Will Disney leave the magic in Europe?

[DisneYE]

Well it looks like the May transatlantic will be cancelled this week, so its looking a lot more likely that DCL will leave The Magic in Europe until the scheduled European cruises in May.

you think it'll sail in the summer if the virus situation improves in Europe?
I assume the 7-night+ restriction only applies to US ports?

 

[BadPinkTink]

you think it'll sail in the summer if the virus situation improves in Europe?
I assume the 7-night+ restriction only applies to US ports?

Well considering cruising has already started in Europe, yes I do think DCL will sail in Europe this summer. The American CDC does not have jurisdiction in Europe. So therefore DCL does not have comply with the 7 day maximum in Europe.

Also considering that The EU has implemented a new travel system for the 26 countries of The EU, allowing travel between countries to restart, then there is a very good chance that DCL will sail in Europe in summer 2021.

 

[lanejudy]

I know nothing, but I would think they wouldn't use "normal" hospitality workers for this no matter the space they utilize. Surely there are recommendations for care of those in quarantine that would necessitate specialized staff..?

Maybe they could outsource their facilities, but I'm not seeing Disney give up control of their property like that. I guess I was thinking based on the cases in my area where the majority of those who test positive are likely to be only minorly impacted by "illness" and not particularly needing medical intervention. They are told to to stay at home to ride out their quarantine, treating any minor symptoms as needed (and of course seek medical attention if symptoms worsen). Currently only ~1% of positive cases in my state are hospitalized. The point of quarantine is to avoid spread during the contagious period.

 

[gotomu212]

Well considering cruising has already started in Europe, yes I do think DCL will sail in Europe this summer. The American CDC does not have jurisdiction in Europe. So therefore DCL does not have comply with the 7 day maximum in Europe.

Also considering that The EU has implemented a new travel system for the 26 countries of The EU, allowing travel between countries to restart, then there is a very good chance that DCL will sail in Europe in summer 2021.

Do you think the EU will let in Americans by summer without quarantine restrictions? In the past DCL has said they need the Americans to make money off the European cruises. I don’t know if that’s the difference in them losing money and not making sense to run EU only cruises, or if it’s some positive contribution that can be gained to offset the loses from running nothing.

 

[Karin1984]

Do you think the EU will let in Americans by summer without quarantine restrictions? In the past DCL has said they need the Americans to make money off the European cruises. I don’t know if that’s the difference in them losing money and not making sense to run EU only cruises, or if it’s some positive contribution that can be gained to offset the loses from running nothing.

Really hard to say as we do not know how many people will get vaccinated and when. I personally think it will be likely you will need proof of vaccination to travel (not just US to Europe). Maybe if that's well on its way, the quarantine restrictions will be lifted. However, they first needs to be lifted for other EU countries before other countries will be let in.

If DCL wants to make EU cruises attractive for Europeans, they have to lower the prices significantly. It was cheaper for me to fly to Miami and go on a cruise there, than to do a EU cruise. Plus ports like Rome, Barcelona, Athens are not really interesting for many European as city trips are easy and cheap, where you get to know the city better. As you do not spend a lot of time on the ship on EU cruises, there are plenty of options to cruise the South of Europe for a less hefty fee.

If the Magic stays in Europe, it will be to lose less money than to have an empty ship in the Bahamas.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Do you think the EU will let in Americans by summer without quarantine restrictions? In the past DCL has said they need the Americans to make money off the European cruises. I don’t know if that’s the difference in them losing money and not making sense to run EU only cruises, or if it’s some positive contribution that can be gained to offset the loses from running nothing.

This is my post about the new travel plan for Europe https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...isers-planning-european-2021-cruises.3818455/

Basically its a traffic light system
Red = 14 day quarantine for passengers on arrival from Red countries

Orange = No 14 day quarantine for passengers on arrival from Orange countries if passengers carry proof of a negative PCR test result gained within the previous 72 hours

Green = No entry restrictions for passengers on arrival from Green countries

USA people who intend to travel to Europe need to keep a watch on this website https://reopen.europa.eu/en
There is a list of countries outside The EU for which travel restrictions should be lifted. It is updated every two weeks.

Currently USA is classed as a Red country which means 14 day quarantine.

In my opinion DCL will work very hard to try to keep the European summer schedule. They will have to operate on lower capacity anyway. There will be a % of Americans who will still be able to cruise, but it will be far lower. As long as DCL can find a way to operate in Europe, according to European recommendations, like the other cruiselines are currently doing, I think that operating at a loss will be better than not operating at all. Its basically the same choice as opening WDW.

 

[DisneYE]

Well considering cruising has already started in Europe, yes I do think DCL will sail in Europe this summer. The American CDC does not have jurisdiction in Europe. So therefore DCL does not have comply with the 7 day maximum in Europe.

Also considering that The EU has implemented a new travel system for the 26 countries of The EU, allowing travel between countries to restart, then there is a very good chance that DCL will sail in Europe in summer 2021.

Thanks for the jolt of optimism....hopefully you're right.

 

[Karin1984]

Not US -> Europe per se, but Australian airline Qantas has announced that it only wants to transport people who are vaccinated. If they will do this, it's not unlikely that other airlines will follow.

 

[gotomu212]

If DCL wants to make EU cruises attractive for Europeans, they have to lower the prices significantly. It was cheaper for me to fly to Miami and go on a cruise there, than to do a EU cruise. Plus ports like Rome, Barcelona, Athens are not really interesting for many European as city trips are easy and cheap, where you get to know the city better. As you do not spend a lot of time on the ship on EU cruises, there are plenty of options to cruise the South of Europe for a less hefty fee.

If the Magic stays in Europe, it will be to lose less money than to have an empty ship in the Bahamas.

Thanks for this detailed response and EU perspective. It matches my experience trying to get my sister to cruise with us in Europe in 2011 when she lived in Germany. She said “for that price do you realize what kind of land trip I could have over here?“ I told her that wouldn’t have Mickey or her sister...she said that wasn’t helping my case

The volume needed, even at reduced capacity, is going to be interesting to watch, as is how quickly hose in the US get vaccinated.

 

[gismo1554]

Not US -> Europe per se, but Australian airline Qantas has announced that it only wants to transport people who are vaccinated. If they will do this, it's not unlikely that other airlines will follow.

Australia mind has been one of the areas where they have preempted restrictions and already announced they will be closed for some time. As their national airline I am not surprised at all but definitely see others following suite once the vaccine is wide spread. Until then I doubt many will enforce such a rule as it would mean so much loss of revenue.

As others have said I think DCL if they are going to keep Europe going this summer may need to rethink their costings a little. I know they have tried over the last few years to boost their European clientele but I'm not sure that it has worked really. That said definitely worth a shot given they will loose money either way and its good training for a full restart as well I guess.

 

[Karin1984]

Australia mind has been one of the areas where they have preempted restrictions and already announced they will be closed for some time. As their national airline I am not surprised at all but definitely see others following suite once the vaccine is wide spread. Until then I doubt many will enforce such a rule as it would mean so much loss of revenue.

As others have said I think DCL if they are going to keep Europe going this summer may need to rethink their costings a little. I know they have tried over the last few years to boost their European clientele but I'm not sure that it has worked really. That said definitely worth a shot given they will loose money either way and its good training for a full restart as well I guess.

The other day I was browsing on youtube, and I came across a promo video for DCL from Disney NL, from mid 2019. Never seen any promotion for it whatsoever, while DCL now does stop in Amsterdam (which should raise awareness a bit). The thing is, they do not specifically promote a destination. They do not highlight where DCL is going, just that it exists. There is one for families, and one where they highlight adults activities.

However... the promos are so cringy, they have asked 'average Dutch families' to tell about their experiences. Dutch people are not promotion people, if you want to sell something: Do not ask Dutch Culture. The father of one family also said that they have been eating at 'Pablo' While the Dutch subtitles (?) do translate it as Palo.
And then in between the interviews they show regular DCL promo shots of people using the pool, the restaurants etc. and you can just see: This is very American.
Nothing wrong with that, but American culture can be very different from Dutch culture.

The videos only have less than 2000 views, so they don't really use it in other channels. Which I understand based on these videos.

 

[d3boyz]

Castaway Cay doesn't have extra facilities to house people other than the CMs who live on the island. The "medical facility" on the island is basically a band-aid station and completely ill-equipped to handle serious medical cases. Also, the closest island is Abaco, and that's 1/2 hour by boat. Their medical facility there, while more robust than CC, isn't at all ready for COVID cases or other seriously ill patients. I believe that they send their serious cases to Nassau ... which is about 90 minutes from CC by helicopter.

Where we are, the hospitals and ambulances have to decontaminate the rooms/boxes after each potential COVID case. That means if the patient using the space has symptoms consistent with the disease, decon is a requirement and the space is unusable until the chemicals have had the appropriate amount of time to do their job. The process really hampers the ability to treat and move patients quickly.

 

[JM_97]

I’m assuming that normally, Americans are still the primary audienice on European cruises. And I’m also assuming for the sake of the argument that the USA will not be in the “green“ for when the Disney Magic is supposed to sail Europe. Plus, the CDC doesn’t apply in Europe.

All this to say, I would think Disney would still rather take these L’s over sending the Magic back over to Florida where the restrictions are tighter. They are still losing money but it’s a better situation than it would be in Miami or wherever they put her. Of course, this is all speculation because who knows how things will look in six months.

 

[GPaLarry]

Yesterday our Sept. 2021 WBTA disappeared from the DCL schedule. Our reservations are intact, however. I have been tracking the number of verandah staterooms available (like ours) just because (crazy perhaps) and 15 were still up for grabs just two days ago. Now the whole sailing is off the boards. We have not been notified that the cruise is off and this was the second leg of a B2B with a British Isles cruise first. Something is afoot!! I doubt the entire cruise is sold out. Perhaps DCL wants it to sail with just who is on it today and no more. Could be they are serious about leaving the Magic in Europe all winter. Strange situation! I give it a week to sort itself out or I call DCL. Anyone else on the WBTA feel the same way

 

[gismo1554]

Yesterday our Sept. 2021 WBTA disappeared from the DCL schedule. Our reservations are intact, however. I have been tracking the number of verandah staterooms available (like ours) just because (crazy perhaps) and 15 were still up for grabs just two days ago. Now the whole sailing is off the boards. We have not been notified that the cruise is off and this was the second leg of a B2B with a British Isles cruise first. Something is afoot!! I doubt the entire cruise is sold out. Perhaps DCL wants it to sail with just who is on it today and no more. Could be they are serious about leaving the Magic in Europe all winter. Strange situation! I give it a week to sort itself out or I call DCL. Anyone else on the WBTA feel the same way

The EBTA has done the same thing. There was loads of availability on Saturday (every category according to someone who has been looking) and then Monday it disappeared. The trouble is the CDC rules state that no cruises over 7 nights can end/start in a US port between now and November. It maybe that DCL is doing similar to what Princess cruises did and looking at cancelling those ones that would be effected by this ruling or are just pausing sales to try and ensure that if they can't sail less people are effected. DCL don't know anything and will just tell you its sailing currently. It could be weeks before we get any information. Last years WBTA disappeared off sales about 2 weeks before it was cancelled I think but up until the day before it got cancelled DCL phone lines were still saying it was sailing as that was the only information they have. They don't get told any more than us unfortunately.

 

[GPaLarry]

The EBTA has done the same thing. There was loads of availability on Saturday (every category according to someone who has been looking) and then Monday it disappeared. The trouble is the CDC rules state that no cruises over 7 nights can end/start in a US port between now and November. It maybe that DCL is doing similar to what Princess cruises did and looking at cancelling those ones that would be effected by this ruling or are just pausing sales to try and ensure that if they can't sail less people are effected. DCL don't know anything and will just tell you its sailing currently. It could be weeks before we get any information. Last years WBTA disappeared off sales about 2 weeks before it was cancelled I think but up until the day before it got cancelled DCL phone lines were still saying it was sailing as that was the only information they have. They don't get told any more than us unfortunately.

Thanks for the info...I had a feeling that this might be happening. We loved our last WBTA several years ago. Maybe they could drop everyone off in Bermuda, our last stop before NYC. We can self-quarantined there for two, three, or four weeks if ordered...work on our tans!! (between hurricanes)

 

[gismo1554]

Thanks for the info...I had a feeling that this might be happening. We loved our last WBTA several years ago. Maybe they could drop everyone off in Bermuda, our last stop before NYC. We can self-quarantined there for two, three, or four weeks if ordered...work on our tans!! (between hurricanes)

The EBTA only leaves a US port and doesn't stop anywhere else in the US but is still on the chopping block so I feel that they wont just adjust to drop everyone in the last but one stop unfortunately. I was hoping because the TAs aren't exclusively US then they would be able to get away with it. I guess its a waiting game now to see what they do.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I wish they would keep her in Europe year-round. I would love to do a holiday season cruise out of Copenhagen.

 

[Karin1984]

I wish they would keep her in Europe year-round. I would love to do a holiday season cruise out of Copenhagen.

With the wind (rough seas), rain and snow in Western/Northern Europe, I don't think it will be a comfortable cruise.
Besides the weather, you also have to keep in mind daylight. Sunrise this time of year is after 8am, sunset around 3:30-4 pm

 

[BadPinkTink]

I wish they would keep her in Europe year-round. I would love to do a holiday season cruise out of Copenhagen.

With the wind (rough seas), rain and snow in Western/Northern Europe, I don't think it will be a comfortable cruise.
Besides the weather, you also have to keep in mind daylight. Sunrise this time of year is after 8am, sunset around 3:30-4 pm

If they did keep The Magic in Europe it would be Mediterranean routes for October to April.