Castaway cay

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh my! Just read another bit from another person on the current Dream sailing. This person said they've never ever had a problem with motion sickness on boats, ships, helicopters, rides, etc. but got terribly sick that first night in the rough seas. Said people were getting sick all over the place. When they docked at Nassau yesterday this person got off the ship & got a hotel room to try to recupperate. They're getting back onboard this afternoon to try to ride the ship back to Port Canaveral. Wow. Now that would be a terrible way to have your trip turn out after months and months of anticipation. I wonder if they had any meds with them. I bought Bonine & 8 patches. I'm also going to get some ginger from the local health food store this week.

 

[Phonedave]

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:

I think it is on the order of 7 nautical miles - not something I want to swim, but that is a short boat ride.

I was wondering that myself, because on our last trip, when we pulled into Castaway Cay I noticed that there were no parasailing boats at the dock. We had an early booking for it, so we were on the island early. I saw them come in to the dock and then unpack the parachutes. I wondered if maybe they came from another island and did not keep them on Castaway Cay full time.

-dave

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I think it is on the order of 7 nautical miles - not something I want to swim, but that is a short boat ride.

I was wondering that myself, because on our last trip, when we pulled into Castaway Cay I noticed that there were no parasailing boats at the dock. We had an early booking for it, so we were on the island early. I saw them come in to the dock and then unpack the parachutes. I wondered if maybe they came from another island and did not keep them on Castaway Cay full time.

-dave

Yep! From what I've been reading (total crash course on CC & DCL this past 6 months) some of the excursion operators actually live on Abaco and come over for the day. That would make sense for the parasailing and other guided boat things. I think on the fishing excursion I read that they take you over towards Abaco. Interesting to say the least. Good business sense for Disney to contract some of that stuff and not be the operators. :wave:

 

[StageFrenzy]

Yep! From what I've been reading (total crash course on CC & DCL this past 6 months) some of the excursion operators actually live on Abaco and come over for the day. That would make sense for the parasailing and other guided boat things. I think on the fishing excursion I read that they take you over towards Abaco. Interesting to say the least. Good business sense for Disney to contract some of that stuff and not be the operators. :wave:

I think a majority of the boats come over from Abaco, I saw the fleet cruising towards CC in the morning and away from CC at night. You can see Abaco from the ship.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I think a majority of the boats come over from Abaco, I saw the fleet cruising towards CC in the morning and away from CC at night. You can see Abaco from the ship.

Cool! I sure hope to see it myself in 3 weeks. Crossing my fingers.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Still digging on other websites for info...

Person posting to the internet who is currently a Dream passenger was told by Guest Relations CMs on the ship that roofs were blown off some of the structures & Cookies II took water. Heavy equipment such as bulldozers and a large crew are mobilizing right away. Locals in Nassau are also talking talking about it. Dream Guest Relations has told at least 1 person that at least the next few cruises will not be stopping at CC. There's no set timeframe. I'm sure they're working as fast as they can to get things back in order. I've seen other experienced DCL cruisers saying 3-4 weeks which I find reasonable.

I'll continue to look for more info when I can and bring what I find over here. I've got housework, grocery shopping, etc. to work on.... :wave:

 

[Master Yoda]

The official word from Disney is of course that the current cruise that is out will be spending an additional day in Nassau. They are currently assessing the condition of Castaway Cay but as of this moment no further itinerary modifications have been made. That of course could change when more information on the condition of Castaway Cay becomes available.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Yep, the 'official' word is everything is ducky. If the island had been totally wiped off the face of the earth I would never expect an announcement from Disney as to such. They'd make like everything is just ducky like always. :lol:


Oh! And I stand corrected on my previous post. The info about the roofs being torn off some structures, water in Cookies II, and no CC for next few cruises at least came from Guest Relations CMs on the Dream. People in Nassau are also talking about it. :wave:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Just a thought! What if Disney went to CC and offered a new excursion called: Hurricane Clean-Up! They could charge $10 per person and make money while they take advantage of the free labor! Yeah!

Just kidding. I know they'd never do that...physical risks and all. It'd get everything back to normal fast!

 

[StageFrenzy]

Just a thought! What if Disney went to CC and offered a new excursion called: Hurricane Clean-Up! They could charge $10 per person and make money while they take advantage of the free labor! Yeah!

Just kidding. I know they'd never do that...physical risks and all. It'd get everything back to normal fast!

Just call it the Castaway excursion, boat docks drops off food, water and tools to build your own shelter, Next boat will pick you up as long as work on some of the buildings are completed. :ROFLOL:

 

[Jseven]

Just a thought! What if Disney went to CC and offered a new excursion called: Hurricane Clean-Up! They could charge $10 per person and make money while they take advantage of the free labor! Yeah!

Just kidding. I know they'd never do that...physical risks and all. It'd get everything back to normal fast!

The Ritz-Carlton offers a program similar to what you are explaining and it is extremely popular.

http://corporate.ritzcarlton.com/en/about/givebackgetaways.htm

I wouldnt call it free labor but it could be seen as great publicity for DCL and a fantastic opportunity to work alongside cast members for a day while helping to preserve the 'magic'. :wave:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

^^
That's pretty cool! I don't think Disney would ever actually get onboard but it's fun to think about. :wave:



More reading tonight. More info coming from cast on the Dream to guests on the ship: dredging is needed for the Dream to get in. Other bits filtering in points to fast & furious clean-up and repairs. I'm still crossing my fingers we might get to go to CC but if we don't I'm fine with that, too. :animwink:

 

[mickeysshoes]

We boarded the Dream on the 25th...oh what a treat. Everywhere you looked someone was green or was getting sick. The poor cleaning crew worked very hard that night. After that the seas were PERTECT!! We were not able to go to Castaway.... instead we went back to Nassua. The port adventrues were canceled and refuned for the 26th so this gave people the change to still take part if they wanted. From what I overheard..there are around 30 full time CM that live on Castaway and about 22 of them boarded the Dream when it was there on the 24th. 8 stayed on the island. Then on the 27th they flew then back to the island to start the clean up. I never heard any time frame the island would be closed but a couple of CM on board took at shot in the dark and think they will not be back to the island for at least 10-14 days.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We boarded the Dream on the 25th...oh what a treat. Everywhere you looked someone was green or was getting sick. The poor cleaning crew worked very hard that night. After that the seas were PERTECT!! We were not able to go to Castaway.... instead we went back to Nassua. The port adventrues were canceled and refuned for the 26th so this gave people the change to still take part if they wanted. From what I overheard..there are around 30 full time CM that live on Castaway and about 22 of them boarded the Dream when it was there on the 24th. 8 stayed on the island. Then on the 27th they flew then back to the island to start the clean up. I never heard any time frame the island would be closed but a couple of CM on board took at shot in the dark and think they will not be back to the island for at least 10-14 days.

Awwww...sorry you were on *that* sailing! Yeah, I've been reading where a lot of folks were sick that first night. Icky! I hope y'all got thru that without participating. :hurl: Wow! 8 stayed! I was under the impression it was a smaller number so that's pretty cool. Some people said that DCL should've just given the 25th cruisers a sea day and beefed up the activities. I've never been on a cruise so I don't know how much that would've differed from another Nassau day. Sorry y'all didn't make CC, tho. I'm crossing my fingers for that 10-14 day window and will be watching closely to see what happens in the next week or so. I just keep reminding myself it wasn't any island or port that appealed to me enough to book a cruise after being so sure cruising wasn't going to be for me. It was the Dream that I wanted to experience. Island or no island, storm or no storm...I just wanna be on that ship.

Thanks so much for touching base! Great to hear straight from someone who was there and rode it! :wave:

 

[mickeysshoes]

We did not get sick!! They off free pills that your should take BEFORE you leave the dock that will help if you think you might and if they start to feel sick you can take more. My youngest (17) dd took one and that was all she needed. I do have to say it took me a few hours to get my sea legs but was fine by dinner time. We also were only on the ship for the boat itself...did not care about the ports. I would have ratherd been out to sea on Saturday instead of back at Naussa but I am sure fuel wise that was not possible and I would guess that other ports might of had room for us and Nassua did. We have not been before but I do not that the events on Saturday (2nd day in port in Nassua) was NON-STOP. Not sure if that was the norm or if they beefed it up. We had a really good time. Not sure if you all drink or not, but of you do make sure to go see Plamer in the 687 sports bar....your wallet wont be sorry :animwink: We are now looking forward to Alaska in 2013!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We did not get sick!! They off free pills that your should take BEFORE you leave the dock that will help if you think you might and if they start to feel sick you can take more. My youngest (17) dd took one and that was all she needed. I do have to say it took me a few hours to get my sea legs but was fine by dinner time. We also were only on the ship for the boat itself...did not care about the ports. I would have ratherd been out to sea on Saturday instead of back at Naussa but I am sure fuel wise that was not possible and I would guess that other ports might of had room for us and Nassua did. We have not been before but I do not that the events on Saturday (2nd day in port in Nassua) was NON-STOP. Not sure if that was the norm or if they beefed it up. We had a really good time. Not sure if you all drink or not, but of you do make sure to go see Plamer in the 687 sports bar....your wallet wont be sorry :animwink: We are now looking forward to Alaska in 2013!!

Glad to hear y'all did okay with the rough seas. I was jealous watching y'all pull out of the port. You truly were in for an adventure! Hubby & I discussed the possibility of a hurricane impacting our cruise when we booked it. We've experienced hurricanes from land several times. The thought of riding one or close to one out on the sea was a "He11 yeah!" thought for us. We're silly like that. :lol:

We don't drink regularly but we do drink. We've done a lot less of it in recent years. I was sorta surprised when the husband said to me, "I don't know about you but I'm drinkin' on this cruise!" We'll take your advice and visit the 687! We're planning to bring our own liquor onboard with us but I also see us hitting up the some new drinky-drinks, too. :wave:

 

[87 GN]

I just spoke to a cruise line rep, they told me the cruise out right now will stop at Castaway Cay as scheduled. This is great news since my cruise sails Sept 8th :sohappy:

 

[mickeysshoes]

I just spoke to a cruise line rep, they told me the cruise out right now will stop at Castaway Cay as scheduled. This is great news since my cruise sails Sept 8th :sohappy:

WOW that is great news!! I am sure they have been working around the clock to get everything ready ASAP!!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I just spoke to a cruise line rep, they told me the cruise out right now will stop at Castaway Cay as scheduled. This is great news since my cruise sails Sept 8th :sohappy:

Yep. DCL didn't let on that the last cruise had any itinerary changes either. The way people found out that there were going to be changes was literally when the captain was announcing it onboard the ship. I don't entirely understand it but DCL doesn't volunteer itinerary changes which a lot of people find a bit frustrating. I know I do. I have to do all this super-sleuth digging and watch for people spending the big bucks for internet while onboard to get info of what's going on. On the other hand, DCL likely doesn't want to jump the gun on making changes unless they absolutely must so they are making these decisions on the fly on an absolutely necessary basis. Currently most of what I'm hearing is that beach erotion and roof & water damage to Cookies II are the big hurdles on the island. And getting the slip dredged back out but nobody knows if that's just a little or a lot. The way the buildings are put together, particularly the newer ones, they are made to hose down & throw a simple roof back on. Dozers and other equipment can get the beaches and essential public areas back to servicable fairly quickly. The island might not be as pretty as it was for the next couple months but I do think it's possible to get things back up to a servicable level to get guests on the island. The areas that aren't really essential for the guests can wait and be closed off. If anyone can get things done fast I do think it'd be Disney. I'm optimistic! :wave:

BTW, have you looked at wunderground.com??? There's a little tropical sumpin'-sumpin' chugging west. It's waaaaay too soon for the models to give any super reliable info but just a heads-up. We're keeping a warry eye out that way.

 

[mickeysshoes]

That is the very nice thing about being on a boat in the HUGE ocean while these storms are out there. What we did to avoid Irene while it passed us was staying closer to the coast then normal. We were about 170 miles east of the storm. Which to the crew is a safe distance away. It is very easy to change the cousre at sea to avoid something that pops up and still go to the same ports. I was also very pleased with the way the Captain keep us informed of what was going on. When you first board they make pipe the messages into your cabin and with the last one they tell you this will be the last message you will hear in your cabin. But when they told us we could not go to CC they did pipe it in and said they were sorry for interpouting us but it was important.