Had a crazy thought to book a cruise for March 2021 – your thoughts?

[catali150]

I haven’t been on this forum in a while so I’m wondering what are folks thinking in general about traveling on a Disney cruise for spring break? We’re looking at the Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral. Do you think the cruise will sail? Is Disney pondering canceling cruises beyond October?

More importantly, and forgive me for being lazy, is Costco still offering refunds? For our cruise that we canceled Costco did get us a full refund for which we are so thankful.

Am I nuts for even considering this or are we generally feeling optimistic?

 

[ajo]

To date, everyone who has had a cruise cancelled by DCL has been offered a refund or a FCC of 125% (except for the first couple of cruises that got 150%).

One would assume that if DCL cancels additional cruises that they will refund those as well. Odds are that they will offer some type of FCC, but no guarantees.

No one knows when DCL will start cruising again. Opinions vary. If you think you would go on the cruise in March if it is sailing, then I say go for it!

 

[pumpkinqueen93]

I'm optimistic in that they will resume in the spring, even if at first there are a bunch of restrictions. If you think it will be a good experience with restrictions then go for it.

 

[disneygeek401]

I agree, I anticipate sailings will start back up by springtime. Sure, there will be some restrictions and new temporary policies but if you can afford it and don't mind potentially having some money tied up with DCL, I would go for it. If the crusie gets canceled, you may get a credit of 125 percent and Disney has shown they won't cheat you out of any money.

And, if it looks like the cruise will sail but you don't like the new policies, then you can take advantage of DCL's new policy and change the cruise up to 15 days before scheduled departure.

 

[grantclaire]

We have a cruise booked for March 21, rebooked from March 2020. Waiting to see what happens!

 

[hrhdhd]

More importantly, and forgive me for being lazy, is Costco still offering refunds? For our cruise that we canceled Costco did get us a full refund for which we are so thankful.

Just to clarify, Costco doesn't give refunds; DCL does. Costco is just the agent; they never have your money.

 

[bcwife76]

We have a March 2021 cruise booked, rebooked from a cancelled August 2020 cruise

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I would not get my hopes up for a spring cruise. I would be prepared for it to not sail, and be pleasantly surprised if it does.

 

[nycdisneygal]

I just moved my april 2021 to Nov 2021....

 

[JM23457]

Is Disney pondering canceling cruises beyond October?

Disney has already cancelled many cruises past October. It is also extremely unlikely that any DCL cruises will sail in late 2020, less than a 5% chance. For March 2021, the chances for getting to sail are about 50/50. It might sail, but even if it does, it won't be the DCL experience we're all used to. There will be severe restrictions, cutbacks & masks everywhere, just like at WDW, if they do even sail.

If DCL cancels your cruise, you will be able to get a full refund. Costco is just the middleman & they are not the deciders of who gets a refund or not. They don't hold onto any of your money, even for one minute: the payments they take are on DCL's behalf & go directly to DCL. That's why you can book via Costco & still pay using Disney gift cards, yet you cannot pay for a DCL cruise using a Costco cash card. That is also why your credit card statement shows the charge as going to DCL, not Costco.

 

[MomOTwins]

We are booked on a spring break cruise in March 2021. We are comfortable wearing a mask and did so all through our WDW trip. I am a bit more nervous about reduced offerings--for example, we likely will reschedule if there are no kids clubs, shows, or pools, but could live with other cutbacks like no fireworks or character meets (we would be okay with distanced characters like they did at the parks). Will just have to see what they come up with, if they do sail. If they don't, we'll rebook.

Reasons we went with spring break are (1) we don't want to pull kids out of school (2) don't want to sail in hurricane season in the fall for fall break, and (3) can't really afford most of the summer 2021 itineraries or the Christmas break ones, and especially do not want to pay $20-30K for a cruise for our family of five when there will be a reduced experience. 2022 is just too long for us to wait--my youngest comes up to me almost daily to see our cruise photos on my phone and beg to back to the "Mickey boat."

 

[T & R]

We’re looking at the Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral. Do you think the cruise will sail?

Yesterday the CDC informed state health departments to prepare for Covid vaccine distribution starting in October/November. So your March cruise is looking up.

https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...-19-vaccine-distribution-by-nov-idUSL4N2FZ3VO.

 

[MomOTwins]

Yesterday the CDC informed state health departments to prepare for Covid vaccine distribution starting in October/November. So your March cruise is looking up.

https://www.reuters.com/article/hea...-19-vaccine-distribution-by-nov-idUSL4N2FZ3VO.

That is just a limited release to high-risk groups like health care workers and nursing home residents though, and would be before FDA approval of the vaccine as safe and effective, which will be necessary for wider use. That said, I don't think it is inconceivable that there could be an fda-approved vaccine before March. Not sure how widely it'll be available as I expect shortages in the first few months, but it is definitely a possibility. Fingers crossed.

 

[ndog3rdtothefirst]

Optimistic! And while I'm a big Costco fan and their deals you might be better off with a TA like the group who host this site (DU) who will be more adept at moving things around if things go sideways. We had our June cruise cancelled and it was super painful to redo it through Costco. Headaches probably not worth the 3% or so savings vs a TA.

 

[insureman]

We are booking a cruise in the last week of February or first week of March 2021.

 

[Marc D]

We are booked on a March Dream cruise. It is our belief that DCL will not be up and running at that point UNLESS something major like a widely available vaccine released at the appropriate time or a for-the-moment unrealistic disappearance of the virus happens.

Disney stated that the last branch of the company to come back up would be the cruiseline. NCL’s CEO predicted that cruises would be back to a somewhat normal operation no earlier than Q2 2021. A Galveston port official stated this morning that DCL would restart operations at 70% capacity when they do come back, which means they do it plan on sailing under the current conditions. Finally, when all the cruiselines decide to restart operations, they will need first of all to restaff the ships, which will be a complicated process since all the lines will be competing for the crew members that have returned to their home country since March.

 

[T & R]

Finally, when all the cruiselines decide to restart operations, they will need first of all to restaff the ships, which will be a complicated process since all the lines will be competing for the crew members that have returned to their home country since March.

That will be interesting especially if many cruise lines start back up at the same time. I think Carnival alone has approx 30k to 40k employees during normal operations and that's just one line.

 

[otten]

Based on how WDW resumed operations, If cruises are running (big if) masks will be required in all public areas except while eating, there will be no character meets, deck parties or shows in the theatre and pool time will be hard to come by.