Disney Cruise Line has not set sail since the beginning of March in 2020, prior to the shutdowns from the global pandemic.
Disney Cruise Line
Disney cruises were cancelled in mid-March last year and have continued to be cancelled. Now, some passengers who sailed on a Disney Cruise before the closures are suing Disney for allegedly contracting COVID-19 while on board.
Disney Cruise Line is facing four federal lawsuits from tourists who claim they contracted the virus while on the Disney Fantasy last March before the closures, according to Orlando Sentinel. Based on the four lawsuits filed on March 2nd, the tourists said that they caught the virus while on board and started to feel sick.
Disney Cruise Line — The Disney Fantasy
As reported by Orlando Sentinel, the lawsuits accuse Disney of refusing to allow passengers to reschedule or cancel their cruises even if they had an “autoimmune diseases and compromised health conditions.” so the guests were “left without any option” to go on their trip from March 7th-14th, 2020. According to an email sent out by Disney at the time, guests were allowed to change their reservation up to the day before embarkation to receive 100% cruise credit.
Pluto on Disney Cruise
The lawsuit also mentions that Disney allowed passengers “to eat in buffets settings, provide group entertainment activities aboard the vessel (such as dancing) and otherwise allowed passengers to fully participate in the subject cruise as if there was no COVID-19 outbreak or threat thereof aboard the vessel.” Disney said that all of the buffets halted on March 12th.
Animator’s Palate on Disney Wonder
According to the lawsuits, a child of some plaintiffs was taken to a intensive care unit at a hospital with difficulty breathing and high fever. The child had an unspecified autoimmune disease and tested positive on May 1st, along with the child’s parents. On another lawsuit, one of the plaintiffs had a child with an autoimmune disease, and another child with asthma. After having various symptoms of COVID-19, they both tested positive on April 15th. The mother also became sick on board and tested positive.
Disney Cruise Line Wonder Ship
The Orlando Sentinel notes that on March 8th of 2020, the U.S. Department of State recommended that Americans should not travel on cruise ships. Before the Disney Fantasy set sail last March, Disney Cruise Line sent out an email saying “If at any time during your cruise you believe you are ill, we ask that you please contact the ship’s Health Center immediately.”
Disney Wonder
Disney released a statement about the lawsuits: “Our thoughts continue to be with those around the world who have been affected by COVID-19. We disagree with the allegations and will respond to them in court. No guests or Crew reported symptoms of Covid-19 while aboard the Disney Fantasy during the March 7, 2020, sailing. Disney Cruise Line communicated health and safety information with guests in advance of and during their sailing and had numerous protocols in place at the time.”
Disney Cruise Line
We’ll let you know about any other Disney Cruise Line news and updates as they happen.
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How are you going to prove in court that you got COVID weeks later from a Disney cruise in mid-March? And absolutely nowhere else?
SO…..people go on a cruise of their own volition (they could have canceled and gotten a full refund), they go to buffets, go to different areas of the ship where other people are, congregate with others, then whine because they got sick?
What did they expect to happen? They could have canceled their trip. They could have stayed in their cabin and had room service brought in. They could have avoided people. They CHOSE not to do any of those things.
There is NO WAY of knowing with 100% certainty that they caught ANYTHING while on the ship. Most viruses have a 10-21 day incubation period before symptoms show up, so it’s quite possible (and more likely) that they caught the virus BEFORE boarding, but just didn’t have symptoms yet.
People need to take responsibility for their own actions instead of automatically calling an attorney and suing.
So let me get this straight– before C19 was known to be a serious thing, people who were sick, decided to go on a cruise, despite the stated cancellation policies and the “sail at your own risk” statements, now want to sue DCL for not knowing how the future would pan out. Even before C19, Disney has always had a legal waiver statement that you agree to by purchasing a vacation with Disney. I bet these people who are suing Disney will then complain when DCL goes out of business.
This is absolutely ridiculous because nobody can control where you get any virus from. Disney is not responsible for this virus. This is just a person who wants to try to get something from somebody and Blame somebody else for something they have no control over. This has absolutely nothing to do with Disney.
It’s always somebody else’s fault isn’t it? No one wants to take personal responsibility for their actions. If my children where health compromised, I would not be taking them on a cruise. And I wouldn’t be blaming someone else if they got sick. Unreal
These lawsuits are silly…can’t prove they didn’t have COVID when they got on the ship. This causes future restrictions when cruising restarts. You will likely have to take COVID test at the port and show proof of vaccination. I’ve been told vaccinated people can still have a positive test but no symptoms.
I think these lawsuits are unfortunate! It is a shame and though I sympathize with the Passengers, DCL gave them a change to change their cruise date and those that didn’t took a chance traveling and so sad that they decided to cruise anyway but I’m sure several others that had reservations cancelled their plans which was the right thing to do. The Travelers HAD to realize they were taking an unfortunate change. We did put 29th Disney Cruise in November of 2019. Every DCL cruise we have taken, and two were in the middle of hurricane Katrina and one other. I have to say that DCL has ALWAYS put Passenger safety first and even more so on other Cruiselines!!
So ridiculous. It’s not Disney’s fault for their lack of hygiene. People don’t use common sense anymore. Wash your hands and cover your mouth when you sneeze. You can go anywhere and catch covid. Why didn’t people sue before when they got the flu or stomach virus? These people are delirious and living in fear!
I hope Disney wins this one.
Looks like someone wants some Disney money.
This is crazy – they didn’t test positive until almost a month after the cruise ended. – Looking for money possibly.
What I’ve read is that people become sick within four days of exposure to Covid-19. You aren’t exposed and then weeks later come down with the virus. Pitiful that they would attempt to sue a corporation like this when they themselves should have never booked in the first place if their immune systems were so compromised. I have been on several Disney cruises. If any cruise line is considered ‘clean’ it would be Disney. They were practicing serious hygiene years before this pandemic. Every where you went it was ‘wipee- wipee’ and they were handing out wipes before and after you left a dining area, the ship, theater, any where you went there were two people posted at each entrance and exit. I can’t imagine they ever changed that behavior.
The cruise was March 7-14. 1) The one family tested positive April 15th, a full month after the cruise. The second family May 1st a month and a half later. The timing doesn’t make sense. 2) Disney did provide the option to move your cruise if you wanted. The families chose not to take it and therefore assumed the risk.
3) Disney was operating within the guidelines at the time that were given to them by the CDC. They can’t read minds or see the future. If they were still operating buffets it was under the assumption they still could based on information at the time.
I have ever confidence in DCL and am looking forward to cruising again with them in the future. It’s sad that people are trying to seek financial gain from a big company because they seem like an easy target. I hope Disney wins.
How are they going to prove that they didn’t pick up Covid on their flight to and from the cruise destination? Can’t believe that they actually found an attorney willing to take the case. I wouldn’t award them a single cent! They could have canceled.