Disney Cruise Line will be sailing once again after announcing it had received approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to embark on a test voyage from Port Canaveral.
“We have reached an important next step toward our gradual and responsible resumption of service, and are grateful for the productive dialogue with state, local and federal officials, the CDC and others in our industry that has made this possible,” said Disney Cruise Line spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez in an emailed statement Tuesday. “We look forward to our amazing crew once again creating magic for our guests and to helping the many workers who support our industry get back to work.”
Port Canaveral officials welcomed the news of Disney’s return.
“Our continuous efforts in close consultation with our cruise partners at Disney has led to this important milestone,” stated Port Canaveral CEO Capt. John Murray. “We’re very excited and ready to welcome back the iconic Disney ships to their home at Port Canaveral.”
Media sites on Tuesday posted a letter from Thomas Mazloum, president of Disney Signature Experiences, which oversees Disney Cruise Line, revealing that the CDC had approved its application for a simulated cruise with volunteer passengers on the Disney Dream from June 29-July 1.
“The ship will sail with volunteer passengers and test our newly developed health and safety protocols, which have been meticulously tailored to the current public health environment,” reads the letter obtained by sites Walt Disney World News Today and The Laughing Place. “All of these protocols are essential to cruising responsibly, and Disney Cruise Line couldn’t be more committed to making vacation dreams come true as it prioritizes the wellbeing of all who step aboard our ships.”
The two-night sailing is part of the CDC’s requirement under its conditional sail order for vessels to receive the OK to resume normal cruises. The guidance from the CDC allows lines to either prove out their COVID-19 safety protocols on test cruises or to assert they will be sailing with at least 98% vaccinated crew and 95% vaccinated passengers.
Cruise lines such as Disney, which cater to a lot of younger passengers, would not be able to meet the CDC’s vaccination threshold since no vaccine is yet approved for anyone 11 or younger. That limitation makes simulated sailing is the only real option for Disney if it wants to get back to business.
“If you are wondering how to become a volunteer, I wouldn’t hold your breath,” wrote Scott Sanders on his fan site, disneycruiselineblog.com. “There is a massive pool of Disney Cast Members all within a short drive of Port Canaveral that have been through Traditions training and know how to follow company rules. I fully suspect the test cruise will be filled primarily with Cast Members because the CDC test is way too important to let John Q Public or Disney Blogger onboard.”
No major cruise line has been able to sail from U.S. waters since the coronavirus pandemic surged and the CDC put the industry under a no-sail order in March 2020. That order shifted last fall with details on how lines could get back to sailing, but guidance on the final steps only came in May.
So far, only Royal Caribbean announced it has also received approval from the CDC to do a similar test sailing, which is coming on board Freedom of the Seas out of PortMiami from June 20-22. Carnival Cruise Line also announced the CDC had given it the OK for test sailings from Galveston, PortMiami and Port Canaveral, but has not set dates yet.
Celebrity Cruises, though, announced its intention to use the vaccination alternative for its ship Celebrity Edge for a planned voyage from Port Everglades on June 26, requiring all of its passengers on what would be the first revenue cruise by a major cruise line from the U.S. in more than 15 months.
That plan, though, is at odds with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has an executive order and also signed a law that goes into effect July 1 banning so-called vaccination passports. That law calls for fines of $5,000 per instance for any business in the state with a vaccine requirement.
The state is also in the middle of mediation after it brought a lawsuit in federal court against the CDC over rules that have shut down the cruise industry for more than a year.
Disney Dream last sailed out of Port Canaveral on March 9, 2020. The cruise line bases both Dream and Disney Fantasy at the Central Florida port, and currently have all revenue sailings of those two ships canceled into early August.
It plans to sail Disney Magic on some short voyages in the United Kingdom from July-September. Those sailings are for vaccinated UK residents only. Disney Wonder is based on the west coast, but has no sailings available through mid-July.
