Will Disney change policy now that CDC lifted cruise rules?

[amysmith282]

You can take one before you fly. It doesn't mean you won't test positive at the port, but if you test positive before flying, you can go ahead and cancel.

Yes, I completely understand that but just wish if we did a PCR 2 days before, that would eliminate testing at the site.

 

[mmouse37]

Yes, and the wide availability of vaccines.. Not speaking for parents of younger kids because I frankly don't know what I would do there . . . But being 3x'd vaccinated and taking moderate precautions, we've not been too inconvenienced. We are lucky that our workplaces have been remote supportive.

This asynchronicity between countries and Covid restrictions has affected our choices around DCL (it's been over two years ). . . We've grown to enjoy the longer and more distant cruises over FL-Bahamas runs.

Nevertheless, we are about to cancel our booked-on-the-first-day Vcvr=>Hawaii=>Vcvr back-to-back's (ouch).
The complexities & risks of getting CoVid or simply testing positive on the flights to/from Canada, connections in Vancouver, port visits in/out of Hawaii . . . (then, repeat-in-reverse) are daunting. Not even interested in the possibility of a quarantine.

Now booked on the NYC-SanJuan repo that leaves Oct 31st, from the incredibly convenient-for-us Manhattan Cruise Terminal.
One train (that morning!) and then a taxi or a bus.
Non-stop, non-international flight home from Puerto Rico.

Realizing these are incredibly fortunate problems to have, but this is the DisBoards right?

We are on the HNL to VYR cruise and are not giving up yet (though it crosses my mind often). I will wait and see what protocols are or are not in place in a few weeks. Your new choice sounds wonderful too.....we also find it so convenient to sail from NY...its only about 30 minutes by car from us so will keep that cruise in mind as an alternative!

Hoping DCL will do some kind of onboard testing for the Hawaii cruises to make it easier for people to enter Canada.

MJ

 

[Starwind]

I wish there was a way to get and see the stats on port testing. how many were positive and how many were from past infections in the end. Not even sure if you can diagnostically see that. ??? But it would be interesting to new a graph over time on port testing resutls. but we know that will never be made public.

I believe there is some more advamced laboratory work that can distinguish out active vs previous infections, but not something that is usually done.

That said, there are now reports of people with omicron getting reinfected as soon as three weeks after a previous infection with it. And that is an actual reinfection, not testing positive because of the previous infection. It will be interesting to see if in the future there are enough of those cases that it ends up changing the "90 day prior infection" windows that currently exist.

For foreign travelers coming to the US to cruise, the US requires testing before entry with some exceptions. Although the minimum test required is an antigen test, they will accept a PCR or NAAT, though the 1 day window the test has to be taken in may make getting a PCR test difficult or very expensive. It does at least add a layer of test before starting one's trip.

 

[DisneyConvert]

We are on the HNL to VYR cruise and are not giving up yet (though it crosses my mind often). I will wait and see what protocols are or are not in place in a few weeks. Your new choice sounds wonderful too.....we also find it so convenient to sail from NY...its only about 30 minutes by car from us so will keep that cruise in mind as an alternative!
MJ

We are hoping for the best . . . for everyone (incl. the incredible cast-members who depend on DCL guests!).

The NYC <=> Bermuda cruise we did 2+ years ago was a blast. So easy to do, early Fall is magnificent in Bermuda, and yes the HotHS was fun. Below - DW on our Cat6A veranda as we pass through the upper NY Harbor!.

Let's all hope the next variant will be more benign and we can move forward.

 

[mmouse37]

We are hoping for the best . . . for everyone (incl. the incredible cast-members who depend on DCL guests!).

The NYC <=> Bermuda cruise we did 2+ years ago was a blast. So easy to do, early Fall is magnificent in Bermuda, and yes the HotHS was fun. Below - DW on our Cat6A veranda as we pass through the upper NY Harbor!View attachment 643328.

Let's all hope the next variant will be more benign and we can move forward.

Beautiful pic. We love sailing DCL out of NY. We have done several NY Bahamas cruises with stops at PC/WDW and CC. Those are great and so convenient! A few years back we did the Quebec City to NYC cruise. That was awesome too. We rented cars one way to get up to Quebec and cruised back to NY. Haven't done the Bermuda one from NY...its on the list!

Its just beautiful sailing down the Hudson River.

 

[slindamood]

Beautiful!

Among my best DCL experiences have been sailing in and out of NYC. The 2015 Eastbound Transatlantic sailed into NYC as a port day, having departed from Canaveral. The 2018 WBTA ended in NYC and sailed up the Hudson just as the sky was getting light and the Statue of Liberty getting the first rays of sun.

 

[mmouse37]

Beautiful!

Among my best DCL experiences have been sailing in and out of NYC. The 2015 Eastbound Transatlantic sailed into NYC as a port day, having departed from Canaveral. The 2018 WBTA ended in NYC and sailed up the Hudson just as the sky was getting light and the Statue of Liberty getting the first rays of sun.

haha I was on the 2015 EBTA. Funny story. Of course I overpacked and when we stopped in NYC as our first stop I called our son and asked him to meet us at the port (30 minutes away). I gave him some clothes and things I realized I would not need. I walked off the ship and met him right out front. It was great!! I was also on the 2016 WBTA from Barcelona to NYC.

MJ

 

[dreynolds1982]

Agree with others that I don't think things will change any time soon. I do wish they would add the option to test 2-days prior like other cruise lines. Not at the expense of the at-port testing, but in addition to. That would add a great deal of flexibility. We are driving down 2-days early and doing 2nts on WDW property before the cruise. If I could test 48 hrs out, I could do a quick test on my way out of town that morning. I would have the results before I was even out of the state of SC, so that way if I tested positive, much easier to adjust my plans then. And if I tested negative, then I can start my vaca stress free. As it stands now, I'm going to be stressing about this all day every day until I get my results at the port.

That all being said, I'm going to test myself a few times prior regardless, and even will bring one of these freebie gov't tests I ordered so I can test the morning of the cruise. But even if ALL of those come out negative, I could still potentially be positive at the port so it will only do so much to ease my anxiety!

 

[Kwami]

Agree with others that I don't think things will change any time soon. I do wish they would add the option to test 2-days prior like other cruise lines. Not at the expense of the at-port testing, but in addition to. That would add a great deal of flexibility. We are driving down 2-days early and doing 2nts on WDW property before the cruise. If I could test 48 hrs out, I could do a quick test on my way out of town that morning. I would have the results before I was even out of the state of SC, so that way if I tested positive, much easier to adjust my plans then. And if I tested negative, then I can start my vaca stress free. As it stands now, I'm going to be stressing about this all day every day until I get my results at the port.

Sure, and you could also pick up Covid-19 while you're spending two days at WDW and your prior test wouldn't pick up on it, but the at-port test might. That's why Disney tests right before boarding. They'll catch more cases than they would with tests 2-3 days out. Besides, it's still hard to schedule PCR tests in some places, so it's nice that DCL handles it for us.

 

[dreynolds1982]

Sure, and you could also pick up Covid-19 while you're spending two days at WDW and your prior test wouldn't pick up on it, but the at-port test might. That's why Disney tests right before boarding. They'll catch more cases than they would with tests 2-3 days out. Besides, it's still hard to schedule PCR tests in some places, so it's nice that DCL handles it for us.

For sure that's possible. Just kinda wish they offered both options for flexibility purposes and, selfishly, for slightly less pre-cruise nail biting ha. Since we're driving and it's just me and my wife, if I were to test positive at the port, it's a problem, but I can always just drive back home. I feel for others that have much more difficult times dealing with flights, quarantining in hotels, etc.

That all being said, it is what it is, and safety is the most important thing without a doubt! We're both vaxxed, boosted, and I'll be masking hardcore and be extra careful prior to the cruise. Hopefully that will be enough and we'll get the coveted greenlight!

 

[Scalemaster34]

Problem is a PCR test can miss COVID for several days after an infection... good chance that anyone flying or going to Disney for a day or two, won't be caught.... till they get sick on board and spread it to a few people and crewmembers.

The Antigen Test have too high of a "false negative" result.... some studies show up to 50% to be used as a screening tool. Now their "false positive" results are negligible, so might be a good idea to use both tests. In the end we need better tests... and more education about how this all works.

Maybe everyone going on a cruise, should have a PCR test a three weeks to confirm if they have had it recently or not - and then have a doctors note they are clear.

 

[Pixarfans]

I’m more concerned about limitations on the ship while they increase capacity. I hope they will make adjustments to how many people are allowed in places (kids club, pool, bingo, etc) and options as they allow more people into the ship.

 

[emilymad]

I’m more concerned about limitations on the ship while they increase capacity. I hope they will make adjustments to how many people are allowed in places (kids club, pool, bingo, etc) and options as they allow more people into the ship.

This is our concern as well. We are sailing at the end of March and I am not sure the low crowd reports of today will still apply then. I have seens lots of references over the past month about people rescheduling into March and April. I am not concerned about the number of people but how DCL will handle their activities and capacity.

 

[mmouse37]

Concerns about Disney's activities regarding capacity are valid. Even though our cruise on the Magic last week only had 650ish pax I heard there were still time limits and capacity limits in the kid's pool. This week was supposed to have 1100 onboard so I am sure pool time will be frustrating if you have kids. No capacity limits at all at the adult pool.

MJ

 

[yowcruiser]

I wish there was a way to get and see the stats on port testing. But it would be interesting to new a graph over time on port testing resutls. but we know that will never be made public.

There has been "unofficial" numbers reported in FB groups for specific sailings. I will not report them here, as not to break the forum rules, but let's just say that these # have been fairly consistent throughout January

 

[mmouse37]

The only policy I hope DCL changes is that they move from a PCR test to Antigen AFTER this Omicron wave. I am not the expert on testing etc.. but after this omicron wave hits and most are infected in some way and most dont realize they were infected, you run the risk of testing positive with a PCR test for a past infection you never knew you had.

Looking a new cruises to book and saw last night thatRoyal lets you test with antigen or PCR. To be honest if were to book a new cruise in the carribeean I would chose the them over DCL just for this. and to be honest I am eying the Odyssey anyways and was happy to see they accept Antigen for fully vaxed. seeing we are flying in from Germany this lowers our risk of not sailing.

I wish there was a way to get and see the stats on port testing. how many were positive and how many were from past infections in the end. Not even sure if you can diagnostically see that. ??? But it would be interesting to new a graph over time on port testing resutls. but we know that will never be made public.

I think that happens pretty frequently IMO. Many people probably didn't even know they were sick when testing at the port......and/or were still testing positive from a previous infection. I read that between 10 and 30% of the population can still test positive on a PCR 90 days later.

Luckily Safe Passage does have the 90 day Covid recovered option so if you know you have and tested positive with a PCR test and recover, you can get a doctor note saying you are recovered and then your port testing is waived. When we just sailed last week my husband didn't have to test at the port because he had covid over the holidays and he was approved by Safe Passage after I uploaded both this positive PCR and doctor note.

The unfortunate thing is that DCL does not really have any info on the 90 day recovered option easily available. Many don't know it's even an option until you start uploading your vaccine info into the SP website 15 days before your cruise

Here is a screenshot of requirements.



UPDATE: As of 2/1/22 DCL has now added info about the 90 Covid Recovered option on the Know Before You Go section. That is a good thing!

MJ

 

[yowcruiser]

Hoping DCL will do some kind of onboard testing for the Hawaii cruises to make it easier for people to enter Canada.

MJ

DCL now offers arrival testing in US ports for those requiring onward proof of travel. Not sure what DCL's plan are for Canada... but I could see them setting up a tent on arrival, pre-border clearance for rapid PCR tests. My understanding is that DCL has stated that they currently do not have the space on board to setup a proper PCR testing "lab"... but then one crew mentioned they are being PCR-tested onboard... so go figure

 

[mmouse37]

DCL now offers arrival testing in US ports for those requiring onward proof of travel. Not sure what DCL's plan are for Canada... but I could see them setting up a tent on arrival, pre-border clearance for rapid PCR tests. My understanding is that DCL has stated that they currently do not have the space on board to setup a proper PCR testing "lab"... but then one crew mentioned they are being PCR-tested onboard... so go figure

Thank you...that is something I hope they do. If no space onboard (which I understand) a tent at the terminal for rapid testing sounds feasible.

Anyone remember the days of DCL when you had to get up really early and report to the Walt Disney Theatre for immigration on I think our St. Thomas day? They would have coffee and pastries outside the theatre but utilized the whole theatre for this purpose. Wondering why they couldn't use the theatre on the last morning for testing. Yes, it would probably mean a very early debark morning but could be an option.

MJ

 

[Scalemaster34]

Thank you...that is something I hope they do. If no space onboard (which I understand) a tent at the terminal for rapid testing sounds feasible.

Anyone remember the days of DCL when you had to get up really early and report to the Walt Disney Theatre for immigration on I think our St. Thomas day? They would have coffee and pastries outside the theatre but utilized the whole theatre for this purpose. Wondering why they couldn't use the theatre on the last morning for testing. Yes, it would probably mean a very early debark morning but could be an option.

MJ

Yeah remember those days.... even some ports had immigration you had to go through as well.

Could make a fortune if a smartwatch would detect COVID reliable enough to be viewed as... a legal result. Forget about glucose monitoring....

 

[KatieKepic]

I think that happens pretty frequently IMO. Many people probably didn't even know they were sick when testing at the port......and/or were still testing positive from a previous infection. I read that between 10 and 30% of the population can still test positive on a PCR 90 days later.

Luckily Safe Passage does have the 90 day Covid recovered option so if you know you have and tested positive with a PCR test and recover, you can get a doctor note saying you are recovered and then your port testing is waived. When we just sailed last week my husband didn't have to test at the port because he had covid over the holidays and he was approved by Safe Passage after I uploaded both this positive PCR and doctor note.

The unfortunate thing is that DCL does not really have any info on the 90 day recovered option easily available. Many don't know it's even an option until you start uploading your vaccine info into the SP website 15 days before your cruise

Here is a screenshot of requirements.

View attachment 643603

MJ

DCL updated their "Know Before you Go" section today and they now include the 90 day exemption.


Guests Recently Recovered from COVID-19
In some cases, people who have recently recovered from COVID-19 may still test positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. If Guests have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within 11 to 90 days of their sail date, they may qualify to be considered as “90-Day-Recovered.” With the appropriate documentation and subsequent approval, Guests considered “90-Day-Recovered” are not required to participate in COVID-19 testing during the Pre-Sail, Embarkation or Disembarkation phases of their voyage.

If you have tested positive for COVID-19 within 11 to 90 days of your sail date and would like to be identified as 90-Day-Recovered, please upload to Safe Passage the following:

• A copy of your previous positive COVID-19 test result which is greater than 11 days and less than 90 days from your expected sail date. The test must have been antigen, NAAT, rapid PCR or lab-based PCR. The test result must include your date of birth.
• A signed letter (on official letterhead that shows the name, address and phone number of a licensed healthcare provider or public health official) stating that you have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 90 days and are clear for travel.
• Vaccinated Guests must also upload proof of vaccination in addition to their 90-Day-Recovered documentation.

Bring this documentation with you to the port as well.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/why-cruise-disney/experience-updates/before-you-leave-home-us/