The unknown

[pumpkinqueen93]

I honestly think a lot of us may be feeling frustrated or disappointed in the fact that throughout all this time we've been mostly in the dark. It's good to see that some lines are starting to officially post their protocols. It would be nice to hear from Disney what theirs are. Although with Disney being as different as they are than the others I think they have a lot more to consider and evaluate. I'm hopeful that we will hear something from them on what their full plan is. Hopefully by the end of the year. To me is frustrating not hearing any news other than the bi-monthly (it seems to be about every 2 months it happens. Correct me if I'm wrong.) cancellations. I'd be completely surprised if they do cruise in December.

 

[KT2038]

I completely understand! As a CM, it’s just as frustrating. We have to be safe, but we all miss it and want to go back!

 

[yowcruiser]

For what it's worth, there has been reports in other groups/forums of individuals having discussions with CMs last week when booking the 2022 itineraries and the line appears to be that they do not expect cancellations to extend past the current round of cancellations. There has also been rumours of CMs being called back and this is why all the ships are in Europe as this would be the transit point... Now, I know to take that with the proverbial grain of salt.

As for safety measures, I expect DCL to do no less... if not a little bit more than what CLIA has been recommending/endorsing through its Healthy Sail Panel - relatively easy to draw some conclusions from these safety recommendation. If you look as to what's bookable on upcoming cruises, ticketed characters meet and greet, characters breakfast, themed transformation (pirates, star wars) are not offered. Does not mean that these things won't happen... but...

Now, we also know that the four ships have been in drydock in France and knowing DCL, they will announce stuff once they are ready to put the Disney spin on whatever onboard changes are coming. One thing that they have always been clear on is that DCL would be one of the last parks and entertainment division to come back on line.

But yes... I do get where the frustration/disappointment is coming from. DCL has been way more silent than a few of the other cruise lines... but most of the other cruise lines are only cruise lines so this is also a matter of survival...

 

[spiders]

I’m not sure what exactly they can commit to at that this point other than the obvious: it’s going to be (very) different when they begin sailing. If you’re on a sailing between now and summer then you should fully expect it’s not going to be what you’re used to.

Our next one is next November. I am optimistic that we will be normal or very close to it by then. But if it appears that it probably won’t as PIF approaches next July then we will reevaluate and make our decision.

 

[mousefan73]

All I know is that they are booking the new itineraries, HI, to full capacity. So for future 2022 sailings Disney is betting on a vaccine.
If you need to know now how cruising will look in the near future, take it look at what Royal Has released and what other cruise lines have been doing overseas this summer. As great as Disney is I can’t see them coming up with anything that different or more innovative.

 

[yowcruiser]

All I know is that they are booking the new itineraries, HI, to full capacity. So for future 2022 sailings Disney is betting on a vaccine.
If you need to know now how cruising will look in the near future, take it look at what Royal Has released and what other cruise lines have been doing overseas this summer. As great as Disney is I can’t see them coming up with anything that different or more innovative.

I am with you that it is unlikely that DCL will allow itself to do the base things differently... but I would not be shocked that they are also taking this as an opportunity to modify some areas of the ship on a more semi-permanent basis and "innovate" that way. Whatever these things may be be, it would not remove the need to socially distance and wear masks... or allow for a huge pirate night deck party with fireworks...

 

[CamColt]

I agree but unfortunately, I'm learning I have to live day to day and not plan for anything, which is hard for me, LOL! This situation has changed things. But yes, a little info from DCL would be nice!

According to Pete on the Dis Unplugged Podcast, he has heard DCL has their ships ready to go when the no sail order is lifted. With cruises canceled through mid Dec, he is somewhat confident if the order is lifted, ships could start then. Let's all cross our fingers!

 

[MomOTwins]

We just cancelled our March 2021 and rebooked to March 2022. I'm really sad as the cruise was something I was really looking forward to, but when I saw that I could go the same week in 2022, same itinerary, same room for less money, and knowing how much is almost certainly going to be cut on early 2021 cruises, I couldn't justify the cost.

If they release their plans for returning to cruising and they're okay for us maybe we'll look at booking a 3-night in 2021 as a last-minute getaway. But I know we all probably have our own dealbreakers (for me, I don't think I can put my kids through the up-the-nose test but I wouldn't mind if it is rapid testing, and I can't justify the cost of a Disney cruise if they cancel all shows and pirate night). And without knowing if the 2021 cruises will still have those dealbreakers, it was too tough a sell for me to hold on to my current cruise as opposed to transferring to 2022 so I can get opening week prices and also keep my placeholder.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We just cancelled our March 2021 and rebooked to March 2022. I'm really sad as the cruise was something I was really looking forward to, but when I saw that I could go the same week in 2022, same itinerary, same room for less money, and knowing how much is almost certainly going to be cut on early 2021 cruises, I couldn't justify the cost.

If they release their plans for returning to cruising and they're okay for us maybe we'll look at booking a 3-night in 2021 as a last-minute getaway. But I know we all probably have our own dealbreakers (for me, I don't think I can put my kids through the up-the-nose test but I wouldn't mind if it is rapid testing, and I can't justify the cost of a Disney cruise if they cancel all shows and pirate night). And without knowing if the 2021 cruises will still have those dealbreakers, it was too tough a sell for me to hold on to my current cruise as opposed to transferring to 2022 so I can get opening week prices and also keep my placeholder.

Your 2022 was less money than your 2021? We did the same thing, but our 2022 was more than the 2021. Luck of the draw, I guess.

Agree, it's a no-brainer at this point to move the sailing. We'd love to be going this March, but I'd rather go either totally assimilated into the safty protocols (having been used to wearing masks, etc), if it becomes the 'new normal' or with all these safety protocols lifted due to vaccines or cures. Another year could make the difference and get us out of this pandemic. If it becomes endemic, well, we'll have to get used to living with it. But if there's a chance for it to be over with, I'd like to wait for that.

 

[MomOTwins]

Your 2022 was less money than your 2021? We did the same thing, but our 2022 was more than the 2021. Luck of the draw, I guess.

Agree, it's a no-brainer at this point to move the sailing. We'd love to be going this March, but I'd rather go either totally assimilated into the safty protocols (having been used to wearing masks, etc), if it becomes the 'new normal' or with all these safety protocols lifted due to vaccines or cures. Another year could make the difference and get us out of this pandemic. If it becomes endemic, well, we'll have to get used to living with it. But if there's a chance for it to be over with, I'd like to wait for that.

I suspect it was because our 2021 cruise was booked after our 2020 cruise was cancelled (and after 2021 had been bookable for some time), so we weren’t getting near-opening day pricing like we just did for 2022.

 

[TestingH2O]

We just cancelled our March 2021 and rebooked to March 2022. I'm really sad as the cruise was something I was really looking forward to, but when I saw that I could go the same week in 2022, same itinerary, same room for less money, and knowing how much is almost certainly going to be cut on early 2021 cruises, I couldn't justify the cost.

We had the same experience in terms of pricing. We had already pretty much decided to cancel our B2B in March 2021. When the 2022 dates were less expensive, it was a no brainer.

Now we’re just hoping our WDW trip in March can happen. WDW itself seems to be working hard in terms of safety, but the outlook in terms of getting there seems to change often.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Hmm. Just my luck to pick the one cruise that went up in price, lol.