Poll: When Will Disney Set Sail Again

[bcwife76]

Princess announced this morning they are suspending all sailings until March 31 2021 and all sailings that are over 7 nights until November 1 2021.
"
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – In response to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "Framework for Conditional Sailing Order" pertaining to resumption of U.S. cruise operations, Princess Cruises is extending its pause in global operations to allow time for the estimated preparation needed for completing required activities prior to sailing and taking into consideration the temporary seven-day cap on itineraries that call at a U.S. port. The cruise operations impacted include the following:

• All cruises sailing through March 31, 2021
• All cruises longer than seven days sailing in and out of United States ports through November 1, 2021"

 

[DisneyMusicMan]

Princess announced this morning they are suspending all sailings until March 31 2021 and all sailings that are over 7 nights until November 1 2021.
"
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – In response to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "Framework for Conditional Sailing Order" pertaining to resumption of U.S. cruise operations, Princess Cruises is extending its pause in global operations to allow time for the estimated preparation needed for completing required activities prior to sailing and taking into consideration the temporary seven-day cap on itineraries that call at a U.S. port. The cruise operations impacted include the following:

• All cruises sailing through March 31, 2021
• All cruises longer than seven days sailing in and out of United States ports through November 1, 2021"

It looks like the start of dominos falling. I think most of the cruise lines have a good idea of their schedules, given the CDC guidelines. Where the ships are, the level of retrofitting complete, what passes CDC guidelines, when they can run the test cruises, etc. They should be abe to get an estimated date out to the public (to allow people to plan and replan appropriately).

That being said, I think the biggest wildcard is how to handle the issue of too many ships in any port at any given time to allow for emergency hospitalization. I think the guidelines said that would need to be limited. If there was a schedule that allowed 4 ships in a port, which company backs down? That logistic planning effort seems like a nightmare.

Also, an interesting implication might be that even after cruising resumes, certain sailing might get cancelled or rerouted just to accommodate port occupancy restrictions. Or, schedules might be updated to allow for ships to dock early and depart before another scheduled ship comes in.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think it's wildly hopeful to think DCL will be one of the first lines operating in the US. DCL is a follower in the industry, and with only 4 ships, the cruise operation is a small piece of the corporate revenue picture. Companies like Princess are (obvs) much more dependent on sailing for revenue. DCL is about 2% of the market for cruising worldwide (old numbers - 2018, but I don't see a ton of shift there with only 4 ships). While the SEC filings don't pull out DCL specifically, Parks & Experiences is typically about equal in revenue to all of Media & Networks, and DCL is a subset of Parks & Experiences, so we can get a feel for DCL's size within the greater company just with that.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Well DCL sent out the next round of cancellations today. The February itineraries have also been removed from the website but not cancelled yet .

The next bookable cruises on Disney Cruise Line’s website are:
Disney Dream | Monday March 1, 2021 – 4-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral
Disney Magic | Monday March 1, 2021 – 5-Night Bahamian Cruise from Miami
Disney Fantasy | Saturday March 6, 2021 – 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral
Disney Wonder | Friday March 12, 2021 – 3-Night Baja Cruise on Disney Wonder

So right now it looks like March will be when DCL restarts

 

[skeeter31]

Well DCL sent out the next round of cancellations today. The February itineraries have also been removed from the website but not cancelled yet .

The next bookable cruises on Disney Cruise Line’s website are:
Disney Dream | Monday March 1, 2021 – 4-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral
Disney Magic | Monday March 1, 2021 – 5-Night Bahamian Cruise from Miami
Disney Fantasy | Saturday March 6, 2021 – 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral
Disney Wonder | Friday March 12, 2021 – 3-Night Baja Cruise on Disney Wonder

So right now it looks like March will be when DCL restarts

I think March is quite optimistic. As other have stated, DCL will not be the first to return. They don’t have as much reliant on their cruise line for revenue, so they won’t rush back. Carnival, RC, Princess, etc have to rush back as soon as they can because it’s their only source of income. Disney will wait and see how others do before heading back to sea. I really don’t think we see sailings until after hurricane season.

 

[Chemist]

Match is the earliest that DCL CAN restart.

It doesn't mean that is when they WILL restart.

 

[AquaDame]

Match is the earliest that DCL CAN restart.

It doesn't mean that is when they WILL restart.

Yep, its just the only thing we can go off of until there is an annoucement. If they are accepting people's vacation dollars then they must think March is still on the table...

 

[Chemist]

Yep, its just the only thing we can go off of until there is an annoucement. If they are accepting people's vacation dollars then they must think March is still on the table...

I don't buy that. They've been letting people PIF for cruises all summer and fall that were destined to be cancelled. (And really, everyone should have known that they were going to be cancelled.)

They are accepting people's vacation dollars to help their cash flow situation. And that's okay, they are a business, not our best friend.

 

[otten]

I don't buy that. They've been letting people PIF for cruises all summer and fall that were destined to be cancelled. (And really, everyone should have known that they were going to be cancelled.)

They are accepting people's vacation dollars to help their cash flow situation. And that's okay, they are a business, not our best friend.

Yea look how long it took them to cancel the Hawaii and Alaska cruises after Canada banned cruise ships, obviously those itineraries weren’t going ahead but official cancellation took weeks. Same with the eastbound Panama Canal when the Wondee had in fact already returned to the east coast.

 

[Chemist]

Yea look how long it took them to cancel the Hawaii and Alaska cruises after Canada banned cruise ships, obviously those itineraries weren’t going ahead but official cancellation took weeks. Same with the eastbound Panama Canal when the Wondee had in fact already returned to the east coast.

Exactly. We were one of those Alaska cruises waiting for them to cancel so we could get our refund. Chances of cruise were ZERO, yet it took the a relatively long time to cancel.

 

[DisneyMusicMan]

Yea look how long it took them to cancel the Hawaii and Alaska cruises after Canada banned cruise ships, obviously those itineraries weren’t going ahead but official cancellation took weeks. Same with the eastbound Panama Canal when the Wondee had in fact already returned to the east coast.

It probably also has to do with the influx of calls and requests for credits/refunds, rebooking, etc. By delaying and staggering, they can manage both the cash flow implications and the general logistics.

I think Feb is on the chopping block, given the removal from the website. If it was about keeping those sailings and managing occupancy, then why zero out the whole month? Why not just zero out sailings that have too high of a current occupancy? This way, they can clear out the January cancellations before dealing with the February ones.

 

[AquaDame]

I don't buy that. They've been letting people PIF for cruises all summer and fall that were destined to be cancelled. (And really, everyone should have known that they were going to be cancelled.)

They are accepting people's vacation dollars to help their cash flow situation. And that's okay, they are a business, not our best friend.

Well and I'm not trying to be optimistic or nice in my mind, really, but as a business if they think there is even a small chance they can go and make money, I feel like they would. Even if its not in our best interests...

Yea look how long it took them to cancel the Hawaii and Alaska cruises after Canada banned cruise ships, obviously those itineraries weren’t going ahead but official cancellation took weeks. Same with the eastbound Panama Canal when the Wondee had in fact already returned to the east coast.

That was pretty early on though, wasn't it? I think they were scrambling to figure out what to do, now it's fairly cookie cutter. The cruises longer than 7 nights also... on paper they are NOT going, but they've only been removed and not refunded. Are they hoping they can somehow make them go when the time comes around? Or just trying to hold on to a few dollars? Its a drop in the bucket, surely... so I assume the former even if it is highly unlikely.

 

[otten]

Well and I'm not trying to be optimistic or nice in my mind, really, but as a business if they think there is even a small chance they can go and make money, I feel like they would. Even if its not in our best interests...



That was pretty early on though, wasn't it? I think they were scrambling to figure out what to do, now it's fairly cookie cutter. The cruises longer than 7 nights also... on paper they are NOT going, but they've only been removed and not refunded. Are they hoping they can somehow make them go when the time comes around? Or just trying to hold on to a few dollars? Its a drop in the bucket, surely... so I assume the former even if it is highly unlikely.

Hawaii yes but the Wonder went back through the canal in the summer, presumably when it became clear that Alaska 2020 wasn’t happening. It wasn’t that early on.

 

[AquaDame]

Hawaii yes but the Wonder went back through the canal in the summer, presumably when it became clear that Alaska 2020 wasn’t happening. It wasn’t that early on.

I hear you... and maybe they are just being cruel. I certainly feel that way with the way their ABD cancellations have been happening...!

 

[spiders]

Like it or not, there is still demand out there. 1 million passengers passed through TSA again. A far cry from what it normally would be but it’s still 1 million people who are traveling.

Everyone has different risk tolerances and cruise lines will sail again once they get cleared and feel they can do it. There are real people who are counting on them sailing again and people who need incomes again.

We may have slowed the death rates at nursing homes but again, like it or not — statistically they’re all going to be dead before we get back to normal. There are no options that don’t hurt a lot of people.

 

[DianaMB333]

I think they might start in March-April but the first ones are likely going to have some covid cases -because vaccines will not be spread out enough, airport contacts, etc- and that could impact the upcoming cruises..

our trip is booked in June/21 but so far we are more leaned to cancel before PIF and wait until 2022...

Also because the ones in 2021 could have a different experience, less characters and shows, right?

 

[jane01jp]

My next cruise will likely be a private charter.

 

[Joe Brig]

Cruising will become 100% virtual, Total Recall style.

 

[mom4fun]

Cruising will become 100% virtual, Total Recall style.

Yep and they will raise the price, kind of like my kids college classes. Lol.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Cruising will become 100% virtual, Total Recall style.

I'll wait for the schizoid embolism issues to be resolved then.