When Will Disney Cruise Line Resume Sailings?
“When will Disney Cruise Line return?” and “will my DCL vacation be cancelled?” are common questions. This covers the lawsuit between Florida and the CDC, vaccination & test options, DCL’s cancelled simulation sailing, and when cruising will resume. It also includes an update on the latest cancellations for Summer & Fall 2021 itineraries. (Updated June 29, 2021.)
We’ll break the post down into two parts. The first is a timeline of events that collectively establish what’s necessary for Disney Cruise Line to resume sailings and the earliest possible date that can occur. Nothing speculative about this–it’s all public info released by the CDC, CLIA, and Disney Cruise Line.
The second part will digest all of that and offer predictions as to what it means for the future of Disney Cruise Line sailings in 2021. Obviously, we don’t have a crystal ball, and this is an evolving situation. It’s less unpredictable than it was months ago, but litigation between Florida and the CDC still throws a monkey wrench into when and how Disney Cruise Line will be able to restart sailings. Accordingly, our goal is to offer an informed analysis of when cruising might be possible again…
As noted above, we’ll begin with a timeline of events leading up to the latest updates from the United States federal government and the cruise industry. Late last year, the CDC issued a Framework for Conditional Sailing Order that would allow a phased approach to resuming cruise ship passenger operations in U.S. waters, charting a course for Disney Cruise Line and other companies to begin sailing again.
However, it’s not as simple as that. The Conditional Sailing Order created onerous requirements. To get there, the cruise industry needs to assure the CDC that they are responsible with respect to the needs of crew, passengers, and port communities. You can read the full CDC Order for yourself here. For those whose idea of fun does not include combing 40 pages of arcane legal jargon and footnotes, we’ll break down what it means and offer a summation here…
The initial phase would be crew-centric, consisting of testing and additional safeguards for cruise employees. During that, the CDC would ensure that cruise ship operators have adequate health and safety protections for crew members while the operators build laboratory capacity needed to test future passengers.
Cruise ship operators would run simulated voyages to test the ability to mitigate risk. This phase will have simulated mock voyages of increasing duration, complexity, and numbers in order to test and implement scaling up and the feasibility of how each company implements the CDC plan.
In order to resume passenger sailings, Disney Cruise Line and other companies must earn a “Conditional Sailing Certificate” from the CDC based upon its ability to meet the established health safety protocol and requirements. Once the cruise operator earns its Conditional Sailing Certificate, there will be a phased return to cruise ship passenger sailings in a manner that mitigates risks among passengers, crew members, and communities.
Basically, there is an initial ramp-up of establishing proper protocol and health safety measures, followed by phases of mock or simulated sailings with crew and voluntary participants, followed by another phased process with normal guests. To complicate matters further, the CDC indicates that these phases are subject to change based upon public health considerations and cruise ship operators’ demonstrated ability to reduce risk.
Last month, the CDC issued new guidance that could have rendered moot the Conditional Sailing Order. If cruise lines certify that 98% of their crew and 95% of their passengers are vaccinated, they wouldn’t need to do test cruises before restarting passenger operations. This would essentially allow Disney Cruise Line and other operators to fast forward past the steps of the Conditional Sailing Order that they haven’t yet completed.
However, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a vaccine passport bill banning businesses from requiring proof of vaccination. There was the opportunity to create a carve out in that law for cruise lines, but the state declined to make that. Consequently, the Conditional Sailing Order applies to cruise lines operating in Florida, which has delayed the restart from Port Canaveral and Miami.
But wait, there’s more! Florida filed a lawsuit against the CDC, challenging the Conditional Sailing Order and arguing that the agency overstepped its authority. A federal judge agreed with the state, and preliminarily enjoined the CDC from enforcing the Conditional Sailing Order. Pending further action from the CDC, that will become simply a recommendation on July 18, 2021.
“This order finds that Florida is highly likely to prevail on the merits of the claim that CDC’s conditional sailing order and the implementing orders exceed the authority delegated to CDC,” the ruling said. However, it also provides that the CDC has until July 2, 2021 to propose new guidelines for cruises that permits ships to sail timely, while remaining within CDC’s authority.
In other words, the saga between Florida and the CDC isn’t over. The latter is likely to more narrowly tailor its guidance so it doesn’t run afoul of the federal court’s ruling, but they will undoubtedly issue a modified Conditional Sailing Order. Which means the two will either end up in court again or test sailings will still be necessary. Basically, the whole exercise will have been pointless if the goal was an expeditious restart to cruising that minimized economic harm to Florida.
For its part, Disney Cruise Line has completed most steps necessary in obtaining a Conditional Sailing Order, and plans to proceed with the test cruises. In fact, DCL’s first simulation cruise aboard the Disney Dream was scheduled to begin June 29, 2021.
However, the voyage was postponed until July 2021 because a small number of crew members had inconsistent test results, “which is considered positive by the CDC,” Disney Cruise Line said in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel. “The rigorous health and safety protocols we have in place helped us identify the situation, though the test results were ultimately negative.”
Other cruise lines have begun resuming passenger operations, with Celebrity Cruises in particular reporting that they’ve exceeded the vaccination threshold set by the CDC to bypass the test sailings. However, Disney does not plan to require vaccines for passengers, with the company instead opting to attempt simulated sailings. This is not a huge surprise–when the vaccination option was first announced by the CDC, we predicted that DCL would still go the test cruise route, as Disney has thus far steered clear of vaccine passport “controversies.”
While cruise lines departing from Florida ports won’t be able to mandate passengers are vaccinated, other cruise lines are sidestepping Florida’s law. They’re doing this by finding ways to either discourage unvaccinated passengers from sailing or making it as burdensome as possible for them to do so.
Royal Caribbean is requiring unvaccinated passengers pay for costly testing and travel insurance for passengers over the age of 11. Additionally, unvaccinated adults will not be allowed in certain areas of the ship, nor will they have access to certain activities. The motivation for deterring unvaccinated guests from sailing is not simply punitive; if there’s an outbreak aboard a cruise ship among crew or passengers, sailings could be cancelled or cut short.
While the CDC resumption framework and test cruise situation gets sorted out, Disney Cruise Line has cancelled numerous sailings. Guests who have paid their reservation in full will receive the choice of a 125% future cruise credit to be used for a sailing prior to September 30, 2022 or a full refund.
To date, Disney Dream departures through August 6, 2021, Disney Fantasy departures through August 28, 2021, Disney Wonder departures through September 19, 2021, and Disney Magic departures in the US through November 4, 2021 are cancelled.
From all of the above, we know with certainty that Disney Cruise Line won’t set sail before August 2021 at the absolute earliest. That’s if DCL gets its cancelled simulation sailing rescheduled for early July, manages to get approval from the CDC shortly thereafter, and there aren’t more problems between Florida and the CDC.
Prior to all of this, Disney CEO Bob Chapek indicated that “with some luck and the increase in the number of vaccinations and encouraging trends that we are seeing that maybe by this fall we might be able to have some limited operations of our cruise ships.” It would now appear that DCL could beat that Fall 2021 goal if the cruise line so desires.
In such a scenario, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the Disney Dream’s scheduled sailing departing on August 13, 2021 could actually happen. In short, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and we’re optimistic about late August 2021 given where things currently stand.
With that said, I’ve seen enough to not want to be a guinea pig on an early return sailing aboard Disney Cruise Line. With so many viable vacation opportunities back in nearly normal form and without restrictions, cruising just is not as attractive to me right now. While I’m not concerned about my own safety as someone who is fully vaccinated, I am also worried about the possibility of a cruise being cancelled or cut short due to an outbreak. All of that, plus the standoff between Florida and the CDC, presents too many question marks for my comfort about how any situation would be handled. To each their own, but I’d rather watch how early cruises go for others, and consider sailing for Christmas 2021 or maybe in early 2022.
Planning to set sail aboard one of the DCL ships? Read our comprehensive Disney Cruise Line Guide to prepare for your voyage, plus plan entertainment, activities & excursions, and learn what to expect from your Disney cruise! For personalized planning & recommendations, click here to get a cruise quote from a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. They can find you all of the current discounts, and help you plan the details of your cruise!
Your Thoughts
Do you think Disney Cruise Line will resume sailing by Fall 2021, or is the holiday season or even 2022 more reasonable at this point? What’s your predicted timeframe? Are you expecting significantly modified operations once DCL returns? Would you sail with Disney Cruise Line next year, or will you wait longer? Do you agree or disagree with our advice and assessment? Any questions? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I have a 4 night cruise on the Dream set for 18July2021. What are your thoughts on if this will happen?
Wondering what your thoughts are on Disney Magic cruises in Europe leaving in late July, early August. Are cruises departing from non-U.S. ports subject to CDC rules and regulations?
Have an Alaskan cruise booked for Sept 2021, I am hopeful but definitely not certain it will sail. I too am not sure if everything will ever return to “normal”. Hopefully vaccines will reduce the whole scale of Covid-19 to a point where it is manageable. I do wonder how much the cruise experience will change. I visited WDW in December and it was the worst experience of the dozen or more vacations we have taken to the resort. We love Disney’s Broadway caliper shows, movies would not be a replacement. Character greetings and picture taking is a must when on a Disney Cruise. I hope DCL clearly explains how the experience will change when do get to start cruising again. I also hope, that despite anyone’s personal views on protocols, that people follow DCL’s protocols. If you do not like the restrictions, do not cruise.
I suspect there won’t be any sailings out of Vancouver this year, at all.
It’s a wealthy city with a diverse economy–cruising just seems like a hassle prior to everything being back to normal. Cruises out of Florida to the Bahamas seem much more likely to return in the nearish future.
I assume never. I do not foresee travel ever being the same again, if even allowed – between paranoia, fear, and government control normal life is gone forever. We gave it all up in the blink of an eye for the illusion of safety and no risk in life. It is why I do not see Disneyland or Knotts ever re-opening in California. The fear and hysteria is way too strong, plus government wanting lockdowns to continue indefinitely. It is pretty sad and messed up.
Your comments are extreme in 2 different directions. You do not foresee CA amusement parks EVER reopening (not true as reopening dates have already been announced) AND you say we gave up normal life “in a blink of an eye” with “no risk in life”? Sounds like you have have some how personally avoided losing a life you hold dear during this Pandemic. I am happy for your luckiness and yet also sad for your limited perspective.
Thanks for your updates. I have a slightly different question. We’re booked in Mid-July. Keeping optimistic, my question is about bookings. Even if they start sailing in May, the ships will have lower capacity. Does anyone know if the ships are booked closer to 100%? I’m thinking that some passengers won’t be able to sail because CDC will require something like a 50% capacity. Thoughts anyone?
Unbelievable some of the comments. There will never be a circumstance where everyone is vaccinated. Nor will there ever be a circumstance where no one could ever possibly get sick. If we have honestly allowed ourselves to believe we need to wait for a day when the chances of getting covid are zero….might as well kiss the cruise ship industry (and several others) goodbye permanently.
Our May 2020 cruise was cancelled and we rescheduled for May 2021, using the 125% credit. If our May 2021 cruise is cancelled and a 125% credit is issued, will the credit be based on our cruise fare from the 2020 or the 2021 cruise? I’m assuming it will be based on the 2020 fare?
Having been through that for April, you are correct. The 125% is based on your original booking
Along with proof of having the vaccine, what about proof of having already had Covid?
I’m pessimistic for my cruise slated for March 2022! I will be surprised if they sail at all in calendar 2021. Worried about the burden of disease.
Doesn’t count, it seems to me.
I had it. It was a cold with one day where I felt pretty bad. Swine flu was 10000% worse. I’ll still need to get vaccinated to probably travel or even participate in society – like going to work.
Novavax and Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca are not mRNA vaccines and the first 2 are 1-dose shots like the flu shot.
We have a cruise booked for next summer, which doesn’t sound promising right now. But I’m wondering – even once the sailings start again, what about excursions? Even if the ship is made “safe” it would be very difficult to maintain safety in ports of call. Excursions are one of the main reasons we like to cruise, so even if DCL is sailing by next summer, without excursions (or without being safe to get off the ship for excursions) I think we may have to reschedule anyway.
Looks like our January 29th cruise out of Port Canaveral is cancelled. Waiting on confirmation from our travel agent, but it isn’t anywhere in our DCL account online or on the app.
Our Feb 22nd on Disney Dream from Port Canaveral is still there for us.
https://www.themeparkprofessor.com/2020/11/disney-cruise-line-extends-suspension-of-all-sailings-through-january-31-2021/
Among the requirements and protocols for the CSC you left out of the article is that cruise lines after they conduct their mock cruises and get their certification to conduct revenue cruises is that no cruise line can sail any itinerary longer than 7 (Seven) Nights, that cuts out a number of itineraries DCL has for spring/summer 2021. So whether or not they can resume operations there are still going to be cancellations until the Framework conditions are completely lifted via a global coverage of a effective and comprehensive vaccination inoculation program.
If YOU have been vaccinated, then you have nothing to worry about should you encounter someone that has not, right? So why are you demanding that everyone be vaccinated to be able to cruise with you on board? I don’t get it.
so that children do NOT catch it from you? they cannot be vaccinated as of yet and there are plenty of children on disney cruises
Because that’s not how vaccines work. Vaccines reduce your likelihood of contracting an illness, but they don’t eliminate it. The current vaccines are 95% effective, so about 5 out of every 100 vaccinated people can be infected. They are much less likely to become severely ill, which is good, but they can still infect others.
CDC should allow DCL to start very soon, they have an excellent protocol. The NBA bubble was held in the their premises and it has a 100% negative cases. Disney company set a example already. The rest should follow.
how are they going to bubble cruise passengers before sailing? it can’t be done. it’s not at all the same at the nba situation.
We rebooked our cruise for the latest possible sailing when it was canceled (originally May, for my daughter with special needs who graduated a college certificate program!!). We are cautiously optimistic that we and our extended family will stay healthy through the winter, get vaccinated, and sail come October 2021. It is actually a hope that is getting me through these difficult times! I look forward to our 9th Disney, and first halloween, cruise. Yes, afraid of changes that may be in place, especially character interactions. Our young adult in her 20s finds these the best part of any Disney experience. Difficult to explain to someone with a cognitive disability, but thinking a trial run at Disney World Parks will may prepare for different experiences. We will evaluate risks for our family as we go along, and look back at old pics and keep up with the blog in the meantime! Thanks Tom
Halloween on the High Seas for 2021 is also what we’re targeting at this point. Hopefully it works out and there won’t be too many modifications in place! 🙂
Totally understand the idea of having this booked to get you through these times.. I’m in Canada and was supposed to celebrate my 40th bday at WDW in August, I just booked for next December… It may not happen but I need something for my mental health for sure! Being in Canada is also tough, we have zero options for travel this winter at all to get away from the snow!
Yup, you can write off cruising until next fall at the earliest. HIPPA will come into play for any kind of “proof of vaccination” and the recent issue with the cruise in the carribean shows pre-testing does not work very well. The virus spreads like crazy on these things…and indoor dining, buffets, shows…all petrie dishes for spread. Why bother when the main reasons to cruise are the top ways to get covid.
I suspect we’ll see a further relaxation of HIPAA when it comes to vaccination requirements. I don’t know how that’ll play out with the cruise industry, but I certainly wouldn’t rule it out–especially if pre-testing is not workable.
“The risk of getting sick on a cruise ship was sky high before covid”
That is just a common, and false, narrative associated with the cruise industry. The odds of you getting sick on a cruise ship – pre-Covid – were about 1 in 14,000 or 0.0071%. The average American is almost 1,000 times more likely to contract norovirus (the sickness that gets all the headlines from cruises, more commonly known as the 24-hour flu, or the stomach flu) during any given year than the average cruise passenger is to get sick with the ailment while onboard ship. Point being, before Covid, it was very safe to cruise. Were there instances of sickness? Obviously. Was it ever something that should have been overly worried about? Not in my estimation. Once Covid gets under control, I will absolutely go on another cruise – specifically another Disney Cruise.
Where is this data coming from? I know the CDC tracks outbreaks aboard cruise ships, but that’s certainly not the only way to have a sickness resulting from cruising. Even though I don’t think cruising is unsafe, I’d be highly skeptical to industry data that purports to track this.
I got my information from a cruise site that got their numbers from the CDC. All ships entering U.S. ports must report every onboard illness to the CDC, and the CDC must make a public announcement anytime 3% of a ship’s passengers have the same issue. From 2008 to 2014, 74 million passengers sailed on cruise ships in the Vessel Sanitation Program’s jurisdiction. Only 129,678 passengers (0.00175%) met the program’s case definition for acute gastrointestinal illness. Of those 129,678 cases, only 1 in 10 was part of an actual norovirus outbreak. Just like airplane crashes, outbreaks get the headlines, but they’re really few and far between.
Thanks for the added information.
While I agree that headlines dominate and can create a certain narrative that doesn’t comport with reality, that data still only reflects: 1) passengers who report being sick, 2) the cruise operator finds that illness meets a certain threshold, and 3) that occurs prior to disembarking. That’s a subset of all passengers who get sick as a result of cruising.
Laura- OMGosh- you could not have said this any better!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! It’s 100% the selfish attitudes of those that say “they are tired of this” that are the problem. I see so many people posting on FB that they were going to do Halloween and treat it “business as usual”… This can’t be “business as usual”. Just last night I saw someone post that this virus is a fake- I swear to you I wish I was making this up!! Talk about ignorance!! This coupled with people refusing to wear a mask. Studies have shown that we could reduce the spread of the virus by 80% if everyone wore a mask. Seems pretty simple to me. Ironically the same people who don’t want shut-downs are the same people who refuse to wear a mask… Sorry guys- you can’t have everything your way… Sometimes we have to act as adults in life and do the right thing- but you can’t refuse to take precautions and still continue to live like everything is just fine and expect the outcome to stay the same. I think for cruising to be able to resume, everyone should do a Covid test before boarding and then one every day while they are on the ship (in case of false negatives or if they tested before the virus was strong enough to be detected). Why have other countries have been able to get this virus under control and we haven’t? I believe it’s because too many people in the US are self-centered and because they feel they won’t get deathly ill, they refuse to do something for the rest of society. It’s like petulant children who insist on getting everything their way. One day our great-grandchildren will look back at this and wonder “why didn’t they just wear the masks and social distance for a month?”…
We were set to sail on the Dream this past September for our 40th wedding anniversary. So disappointed it didn’t happen. It would have been our 9th DCL and 12th cruise overall. We will definitely cruise again. We are always careful about hand washing/sanitizing and other precautions pre-Covid. I’m tired of all this nonsense. We’ve taken multiple vacations since May and have no plans to stop. Cruise is Rebooked for April!
Mimi- I’m so sorry you didn’t get to sail on your 40th anniversary. We had a Disney cruise scheduled to celebrate our only son’s high school graduation and our 25th anniversary. We were supposed to leave from Barcelona- tour through France and Italy and then stay 4 days in Rome to see the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. Maybe some day… The important thing is that you and your husband are well and hopefully you will get to sail soon- I agree with Tom- the Calvary is coming!! We will get past this!! God bless, stay safe and congratulations on such a wonderful milestone to you and your husband!!
The risk of getting sick on a cruise ship was sky high before covid – but maybe now it will be actually be safe to cruise?
I’ve never been on a cruise and won’t be going anytime soon
won’t be safe unless they require proof of vaccination. sadly all it takes is one person.
Do you think there will be proof of vaccination required before cruising? It seems unappealing to book a cruise vacation when a small number of cases on a ship may cause ship-wide quarantine.
i absolutely hope all cruise lines will require proof of vaccination when they start sailing. if someone doesn’t want to get one, too bad. cruising isn’t a right. we were supposed to do the west bound transatlantic in october. as much as i love cruising, i won’t be going anytime soon, not until the vaccine is widely distributed and we’re over this never-ending hump. people with the attitude of “i’m getting sick of this i do what i want” are part of the reason we are where we are now. cruise ships are just a crockpot for a lot of illness, despite the most rigorous cleaning. all it takes is one single person. it’s a confined space with a confined audience. who wants to potentially quarantine on a ship for weeks on end if there is an outbreak? people say they would volunteer for this but no thanks.
Laura, with all due respect, “cruising is not a right” can also be said to those who say they won’t get on a cruise ship without mandated vaccination for all aboard – particularly when the vaccines are showing 95% efficacy. To that end, if someone takes the vaccine, they should be personally protected. If they take it and STILL don’t feel safe, they shouldn’t get on the boat. Like you said, no one is forcing anyone to take a cruise. Personally, I’m not anti-vaccine. But one’s personal belief in the safety of a COVID vaccine cannot be a lens that is applied to others. Ultimately, each passenger takes a calculated risk getting on a cruise ship, whether for exposure to COVID, norovirus, or something else. At the end of the day, the cruise line industry is highly competitive. If one cruise line receives backlash for requiring proof of vaccination, it opens a door for a competing cruise line to offer a more relaxed policy and take more of the market share. Who knows how this will play out long term. But dollars talk.