Castaway on Disney Magic

It must have come as quite a shock Disney Cruise Line vacationers arriving at Port Canaveral last Saturday morning to not see Disney Magic waiting for them at the pier. Instead, they were greeted by a large vacant space as, due to strong winds, Disney Magic was stuck at Disney's private Castaway Cay in the Bahamas for an extra day and didn't make it back to Port Canaveral on time for its normal turn-around.

News 13 in Orlando reported that Disney Magic made its final stop at Castaway Cay on Friday morning, but it did not leave as scheduled Friday afternoon, because 50 mph winds and high seas made it impossible to undock the ship. After departing the island, Disney Magic had to cruise into northwesterly winds while sailing to its Florida homeport, which was expected to take 13 hours.

According to News 13, “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 7-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.”

If you have to be stuck anywhere, a cruise ship is as good a place as any, but that offers little consolation to those arriving to find no ship, especially with the dreadful weather conditions they may have braved to get to their embarkation port.

However, Disney Cruise Line, in an effort to make the situation more tenable, issued the following statement on Saturday morning:

Due to weather conditions, the Disney Magic cruise ship has been delayed in its scheduled return to Port Canaveral today from a 7-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.

The entire turn-around procedure in port is as carefully choreographed as the most intricate ballet. Cruise Diva shares What to Expect: Day One of A Cruise. Of course, that is provided that the weather cooperates.