Cruise Restart: Are you Cancelling or Sailing?

Are you Cancelling or Sailing?

  • Love it! Keeping our cruise and booked more!

    Votes: 22 7.1%
  • I'm ok with the protocols, keeping our cruise

    Votes: 102 33.1%
  • Don't love the protocols, but keeping our cruise

    Votes: 42 13.6%
  • We are cancelling

    Votes: 57 18.5%
  • Wait and see...

    Votes: 85 27.6%

  • Total voters
    308

jrapps

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
With the new US restart protocols announced, who is keeping their reservation, and who is cancelling?
 
With the new US restart protocols announced, who is keeping their reservation, and who is cancelling?
Keeping. I'm used to wearing a mask all day every day at work, so I don't mind them indoors, and I work with unvaccinated children in an enclosed room all day every day, so the cruise will be safer than my job as an elementary school teacher. My son and I are both vaccinated, so we're as protected as we're ever going to be.

I'm happy that DCL isn't going the WDW route and using the pandemic as an excuse to cut most of their guest services. There will still be twice daily housekeeping, room service, and all of the dining locations will be operational, unlike at WDW. Fewer people onboard than usual, no masks required outdoors, onboard activities will continue. Castaway Cay is beckoning. We want to cruise.
 
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Keeping. I'm used to wearing a mask all day every day at work, so I don't mind them indoors, and I work with unvaccinated children in an enclosed room all day every day, so the cruise will be safer than my job as an elementary school teacher. My son and I are both vaccinated, so we're as protected as we're ever going to be.

I'm happy that DCL isn't going the WDW route and using the pandemic as an excuse to cut most of their guest services. There will still be twice daily housekeeping, room service, and all of the dining locations will be operational. No masks required outdoors, onboard activities will continue. Castaway Cay is beckoning. We want to cruise.
Ohhhh sounds like a dream. Not to have to pack your own trash bags and bring cleaning supplies while
on vacation is a huge perk right there! Every cruise i have been cabin was cleaned spotless. I definitely miss
that.
 


We are keeping all our booked cruises. Most are just dh and I. Both fully vaccinated. Don’t look forward to wearing masks - we have been maskless here for months. But, we will to cruise again. The rest of the restrictions don’t really bother us. And the 50% capacity cap seems like a dream come true!
 
We are keeping all our booked cruises. Most are just dh and I. Both fully vaccinated. Don’t look forward to wearing masks - we have been maskless here for months. But, we will to cruise again. The rest of the restrictions don’t really bother us. And the 50% capacity cap seems like a dream come true!
We don't know the capacity cap is 50% yet, do we?
 


The poll is probably missing a "wait and see" kind of option. We'll probably cancel our September 26th Wonder sailing (assuming it sails at all, which is far from certain); however, we're holding on to it for now just to see if anything is different for the Wonder, or if they at least offer a more flexible cancellation policy like they did the Dream. If we sail it'll be mostly because it's the first post-shutdown revenue sailing on the Wonder and are excited about that aspect of it. My wife has already nope'd out of that cruise because of the restrictions (I'd go with a friend instead of her) so I'm doing another Celebrity Edge sailing in October with her instead.
 
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The poll is probably missing a "wait and see" kind of option. We'll probably cancel our September 26th Wonder sailing (assuming it sails at all, which is far from certain); however, we're holding on to it for now just to see if anything is different for the Wonder, or if they at least offer a more flexible cancellation policy like they did the Dream. If we sail it'll be mostly because it's the first post-COVID revenue sailing on the Wonder and are excited about that aspect of it. My wife has already nope'd out of that cruise because of the restrictions (I'd go with a friend instead of her) so I'm doing another Celebrity Edge sailing in October with her instead.
We agree with needing the “wait and see” option. we have our pay in full date set during the first Dream cruise, so we won‘t be able to decide by then. If we see it isn’t going to be a great experience, we may cancel before the 60 day window hits.
 
We're at "wait and see" since our cruise isn't until Dec.

At this point, we'll cancel if either of these happen for our cruise:
1. still need to take the tests even if vaccinated since we're Canadian
2. ports are not allowing private tours or on your own

Masks, physical distance, reservations for shows etc would be okay for us.

Other things like protocols for outbreaks, enforcement of mask and rules etc, would be something I'm also keeping an eye out for the next couple of months.
 
We're concierge in December so I'm pretty much locked in. I'm hoping for a few things to change b/w now and then...most notably..I'd like vaccines to be available to DD so that she can be exempt from the day of covid test. A covid test sounds like a terrible way to kick off a vacation AND I'd be worried about a false positive mucking up the works. I don't have any problem getting a covid test a few days before - but day of seems excessive to me (if we're all vaccinated). And, I REALLY REALLY don't want to wear a mask at all...haven't had to wear one where I live for over a month now....but I suppose I will if it means I get to cruise.
 
Unless something drastic happens in the next 30 days, we will continue with our plans. I've made new "nautical" masks anticipating that we will need them for the foreseeable future. I don't need to see the shows at this time since we have seen them before. Don't know if there will be any films I will want to see. We'll just enjoy being away, the ocean air and time at Castaway. We were supposed to sail last August for my husband's b'day and hadn't really picked this date. Still hoping to cruise on the Fantasy one day.
 
Reading the replies here and I realize that maybe we are just not as much into "cruising" as others. While we have enjoyed every Disney cruise immensely, taking away so many of the activities we enjoy while needing to be masked on board the ship, which has always felt like "home' on previous cruises, and we will definitely be spending our vacation dollars elsewhere until the Disney value proposition is better. Guess I'm not jonesing to be on a cruise ship that much just yet.
 
I took advantage of the Dream cancellation policy to get out of a 2022 Concierge reservation.



Limited Time Disney Dream Special Cancelation Policy

As the new safety protocols for the Disney Dream’s restart were revealed, Disney Cruise Line is offering guests booked on the Disney Dream for sailings through March 28, 2022 the ability to modify their sail date or cancel their sailing and receive a full refund back to the original form of payment by Augusts 6, 2021. On August 7th, the special limited policy will revert back to the standard cancellation policy.
 
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I took advantage of the Dream cancellation policy to get out of a 2022 Concierge reservation.



Limited Time Disney Dream Special Cancelation Policy

As the new safety protocols for the Disney Dream’s restart were revealed, Disney Cruise Line is offering guests booked on the Disney Dream for sailings through March 28, 2022 the ability to modify their sail date or cancel their sailing and receive a full refund back to the original form of payment by Augusts 6, 2021. On August 7th, the special limited policy will revert back to the standard cancellation policy.

Honestly I'm glad to see this. I wouldn't have been shocked if they'd forced people to take the cancellation fee - VERY glad they're doing the right thing!
 
I'm at "wait and see"; my Dream cruise isn't until the end of April 2022, and if these current protocols are still in place in nine months (which I really hope they aren't, but you never know), then there are pros and cons to it for me.

PROS:
Lower capacity sailings
Guaranteed private table in the MDRs
No masks required on deck and while at Castaway Cay
Hey, it's a Disney Cruise! It'll probably still be magical

CONS:
Mandatory masking when inside
Socially-distanced character interactions
Closed/restricted venues and experiences
Mandatory COVID Testing for Fully Vaccinated Guests arriving from outside the US

That last con might be the dealbreaker for me, as the person I'd likely be sailing with is fully vaccinated but from outside the US. I wish they had more information about that final point, but all I can find is one sentence in the Know Before You Go page:

"Guests who are fully vaccinated may choose to provide proof of vaccination in order to be exempt from pre-trip and Embarkation Day testing requirements (unless arriving from outside the United States) and travel insurance requirements."

That would be an extra cost of $200+ for pre-cruise and embarkation day testing, plus the worries of a false positive.

Another thing to consider is, while I've cruised the Dream before and would be fine with the different experience, this would be his first Disney Cruise experience, and I'd want for it to be as complete and magical as possible. I'm not sure if this would be that.

But like I said before, this cruise is nine months away... no clue how the protocols may change between now and then. My heart goes out to those who have to make a decision in the coming weeks!
 
Didn’t really have a choice for me. Don’t love the protocol and keep cruises. My next scheduled cruise is February 26th, so still time to change. But I did also book a last minute cruise for august 30th. Such a decent price for a double dip. Not crazy about the indoor mask because we got vaxed, but willing to protect ourselves from unvaxed people. I don’t see us being as sociable as past cruises because we don’t mingle with unvaxed family or friends at home, so won’t do it on a cruise. we were already going to be in wdw, so shortened our land trip. Can pick up a couple of placeholders onboard too. 🤷‍♀️
 
Even though I would be "arriving from outside the United States" and would have to face the added requirements, I am keeping the cruises we have booked, especially as the 1st one is not before January 2022.

Now, that policy on non-US vaccinated guest is very "Disney". The challenge by not doing it that way is that they would have had to create a bunch of special rules for guests with a mixed vaccination record (eg: AZ followed by Pfizer or Pfizer followed by Moderna) and guests from countries with vaccines that so far are showing to be less effective. That way, DCL is avoiding the backlash of singling out specific countries and the big number of primarily Gen Xers living to the north of the states with a mixed vaccination record. Do I like it - no, but I totally get it
 
Keeping in theory, happy with the protocols but being in the UK and the borders still being closed to us, I'm worried about our risk if we can't get into the country, I need to speak to DCL to see where we stand, if we stand to lose our cruise payment, then we'll be forced to cancel. Our balance is due on the 9th August, so everything crossed for a border announcement prior to that.

I'm not over the moon that our vaccination proof can't be accepted as we're not US citizens (& both fully vaccinated) but I do totally understand why, until there's a global system to prove vaccine status, we'll see a lot of this. Paying for a couple of PCR tests is a small price to pay should we get our WDW / DCL holiday in October - heck, I'll pay for everyones if Joe lets us in! *

*disclaimer, said in jest, I'm not made of money

ETA - spoke to DCL, after an hour on hold, there's nothing in place for us in the scenario of the borders still being closed so we do take a risk, if there's no movement by the time our balance is due, we're left with no option but to cancel. What a shame. We could move the cruise date, but with so much uncertainty with international travel, even that feels like a risk.
 
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