Castaway Cay a bust

Magic couldn't dock at CC this week. Too much wind/swells. They tried twice and couldn't pull it off. So spent another day at sea. Even if we could have made it the temps (70-75F) would have been less than ideal for a beach day. Two years ago we were on the Fantasy in February. The ship before us couldn't dock. We made it in but it was a chilly day. Only hardy types (mostly kids) braved the water.

So my question is how often in Feb can't you dock or are temps less than mid-70s. If the odds are as bad as our luck has been seems like it would be better to avoid a Bahamas/CC stop in February altogether.

Winds are winds, there is some monthly variance but not enough to make a rule on..

Temps on the other hand, 70s are not uncommon, it wouldn't be the first choice this time of year...

We did a cruise the second week in Feb. The crew told us it was the first decent weather they'd had since before Christmas. As to docking, there was a guy keeping a record from 1998 to ? Over many years, he found about 1.5% of the time, the ships couldn't dock.

Was on the Magic late Feb. we made CC but the week prior they were unable due to weather.

All water events/rentals were cancelled due to the waves while we were there.

On our first DCL cruise in Feb '05, Magic made three attempts over about an hour and a half, but the combined wind and currents kept pushing the ship away from the dredged channel that leads to the dock. We ended up spending the day at sea slowly cruising toward Port Canaveral.

I've been on either the Dream or the Wonder over the second or third week in February for the past three years. Each time, we were able to dock, but most of the water sports were canceled. We just got off the Dream on Monday and the latest trip to CC was unbelievably gorgeous. We were FINALLY able to jet ski and parasail. The water might have been considered cold for some (we only ran into Canadians and other northerners while snorkeling) but it was in the mid 70's (we all got some color from the sun). Not too hot and not too cold.

I've worried because I think the first year we went, the ship before us and the ship after us was unable to dock, but we were always able to dock.

Early March 2013 we were unable to dock sailing on the Magic. I think late winter is very iffy.

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I've been on either the Dream or the Wonder over the second or third week in February for the past three years. Each time, we were able to dock, but most of the water sports were canceled. We just got off the Dream on Monday and the latest trip to CC was unbelievably gorgeous. We were FINALLY able to jet ski and parasail. The water might have been considered cold for some (we only ran into Canadians and other northerners while snorkeling) but it was in the mid 70's (we all got some color from the sun). Not too hot and not too cold.

Was on CC for the Feb. 7 stop, and while the weather was also unbelievably gorgeous, we heard the cruise director's daily PA wrap-up telling us "You guys have had the first great day of weather we've had all year!"

To which I'm inclined to agree, although I didn't hit the water, and can't speak for the temperatures.

So it's mostly a winter-in-the-Keys problem, which is always the tradeoff that you make for Jan.-March.

We were on the Dream on Jan 20th and while we were able to dock, high winds cancelled excursions. It did make it chilly and just very hard for the little ones to be out in that wind for longer than about 90 minutes. It was something that I think people should be more aware of - I didn't feel like there was much of a warning about it (it was our first Disney Cruise so our first Castaway Cay experience).

We were on the Fantasy in January last year, and the two cruises prior to ours were unable to dock at Castaway Cay. We were able to on our third attempt. It was very windy, and the adult beach was closed. We got in the water for a short time, but it was pretty chilly.

Hoping for better luck on our March cruise!

Most of the "private Islands" are in the Bahamas...not the "Caribbean"...so water temps can be chillier than is comfortable to most!

Went in Feb 2014 on the Dream and we had a wonderfully nice day at CC. Water was a little chilly, but the temps were in the 80s so the water felt good as long as you didn't stay in it for long long periods of time.

It was something that I think people should be more aware of - I didn't feel like there was much of a warning about it (it was our first Disney Cruise so our first Castaway Cay experience).

I agree and it's partly why I started this thread. I'm sure many people were imagining a nice day at Castaway Cay when the odds are poor they'll get one in the winter season. I'd much rather spend two days at Grand Cayman than a chilly day in the Bahamas.

I agree and it's partly why I started this thread. I'm sure many people were imagining a nice day at Castaway Cay when the odds are poor they'll get one in the winter season. I'd much rather spend two days at Grand Cayman than a chilly day in the Bahamas.

We had a beautiful day in CC on our cruise in January. I'd say your chances being "poor" at having a good day are an exaggeration, but certainly weather in the winter will be cooler than the summer months.

Castaway Cay aka Gorda Cay, Bahamas is just about exactly the same latitude (as far north) as the entrance to Port Everglades so in general you should expect similar temperatures for both air and water .... alto Lauderdale can actually be WARMER due to the proximity of the Gulf Stream currents which run pretty close to shore.

SO .... this has been a pretty warm winter with temps touching 80's ... sea temp is around 70f near Canaveral .... water temp near Miami is 76f. Is the water warmer over at CC? Don't count on it.

is the water cold? I see people in the water here .... we call them tourists or surfers {and the surfers are in wet suits}. OTOH when I grew up near Lake Michigan if the water got up to 75 in the summer we thought it warm .....

Folks from the frozen north think that Miami and the Bahamas is as depicted on TV and HOT all year round. This is simply not true. I made the same mistake first time I visited Miami in January many years ago ... but it is also a matter of perspective. If you left snow and come to 80 degree air and 75 degree water .... it just may seem like heaven.

Castaway Cay aka Gorda Cay, Bahamas is just about exactly the same latitude (as far north) as the entrance to Port Everglades so in general you should expect similar temperatures for both air and water.

It's latitude is similar to Ft Lauderdale. The photo shows both Port Canveral area and Ft. Lauderdale

Just got off Fantasy on Saturday. We got into CC on Friday just fine. But the wind definitely picked up later in the day. If we had to dock later that day I'm not so sure we would have made it. That said the air temperature was nice. High 70s. Water was definitely cold but didn't stop lots of folks from swimming.

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Just got off of Dream. Absolutely gorgeous weather at CC. unfortunately that night there was a "code bright star" called in the cabins which I think means a pretty bad medical emergency was happening. Can anyone shed more light on the code as it relates specifically to DCL?

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