Canadian DCL Cruisers

[Eeyore's the Best]

Hi, just wondering if any Canadians have a DCL cruise planned? We are planning to go in February but haven't booked yet. Looks like they have updated some of their protocols recently to recognize vaccinated passengers from outside of the US but still haven't updated whether they accept mixed doses. We plan on doing to Shoppers drug mart $40 test before we leave, and if they recognize our vaccines looks like we might have to only have a rapid test at the port that we don't have to pay for? Or we might have to do another PCR test once we arrive in Florida because we are staying a few days at out parents house there before we sail. Or we might be able to time it to do the PCR test to go to Florida and then be able to use the same one to board the ship if it's all within 5 days. If we get the PCR test on Thursday, can we use it to board on Monday?? It's all a bit confusing. Day we get off we are planning to do the rapid PCR test at the Miami airport, very expensive but seems like the best option. Just wondered what anyone else's plans were.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

My family and I have a DC planned for March break 2022 (we were originally supposed to be on the March 2019 cruise that was canceled) and are holding out to hear what Disney’s rules are going to be with regards to vaccinations, testing, etc for the Fantasy ship as my DH and I are both mixed vaccinated but luckily are kids are vaccinated with an approved vaccine for the US. We are also watching to see how Florida is doing with their COVID numbers and whether or not it’s safe to travel there. So, as of right now our trip is up in the air…

 

[SaraMc]

We’re still on the fence, but thinking maybe a 7 day in Feb. Waiting to see what the border looks like after Aug 21. In the winter we always come in to Florida early because of weather and flight delays when we cruise.

 

[Eeyore's the Best]

We are waiting as well, I'm so sick of trying to plan trips only to cancel them. We were meant to go Feb 21 but of course had to cancel. I'm looking at at 5 day out of Miami on the Magic. We did the Dream for the first time in the middle of our Feb 2020 two week Disneyworld trip and fell in love with DCL. All of these testing requirements are confusing and stressful, but I understand why they are there. I just want to have a clear understanding of what is required and then I will figure it out. DCL has already updated their guidelines once already and I'm sure that this will continually evolve. The cost of these test I guess I will just need to work in as a new cost of travelling.

 

[bcwife76]

We've had so many DCL cruises cancelled We don't have any booked until August 2022 now. We were going to book one for spring break in March, then the protocols came out for the Dream (yes I know they can change) and we booked Aulani instead. Our cruises next Aug are b2b in Europe and to be honest I'm not 100% confident they will happen, how sad is that?

 

[mkmommy]

I have a DCL Panama Canal cruise for March booked.

I have mixed vaccines AZ and Moderna so a little concerned it is going to be an issue.

This is about the 3rd Panama cruise I have rescheduled and not terribly confident that I will make this one.

I am also thinking with DCL getting another ship they may just leave one on the West Coast and then they will not offer any more Panama Canal cruises, so I am really hoping things will be a settled by November and the final payment date.

 

[gskywalker]

We are waiting for our daughters Make a Wish cruise to be rescheduled in 2022. By then the last of our kids will be vaccinated. So the only issue will be me as I am a mixed breed of AZ and Mod. Maybe if they haven't figured out the mixed vaccinations by Christmas I will get a 2nd Mod while we are at Disney so that I have 2 shots of the same. Of course the real issue will be whether Make a Wish does trips next year or if they still believe it isn't safe for their recipients to travel.

 

[yowcruiser]

Right now, we have a SWDAS in late January. Panama Canal in March... and then an almost B2B of the Wish in FL followed by the Magic in Europe in August.

My main concerns right now is mixed vaccination and how this will be handled. US is apparently about to "open their border" with proof of vaccination so further insights would be useful there.

Your best bet for departure test might be a costly rapid PCR (24 hours or less) rather than Antigen as the antigen is only good for entry in the US and not good for DCL. The test at Walgreen is usually available within 24 hours and can be free. So depending when you arrive and how much time you have pre-cruise is a big factor here.

 

[dvcdisney]

We have 4 DCL cruises booked between Dec 2021 to Jan 2023.

We also had cruises booked and cancelled in 2020. I was naive enough to think that our Dec cruise would be safe to go to. Now all I can do is wait for changes in border and DCL restrictions.

At this time, we would still need to have a pre-arrival test for DCL even though we are all fully vaccinated. Our family has both Pfizer doses, but regardless of any combination of vaccines, we are in some way treated as unvaccinated.

But with the increase in cases and issues in US, especially Florida, there is constant changes to what is needed. And now some ports like USVI requiring guests 12+ to be fully vaccinated, there is just so many variables for DCL (and other cruise lines) to deal with.

Every day is unknown. After seeing a light at the end of this long tunnel, it seems like there's something to keep us from going forward.

So, I'm still hopeful for our Dec cruise, but I wouldn't be surprised if we cancel it.

 

[Eeyore's the Best]

I hope you can go on your December cruise! I would love for you to report back and see how it went! When more people start travelling they are going to run out of capacity to do all of this testing, it's already happening in Florida right now apparently trying to schedule a test is really tricky.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

Has anyone seen or heard whether DCL is considering people with mixed doses (AstraZeneca + MRNA) as fully vaccinated? I keep checking the DC website but I havent seen anything on it...

 

[yowcruiser]

Has anyone seen or heard whether DCL is considering people with mixed doses (AstraZeneca + MRNA) as fully vaccinated? I keep checking the DC website but I havent seen anything on it...

DCL has not mentioned anything yet. Officially, no cruise lines sailing out of the US are accepting mixed vaccination, but my understanding is that one cruise line mentioned it is under consideration. A few won't even allow mixing of two different mRNA vaccines. As it currently stand, neither the WHO nor the CDC endorse mixed vaccination regimen, which is probably the basis that cruise lines are using at this time... Let's call this liability management

 

[yowcruiser]

Has anyone seen or heard whether DCL is considering people with mixed doses (AstraZeneca + MRNA) as fully vaccinated? I keep checking the DC website but I havent seen anything on it...

I just chatted with DCL. They have confirmed that, at this time, and per CDC guidance, guests that have received one dose of a viral vector vaccine followed by one dose of an mRNA vaccine (and the chat agent specified, AZ followed by Moderna or Pfizer, as I mentioned I was from Canada) are not considered fully vaccinated. For the Dream, this means having to follow the unvaccinated protocol... and the agent reminded me that protocols could be different for other ships (probably due to cruises being longer).

We may not like it as Canadians, but I do get DCL's stance on this. Part of me feels like I should have taken AZ as a second shot, as I had that option - but worse case, this means a third "booster" dose that now officially counts as a 2nd dose. Either WHO and CDC update their guidance... or several Canadians will be looking to go the "booster" route...

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

I just chatted with DCL. They have confirmed that, at this time, and per CDC guidance, guests that have received one dose of a viral vector vaccine followed by one dose of an mRNA vaccine (and the chat agent specified, AZ followed by Moderna or Pfizer, as I mentioned I was from Canada) are not considered fully vaccinated. For the Dream, this means having to follow the unvaccinated protocol... and the agent reminded me that protocols could be different for other ships (probably due to cruises being longer).

We may not like it as Canadians, but I do get DCL's stance on this. Part of me feels like I should have taken AZ as a second shot, as I had that option - but worse case, this means a third "booster" dose that now officially counts as a 2nd dose. Either WHO and CDC update their guidance... or several Canadians will be looking to go the "booster" route...

Yikes! This is what I was afraid of. I will continue to hold out to see what the guidelines will be for the Fantasy Cruise ship as I have 60 days before my Cruise next March (I believe I still have 60 days to change without penalty, correct me if I'm wrong) to either cancel or transfer (for the 4th time) to a future cruise.

 

[bcwife76]

Yikes! This is what I was afraid of. I will continue to hold out to see what the guidelines will be for the Fantasy Cruise ship as I have 60 days before my Cruise next March (I believe I still have 60 days to change without penalty, correct me if I'm wrong) to either cancel or transfer (for the 4th time) to a future cruise.

No, currently your March cruise is subject to the current/normal cancellation policy which means after your PIF date, you will start to incur penalties if you cancel. Right now, only cruises that depart on January 31 2022 or earlier are allowed to cancel 60 days before sailing without penalties.

 

[Love2Cruise2015]

No, currently your March cruise is subject to the current/normal cancellation policy which means after your PIF date, you will start to incur penalties if you cancel. Right now, only cruises that depart on January 31 2022 or earlier are allowed to cancel 60 days before sailing without penalties.

Thank you bcwife76! I hope that things change before our November PIF for our March 2022 Cruise or we will have to make decisions based on the current protocols in place.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

FYI - I just read that Blue Cross is resuming selling cruise insurance for Canadians:

https://news.paxeditions.com/news/c...ed-selling-travel-insurance-cruises-canadians

 

[Gigi22]

The Feds just announced that they are working on a “vaccine passport” for Canadians travelling outside the country.

 

[yowcruiser]

The Feds just announced that they are working on a “vaccine passport” for Canadians travelling outside the country.

Definitely curious to see the details there. On one hand, good to see a "national standard", but as stated in the press release, it will be up to each foreign country to recognize "what type of vaccination will be recognized". In essence, the "passport" will include information on dose received + timing but a neighbor might still say that specific vaccination combinations are not recognized...

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

The Feds just announced that they are working on a “vaccine passport” for Canadians travelling outside the country.

And they said it was coming early fall. That is not very far away.