Coronavirus and DCL Megathread - Suspension of Departures for the fleet until early November. Booking only available from early December.

[Numtini]

Viking is now offering the right to cancel or rebook cruises through the end of April without penalty. I'd really like to see Disney step up.

 

[Karin1984]

For those planning their Europe trips and are travelling with / booked with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) .

KLM has announced a zero fee policy on tickets booked before 31MAR and for travel before 31MAY, for all destinations.
https://www.klm.com/travel/nl_en/prepare_for_travel/up_to_date/flight_update/index.htm
"If you have a KLM ticket starting with 074, issued on or before Tuesday 31 March 2020, and valid for travel between Wednesday 4 March 2020 and Sunday 31 May 2020, regardless of the destination, you can postpone your trip at no extra cost. View your flight details or change your booking directly in My Trip. "

 

[Chimera72]

Same (Fantasy 3/21). I can't decide whether or not to buy sunscreen, for example. We're planning to go, unless things change, but the uncertainty is just making it hard. I've stopped bringing it up with my kids, so that they don't get too excited in case we have to postpone or cancel. But they know spring break starts in 2 weeks, so they are talking about it anyway.

On the 3/21 as well. Getting nervous. One thing getting sick. Another getting quarantined on board for 2 weeks and becoming a disaster like Diamond Princess

 

[SirDuff]

For those planning their Europe trips and are travelling with / booked with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) .

KLM has announced a zero fee policy on tickets booked before 31MAR and for travel before 31MAY, for all destinations.
https://www.klm.com/travel/nl_en/prepare_for_travel/up_to_date/flight_update/index.htm
"If you have a KLM ticket starting with 074, issued on or before Tuesday 31 March 2020, and valid for travel between Wednesday 4 March 2020 and Sunday 31 May 2020, regardless of the destination, you can postpone your trip at no extra cost. View your flight details or change your booking directly in My Trip. "

United has a similar policy in place.

 

[travelmomof3]

On the 3/21 as well. Getting nervous. One thing getting sick. Another getting quarantined on board for 2 weeks and becoming a disaster like Diamond Princess

Exactly. We cruise in 3 weeks. I'm less concerned with actually contracting the virus and more concerned with a disastrous experience - quarantine, skipping ports, etc. I'd gladly move my cruise vs. reimbursement.

 

[Gentry2004]

United has a similar policy in place.

I thought the United policy is only for newly purchased tickets, and existing tickets only to travel ban areas, not all existing tickets.

 

[dprincessmom]

I've checked the Disney website after reading an article today about some of the Caribbean ports not allowing passengers off of the ships in Jamaica and Cayman. Other lines have started to reroute the cruises, wondering if DCL is considering the same? I wouldn't be mad if we picked up an extra sea day or two on our Western Itinerary but it would be nice to know ahead of time. I get that this is all new and everyone is trying to figure out what is best for their family. I am 15 days out from my paid in full date and hoping for a little insight on DCL planning before that last payment.

 

[CM Dad]

I thought the United policy is only for newly purchased tickets, and existing tickets only to travel ban areas, not all existing tickets.

I think the United policy is for new tickets of any class purchased between now and the end of March. Any travel date. Pretty sure any credit for changing/cancelling flight must be used within 1 year of the original purchase date.

 

[Kennywood]

Thousands may have been exposed to coronavirus on Princess cruise ship; 62 passengers confined

Thousands of people on Princess Cruises' Grand Princess may have been exposed to coronavirus after sailing with 62 passengers who company officials say had previously been on a voyage with a man who eventually died from the virus.

But the cruise line has ordered the ship to re-route to San Francisco, where it is expected to arrive Thursday afternoon, according to a letter that Princess officials sent to passengers on board and which is available to read on the company web site.

More info here: USA Today

 

[dprincessmom]

Thousands may have been exposed to coronavirus on Princess cruise ship; 62 passengers confined

Thousands of people on Princess Cruises' Grand Princess may have been exposed to coronavirus after sailing with 62 passengers who company officials say had previously been on a voyage with a man who eventually died from the virus.

But the cruise line has ordered the ship to re-route to San Francisco, where it is expected to arrive Thursday afternoon, according to a letter that Princess officials sent to passengers on board and which is available to read on the company web site.

More info here: USA Today

The article I read this morning, indicated that they aren't going to be allowed into port. They will fly the tests in, pick up the test kits and then take the samples for testing, all the while keeping the ship miles from port.

 

[Gentry2004]

The article I read this morning, indicated that they aren't going to be allowed into port. They will fly the tests in, pick up the test kits and then take the samples for testing, all the while keeping the ship miles from port.

There is no way they are going to leave healthy people on board for very long. They saw how that turned out, and doing that again, now knowing the result, would expose them legally. Yes, they have the legal authority to quarantine, but not in a way that has been proven to be unsafe.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

There is no way they are going to leave healthy people on board for very long. They saw how that turned out, and doing that again, now knowing the result, would expose them legally. Yes, they have the legal authority to quarantine, but not in a way that has been proven to be unsafe.

The problem is that the "healthy" people could simply be asymptomatic infected. If they release them without at least testing, they open themselves to liability if any of the allegedly healthy people infect someone and there are deaths. It's a darned if they do, darned if they don't scenario.

 

[monkeydawn]

How much is the cruise line's call verses the country they would be disembarking in? I can see local governments not wanting to take on the task of dealing with a ship's worth of passengers that need to be quarantined or held until their countries can repatriate them. San Antonio didnt even want the DR passengers traveling trough their town after their quarantine was complete.

 

[MomOTwins]

I've checked the Disney website after reading an article today about some of the Caribbean ports not allowing passengers off of the ships in Jamaica and Cayman. Other lines have started to reroute the cruises, wondering if DCL is considering the same? I wouldn't be mad if we picked up an extra sea day or two on our Western Itinerary but it would be nice to know ahead of time. I get that this is all new and everyone is trying to figure out what is best for their family. I am 15 days out from my paid in full date and hoping for a little insight on DCL planning before that last payment.

If you are still two weeks out from your PIF date, that means you are months before the cruise. No matter what guidance/policy DCL issues now, it is very unlikely the same will be true months from now.

 

[Mithas]

This is an opportunity for Disney to step up and do right by the customer. At the very least move the PIF date closer to the cruise date. Customers want to know if Disney is just focused on making more money or find ways to alleviate anxiety of its clients. Do something to justify the exorbitant prices that they charge. Disney has a lot less at stake (4 ships only) compared to other major cruise lines; hence, they can absorb the loss. If handled well, they will win even more loyal customers; otherwise, I am afraid, many loyal customers will jump ship and cruise elsewhere.

I totally agree. Please let whoever wants to cruise, cruise at their own risk and give other people option to postpone if they are having anxiety or concerned about infecting other immuno-compromised near and dear ones. We have put in 2 years of our vacation fund into this cruise. If we cancel now, we loose money and end up with no vacation for 4 years. At this time, 3 families with whom we were cruising with have already cancelled. We are still debating. We just wish we had an option and didn't know that travel insurance exists until about we paid full for it because we were never told about it by our travel agent.

 

[Karin1984]

I totally agree. Please let whoever wants to cruise, cruise at their own risk and give other people option to postpone if they are having anxiety or concerned about infecting other immuno-compromised near and dear ones. We have put in 2 years of our vacation fund into this cruise. If we cancel now, we loose money and end up with no vacation for 4 years. At this time, 3 families with whom we were cruising with have already cancelled. We are still debating. We just wish we had an option and didn't know that travel insurance exists until about we paid full for it because we were never told about it by our travel agent.

If half of the cabins on cruise is empty due to passengers delaying their trips, then most likely Disney will cancel the cruise as it is not profitable. That is what several airlines did for certain destinations in the first weeks. They cancelled the flights, not because of the virus, but because having only 50 passengers in a plane meant for 400 passengers costs more in fuel and staff.

 

[MarkLT1]

My Prediction: Now that we are seeing spread in the US, and a US start/end cruise being put into purgatory.. It would surprise me if we don't start seeing cancellations by all cruise lines. This whole thing is becoming a PR nightmare for the cruise industry, and you know darn well that they are running the numbers- how much is this going to affect the bottom line in the long run. Large companies typically couldn't care less about short-term losses (even over months or a quarter) if it is to preserve long-term revenue. If the cruise industry is painted (rightfully or not) as being a significant contributor to the spread of COVID-19, and/or more people start dying after their cruises due to COVID, the cruise industry is not just going to be suffering during the outbreak, but will likely have repercussions for the next <name a number> years.

On the flip side- if over the next week or so, stuff starts to get even worse in the US and the cruise industry starts cancelling and refunding cruises, to "protect their valued customers," taking short term losses, they can likely stem a lot of those longer term concerns, and dodge much of what could be a PR nightmare. I think the softening you are seeing from Viking is a sign of things to come. Of course they aren't going to project this- if it happens, it will go from zero to industry-wide response in days.

Either way, I bet we're in for more of a ride over the coming days/weeks.

 

[hnthomps]

I would just buy your sunscreen and other things, if the cruise is cancelled/you cancel you can still use it for a next cruise/ vacation. Most things you planned to buy probably do not have an expiry date.

ehh, kids grow and sunscreen expires! Last cruise one bottle of sunscreen was expired, and my daughter and I paid the price.

But, of course, it's not actually about the sunscreen. I'm using that as a light hearted example. It's just the general uncertainty about whether we have made the right decision. After a long winter (that is still ongoing) we all need a break, and our cruise is for our kids' spring break. We can't just move to a different week -- travel sports tournaments and other commitments make the summer impossible, and we have other plans for spring break 2021, and we aren't going to pull our kids from school for a full week just for a cruise. If they don't refund the cost of the cruise, we can't just responsibly sink another huge chunk of money into a different, land-based, last minute, vacation. We have insurance, but it's not like we'd get a 100% refund just sitting on our Disney credit card the day we didn't sail.

I basically think our best case scenario for my nerves is Disney cancelling the cruise and helping us turn it into a WDW vacation (letting us spend against our cruise credit). We won't have ADRs or FP+s, so it won't be perfect, but still. Second best is going on the cruise and everything going perfectly, but dealing with mild anxiety the entire time about missed ports or quarantine.

Two weeks and two days might be a long enough time for this whole thing to change one way or another though!

 

[wl1117]

Joining the conversation. We are 23 days out from our cruise on the Wonder. Cruise #11, PIF, Concierge, been looking forward to this trip for a year now... Disney loyal (DVC, married at WDW, at least one Disney trip a year for the last 18 years, usually 2-3). Now wishing for a little loyalty from Disney. We have insurance, but its not cancel for any reason. I'd just like to be able to make my own decision on whether to take this trip, not be at the mercy of waiting until they cancel or being quarantined onboard. I'd happily move the date to the future if that was even an option.

 

[Boardwalk Family]

Sailing soon, as in less than 10 days. Just don't know what to do right now! For some reason, we did buy Disney cruise insurance (this is our 5th Disney cruise, and I can't remember every buying it before). Does anyone know what we get back if we cancel less than 10 days out just because we are worried about the virus?