Current protocols? Elevators? Masks? Buffets?

gerberdaisy1234

DIS Veteran
Joined
Oct 12, 2007
Messages
1,282
We went on Dream cruise in September. Going again in less than 2 weeks (by faith). Curious how things have changed in regards to one party per elevator, mask indoors, CMs serving at buffet, etc. Thanks
 
We went on Dream cruise in September. Going again in less than 2 weeks (by faith). Curious how things have changed in regards to one party per elevator, mask indoors, CMs serving at buffet, etc. Thanks

We sailed a month ago, and all those restrictions were still in place then and I believe this is how things are working now.
 
We went on Dream cruise in September. Going again in less than 2 weeks (by faith). Curious how things have changed in regards to one party per elevator, mask indoors, CMs serving at buffet, etc. Thanks
I sailed the Magic in late October, and I don't recall a rule about one party per elevator. Elevator rides were often shared.

Masking indoors was required and still is today. Same thing for CMs serving at the buffet.

Recent reports from cruisers indicate that the pool deck drink station is once again self-service. Soft serve ice cream is still full-service, though.
 

The only thing different between our September & mid November cruise was the lack of limitations in elevator capacity.

I’ve heard Beverages are now self serve but nothing else drastic
 
Hi there! I got off the Fantasy this morning and there were no restrictions on elevators, but masks were still required indoors. Pool deck soda was self serve, hot drinks had a cast member, as did the ice cream station. Buffets were still staffed by CMs, but wonderful 😉
 
I thought I read on another thread that the gym and locker rooms were closed. Can anyone confirm?
 
Is the buffet selection still extremely limited, or has that improved?
We were also on the Fantasy Christmas Cruise, and yes the buffet is still extremely limited. We were told this cruise had the highest number of pax since the re-start. The crazy thing we notices was if you wanted to play bingo, you had to be in line 2 hours before otherwise you would be turned away.
 
We went on Dream cruise in September. Going again in less than 2 weeks (by faith). Curious how things have changed in regards to one party per elevator, mask indoors, CMs serving at buffet, etc. Thanks

Was on the Fantasy on the Dec. 12 sailing. This is what I remember so far. There may be more. If I missed something, and you want to know, just ask, and I'll see what I can remember.

No restrictions on parties per elevator (or if there was, there was no sign for it). Masks must be worn indoors at all times with a few exceptions, E.g., in your stateroom, DCL organized photos - see below, dinner, actively eating/drinking, etc. Technically if you're visiting a restroom from an outdoors area, you are also supposed to wear a mask. E.g., if you are on Deck 11 by the pools. This may require some foresight if you just finished swimming. Will want to dry off your face first before putting on a mask.

Sodas were self-serve, but hot chocolate/tea was cast member only. For Sodas, you are supposed to use the hand sanitizer before you get your drinks. Note that Sodas may only be active during certain hours, though. Also, if you want a paper straw, you had to ask a CM. They were hidden away in a cabinet in the hot chocolate/tea area. If you don't want to have to constantly ask, you can request multiple straws.

For buffets, you ask the CM to make the plate for you. They will also provide the napkin/silverware upon request. If you have allergies, they will take your order, ask you to find a seat, and have the food brought to you. Same with the fruit station/condiments station (located in the same station). Same with the orange juice/apple juice station.

For Flo's V8, there was a single line to go to all of the counters. They will also provide the napkin/silverware upon request. Note that paper napkins are also available upon request. I think each counter can take orders for all of the different counters. However, there's a CM managing the line. Again, if you have allergies, they will take your order, ask you to find a seat, and have the food brought to you.

For ice cream, the CM serves you. If you have allergies and want to use your own cone, that's possible. Just give it to the CM. You can ask the CM to change gloves or use a napkin to hold the cone.

They ask much more often now for you to use the hand sanitizer wipes or to wash your hands before entering the restaurant.

For theater shows and movies, every other row of seat was blocked off. You can select your seats so long as there's 3 seats between Parties. For theater shows, they were played twice, so everyone had a chance to see. With the seating restrictions, we found out the hard way the first night that yes, you can be denied entry due to capacity restrictions.

For meet and greets, you will stand in front of the characters. No "direct contact" interactions. They will interact with you from a distance. However, that also means that the characters are a lot more expressive and interactive from a distance. They will also be more interactive with the crowd at large. In addition, you will find many more characters that are just roaming around for a "random encounter." You can take selfies for those random encounters. Again, no "direct contact" interactions.

For DCL organized photos, e.g., where there is a line and an official DCL photographer, you can remove your mask when you get your photos taken (e.g., Atrium photos, character photos, backdrop photos, etc.). However, if you are taking a selfie or have someone else take your photo at a non-organized photo location, you must have your mask up.

At bar locations, certain tables are taken out of commission to reduce capacity. However, for trivia, they pretty much just take those signs on the table out and let people sit wherever when there's a capacity issue.

For the Whazit shop on Deck 11, which is really small, they only allow one party in the store at a time. It's also got some really limited hours.

Rain forest room - we didn't use it, but I hard from another family that they still rent out the whole area for a certain period of time.
 
We were also on the Fantasy Christmas Cruise, and yes the buffet is still extremely limited. We were told this cruise had the highest number of pax since the re-start. The crazy thing we notices was if you wanted to play bingo, you had to be in line 2 hours before otherwise you would be turned away.
Do you have any times you could give us for bingo? If we need to cancel some tasting events so we can be in line for bingo that would be helpful. We have them set every day because we expected that would be a problem.
 
Was on the Fantasy on the Dec. 12 sailing. This is what I remember so far. There may be more. If I missed something, and you want to know, just ask, and I'll see what I can remember.

No restrictions on parties per elevator (or if there was, there was no sign for it). Masks must be worn indoors at all times with a few exceptions, E.g., in your stateroom, DCL organized photos - see below, dinner, actively eating/drinking, etc. Technically if you're visiting a restroom from an outdoors area, you are also supposed to wear a mask. E.g., if you are on Deck 11 by the pools. This may require some foresight if you just finished swimming. Will want to dry off your face first before putting on a mask.

Sodas were self-serve, but hot chocolate/tea was cast member only. For Sodas, you are supposed to use the hand sanitizer before you get your drinks. Note that Sodas may only be active during certain hours, though. Also, if you want a paper straw, you had to ask a CM. They were hidden away in a cabinet in the hot chocolate/tea area. If you don't want to have to constantly ask, you can request multiple straws.

For buffets, you ask the CM to make the plate for you. They will also provide the napkin/silverware upon request. If you have allergies, they will take your order, ask you to find a seat, and have the food brought to you. Same with the fruit station/condiments station (located in the same station). Same with the orange juice/apple juice station.

For Flo's V8, there was a single line to go to all of the counters. They will also provide the napkin/silverware upon request. Note that paper napkins are also available upon request. I think each counter can take orders for all of the different counters. However, there's a CM managing the line. Again, if you have allergies, they will take your order, ask you to find a seat, and have the food brought to you.

For ice cream, the CM serves you. If you have allergies and want to use your own cone, that's possible. Just give it to the CM. You can ask the CM to change gloves or use a napkin to hold the cone.

They ask much more often now for you to use the hand sanitizer wipes or to wash your hands before entering the restaurant.

For theater shows and movies, every other row of seat was blocked off. You can select your seats so long as there's 3 seats between Parties. For theater shows, they were played twice, so everyone had a chance to see. With the seating restrictions, we found out the hard way the first night that yes, you can be denied entry due to capacity restrictions.

For meet and greets, you will stand in front of the characters. No "direct contact" interactions. They will interact with you from a distance. However, that also means that the characters are a lot more expressive and interactive from a distance. They will also be more interactive with the crowd at large. In addition, you will find many more characters that are just roaming around for a "random encounter." You can take selfies for those random encounters. Again, no "direct contact" interactions.

For DCL organized photos, e.g., where there is a line and an official DCL photographer, you can remove your mask when you get your photos taken (e.g., Atrium photos, character photos, backdrop photos, etc.). However, if you are taking a selfie or have someone else take your photo at a non-organized photo location, you must have your mask up.

At bar locations, certain tables are taken out of commission to reduce capacity. However, for trivia, they pretty much just take those signs on the table out and let people sit wherever when there's a capacity issue.

For the Whazit shop on Deck 11, which is really small, they only allow one party in the store at a time. It's also got some really limited hours.

Rain forest room - we didn't use it, but I hard from another family that they still rent out the whole area for a certain period of time.
Thank you so much for the details.
 
My family is on the fantasy right now, my daughter was positive so we couldn’t sail. I’m in contact with them and they say Palo and Remy are closed for the week, kids club has a max of 5 kids. They’re severely understaffed. Sounds like an outbreak to me.
Oh man. Time to make some serious back up plans.
 

GET UP TO A $1000 SHIPBOARD CREDIT AND AN EXCLUSIVE GIFT!

If you make your Disney Cruise Line reservation with Dreams Unlimited Travel you’ll receive these incredible shipboard credits to spend on your cruise!








New Posts





















DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top