Higher Capacities - Protocol Changes?

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thanks for the condescension, but this is the Disney Cruise Line Forum, not the Parks forum. A lot of DCL cruisers on this forum are completely fed up with Disney parks and have no (or few) plans to go back. A Disney cruise is a very different vacation than the Disney parks.

I couldn’t agree more. The parks feel like hard work compared to a cruise.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

On the Disney Cruises website under the "Physical Distancing" section of the "Know Before You Go" page, Disney states that "We’re reducing Guest capacity aboard our ships and adjusting experiences to promote physical distancing. This includes limiting capacity and implementing physical distancing measures in our terminals and areas of our ships such as upper decks, dining rooms, food and beverage locations, lounges, theaters, walkways, elevators, pools, queues and other common spaces."

If Disney is going to make that statement on their website as a selling point for why their cruises should be considered safe, then Disney should be sticking to those protocols. I don't think it's unreasonable for people to expect that Disney will be doing exactly what they stated: (1) limiting/reducing capacity and (2) implementing physical distancing in dining rooms, elevators, etc. From recent cruise reports, it sounds like Disney has already stopped enforcing physical distancing protocols in dining rooms and elevators...

The hospital where I work defines an “exposure” as: being indoors, without PPE (masks/faceshields), less than 6’ away from someone with covid for at least 15 minutes.
Anything less than all of that (ie: 20 seconds on an elevator with everyone masked) would not be considered an exposure. >>> Get back to work.

 

[kathi]

The hospital where I work defines an “exposure” as: being indoors, without PPE (masks/faceshields), less than 6’ away from someone with covid for at least 15 minutes.
Anything less than all of that (ie: 20 seconds on an elevator with everyone masked) would not be considered an exposure. >>> Get back to work.

Well this is vacation and not work, passengers don't have professional quality PPE and in the dining room you are sitting for well over an hour unmasked near other tables. They already are closer than 6 feet from other tables.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Well this is vacation and not work, passengers don't have professional quality PPE and in the dining room you are sitting for well over an hour unmasked near other tables. They already are closer than 6 feet from other tables.

Yes I know it’s not work. I mentioned it because it is considered the minimum conditions in which covid will spread. Our masks in radiology are the ear loop disposable type, nothing fancy. I order nicer quality masks on Amazon for my family. N95 is for someone who is actually caring for a covid patient, not for those having contact with the general public.

Our MDR tables on the Dream were easily more than 6’ apart. That was with 1600 passengers. Well tables were closer but people were not seated at them.

There were no other instances where the conditions I listed in pp would have occurred. I never felt unsafe.

Even if you ride in a full elevator, it isn’t unmasked for 15+ minutes.

 

[jenmiller114]

Even if you ride in a full elevator, it isn’t unmasked for 15+ minutes.

I didn't have a problem with the protocols on our cruise. I can't say I enjoyed them but I feel like they were making an effort to make the most of the situation and we had a great time. I did actually note on my comment card that the elevator rules were excessive. There was rarely a wait but after dinner there was a bit of a line. We always offered a ride to anyone else who was waiting. Some accepted and other declined. The elevator was plenty big enough for two parties. We stood at the back while they stood at the front. In one instance, we were waiting for an elevator. When the door opened, the people inside looked at us and pressed the button to close the door and kept going. I don't think anyone is going to force themselves Into an elevator with another party at this point, but I think it should be our choice if we are willing to spend 15 - 20 second with them in an effort to get people where they want to go.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

To date, DCL has not done anything to reduce capacities. It has reduced on its own. Once we reach the holidays, fewer parties will cancel/have cancelled. DCL will either be higher capacity or they will have to incentivize people to cancel.

 

[jktmom]

The hospital where I work defines an “exposure” as: being indoors, without PPE (masks/faceshields), less than 6’ away from someone with covid for at least 15 minutes.
Anything less than all of that (ie: 20 seconds on an elevator with everyone masked) would not be considered an exposure. >>> Get back to work.

so sitting in a crowded dining room back to back with someone with Covid would then be an exposure. Crowded dining Is the main thing I’m concerned about.

 

[Kwami]

so sitting in a crowded dining room back to back with someone with Covid would then be an exposure. Crowded dining Is the main thing I’m concerned about.

Yes. Also, those exposure guidelines were pre-Delta. And they aren't an exact science, anyway. Dining is probably the riskiest part of the cruise, which is why DCL is considering three seating times instead of two.

 

[daisyx3]

I sail 2 weeks from tomorrow. Had to do a 3 night due to work. I am hoping for 50% capacity, which is 2000 people, at max. But we are two adults so I am hoping for light numbers in the adult pools, etc. mostly, and a less crowded CC. It is the first Merrytime. I will post when I get back about it if it helps.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

so sitting in a crowded dining room back to back with someone with Covid would then be an exposure. Crowded dining Is the main thing I’m concerned about.

Only if you’re less than 6 feet away, as in your own table-mates.
If another party was less than 6’ away, I would ask to be moved. On our August Dream cruise we were at least 10’ away from others but that was then.

 

[kathi]

Only if you’re less than 6 feet away, as in your own table-mates.
If another party was less than 6’ away, I would ask to be moved. On our August Dream cruise we were at least 10’ away from others but that was then.

We were definitely closer than 6 feet to some tables on our September Dream and Fantasy Cruises. Particularly in Enchanted Garden. There were large tables near us that extended closer than I would have wished.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We were definitely closer than 6 feet to some tables on our September Dream and Fantasy Cruises. Particularly in Enchanted Garden. There were large tables near us that extended closer than I would have wished.

Why then would you not bring this to the attention of the head server? If passengers seem ok with this arrangement, they will keep pushing on their boundaries. When enough passengers complain, they will change their ways.

 

[jktmom]

Once we board on 11/1 I plan to go to dining and ask where are table is to make sure we have a table that we are comfortable with. I’ve also heard they close one dining room each night. They are fully staffed so they need to be keeping all 3 dining rooms open to allow for distancing.

 

[anjuan]

Once we board on 11/1 I plan to go to dining and ask where are table is to make sure we have a table that we are comfortable with. I’ve also heard they close one dining room each night. They are fully staffed so they need to be keeping all 3 dining rooms open to allow for distancing.

All three dining rooms were open on my Dream cruise this month.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

All three dining rooms were open on my Dream cruise this month.

On ours too. Maybe they keep areas open or closed based on the number of passengers sailing.

 

[jktmom]

On ours too. Maybe they keep areas open or closed based on the number of passengers sailing.

thanks! I hope that is the case. How was the spacing in the dinning rooms for your cruises? This is my main concern about cruising with a potentially higher capacity than we did earlier this month with 1400 passengers

 

[anjuan]

thanks! I hope that is the case. How was the spacing in the dinning rooms for your cruises? This is my main concern about cruising with a potentially higher capacity than we did earlier this month with 1400 passengers

I was fine with the amount of space between the tables for dinner. They seemed fairly far apart to me. The only time I thought it was a little closer was the one morning we had breakfast at Enchanted Garden.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

thanks! I hope that is the case. How was the spacing in the dinning rooms for your cruises? This is my main concern about cruising with a potentially higher capacity than we did earlier this month with 1400 passengers

We had 1600+ on the Dream and the nearest table was at least 10 feet. I would give them a chance and if it’s less than 6 feet, speak up. They want their guests to be happy.
I would ask your TA, or call if you booked directly, to request a table as far from others as they can. Perhaps there are certain tables that are more remote than others. Not that you want to be put in a corner, but different ppl have different comfort levels. Maybe you’d feel better along a wall than being in the center of the dining room where there is more foot traffic. It can’t hurt to ask.

 

[MomOTwins]

I was on the Dream 15-18 cruise and had to chuckle when I read this--amazing how different impressions can be. We never once felt the experience was reduced or that we were shut out of things or had to wait too long. To the contrary, this was our 3rd time sailing on the dream and it was the most enjoyable one we've ever done.

We rode the aquaduck many times and it ranged from walk-on to at most 10 minutes--nothing like the 45 minute waits I remember from 2019.

Yes we waited our turn to get into the family pool sometimes; however, often either Donald or Mickey was available even if the other had a line, so we'd just go to the open pool. And again that was at most 5-10 minutes, and we could watch funnel vision while we waited. I thought it was a good system and when our time was up in the pool, we often were able to just "loop" it and go back in if we wanted for the next 15 min session. Plus the experience in the pool was awesome and worth a little wait--much nicer to be able to relax and spread out in the pool than when it was kid soup pre-Covid, and there were always lots of poolside chairs available. There were two times where the Mickey pool was closed because someone's toddler had left a little "present" in the pool and it had to be shut down for cleaning (approx 3 hours downtime)--so if the person complaining about waits was trying to use the other pool at the time I could see how the line would be longer as there was only one pool available, but that's hardly Disney's fault. When that happened to us we just switched gears and played mini golf (with no wait).

We had a full theater for Beauty and the Beast the first night (main dining, so this was the 8:45 show) but it didn't fill up till right before the show started. I got in right at the end and the show started just a couple of minutes later. The fact that CM escorted you to a seat was much nicer than Pre-Covid when I'd have to climb over everyone to get to the middle of the row to find an empty seat only for someone to say the seat was saved. There was also a second opportunity to see the show on the last night, so I highly doubt anyone who wanted to see it had no ability to do so. We also watched one movie--Shang Chi--and no issue getting seats 5 mins before showtime.

We went to quite a few activities/game shows and they were not at capacity even though we always arrived no more than 5 minutes prior to the start. If someone got shut out due to capacity they were either really unlucky in their activity choices or they arrived late.

On Castaway Cay day, there were a decent amount of people on the island, but we still were able to find shaded loungers right up against the water at the family beach both in the morning and when we relocated to another part of the beach in the afternoon--which was never true on our prior Dream cruises. And while there was a line for food at Cookies at 12:30, it was 5 mins at most and we had no trouble getting a table.

We did have lines for soda and ice cream sometimes on the ship, but never more than 4-5 people in front of us. And it felt a lot less gross than when everyone's kids would be grabbing their own cups and cones and making a mess around the stations.

The kids club was the only thing that had less-than-stellar availability. We used our pre-booked session every day but could not book extra for our kids. That said, we still found lots of fun to do on the ships as a family and ended up really enjoying the sense of togetherness it forced on us. And when you add the sessions together, that's 5.5 hours over a 3 day cruise which is really plenty when you think about it.

I can see how if you were looking at September cruises and thinking that'd be what it's like, you might feel ripped off. But that's not really a sound strategy for researching cruises. This past weekend was a fall school break in many parts of the country. Disney did not even offer Florida resident rates for it until shortly before the cruise because of that. If you did a little research, you would know that going into the cruise it was going to be a LOT more crowded than the cruises before it. We knew that and went anyway and had a blast. I would caution the same for anyone planning a trip on Veteran's day weekend, Thanksgiving week, and Christmas--when school is out, crowd levels are up; that's just the way it is.

thanks! I hope that is the case. How was the spacing in the dinning rooms for your cruises? This is my main concern about cruising with a potentially higher capacity than we did earlier this month with 1400 passengers

The tables were spaced about the same as I remembered from pre-2020. We were not elbow to elbow with the other tables, but we weren't spread out either. I'd say 3-4 feet of open space between tables depending on the dining room and table location.

Edited to add, while we all have our own risk tolerances, I would rather be 3 feet away from another table on a ship where everyone tested negative just a day or two ago, than 10 feet away from a table on land where people could be unvaccinated or have a breakthough case and not know it. That's the same reason I didn't care at all that we were sharing elevators on the ship. YMMV.

 

[MomOTwins]

Sorry for the double post, but I realized I do know of one new protocol change: as of the 10/15 cruise, they stopped requiring masks for guests during spa treatments. They said they had installed new air filters so that masks could be optional. My masseuse still wore her mask. I wonder if that will trigger a change to the rainforest room system--though for our cruise, it was still one party at a time.