WDW News Today just announced that all Guests 12 and older must be vaccinated to board a Disney Cruise. The Prime Minister of the Bahamas signed an emergency power that requires all eligible passengers to be fully vaccinated. This included all parts of the Bahamas including private islands such as Castaway Cay. The new restriction will be in effect from September 3rd through November 1st. The vaccine requirement at the moment affects the Disney Fantasy and the Disney Dream. The Disney Magic is currently hosting Staycations for United Kingdom residents with no ports of call.
A federal judge declared that Florida Cruise Lines can require proof of COVID-19 vaccine. According to the CDC guidelines, guess who have received both doses of Moderna, Pfizer, or AstraZeneca are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after the second dose. Guess who have received the one dose Johnson & Johnson are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after. Guests that do not provide proof of vaccination will not be allowed aboard. Ships with unvaccinated passengers will not even be allowed to dock. That being said, staying on the ship will not even be an option.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made vaccine passports illegal in the state of Florida which is why this ended up going to court. According to the governor’s order, businesses could be fined up to $5,000 each time they ask for proof of vaccination.
Along with those safety measures, all Guests and Cast Members will be required to wear masks while in public indoor areas of the ship. They will not be needed in outdoor areas or in staterooms. The recent Disney Cruises have only been sailing with two stops at Disney’s Private Island Castaway Cay. Any Guests that would like to modify or cancel their cruise may do so and can receive a full refund.
If the wishing star makes dreams come true, what happens when it goes missing?
That’s a big question with an even more epic answer: Disney Uncharted Adventure, a first-of-its-kind interactive experience that will lead Guests aboard the Disney Wish on a journey from bow to stern and beyond the stars. Just announced today, this fantastical journey will be a brand-new way to explore and experience the enchantment of a Disney cruise ship.
Using innovative technology like augmented reality and physical effects, Disney Uncharted Adventure will take classic Disney storytelling into an all-new realm of immersive family fun as Guests embark on a multidimensional voyage into the worlds of Moana, Tiana, Peter Pan, Nemo and more.
Watch the latest episode in our “Designing the Disney Wish” series to hear from the creative team behind Disney Uncharted Adventure, then read on for even more details about this one-of-a-kind experience coming to the Disney Wish in summer 2022.
With a Disney Wish reservation, Guests will be able to unlock Disney Uncharted Adventure on the Play Disney Parks app, which transforms Guests’ mobile device into an enchanted spyglass – a tool that allows them to set sail for adventure, solve puzzles, conquer quests and ultimately save the day.
Before the ship sets sail, Captain Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse will help Guests prepare for the journey ahead by highlighting the important role of the night sky in seafaring — particularly the ever-shining wishing star that lights the way.
Once on board, Guests will use their spyglass to reveal never-before-seen views of the stars above, where enchanted constellations take shape as recognizable icons from Disney and Pixar stories. When the wishing star suddenly bursts and shatters, they’ll watch as its pieces are scattered across the sky, each landing in a far-off realm. Captain Minnie will need Guests’ help to navigate the ship to these uncharted worlds to find the missing pieces of the wishing star!
Guests will choose where to go next, charting a course toward adventurous locales such as Motunui, New Orleans, Never Land, Sydney and more. Each quest will take Guests on an expansive journey throughout the Disney Wish as they are prompted to seek artwork, signs and props that magically transform to bring the characters and settings of these story worlds to life all around them.
Along the way, Guests will join the heroic characters who inhabit each destination on a mission to find the star fragment that landed there. Highlights include:
teaming up with Moana to navigate their canoes beyond the reef;
helping Tiana cook up the perfect pot of her father’s favorite gumbo;
summoning Tinker Bell to give the Disney Wish an extra dash of pixie dust; and
diving into the East Australian Current (EAC) with Nemo and friends.
The adventure will culminate in a grand finale hosted in one of the ship’s premier entertainment venues. During this live interactive experience, Guests will gather with other players to battle an infamous Disney villain (who’s been pulling the strings all along) and finally restore the wishing star to its rightful place in the sky.
Disney Uncharted Adventure is being developed with flexibility, replayability and customization in mind, so Guests can be in charge of your own adventure! They’ll choose when and how to play. If they don’t complete every quest, Guests can still enjoy the finale event. If they play again and again, they may discover new surprises and rewards each time. Guests can play on their own or with family and friends — the experience works with up to six devices at once, but Guests can also team up on only one or two devices at a time.
Disney Cruise Line has updated its Know Before You Go page to include information about 5-night or longer sailings. This comes following the announcement that Disney Fantasy would resume sailings in September, with sailings longer than 4-nights planned to begin in October.
According to the update, guests on these longer cruises will be required to take a PCR COVID-19 test prior to debarking the ship on their final day. Here is what the Disney Cruise Line website says:
Debarkation Day COVID-19 Testing: All Guests (adults and children, regardless of age) on 5-night and longer sailings are required to undergo a PCR COVID-19 test administered by Inspire Diagnostics on the ship prior to debarking. A $65 test fee will be charged to the folio of all Guests 12 years and older. Guests under 12 years of age will be tested at no charge. However, Guests booked on 5-night and longer sailings who choose to provide proof of vaccination will not be required to take a COVID-19 test upon debarkation.
Disney Cruise Line has announced that the Disney Fantasy will resume sailing on September 11. Some of the current 2021 itineraries have been modified, and one has been canceled.
The 7-night cruise departing September 4 has been canceled. Guests booked for this cruise will be given a 125% future cruise credit if they have paid in full. If guests have not paid in full, they will receive a full refund. All UK/EU guests will receive a full refund.
The following list of cruises has been modified from 7 nights to 4 nights.
New dates for Sept. 11 departure: Sept. 11-14
New dates for Sept. 18 departure: Sept. 18-21
New dates for Sept. 25 departure: Sept. 25-28
New dates for Oct. 2 departure: Oct. 2-5
The new itineraries will have two stops at Disney’s Castaway Cay and no other ports of call.
Guests who booked the modified cruises will be given three courses of action to choose from: remain on the same sailing, move their sailing, or cancel.
In summer 2022, the Disney Wish will sail its inaugural season of three- and four-night cruises to Nassau, Bahamas, and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, from its new home port of Port Canaveral, Florida. With less than a year to go, Disney Cruise Line is busy constructing the ship and has shared an update!
“Moin” from Papenburg, Germany! I’m Philip, the portfolio project management executive for Walt Disney Imagineering Germany, responsible for overseeing the design, construction and delivery of the new class of cruise ships for Disney Cruise Line. I’m excited to be your eyes and ears on the ground here at the Meyer Werft shipyard as we bring the Disney Wish to life.
These past months have been very exciting as we continue building the Disney Wish, and I want to share details on two specific spaces the team is currently working on.
Wheelhouse Installation
The wheelhouse, also known as “the bridge,” is an incredibly important part of any ship. The captain and officers command the entire ship from this location.
The wheelhouse for the Disney Wish is nearing completion and is part of a huge block to be installed on the ship in the building dock. We have all eagerly awaited this moment, as this block will truly give the Disney Wish an identity. I would even go as far as saying that it gives our ship a face!
The wheelhouse was very carefully designed both from a navigational and functional means but also from an aesthetical point of view. With the lifting and installation of this very large and very wide block, the next milestone in the impressive construction process is achieved. The second main building part of the Disney Wish, the entire foreship, has now been constructed.
The next step will be to get the first building part, the so-called gigablock, to be “married” to the foreship. Following this, the remaining aft blocks will be lifted and installed to complete the entire ship. So more to come very soon!
Bow Installation
All the ships in our fleet have very elegant lines with sleek hulls and long bows, and the Disney Wish will certainly carry on this tradition. As construction of our newest ship is progressing at full speed, another important milestone has been achieved.
Just installed is the impressive bow of the Disney Wish, where Captain Minnie will be featured in a beautifully designed medallion and filigree. As part of the shipyard’s high-tech block building principle, the bow block has been lifted and installed to reveal the graceful bow of the Disney Wish. This block is just one of nearly 100 total blocks, and the tip of the bow alone weighs an impressive 500 metric tons!
The entire process of lifting, installing and fully welding the bow block, while being suspended from the overhead gantry crane, took just under 10 hours.
Following the successful installation of this bow block, there are just over 30 blocks remaining to be installed in the coming weeks to complete the Disney Wish in time for the ship’s maiden voyage in June 2022. Stay tuned for more exciting updates on this progress!
