1. Expect to wear masks indoors. Per CDC guidelines, everyone is expected to wear masks indoors except when stationary eating and drinking--e.g. when you sit down for a meal. Thankfully there are plenty of out door activities and more than enough dining activities to give you plenty of mask breaks! We enjoyed lounging on the decks, playing in the splash pad and pools, Goofy golfing, walking and jogging along the observation deck. Have you every gone for a jog at sea? It’s delightful! And the food... don’t get me started on how much I ate: from pastry platters at breakfast, to frozen goodies at Vanellope’s, to brunch at Cabanas, to a true FEAST every night in one of the rotational dining venues.
This is me, stuffing my face with a selection of scrumptious pastries: a delightful, mask-free activity!
2. Expect lower crowds. Because of the pandemic, many of these cruises are at a decreased capacity. We were told there were about 1,200 passengers on our voyage which would normally accommodate upwards of 3,000 guests. We were grateful for the lower crowds!!!
3. Expect to reserve appointments for the Oceaneering Lab. The Oceaneering Lab is the kids club on board the Disney Dream, open to kids ages 3-12. It’s one of the most magical places on the ship with different themed areas that will appeal to any Disney fan young or old. My personal favorite was the Star Wars area with a partial recreation of the Millennium Falcon you can fly on Star Tours--styled missions. Little ones can also interact with R2-D2 who, though stationary, blinks lights and whistles and beeps at you! Tinker Bell fans will enjoy the Pixie Hollow area and for Toy Story fans there’s a room for you to shrink to the size of a toy. And almost every visit to the Oceaneering Lab includes meeting a beloved Disney Character IRL– from princesses to pirates to your favorite toys from Andy's toy box!
Our youngest kiddo enjoying the Oceaneering Lab during open house hours.
In order for your kids to enjoy the Oceaneering Lab, you have to reserve time slots ahead of time. Reserving a time slot can be done through the Navigator App or in person at the Oceaneering Lab. We had no trouble making bookings when we needed them, we were even able to make back to back reservations when we needed a longer chunk of time. You can reserve on the Navigator App as well but only for one slot a day. Scuttle‘s Cove (the kids club on Castaway Cay) doesn’t require a reservation. Our daughter absolutely loved the Oceanerring Lab and Scuttle's Cove! I was beginning to think she liked the cast members in the clubs better than her own parents--she wanted to spend most of her time there!
4. Don’t expect the nursery to be running. Disney is taking a “phased” approach to starting cruising again. At the time of our cruise the last week in August, 2021, It’s A Small World nursery was not yet running. We had booked Palo for all of the adults and just couldn’t manage to reschedule it in a way that would allow someone to watch the two under-3 year-olds with us. We were traveling with my parents and siblings and as such had enough adults to take turns watching the toddlers so parents could catch a break. But it was still difficult to do everything we wanted! I never made it to the adults-only pool or any of the lounges, for instance. Oh well-- there’s always next time!
We were able to take the toddlers to the open house time at the Oceaneering Lab which they absolutely loved! Also, the Nemo and Friends splash pad was a big hit!
5. Expect to wait a few minutes to get into the main pools. At the time of our cruise, they were only allowing 12 people into the main pools on the deck (Mickey and Donald pools) to allow for social distancing. As always, Disney had a plan for it: allowing groups of 12 into the pool for 10 minutes rotations. If there was no line, you can just hop right back into the line and back into the pool. This wasn’t an issue in the adult pools from our experience. Honestly, we only hopped in the Donald pool a couple of times. We spent most of our deck time either riding the Aquaduck, watching kiddos in the Nemo and Friends splash pad, or lounging on the deck enjoying watching Funnel Vision while snacking on a selection of decadent desserts from Cabanas.
6. Expect to see lots of SOCIALLY-DISTANCED characters. One of the best parts of a Disney Cruise is the abundance of magical Disney characters you get to interact with on the boat. COVID-19 has changed that a bit. There were still lots of princesses, pirates, life-sized toys and your favorite Mouse and his gang. But your little ones will not be permitted to come within six feet-- so NO HUGS! Characters often appeared behind a rope to encourage guests to keep their distance. We still had some magical, memorable experiences regardless of the distance. One of our favorites was when our youngest met Chip and Dale. He was so excited he started to dance. He has a particular move we've dubbed "The Giddy Stomp" which Chip and Dale enjoyed mimicking. We later received a signed picture of them and a note thanking our son for teaching them the "Giddy Stomp." You can still get great photos with your favorite characters in the background. Mickey and the Gang also come dancing through the restaurants the last night while guests are enjoying their dinner.
Socially Distanced two step with Jessie in the Toy Story room at the Oceaneering Lab.
7. Expect excellent shows & entertainment. Theaters were at no more than half capacity, only seating guests in every other row, with three seats between parties. Ushers help people seat parties to ensure social distancing. The audience members are still required to wear masks, and they will remind you to immediately replace your mask on your face in between bites and sips. The shows were AMAZING and totally worth wearing a mask to see! Thankfully, the actual show cast don't have to wear masks or practice social distancing. (They must be vaccinated/quarantined together, or something to that end--unlike the Beauty & the Beast show in Hollywood Studios right now that IS socially-distanced and more than a little awkward...)
8. Expect to be spoiled and pampered. Despite all the COVID hoops guests and cast members have to jump through to make these cruises happen, the service and overall experience was amazing! Your dining wait staff will start to feel like family and you will be wishing you could bring them home with you! We thanked all of our wait staff personally for their service and found them thanking us in return for choosing to cruise now because we are making it possible for these cruises and these people’s livelihoods to come back again! Honestly, we've already started making plans for cruising with Disney again!
Have you cruised with Disney recently? Thinking about cruising with them soon? We'd love to hear about it! Comment below!
Yours in family travel!
-Amanda
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