MAGIC stuck at Castaway Cay

[Tinkermom]

The Magic is stuck at Castaway Cay due to weather. Passengers who were supposed to depart today on the Magic will not be able to embark until tomorrow (Sunday, 2/14). From the Orlando Sentinel:

Reported by Mark Jenkins

PORT CANAVERAL -- Strong winds have left the Disney Magic cruise ship stuck in the Bahamas for an extra day.

The ship was due back at Port Canaveral Saturday morning.

Port security officials confirmed to News 13 early Saturday that high winds and waves have kept the ship from undocking from Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line’s private island.

Meanwhile, back in Brevard County, an unusually large, vacant spot was left at the port.

“We were kind of shocked,” said Jill Thomas, who was left waiting to embark on her cruise. “We drove over the bridge, and we usually see the boat and it gets really exciting -- and there was no boat.”

The Disney Magic was making its final stop at Castaway Cay, but it did not leave as scheduled Friday, because of 50 mph winds.

The ship will have to cruise into the northwesterly wind on its journey back to the U.S. It is expected to take 13 hours to reach Port Canaveral.

The delay impacts thousands of people, including those already on the ship, and the thousands more who were set to head out on the Disney Magic’s next seven-day cruise.

An estimated 2,500 people arrived at Port Canaveral Saturday morning, planning to board at 10 a.m. Meanwhile, another 2,500 remain stuck on the ship, and will likely be scrambling to get off when it returns.

“People are going to be getting on, people are going to be getting off. It’s all going to be a nightmare,” a cruise passenger waiting at Port Canaceral Saturday morning told News 13.

The cruise that was scheduled to leave Saturday will head to the eastern Carribean. The first two days were scheduled to be at sea, but the delay could change the whole itinerary.

“We’ve been talking about this cruise for a year, every week,” members of one family said. “We go out Friday night and talk about this cruise for a year. Drove through a blizzard to get here, and it’s a little upsetting.”

Disney told passengers arriving to call (800) WDW-CRUISE (939-2784) for instructions. When News 13 called the number, it said the conditions were beyond Disney’s control.

Boarding is expected to begin later Saturday night. In the meantime, passengers waiting to board were given the option to spend a free day at Epcot.

The cruise line’s other ship, the Disney Wonder, is expected to set sail Sunday as scheduled.

Statement From Disney
Disney Cruise Line issued the following statement to the media Saturday morning:

Due to weather conditions, the Disney Magic cruise ship has been delayed in its scheduled return to Port Canaveral today from a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise. Guests on the ship will remain onboard tonight and will debark tomorrow.

The Disney Magic cruise ship was at Disney’s private island Castaway Cay in The Bahamas yesterday, where gale force winds at the end of the day and into the night created an unfavorable environment for departure. Because the safety of our guests is our top priority, we made a decision to delay the ship’s return until the weather improved.

As a result of the situation, the Disney Magic will depart for its next outbound Eastern Caribbean cruise on Sunday, a day late from its original itinerary.

Guests scheduled for today’s departure have the option of spending the day at Epcot, and we are working to find resort rooms to accommodate those guests tonight.

We regret that weather conditions prohibited our timely return to Port Canaveral and appreciate our guests patience and understanding.

Guests should contact Disney Cruise Line at 1-800-939-2784, if they have questions about their cruise.

[Catzle]

Have been reading about this all morning. Scary. I'm sure there are going to be tempers flying but hopefully everyone can remember it's safety first!

[Tinkermom]

Have been reading about this all morning. Scary. I'm sure there are going to be tempers flying but hopefully everyone can remember it's safety first!

We have added on a few days at WDW after both our first DCL cruise and our upcoming one (29 days!) so I would not be upset to add an extra day on the ship. However, I really feel for those who had flights out today or other plans that they are now trying to change. I also feel for those who were expecting to board the Magic today. Safety does of course come first! It sounds like Disney is doing their best to keep those who were supposed to board happy by giving them Epcot passes and trying to find them rooms for tonight.

I sure hope this crazy weather calms down soon! The panhandle was expecting snow yesterday - that is just WILD! We are hoping for warm and sunny in 4 weeks!

[Tinkermom]

UPDATE

Authorities said Disney is offering passengers on board the Disney Magic:

Free daily cell phone service to make alternate travel arrangements upon arrival Sunday at the port
A 20 percent discount on a future cruise
Help on board arranging return travel if passengers booked air travel through Walt Disney World


Passengers who were delayed and who will board on Sunday for the now six-day rather than seven-day cruise will be offered:

Free hotel stay Saturday either on or off Disney property, and a free day at Epcot for their entire party
$20 per person on board credit for the meal they would have gotten Saturday night. The credit can be used on the ship when they board.
$100 per stateroom on board credit
A 20 percent refund
Option to cancel cruise without penalty and with full refund

For the now 2/14 sailing of the Magic -
The Magic will skip St. Martin. DCL is still working out final details for this 6 night cruise.

[Tinkermom]

UPDATE

The Magic has left Castaway Cay! Yay! Apparently seas are pretty rough right now.

[Ed]

Now the question is ~~ where will Magic berth on arrival at Port Canaveral? The Wonder is due to be there in DCL's usual pier, and RCL's Freedom of the Seas and Carnival Sensation are also due. That leaves none of the cruise ship piers open.

[Tinkermom]

Now the question is ~~ where will Magic berth on arrival at Port Canaveral? The Wonder is due to be there in DCL's usual pier, and RCL's Freedom of the Seas and Carnival Sensation are also due. That leaves none of the cruise ship piers open.

It will be interesting to see how they handle this.

[Ed]

An online ship location website shows Magic is presently back in Port Canaveral, docked along the channel out near Jetty Park - an area normally used by cargo ships and tankers.

[DisneyFr33k]

We were on that exact cruise this time last year. Scary!

Is this the first time this has happened?

[Scar]

I assume this also means that the passengers on The Wonder missed out on Castaway Cay. I hope they get compensated too.

[Tinkermom]

I assume this also means that the passengers on The Wonder missed out on Castaway Cay. I hope they get compensated too.

The Wonder would not have been able to dock at Castaway Cay due to the wind/waves even if the Magic had not been there. There have been many times that one of the ships has not been able to dock at Castaway Cay due to weather conditions. DCL does not offer any compensation for this. If you look at your cruise contract DCL can change itinerary at any time - this would include subbing a sea day for a Castaway Cay day if weather prevented them from docking.

[Ed]

The Wonder would not have been able to dock at Castaway Cay due to the wind/waves even if the Magic had not been there. There have been many times that one of the ships has not been able to dock at Castaway Cay due to weather conditions. DCL does not offer any compensation for this. If you look at your cruise contract DCL can change itinerary at any time - this would include subbing a sea day for a Castaway Cay day if weather prevented them from docking.

Absolutely correct. That happened to us on our first DCL cruise. The Captain valiantly tried three times over several hours to get into CC but the wind and current just wouldn't allow it. We spent the day at sea.

[badkitty]

"Passengers who were delayed and who will board on Sunday for the now six-day rather than seven-day cruise will be offered:
Free hotel stay Saturday either on or off Disney property, and a free day at Epcot for their entire party
$20 per person on board credit for the meal they would have gotten Saturday night. The credit can be used on the ship when they board.
$100 per stateroom on board credit
A 20 percent refund
Option to cancel cruise without penalty and with full refund"

Wow, this is sounds like a great compensation. The airlines give you nothing for weather related delays.

[Ed]

Technically, DCL wasn't obligated to do anything for those whose cruise was extended and those whose cruise was shortened. The contract is pretty clear in stating that they have no control over the weather, and that changes to the schedule or itinerary might be required.

I've got to give DCL an A+ for stepping up and helping their passengers.

[Joannelet]

I just heard from my Disney sources that all parks were EXTREMELY crowded yesterday with people from the DCL that weren't able to board the ship just yet.
Is this because the Magic was delayed by a day?

[faline]

That might be part of it. There is always an upsurge in attendance over Presidents' Day week. Many folks may have headed over to Daytona yesterday for the running of the 500; however, many family members of those attending this event may have opted to hit the parks at Disney.

[renecat]

Hope the same thing doesn't happen the 20th of Feb. We are due to leave at the magic for our 7 day W.C. cruise. If so I guess we'll have to roll with it. I do also believe in safety first.
I am now worried about sea sickness since it sound like the seas are rough. Befor we booked this for this time of year we talked to several people that had done this a the same time in years pasr and they said it was a great time to go. Hope the weather gets a bit better for next week.

[DisneyFr33k]

Befor we booked this for this time of year we talked to several people that had done this a the same time in years pasr and they said it was a great time to go. Hope the weather gets a bit better for next week.

We've taken a February 2008 and 2009 WC and EC cruise and both times the seas were wonderful! I think we are in a weather funk right now. I hope your cruise is smooth and you have a wonderful time!!

[thumperbug]

I was on the delayed Magic that sailed on 2/14 instead of 2/13. While I understand things were beyond Disney's control...they way things were handled were horrendous. After landing at MCO, I spent 90 minutes on line to be told to head to a bus, then to Epcot where we had to drag our carryon luggage to another spot, then another line then inside the hospitality area to wait another 90 minutes to get a hotel. They did give us free park passes but none of the resorts we were put up in for the night were on Disney property or even in the DTD area so we either had to take a bus to the hotel pretty much right away or wait another 5 hours. Thankfully all our luggage was lined up outside the pavillion and we did end up at a hotel for the night.

Friends had driven down so we headed to the port the next morning with them...only to be turned away and told to come back 3 hours later. The ship was docked at a pier halfway to Miami (so it felt). When we got back we had to get on another line to get through security. We had to literally leave our bags on the blacktop of a parking lot and hope it made it on the ship.

In an less then 24 hour period we spent literlly 5 hours of it on some kind of line.

We did get some shipboard credits but the 20% refund was not what we got. It worked out to 7% of the total trip. When we contacted DCL they gave us their formula for the calculated 20% off. It made no sense.

Getting acurrate information was extremely difficult. Again, I understand that this was a unique situation but I felt let down by Disney for how they handled the situation. The 6 night cruise only had 1 port stop and castaway cay and I don't feel that a $95 refund was what the compensation should have been.

[joonyer]

I was on the delayed Magic that sailed on 2/14 instead of 2/13. While I understand things were beyond Disney's control...they way things were handled were horrendous. After landing at MCO, I spent 90 minutes on line to be told to head to a bus, then to Epcot where we had to drag our carryon luggage to another spot, then another line then inside the hospitality area to wait another 90 minutes to get a hotel. They did give us free park passes but none of the resorts we were put up in for the night were on Disney property or even in the DTD area so we either had to take a bus to the hotel pretty much right away or wait another 5 hours. Thankfully all our luggage was lined up outside the pavillion and we did end up at a hotel for the night.

Friends had driven down so we headed to the port the next morning with them...only to be turned away and told to come back 3 hours later. The ship was docked at a pier halfway to Miami (so it felt). When we got back we had to get on another line to get through security. We had to literally leave our bags on the blacktop of a parking lot and hope it made it on the ship.

In an less then 24 hour period we spent literlly 5 hours of it on some kind of line.

We did get some shipboard credits but the 20% refund was not what we got. It worked out to 7% of the total trip. When we contacted DCL they gave us their formula for the calculated 20% off. It made no sense.

Getting acurrate information was extremely difficult. Again, I understand that this was a unique situation but I felt let down by Disney for how they handled the situation. The 6 night cruise only had 1 port stop and castaway cay and I don't feel that a $95 refund was what the compensation should have been.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, but according to the terms of the cruise contract, Disney was obligated to provide zero compensation to those booked on your cruise. I would have been frustrated too, but It could have been worse.