We missed Castaway Cay :(

[Bethshaya]

We just got off the 7 night Eastern that had to divert twice for medical emergencies and did not get to dock at CC. First, let me say I'm glad the people got the medical attention they needed, I'm a nurse and I get it. But that does not help with the disappointed feeling my family has because of the missed day at CC. I don't expect DCL to reimburse anything other than port fees and missed excursions. But, has anyone gotten a discount on a future cruise or something similiar because of the missed CC? Maybe we could try a double dip and get a better shot at docking on the island.

Not to mention any poor brides that had their wedding plans on CC beach dashed.

I'd be crushed! I'd live, but be crushed.

 

[makaylee]

Wow, the fact that missing this port happens so often really does scare me. We booked a 3 night and plan on not even getting off the ship in Nassau and totally looking forward to CC. My son is probably more excited about going there than being an a ship for the first time ever. I really hope in Nov conditions are perfect for a docking there. Anyone sail in Nov and have reports on how the seas usually are? I know they can always vary but just looking for an idea.

We did a double dip in Nov in were able to dock on both days with perfect weather.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We just got off the 7 night Eastern that had to divert twice for medical emergencies and did not get to dock at CC...... ............But, has anyone gotten a discount on a future cruise or something similiar because of the missed CC? Maybe we could try a double dip and get a better shot at docking on the island.

We missed CC during our Panama Canal cruise and NOT ONCE did I think we should be compensated for missing it. If we had booked an excursion than I think we should get a refund for this, but not for missing the Island. Despite the fact that we were very disappointed.

 

[GoofTroop]

It always amazes me how many people are upset that DCL cannot dock at CC when the weather is bad. We have been blessed and in all the cruises we have done we have always been able to get there.

BUT...twice now I wish we hadn't! The weather was so miserable and cold we would have been better off on the ship. Unfortunately the captain was persistent and managed to dock. One of those times almost no one was swimming, the wind was so high it was whipping sand all over and there really wasn't a lot of enjoyment to be had. We spent most of the day on the ship anyway.

So, yes CC is great...but if the weather is too bad to make it into port it is also too bad to enjoy much of the island. You are better of without it.

Jim

These wouldn't happen to have been your January trips, would they?

Elizabeth

 

[candy wife]

Oh I hope we get good weather no lingering storms out there from the season. It's just so unpredictable sometimes.
We are going for our 11th anniversary, which falls on 11/11/11 which is when we will be cruising... just imagine how many weddings might be happening on our ship since dates like this are huge for weddings for some reason. If they miss CC for their weddings planned there, that would stink so much.

 

[travisx4]

We just completed our 5th sailing and have been able to dock each time. The only issue was our past cruise when we docked late because of a medical emergency the night before. With the bigger ships I wonder if there will be more of an issue with docking at CC.

 

[MrsKP]

We just got off the 7 night Eastern that had to divert twice for medical emergencies and did not get to dock at CC. First, let me say I'm glad the people got the medical attention they needed, I'm a nurse and I get it. But that does not help with the disappointed feeling my family has because of the missed day at CC. I don't expect DCL to reimburse anything other than port fees and missed excursions. But, has anyone gotten a discount on a future cruise or something similiar because of the missed CC? Maybe we could try a double dip and get a better shot at docking on the island.

Sorry that happened. I hope they do something for you. I would be very , very unhappy if I missed CC!

 

[dizzi]

sorry u missed it.

We missed once too.

 

[jlawall]

We just got off the 7 night Eastern that had to divert twice for medical emergencies and did not get to dock at CC. First, let me say I'm glad the people got the medical attention they needed, I'm a nurse and I get it. But that does not help with the disappointed feeling my family has because of the missed day at CC. I don't expect DCL to reimburse anything other than port fees and missed excursions. But, has anyone gotten a discount on a future cruise or something similiar because of the missed CC? Maybe we could try a double dip and get a better shot at docking on the island.

once we docked but the weather was terrible so we really couldn't enjoy it....that was a big bummer but it just made us book another cruise!

 

[JanDave]

I've been on 15 DCL cruises, missed CC twice. On one CC visit in January, it was cool and windy but sunny and I wore jeans and a sweatshirt on CC! Two CC visits - we had rain in the AM and waited until after lunch to get off the ship.

Weather happens. emergencies happen. It's out of DCL control. I feel fortunate just to be on a DCL ship even without a stop at CC.

Jan

 

[makaylee]

It always amazes me how many people are upset that DCL cannot dock at CC when the weather is bad. We have been blessed and in all the cruises we have done we have always been able to get there.

BUT...twice now I wish we hadn't! The weather was so miserable and cold we would have been better off on the ship. Unfortunately the captain was persistent and managed to dock. One of those times almost no one was swimming, the wind was so high it was whipping sand all over and there really wasn't a lot of enjoyment to be had. We spent most of the day on the ship anyway.

So, yes CC is great...but if the weather is too bad to make it into port it is also too bad to enjoy much of the island. You are better of without it.

Jim

I agree, if the ship can not dock because of weather, you probably do not want to be there anyway.

 

[livie1205]

Its funny though, you never here about them not being able to dock back at port canaveral.....has that ever happened and got a longer cruise?

 

[lbgraves]

There have been delays over the years. One I remember was due to a bomb scare at the port so they wouldn't allow the ships to come in until it was cleared. A couple cruises went to another port because PC was closed after a hurricane and I think the channel needed to be cleared. One 7 day cruise was extended to a 10 day due to a hurricane, which resulted in the following cruise being cut. I believe that people booked on the Wonder & Magic that time who didn't cancel were combined on one of the ships and the other ship went to CC with the CMs to repair the damage there. One of the cruises had gone by CC only to pick up all of the CMs who live on the island before the storm hit. Two hurricanes have passed right over CC since we started cruising on DCL in 2003.

 

[GoofyaboutMickey]

I'm sorry that you missed CC it really is like heaven on earth. I would dif try again. I've always wanted to do the double dip

 

[schneider21]

3-day Dream missed it's port of call at CC on Saturday the 5th.

The families we booked with booked primarily for CC - seeing as how that seems to be one of the main selling points for a Disney Cruise vs. other lines. Needless to say, there was a lot of disappointment around - especially since we didn't get off the boat at Nassau in anticipation of the beach day at CC.

FWIW, there were cast members that had said 4 of the previous 10 Dream sailings were unable to dock at CC. We would have been 5 of 11. Not a good percentage.... I wonder if the higher profile of the Dream is going to cause more problems at CC. And if so, would something as simple as having 2 tugs stationed at CC help it to be able to dock in windy conditions?

 

[Fibigail]

Hi, in reply to your post, we were also very dissappointed in not being
able to go to CC. We saved up for many years in order to do this trip and the highlight of the trip for us would've been to visit CC. I called Disney Cruise Line and was told to write email to them in which I did. Their response was the following:

Dear Gail:

Thank you for your e-mail.

On behalf of the entire Disney Cruise Line team, I would like to say that we are very appreciative of your kind words for your cruise vacation. We endeavored to continue in the great tradition of Disney Theme Parks and Disney Resorts with crew members who continually exemplified those standards that have been established by our company?s heritage.

However, I hope you will accept my heartfelt regret for any disappointment with your cruise vacation. We genuinely want all of our guests to enjoy a seamless voyage and have fond memories of their time spent with us. I can assure you that the Captain, his officers, and crew truly endeavored to deliver a great guest experience despite the unavoidable circumstances brought upon the medical emergencies and weather conditions, which prevented us from calling on Disney?s Castaway Cay. Since the safety and comfort of our guests is our highest priority, we are always prepared, if necessary, to spend days at sea where our guests can enjoy fair weather and safe conditions. Due to port availability we are not always able to offer alternate ports-of-call.

We are also happy to provide extra activities onboard our cruise ships in the event that we have to spend an extra day at sea. I truly wish I could change the disappointing moments you experienced, and while we would certainly appreciate the opportunity to welcome you aboard one of our ships again, regrettably, we are unable to provide any special consideration for these circumstances. Knowing there will be times when we may have to change itineraries due to situations outside our control, we inform our guests prior to sailing through the Cruise Contract and Terms & Conditions section of our brochures and website about the possibilities of itinerary changes.

We, too, wish that circumstances had allowed us to dock at Castaway Cay and that you had been able to enjoy the island and its activities. We appreciate your understanding and hope you will sail with us again.

Sincerely,

Joseph Paris
Executive Correspondent
Disney Cruise Line

I then proceeded to call and speak directly to Mr. Paris, the executive correspondent and they again said they could not offer any specials, discounts on future trips, etc. I am extremely dissapointed and even
said we would no longer take a Disney Cruise. Didn't help.

Gail, a very dissapointed customer.

We just got off the 7 night Eastern that had to divert twice for medical emergencies and did not get to dock at CC. First, let me say I'm glad the people got the medical attention they needed, I'm a nurse and I get it. But that does not help with the disappointed feeling my family has because of the missed day at CC. I don't expect DCL to reimburse anything other than port fees and missed excursions. But, has anyone gotten a discount on a future cruise or something similiar because of the missed CC? Maybe we could try a double dip and get a better shot at docking on the island.

 

[MommaMouse411]

Too bad things like this do not happen on a Nassau day.

I know...why do we even go to nassau...blah...

 

[SeaSpray]

Its funny though, you never here about them not being able to dock back at port canaveral.....has that ever happened and got a longer cruise?

Yes, it has happened. It was during the Hurricane Frances cruise that turned our 7-night cruise into a 10-night cruise. The ship couldn't return to Port Canaveral because the depth was too shallow due to movement of the sand where the ship would normally dock. So we had to dock at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

DCL bussed everyone back up to the Orlando area. We were able to choose a bus depending on where we were going: back to Port Canaveral (for people who had cars parked there); Orlando Airport for people who had a flight out that day; to Disney World, for people who either already had a trip planned there following the cruise AND for people who couldn't get a flight out the same day and for whom DCL put up at one of the WDW moderate resorts, for no charge! I believe a 1-day park ticket was included as well.

The funny thing about cruise contracts for ALL cruise lines is that the fine print basically says that they don't even have to really take you out on a cruise at all, let alone on a working ship, with food, and to the ports where your cruise is scheduled to stop. Read the fine print, it's quite amusing. LOL

Edited to add: We've never missed CC on any of our DCL cruises, but we did miss Royal Caribbean's private beach on one of our RCI cruises. It was due to weather. They ended up offering more activities that day including free face painting, free drinks between certain hours, etc. Also, the next day they took us to St. Martin which was not originally scheduled for that particular cruise. They took us there instead of to the Dominican Republic because the knew we'd have excellent weather at SM but still hit bad weather at DR. DH and I not been to St. Martin at that time, so we were happy with the change.

 

[rpk113]

Here, I think its OK to miss CC if the weather is no good and you shouldn't get compensated for missing it...

However, you'd think if Disney touts this as a major stop and not to be missed, they would put some plan B's and C's in place to get the ships into CC (i.e. tugs, alternate docking positions, heck even tenders,etc...) . There only seems to be plan A where the captain crosses his fingers, puts his foot on the gas and hopes not to get blown to far left or right.

P.S. I've only been on one DCL cruise Thanksgiving week and we made it into CC just fine..

 

[PrincessBelle39]

FWIW, there were cast members that had said 4 of the previous 10 Dream sailings were unable to dock at CC. We would have been 5 of 11. Not a good percentage.... I wonder if the higher profile of the Dream is going to cause more problems at CC. And if so, would something as simple as having 2 tugs stationed at CC help it to be able to dock in windy conditions?

Not saying its not true, but wow, that seems like a lot. I would have thought that we would have heard about it on here before now if they had missed 4.