Cruising in a COVID World

I’ll admit, I was a little leery heading out on a cruise with COVID restrictions.  But after learning all the precautions the cruise lines are taking, especially Disney, I was quickly put at ease.  One important thing to know is anyone age 5 or older needs to be fully vaccinated to board the ship.  Those under the age of 5, must pretest 72 hours prior to arrival.  And everyone must take a rapid test at the port, paid for by Disney Cruise Line prior to boarding.  ​

This part of the trip was a little bit of a nail biter.  Once you are tested, you are led to a waiting area, where you can watch on a monitor to see if your stateroom has been cleared to board.  You’ll also receive an email giving you your status.  But we were able to see we were cleared on the monitor about 20 minutes before we received the email.  Once you get the all-clear, you can board the ship they same way as in the past.  It was a big sigh of relief and exciting heading through the giant Mickey ears again! ​

The next change is one I hope continues post-COVID.  The dreaded muster drill.  If you’ve ever been on a cruise before, you know what I’m talking about.  Standing at your station with your life jacket on in the hot sun, jammed next to other people like a can of sardines.  Well, no more! The new protocol on Disney’s cruises requires you go to your assigned muster station and just check-in with a crew member any time before sailing.  That’s it!  The drill itself is now broadcast on all stateroom TVs, as well as bar and lounge TVs throughout the ship. I have to say, it is so much nicer relaxing on a deck chair with a tropical drink for the drill.

After checking in for the muster drill, it was time for the lunch buffet.  This too was a welcome change.  Hand washing stations have been installed outside of the buffet entrance.  For the most part the buffet area itself looked the same except for the plexiglass covering the food options.  Servers now fill your plate for you and hand it to you at the end of the line.  Not only is this a more sanitary option, but I’m guessing is saves a lot of food waste too.    Sit-down dining rooms were the same as always except servers now wear masks.   But food quality and service were as great as it ever was.

Crew members seemed truly happy to be back at work and to have us on board.  Every crew member I encountered went above and beyond to accommodate. Stateroom attendants were constantly available and did their normal morning cleaning and evening turndown service.  Room service was also fully available.

Outside deck areas had lounge chairs spread out a little more than before.  But with the reduced capacity, there was never an issue finding a chair and pool towels were plentiful.

At each port, vaccinated guests were able to disembark as usual either for a Disney excursion or to explore the islands on their own.  Guests under the age of 5 were only able to disembark if they were booked on a Disney excursion (for contact tracing purposes).  A virtual queue system was added to the Disney Cruise Line app for vaccinated guests heading out to explore on their own, so that guests were not all exiting the ship at the same time.  This didn’t seem to cause any issues as we were able to get off the ship each time at the time we wanted.

Castaway Cay, my favorite port of any Disney Cruise, was business as usual.  The beaches were beautiful, the cookout was delicious and there were plenty of beach chairs for everyone.  ​

The Walt Disney Theater, lounges, bars and movie theater were set up for social distancing between parties.  But multiple showtimes were available, giving everyone a chance to see the shows.  The kids’ clubs were back in full swing as were the pools, spa, sports areas, and kids splash areas.

Characters were out and about both on the ship and at Castaway Cay, and they even made random appearances in the dining rooms at dinner time.  ​

Overall, it was a great cruise, and the new protocols were either minimal or a welcome change.
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