A number of months ago, Disney shared that its cruising industry would be the last of its businesses to resume.
So far, we have seen Disney cruises canceled through April, with select cruises canceled through May, and select cruises over 7 nights canceled as well. But, now a major restriction has been announced that could impact a lot of cruises, beyond just Disney Cruise Line.
Canada already had some temporary measures and regulations in place regarding pleasure craft and a ban on cruise ships that were set to expire on February 28th, 2021. But, Transport Canada has now shared that Canada’s Minister of Transport has announced 2 new interim orders. These orders prohibit pleasure craft in Canadian Arctic waters and also prohibit many cruise vessels in ALL Canadian waters until February 22nd, 2022.
The prohibition on cruise vessels applies to those carrying 100 or more people in Canadian waters. There is no national ban fo cruise ships certified to carry 100 or fewer persons, but they must follow provincial, territorial, local, and regional protocols and regulations.
If the COVID-19 pandemic sufficiently improves such that these activities can once again be allowed, then the Minister of Transport can rescind these Interim Orders.
According to The Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport, “Temporary prohibitions to cruise vessels and pleasure craft are essential to continue to protect the most vulnerable among our communities and avoid overwhelming our health care systems. This is the right and responsible thing to do.”
Some of Disney’s own ships depart from Vancouver, Canada. These include Disney Cruise Line adventures to Seattle, Alaska, and the Pacific Coast.
At the moment, some of these cruises which depart in 2021 from Canada still appear on the Disney Cruise Line website.
We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more updates from Disney Cruise Line about these cruises and about cruising in general. Be sure to come back for more updates.
Adrian says
Very sad that the pandemic has impacted the tourism this much