How are the April/May cruisers feeling at this point?

[auntlynne]

Looks like several of us are in the same boat - literally - the April 25 Magic Double Dip.



(Side note - I am also from Alabama and can’t figure out why they say our numbers are climbing - when our graph is basically the same rapidly falling slope as the national one.)



We booked Nov 2020, shifted to Nov 2021, then Jan 2022, and finally to April. The decision-maker for the final change was the removal of Key West from our itinerary.

I have sailed three times since September and am heading out again in a few weeks. Different destinations, different departure ports, different cruise lines. Usually flying, but went to Disney for a Halloween party in September pre-cruise.

From what you have said - the biggest concern I would have is your teenager. If she is dependent on the cruise line providing her entertainment and socialization, will she be able to be a happy camper if it doesn’t meet her expectations? That can also go for everyone. With reduced contact interactions with characters and possibility of shows being cancelled, will it be worth your time and money? Every family needs to assess that in the decision process.

My family enjoys going to on a nice private beach vacation in the Bahamas, looking at open water and sunsets, staying in a nice hotel room, eating some steak dinners, watching movies… ie, a Disney cruise. Anything more is just icing on the cake. (and my sister doesn’t even bother with the shows in the WD Theater).

I pretty much say you can change your mind about a whole lot of things if you don’t feel right about it.

If you don’t change your plans, see you on the ship.

 

[Sakura1017]

[


What’s the most frustrating part is the silence on Disney’s part. So many of us have contacted them directly in so many different ways asking for some clarity. I get it they’re probably still trying to figure things out as I type but you can’t tell me that at this point they don’t know anything. Especially seeing what’s being reported by other cruise lines who are already sailing to Hawaii right now.

I think less people would be canceling right now if Disney would be open and say listen worst case this is what can happen if it sails. There’s so many open questions they need to address and there’s silence is simply not addressing it.

I wish they would let everyone know before paid in full. Once then it's gonna get dicey with everyone complaining and trying to get their money back. I haven't booked airlines yet either since I'm not sure which way they are going.

 

[kpavlovic87]

Can you ask him how he feels about the end of April?

He really thinks that this Omicron variant will be the end of the pandemic and it will be just endemic (sort of like flu). Omicron is nearly done so you may be okay. Its definitely an individual decision. I rescheduled in the middle of freaking out about Omicron, but for us it worked out better because of school/time off etc.

 

[ChicosWife]

I wonder if things will lighten up a little by then. In California, they are about to lift the indoor mask mandate statewide.

 

[bakerworld]

We're booked/paid off our March 7 4D DCL. DH's stressor is the port test. My stressor is DH. Truthfully I think the mask mandates will fall by March 1 and I am hoping the port test will vanish at the same time. Wouldn't that be a bit of pixie dust?

We have a second cruise booked for October.

 

[travelwith2]

We're booked/paid off our March 7 4D DCL. DH's stressor is the port test. My stressor is DH. Truthfully I think the mask mandates will fall by March 1 and I am hoping the port test will vanish at the same time. Wouldn't that be a bit of pixie dust?

We have a second cruise booked for October.

DH has been my stress this whole time. So looking forward to our April cruise though!

 

[randumb0]

Royal is dropping their mask requirement next week for the vaccinated

 

[randumb0]

I am nervous that the vaccine requirement will be dropped before I sail

 

[Anthony Vito]

I am nervous that the vaccine requirement will be dropped before I sail

Same here. Even more than the port testing, what has me the most worried is a situation where we have to isolate or quarantine on the ship during the cruise. That just seems like a complete nightmare. It's not currently enough to make us cancel, but the reason we decided to book in December for April was the vaccine requirements and all of the other precautions and requirements that have been put out there as why it's safe to cruise again - testing at the port (as nerve-wracking as it will be waiting for the results, the requirement adds some degree of comfort), mask requirements, etc.

 

[mousefan73]

I am nervous that the vaccine requirement will be dropped before I sail

Don't see that happening any time soon. Has nothing to do with case counts etc.. more with medical care resources on the boat and smaller islands. Cruise lines have enough to deal with the what ifs of heart attacks, strokes on board, you wont want a covid case where that person needs ICU care too. An real issue for longer sailings

 

[cedricandsophie]

We are on the transatlantic from Miami to barcelona in May. We have not intention of cancelling. We are boosted and just had a bout of omicron which was basically a small cold. We were on a celebrity cruise over Christmas. It was lovely. And we felt very safe. My only concern about the transatlantic is the testing requirement to get home from Barcelona. Hopefully by then fully vaccinated will not require testing,

 

[HeatherLassell]

We're going in May on a 4 nighter. We're hoping they get rid of port testing and go to some other kind of testing beforehand. Like the virtual options. My kids are 9 and 6 and VERY excited for their first cruise, we'd have some major crying at the port if we tested positive and couldn't get on, I'd rather deal with that at home.

Our cruise is a 7 day on the Fantasy May 21-28. I'm hoping they get rid of it also (and masks) BUT since we're Canadian we will have to take a rapid antigen test just to fly to the US. And we will be flying in the day before the cruise. So we have to test negative just to fly there. I'm gonna double up my masks for the flight and we're not doing anything before the cruise except hanging out in our hotel room! What I'm really hoping for is that Canada drops the PCR test requirement to re-enter Canada. It adds time, stress and cost to the end of the cruise.

 

[dreynolds1982]

Sounds like dominoes are starting to fall with masks. NCL is dropping their indoor mask requirements for fully vaccinated guests as well. Wouldn't be surprise if DCL follows suit.

That being said, the vax requirements are going away any time soon. And the testing will remain in place for a while too. What NCL is doing is getting rid of their free at the port testing, and allowing the 2-days prior testing (at the guest's expense). They will also still offer at the port testing, but again at a cost. I personally like this as it gives more flexibility (e.g. I can get tested before we leave town and with a rapid antigen know if I'm positive before I even get on I-95 south towards FL) but I know there are mixed opinions on it. I think the main reason cruise lines are making that switch is cost. Imagine that DCL has to front the costs for all the at the port testing. So if they shift to 2-days prior, it shifts the cost to the consumer.

 

[mrsgthatsme]

Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts and insights on this. Such hard decisions for everyone. Your comments have been very helpful!

 

[SDJEL]

We were supposed to do a Fantasy cruise last week in April. We cancelled. I don’t want to wear a mask, make reservations for shows and have limited entertainment options. Don’t want to stress about a test at the port. This was the third time we had rescheduled and we finally just asked for our money back.

 

[squirk]

Just curious as to how everyone who has cruises booked for late spring are feeling about things. We have a 5 day cruise on the Magic planned for the end of April, so this week is our final payment due date. We are traveling with my kids (12 and 15), my adult brother, and my parents (in their 70's but very healthy). We were booked originally for April of 2020 so this trip has been a long time coming. I had really hoped things would be in a different place in regards to COVID by now, and that we could travel in a mainly "normal" way without a lot of stress and uncertainty. Seeing as that will not likely be the case for a while, we are having a very tough time deciding if we should cancel or make the final payment. While I realize that this is a personal decision for everyone based on individual situations, I would love to hear how some on the board who are booked in the same time frame are feeling. We will be traveling by plane, so I am a little concerned about getting to the port and testing positive as well as having ports and activities cancelled. My 15 year old daughter is concerned that there will not be enough for her to do onboard if the options of activities are pared down. It is a double dip to CC, so thinking the odds of those stops getting cancelled are lower than for other ports not owned by Disney?

The tough thing for us is that we do not want to end up needing to cancel after final payment and before the 14 day point if things would COVID would get worse again, as for a number of reasons, we would not be able to cruise next year and use the credit. I SO wish we had an extra month to make the call though! I have considered cancelling and rebooking close to the cruise when we had a better idea of how things would be by that point, as things seem to be changing so rapidly and *could* be in a much better place by spring, but I know that would be risky if there were not rooms available last minute and obviously we would lose the rooms we carefully selected.

Long story short...I am feeling really conflicted and would love to hear how other spring cruisers are feeling! Thank you!

We are sailing late May, and we are all vaxxed, boosted, just had asymptomatic breakthroughs () and are now ready to go. We have about as much immunity as we're going to get, and we are driving, so both of those things make us feel pretty OK about going. If we tested positive at the port (which I don't see happening at this point), it wouldn't be a financial burden. We'd just hop in the car and drive back home (hopefully with a 25% credit under our belt for next time).

Realllllly hoping the mask mandate is lifted by then, and we're back to self-serve at Cabanas, though I would love to have a half-empty ship just to see what it's like.

If either Tortola, St. Thomas or CC were cancelled, we'd be bummed, but it would not ruin our cruise.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We had booked and paid in full for both Hawaii cruises. We just cancelled the Honolulu to Vancouver leg, electing to book a stay at Aulani after the Vancouver to Honolulu cruise instead. We will have to test to enter Canada for that cruise, can cancel it under the 14-day process if either of us tests positive, and then will still have time to cancel the Aulani stay with full refund. We have booked refundable airfares, originally round trip for Vancouver and now changed to include both the flight to Vancouver and the flight home from Honolulu. We are vaxed and boosted.

 

[beckicnm]

I am sailing on a Celebrity repositioning cruise in May and am super excited. It is much less stressful without the testing at port issue that DCL has. If the Alaska season starts ok or at least works out the hiccups, I'll probably try to squeeze in Alaska at the very end of the season.

 

[lizzyb]

We sail mid May and my greatest worry is being turned away for testing positive. Our whole family just had covid (a bit over the 90 days) so hopefully we can test positive in Monday and go under the recovered program. Masks don't bother me, I just hope that they start allowing more people in the theatres, pools, etc. We are sailing on the Eastern Itinerary sand hope the ports stay the same.

 

[disneylandlocal]

We are sailing a 3 night in April after several cancelled cruises. We all had Covid recently and can sail with the 90 day recovered letters so I’m glad the testing stressor is out. I’m not thrilled with the kids club structure or waiting in lines for the pools but figured a 3 night is short enough to try sailing again. The news yesterday confirmed my youngest won’t be vaccinated in time so that also adds some restrictions for us.