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Business

Disney postpones first test cruise over ‘inconsistent’ COVID results

By
Alexandra Steigrad
Published June 29, 2021, 11:10 a.m. ET

Disney’s plans to restart its cruise line business just hit a rock.

Disney Cruise Line said it’s postponing its first test cruise since the coronavirus pandemic began after a few employees tested positive for COVID-19.

The Disney Dream was supposed to set sail on Tuesday from Port Canaveral, Florida, with 300 workers who had volunteered for a two-day “simulation cruise.” But the voyage was quickly halted until next month, after a small number of employees had “inconsistent” COVID test results, “which is considered positive by the CDC,” Disney said in a statement Monday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been monitoring the cruise line’s strategy to restart its business after being halted more than a year, and had given it the green light to conduct the test cruise between June 29 and July 1.

The US is starting to allow cruises to sail again under the condition that nearly all the passengers and crew are vaccinated against the virus. In May, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning businesses from requiring proof of vaccination, putting the onus on cruise lines to prove the effectiveness of their COVID safety protocols on test cruises.

Last weekend, Celebrity Edge became the first cruise ship to leave a US port in 15 months, after it set sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Several vessels, including a host of Carnival cruise lines, have either departed or are scheduled to depart from other ports, signaling a symbolic step toward normalcy for the embattled cruise industry.

A Disney cruise ship sailing in Dover, England.
The cruise line industry has been halted for over a year due to the pandemic. Getty Images

But the return to business is tenuous as the pandemic still remains a threat. Last week, two children aboard Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Adventures of the Seas ship tested positive for COVID-19. Both kids, who were under 16 and were unvaccinated, were “immediately quarantined” and flown home shortly after.

The incident happened even as 92 percent of the guests on Adventure of the Seas were fully vaccinated, along with the entire crew, the company said.