How have the passenger numbers been lately?

[Disneyland_emily]

Will someone please remind me what the reduced capacity regulations are currently? Or is it just a recommendation to the cruise lines? Thank you!

no actual restrictions BUT most ships are crewed based on demand so if they are hitting say a 60% capacity based on demand they are crewed to about that. So if DCL suddenly was booking & sailing 100% they’d have issues because there isn’t enough crew on board.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

no actual restrictions BUT most ships are crewed based on demand so if they are hitting say a 60% capacity based on demand they are crewed to about that. So if DCL suddenly was booking & sailing 100% they’d have issues because there isn’t enough crew on board.

I’d like to think they plan ahead and see that coming. Just like having to buy more food for more people too. They know their future numbers far better than we do. I’d think they are watching the numbers closely.

 

[BruinEd03]

no actual restrictions BUT most ships are crewed based on demand so if they are hitting say a 60% capacity based on demand they are crewed to about that. So if DCL suddenly was booking & sailing 100% they’d have issues because there isn’t enough crew on board.

My guess is that they are already staffed for numbers higher than what they expect. The reason is that the crew will have to be vaccinated and given that there are a lot of non-US workers, it will be difficult to get them onboard. It won’t be easy for them to crew up or crew down within a 1-2 month period.

 

[lanejudy]

I agree with above -- they are either at or very close to full staff. There are lots of reports of CMs telling guests it's almost a 2:1 ratio of CM:guest.

 

[Drusilla99]

Got off the Fantasy today and the cruise was at approx. 2200 guests

 

[kathi]

We sailed last week at 2200 and are onboard this week also. Concierge host said about 2200 again although it was supposed to be many more. Feels about the same as last week but with fewer small children.

Vibe and Edge have been mostly closed since the end of last cruise, which is not ideal. Packs of teens and tweens roaming around the ship with not much to do. Our daughter heard it is due to staffing shortages due to crew being sick. Cannot verify the veracity of that claim.

 

[closetmickey]

We sailed last week at 2200 and are onboard this week also. Concierge host said about 2200 again although it was supposed to be many more. Feels about the same as last week but with fewer small children.

Vibe and Edge have been mostly closed since the end of last cruise, which is not ideal. Packs of teens and tweens roaming around the ship with not much to do. Our daughter heard it is due to staffing shortages due to crew being sick. Cannot verify the veracity of that claim.

Vibe and Edge are closed??!! Which ship? This is the first Ive heard of this. My kids will be crushed. We sail on the Dream on January 7th.

 

[nostkim8805]

We got off the Magic yesterday from a 6 night cruise and both Vibe and Edge were open on our sailing.

 

[texaskristi]

We sailed last week at 2200 and are onboard this week also. Concierge host said about 2200 again although it was supposed to be many more. Feels about the same as last week but with fewer small children.

Vibe and Edge have been mostly closed since the end of last cruise, which is not ideal. Packs of teens and tweens roaming around the ship with not much to do. Our daughter heard it is due to staffing shortages due to crew being sick. Cannot verify the veracity of that claim.

Yeah. This would REALLY stink and kind of is not ok. That makes or breaks the experience for both kids AND adults.

 

[MomOTwins]

Yeah. This would REALLY stink and kind of is not ok. That makes or breaks the experience for both kids AND adults.

I’m sure it stinks even more for the CMs who can’t staff Vibe and Edge because they are sick.

 

[JosephWDW]

We sailed last week at 2200 and are onboard this week also. Concierge host said about 2200 again although it was supposed to be many more. Feels about the same as last week but with fewer small children.

Vibe and Edge have been mostly closed since the end of last cruise, which is not ideal. Packs of teens and tweens roaming around the ship with not much to do. Our daughter heard it is due to staffing shortages due to crew being sick. Cannot verify the veracity of that claim.

I was on the cruise last week and I heard 13 teen club members are quarantine. Guest Services said they all tested negative for COVID.

 

[Cheburashka]

I’m sure it stinks even more for the CMs who can’t staff Vibe and Edge because they are sick.

It is not necessarily a bigger issue for someone who is being paid for a job to have to be sidelined from active duty for a while with minimal or no symptoms, than it is for a parent who booked, paid for and hoped for a trip to bring the family joy after a miserable 18 months of pandemic life, to not be able to have their kids fully enjoy the trip.

 

[MomOTwins]

It is not necessarily a bigger issue for someone who is being paid for a job to have to be sidelined from active duty for a while with minimal or no symptoms, than it is for a parent who booked, paid for and hoped for a trip to bring the family joy after a miserable 18 months of pandemic life, to not be able to have their kids fully enjoy the trip.

The prior post that reported this said it was because “the crew were sick” not that they were asymptomatic.

 

[closetmickey]

I was on the cruise last week and I heard 13 teen club members are quarantine. Guest Services said they all tested negative for COVID.

Which ship?

 

[closetmickey]

It is not necessarily a bigger issue for someone who is being paid for a job to have to be sidelined from active duty for a while with minimal or no symptoms, than it is for a parent who booked, paid for and hoped for a trip to bring the family joy after a miserable 18 months of pandemic life, to not be able to have their kids fully enjoy the trip.

Exactly.

 

[texaskristi]

I’m sure it stinks even more for the CMs who can’t staff Vibe and Edge because they are sick.

I didn’t know it was a competition.

 

[lanejudy]

It is not necessarily a bigger issue for someone who is being paid for a job to have to be sidelined from active duty for a while with minimal or no symptoms, than it is for a parent who booked, paid for and hoped for a trip to bring the family joy after a miserable 18 months of pandemic life, to not be able to have their kids fully enjoy the trip.

Depends on one's perspective; the past 18 months of pandemic life may have been just as miserable for the CMs as it was for us guests and all they want to do is get back to work. I expect it's just as frustrating and upsetting to the CMs; I certainly would not be terribly happy confined to a tiny interior stateroom on a ship (as are most crew quarters), no direct contact with other humans, unable to do my job, and possibly not being paid so unable to send funds back home to my family who depend on my paycheck (a family who probably already endured more than a year of no wages).

I understand guests are disappointed. I'm also sure DCL wants to get the space open. Having to quarantine CMs during the busy holiday season is less than optimal from their perspective as well. Anyone cruising at this time needs to be prepared for changing circumstances -- whether that is cancelled port stops or cancelled excursions, reduced or cancelled activities, changes in procedures onboard, etc. If unable to roll with it, cruising may not be the right vacation at this time.

 

[Cheburashka]

Anyone cruising at this time needs to be prepared for changing circumstances

Everyone here is prepared for that- we all live on the same planet and have all been coping with extreme changes to our way of life since early 2020. A person should still be able to commiserate about unfortunate changes that will disappoint their family, and receive sympathy for those issues, without hearing "it could be worse", "others have it worse", "don't complain". That kind of response is unkind on a vacation message board, where fellow travelers are coming together for information and mutual support during an especially challenging time for travel.

 

[2goofykiddos]

Off the Magic on 12/26. We had a fabulous time. We heard 1400 guests and 55% capacity. It may be hard to sail when it’s at capacity after this.

 

[lanejudy]

I was simply responding to a post that made it sound like a walk on easy street for the quarantined CMs, particularly because they are asymptomatic, and suggesting the situation is worse for the guests. I pointed out it's undesirable on both sides of the situation.