Bad weather forecasted for our Disney Dream cruise - help!

Looks like we may expect bad weather on our Disney Dream cruise this coming week - 100% chance of rain and thunderstorms - hoping that we are able to get to Castaway Cay - anyone have any experience like this and what to expect?? Could be a very interesting cruise with all the children and having to be indoors more than expected - we have cruised many times and have been pretty lucky so far - hoping that the weather moves out quickly -

It happens - Disney will do the best they can, but you have to prepare the kids that some items may be changed or cancelled. For example, depending on projected conditions, they may switch CC and Nassau (if you are doing Nassau)

There's really nothing you can do but make the best of it and pack some small rain gear.

Most of the time the rain is short lived--it may rain for an hour, but clear up for the rest of the day. That said, stuff happens....activities need to be moved indoors or canceled. You just have to do with the flow and have a good cruise regardless. If there is any way to avoid a storm, the captain will do it.

100 percent chance of rain can be as little as a passing shower .

Just 100 percent chance that the location will see rain.

My general experience with the Caribbean this time of year is that the forecast always calls for rain. But of all the times I have gone (3 cruises and 2 trips to Mexico), there have been just spotty showers.

That said, I did hear rumblings about a tropical storm near the Bahamas. Hopefully it does not amount to anything. I am sailing on Saturday on Fantasy. :confused:

I agree with the posters above, Rain can be nothing more then a passing shower or TS.

I would add a week away, it to early to give the forecasts much merit.

AKK

We had rain on both of our DCL cruises. On one it was passing showers here and there (including in Castaway Cay--no thunder so people just stayed in the water) and the other was bad storms that made it impossible to safely berth in CC and kept us indoors all day. They offered some extra indoor activities--ran the Diaper Dash an extra time, ran movies pretty continuously, we stayed in our suite and watched a few movies we had missed in the theater. The captain sailed us to calmer waters and by dinner the weather was lovely. You can't control the weather, so best just be prepared with some ideas of alternate activities--the clubs will be open and there is always some spa time for mom and/or dad... ;)

In December 2014, it was too windy to dock at Castaway. Even though it was a bummer, the crew did an awesome job with adding more activities. The captain also announced he would try and get us to better weather. Within an hour or so we were in sunny skies. Anytime it did rain, it was a passing shower, not a downpour.

Castaway cay will only be cancelled if the ship can't make it in and out safely, not because of rain.

On our first cruise, it was raining heavily when we berthed at Castaway Cay. The rain soon eased some and we headed to the beach... in the rain. I have photos of us and a lot of others playing in the water and on the beach and the only way that you can tell that it's raining is that the lifeguards are wearing rain coats. Just after noon, the clouds parted and it became a beautiful day.

Castaway cay will only be cancelled if the ship can't make it in and out safely, not because of rain.

On our first cruise, it was raining heavily when we berthed at Castaway Cay. The rain soon eased some and we headed to the beach... in the rain. I have photos of us and a lot of others playing in the water and on the beach and the only way that you can tell that it's raining is that the lifeguards are wearing rain coats. Just after noon, the clouds parted and it became a beautiful day.

We've had a couple of similar experiences. Once, all morning excursions/activities were canceled due to rain. People were in the pavilion, on the ship, etc. About noon, the sun came out and the remainder of the day was beautiful. They did attempt to reschedule many of the morning things, and gave people an option--rebook an afternoon slot or get a refund on your account.

Another memorable time was when the last "move" of Yoga on the Beach was "run for cover" as it had changed from a gentle mist to a monsoon. That too cleared quickly.

Every cruise that I've ever been on had lousy weather predicted for the entire time. But every cruise t hat I've ever been on actually had great weather almost the entire time! Weather forecasts in the Caribbean and Bahamas are useless, so don't let them get you down. As others have said, nearly every day will have a very brief shower that won't really affect your experience, but it still goes in the books as "rain".

We were eating dinner the night before boarding, and got an email from Disney saying our Western cruise was now an Eastern because of the remanants of a hurricane.

The captain also explained it on the 1MC during the lifeboat drill. All shore excursions were canceled and refunded.

Several guests were being a butt, complaining thay should of gotten a refund, ranting about "I'll never sail Disney again". I don't WANT to sail with those people.

Weather happens, the Captain is charged with taking you somewhere and bringing you back, SAFELY. They will veer from usual course, skirt around weather, and change port call days if they need to. They WANT you to be happy, but they HAVE to keep you safe.

Worry less, cruise more!

Also, if possible the captian will attempt to avoid the rain. We saw this on our last Disney cruise, Everyone was still outside getting things tied down/put away, we had some rain, but nothing like they were expecting if we stayed on on course.

Of course, sometimes they can't avoid rain, but they move stuff inside. Sometimes run different speicals for whatever going on.

On disney you have the movie theater and kids clubs, there's still tons to do, imo, inside (I hate the sun and never go in the pools...In fact I only go outside now because of kid, otherwise, I'm perfectly happy with a book on the balcony or in the coffee shop/library)

We were eating dinner the night before boarding, and got an email from Disney saying our Western cruise was now an Eastern because of the remanants of a hurricane.

 

The captain also explained it on the 1MC

Were you allowed to sign up for Eastern excursions? Or were no excursions offered at all?

We were on an Eastern cruise that went to Key West in order to allow time to see which way a tropical storm would move. As soon as this was announced (on embarkation day), the Port Adventures desk opened to allow booking of excursions in Key West. GS announced that all excursions booked for our canceled port would be automatically refunded, no need to visit any desk.

DCL makes a lot of money on excursions--any time there is a change, they move quickly to provide options to their guests and increase the line's profits.