Category: Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line has only canceled sailings through May for its Port Canaveral-based ships, but in Disney’s shareholders meeting on Tuesday, the company shared an optimistic look for a timeline for Disney cruises to return to sailing.

Disney’s CEO said with current coronavirus trends and the wide span rollout of vaccines, the company is hoping to have limited operations of its cruise ships by this fall. He said if granted the opportunity to return to operations even within a restricted capacity, the company will likely implement similar disciplined guidelines in its theme parks.

“We’re anticipating that with some luck and the increase in the number of vaccinations out there and the encouraging trends that we’re seeing that maybe by this fall we might be able to have some limited operations of our cruise ships,” Chapek said. “But that’s all going to depend on the incidents of the virus and the vaccination of the general public.”

Disney and other lines have been out of the cruising business for almost a full year when the coronavirus pandemic began to surge and ships halted sailing. U.S.-based ships were placed under a no-sail order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was only lifted last November. It was replaced by a conditional sail order that has more than 70 points cruise lines have to fulfill before the CDC will let them sail again with passengers.

“We’re very anxious to get our Disney Cruiseline business back up and running,” Chapek said. “As of right now we don’t have any definitive information.”

Chapek also quickly noted that Disney Cruise Line’s fifth ship, the Disney Wish, is still under construction in Germany. No other details were announced about the new ship.

Disney Cruise Line could soon be returning to the high seas and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that it will let the current no-sail order expire at the end of the month and it will be replaced with a “Conditional Sailing Order.”

The no-sail order expires Saturday. The new conditional order will remain in effect until either Nov. 1, 2021, the expiration of the Department of Health and Human Services’ declaration of a public health emergency or when CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield decides to end it.

Disney officials announced that all cruises would be canceled through at least Dec. 6 which gives them time as cruise lines will have to prove to the CDC that its COVID-19 protocols are effective before they will be allowed to sail with passengers.

The new order establishes a framework that will help the industry implement safety measures that will enable it to resume operations in U.S. waters in a phased approach, the CDC said in a statement. Before restarting passenger operations in any commercial form, the companies will face tests from the CDC on how safe their protocols are, the agency said.

The first phase will include virus testing for all crew members and ensuring operators have safety measures in place for testing locations on ships. Later phases will include simulated voyages to test safety measures and the risk of COVID-19.

“This framework provides a pathway to resume safe and responsible sailing,” Redfield said in a statement. “It will mitigate the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks on ships and prevent passengers and crew from seeding outbreaks at ports and in the communities where they live.”

The CDC originally issued a no-sail order for cruise ships in U.S. waters on March 14 after hundreds of coronavirus infections and several Covid-19 deaths were reported onboard ships with outbreaks across the world. The CDC previously said “that cruise ship travel exacerbates the global spread of Covid-19” in justifying the order.

Port Canaveral recently reported a $18 million loss for this budget year due to halted cruise operations.

Tuesday, at a press conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed for international travel restrictions to be lifted and cruises to resume and said he’s been in touch with the White House about how to do it.

The statement from the governor comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s no-sail order is set to expire this weekend, however the CDC has not given any indication as to whether it will extend the order.

DeSantis acknowledged that it is more high risk than attending other outdoor gatherings, but said he thinks cruising can be done safely.

“Obviously, that is going to be an environment that is a different level of risk than going to an outdoor football game or some of these other things,” DeSantis said. “It has all kinds of impacts throughout different parts of Florida where the ships leave. Central Florida, South Florida, Tampa Bay. And we want to see that resume. So, I’ve worked with the White House on that. I do believe the president is supportive of it.”

With advances in rapid testing and airline cleaning protocols, DeSantis said relaxing rules about travelers would help Central Florida, particularly entertainment venues that have also stepped up efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19.

DeSantis said he thinks rapid tests could be helpful in getting the cruise industry back into business and said if a cruise line wanted to test everyone on board, they could.

The governor pointed to the economic value the industry brings to the state as the reason why he has been working to get cruises going again.

DeSantis said he’s worked with the White House on the issue and believes the president is supportive of it.

The “no sail” order, initially issued in March, has been extended three times. Currently, no major cruise lines are selling departures for November out of U.S. ports.