Coronavirus travel: Disney Cruise Line won’t sail again until end of July at the earliest
Disney Cruise Line announced that its sailing suspension will be extended until July 27, according to a statement posted on its website Wednesday. The choice to idle all four of its ships was made “in line” with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which has issued an extension to its no-sail order, scheduled to expire on July 24, according to the announcement.
The extended suspension doesn’t come as a surprise after CEO Bob Chapek shared on an earnings call last week that cruising wouldn’t be back for a while.
“That will probably be the last of our travel-oriented businesses to come back online,” he warned during the company’s May 5 earnings call.
Chapek also said that he expects Disney’s cruise business to come back strong, noting the loyalty of its cruise customers. “They trust our business to act in a responsible way … to protect them against some of the woes that have plagued the industry,” he said.
All cruise ships in U.S. waters are idle due to the CDC’s current “no sail” order. The directive, which was extended in early April, says cruise ships cannot board passengers and return to their itineraries until one of the following three events occurs, any of which could come well into summer:
- Expiration of the Department of Health and Human Services’ declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency.
- The CDC director’s own decision to modify or rescind its no-sail decision.
- Passage of 100 days from the time the new order is published in the Federal Register.
Affected sailings include:
Disney Magic
- May 11-23
- May 23-30
- May 30-June 6
- June 6-13
- June 13-22
- June 22-July 1
- July 1-13
- July 13-18
- July 18-25
- July 25-Aug 5
Disney Wonder
- May 8-18
- May 18-25
- May 25-June 1
- June 1-8
- June 8-15
- June 15-22
- June 22-29
- June 29-July 6
- July 6-13
- July 13-20
- July 20-27
- July 27-Aug 3
Disney Dream
- May 11-15
- May 15-18
- May 18-22
- May 22-25
- May 25-29
- May 29-June 1
- June 1-5
- June 5-8
- June 8-12
- June 12-17
- June 17-21
- June 21-26
- June 26-July 1
- July 1-5
- July 5-10
- July 10-13
- July 13-17
- July 17-20
- July 20-24
- July 24-27
- July 27-31
Disney Fantasy
- May 9-16
- May 16-23
- May 23-30
- May 30-June 6
- June 6-13
- June 13-20
- June 20-27
- June 27-July 6
- July 6-11
- July 11-18
- July 18-25
- July 25-Aug 1
Passengers who had booked sailings during the now-extended suspension period will be notified via email and given the option to reschedule their cruise in the next 15 months or can opt for a full refund.
Disney recommends that any travelers who booked through a travel agent should contact the travel agent to organize their refund or to reschedule a sailing, while anyone who booked through Disney should contact the cruise line directly.
Last week, Carnival Cruise Line said will resume some of its North American cruise service this summer starting Aug. 1 amid the coronavirus pandemic and but is canceling its sailings to Alaska this summer. That’s just over a month later than the company expected to begin sailing, based on a timeline announced in mid-April.
According to a statement on its website, a total of eight ships are expected to resume cruising at the start of August, including the Carnival Dream, Carnival Freedom and Carnival Vista departing from Galveston, Texas; the Carnival Horizon, Carnival Magic and Carnival Sensation departing from Miami; and the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Elation leaving Port Canaveral, near Orlando, Florida.
The resumption of cruises, regardless of when that is, “is fully dependent on our continued efforts in cooperation with federal, state, local and international government officials,” Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said in a statement.
With the exceptions of the ports and ships mentioned above, all cruises out of North American and Australian homeports will be canceled through Aug. 31.
That includes the following cruises:
- All Alaskan sailings on Carnival Spirit departing out of Seattle
- Carnival Spirit Vancouver-Honolulu cruise leaving Sept. 25
- Carnival Spirit Honolulu-Brisbane cruise leaving Oct. 6
- Carnival Splendor cruises departing Australia between June 19 to Aug. 31
Carnival Cruise Line guests and travel advisers will be notified via email about their travel options.
Gulliksen told USA TODAY that the cruise line has submitted its plan to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “to manage and support public health priorities.”
Carnival’s announcement came after Congress announced it would be investigating parent company the cruise giant over its handling of multiple COVID-19 outbreaks on multiple ships. Carnival-owned Princess Cruises had high rates of illness even before the coronavirus crisis swept its ships.
Carnival’s sister line, cruise line Costa Cruises, which had ships with coronavirus cases, extended its cruising suspension until June 30.
Congress announces Carnival probe: U.S. Congress announces investigation into Carnival Corp. response to COVID-19 outbreak
Contributing: Chris Woodyard
Leave a Reply