Disney leaves staff behind in cruise chaos ahead of Hurricane Dorian

Coco Cay came away relitively unscathed. Photo / Supplied, James Van Fleet

Ships have been sent scrambling in all directions to avoid the path of category 5 hurricane Dorian, throwing cruise itineraries into chaos. Some guests have had sailings cancelled, others delayed, however it is the Disney-owned line which has been facing flack for having left members of its crew in the path of 300 kph winds.

The crew of a Disney Cruise Lines vessel were left to weather out one of the most powerful storms to hit the Caribbean on the private island of Castaway Cay.

The company responded publicly after family members raised concerns on social media that the Castaway was clearly in the path of destruction.

"My sister is stuck in the middle of a Cat 5 hurricane. We were told they would evacuate and they didn't. Left them behind!! Why??," Meg Green tweeted. She accused the cruise line of marooning "97 employees on a tiny island" to face the storm.

Castaway Cay in the Bahamas is a private island leased by Disney Cruise Lines. Photo / Getty Images

Castaway Cay, which is owned by Disney Cruise Lines is in the North West of the Bahamas off the coast of Great Abaco island. The town of Marsh Harbour on Abaco suffered a direct hit by the giant storm on Sunday and on Monday the Bahamian prime minister announced at least five people had died in the Abacos.

The cyclone which measures 450km across has so far left a path of destruction and caused the evacuation of islands nearby. Other cruise lines had made the decision to abandon their own private Caribbean islands last week, ahead of the storm.

On Friday Royal Caribbean said it would be closing the private island of Coco Cay until Wednesday due to its proximity to the storm. It was not clear if or how many RCI employees would remain on the island.

However, James Van Fleet, the cruise lines meteorologist was on Coco over the weekend publishing photos to the Royal Caribbean Blog. A post entitled "First Look at Coco Cay following Hurricane Dorian" was published to the website and then removed.

Florida: A Carnival cruise ship departs Port Canaveral ahead of the approaching Hurricane Dorian. Photo / Getty Images

Disney's VP of Communications replied to the concerns of family members on Sunday, issuing a statement to say that crew and employees were safe on the cay.

"I understand your concern, as they are our co-workers. Castaway is south of the more significant weather. (Disney Cruise Lines) is in regular contact with island leadership and all are safe. Forecast calls for tropical storm force winds, which is what is there now. There are extensive measures in place to keep crew safe. A shelter on the island houses all crew and is stocked with a plentiful supply of food and water."

Hurricane Dorian had passed through Great Abaco Island on Sunday. Photo / Instagram, Sohoneydipped

In a statement to the Miami Herald the company said that the company was in contact with the workers on the island "every hour, on the hour" and that the island was home to about 60 employees.

On Monday, Disney Cruise Lines finally announced the sailing by Disney Dream would be cancelled after initially delaying the itinerary over the weekend.

Ahead of port closures and forecast 297 kmph winds other cruise lines have had to put emergency alterations to itineraries.

As of Monday the port of Miami declared it would be "closed to all vessel traffic until further notice."

SEPT. 1 PORT USERS
-PortMiami is closed to all vessel traffic until further notice.
-Tunnel will close at noon.
-All other port access will be closed as of 1800 hrs.
-Passengers please contact the cruise lines for up to date itinerary information: https://t.co/40h8lpkpYl

— PortMiami (@PortMiami) September 1, 2019

Norwegian Cruise Line cut short its sailing by Norwegian Breakaway in New Orleans to avoid Miami. Norwegian Sun was also re-routed to New Orleans to avoid Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Other islands were evacuated ahead of the storm. Photo / AP

Carnival which is based out of Florida has taken extra precautions. Carnival Elation and Carnival Horizon which were scheduled to sail on Monday have had their departures delayed until later in the week. Carnival Liberty's sailing was cancelled out right, saying that guests would receive a full refund.

It's not all bad news and cancellations though, as some guests were told they were having their holidays extended.

Royal Caribbean took the precaution of extending their itineraries for Allure, Harmony and Symphony with extra stops in the gulf of Mexico to steer clear of the impending hurricane.