We Tested Positive For Covid at the Port and Here's What Happened

[Kwami]

NCL does that BUT only if you test negative within 3 days of sailing at home before testing at the port. If you don’t and test positive at the port then you’re on your own. It’s an incentive for people to find out at home if they’re positive and not at the port.

The OP’s family didn’t test at home prior to attempting to sail. In retrospect that seems like a mistake. Chances are that they would have known that their son was sick before traveling to Florida and they would have been able to cancel from home.

Fair enough. An earlier post in this thread mentioned testing positive during an RCL cruise, which is also a different situation. But, in that case, RCL paid for the hotel to finish out the quarantine after the cruise ended. As far as I know, DCL isn't doing that. Nor are they doing... basically anything. They put you in Covid Jail for 4 hours without food and water* while they find your luggage (which really shouldn't take more than 30 minutes) and then give you a ride back to Orlando or some other nearby hotel. That's it. And apparently, they don't even bother to communicate with you at all during those four hours.

It's completely unacceptable.

* Unless you ask for it, in which case you might get water and chips. Maybe.

 

[knewton64]

Fair enough. An earlier post in this thread mentioned testing positive during an RCL cruise, which is also a different situation. But, in that case, RCL paid for the hotel to finish out the quarantine after the cruise ended. As far as I know, DCL isn't doing that. Nor are they doing... basically anything. They put you in Covid Jail for 4 hours without food and water* while they find your luggage (which really shouldn't take more than 30 minutes) and then give you a ride back to Orlando or some other nearby hotel. That's it. And apparently, they don't even bother to communicate with you at all during those four hours.

It's completely unacceptable.

* Unless you ask for it, in which case you might get water and chips. Maybe.

1) This listed above,
combined with
2) DCL taking Covid positive people (denied at the port) back to MCO upon request,
3) DCL taking people exposed to Covid (denied at the port) back to MCO,
4) me getting work notice on January 6th that I "may have been exposed to someone with COVID" well.......
is the final straw that just seux but I feel compelled to pull the plug on my 10 day DCL/ WDW adventure with the ironic part being is I was to go on this adventure
to................................
wait for it............................
and I'm being sincere......................
or is it niave???

haha!
I was going to go on this trip to celebrate the end of Covid.
(WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I THINKING)

Yes, my trip isn't for a few more months.... that's not the point -
(how may more times am i goin go get hit with work Covid notices of "you may have been exposed to..."
due to IMO smart people making dumb personal decisions that actually DO also impact their co-workers.... LIKE ME.

Per se,
how I wish people would please think of others as well as themselves in making personal decisions as little do they realize that their personal choices do impact others..... like people at your place of work.
#4 listed above is what really upsets me FOLLOWED BY #1 are the main reasons why i will be canceling -
(and I would have experienced a DCL veranda too... first time too)

SIGH~!
How I dread emailing / calling my TA to cancel but I feel its in my best interest as this is just too much -
even after Omnicron calms down.....

Alternative?
I'm currently looking at Windstar Casinos, golf there and hit the slots..... and margaritas


one day once all this calms down (im guessing in about two years)
i plan on FINALLY being able to go see Disneyland Paris -
(please see unfinished DL trip report listed below in my signature)


T.T.F.N.

 

[mousefan73]

god no! As somebody who dabbles in airline IT, we do not have access to medical or health department records (no fly list a different process) nor have a process to match this to your reservation. and nor have staff to start calling random health departments to find the few PCR tests that are reported ( how many tests are not reported??). From an IT side: I assume also that there is not one central database for all health, testing data. A nightmare and expense to deal with all the various data sources. From a lega side I highly doubt medical records from either a testing facility or health department can be made public with person informatin. There's a difference if the health department makes statistics publics vs. just giving any random person on the phone Mr. So and so's test result.

Airlines are required by some goverments to check vaccination or test results ( flying in to the US), this is done manually at check-in where the pax submits the paperwork and the check-in and often second security check do it manually, hench long lines!!! Airlines have developed apps to upload this stuff, but it took a year to do this and there are still hiccups. But this is data you are submitting- the airline is only the recipient.

And the FAA are keeping their hands off this too, IF they are interested in any medical records, its that of pilots medical histories and this isnt easy as making a phone call either.

 

[n2mm]

Op, thank you for posting and my heart ached for you and your family. I felt like I was in your shoes. We leave in 6 weeks and the anxiety is high. Your misfortune helped so many of us. I knew the downfall of dcl insurance and won’t buy it. with family flying in I knew it was importance to get outside trip interruption insurance. Helpful to know about the refund, even though we booked with the 10% off. Hope you gets cruise soon.

 

[MouseOfCards]

And since you were all together in line at the port, it’s also more likely than not that others Were in the least.. Exposed to
covid. If no testing ahead, how can anyone have confidence on the ship??

WHY would Any cruise line ( esp Disney which is Kid Heavy) wait till embarkation to test?? , it’s just Added Stress especially with their ..imho, Complete Lack of Customer Service, as u experienced. Awful Experience!
I truly hope ur family is doing well and wish you The best of luck

This is so true!

 

[MouseOfCards]

As others have mentioned, thank you for sharing your story, OP. I have also wondered what would happen if tested positive at the port. A truly awful experience, and really makes me reconsider any future cruises while these policies are in place (especially with DCL).

 

[dvcgirl67]

I'm sorry for the OP's family....not a great experience. But it feels like cruising is playing a dicey lottery right now with Omicron in the mix. First you have to test negative to get on the ship, then avoid testing positive or being near someone who tests positive to avoid quarantine. I saw an article in The Washington Post about different experiences on cruises with guests in quarantine. The food on RCL and NCL looked like Fyre Fest at sea....with rotten fruit on the side.

 

[mzspaz]

This is why I'm totally fine being tested at the port. ...or I WAS until I read the OP's experience.
Silly me was assuming that if anyone in my party tested positive (likely a false positive anyway) that we would receive our luggage back in a reasonable amount of tome and start driving back home. What actually happened here is not acceptable at all. This is not at all representative of the service we're paying for on DCL - even if refunded due to COVID, a certain level of service maintains customer loyalty.

My thoughts exactly! As I look at it, we have still paid for the Disney experience and Disney still has my money until it is refunded/credited. I understand the seriousness of the situation if you test positive with Covid and I don't expect to be treated like a Princess with the red carpet rolled out, but I also don't want to be treated like a convict and like I did something bad. DCL needs to fix this situation. We are supposed to sail on the 1/22/22 Fantasy cruise and this post/experience that the OP shared really has me leaning towards canceling outright.

 

[Kimpossible1]

We just got off a Norwegian cruise and their process is similar to what the OP experienced. There are many posts saying that people were held for quite a few hours just waiting for luggage. I know most people don't read trip reports or forums before going on a cruise, but I think the best plan is to be prepared for the worst and know that all these situations could happen to you. I put 4 snickers bars in my carry-on, and my daughter had a full water bottle water just in case. We didn't have to dump out until we went into the terminal. I wouldn't cruise if I had to fly to the port, it is too risky! We are planning a DCL cruise for the end of February, but won't book it till a few weeks before, just in case. I'm sorry to the OP for not knowing that this could happen to you, and it sounds like you had a good week anyway

 

[dvcgirl67]

We just got off a Norwegian cruise and their process is similar to what the OP experienced. There are many posts saying that people were held for quite a few hours just waiting for luggage. I know most people don't read trip reports or forums before going on a cruise, but I think the best plan is to be prepared for the worst and know that all these situations could happen to you. I put 4 snickers bars in my carry-on, and my daughter had a full water bottle water just in case. We didn't have to dump out until we went into the terminal. I wouldn't cruise if I had to fly to the port, it is too risky! We are planning a DCL cruise for the end of February, but won't book it till a few weeks before, just in case. I'm sorry to the OP for not knowing that this could happen to you, and it sounds like you had a good week anyway

Smart...waiting to book if you can seems like the way to go. It's tough for a lot of us to plan vacations that way, but if you can...especially right now, it seems like the best plan. Also, testing before you leave for the trip. If you fly, absolutely wear a KN-95 or N-95 if you can tolerate it and do not take it off in the airport or on the flight. And honestly, I'd bring rapid antigen tests with me and test my family again once we're out of the airport. If you test positive there, you'll test positive at the port....and at least you'd save yourselves the ordeal of being held there for a period of time.

I guess if I was in the market for a DCL trip out of Florida I might also have a backup plan....possibly for a beach vacation or something in that ballpark. I'm assuming having a WDW vacation as a back-up to a failed attempt at DCL is pretty tough right now with all of the park reservation nonsense right now. Omicron means having back-ups to back-ups.

 

[itdjbw]

Not a good experience and sadly this will be what your kids remember of Disney instead of happy family memories.

 

[belle032]

Thank you for sharing OP and I'm so sorry you had such a negative experience. I absolutely would have expected more from DCL. Their process seems incredibly irresponsible and backwards.

This is a huge reason why we aren't even considering cruising on DCL right now, or really any cruise line that waits to test at the port. We fly from the northeast to any cruise port we sail out of. I'm not adding to the anxiety of trying to figure out quarantine situations because we can't get home. The cruise we have booked now allows showing proof at the port of a negative test taken within 48 hours to sailing if vaxxed. So if we test positive, we at least know before we even start the travel process, can deal with it at home, and avoid unknowingly infecting anyone along the way.

Is the reasoning behind testing at the port because of the high number of unvaxxed?

 

[Sarahslay]

Smart...waiting to book if you can seems like the way to go. It's tough for a lot of us to plan vacations that way, but if you can...especially right now, it seems like the best plan. Also, testing before you leave for the trip. If you fly, absolutely wear a KN-95 or N-95 if you can tolerate it and do not take it off in the airport or on the flight. And honestly, I'd bring rapid antigen tests with me and test my family again once we're out of the airport. If you test positive there, you'll test positive at the port....and at least you'd save yourselves the ordeal of being held there for a period of time.

I guess if I was in the market for a DCL trip out of Florida I might also have a backup plan....possibly for a beach vacation or something in that ballpark. I'm assuming having a WDW vacation as a back-up to a failed attempt at DCL is pretty tough right now with all of the park reservation nonsense right now. Omicron means having back-ups to back-ups.

As far as people booking a WDW vacation as a back up after testing positive at port, I don't want to be at WDW with a bunch of people who are knowingly walking around positive. Unless you're going to get a room and stay there, find somewhere else to go, don't go to the parks and spread it around there and cause other people more grief. Find a nice beach house and have groceries delivered, relax, don't go spreading it around in a crowded place (and, if you went to WDW, you is saying there isn't a family there going on a cruise after their wdw vacation who then ends up themselves testing positive after picking it up from someone who was turned away after at port for testing positive....)

The only reason my family still hasn't cancelled is because we are only a 6 hour or so drive away, we'll just get in our car and drive home. Would we be sad? Yes. But we won't be like "Oh, well, we need a vacation......lets find somewhere else to go...." because unless it's a place we can stay away from others it's really irresponsible to do.

 

[Sarahslay]

Thank you for sharing OP and I'm so sorry you had such a negative experience. I absolutely would have expected more from DCL. Their process seems incredibly irresponsible and backwards.

This is a huge reason why we aren't even considering cruising on DCL right now, or really any cruise line that waits to test at the port. We fly from the northeast to any cruise port we sail out of. I'm not adding to the anxiety of trying to figure out quarantine situations because we can't get home. The cruise we have booked now allows showing proof at the port of a negative test taken within 48 hours to sailing if vaxxed. So if we test positive, we at least know before we even start the travel process, can deal with it at home, and avoid unknowingly infecting anyone along the way.

Is the reasoning behind testing at the port because of the high number of unvaxxed?

They test at port AND everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated has to be vaccinated (starting this week everyone 5 and over on a DCL cruise has to be fully vaccinated).

 

[mmouse37]

Many people more recently having been testing positive at the port. Not everyone's experience has been the same. OP's experience is the worst of the worst but I do not think every person denied boarding has the same experience. No one should have an experience like the OP's but I think a lot depends on where your luggage happened to be at the time. I think OP mentioned their luggage was on a separate truck from the airport so that added to the delay. I have read a few other reports of people being denied and their experience was definitely not the same as OP's. Just be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

MJ

 

[n2mm]

Just thinking, wouldn’t it be nice if resort guest heading out on a cruise could test on WDW property the morning of the cruise, prior to arriving at the port. Or even at the airport, prior to getting on the bus? Seems it would help. We could avoid having to wait for luggage to be retrieve.

 

[MomOTwins]

Just thinking, wouldn’t it be nice if resort guest heading out on a cruise could test on WDW property the morning of the cruise, prior to arriving at the port. Or even at the airport, prior to getting on the bus? Seems it would help. We could avoid having to wait for luggage to be retrieve.

WDW used to have a testing facility onsite but got rid of it last year—must have been too expensive to run.

I think there are not very many guest whi are staying at WDW pre-cruise these days. Most are locals who drive themselves to port, or else people stay at the airport or another area hotel. When we took the WDW resort we stopped at a bunch if hotels and there wad only one or two families per hotel. Chatting on the bus, I think we were pretty much all DVC using our points for one or two nights. Doing parks then cruise is less desirable nowadays since the parks are so hugh-risk right before a cruise. Setting up a PCR testing site at WDW for cruise guests seems expensive for the minority of people who would need it.

 

[jtruth33]

WDW used to have a testing facility onsite but got rid of it last year—must have been too expensive to run.

I think there are not very many guest whi are staying at WDW pre-cruise these days. Most are locals who drive themselves to port, or else people stay at the airport or another area hotel. When we took the WDW resort we stopped at a bunch if hotels and there wad only one or two families per hotel. Chatting on the bus, I think we were pretty much all DVC using our points for one or two nights. Doing parks then cruise is less desirable nowadays since the parks are so hugh-risk right before a cruise. Setting up a PCR testing site at WDW for cruise guests seems expensive for the minority of people who would need it.

Right. The simple answer is DCL should have a better process for queuing and retrieving luggage quickly for those who test positive. 4 hours is ridiculous, especially for a company who has been evaluating / processing / tweaking / mastering queuing for decades.

 

[dvcgirl67]

As far as people booking a WDW vacation as a back up after testing positive at port, I don't want to be at WDW with a bunch of people who are knowingly walking around positive. Unless you're going to get a room and stay there, find somewhere else to go, don't go to the parks and spread it around there and cause other people more grief. Find a nice beach house and have groceries delivered, relax, don't go spreading it around in a crowded place (and, if you went to WDW, you is saying there isn't a family there going on a cruise after their wdw vacation who then ends up themselves testing positive after picking it up from someone who was turned away after at port for testing positive....)

The only reason my family still hasn't cancelled is because we are only a 6 hour or so drive away, we'll just get in our car and drive home. Would we be sad? Yes. But we won't be like "Oh, well, we need a vacation......lets find somewhere else to go...." because unless it's a place we can stay away from others it's really irresponsible to do.

Good point regarding booking a back-up trip at WDW if you test positive at the port. It’s irresponsible to go out in public with Covid.

And it’s a different conversation, but anyone who is traveling….and visiting anywhere indoors at this point without an N-95 on at all times right now is likely being exposed to Covid. It’s everywhere…on every flight, in every restaurant, every hotel…etc. If we rapid tested people entering all indoor establishments and boarding flights….we’d be completely shut down.

 

[heathere3]

If you test postive, can you request a retest? Everyone has heard of false positives stories.

That does sound awful with the waiting and no food and no information.

False positives are EXCEEDINGLY rare. It's false negatives that happen much more frequently.