Disney Cruise Line has announced when it will be able to restart cruises from the U.S. this year.
DCL announced the Disney Dream will sail on August 9, and offer three- and four-night cruises from Port Canaveral.
The Dream conducted a test sailing under the supervision of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC), which means the ship will not be sailing with at least 95% vaccinated passengers onboard. Similar to Royal Caribbean, Disney's large contingent of families and young children who are not eligible to be vaccinated is why the cruise line went in this direction.
These sailings will visit Disney's private island in The Bahamas, Castaway Cay.
Like other cruise lines, Disney is gradually resuming sailings with a phased approach. According to Disney, their plan, "emphasizes multiple layers of health and safety measures, developed in consideration of guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical experts."
The Disney Dream will be the second DCL ship to restart operations, following the Disney Magic, which is sailing from the UK this summer.
Testing & Vaccines
Vaccinations will not be required for the Disney Dream sailings from Florida, but passengers who are unvaccinated will have to do pre-cruise tests.
Disney Cruise Line strongly encourages all eligible Guests to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before sailing. Guests who are fully vaccinated may choose to provide proof of vaccination in order to be exempt from pre-trip and Embarkation Day testing requirements (unless arriving from outside the United States) and travel insurance requirements.
Pre-Trip COVID-19 Testing: Guests must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test (paid for at the Guest’s expense) taken between 5 days and 24 hours prior to the sail date.
Disney Cruise Line has secured a special rate of $98.33 per PCR test (which includes a 3.5% processing fee) through their third-party vendor, Inspire Diagnostics.
Guests may also obtain their PCR test from any independent testing supplier. Guests who are fully vaccinated may choose to provide proof of vaccination instead of undergoing COVID19 pre-trip testing.
Embarkation COVID-19 Testing: Guests are required to undergo a rapid PCR COVID-19 test administered by Inspire Diagnostics at the terminal prior to boarding.
Guests with positive COVID-19 test results, as well as those in their travel party, will be denied boarding.
The $65 test fee will be charged to the folio of all Guests 12 years and older. Disney Cruise Line acts as the paying agent for Inspire Diagnostics and will remit the entire cost of the COVID-19 test to Inspire Diagnostics.
Guests who are fully vaccinated may choose to provide proof of vaccination instead of undergoing COVID-19 Embarkation Day testing.
Travel insurance requirement
For cruises departing from Florida through December 31, 2021, Guests 12 years or older must provide proof of a valid travel insurance policy that has a minimum of $10,000 per person in medical expense coverage and $30,000 coverage for emergency medical evacuation and no COVID-19 exclusions.
The policy must name the Guest as the policy holder or beneficiary and may be purchased from the Guests’ preferred travel insurance provider or through the Disney Cruise Line Vacation Protection Program, which includes the requisite coverage and provides other benefits for travel protection.
Guests that purchase insurance from a provider other than Disney Cruise Line will need to provide proof of the insurance policy, showing the name of each of the covered Guest(s) and a description of the coverage in the policy to Inspire prior to receiving clearance to sail.
Guests who are fully vaccinated may choose to provide proof of vaccination instead of obtaining travel insurance.
Masks
All Guests (ages 2 and up, including those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19) are required to wear face coverings indoors.
Exceptions to the mask requirement include:
- When Guests are in their staterooms
- Actively eating or drinking (while stationary and maintaining an appropriate physical distance)
- Outdoors while on board the ship
- Outdoors at Disney Castaway Cay
Face coverings may be required in ports of call based on local government requirements.
Neck gaiters, open-chin triangle bandanas and face coverings containing valves, mesh material or holes of any kind are not acceptable face coverings.
Costume masks are not considered appropriate and are prohibited from being worn.
Matt Hochberg
Matt loves to cruise, and started Cruise.Blog as a place to share different cruise experiences, advice, and what to know before going on a cruise.
He lives in Florida with his wife and two daughters, where he can be found on any given day trying to convince his wife they "need" to book another cruise.
