DCL dropping pre Cruise testing.

[Bonnie1222]

I think it does matter--sure some people can still slip through, but on our cruise upwards of 12 infected people were not on board due to the testing and the checks in place. With these rules, those people would've sailed with us.

You are correct people slip through, and the only way to avoid that is to test 100% of the passengers and that is the problem, they weren't. Test all or test none, testing a select few while the rest can board doesn't make any sense. Personally I don't care about the testing, however if there were to continue it I would feel much better on a ship where everyone was tested.

And please don't forget, if we wash our hands frequently and don't touch our faces it can help keep you well. When DH and I started carrying hand sanitizer (well before Covid) and we would wash our hands before we went to the buffet, and then after we got our food we rewashed our hands before touching our utensils etc we left our cruise much healthier, rather than coming home with the mandatory DCL cold we got on every cruise previously.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

You are correct people slip through, and the only way to avoid that is to test 100% of the passengers and that is the problem, they weren't. Test all or test none, testing a select few while the rest can board doesn't make any sense. Personally I don't care about the testing, however if there were to continue it I would feel much better on a ship where everyone was tested.

And please don't forget, if we wash our hands frequently and don't touch our faces it can help keep you well. When DH and I started carrying hand sanitizer (well before Covid) and we would wash our hands before we went to the buffet, and then after we got our food we rewashed our hands before touching our utensils etc we left our cruise much healthier, rather than coming home with the mandatory DCL cold we got on every cruise previously.

They were on some sailings! The Bermuda ones everyone had to be tested and I am SO GLAD we went on that one. I am all for having to test everyone before cruising.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

They were on some sailings! The Bermuda ones everyone had to be tested and I am SO GLAD we went on that one. I am all for having to test everyone before cruising.

While some are glad everyone has to be tested, it seems that more are glad that testing is gone.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

While some are glad everyone has to be tested, it seems that more are glad that testing is gone.

I didn't mind testing but as soon as you let everyone off the ship in a port, what's the point of testing anyway if you're mingling with locals and other travelers from other ships? It just makes it seem like an unnecessary hassle. Its nice to see it go and things to get back to normal more.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I didn't mind testing but as soon as you let everyone off the ship in a port, what's the point of testing anyway if you're mingling with locals and other travelers from other ships? It just makes it seem like an unnecessary hassle. Its nice to see it go and things to get back to normal more.

Testing makes pre cruise planning stressful and not fun so I am glad its gone. I can finally be excited for our dec cruise. But I agree with getting off in port, especially longer cruises.

 

[smallbutmighty]

So just to be clear: If you are sailing AFTER November 12, 2022 (let's say March 2023) both COVID vaccination AND testing are not required, correct?

Not only that, but do you have to interact with the Safe Passage website at all? I know that you'll have to make sure you pay off your balance + check in online way in advance (which is a mountain of work at midnight) but are you not navigating to the Safe Passage website at all? As in no documents related to COVID-19 at all if after that date?

Sorry to be so detailed but it just makes me nervous. I just need to know what is actually required or not as things change so quick around here!

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

Interesting that some people got a letter saying they could cancel with no fees if their sailing was 1/31/23 or earlier. I just got a letter that said I can cancel with no fees if my cruise is any time on or AFTER 2/1/23.

I hope this is accurate because I finally have an out to cancel my reservation, which was originally booked as concierge so the deposit was non-refundable. Anyways I am relieved to just get my $ back! We are still Covid cautious and cruising with no precautions in place just isn’t for us.

 

[KatieKepic]

Sad to see they're doubling down on not letting different CC levels have different check in days.

It looks like they might be. We're sailing in March and this was in the email I received today.

 

[mom2tcdx2]

I am personally glad the hassle will be over with. Trying to get off from work, making appointments, etc was really a pain in the rear, not to mention less and less places are even offering the tests. We have a cruise booked for next fall, so still quite a while away. I really don't see where Covid now is really any different than someone with colds, flus. I don't think people are getting as sick now as some did originally. We really need to get back to a more normal way of life.

 

[dwg]

So just to be clear: If you are sailing AFTER November 12, 2022 (let's say March 2023) both COVID vaccination AND testing are not required, correct?

Not only that, but do you have to interact with the Safe Passage website at all? I know that you'll have to make sure you pay off your balance + check in online way in advance (which is a mountain of work at midnight) but are you not navigating to the Safe Passage website at all? As in no documents related to COVID-19 at all if after that date?

Sorry to be so detailed but it just makes me nervous. I just need to know what is actually required or not as things change so quick around here!

After November 13, 2022.

From DCL email: "Beginning November 14, 2022, for sailings departing from the United States, Disney Cruise Line will no longer require Guests (regardless of vaccination status) to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to sailing. Disney Cruise Line continues to highly recommend that all Guests be fully vaccinated and encourages unvaccinated Guests to take a COVID-19 test two days prior to sailing"

From DCL Know before you go website:
GUESTS AGES 5 AND OLDER

• Full vaccination not required but highly recommended
• Testing for fully vaccinated Guests not required
  • For sailings through November 13, 2022, to be exempt from testing requirements, fully vaccinated Guests must upload their proof of vaccination to the Inspire Diagnostics Safe Passage website by midnight prior to embarkation day.
• Testing for unvaccinated Guests required
  • For sailings through November 13, 2022, unvaccinated Guests must provide results of a COVID-19 test taken 1 to 2 days before sail date. The test may be an observed antigen test through a proctored telehealth service with digital results. A rapid or lab-based PCR test, or Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) are also acceptable.

We are sailing on 11/14 so should not have to deal with Safe Passage but when we were 15 days out this email had not come out yet and I uploaded our CDC vaccination cards. We got emails to day from safe passage clearing my wife but rejecting mine because it was hand written and they stated in the explanation that the second shot date was altered. Their email specifically stated "Inspire Notes 11/03/2022 MS: As per Disney Medical Team, Altered information from a CDC Cards are not accepted. Please provide official “Immunization Records” from your local health department or primary care physician to verify information. Thank you Record Rejected: Invalid Date of 2nd Shot"

So even though our cruise no longer requires us to upload proof of vaccine they still rejected and cleared my wife. I can only imagine that safe passage looks for any slight imperfection to reject proof of vaccine. Makes you wonder if they are tying to justify their jobs.

Very happy they are done.

 

[Nabas]

We are sailing on 11/14 so should not have to deal with Safe Passage but when we were 15 days out this email had not come out yet and I uploaded our CDC vaccination cards. We got emails to day from safe passage clearing my wife but rejecting mine because it was hand written and they stated in the explanation that the second shot date was altered. Their email specifically stated "Inspire Notes 11/03/2022 MS: As per Disney Medical Team, Altered information from a CDC Cards are not accepted. Please provide official “Immunization Records” from your local health department or primary care physician to verify information. Thank you Record Rejected: Invalid Date of 2nd Shot"

So even though our cruise no longer requires us to upload proof of vaccine they still rejected and cleared my wife. I can only imagine that safe passage looks for any slight imperfection to reject proof of vaccine. Makes you wonder if they are tying to justify their jobs.

Very happy they are done.

They have got to be kicking.

Except for our first dose, the second dose and all boosters were hand-written.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

They have got to be kicking.

Except for our first dose, the second dose and all boosters were hand-written.

Hand written is not the same as altered.

they stated in the explanation that the second shot date was altered

 

[dwg]

Hand written is not the same as altered.

Yes, that is what they stated but it was not altered. When I went to Walgreens to get one of the boosters they decided to give me a new CDC card while I was there because the original card did not have much space left. The persons hand writing who rewrote the card was very hard to read and I made the mistake of not asking for the original card back which actually had the first 3 shots on it and would have been all the information needed. Because they couldn't read the date on the card they rejected it but when uploading the information onto safe passage website they actually ask you for the dates of the first two shots so they should have been able to compare the date input to the card and see that they are the same.

The original card had the first two shots on the card dated with a date stamp so easy to read. When we went back to Walgreens for my wife to get her shot they rewrote her card and I made sure she got the original card back (lesson learned). Thanks to the recent posts here on the Disboards of people having issues with their uploaded vaccination proof being rejected I was prepared and requested a printout from the State Health Department about a week before the safe passage account opened for us but the state documents did not come until a couple of days after we uploaded our vaccine cards. Since my wife still had her original card we used that one and it was cleared.

Also to update my rejection, even though It was not necessary to even respond based on the DCL change in policy I decided to upload the state document after I received the rejection email and they got back to me a couple of hours later clearing me to sail.

 

[pelequeen]

I’m on a march 2023 sailing and have the option to cancel through Nov 17.

“Guests booked on sailings departing from the U.S. on or after February 1, 2023, may modify or cancel their sailing by November 17, 2022 without any Disney-imposed cancellation fees. Please contact your travel agent for details on how to cancel or modify your booking. Please note that change fees and cancellation fees imposed by third-party suppliers, such as airlines and hotels, as well as travel insurance, are not refundable. Refunds will be processed back to the original form of payment. Standard cancellation policies and terms and conditions apply for any cancellation or modification requests received on or after November 18, 2022.”

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Yes, that is what they stated but it was not altered. When I went to Walgreens to get one of the boosters they decided to give me a new CDC card while I was there because the original card did not have much space left. The persons hand writing who rewrote the card was very hard to read and I made the mistake of not asking for the original card back which actually had the first 3 shots on it and would have been all the information needed. Because they couldn't read the date on the card they rejected it but when uploading the information onto safe passage website they actually ask you for the dates of the first two shots so they should have been able to compare the date input to the card and see that they are the same.

The original card had the first two shots on the card dated with a date stamp so easy to read. When we went back to Walgreens for my wife to get her shot they rewrote her card and I made sure she got the original card back (lesson learned). Thanks to the recent posts here on the Disboards of people having issues with their uploaded vaccination proof being rejected I was prepared and requested a printout from the State Health Department about a week before the safe passage account opened for us but the state documents did not come until a couple of days after we uploaded our vaccine cards. Since my wife still had her original card we used that one and it was cleared.

Also to update my rejection, even though It was not necessary to even respond based on the DCL change in policy I decided to upload the state document after I received the rejection email and they got back to me a couple of hours later clearing me to sail.

When I took my daughter to the doctor's office for her last Covid vaccine in October, I was worried about where the latest vaccine was going to be written. As many have encountered, one card is full. The medical assistant re-wrote all the vaccines my daughter had to date on a new card and wrote in the one she just received. Not even aware of all the problems some people were having with their vaccine cards and safe passage, I took one look at this card and knew it would be a problem. All the vaccines in her handwriting on one card. Come on. Thank goodness she gave me back the old one and then got a new card with recent vaccine. My husband and I had ours done at Walgreens and they just gave us more cards too.

 

[Jsoenning]

Woohoo!

 

[karen4546]

After November 13, 2022.

From DCL email: "Beginning November 14, 2022, for sailings departing from the United States, Disney Cruise Line will no longer require Guests (regardless of vaccination status) to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to sailing. Disney Cruise Line continues to highly recommend that all Guests be fully vaccinated and encourages unvaccinated Guests to take a COVID-19 test two days prior to sailing"

From DCL Know before you go website:
GUESTS AGES 5 AND OLDER

• Full vaccination not required but highly recommended
• Testing for fully vaccinated Guests not required
  • For sailings through November 13, 2022, to be exempt from testing requirements, fully vaccinated Guests must upload their proof of vaccination to the Inspire Diagnostics Safe Passage website by midnight prior to embarkation day.
• Testing for unvaccinated Guests required
  • For sailings through November 13, 2022, unvaccinated Guests must provide results of a COVID-19 test taken 1 to 2 days before sail date. The test may be an observed antigen test through a proctored telehealth service with digital results. A rapid or lab-based PCR test, or Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) are also acceptable.

We are sailing on 11/14 so should not have to deal with Safe Passage but when we were 15 days out this email had not come out yet and I uploaded our CDC vaccination cards. We got emails to day from safe passage clearing my wife but rejecting mine because it was hand written and they stated in the explanation that the second shot date was altered. Their email specifically stated "Inspire Notes 11/03/2022 MS: As per Disney Medical Team, Altered information from a CDC Cards are not accepted. Please provide official “Immunization Records” from your local health department or primary care physician to verify information. Thank you Record Rejected: Invalid Date of 2nd Shot"

So even though our cruise no longer requires us to upload proof of vaccine they still rejected and cleared my wife. I can only imagine that safe passage looks for any slight imperfection to reject proof of vaccine. Makes you wonder if they are tying to justify their jobs.

Very happy they are done.

Happy it is done also, but I just wanted to add that we sailed in February of this year and both our vaccine cards have the dose information had written on them. We had no issues.

happy cruising!

 

[oam]

After November 13, 2022.

From DCL email: "Beginning November 14, 2022, for sailings departing from the United States, Disney Cruise Line will no longer require Guests (regardless of vaccination status) to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to sailing. Disney Cruise Line continues to highly recommend that all Guests be fully vaccinated and encourages unvaccinated Guests to take a COVID-19 test two days prior to sailing"

From DCL Know before you go website:
GUESTS AGES 5 AND OLDER

• Full vaccination not required but highly recommended
• Testing for fully vaccinated Guests not required
  • For sailings through November 13, 2022, to be exempt from testing requirements, fully vaccinated Guests must upload their proof of vaccination to the Inspire Diagnostics Safe Passage website by midnight prior to embarkation day.
• Testing for unvaccinated Guests required
  • For sailings through November 13, 2022, unvaccinated Guests must provide results of a COVID-19 test taken 1 to 2 days before sail date. The test may be an observed antigen test through a proctored telehealth service with digital results. A rapid or lab-based PCR test, or Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) are also acceptable.

We are sailing on 11/14 so should not have to deal with Safe Passage but when we were 15 days out this email had not come out yet and I uploaded our CDC vaccination cards. We got emails to day from safe passage clearing my wife but rejecting mine because it was hand written and they stated in the explanation that the second shot date was altered. Their email specifically stated "Inspire Notes 11/03/2022 MS: As per Disney Medical Team, Altered information from a CDC Cards are not accepted. Please provide official “Immunization Records” from your local health department or primary care physician to verify information. Thank you Record Rejected: Invalid Date of 2nd Shot"

So even though our cruise no longer requires us to upload proof of vaccine they still rejected and cleared my wife. I can only imagine that safe passage looks for any slight imperfection to reject proof of vaccine. Makes you wonder if they are tying to justify their jobs.

Very happy they are done.

To be clear the only thing to upload is a headshot and passport.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Just got an email about my upcoming cruise and confirmed via the Know Before You Go.

"For sailings from the US beginning on or after November 14, 2022, Disney Cruise Line will no longer require Guests to be tested for COVID-19 regardless of vaccination status."

Just checking to be sure… Does this mean there is no more requirement to do anything with “Safe Passage” ?

 

[ShablamE]

Just checking to be sure… Does this mean there is no more requirement to do anything with “Safe Passage” ?

Currently yes.