A journey on the big blue with the Disney Cruise Line fleet is a dream come true for many. Whether you’re sailing with the Disney Dream, Disney Magic, Disney Fantasy, Disney Wonder, or soon-to-be Disney’s newest ship, the Disney Wish – it’s an experience unlike any other. Unfortunately, for these Disney Cruise Line Guests, they are experiencing a rise in COVID cases onboard, resulting in them not being allowed to disembark while at the port in St. Thomas.
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According to reports from Disney Cruise Line Blog, today, Thursday, December 30, 2021, the Disney Fantasy docked at the St. Thomas port. Instead of Guests being allowed to disembark to enjoy the destination, they were kept onboard the Disney Cruise Line ship.
Guests were reportedly not permitted to go ashore due to an “abundance of caution” as COVID cases are on the rise onboard.
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A neighboring cruise ship at the port, Carnival Magic, was docked next to the Disney Fantasy at St. Thomas and allowed passengers to disembark from the cruise ship without issue. This occurrence means it’s likely the Disney Fantasy case total is unaccepted by St. Thomas officials’ standards.
According to the report, Disney’s Captain Jason announced over the ship intercom there are passengers in quarantine. There are reportedly less than 1% of the crew and passengers (all with the required vaccination) currently isolated with COIVD-19.
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Further report shows the Disney Fantasy departed St. Thomas to spend the day at sea around 9:30 a.m. local time. The Disney Cruise Line is offering all onboard Guests a 20% future cruise credit as well as a $200 onboard credit.
We have received a response from a Disney spokesperson as follows, “The Disney Fantasy did not call on St. Thomas today due to both an increase in COVID-19 cases on the island and a small number of fully vaccinated Crew Members and Guests – less than 1% of those on board – in isolation for COVID-19. Those affected by these breakthrough cases are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, and we are following CDC protocols for managing cases on board. We continue to operate with multiple layers of health and safety protocols in place, such as requiring vaccinations, PCR tests at the port prior to embarkation for all guests, testing of our Crew multiple times per week, enhanced cleaning protocols and a requirement that masks be worn in all indoor spaces.”
The Disney Fantasy is on a 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise and scheduled to return to Port Canaveral on Sunday, January 2, 2022. At the moment, the stop at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, is still scheduled for Saturday, January 1.