Disney to Resume Florida-Based Cruises in August

Walt Disney Co’s cruise division said on Friday it would start operations from U.S. ports again next month, following a months-long pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disney Dream will depart from Port Canaveral, Florida on Aug. 9 to the Bahamas, with passengers over 12 years of age requiring a valid travel insurance policy that has a certain minimum coverage and no COVID-19 exclusions, the unit said.

The cruise operator said in a blog that it had enhanced its health and safety measures, nearly a month after it postponed its first test cruise on inconsistent COVID-19 test results from a few crew members.

Disney Cruise Line also said it does not require vaccinations for guests on sailings departing from Florida, but added that it strongly encouraged all eligible guests to get inoculated.

Florida state law expressly prohibits cruise lines from requiring documentation of COVID-19 vaccines.

Cruise operators Royal Caribbean Group and Carnival Corp have already started sailing from U.S. ports.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)