We’ve been bringing you all kinds of updates about Disney’s newest cruise ship, the Disney Wish!

We recently got to check out all the new activities, character meet-and-greets, and — most importantly — all the new FOOD on board. But before we set sail, we had to work through a few logistical measures. You’ll need to do the same if you’re going on a Disney cruise anytime soon. Here’s everything you need to know about the COVID-19 testing and boarding protocol for the Disney Wish.

Before We Arrived

Before we even got to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Wish, we completed the Online Check-In and set up Safe Passage accounts. Online Check-In can be completed as early as 30 days before your sailing date, and it must be done at least 1 day before you leave. The process involves filling out information about yourself and your party and selecting a port arrival time.

That port arrival time is important and potentially why you’ll want to check in as early as possible. You must arrive at the time you choose — you cannot board earlier than that time. If you arrive late, you might have to wait until guests who are on time have finished boarding.

If you won’t be able to board until later on in the day, be sure to choose a time that definitely will work for your group. And if you want to take advantage of as much time as possible on the ship, choose the earliest possible boarding time. Port arrival time slots will fill up closer to the sailing date, so checking in as early as possible makes it more likely that you’ll get the time you want.

When you’re all checked in, you’ll receive a Port Arrival Form via email, which has a QR code. We had to show this code several times throughout the boarding process, so make sure it’s easily accessible! We also created a Safe Passage by Inspire Diagnostics account, which is where guests upload proof of vaccination. All guests who are eligible for a vaccine (ages 5 and older) must be vaccinated to sail with the Disney Cruise Line. You’ll need to upload your proof of vaccination before your sailing date, and you’ll get a separate QR code from Safe Passage to show at the terminal.

All guests ages 18 years and older need their own Safe Passage account, and a parent or guardian needs to use their account to provide information for minors. This account is linked to your Disney Cruise Line reservation.

We also completed a health questionnaire before we arrived, which had questions about potential COVID-19 symptoms. The questionnaire appeared on our Disney Cruise Line Navigator App on Embarkation Day, and Disney also sent it to us in an email.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements and Testing

Vaccine Requirements

As we mentioned before, all vaccine-eligible guests (ages 5 and older) must be fully vaccinated before boarding a Disney cruise ship. According to the Disney Cruise Line website, “Disney Cruise Line accepts the following vaccine types: Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Covishield, Novavax, Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV (VeroCell), Sinovac-CoronaVac and Covavaxin (Bharat Biotech).”

Proof of vaccination should be uploaded to the Safe Passage website, and confirmation can take up to 48 hours. So be sure to upload it more than 2 days before your embarkation day.

COVID-19 Testing

All guests (even fully vaccinated guests) have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result before they can board the ship. There is a testing site available at the terminal. Some guests were being tested on-site, but we decided to test before we arrived and show proof of the negative result at the port.

If you choose to be tested for COVID-19 at home before your cruise, you must take the test no more than 2 days before setting sail if you want to be exempt from the embarkation day testing at the terminal. You do have to pay for your own test, whether it’s done at home or at the terminal.

The Disney Cruise Line website says that “antigen tests must be completed using a proctored telehealth service and come with digital results that can be uploaded to the Safe Passage website. A nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) or PCR test also is acceptable. Guests can purchase COVID-19 tests through our third-party vendor, Inspire Diagnostics, or obtain a test from any independent online testing supplier or pharmacy.”

Once you have your negative COVID-19 test result, you must upload it to your Safe Passage account by midnight before embarkation day. If you don’t do this, you will be required to take a COVID-19 test at the terminal, and you’ll have to pay for that test as well. The terminal test costs $74 plus tax. And if you need a confirmatory test, that one costs $125 plus tax.

When all the correct documents are uploaded and reviewed on the Safe Passage website, you should see “Clear to Arrive” in the pre-sail screening section of your Safe Passage account.

Guests who test positive for COVID-19 at the terminal will be tested again (a confirmatory test). If they test positive again, they will not be allowed to board the ship. Anyone who was staying in their stateroom will also not be allowed to board.

For kids ages 4 and under (who aren’t vaccine-eligible), they need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than 3 days before the sail date. These results should be uploaded to their parent or guardian’s Safe Passage account before midnight on embarkation day. All kids ages 4 and under will also be required to complete a test at the terminal before boarding (even if their at-home test was negative). This terminal testing is free.

There are some exemptions to the COVID-19 testing process, such as for guests who have recently recovered from COVID-19. Read about those exemptions here.

Here’s a quick summary of those rules:

Guests ages 5 and older:

• Must be fully vaccinated
• Must test negative for COVID-19 once — This can be done before the sail date (test up to 2 days before and upload results to Safe Passage) or at the terminal. If you don’t upload negative results to Safe Passage before the sail date, you will be required to test at the terminal.

Guests ages 4 and younger:

• Must test negative for COVID-19 twice — A pre-trip test is required and must be taken no more than 3 days before the sail date. Upload these results to Safe Passage. A COVID-19 test is also required at the terminal before boarding.

Face Coverings

Face masks are optional throughout the Disney Wish for almost everyone, although Disney strongly recommends that guests wear masks while indoors on the ship. Kids who are 4 years old or younger are still required to wear a face mask at youth activity spaces and in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

Masks might be required at certain ports of call depending on local regulations. Masks are also optional at most places in the boarding terminal, but they are required at COVID-19 testing locations within the terminal.

Boarding Process

Once we got through the initial check-in with a Cast Member and confirmed our negative COVID-19 test result, we were ready to board! Guests can check their luggage at the terminal, so all you’ll have to do is go to the front desk and confirm your reservation. The Cast Member there gave us our Key to the World cards (our room keys), and we were all set!

We headed up the gangplank and onto the Disney Wish!

There were a couple more steps to officially complete our boarding process. We attended a short presentation with a Cast Member who explained how to use the Disney Cruise Line app during our trip.

And then we took part in the Emergency Drill, which each guest can complete on their own. We used the Disney Cruise Line app to find our assigned Assembly Station. Once we arrived there, a Cast Member checked us in to confirm that we completed the drill. We watched a short video about safety information, which explained where life jackets were and what would happen in the case of various potential emergencies.

After the drill was complete, we were free to explore the ship, find a snack, or just hang out until it was time to set sail. Note that staterooms become available at 3PM, so if you board before that time, you’ll need to keep all of your belongings with you (except for any luggage that you check in the terminal, which will be moved to your stateroom).

We’ll continue to bring you more updates about Disney’s newest cruise ship, so stay tuned with DFB!

Click here to learn more about the Disney Wish.

 

Are you sailing on the Disney Wish soon? Let us know in the comments.

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of the Disney Wish. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ

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