iloveeeyore
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2003
- Messages
- 3,754
Hi, all! We're back with our second DCL trip report! We hope we can offer some info that will help you plan your cruise.
Peter and I just returned from a spectacular sailing on the Disney Magic 5 night MDAS out of Miami with a Double-Dip at Castaway Cay, and Nassau (was supposed to include Key West instead of another day at CC)- January 17-22, 2022.
EDITED! WARNING! Peter says nobody will want to read this report because it starts out a little doomy and gloomy (I am a bit of an Eeyore, after all) as I give background about all the Covid stress we have been living with and which had to impact our planning and enjoyment of this vacation. I assure you this thread will increase in happiness and even joy if you stick with me and read on. If you don't want any anxiety or depression with your trip reports, please skip past this background post and read on!
I edit to insert these pictures as my formal promise that sunshine and glee will ensue!
Spoiler alert: We will sail away from Miami!
We will enjoy the stunning Disney Magic, inside and out!
We will make Castaway Cay our own, not once, but twice!
Now...back to my original story.
This was a booking we made with a placeholder we purchased onboard the Fantasy in January 2020. Well, technically, it was a rescheduling of a booking we made with that placeholder. We were originally to sail in January 2021 with a 5 day Magic MDAS out of Miami with Key West, Castaway Key and Nassau. We all know how that went. We were really into the idea of the MDAS and Key West, so we resisted the urge to sail earlier, and held out for the full year later, which brought us to January 2022.
DCL sailings seemed to be going great. In the months after relaunch post-Covid, we had been watching reports of wonderful, safe sailings on less crowded ships with amazing service. We were increasingly excited and optimistic about the cruise.
Then there was some political situation with Key West, and that port was dropped. BOO! (we thought). We considered canceling, or picking a different itinerary. A few days later we were informed about the Double-Dip. Hmmmm...we could get "on board" with that (pun intended). We had already experienced a failed docking at Castaway Cay in January 2020, so with the Double-Dip...we would have 2 opportunities to dock there this January. So we decided to keep the booking.
And THEN...Omicron! 74,000 cases per day, on average, in our state (NY). The CDC special warning against cruise ships!
So, some background so you can understand the frame of mind and view from our perspective...I'm a nurse. I work in a hospital. I have been living with this virus in the FRONT of my brain, without an opportunity to let it live somewhere in the background, for 22 months. We have lost neighbors, friends and coworkers. Patients died on my unit...many, many patients. (Not a typical occurence on my unit, thank God, knock wood, whichever you believe in). We (my family) have been strictly following rules, recommendations and protocols. When this thing first broke, I wore a mask in my own home for at least 6 weeks (until I started to feel mostly satisfied that the measures we were taking at work to prevent the spread were working). I didn't see my parents or in-laws for 6 months. When I finally did see them, we wore masks in their homes, When the vaccine became available, I swatted people away so my family and I could get to the front of the line. Boosters? Same!
Please understand, I'm not looking for sympathy or thanks. I'm not trying to instigate argument or debate. And I'm certainly not trying to evoke feelings of sadness or anxiety. I really want to write an accurate and meaningful report, for you and for myself. When I come back to this report for reference or to remember a detail, I need to have this perspective to convey the depth of the emotions...the relief and joy, that we felt during, because of, this cruise. I don't know how to convey this impact without the background.
So, the CDC says don't cruise? How did this effect us?
Until that point, I had been such a conforming little soldier. Then, I was on the edge of breaking. Especially when about half of my immediate coworkers were getting sick in December and January. I'd work with them one day, and the next, they'd be out sick. We shared space and equipment, like pens and telephones (granted, not without full PPE- most of my coworkers and I started wearing our N95s long before they were re-required when Omicron appeared). Omicron was ridiculous, like nothing we had experienced. The most careful people getting were sick. Not terribly sick. Everyone vaccinated, many boosted. Sore throats, headaches, sniffles. But postive PCRs.
Peter and I SERIOUSLY considered canceling the cruise. I think Peter really wanted to cancel, secretly hoping I would decide to reschedule at the last minute. We were both terrified of testing positive at the port and being denied boarding. We'd been hearing about so many people canceling or testing positive at the port, we couldn't even rule out the possibility that DCL wouldn't cancel this cruise at the last minute (but after we arrived in Miami). The stress was the opposite of what a vacation was supposed to feel like. That's why I think Peter seriously wanted to bail. He never said it to me though, and this is one of the reasons I love him! He was leaving it up to me. He thought (wrongly) that I needed this more than he did and also figured (also wrongly) that since I'm the healthcare professional, I should be the decider in this dilemma. So against the advice of the CDC and the vast majority of my coworkers, I decided for us that we should go for it. How could a Disney cruise, with all the safety protocols in place, possibly be any worse than the risk in our own grocery store or work environments? At least, that was the rationalization we used to make it OK that we were eschewing medical advice and going on a cruise.
Peter had to understand that if we tested positive, we couldn't just get on a plane and fly home. One can't fly if one has Covid. This was a conversation we had a few times. We knew the risks. If we tested positive, we'd be "stuck" in Miami. We would isolate ourselves somehow and make the best of it and pick a different cruise for a few months in the future. We knocked around the idea of driving instead of flying but decided against it, when a week before our scheduled flight, thousands of drivers were stuck on I-95 inVirgina due to a winter storm. Peter MAGICally agreed to get on that plane on Saturday, January 15, 2022, 2 days before the scheduled cruise.
We made a list of the possible roadblocks to pulling this off:
-Airline cancelations - so many since the holidays, because of Covid and weather - I had scheduled a 2-day cushion, flying in Saturday for the Monday cruise (flights booked way before Omicron, but, you know...winter), so it was reasonable to hope that this wouldn't be an issue, but the way things had been going in the country with canceled flights, it wasn't a given that we'd be able to fly.
-Disney cancels the cruise - certainly not outside the realm of possibility considering other major cruiselines began canceling certain cruises a few weeks before ours, and so many cast and crew getting sick
-We get sick - would have been terrible, but at least we get a cruise credit
-We test positive at the port - we were hoping for the best but mentally prepared for the worst. With the positivity rate in our area, we figured our chances were 75%/25% in favor of sailing LOL
Spoiler alert, none of those things happened and we had an amazing, breathtaking time!
I need to upload our photos, and look forward to starting with Saturday, January 15, travel day NY to Miami. Please stay tuned!
Peter and I just returned from a spectacular sailing on the Disney Magic 5 night MDAS out of Miami with a Double-Dip at Castaway Cay, and Nassau (was supposed to include Key West instead of another day at CC)- January 17-22, 2022.
EDITED! WARNING! Peter says nobody will want to read this report because it starts out a little doomy and gloomy (I am a bit of an Eeyore, after all) as I give background about all the Covid stress we have been living with and which had to impact our planning and enjoyment of this vacation. I assure you this thread will increase in happiness and even joy if you stick with me and read on. If you don't want any anxiety or depression with your trip reports, please skip past this background post and read on!
I edit to insert these pictures as my formal promise that sunshine and glee will ensue!
Spoiler alert: We will sail away from Miami!
We will enjoy the stunning Disney Magic, inside and out!
We will make Castaway Cay our own, not once, but twice!
Now...back to my original story.
This was a booking we made with a placeholder we purchased onboard the Fantasy in January 2020. Well, technically, it was a rescheduling of a booking we made with that placeholder. We were originally to sail in January 2021 with a 5 day Magic MDAS out of Miami with Key West, Castaway Key and Nassau. We all know how that went. We were really into the idea of the MDAS and Key West, so we resisted the urge to sail earlier, and held out for the full year later, which brought us to January 2022.
DCL sailings seemed to be going great. In the months after relaunch post-Covid, we had been watching reports of wonderful, safe sailings on less crowded ships with amazing service. We were increasingly excited and optimistic about the cruise.
Then there was some political situation with Key West, and that port was dropped. BOO! (we thought). We considered canceling, or picking a different itinerary. A few days later we were informed about the Double-Dip. Hmmmm...we could get "on board" with that (pun intended). We had already experienced a failed docking at Castaway Cay in January 2020, so with the Double-Dip...we would have 2 opportunities to dock there this January. So we decided to keep the booking.
And THEN...Omicron! 74,000 cases per day, on average, in our state (NY). The CDC special warning against cruise ships!
So, some background so you can understand the frame of mind and view from our perspective...I'm a nurse. I work in a hospital. I have been living with this virus in the FRONT of my brain, without an opportunity to let it live somewhere in the background, for 22 months. We have lost neighbors, friends and coworkers. Patients died on my unit...many, many patients. (Not a typical occurence on my unit, thank God, knock wood, whichever you believe in). We (my family) have been strictly following rules, recommendations and protocols. When this thing first broke, I wore a mask in my own home for at least 6 weeks (until I started to feel mostly satisfied that the measures we were taking at work to prevent the spread were working). I didn't see my parents or in-laws for 6 months. When I finally did see them, we wore masks in their homes, When the vaccine became available, I swatted people away so my family and I could get to the front of the line. Boosters? Same!
Please understand, I'm not looking for sympathy or thanks. I'm not trying to instigate argument or debate. And I'm certainly not trying to evoke feelings of sadness or anxiety. I really want to write an accurate and meaningful report, for you and for myself. When I come back to this report for reference or to remember a detail, I need to have this perspective to convey the depth of the emotions...the relief and joy, that we felt during, because of, this cruise. I don't know how to convey this impact without the background.
So, the CDC says don't cruise? How did this effect us?
Until that point, I had been such a conforming little soldier. Then, I was on the edge of breaking. Especially when about half of my immediate coworkers were getting sick in December and January. I'd work with them one day, and the next, they'd be out sick. We shared space and equipment, like pens and telephones (granted, not without full PPE- most of my coworkers and I started wearing our N95s long before they were re-required when Omicron appeared). Omicron was ridiculous, like nothing we had experienced. The most careful people getting were sick. Not terribly sick. Everyone vaccinated, many boosted. Sore throats, headaches, sniffles. But postive PCRs.
Peter and I SERIOUSLY considered canceling the cruise. I think Peter really wanted to cancel, secretly hoping I would decide to reschedule at the last minute. We were both terrified of testing positive at the port and being denied boarding. We'd been hearing about so many people canceling or testing positive at the port, we couldn't even rule out the possibility that DCL wouldn't cancel this cruise at the last minute (but after we arrived in Miami). The stress was the opposite of what a vacation was supposed to feel like. That's why I think Peter seriously wanted to bail. He never said it to me though, and this is one of the reasons I love him! He was leaving it up to me. He thought (wrongly) that I needed this more than he did and also figured (also wrongly) that since I'm the healthcare professional, I should be the decider in this dilemma. So against the advice of the CDC and the vast majority of my coworkers, I decided for us that we should go for it. How could a Disney cruise, with all the safety protocols in place, possibly be any worse than the risk in our own grocery store or work environments? At least, that was the rationalization we used to make it OK that we were eschewing medical advice and going on a cruise.
Peter had to understand that if we tested positive, we couldn't just get on a plane and fly home. One can't fly if one has Covid. This was a conversation we had a few times. We knew the risks. If we tested positive, we'd be "stuck" in Miami. We would isolate ourselves somehow and make the best of it and pick a different cruise for a few months in the future. We knocked around the idea of driving instead of flying but decided against it, when a week before our scheduled flight, thousands of drivers were stuck on I-95 inVirgina due to a winter storm. Peter MAGICally agreed to get on that plane on Saturday, January 15, 2022, 2 days before the scheduled cruise.
We made a list of the possible roadblocks to pulling this off:
-Airline cancelations - so many since the holidays, because of Covid and weather - I had scheduled a 2-day cushion, flying in Saturday for the Monday cruise (flights booked way before Omicron, but, you know...winter), so it was reasonable to hope that this wouldn't be an issue, but the way things had been going in the country with canceled flights, it wasn't a given that we'd be able to fly.
-Disney cancels the cruise - certainly not outside the realm of possibility considering other major cruiselines began canceling certain cruises a few weeks before ours, and so many cast and crew getting sick
-We get sick - would have been terrible, but at least we get a cruise credit
-We test positive at the port - we were hoping for the best but mentally prepared for the worst. With the positivity rate in our area, we figured our chances were 75%/25% in favor of sailing LOL
Spoiler alert, none of those things happened and we had an amazing, breathtaking time!
I need to upload our photos, and look forward to starting with Saturday, January 15, travel day NY to Miami. Please stay tuned!
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