PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – Carnival and Royal Caribbean are already back in business at Port Canaveral and Monday night, it will be Disney resuming revenue cruises for the first time since March 2020.
The Disney Dream is scheduled to depart the port at 7 p.m. on a four-night cruise to the Bahamas.
“After many months of hard work and close collaboration with our cruise partners, this measured restart is a welcome sign of better days ahead for our port. It’s a testament to the commitment of the cruise lines to provide a safe, healthy and enjoyable experience for their guests,” Port Canaveral CEO Captain John Murray wrote in a statement.
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On Monday, excited guests like the Yeary family, from Charlotte, and the Wolfs, from New Jersey, boarded the Disney Dream cruise ship.
Robert Wolf and his wife are cruising with their four children.
“We’re just trying to follow all the rules as best as possible,” he said. “We’re going to see how it is. We’re going to have a really good time,” the father said.
Disney said Florida passengers do not have to be vaccinated.
Those who are not, though, will be tested and Disney said all guests 2-years and older have to wear masks indoors.
‘’They were the cleanest of the ships that we’d gone on previously so if anybody was going to do a better job at keeping it clean or keeping it a better cruise experience, it would probably be Disney,” passenger Sean Yeary said.
After Disney’s departure Monday night, another Royal Caribbean ship departs the port Wednesday.
Mariner of the Seas is going on a test cruise.
Then, the port said Mariner of the Seas will cruise with paying passengers on Aug. 23.
In the meantime, the Dream is already expected to cruise with more paying passengers again on Friday.