Castaway cay

[bkgrim]

With the storm coming close to the island, will they remove the workers from the island and how would they do this?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I was just reading about that. Yep, they evacuate the CMs. When Frances hit years back a person on one of the ships said they docked long enough for the CMs to get onboard. No guests were aloud off onto the island.

Yeah, if a Cat 4 hits on the current projected path I don't really see us making our stop at CC on 9/17. Disney will need more time to put the pieces back together...if they can find the pieces. :lookaroun I'll be watching to see what happens. Best case at this point is that track keeps inching further east (like it generally does) so CC ends up on the "good side" of the storm. Relatively speaking, of course. You have to look at which side of the island would be better to have the water come in and the worst winds bear down.

 

[erstwo]

There is also a large airstrip. I assume if a cruise ship can't make it there in time/ isn't being sent out to sea, they will just send a plane well ahead of the storm. :shrug:

It seems CMs leave and return all the time as I heard several of them saying "Welcome Back" and "How was your time off?" etc. to one another while we were there.

 

[Master Yoda]

I was just reading about that. Yep, they evacuate the CMs. When Frances hit years back a person on one of the ships said they docked long enough for the CMs to get onboard. No guests were aloud off onto the island.

Yeah, if a Cat 4 hits on the current projected path I don't really see us making our stop at CC on 9/17. Disney will need more time to put the pieces back together...if they can find the pieces. :lookaroun I'll be watching to see what happens. Best case at this point is that track keeps inching further east (like it generally does) so CC ends up on the "good side" of the storm. Relatively speaking, of course. You have to look at which side of the island would be better to have the water come in and the worst winds bear down.

While there is no question that there will be some damage, the buildings are designed to withstand wind gusts of 150 MPH. I have no doubt that the majority of the infrastructure on the island will remain largely intact. The biggest worry will of course be possible flooding and all of the little details such as chairs, signs, tables, plants, etc.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

While there is no question that there will be some damage, the buildings are designed to withstand wind gusts of 150 MPH. I have no doubt that the majority of the infrastructure on the island will remain largely intact. The biggest worry will of course be possible flooding and all of the little details such as chairs, signs, tables, plants, etc.

Oh yeah. I was reading on another site where someone who was on the first cruise that went back to CC after a big hit some years back was commenting on how awesome it was but all the vegetation was brown from the saltwater inundation with the surge. Ugh! The smell of the dead vegetation after saltwater inundation totally turns my stomach just to think about. It's one of those smells that just sticks with your brain.

Good to know the buildings are built for such force. We're hoping the storm track keeps inching on to the east. The surge is what I worry about most. The hydraulic forces that water and wave action can put out are just mind-blowing. Hurricane Ivan took out sections of the Pensacola Bay bridge in '04. Katrina took sections of the Twin Spans in Slidell/NO East as well as floated entire houses completely intact foundations and all. It would totally blow for the water to get the dock and cart off all those pretty cabanas.

Last night the old man was a little miffed thinking wouldn't get to go to CC. Personally, our upcoming 3-nighter is about the ship and the experience. I don't really care where we go. I just want to be on the ship and enjoy what it has to offer.

 

[Blueliner]

I'll be interested to hear any updates. As of 11:00 AM ET today, looks like it is about 45-50 miles to the east of CC.

That should be good news for Castaway Cay (relatively speaking). The most violent quadrant of the storm (the northeast quadrant) looks like it will be east of Abaco, which should fare well for the most developed parts of Castaway Cay (southwest side of the island). The hurricane-force winds should be hitting Castaway Cay from the north-northeast. Hopefully, that means not much storm surge, as well as a good bit of vegetation (plus Abaco) to give a little bit of protection to the pier, beaches and other structures.

 

[Master Yoda]

That should be good news for Castaway Cay (relatively speaking). The most violent quadrant of the storm (the northeast quadrant) looks like it will be east of Abaco, which should fare well for the most developed parts of Castaway Cay (southwest side of the island). The hurricane-force winds should be hitting Castaway Cay from the north-northeast. Hopefully, that means not much storm surge, as well as a good bit of vegetation (plus Abaco) to give a little bit of protection to the pier, beaches and other structures.

Quite good news. The dock and the developed side of the island is on the south west portion of the island. The wind, rain and more importantly waves will be strongest from the north east. The vegetation is going to take one heck of a beating but the structures and facilities should remain relatively unscathed. I am sure Disney will be dropping a small army of people on the island as soon as the storm clears to clean and patch it up.

 

[stmize]

I was just reading about that. Yep, they evacuate the CMs. When Frances hit years back a person on one of the ships said they docked long enough for the CMs to get onboard. No guests were aloud off onto the island.

Yeah, if a Cat 4 hits on the current projected path I don't really see us making our stop at CC on 9/17. Disney will need more time to put the pieces back together...if they can find the pieces. :lookaroun I'll be watching to see what happens. Best case at this point is that track keeps inching further east (like it generally does) so CC ends up on the "good side" of the storm. Relatively speaking, of course. You have to look at which side of the island would be better to have the water come in and the worst winds bear down.

sweetpee Hi I've seen you on the other board. and we'll be cruising together on the dream on 9-15 we too are staying at the wilderness lodge the night before. I hope everyone fairs well on CC. I was kinda of looking forward to spending some time there after my spa time that morning.

 

[Phonedave]

There is also a large airstrip. I assume if a cruise ship can't make it there in time/ isn't being sent out to sea, they will just send a plane well ahead of the storm. :shrug:

It seems CMs leave and return all the time as I heard several of them saying "Welcome Back" and "How was your time off?" etc. to one another while we were there.

Is that airstrip functional ?

I was under the impression that it was not maintained and was no longer a listed airstrip.

Of course that does not mean you can't land a plane there in an emergency situation. I just thought that Disney did not maintain it for any sort of regular landings.

-dave

 

[erstwo]

Oh! I didn't ask, just made an assumption.

It seems like a good idea to have an alternate way of transporting people off of the island. What if someone had a medical emergency? Appendicitis or the like? Do they keep a doctor on the island full time? Interesting to think of all the 'what ifs' DCL has to plan for with Castaway Cay.

 

[Master Yoda]

Is that airstrip functional ?

I was under the impression that it was not maintained and was no longer a listed airstrip.

Of course that does not mean you can't land a plane there in an emergency situation. I just thought that Disney did not maintain it for any sort of regular landings.

-dave

From the information I have you are correct. It is emergency use only as they will park vehicles on it and do not actively use or maintain the runway. From my understanding the air strip was there when Disney purchased the island. I know that when they do emergency evacuations of a single person for medical reasons they will land a coast guard helicopter right on the dock next to the ship.

http://www.fly-bahamas.com/content.aspx?page=airport&info=airport&id=11

EDIT: Here is a link to the history of Castaway Cay before it was owned by Disney.

http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2011/04/castaway-cay-from-drug-running-to-disney/

 

[Phonedave]

Oh! I didn't ask, just made an assumption.

It seems like a good idea to have an alternate way of transporting people off of the island. What if someone had a medical emergency? Appendicitis or the like? Do they keep a doctor on the island full time? Interesting to think of all the 'what ifs' DCL has to plan for with Castaway Cay.

There is a doctor on the ship.

I guess if one of the handfull of people on the island came down with something serious they could either wait at most a day for the next ship to come in, or as Master Yoda said, bring in the helio.

-dave

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Also, I've been under the impression that Abaco (or Aboco?) isn't far from Castaway Cay via boat. I read where someone said, "it's a short boat ride". Not sure since I've not been there but by satellite it looks pretty close. If someone like a CM on the island needed off in a pinch I suppose that'd be another option for them if a ship wasn't due in. :shrug:

Last night before bed I checked marinetraffic.com for the Dream and she was sitting northeast of Ft. Lauderdale not far off the coast. They had her destination listed as Nassau. The Carnival Sensation left the port just before the Dream did and was sitting right behind the Dream off the coast of Florida last night. This morning I wasn't able to see the Dream at all. When I searched it said 'Out of Range'. I'm guessing there's radar holes out on the water that don't pick up the ships. I got the same for the Sensation. I posted about it on another more active forum and someone said they saw the Sensation pulling into the port via web cam in Key West in the later morning. Another person on that site said they were told by a DCL rep over the phone that the Dream pulled into Nassau at like 10:30 or something like that this morning and still plans to go to CC tomorrow. That's what I found interesting!

On the same other site (sometimes I wish WDWMagic had the larger volumes of people so more info would be posted but then I like the smaller, laid back feel here so well I hate for that to change) another person said they had talked to a crew member on the Dream this morning (my guess is by sat-phone :shrug and the word amoungst them was that CC was hit hard. That along with the fact that officially DCL hasn't changed their itinerary which puts the Dream at CC tomorrow then back at PC on Sunday would be quite a contradiction.

I'm pretty new to the whole cruising thing but I'm not at all fresh when it comes to horrible-canes, as we call 'em. I've lived with those my whole life and weathered many. From what I know from experience I'd not be expecting CC to be ready for guests tomorrow. No, they weren't on the bad side and the Abacos islands would've been a great shield for a lot, but I don't see how even Disney could get the island fully assessed and put back in working order in that short a period of time particularly when it comes to a lot of the structural things, particularly the dock. So this is all veeeery interesting to watch and see!

The hubby & I discussed the possibility of CC not being a stop for us on our 3-night cruise 9/15 - 9/18. He was a bit disappointed at that thought at first but I'm really not. I want to go there but I'm more about the ship on this cruise. I'm so psyched just over the Dream and all it has to offer. We're satisfied plenty with just that. Plus, from reading past cruisers' descriptions of CC post-hurricane(s) I don't know that I even want to go there now. They all talk about the brown, dead vegetation from the salt water inundation. I've experienced the brown, dead vegetation from storm surges (salt water) in the marshes around southeast Louisiana and nearby to us here in southeast Texas. The brown, dead look has always been accompanied by the stench of the rotting vegetation. Seriously. Full-on stench. Just thinking about the smell is nauseating to me. I hope & pray the island won't smell like that. I promise you I won't step a toe off the ship if the island is gonna smell like that. I'd be a 1-woman walking protein-spewing machine. :hurl::hurl:

 

[Master Yoda]

Also, I've been under the impression that Abaco (or Aboco?) isn't far from Castaway Cay via boat. I read where someone said, "it's a short boat ride". Not sure since I've not been there but by satellite it looks pretty close. If someone like a CM on the island needed off in a pinch I suppose that'd be another option for them if a ship wasn't due in. :shrug:

Last night before bed I checked marinetraffic.com for the Dream and she was sitting northeast of Ft. Lauderdale not far off the coast. They had her destination listed as Nassau. The Carnival Sensation left the port just before the Dream did and was sitting right behind the Dream off the coast of Florida last night. This morning I wasn't able to see the Dream at all. When I searched it said 'Out of Range'. I'm guessing there's radar holes out on the water that don't pick up the ships. I got the same for the Sensation. I posted about it on another more active forum and someone said they saw the Sensation pulling into the port via web cam in Key West in the later morning. Another person on that site said they were told by a DCL rep over the phone that the Dream pulled into Nassau at like 10:30 or something like that this morning and still plans to go to CC tomorrow. That's what I found interesting!

On the same other site (sometimes I wish WDWMagic had the larger volumes of people so more info would be posted but then I like the smaller, laid back feel here so well I hate for that to change) another person said they had talked to a crew member on the Dream this morning (my guess is by sat-phone :shrug and the word amoungst them was that CC was hit hard. That along with the fact that officially DCL hasn't changed their itinerary which puts the Dream at CC tomorrow then back at PC on Sunday would be quite a contradiction.

I'm pretty new to the whole cruising thing but I'm not at all fresh when it comes to horrible-canes, as we call 'em. I've lived with those my whole life and weathered many. From what I know from experience I'd not be expecting CC to be ready for guests tomorrow. No, they weren't on the bad side and the Abacos islands would've been a great shield for a lot, but I don't see how even Disney could get the island fully assessed and put back in working order in that short a period of time particularly when it comes to a lot of the structural things, particularly the dock. So this is all veeeery interesting to watch and see!

The hubby & I discussed the possibility of CC not being a stop for us on our 3-night cruise 9/15 - 9/18. He was a bit disappointed at that thought at first but I'm really not. I want to go there but I'm more about the ship on this cruise. I'm so psyched just over the Dream and all it has to offer. We're satisfied plenty with just that. Plus, from reading past cruisers' descriptions of CC post-hurricane(s) I don't know that I even want to go there now. They all talk about the brown, dead vegetation from the salt water inundation. I've experienced the brown, dead vegetation from storm surges (salt water) in the marshes around southeast Louisiana and nearby to us here in southeast Texas. The brown, dead look has always been accompanied by the stench of the rotting vegetation. Seriously. Full-on stench. Just thinking about the smell is nauseating to me. I hope & pray the island won't smell like that. I promise you I won't step a toe off the ship if the island is gonna smell like that. I'd be a 1-woman walking protein-spewing machine. :hurl::hurl:

There is no question the CC was hit hard but on the plus side it was to the west of the eye. Not only is this the weaker side of the storm, but the rotation would have the strongest winds and surf on the opposite side of the island. It is safe to assume that Disney put away everything that was not bolted down. If that was the case it is a good chance that all they will really have to contend with is big clean up and possibly some superficial damage. It would not surprise me if CC is at 90%-95% by tomorrow morning.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Yep! I figure if anyone can pull that off so fast it would be Disney! LOL!

Actually, I juuuuust read a report from someone who is on the Dream right now as we speak. Yep, they're in Nassau. They are supposed to get an announcement from the captain tonight as to if they'll be able to get into CC tomorrow. So it's a wait & see thing. Very interesting. I'm still stressing over the funky smell, tho. I know, I'm nuts. It's one of those things that has stuck with me... :lookaroun:lol:

 

[Master Yoda]

Yep! I figure if anyone can pull that off so fast it would be Disney! LOL!

Actually, I juuuuust read a report from someone who is on the Dream right now as we speak. Yep, they're in Nassau. They are supposed to get an announcement from the captain tonight as to if they'll be able to get into CC tomorrow. So it's a wait & see thing. Very interesting. I'm still stressing over the funky smell, tho. I know, I'm nuts. It's one of those things that has stuck with me... :lookaroun:lol:

I seriously doubt the smell of the vegetation will be able to overpower the smell of the piña coladas and the BBQ.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I seriously doubt the smell of the vegetation will be able to overpower the smell of the piña coladas and the BBQ.

I suuuuure hope you're right! :wave:

 

[joel_maxwell]

I seriously doubt the smell of the vegetation will be able to overpower the smell of the piña coladas and the BBQ.

:slurp:

 

[Crush Dude!]

I seriously doubt the smell of the vegetation will be able to overpower the smell of the piña coladas and the BBQ.

:slurp::slurp::slurp:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

FYI: Person posting on another website who is currently on the Dream said the official announcement after today's assessment of CC was no CC for them tomorrow. They're going back to Nassau. Same person is actually on the 1st portion of a back-to-back Dream cruise. The big question now will be if she can go to CC on Monday which was the next scheduled day. If not, say a little prayer for this poor soul. That means they may end up in Nassau a total of 4 days in a week. Awwwwww......

I'll continue to dig for info about the post-horrible-cane conditions on CC! :wave: