Fantasy policies - published (Sept now 4 nights)

[sethschroeder]

September changed to 4 night cruises and no information on October yet other then they hope to resume 7 night cruises.

Find all the information on Disney's site:
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/why-cruise-disney/experience-updates/
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When do we think we will get confirmation on Fantasy policies including any changes being made for the longer 7 night?

Dream policies were announced 17 days prior to the first cruise on a Friday.

Fantasy:
31 Day - August 4th (Wednesday)
30 Day - August 5th (Thursday)
17 Day - August 18th (Wednesday)
15 Day - August 20th (Friday)

Also this has the potential of being the first Disney ship to visit an actual foreign port during the cruise (Dream going to Castaway and Magic doing staycations). So lots of questions as we start to see certain ports require vaccinations, testing more recent than boarding, and other aspects that likely exist.

 

[Lynes88]

We are on the Sept 04 sailing and I feel fairly certain USVI St. Thomas is off the list of ports. CDC Level 4 Travel restrictions (announced today) and UCVI requires ship to be vaccinated passengers. I would bet to hear around the 15th, after results of the other Cruises...hopefully. But given the track record so far, closer to the 20th I guess.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

The simulated cruise is scheduled for Aug 12, so I would guess the protocols will be released a few days later, like the Dream.

 

[kathi]

I agree that the longer cruise and USVI are going to add complexity that the Dream does not have. We sail 9/25 Western and are anxious to know the protocols.

 

[jrapps]

Disney could do as Royal is doing and leave the port, and begin to require vaccines for everyone 12+

The next few weeks will be very interesting to watch!

My money is on Aug 20th

 

[AquaDame]

They could, but will they? I personally think they're more likely to scrap/swap the port if they can get away with it than reverse course with their current vaccination policy. Time will tell!

 

[TheWitherington's]

I wonder if we hear on 8/6 isn't that when the cancellation option expires for Dream cruisers? We are scheduled for 9/11, which was postponed from Sept. 2020. I think we will cancel for now as we have not cruised before and are a party of 4 adults.

 

[orum]

I am not on the first cruise, but very anxious on this too. With longer cruises and more ports (including ones that have vaccine requirements at odds with current DCL processes), I want to know if DCL is going to make changes to support cruises on the Fantasy or if the procedures are going to be the same and it will impact our stops on the cruise.

 

[AquaDame]

I wonder if we hear on 8/6 isn't that when the cancellation option expires for Dream cruisers? We are scheduled for 9/11, which was postponed from Sept. 2020. I think we will cancel for now as we have not cruised before and are a party of 4 adults.

I think that is wise unless it would break hearts or you know you'll cruise again regardless... it just won't be the full experience and these cruises are not discounted.

 

[orum]

They could, but will they? I personally think they're more likely to scrap/swap the port if they can get away with it than reverse course with their current vaccination policy. Time will tell!

They will have to do one or the other, but they won't have to reverse course, because they haven't released any of their processes/procedures for the Fantasy, just the Dream so far.

 

[TheWitherington's]

I think that is wise unless it would break hearts or you know you'll cruise again regardless... it just won't be the full experience and these cruises are not discounted.

Exactly! We want the full Disney experience. There will be another option in the future!

 

[AquaDame]

They will have to do one or the other, but they won't have to reverse course, because they haven't released any of their processes/procedures for the Fantasy, just the Dream so far.

Touche!

 

[Lynes88]

I think that is wise unless it would break hearts or you know you'll cruise again regardless... it just won't be the full experience and these cruises are not discounted.

Yea, you bring up one of the nagging questions we have wondered. A bunch of us that are on some of these first sailings (Sept 04 for us) paid full price (kept our reservations in place) and are feeling like Disney should do something, financially speaking to these "reduced experience" cruises. Some got the 125% FCC so DCL did something extra... granted that is for totally different reasons. Just saying that it has been one of the nagging questions we keep asking ourselves - is this Sept 04 sailing really worth the same price we paid last time... Even a shipboard credit could be nice?

 

[orum]

Touche!

HA.. After seeing your response, I reread my post as being a pedantic jerk. That was not my intent. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for them to follow the Dream announcement with some Fantasy news!

 

[sethschroeder]

I talked with my DW about this yesterday. Since the start I have basically said my belief was Disney would not require vaccines but if a port requires it then they would pass along that requirement.

The benefit Disney has is they could offer guests on both East and West cruises the option of moving 1 week in either direction to avoid certain protocols. They could put a vaccination requirement on East for 12+ and keep more to the Dream policies for the West.

If you would prefer to be on the other directional cruise you can swap to the other cruise to the category for $0.

No clue what they will do but the port stops has me interested in what they unveil (and hopefully we keep our 3 sea days which is why I like East over West).

 

[jrapps]

I think having separate vaccine requirements for East vs West itineraries is more confusing than having different rules for the Fantasy vs the Dream.

If they decide to keep the port, I wonder if they find a way to have the same vaccine rules for both E/W routes.

 

[orum]

I think having separate vaccine requirements for East vs West itineraries is more confusing than having different rules for the Fantasy vs the Dream.

If they decide to keep the port, I wonder if they find a way to have the same vaccine rules for both E/W routes.

For sure it could be more confusing for the staff, but for the customers, it should be fine (unless you are on a b2b).

 

[lilmarzipan]

We're booked for January and I know a lot can change in the next 5 months, but coming from Canada and being completely vaxxed, I do hope DLC has ironed out the kinks and that Florida has gotten its act together. Most likely won't cancel since the restrictions are exactly what we expected!

 

[KantLose]

Yea, you bring up one of the nagging questions we have wondered. A bunch of us that are on some of these first sailings (Sept 04 for us) paid full price (kept our reservations in place) and are feeling like Disney should do something, financially speaking to these "reduced experience" cruises. Some got the 125% FCC so DCL did something extra... granted that is for totally different reasons. Just saying that it has been one of the nagging questions we keep asking ourselves - is this Sept 04 sailing really worth the same price we paid last time... Even a shipboard credit could be nice?

Feeling a bit of the same - we shifted to the Sept 4 Fantasy before our original was cancelled so no FCC price adjust. And as fun as a Castaway Cay double dip sounds - it really isn’t a replacement for an Eastern Caribbean the way it is for the 3/4 night Bahamas that the Dream does where they are just skipping Nassau.

 

[jrapps]

For sure it could be more confusing for the staff, but for the customers, it should be fine (unless you are on a b2b).

I wasn't even considering B2B cruises. That could be interesting...