Weather Woes...

[kymickeyfan717]

I am this same cruise. I stopped checking the weather a couple days ago - I'll deal either way. At least I'm not at work is my view .

 

[Nanaree]

Sailed on this itinerary 1/16 and had beautiful weather in both Tortola and St. Thomas. Like earlier posts CC was a different story. Cloudy, windy and a little rain when we got off the ship and activities were all cancelled. We had to make a run for the ship about an hour after swimming once the rain and wind hit hard. The water was cool but doable for us. In CO we're happy to have water out of the 70s in summer. We enjoyed the movies showing and extra activities on the ship the rest of the day. We were excited we got to see CC as we had heard the week before the ship had to avoid the area due to weather.

 

[Skiton]

Sailed on this itinerary 1/16 and had beautiful weather in both Tortola and St. Thomas. Like earlier posts CC was a different story. Cloudy, windy and a little rain when we got off the ship and activities were all cancelled. We had to make a run for the ship about an hour after swimming once the rain and wind hit hard. The water was cool but doable for us. In CO we're happy to have water out of the 70s in summer. We enjoyed the movies showing and extra activities on the ship the rest of the day. We were excited we got to see CC as we had heard the week before the ship had to avoid the area due to weather.

Wow, I think we got really lucky. We were on CC January 8th and we had a beautiful day, mid 70's, sunny and calm. The crew told me the month of December had been pretty bad for CC weather, and now it sounds like January, too overall. Makes me wonder why they don't abandon the stop at CC in the winter months and add a port farther south?

 

[JJsmama]

It might help if people list ship activities which they enjoyed/ were available in the rain. I can't he bc i have only had good weather. I do remember one day (sea day) when it was a bit chilly. Sitting on deck with a jacket on, but still felt the sun's rays, hearing the ocean and holding a caramel latte from Cove Cafe. It was very pleasant!

 

[MUN]

Wow, I think we got really lucky. We were on CC January 8th and we had a beautiful day, mid 70's, sunny and calm. The crew told me the month of December had been pretty bad for CC weather, and now it sounds like January, too overall. Makes me wonder why they don't abandon the stop at CC in the winter months and add a port farther south?

We were at CC on NYE and the weather was perfect! I think the high was 81 degrees. We lucked out! I doubt they will abandon CC; however, when it raining there is very little to do on the island. I hope the weather for the OP's trip turns out to be nice. But a forecast for 73 and rain for next Friday does not look promising. Currently it is 70 and cloudy on the island and I don't it's suppose to get much warmer. Brrr!!!

 

[UVADisneyFan]

Last week we were on the Fantasy on this same Eastern Cruise.

Cruising Down to the Caribbean and Back again, the ship was really rocking and rolling!!! Bring your motion sickness meds and use them.

Seas were light (only about 6 feet), but the wind across the deck was brutal ... usually mid to upper 40mph, reaching into the 50's. "down" on deck 11 (pool) the wind was not much of an issue. Deck 13 forward (adults only / Satellite falls) depending upon the side of the ship you were walking on, was very windy, BUT once you made it up to the wind screen area (covered), it was actually quite pleasant. we spent a lot of time up there.

We had an excursion in Tortola and it was raining hard in the morning, then let up before we left the ship. DCL was handing out rain ponchos for free (WDW logo - at $15 a pop, we "made 60 bucks ). When we got to the Baths on Virgin Gorda, it started raining HARD again. 10 minutes later no more rain for the rest of the day and mostly blue skys with a few puffy white clouds.

Back at the ship in the afternoon it was in the low 80's and just perfect - more time spent up on deck 13.

St. Thomas - NO rain at all, just the blue sky and the white fluffy clouds. We did not have an excursion and decided to stay on-board up on deck 13 again for the day -- it was heavenly.

The cruise back up north - more winds and a few sprinkles - yep, deck 13 forward was pretty nice all day.

Castaway Cay - now this was a different story. only about 70 degrees, windy and rainy. Cold outside. We stayed inside the ship that day. With the wind, I was surprised that we were able to dock. It would have been better if we didn't - then the cruise staff would have been able to provide more activities on-board. DCL added more showings of the New Star Wars and Good Dinosaur (awesome) movies and a few additional activities on-board. AND the Bahama government allowed DCL to open Shutters and the stores while docked because the weather was so miserable.

Castaway Excursions: any excursion where an outside vendor had to come over to CC from Abaco were cancelled due to safety concerns. Things booked that totally resided on the island: Snorkeling, Biking, Stingray Encounter, Cabanas, massages went on as "scheduled". Disney will NOT refund your money if the excursion goes, even if the weather is bad. They will cancel for safety reasons. IF DCL cancels, they refund you fees for excursions that you booked through DCL. Outside vendors (in any port) cancellation policy varies by vendor.

any other questions???

Is wind and rough seas a "thing" in these winter months? Are the seas and wind calmer in other times of year? Never cruised so am trying to figure out the best time to go with 3 kids 5 and under.

 

[Winston Wolf]

Last week we were on the Fantasy on this same Eastern Cruise.

Cruising Down to the Caribbean and Back again, the ship was really rocking and rolling!!! Bring your motion sickness meds and use them.

Seas were light (only about 6 feet), but the wind across the deck was brutal ... usually mid to upper 40mph, reaching into the 50's. "down" on deck 11 (pool) the wind was not much of an issue. Deck 13 forward (adults only / Satellite falls) depending upon the side of the ship you were walking on, was very windy, BUT once you made it up to the wind screen area (covered), it was actually quite pleasant. we spent a lot of time up there.

We had an excursion in Tortola and it was raining hard in the morning, then let up before we left the ship. DCL was handing out rain ponchos for free (WDW logo - at $15 a pop, we "made 60 bucks ). When we got to the Baths on Virgin Gorda, it started raining HARD again. 10 minutes later no more rain for the rest of the day and mostly blue skys with a few puffy white clouds.

Back at the ship in the afternoon it was in the low 80's and just perfect - more time spent up on deck 13.

St. Thomas - NO rain at all, just the blue sky and the white fluffy clouds. We did not have an excursion and decided to stay on-board up on deck 13 again for the day -- it was heavenly.

The cruise back up north - more winds and a few sprinkles - yep, deck 13 forward was pretty nice all day.

Castaway Cay - now this was a different story. only about 70 degrees, windy and rainy. Cold outside. We stayed inside the ship that day. With the wind, I was surprised that we were able to dock. It would have been better if we didn't - then the cruise staff would have been able to provide more activities on-board. DCL added more showings of the New Star Wars and Good Dinosaur (awesome) movies and a few additional activities on-board. AND the Bahama government allowed DCL to open Shutters and the stores while docked because the weather was so miserable.

Castaway Excursions: any excursion where an outside vendor had to come over to CC from Abaco were cancelled due to safety concerns. Things booked that totally resided on the island: Snorkeling, Biking, Stingray Encounter, Cabanas, massages went on as "scheduled". Disney will NOT refund your money if the excursion goes, even if the weather is bad. They will cancel for safety reasons. IF DCL cancels, they refund you fees for excursions that you booked through DCL. Outside vendors (in any port) cancellation policy varies by vendor.

any other questions???

I was on that sailing too. Seas were OK on the way down to the islands, but on the way from St. Thomas to CC, it was really rocky. As you said, I attributed that to the cross wind hitting the ship at it's least aerodynamic part, the side of the ship. You could see and feel the roll back and forth. CC was tough. The winds weren't bad when we docked, but conditions degraded quickly. Had the weather been like it was around 11am, there's no way we would have been able to dock. We had the extreme getaway package and the stingray encounter was cancelled. All our excursion $$ on CC was refunded, even though we still COULD have done the bike, snorkel, and tubes as part of our excursion. Was happy with DCL on that. I was going to complain about murkey snorkel water and safety issues on biking/tubing, but didn't need to. One ask at customer service and they refunded everything.

 

[jrabbit]

I was on that sailing too. Seas were OK on the way down to the islands, but on the way from St. Thomas to CC, it was really rocky. As you said, I attributed that to the cross wind hitting the ship at it's least aerodynamic part, the side of the ship. You could see and feel the roll back and forth. CC was tough. The winds weren't bad when we docked, but conditions degraded quickly. Had the weather been like it was around 11am, there's no way we would have been able to dock. We had the extreme getaway package and the stingray encounter was cancelled. All our excursion $$ on CC was refunded, even though we still COULD have done the bike, snorkel, and tubes as part of our excursion. Was happy with DCL on that. I was going to complain about murkey snorkel water and safety issues on biking/tubing, but didn't need to. One ask at customer service and they refunded everything.

cool that they refunded all of your "excursion" money!!! Cruise Director Invisible Darrin announced in the morning (or at last nights show) that the stingray encounters were going on as scheduled.

We all had Parasailing - and was not looking forward to that in THAT weather.

I wonder what they did with the Cabanas People??? I expect that the rule is if the ship docks, you get the cabana. And that's a $10,000+ incentive for DCL to dock at CC (20+ cabanas at $500+ a pop)

 

[fab1976]

I was on the western January 9th sailing. The weather was definitely not the best. If it was a very rainy day which it was for Cozumel, they cancelled and refunded excursions. They did hand out ponchos to those who got off to explore. For ourselves we took time to explore the ship and to play the Midship Detective Agency. On our CC day, it was so windy the wind was pushing the boat away from the dock. He tried a few hours later and same thing. They moved everything like character meetings onto the boat and had the character dance party on the boat in the atrium. It was still a fun day even if it was disappointing to miss CC as a first time cruiser. They had new navigators printed within 2 hours with some new activities added. I had heard before sailing that they can print new ones and fill the day pretty quickly in the case of weather stopping a port. And now I can attest to that! It certainly didn't make it the worst vacation in the world ever. It sucked, but there's a lot going on on a ship and the extra time can help you get to see and do it all which others always say can't be done!

 

[Sytrace]

We are on this cruise as well. I don't look at weather reports anymore because they change frequently (especially here in Orlando) lol

Relax, have fun and happy sailing away to all on the January 30th cruise!

 

[Winston Wolf]

cool that they refunded all of your "excursion" money!!! Cruise Director Invisible Darrin announced in the morning (or at last nights show) that the stingray encounters were going on as scheduled.

We all had Parasailing - and was not looking forward to that in THAT weather.

I wonder what they did with the Cabanas People??? I expect that the rule is if the ship docks, you get the cabana. And that's a $10,000+ incentive for DCL to dock at CC (20+ cabanas at $500+ a pop)

They did the 10am Stingrays, but cancelled the rest after the winds and waves were too much. Some friends did the 10am and most of the group left halfway through because it was so miserable.

 

[Stratus22]

Last week we were on the Fantasy on this same Eastern Cruise.

Cruising Down to the Caribbean and Back again, the ship was really rocking and rolling!!! Bring your motion sickness meds and use them.

Seas were light (only about 6 feet), but the wind across the deck was brutal ... usually mid to upper 40mph, reaching into the 50's. "down" on deck 11 (pool) the wind was not much of an issue. Deck 13 forward (adults only / Satellite falls) depending upon the side of the ship you were walking on, was very windy, BUT once you made it up to the wind screen area (covered), it was actually quite pleasant. we spent a lot of time up there.

We had an excursion in Tortola and it was raining hard in the morning, then let up before we left the ship. DCL was handing out rain ponchos for free (WDW logo - at $15 a pop, we "made 60 bucks ). When we got to the Baths on Virgin Gorda, it started raining HARD again. 10 minutes later no more rain for the rest of the day and mostly blue skys with a few puffy white clouds.

Back at the ship in the afternoon it was in the low 80's and just perfect - more time spent up on deck 13.

St. Thomas - NO rain at all, just the blue sky and the white fluffy clouds. We did not have an excursion and decided to stay on-board up on deck 13 again for the day -- it was heavenly.

The cruise back up north - more winds and a few sprinkles - yep, deck 13 forward was pretty nice all day.

Castaway Cay - now this was a different story. only about 70 degrees, windy and rainy. Cold outside. We stayed inside the ship that day. With the wind, I was surprised that we were able to dock. It would have been better if we didn't - then the cruise staff would have been able to provide more activities on-board. DCL added more showings of the New Star Wars and Good Dinosaur (awesome) movies and a few additional activities on-board. AND the Bahama government allowed DCL to open Shutters and the stores while docked because the weather was so miserable.

Castaway Excursions: any excursion where an outside vendor had to come over to CC from Abaco were cancelled due to safety concerns. Things booked that totally resided on the island: Snorkeling, Biking, Stingray Encounter, Cabanas, massages went on as "scheduled". Disney will NOT refund your money if the excursion goes, even if the weather is bad. They will cancel for safety reasons. IF DCL cancels, they refund you fees for excursions that you booked through DCL. Outside vendors (in any port) cancellation policy varies by vendor.

any other questions???

We too were on this cruise....awesome write up!! I got off on Castaway Cay to do the 5K run and then the family and I decided to stay on board and have lunch. Then we watched The Good Dinosaur.....Tear Jerker!!!!

 

[julie junebug]

I agree you should stop checking the forecast because there's nothing you can do to control the weather. We were on the Magic Jan 20 - 24 and didn't have the best weather. In fact we couldn't dock in Key West because of rough seas. Despite the disappointment, we still had a fun unexpected day at sea. Our family played Disney Trivia and my DH and I went to a cooking class and watched the pastry chef make apple strudel (and had a sample with wine too). We didn't have much sunshine, but considering it was below zero when we left Minnesota, we were very happy to be enjoying ourselves on the Magic!

 

[RRB]

Is wind and rough seas a "thing" in these winter months? Are the seas and wind calmer in other times of year? Never cruised so am trying to figure out the best time to go with 3 kids 5 and under.

Yes. The winter months are windier and the seas are rougher. The amount of rain we are currently experiencing (here in south Florida) is unusual. The winter is the dry season. The summer months, starting in June and going to October, are calmer and the seas are flatter (in the Caribbean)

 

[cgolf]

The only bit I will add, was that this year seemed like the worst weather we have had in January at CC. Maybe we have gotten lucky before, but this year the weather just seems worse then normal. My coworker was on the Magic last week and they missed Key West because of the wind.

 

[diznymom]

Get some Scotchguard,
Spray your jackets very well and let them dry.
Now, if it is rainy, you are prepared.
Relax and have fun.