Magic Going to Europe this Year?

[diablodancer]

We are thinking to book the 1e Med cruise, hopefully they will go ahead as scheduled. Are the embarkation requirment (like testing at port) the same as in US ?

Yes, all measures are the same onboard fleet wide. The only time there’s been some slight variation has been where local requirements mandate it (eg one of the Panama Canal cruises didn’t have kids under a certain age as they couldn’t be vaccinated due to requirements by the ports it was going to).

 

[oufpat]

We are booked on the British Isles Cruise Sept 2022, we are cautiously optimistic, but I'm still not ready to book airfare. My biggest fear is testing positive for the return flight and all the logistics of being quarantined in Europe.

 

[Intr3pid]

This doesn't really describe what the Magic did. She didn't cruise Europe, she did short at-sea cruises in with strict limits on who could sail.

Hopefully the new omicron BA.2 strain will not create a significant increase in cases and the European season can be more normal.

UK is a part of Europe, and Magic started cruising over there earlier than it did in Florida. Cruising, in general, has been up and running in Europe since August 2020.

Now with UK and Denmark removing all restrictions, we can hopefully get an early window into how cruising out of Copenhagen and Dover will be in a couple of months.

 

[gismo1554]

UK is a part of Europe, and Magic started cruising over there earlier than it did in Florida. Cruising, in general, has been up and running in Europe since August 2020.

Now with UK and Denmark removing all restrictions, we can hopefully get an early window into how cruising out of Copenhagen and Dover will be in a couple of months.

Not going to get into the debate of if we are now part of Europe or not but just to say that the UK has not removed all restrictions. England will remove all restrictions soon. Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland have not announced they are removing all restrictions. In Wales we still have mask wearing on public transport and are still requiring isolation etc. Throughout this pandemic we have had different requirements to England so until we announce we are all dropping restrictions the UK has not.

 

[PirateFrank]

Testing might not even be required by Summer. Things are changing every day and new problems cropping up. I would not base any decisions on what going on today for a vacation 4-6 months from now.

I think the decision process is an individual one. No one knows what is going to happen in the next 4-6 months. However, what we do know DCL reduced the PIF date to 30 days for the may cruises out of Barcelona (one of the european countries holding on to pretty strict covid travel rules). To me, thats an obvious indicator DCL isn't planning on releasing any covid protocols for the euro cruises until late march or early April. Unfortunately, If anyone wants to book alternate plans they need to booking those plans now, not in April. By April, summer accommodations/options will be drying or dried up.

Also, basing decisions on an assumption (that things will be better) may be viewed as risky by some. I personally see the cruise industry as the very last travel entity to abandon testing requirements...and amongst cruise lines, DCL will be the last to do so. The prudent thing is to base your decisions on the most recent information you have available. If you base your decisions on what DCL is currently doing and you're OK with that, then if they improve and you've decided to hang in, great! But if you are basing your decision on the hope that things will be better, but would otherwise bail if they dont improve, I would not bet on things improving at the risk of foreclosing on alternate vacation plans.

I’m seriously wondering if it makes sense to cancel our wish Sailing end of August and maybe look out for super good deals on the European Sailings

I booked my 12-day Mediterranean cruise on the first day I was able to last year. If I booked the same category today, I would have to spend at least $8,000 on top of what I booked it for last year. Im not sure DCL is planning on striking any "deals" on these euro cruises. Looks to be exactly the opposite, actually.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I booked my 12-day Mediterranean cruise on the first day I was able to last year. If I booked the same category today, I would have to spend at least $8,000 on top of what I booked it for last year. Im not sure DCL is planning on striking any "deals" on these euro cruises. Looks to be exactly the opposite, actually.

I booked the September Norwegian Fjords on the first day I was able to last year. I just checked, the Guaranteed Inside Stateroom is almost $300 more than what I paid to choose my room. It will be interesting to see how much the prices go up.

 

[yowcruiser]

There is no doubt that the Magic is going to Europe... DCL has even modified payment deadlines in anticipation of differences in health protocols they may need to apply on some of the early departures from/to non-US ports.... Now, could we see some further itinerary changes... maybe... but I am not too worried at the moment...

 

[Intr3pid]

I’m seriously wondering if it makes sense to cancel our wish Sailing end of August and maybe look out for super good deals on the European Sailings

Yes, the deals are starting to emerge. Any sailing in July onwards is still too far out for the discounts, but here is an example from May:



In other words, the current *GT prices are 25% off the opening prices, and 34% off the peak. It's starting to mirror what's been going on in Florida all winter.

https://touringplans.com/disney-cru...&cruise=2700&roomcat=bal&occupancy_group_id=1

 

[Annabell]

Prices look very good but these are restricted rates, right ? You can not change, cancel or get a refund. You have to be very sure before you book. May not be a good idea in covid time.

 

[Intr3pid]

Prices look very good but these are restricted rates, right ? You can not change, cancel or get a refund. You have to be very sure before you book. May not be a good idea in covid time.

Correct, but you still have a 15-day date change and 14-day COVID refund policy in place. Inside 60 days, *GT is is also where Florida's best rates have been.

 

[tidefan]

I think you are also perhaps going to get a number of people (like us) that had FCC from last year that we used to book a Wish cruise this summer that has been cancelled. You can stack the FCC and 50% off (and a placeholder discount if you had that) all together which makes these cruises extremely reasonable, especially for Disney Cruises. I think you will see people using these credits/discounts and these will stay booked to a degree. Also, most airlines have waived change fees (well, outside of Basic Economy), so the economic side of things is more mitigated, especially with good travel insurance. However, I can understand the emotional aspect and the potential logistical nightmare of a potential positive test at the port.

Question though. If the cruise is operating in Europe outside of US waters, is it subject to CDC guidance or ECDC?

 

[Sykes]

Question though. If the cruise is operating in Europe outside of US waters, is it subject to CDC guidance or ECDC?

They wouldn't be subject to US CDC rules when operating exclusively within Europe, but I suspect that they may continue to participate in the voluntary CDC program anyway so that the ship doesn't turn gray on the CDC dashboard.

 

[tidefan]

They wouldn't be subject to US CDC rules when operating exclusively within Europe, but I suspect that they may continue to participate in the voluntary CDC program anyway so that the ship doesn't turn gray on the CDC dashboard.

Yes, but wouldn't the ship fall under the European CDC (ECDC) at that point? I believe that the ECDC has their own guidelines as well (though I couldn't tell you what they are...)

 

[tidefan]

Breaking news from Italy... (read quick because the "pay" window pops up after about 15 seconds...)

https://www.thelocal.it/20220222/latest-italy-to-ease-covid-rules-for-non-eu-arrivals-on-march-1st/

 

[Mommb]

They wouldn't be subject to US CDC rules when operating exclusively within Europe, but I suspect that they may continue to participate in the voluntary CDC program anyway so that the ship doesn't turn gray on the CDC dashboard.

Last year the Magic did not appear on the CDC dashboard while it was in Europe. Given that the ship is licensed in the Bahamas, the CDC has no reason to monitor it while its cruises are not entering US waters.

 

[DCLMP]

Full expect the Magic sailings to go ahead but could see some changes to itinerary’s as and when needed to adapt to any new variants/waves etc.

What I am curious about is whether the Northern Europe itineries might be changed due to potential sanctions on Russia and potentially the security situation there (there was a US warning out for potential bombings in St Petersburg and Moscow yesterday, for example).

I think the decision process is an individual one. No one knows what is going to happen in the next 4-6 months. However, what we do know DCL reduced the PIF date to 30 days for the may cruises out of Barcelona (one of the european countries holding on to pretty strict covid travel rules). To me, thats an obvious indicator DCL isn't planning on releasing any covid protocols for the euro cruises until late march or early April. Unfortunately, If anyone wants to book alternate plans they need to booking those plans now, not in April. By April, summer accommodations/options will be drying or dried up.

Also, basing decisions on an assumption (that things will be better) may be viewed as risky by some. I personally see the cruise industry as the very last travel entity to abandon testing requirements...and amongst cruise lines, DCL will be the last to do so. The prudent thing is to base your decisions on the most recent information you have available. If you base your decisions on what DCL is currently doing and you're OK with that, then if they improve and you've decided to hang in, great! But if you are basing your decision on the hope that things will be better, but would otherwise bail if they dont improve, I would not bet on things improving at the risk of foreclosing on alternate vacation plans.



I booked my 12-day Mediterranean cruise on the first day I was able to last year. If I booked the same category today, I would have to spend at least $8,000 on top of what I booked it for last year. Im not sure DCL is planning on striking any "deals" on these euro cruises. Looks to be exactly the opposite, actually.

There’s no reason to base my decision on what they are currently doing. I’ll make a decision the day before Payment is due. If I had to make decision today I’d cancel which would be silly since the reason I’m cancelling may not even be valid in 4 months.

 

[Intr3pid]

Breaking news from Italy... (read quick because the "pay" window pops up after about 15 seconds...)

https://www.thelocal.it/20220222/latest-italy-to-ease-covid-rules-for-non-eu-arrivals-on-march-1st/

Here is the full text:

Italy will no longer require travellers to show both proof of vaccination or recovery from Covid and a negative test result, the health minister said on Tuesday.

---------------------------

“Starting from March 1st, for arrivals from all non-European countries, the same rules already established for European countries will be in force,” wrote Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza on his Facebook page.

He said either a vaccination certificate, recovery certificate or negative test result would be sufficient for entry to Italy from that date.

The change means arrivals from non-EU countries from February will no longer need to show both proof of vaccination or recent recovery plus a negative test result, as is currently the case.

It also appears to mean the removal of the requirement for unvaccinated passengers to quarantine for five days on arrival, and the lifting of restrictions on non-essential travel from ‘list E’ countries.

The health ministry has not yet updated official travel information on its website, and no further details of the new rules were immediately available.

Speranza’s announcement came shortly after a recommendation on Tuesday from the EU council, made up of member states, that all countries “should lift the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU for people vaccinated with an EU or WHO approved vaccine, provided they have received the last dose of the primary vaccination cycle at least 14 days ago and no more than 270 days prior to arrival, or have received a booster dose.”

Separately to the requirements for travel, Italy has recently expanded the use of its domestic ‘green pass’ proving vaccination, testing or recovery.

Italy operates a two-tiered health certificate system, meaning proof of vaccination or recovery (not a negative test result) is currently needed for access to everything from hotels and restaurants to public transport under rules set to stay in force until at least March 31st.

Travellers from any other European member state can show their country’s version of the green pass, or health pass – which is recognised on par with Italy’s – to gain access to all venues where it is required.

Italy also recently announced special exceptions for some non-EU tourists meaning they may not have to show the same proof of vaccination as residents.

The Italian health ministry is set to review its other travel restrictions for arrivals by March 15th.

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[Intr3pid]

Looks like it's not just Italy. All of EU will have uniform rules going forward. No entry tests needed. Will be a big logistical relief to cruise lines hitting multiple EU ports/countries.
https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle...-fully-vaccinated-travel-rules-easter-1475008

 

[AquaDame]

Great news for those who don't have to test for entry back to their home country... still waiting here in the US.

 

[lanejudy]

Yes, but wouldn't the ship fall under the European CDC (ECDC) at that point? I believe that the ECDC has their own guidelines as well (though I couldn't tell you what they are...)

I don't know about an "ECDC" exactly, but to your point, yes the Magic would be subject to any European or local rules for the ports they use on those itineraries. The US CDC rules would not apply, though they could continue CDC rules if the European rules are not as strict and don't contradict. I don't know why they would, but they can do "more" than the minimum required by any governing body.