Masks indoors, testing requirements, vaccine waivers.
Have you been dreaming about taking a Disney cruise? Already have one booked? Nervous about how things are different now that cruising has resumed under COVID-19 restrictions? We've got you covered!
We recently returned from a Disney Cruise aboard the beautiful Disney Dream with our family to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. It was an awesome way to gather the family! We loved eating dinner together with the whole family and our wait staff took such great care of us--they felt like family! Also, my daughter loved hanging out in the Oceaneering Lab! I think she was tempted to sleep there if they would have let her! However, this was one of the first Disney cruises to run since the start of the pandemic and things were a little different than pre-pandemic days. Here's what to expect if you have an upcoming cruise booked or if you are considering booking one soon:
1. Expect to arrive no more than 5 minutes before your officially designated boarding time. When you complete the online check in you will select an available boarding time. Due to COVID procedures, only so many people are permitted to arrive at a given time to promote social distancing. Our driver had to circle once or twice before he was permitted to drop us off!
2. Expect to wear masks indoors. Disney takes the CDC guidance seriously and all guests ages 2 and older are politely asked to wear masks inside unless you are stationary eating and drinking or inside your own state room. Mask wearing starts immediately when you arrive at the terminal. This was a challenge for some of our crew who have some health difficulties that make it hard to wear masks for long periods of time and for our two year old who is still just learning to wear a mask! Thankfully there are a lot of great opportunities to be outside once on board: on the walking deck, in the pool/splash pad or playing mini-golf. Our cruise did two days at Castaway Cay which is virtually all outdoors so the only time we needed a mask on the island was in line for lunch.
3. Expect to provide proof of vaccination or get a PCR Covid -19 Test. Life is SO MUCH easier for vaccinated passengers boarding the ship. Vaccinated parties were able to walk onto the boat with little to no wait. However, if you are traveling with anyone not vaccinated--for example, kids under 12--you are required to provide negative results of a PCR Covid test performed between 5 days to 24 hours before your ship departs. It MUST BE A PCR TEST!! (The rapid antigen tests will not be accepted.) One of the biggest challenges for us was finding a place that would preform a test on a child under age 3 and get us the results in time for us to board the boat.
Disney uses Inspire Diagnostics's Safe Passage system to track passengers COVID tests and vaccine documentation. Additionally, you can purchase at-home test kits from Inspire Diagnostics, but you have to have everyone registered before you can place the order. You then need to plan enough time to have the test kits shipped to your home, take the test and mail the kit back. Inspired Diagnostic requires a four day turn-around for results. Taking the test no earlier than day five before cruising and mailing no later than day four makes for a small window for testing.
We would have taken this route but experienced technical difficulties and weren't able to work things out with Inspire to have test kits shipped in time. My sister arranged for a PCR test for her one year-old through her pediatrician's office four days before our cruise. Due to longer turn-around times, the results didn't come in until 11:30am the day of the cruise. Thankfully you can show the lab results on your phone when you check in same-day.
Recommended Strategy: Order your home test well in advance or schedule your PCR tests for the morning of day 5 before you board your cruise. Tell your provider why you need a rush on the test so it is on time for your cruise. Check back with your provider frequently about your test results. Often times test results need to be reviewed by the actual physician or nurse before they can be posted to an online patient portal or received via email. A polite reminder phone call can help prevent priceless test results from languishing on someone's desk. After the planning and friendly reminders, pray hard for your results to come in on time. Do what you can and then relax. We wasted a lot of time stressing over these test results! "Do your best and let God do the rest."
4. EXPECT to take a second COVID test. If any member of your party has not been vaccinated, in addition to providing a PCR Covid Test within five days of your cruise, Inspire Diagnostics will take another rapid PCR test the day you board the ship. The procedure was very simple. Under the supervision of a lab technician, parents or guardians label a test tube and then use the provided cotton swabs to swipe the lower inside portion of the children's noses (NOT near the sinuses). The samples are put into tubes and taken away for testing. Results are supposed to be available within 15-30 minutes. We waited in a holding tent for OVER 2 HOURS for our kids' results! Thankfully there was some ventilation and air-conditioning. However there was no water or food and everyone was required to wear their masks which became increasingly difficult as the time ticked past. Needless to say this was the low point of our trip. (We found out later there was a Wifi outage that caused a delay in the test results loading into the system.)
5. Expect to fill out a Health Questionnaire. Inspire Diagnostics will email a health questionnaire the morning of the day you board the cruise. I didn't see the email! Thankfully, the workers are more than willing to quickly help you complete it as you check in for the health screening portion of the boarding.
All said and done-- once we were FINALLY on the boat, we had a truly magical time. Was it worth all the hassle? I think so-- but hopefully reading this post can spare you some of the stress we experienced!
With love,
Amanda
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