Uhm....Bahamas is now requiring vaccinations for all passengers over 12..

[DCLDVC1]

Some people, some cruise lines, accepted future cruise credit, in excess of what they paid, instead of cash refunds. Some say "sales are through the roof" because people need to book before they expire.

I bet DCL's "sales are through the roof" for cruises through the end of September 2022.

 

[sethschroeder]

Anything yet? I’d rather check here than other sources!

Nothing yet and the more time without any news the more time there is for Celebrity or Royal Caribbean to convince me I should just switch to an actual 7/8 night sailing through them instead of keeping my B2B.

I suspect if they require vaccination they will once again give an out to anyone to cancel their cruise.

 

[Ikaikalani]

Nothing yet and the more time without any news the more time there is for Celebrity or Royal Caribbean to convince me I should just switch to an actual 7/8 night sailing through them instead of keeping my B2B.

I suspect if they require vaccination they will once again give an out to anyone to cancel their cruise.

I'm surprised to see that you can still go to dcl website and book a 3 night Dream cruise to Nassau and CC for a Set 10 sailing. I'd like to think they would lock these departures until they can verify their destination ports.

 

[jrapps]

I'm surprised to see that you can still go to dcl website and book a 3 night Dream cruise to Nassau and CC for a Set 10 sailing. I'd like to think they would lock these departures until they can verify their destination ports.

The fact that these cruises are still for sale is a good sign that they won't be canceled... Or just a sign that Disney's IT team is lazy, incompetent, or just swamped.

 

[sethschroeder]

The fact that these cruises are still for sale is a good sign that they won't be canceled... Or just a sign that Disney's IT team is lazy, incompetent, or just swamped.

They legit didn't do anything with Fantasy until the moment they started sending out emails about cancelling the 7 days down to a 4 day cruise.

 

[Marrila]

They legit didn't do anything with Fantasy until the moment they started sending out emails about cancelling the 7 days down to a 4 day cruise.

Any chance this is a cash flow thing? Instead of timely notice, are they keeping cash banked as long as possible?

 

[jrapps]

Okay…I’ve been following this very closely…DD turns 12 during our December cruise….I was surprised bc to hear “7 weeks” as though there’d been some sort of announcement that I missed!! Using the Pfizer timeline as a guesstimate makes sense. I really hope it’s that soon…or sooner!

There's definitely going to be a lot of unknowns, and thus a lot of risk, in the overlap between vaccinating younger children, and vaccine requirements for cruising.

On one hand the Bahamas rule only goes until November 1st although we all fully expect that to be extended after that date. If it does get extended I'm sure at some point in the future the age will be lowered once vaccines are available for younger ages.

As for when those vaccines will be available that's probably the biggest unknown of all. They publicly said they expect the data to be ready by the end of September. You're absolute best case scenario is it is fast tracked and approved for kids to use by mid to end of October. Worst case they take their time and really study the data And they don't become available until sometime around December.

Turning 12 during the cruise is probably the biggest risk to you right now. Traditionally the cruise lines go by whatever your age is on the date the ship sails For things like kids club registration. No idea how that works in a covid world if they let your child board because they're 11, but if they turn 12 before you get to an island it causes problems.

 

[Clojel]

There's definitely going to be a lot of unknowns, and thus a lot of risk, in the overlap between vaccinating younger children, and vaccine requirements for cruising.

On one hand the Bahamas rule only goes until November 1st although we all fully expect that to be extended after that date. If it does get extended I'm sure at some point in the future the age will be lowered once vaccines are available for younger ages.

As for when those vaccines will be available that's probably the biggest unknown of all. They publicly said they expect the data to be ready by the end of September. You're absolute best case scenario is it is fast tracked and approved for kids to use by mid to end of October. Worst case they take their time and really study the data And they don't become available until sometime around December.

Turning 12 during the cruise is probably the biggest risk to you right now. Traditionally the cruise lines go by whatever your age is on the date the ship sails For things like kids club registration. No idea how that works in a covid world if they let your child board because they're 11, but if they turn 12 before you get to an island it causes problems.

Yes..hence why I’ve been following closely- haha! DD is already on the wait list at her pediatrician’s office to get vaccinated the minute we get the green light for her age. I ASSUME she’ll be able to be vaccinated in time…from what I’ve read, both the CDC and the APA are putting pressure on the FDA to approve for EUA as soon as possible once they have the data … but we’re definitely in a sticky situation.

DD actually turns 12 the day we disembark- so theoretically ports won’t be an issue and worst case is she’ll be subject to the disembark testing. But we’ll see, I guess. We’re concierge too…so that’s added pressure

 

[jrapps]

Yes..hence why I’ve been following closely- haha! DD is already on the wait list at her pediatrician’s office to get vaccinated the minute we get the green light for her age. I ASSUME she’ll be able to be vaccinated in time…from what I’ve read, both the CDC and the APA are putting pressure on the FDA to approve for EUA as soon as possible once they have the data … but we’re definitely in a sticky situation.

DD actually turns 12 the day we disembark- so theoretically ports won’t be an issue and worst case is she’ll be subject to the disembark testing. But we’ll see, I guess. We’re concierge too…so that’s added pressure

If she doesn't actually turn 12 until the day you disembark the cruise then I think you will be perfectly fine even if she doesn't get it prior to that date.

Fingers crossed that they fast track it and it won't be an issue either way.

 

[Girl of the South]

Interesting that the email sent out to folks cruising on the Fantasy letting them know they could cancel up until September 1st. Which is the exact date that the new mandate from the Bahamas is in effect. Maybe just an easy date to remember.

 

[orum]

Interesting that the email sent out to folks cruising on the Fantasy letting them know they could cancel up until September 1st. Which is the exact date that the new mandate from the Bahamas is in effect. Maybe just an easy date to remember.

I wouldn't read that much into the date. It also aligned with the startup of Fantasy cruises and their test cruise dates, similar to the ones on the Dream.

 

[Tasmen]

Interesting that the email sent out to folks cruising on the Fantasy letting them know they could cancel up until September 1st. Which is the exact date that the new mandate from the Bahamas is in effect. Maybe just an easy date to remember.

It is probably just a 1st of the month thing and nothing more.

 

[soniam]

Isn't Pfizer is hoping for the end of September to release their results? If that is the case then there will be a week or two before filing for EUA. EUA approval may or may not take longer than prior groups due to age

It has taken 2-3 weeks before. I had previously read that the FDA/CDC were going to be more cautious with the approval for kids. However, with the current situation, maybe it will be on the quicker side. I hope it is. I know that I was very thankful once our son was eligible. I would be constantly worried about him in school without being vaccinated, especially if the state mandate preventing mask mandates ends up superseding our local school's mask mandate.

 

[auntlynne]

I'm looking at that one too, but the testing 3 days before is stressing me out... I haven't found a place within a 1-hour drive from where I live that offers a test that qualifies.

thepointsguy has an article about testing for travel, which includes information about mail-in tests. If you can get overnight delivery from your hometown, perhaps you could try this.

 

[auntlynne]

The fact that these cruises are still for sale is a good sign that they won't be canceled... Or just a sign that Disney's IT team is lazy, incompetent, or just swamped.

We‘ve been saying that since last year. They pushed cancellations to the last minute while cruisers couldn’t / wouldn’t make alternate plans. Not even a break for Concierge with Non-changeable deposits.

 

[Freeman867]

Any chance this is a cash flow thing? Instead of timely notice, are they keeping cash banked as long as possible?

I'm 99.9999% sure cash flow is not Disney's problem...

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

Daaamn. DCL is in a real bind here. They're going to have to either stop or join NCLs lawsuit, IMO.

NCL wants fully vaxed cruises. DCL would have to join DeSantis’ side.

 

[rere101399]

Ugh now I’m stressing over something new. DH and I are vaxed, kids are 8 and 10, we sail Nov. 6. If they require the vax to sail, and the vax for kids gets approved sometime between the end ofSeptember and Nov 6, then there’s no way my kids will be fully vaxed by then. Grrrr! I want them to require vaxes and I want to vax my kids but that timeline could seriously mess up our plans.

 

[jrapps]

Ugh now I’m stressing over something new. DH and I are vaxed, kids are 8 and 10, we sail Nov. 6. If they require the vax to sail, and the vax for kids gets approved sometime between the end ofSeptember and Nov 6, then there’s no way my kids will be fully vaxed by then. Grrrr! I want them to require vaxes and I want to vax my kids but that timeline could seriously mess up our plans.

I have no doubt that once they approve the vaccine for lower age groups, there will be a grace period to give them time to get vaccinated.

Hypotheticaly, if it gets approved on October 1st, even if you got your first shot that day, the earliest you'd be fully vaccinated would be November 5th. My guess is whatever day they approve it, they won't require it for cruises for at least 8 weeks.

 

[charmed59]

NCL wants fully vaxed cruises. DCL would have to join DeSantis’ side.

DeSantis has no say over laws in the Bahamas. They are the ones requiring a fully vaxed ship.

DeSantis is preventing fully vaxed ships sailing out of Florida by making it illegal to require vaccination status from their
Cruise guests.

Disney only needs fully vaccinated ships (of those eligible to be vaccinated) if they want to go somewhere like the Bahamas that requires it. Unfortunately, their private island is in the Bahamas.

Right now NCL can sail fully vaccinated ships out of Florida because they are suing DeSantis and a judge said they could proceed for now as though they have won the suit. So NCL can stop in the Bahamas. Disney would have to join the NCL suit to be able to do the same or risk being fined by the state of Florida for each person they required to show their vaccination status.