NEWS: Disney Cruise Line Announces Cruises Restarting – Details on Health Protocols
Disney Cruise Line confirmed that the Disney Dream will resume Bahamian voyages from Florida in August. New health and safety measures will be in place, as well as COVID testing requirements and travel insurance. Catch all the details below.
Here is the announcement from the Disney Cruise Line website:
Beginning August 9, the Disney Dream will resume voyages from Florida departing from Port Canaveral. The 3- and 4-night cruises will visit our private island, Disney Castaway Cay, in The Bahamas.
Our focus remains on operating our ships in a responsible way that continues to create magic for all on board. We are resuming sailing in a gradual, phased approach that emphasizes multiple layers of health and safety measures, developed in consideration of guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical experts. We continue to prepare the Disney Fantasy and Disney Wonder to welcome Guests once again and look forward to sharing more information soon. As previously shared, Disney Fantasy departures through August 28, 2021, Disney Wonder departures through September 19, 2021, and Disney Magic departures in the United States through November 4, 2021, have been suspended.
New Health & Safety Measure in Place (subject to change)
Returning to cruising will look different, but there will still be plenty of magic. Here is an overview of the new requirements for cruising on Disney Cruise Line:
- All Guests must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test (at the Guests’ expense) taken between 5 days and 24 hours prior to the sail date.
- All guests will be required to take a COVID-19 rapid test provided by Disney, in the terminal prior to boarding and comply with other health and safety requirements. The $65 test fee will be charged to the folio of all Guests 12 years and older.
- For cruises departing from Florida through December 31, 2021, guests 12 years and older must provide proof of a valid travel insurance policy
- Guests who are fully vaccinated may choose to provide proof of vaccination in order to be exempt from pre-trip and embarkation testing requirements (unless arriving from outside the United States) and travel insurance requirements.
- Guests ages 2 and older are required to wear a face-covering on the ship and at our terminals, except in designated areas and situations
- Certain onboard venues, experiences and other offerings will be modified or unavailable, will have limited capacity and availability and may be subject to advance reservations.
Watch this video that also has information on what to expect on your Disney Cruise Line voyage:
RELATED ARTICLE: Disney Cruise Line Fun Facts
By Chad and Cindy Nykamp
Since first setting sail in 1998, Disney Cruise Line has provided a quintessential family cruise vacation experience that combines the magic of Disney with the thrill of exploring different parts of the world. Guests step aboard majestic and beautiful ocean liners to enjoy legendary Disney entertainment, exquisite dining, spacious and well-appointed staterooms, and magnificent public spaces. Learn about some fun facts about Disney Cruise Line below!
Editor’s Note: Disney Cruise Line has suspended all Disney Dream departures through August 9, 2021. Disney Fantasy departures through August 28, 2021, Disney Wonder departures through September 19, 2021, and Disney Magic departures in the United States through November 4, 2021, have been suspended.
Uniquely Disney
- The Disney ships are painted in Mickey Mouse-inspired colors – black hull, white superstructure, yellow trim and two giant red funnels, each with the Disney Cruise Line Mickey Mouse logo.
- Disney Cruise Line was the first cruise line to have yellow lifeboats, instead of the traditional regulation orange. Disney was granted special permission from the U.S. Coast Guard to paint the lifeboats yellow, to keep with the special color theming of the ship.
- The Disney Magic was built in two halves… one hundred miles apart! Part of the ship was constructed in Ancona, Italy then towed 100 miles to meet the stern in Marghera (just outside Venice) to be perfectly joined and welded together.
- Disney Cruise Line ships use the iconic first seven notes of the “When You Wish Upon a Star” song melody as their horn signals.
- Disney ships are the only cruise ships to have five captains – the ship’s captain, Captain Mickey, Captain Minnie, Captain Hook and Captain Jack Sparrow.
- Measuring 964 feet in length, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are each longer than Main Street U.S.A at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. At 1,115 feet, the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream are longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and longer than the height of New York City’s famous Chrysler Building.
- The anchor on the Disney Magic weighs 28,200 pounds – about the same as three full-grown elephants.
- On a special night aboard most Disney cruises, the “Pirates IN the Caribbean” deck party features a spectacular pyrotechnics performance – fireworks at sea like only Disney can do!
Guest Experience
- Eighty-eight percent of the staterooms on the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream and more than 70 percent of staterooms on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder have ocean views. Of those, nearly 90 percent and 60 percent, respectively, have private verandahs.
- In a cruise industry first, most staterooms on Disney ships feature a split “bath-and-a-half” design, providing families the added convenience of a sink and tub/shower in one room and a sink and toilet in a separate room.
- Onboard both the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, there are about 950 crew members representing more than 86 different nationalities. That is approximately one crew member for every three guests.
Dining
- On an average seven-night sailing aboard the Disney Magic, the following food items are consumed:
- Beef – 5,000 pounds
- Chicken – 10,000 pounds
- Salmon – 1,200 pounds
- Shrimp – 1,300 pounds
- Lobster Tail – 1,000 pounds
- Melon – 15,000 pounds
- Pineapple – 4,500 pounds
- Eggs – 71,500
- Coffee – 57,820 cups
- Soda – 3,125 gallons
- Beer – 12,385 bottles/cans
- Wine and Champagne – 2,700 bottles
- Disney Cruise Line dining room Cast members represent, on average, 86 different nationalities.
- The décor and food of the Palo restaurant are inspired by Italy, the birthplace of both the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder.
- Palo takes its name from the poles that line the canals of Venice. Palo’s extensive reserve wine list features selections that hail from some of the most mature vineyards in the world and highlight some of the greatest Super Tuscans like Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Tignanello.
Onboard Features
- The Disney Magic and Disney Dream interior is in the art deco style, characterized by geometric designs and bold, solid colors. The interior on the Disney Wonder and Disney Fantasy is in the art nouveau style, which features organic influences and curved patterns.
- Every Disney Cruise Line ship has an atrium lobby statue celebrating a classic Disney character. Mademoiselle Minnie Mouse, dressed in vintage fashion with a parasol and steamer luggage, graces the Disney Fantasy and Admiral Donald strikes a pose on the Disney Dream. They are the subject of as many memorable vacation photos as their counterparts: Mickey at the helm (Disney Magic) and Ariel sitting pretty (Disney Wonder).
- The décor of the Buena Vista Theatre was designed to emulate the elegant movie houses of the 1920s and 1930s, the period when Walt Disney was producing the first Mickey Mouse animated films.
- The main showplace for entertainment, the Walt Disney Theatre spans three decks and can seat 977 guests onboard the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder and 1,340 guests on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.
- A leader in family entertainment, Disney is the only cruise line to first-run feature films, including films in 3- D, with movies premiering at sea on the same day that they are released on land.
- With ships purpose built for family cruising, Disney cruise ships boast nearly an entire deck of space dedicated to age-specific children’s activities.
- Don’t worry about getting a chill! The swimming pools on Disney ships are heated when the water temperature drops below 75 degrees.
- Stay connected, even at sea! Disney ships feature Wi-Fi service in staterooms and public spaces, allowing guests to surf the web at sea from their wireless-enabled device.
Castaway Cay
- Castaway Cay was the first private island in the cruise industry where the ship docks alongside so guests do not have to tender to land.
- Guests can mail a special souvenir message to family and friends back home by using the Castaway Cay Post Office.
- Water is procured in Port Canaveral and delivered to Castaway Cay by the ships to an 80,000 gallon fresh water storage tank on the island.
- Feels like home? Approximately 60 Disney Cruise Line crew members live and work full-time on Castaway Cay.
Environmental Programs
- Each Disney ship has an onboard Environmental Officer dedicated to overseeing all environmental systems and procedures, along with shipboard recycling, waste minimization and water reclamation efforts.
- Condensation from the shipboard air conditioning units is collected and re-used to wash the decks, saving more than 30 million gallons of water each year.
- Disney Cruise Line made history by being the first cruise line to utilize an innovative hull coating that is both 100 percent non-toxic to the marine environment, and effective in increasing fuel efficiency. The coating helps reduce the ships’ surface resistance in the water, decreasing the need for propulsion power as the ship glides through the sea.
- More than 1,000 gallons of used cooking oil from shipboard galleys is offloaded and recycled in ports of call around the world each week. Through a unique partnership with Bahamas Waste Management (BWM) in Nassau, the used cooking oil is being converted into biodiesel fuel used to power a local fleet of BWM vehicles.
- Shipboard recycling systems help divert more than than 325 tons of aluminum, plastics, paper and non-traditional recyclables from conventional waste streams each year. That’s the equivalent of over 54 school buses or 24 humpback whales.
- Disney Cruise Line and Disney Animal Programs have partnered with local non-profit organizations, Disney researchers and educators in a multi-year project to restore the health of the coral reefs around Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, and throughout The Bahamas. Researchers are taking long-spined sea urchins that are native to the area and translocating them to coral reefs endangered by algae overgrowth. The sea urchins graze on algae similar to a lawnmower keeping the grass short.
For a no obligation, FREE Quote on a Disney vacation package, please contact our travel partner Magical Vacation Planner at 407-442-0227 (407-442-0215 for Spanish). You can also request a FREE quote online by Clicking HERE.