Disney Dream Sets Sail With Paid Guests For First Time In 513 Days

Can you believe it?! After 513 days, the Disney Dream is once again sailing with paid guests! It’s been a long road for all cruise lines, and Disney Cruise Line has been no acceptation. A test cruise out of Port Canaveral was postponed due to positive COVID results. Thankfully, that postponed cruise has since set sail for a successful trip. The Disney Cruise Line also set sail with passengers for the first time in over a year for a successful test cruise in the UK. And now, Disney is finally setting sail once again with paid passengers ready to enjoy their Disney Cruise Line getaway. Check out the excitement below!

As reported by OrlandoSentinel: “It’s been 513 days between the last time Disney Dream sailed with paying customers and its return to business from Port Canaveral on Monday (Aug. 9). The ship was the last to depart the Central Florida port way back on March 13, 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic shut the cruise industry down. Nearly 17 months later, the ship left the port on an four-night trip to the Bahamas to mark the first Disney Cruise Line vessel to return to business from the U.S.”

Before COVID the Disney Dream had a 4,000 passenger capacity. While we don’t know the exact number sailing right now, we do know the cruise line is sailing at reduced capacity. The test cruises, which were for volunteer employees of Disney, sailed at a 10% capacity to earn the conditional sailing certificate from the CDC.

Port Canaveral took to Facebook on August 9 to share: “It’s a great day! The Disney Cruise Line Dream departs from Port Canaveral for the first time since the pandemic. This was the same ship that was last ship to leave our port on March 13, 2020. So happy to see her sailing once again! Thanks to Port Canaveral friend Kiera Driscoll for the great video!” (watch the video here)

If you’re making plans to cruise with Disney, you’ll want to know that currently vaccinated guests can choose to show proof of vaccination in lieu of pre-cruise and embarkation day testing. And yes, face coverings are required for all guests in indoor spaces except for staterooms or when actively eating or drinking. We are curious however if vaccination requirements may change as a recent ruling by a U.S. Judge now allows cruises sailing out of Florida to require vaccine passports if they so choose, despite the Florida Governors order that businesses would not be allowed to ask for vaccination proof. We’ll keep you posted if Disney decides to require a vaccine passport. In the meantime, let’s stop for a moment and celebrate the Disney Dream return!