on the last day, there are occasional atypical schedules, and there are also times of year where even though the last day is a sea day (so potentially a CC make up day), there may be another cruise in port due to the Magic/Wonder also being in the Bahamas, or the Fantasy having one of its unusual itineraries (e.g., 3-night / 8-night). I don't think there is a standard "rule" and it will all come down to specific itineraries and weeks.

 

[Lisa F]

For example, we just got off the Fantasy Saturday the 8th. We had a sea day on Thursday and CC on Friday. We docked but heard that we almost didn't make it. Third try we were able to dock. The wind was really blowing that day. We had two hours of partly sunny skies and then the heavens opened up and it rained. We were back on the ship by 2:00. If we had missed docking at CC we would not have had another chance that cruise.

It has happened to us before but we made the best of it. If CC is missed it is usually treated just like another sea day.

MJ

I'm on a week from Saturday - I am losing track of names but is the current captain the one known for being tenacious about CC docking? I read in another thread that one captain in particular - if he can't dock, no one can!

 

[mmouse37]

I'm on a week from Saturday - I am losing track of names but is the current captain the one known for being tenacious about CC docking? I read in another thread that one captain in particular - if he can't dock, no one can!

I am not sure which Captain is the tenacious one but we had Captain Marco.

MJ