Coronavirus and DCL Megathread - Suspension of Departures for the fleet until early November. Booking only available from early December.

[travelmomof3]

I know many of us on these boards are Rick Steves fans. He just announced today that he is canceling all of his tours through August 15. That makes me sad as he has been going for 35 years in a row and I very much trust his opinion about the safety of traveling. In my mind his company is kind of the Disney of tour groups (as far as ethics/service).

That is sad but understandable. I'm a HUGE Rick fan. I have so many of his books and rewatch his episodes all the time. I'd love to do one of his tours one day. We have a 5 year streak of international travel that it will be broken this year. I'm sure it feels so strange to him having gone 35 years in a row!

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I received a duplicate email from DCL regarding my cruise confirmation today. I received the exact same email about two weeks ago. I guess it was sent by mistake or maybe it was intentional? Disney saying "hey we're still here and your cruise is still a go!"

 

[harriet2]

I received a duplicate email from DCL regarding my cruise confirmation today. I received the exact same email about two weeks ago. I guess it was sent by mistake or maybe it was intentional? Disney saying "hey we're still here and your cruise is still a go!"

compare the prices in the e-mail, there might have been a change in a port fee or something

 

[AquaDame]

I received a duplicate email from DCL regarding my cruise confirmation today. I received the exact same email about two weeks ago. I guess it was sent by mistake or maybe it was intentional? Disney saying "hey we're still here and your cruise is still a go!"

I usually get these too.. no idea why but I suspect to remind me to sign up for more onboard activities.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I usually get these too.. no idea why but I suspect to remind me to sign up for more onboard activities.

At least I'm not the only one. It came in at 5am as well. I actually do need a friendly reminder in a month when I am eligible to book Palo and other activities as a gold CC member.

compare the prices in the e-mail, there might have been a change in a port fee or something

That is a good possibility. I double checked the figures and they are all identical. I'll defintely look them over in more detail moving forward though.

 

[MomOTwins]

At least I'm not the only one. It came in at 5am as well. I actually do need a friendly reminder in a month when I am eligible to book Palo and other activities as a gold CC member.


That is a good possibility. I double checked the figures and they are all identical. I'll defintely look them over in more detail moving forward though.

Any chance you were waitlisted for a dining seating and got moved? I got an email when that happened.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

Any chance you were waitlisted for a dining seating and got moved? I got an email when that happened.

No to being on a waitlist but thanks for the heads up. I actually do need to call to request second seating but there's really no rush on that right now. Edit: I forgot I can do that online.

 

[Karin1984]

This morning in a Dutch newspaper there was an article about making vaccins. Due to all the measures taken, less and less people get infected, but to see if a vaccin works, you need your test subjects to get infected. Of course it is not allowed to infect people on purpose. So, defeating the virus by staying in, washing hands, social distancing slows down the creation of the vaccin.

The article also mentions that Oxford University who is working on ChAdOx1 and hopes to have it ready by September. They are now testing on humans. But they need people to get infected.
It is allowed to infect monkeys with the virus, and apparently that is what the US is doing to test Oxford's vaccin, but there the problem is, monkeys don't get Covid that easily.

The Dutch article is based on an interview done with Adrian Hill from Oxford with the New York Times. Probably this one: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/world/europe/coronavirus-vaccine-update-oxford.html

 

[Starwind]

In an interview with CBC (major Canadian broadcaster) released yesterday, Canada's Canada's Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) Dr. Theresa Tam said the following; bold added by me:

QUOTE
Tam also told CBC News that one of the features of the new normal will be a lack of cruise ships in Canadian waters.

"We'll postpone the cruise ships coming into Canada and re-evaluate it," she said. "The re-evaluation is July, but let's just say that can't happen here, because the introduction would be huge. You'd have thousands of passengers coming into port."

A slow, phased-in easing of restrictions is necessary, Tam said, to avoid a second outbreak.

"I just have the image of New York City in my head. And I think I would never want that to happen anywhere in Canada," she said. "And if we let things resume too fast, we may get that kind of surge."
END QUOTE

Source: "Tam says the pandemic will bring a 'new normal' to workplaces, defends WHO's performance" https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tam-who-defend-new-normal-pandemic-covid-coronavirus-1.5548285

 

[MomOTwins]

Update: I can confirm that DCL is rolling forward the 25% FCC and refunding cancellation fees for the latest set of cancelled cruises if you cancelled prior to the announcement. We had cancelled one room (my in-laws's room) after PIF and rebooked our room from a late-May to a cruise to this August, and just go the emails from DCL today saying that we'd get back our deposit for the first room and 25% onboard credit for our August cruise. Obviously, there are no guarantees, but it does appear that DCL is continuing to roll forward these benefits for future cancelled cruises.

*happy dance* so excited for our 25% onboard credit. This is our first time we have a CC cabana and will be even better knowing it is "free" (if our August cruise sails... fingers crossed)

 

[NKHarris329]

Update: I can confirm that DCL is rolling forward the 25% FCC and refunding cancellation fees for the latest set of cancelled cruises if you cancelled prior to the announcement.

This would make me really excited. Our original dates will be in the next round of cancellations (June 21 sailing), but we opted to reschedule for a cruise next year before the PIF date. My fingers are crossed that this policy is still in place if there are additional cancellations.

 

[AZMermaid]

This would make me really excited. Our original dates will be in the next round of cancellations (June 21 sailing), but we opted to reschedule for a cruise next year before the PIF date. My fingers are crossed that this policy is still in place if there are additional cancellations.

Me too for July 1, I’m not counting on it, but it would be nice! Our new cruise is $500 cheaper than that one and we got a refund of the difference. I wonder if that is going to affect us...

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Im expecting my September European cruise to be cancelled

I did have a April cruise but changed it to sept

I used the 125% credit plus nearly 1000 out of pocket. I'm still wanting to know if I'll get the 125% on the extra 1000 I paid if It does get cancelled

Why not call DCL and ask?

 

[Canadian Girl]

So sad. I cancelled my June 22 Greek cruise for a refund and then later rebooked next June19th. We don’t qualify for the extra 25%. You had to have moved a cruise. And our Canadian dollar is in the toilet. Next year may not happen.

 

[harriet2]

I wonder how long before the cancellation you can move. Our PIF is June 1st and I think we're not going to go. We booked with a placeholder which will end in May. So if we move our cruise before the PIF to a date after the placeholder expires, would there be a chance they will honour our placeholder (and the 25%) if our cruise does end up being cancelled or would our change be to far away for that.

 

[Canadian Girl]

Maybe if you moved, but at the time I tried, they refused and I lost my placeholder and 200 dollar on-board credit. In retrospect, I wish I had asked them to keep this. But in February, I think DCL just wanted Covid to disappear and had their eyes shut.

 

[emilymad]

I wonder how long before the cancellation you can move. Our PIF is June 1st and I think we're not going to go. We booked with a placeholder which will end in May. So if we move our cruise before the PIF to a date after the placeholder expires, would there be a change they will honour our placeholder (and the 25%) if our cruise does end up being cancelled or would our change be to far away for that.

We are in the same situation. We definitely aren't going on our cruise but we are waiting until close to the PIF in early June. We will probably loose our placeholder but I figure there is no harm waiting until closer just in case some policy changes.

 

[Seamama]

Thanks for posting. I’ve been scouring the internet for any hints about what Canada will do with the ports/cruises... we’ve still got an Aug 2020 Alaska cruise booked.

In an interview with CBC (major Canadian broadcaster) released yesterday, Canada's Canada's Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) Dr. Theresa Tam said the following; bold added by me:

QUOTE
Tam also told CBC News that one of the features of the new normal will be a lack of cruise ships in Canadian waters.

"We'll postpone the cruise ships coming into Canada and re-evaluate it," she said. "The re-evaluation is July, but let's just say that can't happen here, because the introduction would be huge. You'd have thousands of passengers coming into port."

A slow, phased-in easing of restrictions is necessary, Tam said, to avoid a second outbreak.

"I just have the image of New York City in my head. And I think I would never want that to happen anywhere in Canada," she said. "And if we let things resume too fast, we may get that kind of surge."
END QUOTE

Source: "Tam says the pandemic will bring a 'new normal' to workplaces, defends WHO's performance" https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tam-who-defend-new-normal-pandemic-covid-coronavirus-1.5548285

 

[Pluto2213]

My family and I, (82 year old father with health issues and mother in her 70s) are currently booked on the July 6th Alaskan cruise, the first possible cruise after the Canadian port closure. We won’t be going, but our final payment was due on March 4th and I paid it a few days early on Feb. 27, so I wouldn’t forget or have a processing issue with my credit card. The July 6th and 13th cruises weren’t given the option of the PIF date of 30 days before the cruise. We are at 66 day mark before our cruise , I believe that we have until the 56 day mark to cancel still only losing our deposit. I’m hoping that someone can confirm that. I’m not interested in getting a credit because I’m not sure if taking a then 83 year old on a cruise next summer would be a good idea. I currently have the ability of being able to teach from home, but if school reopens, I could probably use the cash to buy some camping equipment to move into the backyard. This is getting more stressful as the situation goes on, but I am grateful that my family is healthy

 

[Canadian Girl]

We are in the same situation. We definitely aren't going on our cruise but we are waiting until close to the PIF in early June. We will probably loose our placeholder but I figure there is no harm waiting until closer just in case some policy changes.

Yes, if you cancel and not move, you cannot keep your placeholder. I could not keep mine and lost my 200 on-board credit as well. They were not permitting anyone to move them at my PIF date and there no extensions. DCL will not revisit anyone who cancelled etc before the middle of March, despite the fact Canada had a travel advisory when I cancelled I believe. I got a firm no for everything.