DCL Has Their Protocol Out!!!

FWIW any capacity constraint DCL sails with in the US is their choice. The 50% was British rule. There is no related rule in the CDC restricted sailing protocols and these could be completely full ships.

I suspect any capacity "constraint" is based on not seating parties together in MDRs and so total number each dining room can accommodate will be down, and thus the total number they will accept on board will be based somewhat on number of parties and each party's size.
 
Not paying DCL prices to reserve only one slot for the kids' club per day. The ONLY reason we cruised DCL instead of cheaper, other lines is for the children's entertainment offerings. It's not that I don't want to spend time with my kids on vacation, but some days we were out on excursions as a family all day and the kids didn't go in the clubs at all, and other days they put in a lot of time in the clubs. The port adventure tab sort of implies you have to go on DCL excursions to get off the ship, but it doesn't state that outright. Does anyone know what the policy will be there?
 
The port adventure tab sort of implies you have to go on DCL excursions to get off the ship, but it doesn't state that outright. Does anyone know what the policy will be there?
For Castaway Cay you certainly will have free reign of the island as usual. Disney has replaced Nassau with Castaway for the first several Dream sailings, and no one knows how long that will continue. I think other islands need to be confirmed as even being definitely on the itinerary before info comes out about how people will be able to visit those islands. I wouldn't be surprised if only the Dream sails North America for the first few months at least, and only to Castaway Cay. That keeps cruises short and everything firmly under Disney's control.
 
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FWIW any capacity constraint DCL sails with in the US is their choice. The 50% was British rule. There is no related rule in the CDC restricted sailing protocols and these could be completely full ships.
I'm sure they're not going to be completely full. My cruise isn't until late December and until recently it had all categories open with lots of cabins available for each category. Now, only concierge can be booked. That must be due to Disney wanting to limit the number of families onboard. It's been reported for other cruises, too.
 


I'm sure they're not going to be completely full. My cruise isn't until late December and until recently it had all categories open with lots of cabins available for each category. Now, only concierge can be booked. That must be due to Disney wanting to limit the number of families onboard. It's been reported for other cruises, too.
My early December cruises on the Dream have a lot of categories open, but I'm not finding a lot of options getting the same cabin on both cruises. The Fantasy is sold out that week except for concierge, but it has been for several weeks now.
 
I agree totally for those 12 and over. Take the vaccine or take your chances. But Disney is a cruise line for families. Should children under twelve not be allowed? Why go on a Disney cruise if families can't take their kids?
DCL does not have to anti-family in order to take a strong stance on vaccines. They could say everyone 12 and up must be vaccinated. All of those under 12 must go through testing schedule that they have now.
Instead, they are willing to accept unvaccinated adults onto a cruise ship which surprises me. NCL is insisting that all passengers are vaccinated? Is that because they're not sailing out of FL?
 
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Did DCL announce how they will handle someone with covid onboard? Will they end the cruise immediately and return to port?
If someone tests negative with PCR at home and is exposed to the virus while traveling to the port (in airport, on plane, etc.) the rapid test could still easily be negative at the port since that test is best suited for those who are showing symptoms and are at least 5 days post exposure.
There could easily be an outbreak onboard. Dh and I are both vaccinated so I wouldn't worry that I'd catch it but if it's going to end the cruise, that would be annoying.
 


This is correct. I just verified with online chat. You still will have rotational dining with your own family.
Just not sharing tables. I'm probably in the minority but i love that. lol
Thank you, that's all I wanted was some clarification that wasn't left up to my interpretation, someone else's, or the experiences on the Magic.
 
DCL does not have to anti-family in order to take a strong stance on vaccines. They could say everyone 12 and up must be vaccinated. All of those under 12 must go through testing schedule that they have now.
Instead, they are willing to accept unvaccinated adults onto a cruise ship which surprises me. NCL is insisting that all passengers are vaccinated? Is that because they're not sailing out of FL?
What's the point in them splitting hairs with the relatively few adults who will be unvaccinated, when all of the kids will be unvaccinated? They're a business trying to serve families, not a political organization trying to "take a strong stance on vaccines". The Covid transmission risk is still going to be there because of all of the unvaccinated kids. Most American adults are vaccinated, and vaccination rates are higher for people who are relatively affluent (i.e. not struggling to get by), which most Disney cruisers are, so it stands to reason that the large majority of adult Disney cruisers will be vaccinated already.

That, and it's against Florida law to mandate vaccination. The Dream is sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida. Walt Disney World in Orlando is packed to the brim with unvaccinated kids right now. The virus doesn't care how old you are- it spreads from kids just as rapidly as from adults.
 
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Not necessarily. Many people cost insurance anyway. We always sail with DCLs insurance policy.

All kids under 12 will need a $100 PCR test days before. The only real added cost world be an extra $65 for unvaccinated 12+at the pier. That isn't that much of a cost difference between being vaccinated and un- vaccinated.

Pretty much every state and insurance company is offering free COVID testing. The typical clientele that goes on a Disney cruise isn't going to be uninsured, so this should be no cost to most people.
 
That's because the UK just lifted their mask mandate on July 19, per the UK governments website. Ours has been lifted for some time now and compliance was not great when their was a mandate. People will wear their mask when they are supposed to on the cruises. Are they going to be happy about it? A happy cruiser is a repeat cruiser.

And?

As stated WDW had mask compliance and Disney will be on top of it. Not like WDW is cheap. Disney also knows the vast majority of people are unlikely to go on the ship to rebel and then when forced to have a mask not return.

If you personally are that nervous then it's easy to cancel right now though for people.

Compliance at Disney has never been much of an issue partly thanks to the great CMs. We have tons of trip reports outlying it including my own experience.

I never said it was policy to put your mask on in between bites. I said "and that can mean in between bites. AT WDW it meant don't take the mask off until after your food arrived at the table and put it on after you are done eating. " The reason I mentioned it is because some airlines require you to put your mask on between sips, so that people do not leave their mask off the whole flight. I did state that Disney's requirement was different. I haven't been there 22 days since the pandemic, maybe only 60 or so. Including when they opened on July 10th+ and I stayed on property when all the theme parks and Disney resorts were closed. But don't take my word for it:

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021...cy-will-make-dining-at-disney-very-different/https://allears.net/2021/02/26/news-disney-world-changes-restaurant-face-mask-policy/

You are making lots of large claims that don't really sit with the reality of things.

Disney is not going to require a mask between bites and for most of the time that parks were open people took masks off once sitting down or after the first food/drink arrived through the end of the meal. I can only assume you stated such as an extreme to try and scare people similar how the ship will be filled with mask less rebels.

Also as you pointed out they added a policy to wait for your food once they removed some capacity restrictions from resturants. With reduced capacity in a already semi-distanced resturant it is unlikely they do more than possibly say to wait for your drinks to arrive.

Finally when at dinner on a cruise I cant even think of a time without food and drinks after the first 5 mins for the following 1-1.5hrs.
 
Pretty much every state and insurance company is offering free COVID testing. The typical clientele that goes on a Disney cruise isn't going to be uninsured, so this should be no cost to most people.
Agree! We traveled to Hawaii so had to be tested within 72 hrs of plane departing mainland. Made an appointment with Walgreens for their rapid ID Now test and had results back within 2 hrs. Very easy and for those worried the swab it is the one that only goes in both nostrils and is self administered.
 
Did DCL announce how they will handle someone with covid onboard? Will they end the cruise immediately and return to port?
If someone tests negative with PCR at home and is exposed to the virus while traveling to the port (in airport, on plane, etc.) the rapid test could still easily be negative at the port since that test is best suited for those who are showing symptoms and are at least 5 days post exposure.
There could easily be an outbreak onboard. Dh and I are both vaccinated so I wouldn't worry that I'd catch it but if it's going to end the cruise, that would be annoying.

I have not seen official commentary on that but I would look to what happened on Celebrity. They were isolated in the cabin (hence why I insist on only sailing with a balcony when I go this August). They bring them all their meals like they normally would get, and I even saw some free booze (which I would expect may or may not be seen on Disney…)

remember that they want those isolated travelers to still be happy to avoid bad press.
 
Also note that there are cruises on the Fantasy that are past their PIF date and don’t qualify for the current extended Dream refund option.

To be fair Disney has not announced anything with the Dream. So it's likely that when they announce Fantasy restrictions they give the same refund option there as well.

Same with Wonder.
 
What's the point in them splitting hairs with the relatively few adults who will be unvaccinated, when all of the kids will be unvaccinated? They're a business trying to serve families, not a political organization trying to "take a strong stance on vaccines". The Covid transmission risk is still going to be there because of all of the unvaccinated kids. Most American adults are vaccinated, and vaccination rates are higher for people who are relatively affluent (i.e. not struggling to get by), which most Disney cruisers are, so it stands to reason that the large majority of adult Disney cruisers will be vaccinated already.

That, and it's against Florida law to mandate vaccination. The Dream is sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida. Walt Disney World in Orlando is packed to the brim with unvaccinated kids right now. The virus doesn't care how old you are- it spreads from kids just as rapidly as from adults.
I think though there is a valid argument (such as NCL’s stance) that higher vaccination rates among adults is good for business. The fewer instances of on board COVID the better.
 
Hi I just wanted to post in case anyone missed it.
I contacted DCL this morning on chat and asked if they would still have Rotational Dining.

This is the answer I copied and pasted.
*********************

I would be happy to go over that with you!

We will still be offering rotational dining, but each family/travel party will not be seated with anyone else to promote social distancing.

***************************
 
I recommend watching the U.K. blogs and seeing the way the characters roam the ship in high spirits and sometimes with funny antics. Some people's goal is to get an autograph, photo or hug from the character and that's fine, but if you're just looking for a good character experience, what I've seen in the U.K. blogs looks very appealing. One of these took place on the promenade, where Pluto was looking for his lost ball, with Mickey helping. You'd never see that kind of thing on a normal cruise, and there's something to be said for seeing that kind of thing unexpectedly during your cruise, instead of planning a time to wait in line to get your picture taken.
I completely agree with you. i love seeing the characters out and about doing things, instead of standing at the end of a long line, posing for pictures. I hope they bring back the meet/greets, but also keep the spontaneous character appearances as well.
 
The port adventure tab sort of implies you have to go on DCL excursions to get off the ship, but it doesn't state that outright. Does anyone know what the policy will be there?
Per the restricted sailing guidelines, unvaccinated adults must be limited to ship excursions in order to track contacts.

What the unvaccinated will be allowed also depends on port of call, it isn't all CDC guidance or what DCL wants. Disney is using CC as their easy button for the first Dream sailings, but it won't work when the Fantasy starts up as well since they can only handle one ship a day on island.
 

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