When Florida abruptly closed to cruise ships in March, the three Disney Ships that were on the East Coast were unable to get their crew home. One crew member shared his experience with The Royal Gazette.
Wondering what it would be like to be stuck on a Disney Cruise Ship right now? Edward Dawson, a technician on the Disney Dream, shared his experience.
He says there are movies being screened as well as craft activities for those who want to do them. He’s been keeping busy by crocheting and reading e-books.
One thing he highlighted is that they know there is no coronavirus on his ship, so they have a feeling of safety during this uncertain time. The Disney Dream may well be one of the safest places to hunker down during quarantine!
“We are safer than the rest of the world because we don’t have Covid-19 and there is now no way it could come on board at this point. We have food. We have medical insurance.”
-Edward Dawson, Crew member on the Disney Dream
Like many folks around the world, Edward has had a few narrow opportunities to catch a flight home, but none have worked out so far.
In one case, he would have needed to debark the ship before customs and immigration opened for the day in order to make it. He expects to miss his next opportunity to fly out of Atlanta because the Dream is currently in the Bahamas.
CDC restrictions state that he can only debark the ship if he has a confirmed repatriation flight home. None of the flights have worked out for him, so he will remain on the ship for the foreseeable future.
Luckily for Edward and the other Cruise Line Crew members, there is a part of Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, open to crew. The Royal Gazette reports that around 80 crew members live on the island.
Around 1,200 crew members were stranded on Disney’s ships when the sudden shut down occurred in March. Last week, the Disney Magic made its way to Europe to repatriate some of the crew from various European countries.
Can you imagine being stuck on a Disney Cruise Line vessel right now? Knowing that it is safe, would you enjoy it or would the novelty wear off after a few days? Let us know in the comments on Facebook and in our Cruise Line Facebook group!
-Rebecca W Davis
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Jo Ferguson
Thursday 14th of May 2020
I wouldn't have liked it considering I stepped on a uplifted screw in a handicapped shower due to Disney cruise line negligence and to make a long story short they pretty much did nothing for me 2 days of ship Dr they paid for then guest services said they won't be paying anymore due to their negligence and I ended up in the hospital when I got back home cellulitis the ships Dr said they needed to do IV fluids until the cruise was over it happened the 2nd day of the cruise and they did nothing for me or the person that I care for that waited 3 years to take the cruise
Debra Miller
Thursday 14th of May 2020
I love cruising and right now I would love to be stuck on a cruise ship being at home for 3 months isn't fun. We were supposed to be on a cruise ship right now but it was canceled twice now we are waiting to see if our cruise in July will be canceled too. My husband and I have done 31 cruises and our last cruise in November we got sick on it I believe it was the Corona virus we are in our sixties and we survived I'm not afraid to go on another cruise. We did go on the Disney Wonder loved it and we are planning on going to Disney World in December we are not worried
Terri Mcbride
Thursday 14th of May 2020
I would love to be quarantine on a Disney cruise for a long time. It would be a dream come true!
Kenzie
Thursday 14th of May 2020
I used to work for DCl and yes it may be safe now , but so many just want to get home to their family . A lot of them aren’t being payed anymore . Some on the other dcl ship I the fleet are stuck in their rooms some with out a porthole or with a balcony get maybe if they are luck and hour of fresh air . They are stuck in a literal floating island but with none of the perks . Ship life looks glamorous to those who have never worked it , but it’s hard and can be dark and lonely a lot of times .
Rebecca Davis
Thursday 14th of May 2020
Luckily the crew has moved into guest staterooms while stuck at sea!