POLL: Who is canceling their cruise due to new CDC advisory on cruise travel?

[DCLMP]

There are reports from people onboard the Fantasy (or maybe Magic) that Vibe and Edge have been closed all cruise due to staffing shortages, and that there is an outbreak among entertainment crew, so it is always a possibility that shows get cancelled, or various offerings or activities like kids clubs or bingo get cancelled.

I mean, if crew have to stop working, there will be ripple effects.

Sounds like there will be a lot of unhappy teens on that cruise.

 

[DCLMP]

So far no one seems to be answering the poster’s question: Who is cancelling due to new CDC advisory? I hear a lot of folks cancelling or considering it because of potential closed ports, reduced activities, scaled back entertainment/kids programming/etc. But no one specially because of the CDC advisory. And I totally agree! Level 4 advisory same as traveling to Germany or Italy. And I would do that too. The cruise industry is going to take a beating in the press. They always do. We leave out on the Fantasy this Sunday Jan 2. Looking forward to it but prepared for it to be different. We have done 15+ Disney cruises. We can drive from NC and it’s just wife and I. Don’t really care too much about ports, and kids are grown. We are just hopeful for the Disney experience. I will take my chances on a half full ship run by Disney, with fully vaxxed population, that was tested before boarding. Where is the CDC advisory for going to a Knick game, out to dinner at a crowded restaurant, on a 6 hour cross country flight, packed into a subway train car, etc where none of the vaccine or testing protocols are in place. Wish us luck Sunday. We will report back.

I think the difference is being confined to a tiny cabin vs being at home. Lack of medical care being another if someone does become severely ill.

 

[Dug720]

So far no one seems to be answering the poster’s question: Who is cancelling due to new CDC advisory? I hear a lot of folks cancelling or considering it because of potential closed ports, reduced activities, scaled back entertainment/kids programming/etc. But no one specially because of the CDC advisory.

I think that is the answer. People here are not cancelling because of the CDC.

 

[Cheburashka]

Lack of medical care being another if someone does become severely ill.

Which doesn't tend to happen to vaccinated people who get Omicron. This is the mildest form of the virus yet.

 

[Pixarfans]

I was scheduled on the 2/19 MDAS Magic and would have kept that except as a teacher in a school system where the mayor and chancellor are determined to keep us in person I'm terrified of getting to the port and testing positive and being stuck. Nothing to do with the CDC (which IMHO seems to have it in for the industry since they aren't issuing any advisories about flying or amusement parks or such when those are clearly just as likely if not more to be super spreaders).

So I changed my Feb Break trip back to DL and moved the cruise to a 3-night Wish right before my WDW August trip.

Feb 2023 Wish may well become Feb 2023 Dream, but we'll see.

In a similar situation (also a teacher and also 2/19 mdas cruise). Did you do this switch before the 60 day mark or were they flexible with you? May end up on the Dream next year too…

 

[Dug720]

moved the cruise to a 3-night Wish right before my WDW August trip.

Just to note because I know a question about moving, etc. came up in a now-closed thread...

THIS was the best option I had outside of waiting until 2 weeks before my Feb cruise in order to get a refund (as my TA said, you're a teacher in the nation's largest public education system...you'd clearly have been exposed to people not getting pinged on random tests so i'd have no problem telling them that you were exposed). If I'd cancelled my Feb cruise outright (which was my intent as I had thought the DCL cancellation was now 30 days like a few other lines) I'd have lost the deposit because I'm within 60 days. BUT I was allowed to move it to anything OTHER than the Wish Maiden before Sept 2022. At first I thought I was going to just have to eat the deposit, but then looked and a 3-night Wish dovetailed perfectly with my already booked WDW vacation, so it all worked out.

 

[Dug720]

In a similar situation (also a teacher and also 2/19 mdas cruise). Did you do this switch before the 60 day mark or were they flexible with you? May end up on the Dream next year too…

I just explained above. I'm within 60 days, and I switched to a Wish cruise in August - I had to switch to something (anything other than the Wish Maiden) before September 2022 that was a new cruise or else lose my deposit.

I'm already booked on the Wish for Feb 2023, but may change that one to the Dream (I'm guessing since all the Dreams at that point are 5-nights that if MDAS continues it will go on the Dream).

So you should be able to move yours...but it would have to be to something before Sept 2022 - unless they move that date again.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We sail on Monday. Originally, we were a party of 13 (3 generations with 8 adults and 5 children). Now only us (the grandparents) are going because we are triple vaxxed and don't really do anything but sit on our balcony and drink wine and read when we cruise by ourselves. We have a one bedroom suite so we don't even have to go to the main dining rooms for meals. So, our risk is fairly low. I wasn't comfortable travelling with a fully unvaccinated 4 year old and 4 others between the ages of 7-10 who have only had one dose of vaccine. We have already selected our cruise for this time next year!

January 3?
We are on that one. Yes we are triple vaxed.

 

[KVH]

We're still trying to figure out the right thing to do. We've got a Wonder B2B concierge in April. Our last complete sailing was the '19 EBPC, right before all this crap happened (plus four cancellations after that) so we were really primed to go. Up until mid-December we were 100% committed to going, even with the latest news. But 2 weeks ago, DW was diagnosed with cancer. No chemo is scheduled but, since then, we've been changing our minds on what to do every other hour. If DCL would fill in the 5 blank months for late fall for the Wonder (another EBPC?) we'd switch in a heartbeat. But changing for anything less than a 10-day isn't really worth the effort.

 

[DMMarla07860]

Which doesn't tend to happen to vaccinated people who get Omicron. This is the mildest form of the virus yet.

Hopefully you are right. I have Lupus so my body attacks itself

 

[bcwife76]

We cancelled our Europe cruise because I just CAN'T with all the testing to get over there etc. As a CDN I'm well versed in testing to get places and to get home and it's stressful. However, not cancelling our Alaska cruise as we live 45 minutes from port. I'm ride or die, all in on that one baby

 

[DCLMP]

Which doesn't tend to happen to vaccinated people who get Omicron. This is the mildest form of the virus yet.

I guess time will tell.

 

[Pixarfans]

Just looked on the DCL website. Looks like they have updated the the flexibility of rescheduling a cruise through May. (Unless I’m misreading it!)

 

[emmabelle]

You’re right! It’s been changed.

 

[diznee princess]

Have Jan 29 Fantasy. If I could cancel I would. We are sailing on an interline rate which falls in the restrictive VGT category so its paid in full at booking and has a no cancelation no refund no moving dates period policy. We don't want to go to just stay on ship with limited activity and experiences. As it is, on board activities are sold out!
We want to be able to do castaway cay!
My husband is an airline pilot. Because of the shortage of crew he's been flying A Lot, so already worried he will be exposed in crowded airports and in hotels, shuttles etc. Don't want it get it on the cruise and and be stuck in our room the whole time either. Ugh. Hopefully it isn't worse at end of month. But looks like it's hanging around.

 

[lanejudy]

My husband and I would like to cancel but a couple days before Omicron was even on the news, we booked a Restricted GTY room. So that means it’s non-refundable and non-transferable. . If we could, we’d at least transfer our funds to our October cruise.

You can cancel for a full refund within 14 days of embarkation if you have been exposed or have symptoms. As someone upthread mentioned, it’s pretty hard to not be exposed at this point.

 

[Buzzster]

We have the Greek Isles in June, rescheduled from last time. i Have a sneaking suspicion we might be screwed again. Uuuuuugggghhhhhh

 

[KMack]

I think the most important lesson of the past nearly two years is that anything, and everything is a possibility.

You have no idea how true this is! I was on the Wonder on the WBPC when the pandemic hit North America. We were refused entry to every port after Grand Cayman and arrived in San Diego two days early, the day after the state went into lockdown and the Canadian border closed. It was a very interesting time and I learned that you have to be incredibly flexible and expect just about anything.... if someone had told me before I arrived in New Orleans that the world would be on fire three weeks later with states going into lockdown and the Canadian-US border closed, I would have said they were crazy. But, three weeks later, that was exactly what happened!

 

[Dug720]

My parents just moved their Dream cruise that was to leave Monday to a Dream cruise in May.

 

[DCLMP]

Have Jan 29 Fantasy. If I could cancel I would. We are sailing on an interline rate which falls in the restrictive VGT category so its paid in full at booking and has a no cancelation no refund no moving dates period policy. We don't want to go to just stay on ship with limited activity and experiences. As it is, on board activities are sold out!
We want to be able to do castaway cay!
My husband is an airline pilot. Because of the shortage of crew he's been flying A Lot, so already worried he will be exposed in crowded airports and in hotels, shuttles etc. Don't want it get it on the cruise and and be stuck in our room the whole time either. Ugh. Hopefully it isn't worse at end of month. But looks like it's hanging around.

Are you sure about your cancellation policy? It can vary with those rates depending on when you booked it. Regardless if you really want to cancel I would call DCL these are different circumstances. I’ve found them to be very accommodating even pre-Covid.