What prevents docking at CC?

[Luvmypetz]

Hello. Visiting CC next week. Current forecast shows windy. Is this a bad sign that we may miss stopping there? Thank you

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hello. Visiting CC next week. Current forecast shows windy. Is this a bad sign that we may miss stopping there? Thank you

Maybe yes, maybe no.

Only the Captain can make that call at the time.

 

[TXDCLfan]

Hello. Visiting CC next week. Current forecast shows windy. Is this a bad sign that we may miss stopping there? Thank you

Yes can play a big part in docking as wind affects water curents

 

[JM_97]

Hard to know until the day of. Wind and water currents are the main reasons. If it's not safe to dock then it'll become a sea day.

 

[DCL58]

We were at CC with some outer bands of Melissa a couple weeks ago. We were on the Treasure and the captain docked us without issue. It was so windy that no umbrellas could be open on the island. We wondered if the Wish class ships were easier to dock - not sure an older ship would have made it in with the wind.

 

[Drfate102]

We had a trip once and it was so windy with rough seas, that the Captain went full throttle to get us to Castaway that we were docked and there overnight. But with the wind and choppy seas, the island was pretty much closed the next day. So it was a sea day with exterior photo ops and not moving.

 

[happycamper47]

Wind direction is also key. If it's blowing fore and aft usually no issues, broadside could cause issues.

 

[tvguy]

We were at CC with some outer bands of Melissa a couple weeks ago. We were on the Treasure and the captain docked us without issue. It was so windy that no umbrellas could be open on the island. We wondered if the Wish class ships were easier to dock - not sure an older ship would have made it in with the wind.

Not a ship Captain, but I think the older, smaller ships would be easier to dock in the wind. Less ship means less impact of the wind.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

Retired Naval Officer here; conned aircraft carriers, cruisers and so on. The biggest impact is the current, as the ship is in the water & the current will take you where it will. That is easily overcome by timing your approach to the pier. For ships with as much air sail (amount of the ship above the waterline) wind direction & speed can make the approach tricky, but not necessarily impossible. The below picture is from a visit to CC back in 2016. In the end, you won't know until you get there, but the Captain is quite familiar with the approach, the thrusters and bridge wing controls make it much easier than I've experienced. If they can't make the approach safely, you're better off not going and have a great day at sea.

 

[JM_97]

We had a trip once and it was so windy with rough seas, that the Captain went full throttle to get us to Castaway that we were docked and there overnight. But with the wind and choppy seas, the island was pretty much closed the next day. So it was a sea day with exterior photo ops and not moving.

What a tease that would be but I guess that's a first world problem

 

[Cruisinonlydisney]

We missed CC once on the Fantasy. The captain tried to park it 3 times, up to twelve noon. It was just too windy. A beautiful sunny day, too! It’s so hard to see it right there and not be able to get off.

 

[jimmymc]

Ships need to follow a long, narrow dredged channel to dock at castaway. If the currents are strong in the port or starboard direction, they risk damaging the ship.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

Ships need to follow a long, narrow dredged channel to dock at castaway. If the currents are strong in the port or starboard direction, they risk damaging the ship.

In my experience, currents are the easiest to manage. The direction and speed are well known and documented and can be mitigated fairly easily. Currents don't 'surge' like wind can gust. High winds with gusting are a PITA when trying to dock. The channel at CC is nice and wide & deep. There's also a visual range to use as they back in. Tons of room to seaward to get lined up. The breakwater to the west (family lagoon breakwater) also helps smooth the approach.

I expect that the times they can't make the approach safely (few and far between if considering how many times DCL ships dock at CC) it due to a combination of wind and current and tide. On a strong flood tide, the water flows into the lagoon which is just a few hundred yards from the pier, plus current, plus wind. All of that working together is what will prevent a safe docking. As it sounds, that combination is not a common occurrence.

My experience of course.

 

[Skippyboo]

We were at CC with some outer bands of Melissa a couple weeks ago. We were on the Treasure and the captain docked us without issue. It was so windy that no umbrellas could be open on the island. We wondered if the Wish class ships were easier to dock - not sure an older ship would have made it in with the wind.

I was on that same Treasure cruise. It was super windy up by the ship. My DCL shopping bag was being blown past 90 degrees. Glad my Columbia Sun hat had adjustable cords that I could pull it under my chin to keep hat on.

 

[miss0033]

We paid a premium to do a Castaway 'Double Dip' on the Dream a couple years ago (September 2022?). The first day we docked, but it stormed and rained heavily, they called everyone back to the ship around 11:30am if I remember, I know we didn't have lunch. (We didn't mind getting wet from the rain, as we planned to be in the water, but got somewhat scolded and CMs told us we needed to go back to the ship...) Couldn't dock the second day. We probably won't pay the premium for a double dip in the future...

We still enjoyed the cruise overall, but it was definitely a big bummer to basically miss it both days, especially when there was about a $800+ premium on that cruise compared to a typical 6-night cruise visiting CC once (at the time). We have been on 7 DCL cruises with 8 scheduled visits to CC. We have been unable to dock 3 out of 8 times, with 2 times being the same trip. Luck of the draw.

C'est la Vie.