How are the April/May cruisers feeling at this point?

[LeslieG]

I have the May Hawaii to Vancouver booked, but as a backup I have Alasaka RT Seattle booked on HAL. I am hoping by the paid in full date we will know if all the testing requirements have changed. I won't chance flying to Hawaii if DCL requires testing at port. Too risky. Sound like Hawaii Safe Travels will soon be gone, and the next hurdle is whether Canada will change their requirements for testing.

 

[HeatherLassell]

We had booked and paid in full for both Hawaii cruises. We just cancelled the Honolulu to Vancouver leg, electing to book a stay at Aulani after the Vancouver to Honolulu cruise instead. We will have to test to enter Canada for that cruise, can cancel it under the 14-day process if either of us tests positive, and then will still have time to cancel the Aulani stay with full refund. We have booked refundable airfares, originally round trip for Vancouver and now changed to include both the flight to Vancouver and the flight home from Honolulu. We are vaxed and boosted.

Canada is making an announcement about pre-arrival testing for vaccinated people. Keep an eye out for the next week or so.

 

[ChicosWife]

Sounds like dominoes are starting to fall with masks. NCL is dropping their indoor mask requirements for fully vaccinated guests as well. Wouldn't be surprise if DCL follows suit.

That being said, the vax requirements are going away any time soon. And the testing will remain in place for a while too. What NCL is doing is getting rid of their free at the port testing, and allowing the 2-days prior testing (at the guest's expense). They will also still offer at the port testing, but again at a cost. I personally like this as it gives more flexibility (e.g. I can get tested before we leave town and with a rapid antigen know if I'm positive before I even get on I-95 south towards FL) but I know there are mixed opinions on it. I think the main reason cruise lines are making that switch is cost. Imagine that DCL has to front the costs for all the at the port testing. So if they shift to 2-days prior, it shifts the cost to the consumer.

This would be great! We live on the West Coast and will be flying to Orlando for the cruise. I would rest much easier knowing that we don't have to worry about traveling all that way (excited AF) only to be turned away at the port! We went to Jamaica in October and had the 3-day testing requirement prior to arrival and I was okay with that, because, at the very least, we knew before we made the journey.

 

[mousefan73]

Sounds like dominoes are starting to fall with masks. NCL is dropping their indoor mask requirements for fully vaccinated guests as well. Wouldn't be surprise if DCL follows suit.

That being said, the vax requirements are going away any time soon. And the testing will remain in place for a while too. What NCL is doing is getting rid of their free at the port testing, and allowing the 2-days prior testing (at the guest's expense). They will also still offer at the port testing, but again at a cost. I personally like this as it gives more flexibility (e.g. I can get tested before we leave town and with a rapid antigen know if I'm positive before I even get on I-95 south towards FL) but I know there are mixed opinions on it. I think the main reason cruise lines are making that switch is cost. Imagine that DCL has to front the costs for all the at the port testing. So if they shift to 2-days prior, it shifts the cost to the consumer.

I would love if Disney took up how NCL is doing it. Gives you the choice. Either pay yourself ahead of time or if you have issues finding a test in your area you have the option of getting tested at port. That was one of the reasons we booked DCL back in December because we didn’t want to deal with the stress of having to find a testing facility in Miami Ourselves and making sure the results came in the right time frame. I hope if they continue testing they still keep the option of being able to get tested at Port. I understand it’s not ideal because many have already invested time and money getting to that point but I’m also worried about something going wrong in getting my test done before hand. And so that’s a last minute option

 

[dreynolds1982]

I would love if Disney took up how NCL is doing it. Gives you the choice. Either pay yourself ahead of time or if you have issues finding a test in your area you have the option of getting tested at port. That was one of the reasons we booked DCL back in December because we didn’t want to deal with the stress of having to find a testing facility in Miami Ourselves and making sure the results came in the right time frame. I hope if they continue testing they still keep the option of being able to get tested at Port. I understand it’s not ideal because many have already invested time and money getting to that point but I’m also worried about something going wrong in getting my test done before hand. And so that’s a last minute option

I agree, I think they should offer both options for maximum flexibility.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Just curious as to how everyone who has cruises booked for late spring are feeling about things. We have a 5 day cruise on the Magic planned for the end of April, so this week is our final payment due date. We are traveling with my kids (12 and 15), my adult brother, and my parents (in their 70's but very healthy). We were booked originally for April of 2020 so this trip has been a long time coming. I had really hoped things would be in a different place in regards to COVID by now, and that we could travel in a mainly "normal" way without a lot of stress and uncertainty. Seeing as that will not likely be the case for a while, we are having a very tough time deciding if we should cancel or make the final payment. While I realize that this is a personal decision for everyone based on individual situations, I would love to hear how some on the board who are booked in the same time frame are feeling. We will be traveling by plane, so I am a little concerned about getting to the port and testing positive as well as having ports and activities cancelled. My 15 year old daughter is concerned that there will not be enough for her to do onboard if the options of activities are pared down. It is a double dip to CC, so thinking the odds of those stops getting cancelled are lower than for other ports not owned by Disney?

The tough thing for us is that we do not want to end up needing to cancel after final payment and before the 14 day point if things would COVID would get worse again, as for a number of reasons, we would not be able to cruise next year and use the credit. I SO wish we had an extra month to make the call though! I have considered cancelling and rebooking close to the cruise when we had a better idea of how things would be by that point, as things seem to be changing so rapidly and *could* be in a much better place by spring, but I know that would be risky if there were not rooms available last minute and obviously we would lose the rooms we carefully selected.

Long story short...I am feeling really conflicted and would love to hear how other spring cruisers are feeling! Thank you!

We're on an October cruise and I'm not feeling good about that!

 

[mullysisters]

We booked the repo cruise from San Diego to Vancouver. We cancelled and rebooked an Alaskan cruise instead wanting to embark and disembark from Canada. We were going to visit DL before our cruise. I couldn't imagine being so close to DL but not visiting because of the chance we could pick up Covid and test positive at the port. Also, if we somehow test positive in Vancouver we can still get home (more) easily. Now I believe that by July 18th there will be no testing to board and hopefully no masks. No regrets, still I would rather have seen San Diego, DL and San Francisco than Alaska. Warm weather and sunshine in April beats cold weather and black flies in July.

 

[RysMomma]

We're on an August cruise (rescheduled from August 2020) and I'm just reading these boards and keeping my fingers crossed! Good luck everyone!