ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney Cruise Line is ready to welcome passengers aboard a second cruise ship next month from Port Canaveral, but it had to cancel at least one more sailing on its website and shift the length and destinations for several more.
Disney Fantasy is set to resume operations on Sept. 11 joining Disney Dream, which began voyages earlier this month. Fantasy performed its two-night simulated voyage from Aug. 12-14 to earn its conditional sailing certificate from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That sets the ship up to begin service next month, but the cruise line decided to cancel a sailing that was still available on the website since the last round of cancellations was to depart Sept. 4. In addition, the new return date of Sept. 11 as well as at least three more voyages, have been shifted away from what had been 7-night itineraries instead to 4-night voyages that only visit the cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay.
“We hope to resume 7-night voyages or longer onboard the Disney Fantasy in October,” the line stated on its website.
Guests booked on the canceled Sept. 4 sailing who have paid in full will be offered a cruise credit to rebook a future sailing, a common occurrence since the cruise industry shut down in March 2020 because of COVID-19.
For guests expecting a 7-night trip for the Sept. 11, Sept. 18, Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 sailings, they can opt for a refund or stick with the 4-night option. If so, they will be returned the difference in voyage fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as well as receive a $400 nonrefundable onboard credit per stateroom and 25% discount on most future sailings taken by Sept. 30, 2022.
The CDC has been granting conditional sailing certificates to cruise lines that either perform a test voyage to show their COVID-19 health protocols are in order, or promising the CDC that it will sail with mostly vaccinated passengers.
As a cruise line with a large population of passengers under the age of 12, who do not have a vaccine option available to them, Disney has opted for the simulated voyage approach.
Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises have also done test sailings while Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival and Celebrity, who are all sailing from Florida as well, have moved forward with the 95% vaccinated passenger threshold.
“Our focus remains on operating our ships in a responsible way that continues to create magic for all on board,” the line states on its website. “We are resuming sailing in a gradual, phased approach that emphasizes multiple layers of health and safety measures, developed in consideration of guidance from the (CDC) and other medical experts.”
When it returns, Disney Fantasy will be the sixth ship in operation from Port Canaveral and 15th in Florida with lines also back in action from PortMiami and Port Everglades.
The cruise line already has begun sailing in the United Kingdom with Disney Magic while Disney Wonder is based on the West Coast, but the line has not announced a return yet for its voyages. The first available sailing according to the line’s website isn’t until Sept. 24, but that date, like Fantasy’s, could change.
