On Monday morning, Disney Cruise Line extended its cruise suspension through January 31, 2021, pushing the first sailing to February 5.
In a travel alert statement on its website, the line says that “We continue to carefully review the guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are working toward resuming operations. As we continue to refine our protocols for our eventual return to service, we have decided to cancel all sailings departing through January 2021.”
Those booked on affected sailings who have paid for their cruise in full will be offered the choice of a future cruise credit or a full refund. Guests who haven’t yet paid in full will automatically receive a refund of what they’ve paid so far.
Recently, all of Disney Cruise Line’s ships were at a shipyard in Brest, France undergoing modifications. It was the first time all four vessels have been in the same place together.
On November 19, Disney Wonder left the shipyard, bound for Port Canaveral according to the MarineTraffic website. This offers a clue that Wonder may be the first ship that Disney Cruise Line operates trial cruises with, according to the guidelines set forth by the CDC’s Conditional Sail Order.
As of the afternoon on November 23, Disney Wonder is well into her journey, approximately 1,500 miles west of Port Canaveral in the Atlantic Ocean.
Return Schedule:
- Disney Wonder: February 5 from New Orleans on a seven-night Bahamas cruise
- Disney Magic: February 6 from Miami on a five-night Western Caribbean cruise
- Disney Dream: February 5 from Port Canaveral on a three-night Bahamas cruise
- Disney Fantasy: February 13 from Port Canaveral on a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise
Despite the continued setbacks, Disney Cruise Line is very optimistic. In a fourth-quarter earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that “Demand is very, very strong for our cruise ships. We’re seeing extremely strong demand in the back half of fiscal-year 2021 and all of 2022 in terms of bookings.”
