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DisneyWonder

The Walt Disney Company faces another PR disaster, as many cast members from a recent Disney Wonder cruise have contracted COVID-19. According to Cruise Law News, 38 workers on the ship have caught the infectious Coronavirus.

The news comes straight from the ship's captain, who revealed the information over the Disney Wonder's intercom system. Cast members relayed details to Cruise Law News but would not provide their names for fear of job punishment.

Wonder, Image:Disney
Image: Disney

This particular Disney Wonder trip, which ended in San Diego, became something of an infamous debacle in cruise circles. According to the Disney Cruise Line Blog, the ship set sail on March 6th and was scheduled to return on March 20th. Disney cut it one day short due to the poor optics of the cruise remaining at sea.

In fact, the Cruise Lines International Association voluntarily suspended all cruise ship operations on March 14th. So, the Disney Wonder faced five days with no good options and a bunch of finger-pointing. Of course, the itinerary called for the cruise to spend those days at sea anyway.

There’s conflicting information about whether the passengers missed any scheduled stops. However, the most reliable sources state that the Disney Wonder never made any of them. So, passengers stayed on the ship for 13 consecutive days.

Wonder, Image: Disney
Image: Disney

Disney had come under fire for its decision to run cruises as Coronavirus concerns spread. USA Today noted that after the company had ordered the suspension of business, one cruise still set sail. It was a bad look, especially in the wake of the press release indicating that Disney was showing “an abundance of caution” toward its guests.

 
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We were on this cruise. The Panama Canal Cruise left New Orleans before Covid-19 had began to really take off in the US. We stopped at Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Our stops in Cartagena, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas were all called off. Disney canceled future cruises around the day that we passed through the Panama Canal, not prior the cruise. They chose to cut one day off of the cruise and reach San Diego a day early.
No crew member or passenger reported symptoms while on the cruise. We had 10 days with no contact with the outside world. Most of us dreaded getting back to real world where the virus seemed to be spreading like wildfire. The first reported cases of passengers and crew came about 6 days after we disembarked.

"Disney tried to squeeze a few more dollars out of its cruise business" Really, just stop. No research at all apparently.
This was a 14 day Panama Canal sailing that began while everyone else was still sailing. Yeah, it took the ship 5 days to reach San Diego. I guess you think they should have just run the ship aground on the Mexican coast line and kicked everyone off. Good heavens....

We have family friends who were on this cruise. Both tested positive for COVID-19 When they got home. Sadly, one passed away on Friday night due to complications from the virus. He had been hospitalized and in a ventilator.

I am so sorry to hear this. We are sending all our best wishes to you and your family and friends at this difficult time.

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