Disney Changes Vaccination Requirement

[o&smom]

Not necessarily. If I had to guess, they will wait until beginning of next year and monitor other cruise lines to see what follows. If things run smoothly, they will drop. If there are staffing issues or passenger issues, they will continue to operate this way. They aren't really have a problem getting guests on board and they don't have the amount of ships other fleets do, so no reason to make any rash decisions.

Magic cruise in Europe was only 60% full a couple of weeks ago!

 

[mkb3]

This is a joke of an announcement after hearing what other cruise lines are doing. This will also be my last Disney Cruise until things change. After watching some Vloggers Royal, NCL and heck even Carnival doesn't seem all that bad considering the cheaper cost and loosened testing requirements.

 

[DCLMP]

I'm not so sure about that. Last week there were 119 military discounted cruises. Before covid there were an average of about 9. I'd say they might be having a problem filling their ships.

Like I posted in another thread our sailing out of London was half full and it seemed like every one I talked too was either a Disney employee, military or worked in the travel industry. Those discounts used to be given out to the last 5-10% of remaining rooms. Now they have to release them to get the ship to 50% capacity.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

My point was I do not think any others ever required vaccination for under 12.

Norwegian did and carnival as well. But carnival offered minimal exceptions.

 

[DCLMP]

Not necessarily. If I had to guess, they will wait until beginning of next year and monitor other cruise lines to see what follows. If things run smoothly, they will drop. If there are staffing issues or passenger issues, they will continue to operate this way. They aren't really have a problem getting guests on board and they don't have the amount of ships other fleets do, so no reason to make any rash decisions.

This is simply not true. You obviously have not been following threads where people are reporting capacity and deep discounts. DCL may not be in danger of default like other cruise lines, but I doubt they are even coming close to breaking even much less making a profit.
The funny thing is they can’t even turn a profit on merchandise. There was zero European merchandise. I saw very few people purchasing anything.

 

[revdon64]

Was hoping that they were going to drop testing requirement before my 9/30 Wish sailing. Alas, must still deal with the anxiety of being grounded for a 10y/o testing positive w/o any symptoms.

 

[Jhondy]

Was also hoping for testing to be dropped but I am happy that they now will allow my vaccinated 3 year old to test 1-2 days before sailing. At least I will know before we see the ship, if we can get on or not. Testing will still be stressful but now I don’t have to worry about the disappointment happening with the ship in sight. This announcement was for under 5’s who are vaccinated was needed since it was very confusing before then.

 

[nikem3]

This is simply not true. You obviously have not been following threads where people are reporting capacity and deep discounts. DCL may not be in danger of default like other cruise lines, but I doubt they are even coming close to breaking even much less making a profit.
The funny thing is they can’t even turn a profit on merchandise. There was zero European merchandise. I saw very few people purchasing anything.

Disney sells at a premium compared to other cruise lines. Often 3x-5x the cost of other cruise lines. Not to mention some of the highest specialty dining costs in the industry. Even at 50-75% capacity, they are still bringing in large profit per passenger. They may not be filling cruises to 100%, but I still see hundreds of posts about onboard dining or cabanas selling out very quickly. And of course, the Wish being a new ship, is seemingly selling well.

 

[nikem3]

Was also hoping for testing to be dropped but I am happy that they now will allow my vaccinated 3 year old to test 1-2 days before sailing. At least I will know before we see the ship, if we can get on or not. Testing will still be stressful but now I don’t have to worry about the disappointment happening with the ship in sight. This announcement was for under 5’s who are vaccinated was needed since it was very confusing before then.

This to me was the most stressful part. Driving to the port, testing, and then waiting in the car for results and seeing other people walking toward the ship was tense. Glad they removed this part at least.

 

[n2mm]

im on the 9/3 cruise. Also the 10/29 and 11/6. Got the emails. Meh, nothing to see here. Glad they are acknowledging that there are under 5 vaccines. Took a while. Hopefully those parents get some guidelines now. So now 11 and under don’t need to be vaccinated. At least they are double tested with one being a PCR test. They will probably be the safest group onboard. but there was some bigger news on the Bermuda cruises. Esp. That Bermuda will not accept the 90 day recovery exemption. Plus that $40 a day fee for ages 2 and up. Wow.

 

[mmouse37]

Yay. So happy to be able to cruise with the grandkids again

MJ

 

[DCLMP]

Disney sells at a premium compared to other cruise lines. Often 3x-5x the cost of other cruise lines. Not to mention some of the highest specialty dining costs in the industry. Even at 50-75% capacity, they are still bringing in large profit per passenger. They may not be filling cruises to 100%, but I still see hundreds of posts about onboard dining or cabanas selling out very quickly. And of course, the Wish being a new ship, is seemingly selling well.

They are not 3 to 5 times the cost of other cruiselines. Not when they are discounting every sailing. Just because you can’t see the discounts it doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Are they still making a profit? I don’t know, but I know they are not making near what they made pre-Covid.
Im not even sure why this is an arguement…you would think people would be happy about the decreased demand and lower prices.

 

[DCLMP]

This is a joke of an announcement after hearing what other cruise lines are doing. This will also be my last Disney Cruise until things change. After watching some Vloggers Royal, NCL and heck even Carnival doesn't seem all that bad considering the cheaper cost and loosened testing requirements.

Carnival is not bad at all just pick a newer ship like the Mardi Gras. The fact that it sails out of MCO means the demographics will be similar to DCL. Lots of families onboard…probably more families and kids than DCL if vaccines have dropped.

 

[CapnCrunch]

They are not 3 to 5 times the cost of other cruiselines. Not when they are discounting every sailing. Just because you can’t see the discounts it doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Are they still making a profit? I don’t know, but I know they are not making near what they made pre-Covid.
Im not even sure why this is an arguement…you would think people would be happy about the decreased demand and lower prices.

Can confirm. I just booked a combo VGT/IGT on the Dream for 7 people on the Dec 19-24 Bahamian sailing out of Miami. I looked at comparable (non-refundable) sailings with Royal Caribbean, and I only paid maybe 20% more in base cruise fare vs RC. Difference would’ve been even less once I factored in soda packages and any other add-ons. I also checked the 7 night sailing on the Fantasy out of PC Dec 17-24, and the *GT rates weren’t that much higher than a comparable RC Western Caribbean sailing for the same dates.

The Wish sailings however…some are easily 2x more than comparable RC sailings out of PC. Haven’t yet compared to Norwegian or Carnival, but my wife won’t touch Carnival.

 

[brentm77]

This to me was the most stressful part. Driving to the port, testing, and then waiting in the car for results and seeing other people walking toward the ship was tense. Glad they removed this part at least.

It was the only negative of our med cruise this summer too. It was a very long way to go to have the chance of being turned away at port. It took a lot of fun out of the anticipation and even arriving at the port, which used to be a fun part of cruising. It was also a disorganized mess that should have been an embracement to Disney. I can't image dropping 14K for any other experience and having what we experienced be the initial contact point to begin it. Thank goodness the cruise absolutely rocked. But I still would delay cruising if there was ever a requirement like that again. To me it would worth making alternative travel plans until it passed again.

While I don't love pre-testing, including the additional cost, it is something I can live with after experiencing testing at port. At least we know that once we are on the plane, we won't be turned away. Although we will still cruise with pre-testing in place, I do hope it goes away before our next cruise in March, as I don't think it provides any material safety benefit these days, given how many ways the virus can make it on board after people have tested, including someone just bringing it back from one of the ports. I have traveled extensively the past two years, including five visits to Disney parks, lots of plane travel with long crowded layovers, a week in packed tourist sites in Rome, the above cruise, which included packed excursions, and the one place I picked up covid while traveling was one trip to WDW. It just seems like it is a roll of the dice these days and exposure is inevitable if you leave the house. With the way things are now, I don't think cruising should be treated materially different than visiting a ridiculously packed WDW.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

I agree....Especially since I'm sailing 9/5.

On the 9/5 cruise as well. was hoping it was "THE" email that testing had been dropped. Nope. Off to take a rapid test to see if I turn a positive I can grab an exemption. No fun. Hopefully it all works out. I won't do this again with other lines dropping the testing. And I will not fly to Rome to take my 3x cancelled Greek cruise if they are still testing. If other lines don't require, we will go with that.

 

[nikem3]

They are not 3 to 5 times the cost of other cruiselines. Not when they are discounting every sailing. Just because you can’t see the discounts it doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Are they still making a profit? I don’t know, but I know they are not making near what they made pre-Covid.
Im not even sure why this is an arguement…you would think people would be happy about the decreased demand and lower prices.

My point being that they clearly looked at how their business was doing and what they thought the risks would be and made this decision. Yes, there are certainly discounts. Hell, travel agents get significant cruise deals at times and more than usual currently. That doesn't mean they aren't more expensive to comparative cruises. Are there deals where you can get it for a similar price to a RCCL, NCL or Carnival cruise? Of course, but on average they are significantly more expensive. As someone who looked at June '23 7 day cruises with Disney, it was about $5000 ( at the cheapest) for an inside for 2 people. Also, about $1500 for a 7 day on RCCL in the same timeframe.

Regardless, I'm just indicating that I don't believe their burning money right now and they certainly had plenty of discussion around this.

 

[DCLMP]

Can confirm. I just booked a combo VGT/IGT on the Dream for 7 people on the Dec 19-24 Bahamian sailing out of Miami. I looked at comparable (non-refundable) sailings with Royal Caribbean, and I only paid maybe 20% more in base cruise fare vs RC. Difference would’ve been even less once I factored in soda packages and any other add-ons. I also checked the 7 night sailing on the Fantasy out of PC Dec 17-24, and the *GT rates weren’t that much higher than a comparable RC Western Caribbean sailing for the same dates.

The Wish sailings however…some are easily 2x more than comparable RC sailings out of PC. Haven’t yet compared to Norwegian or Carnival, but my wife won’t touch Carnival.

I met quite a few Disney employees on this cruise. Not the ones that work in the park, but on the corporate side and movie industry side. They are pretty happy about every cruise being discounted 50% instead of just a select few that don’t sell out. I assume it’s bitter sweet because they work for the company.

 

[DCLMP]

My point being that they clearly looked at how their business was doing and what they thought the risks would be and made this decision. Yes, there are certainly discounts. Hell, travel agents get significant cruise deals at times and more than usual currently. That doesn't mean they aren't more expensive to comparative cruises. Are there deals where you can get it for a similar price to a RCCL, NCL or Carnival cruise? Of course, but on average they are significantly more expensive. As someone who looked at June '23 7 day cruises with Disney, it was about $5000 ( at the cheapest) for an inside for 2 people. Also, about $1500 for a 7 day on RCCL in the same timeframe.

Regardless, I'm just indicating that I don't believe their burning money right now and they certainly had plenty of discussion around this.

Your looking at 2023 they haven’t cut the prices yet.

 

[nikem3]

Your looking at 2023 they haven’t cut the prices yet.

Right, not everyone has the flexibility to wait until a few weeks/months out and choose a date based on that. Like I said, I know deals exist, but for most families, they have to book the dates that work best for them or book farther in advance. 10 months in advance is a fairly normal booking time.