Cruise and Theme Park Operational Updates due to Coronavirus

[J-Dog]

Relax. Take a deep breath. This is a totally hypothetical scenario and not very relevant to the thread topic anyway.

Breathe. It takes 10 seconds of Googling to fake a COVID vaccine paper, Disney isn’t going to waste their time requiring something anyone can forge. (If you’ve seen one they basically all look fake as all get out )

Do you guys realize that telling someone to "calm down" is condescending and usually has the opposite effect?

 

[J-Dog]

Crystal to Launch First North American Large Ship Cruises Since COVID

Take the high speed ferry from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas and you can resume cruising.

"In partnership with the Bahamas, Crystal plans to begin sailing on July 3, 2021, with weekly cruises aboard the Crystal Serenity. "

"Crystal had previously announced that passengers will be required to be fully inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before boarding any Crystal ship."

I would be all for it, except the article says there is a "mask policy", whatever that means.

 

[closetmickey]

I have a question on getting ice and water at the parks/resorts. Historically, when I’ve gone to Disney I’ve gotten my own ice and water at the resort quick service location and asked for ice water when I ordered food at the parks. How does that work now? If I recall what I have read on the boards, you cannot use the self serve drink machines at the resort and a cast member serves you. Is there any issue asking for ice water there to fill up my water bottle? Also, how does this work at the parks? I never saw this as an option in the mobile ordering system before.

When we were staying at CR last month you could just walk up to the area within the quickserve location and ask for a cup of ice water to use to refill your bottle. Worked the same when we were visiting the YC, BC, and Poly- though in fairness I walked through the backdoor of the Poly quick serve. Not sure how that works at a place like AoA where they were/are (still?) checking mobile orders for entry.

 

[elle21]

This article is why mask wearing will continue for a while (kids aren't vaccinated), and probably why vaccine passports might be the only way forward for the travel industry. The article fails to mention that only 65% of the staff were vaccinated, even though it was offered to all of them. Couple that with only 80% of residents and you get an outbreak. There are too many people who do not want a vaccine and this is probably the biggest hurdle to getting back to normal.

If there aren't enough people vaccinated for herd immunity not much will change and outbreaks will still be everywhere. Travel industries have a responsibility to keep people safe but I'm not sure about their liability in these cases. It could be another possible reason for wanting vaccine passports if a large percentage aren't vaccinated.

I'm kind of indifferent on vaccine passports. I really don't see how I could go to WDW without them but also understand the unfairness to people who can't access or are unable to get vaccines.

The goal has never been, and should never be,
to avoid having an outbreak.
The goal should be offering protection to the “at risk” population who have a chance of becoming seriously ill from the virus.
It’s interesting to see the shift from “flatten the curve and make sure there are hospital beds available for those who need medical intervention while fighting Covid” to “no one should be getting Covid at all.”

 

[DisneyPigFan]

The goal has never been, and should never be,
to avoid having an outbreak.
The goal should be offering protection to the “at risk” population who have a chance of becoming seriously ill from the virus.
It’s interesting to see the shift from “flatten the curve and make sure there are hospital beds available for those who need medical intervention while fighting Covid” to “no one should be getting Covid at all.”

Don't be silly. No one is saying Covid has to be eradicated before things can return to normal. That may not even be possible.

And to a large degree -- things are already returning to normal. If you've been vaccinated -- you can hug others, you can meet INSIDE WITHOUT MASKS. I guarantee the guidance will ease as more and more people get vaccinated. I'd expect more loosening of the guidelines within another 3-4 weeks.

Masks guidelines will eventually cease, too.

No one is saying cases need to go down to zero. Dr. Fauci's goal, I believe, is for daily cases to be no higher than 10,000. Right now they're hovering around 50-55K. But we're so close! We could be under 10K cases in a matter of months.... if we keep up the mitigation tactics like mask usage.

 

[jlwhitney]

Don't be silly. No one is saying Covid has to be eradicated before things can return to normal. That may not even be possible.

And to a large degree -- things are already returning to normal. If you've been vaccinated -- you can hug others, you can meet INSIDE WITHOUT MASKS. I guarantee the guidance will ease as more and more people get vaccinated. I'd expect more loosening of the guidelines within another 3-4 weeks.

Masks guidelines will eventually cease, too.

No one is saying cases need to go down to zero. Dr. Fauci's goal, I believe, is for daily cases to be no higher than 10,000. Right now they're hovering around 50-55K. But we're so close! We could be under 10K cases in a matter of months.... if we keep up the mitigation tactics like mask usage.

I agree that we don't need no covid to go back to normal, but there is a portion of the population that have so much anexity/fear of covid that don't believe it is safe to loosen up till there is no covid. No covid will probably never happen. I agree normal is starting to return.

 

[Eric Smith]

I agree that we don't need no covid to go back to normal, but there is a portion of the population that have so much anexity/fear of covid that don't believe it is safe to loosen up till there is no covid. No covid will probably never happen. I agree normal is starting to return.

I think that’s a strawman argument. I have not seen anyone say “we shouldn’t loosen up until there is no COVID.” I have seen people say we shouldn’t be reducing restrictions while cases are so high (still around 50k per day). I believe Dr. Fauci said that under 10k cases per day is the goal.

The reality is that case numbers now are as high as they were in the fall which is too high. A combination of reducing restrictions and Spring Break travel could cause case numbers to climb. We’re a few month away from being able to vaccinate all adults in the US. This is not the time to take our collective foot off the gas.

 

[jlwhitney]

I think that’s a strawman argument. I have not seen anyone say “we shouldn’t loosen up until there is no COVID.” I have seen people say we shouldn’t be reducing restrictions while cases are so high (still around 50k per day). I believe Dr. Fauci said that under 10k cases per day is the goal.

The reality is that case numbers now are as high as they were in the fall which is too high. A combination of reducing restrictions and Spring Break travel could cause case numbers to climb. We’re a few month away from being able to vaccinate all adults in the US. This is not the time to take our collective foot off the gas.

I am in many groups on FB and yes there are many people that have no tolerance for any covid cases, mainly form the group that have barely left there house in a year and many of them are not considered high risk either.

 

[Eric Smith]

I am in many groups on FB and yes there are many people that have no tolerance for any covid cases, mainly form the group that have barely left there house in a year and many of them are not considered high risk either.

It’s a fallacy to say that only high risk people are at risk from COVID. Listen to the experts, not Facebook.

 

[middlechild]

It’s a fallacy to say that only high risk people are at risk from COVID. Listen to the experts, not Facebook.

Each and every one of us should make the decisions in consultation with our own personal physician. Never take medical advice from a Disney discussion board. Having said that, and my physician and I agree on not getting the vaccination at this time, there are many people in my social circle who are unwilling to meet unless and until everyone is jabbed. The fear is out there, and very real. This is what WDW and DL have to counter act. There are additional factors at play here, as outlined in other threads. What I am assured of, is these experiences will be studied in MBA courses for decades! Is Disney making the right calls? Depends on how you measure success. Will the number of people waiting for eradication of Covid affect the bottom line of TWDC? The phased re-opening of WDW? Without a doubt.

 

[Oldnewfan]

I personally am not waiting for COVID to go away before returning to the parks. I have had to spend the past year in the field an exposed to make a living and manage projects. I've had to shake hands and be in rooms with masked and unmasked folks. What I am waiting on is the restrictions to be lifted. Disney is the only bubble I've found to escape the outside world and I don't want my last memory to be what it is now. I told my daughter it would be like playing with a puppy and the next time I see him he is an old dog laying in the corner and can't get up. I'll wait and hope that folks that are either scared to function in a world where COVID is just another thing we have to vaccinate against or who are somehow looking to always shield theirselves from society wont perpetuate this any longer than necessary once everyone who has the chance to get vaccinated, perfect or not, has had that chance. Here's hoping for a 2019 trip in 2022.

 

[dlavender]

It’s a fallacy to say that only high risk people are at risk from COVID. Listen to the experts, not Facebook.

But what if you got your degree in virology from Facebook?

 

[hertamaniac]

Island H20 LIVE! water park reopened

 

[hertamaniac]

I would be all for it, except the article says there is a "mask policy", whatever that means.

It's baby steps, but I wonder if it will open the door for the big 3 to follow suit.

 

[mrsap]

Island H20 LIVE! water park reopened

I’ve never heard of that?! Is it new?

 

[Eric Smith]

Each and every one of us should make the decisions in consultation with our own personal physician. Never take medical advice from a Disney discussion board. Having said that, and my physician and I agree on not getting the vaccination at this time, there are many people in my social circle who are unwilling to meet unless and until everyone is jabbed. The fear is out there, and very real. This is what WDW and DL have to counter act. There are additional factors at play here, as outlined in other threads. What I am assured of, is these experiences will be studied in MBA courses for decades! Is Disney making the right calls? Depends on how you measure success. Will the number of people waiting for eradication of Covid affect the bottom line of TWDC? The phased re-opening of WDW? Without a doubt.

It’s not fear, it’s legitimate concern. Calling it fear is dismissive.

What your friends are avoiding you because you could give them a disease that has killed over half a million Americans.

Unless there’s an extenuating circumstance, you’re getting bad advice.

 

[KayMichigan]

We were clearing out my mom's house and found a booklet of my grandfather's from the 1940s with "gas coupons" and an official form that had to be signed by a government agency verifying he had enough coupons to qualify to drive to a different state.

That's pretty cool that she still had that!

It's interesting to note that gas rationing during World War II was meant to conserve tires, not gas. Rubber was scarce at the time due to the fighting in the Pacific areas that had cut off America from its rubber supply.

 

[hertamaniac]

I’ve never heard of that?! Is it new?

Not really. It is located just in front of Margaritaville and is a very reasonably priced water park. We loved visiting Sunset Walk pre-covid (https://www.sunsetwalk.com).

When Gloria Estefan left Disney Springs, she setup a new eatery here (https://www.sunsetwalk.com/promenade/directory/estefan-kitchen/). We have yet to try it.

 

[lovethesun12]

The goal has never been, and should never be,
to avoid having an outbreak.
The goal should be offering protection to the “at risk” population who have a chance of becoming seriously ill from the virus.
It’s interesting to see the shift from “flatten the curve and make sure there are hospital beds available for those who need medical intervention while fighting Covid” to “no one should be getting Covid at all.”

I agree that we don't need no covid to go back to normal, but there is a portion of the population that have so much anexity/fear of covid that don't believe it is safe to loosen up till there is no covid. No covid will probably never happen. I agree normal is starting to return.

I agree the goal is not to avoid an outbreak. I like having all restrictions lifted. But at the same time, we are on a disney board and I was referring specifically to the uptake of vaccines/potential passports and the travel industry.

WDW (a tourist destination) will always be much higher risk to get sick than where many people live regardless of the precautions they take. I'm not afraid of catching covid, I go to restaurants, have my kids in extra-curricular, etc. But I don't really want to get out searching it out either.

A rollout of some form of a vaccine passport significantly increasing the numbers immune (assuming it's coupled with research showing it prevents transmission) sounds really appealing though. I'm not about to get signs out protesting for or against this, it is what it is. I don't want to get into a debate about why it will or won't work this way or that way because really I'm not educated enough on it to do that. But it seems like this is the only thing that has the potential to put traveling to WDW at a closer risk level to traveling to my local grocery store.

 

[LSUmiss]

The goal has never been, and should never be,
to avoid having an outbreak.
The goal should be offering protection to the “at risk” population who have a chance of becoming seriously ill from the virus.
It’s interesting to see the shift from “flatten the curve and make sure there are hospital beds available for those who need medical intervention while fighting Covid” to “no one should be getting Covid at all.”

Right & in our state something like 80% of the at risk have been vaccinated. But at least here, many restrictions aew being lifted.