Disney Cruise Line has been visiting Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas since The Disney Magic took her inaugural cruise in July 1998. However, due to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issuing a Level 4 travel warning for Americans visiting the Bahamas, Disney will be bypassing Nassau during their September and October cruises this year.
Disney Dream’s cruises from September 10 until October 8 will now only call into Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. The 3-night sailings will add a sea day to the itinerary while the 4-night cruises will add a second stop in Castaway Cay in lieu of Nassau.
Disney Cruise Line was forced to change their vaccination policy on board. They now require all passengers over 12 years of age to be fully vaxxed before embarking on any of their ships sailing to the Bahamas (unless the passenger has a serious medical condition making a vaccination impossible). This is due to the Bahamas making the mandate for all ships visiting their island nation.
Though the ships will no longer visit Nassau, the vaccination policy must stay in place of Disney wants to call into Castaway Cay as, though it is their private island, it, too is in the Bahamas and falls under Bahamian rule.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, 3,134 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Bahamas in the past 28 days. That’s nearly a fifth of the small country’s total cases throughout the entire pandemic. Just over 14% of the population of the Bahamas is vaccinated.
However, though the Bahamas’ Covid cases don’t look great, with 1576 active cases noted in the past week, Florida, home to Disney’s home port of Canaveral has recorded 324,440.
It seems the CDC’s recommendation might be more looking out for Bahamians living in the tourist destinations, rather than the travelers heading there.
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