CDC Director Suggests 'No-Sail Order' Should Extend to February 2021 - Inside the Magic

During the pandemic, one of the industry’s that have been hit the hardest is the cruise line industry. With cruises being cancelled constantly, planning your next cruise line vacation may not seem so certain right now. For Disney Cruise Line, we know cruises are currently cancelled through December. Unfortunately, these include some of the highly anticipated Disney’s Very Merrytime Cruises. Some cruises however are available with the first available being the 5-Night Very Merrytime Western Caribbean Cruise from Galveston on the Disney Wonder. 

However, could your Disney Cruise Line vacation be cancelled if you booked for January or February 2021? In a report published by Axios we’ve learned that Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wanted to extend the ‘no-sail order’ through to February 2021.

In a meeting of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force today in the Situation Room, Redfield argued that the government’s ban on cruise ships, which expires on Wednesday, should be extended until February 2021 because of the virus’ severity and the vulnerability for spread on cruises. Vice President Mike Pence, who chaired today’s meeting, told Redfield that they would be proceeding with a different plan, according to two task force members.

Redfield has been battling the White House for months on this matter. Robert believes that the severity of the virus locked together with enclosed spaces such as cruise shops would only accelerate the spread of the coronavirus.

Instead of following Redfield’s desire — which a number of White House officials have argued is unreasonable — the Trump administration plans to extend the no-sail order for cruise ships until October 31. 

The administration hopes that between now and then, the cruise industry can demonstrate it has a plan to ensure “ships can sail in a safe and responsible manner and that the companies assume the burden of dealing with any possible outbreaks,” said a task force member involved in the talks.

It seems that the Trump administration is planning on extending the no-sail order through to October 31st 2021, which means that if Disney Cruise Line continues to move along with it’s current schedule, the later half of the December DCL sailing will continue. The previous no-sail order was set to go until September 30th, 2020.

 

What is the Disney Cruise Line doing for Guests?

Disney Cruise Line is doing their part to help Guests who have cruises booked until March 2021. Disney Cruise Line has temporarily extended final payments for sailings through March 31, 2021 and relaxed the cruise cancellation fee schedule through March 31, 2021. Guests who have booked a Disney Cruise Line vacation received the following email:

All of us at Disney Cruise Line continue to think of you and your family. We realize these are uncertain times for many of our Guests, and want to let you know we’ve temporarily modified our final payment and cancellation policies to provide you with greater flexibility.

For sailings through March 31, 2021, we are temporarily extending final payment until 60 days prior to sailing for Guests booked in unrestricted stateroom categories. This means that those Guests who have not yet reached their final payment due date can wait until up to 60 days prior to sailing to pay for their cruise vacation. Onboard cruise activities can be scheduled within your Castaway Club booking window once final payment is received.

In addition, we are temporarily relaxing our cruise cancellation fee schedule for sailings through March 31, 2021, as described below.

Related: Disney Cruise Line Reaches COVID Testing Agreement to Resume Sailing

If you want to book a Disney Cruise Line vacation, or start looking at one, why not start today? Click here for your no-obligation quote and start planning your next Disney vacation!

What do you think about taking a Disney Cruise in 2020? Would you sail right now?