Disney Cruise Line to allow unvaccinated children under 11 years old to travel

Disney Cruise Line is dropping its COVID-19 vaccine requirement for children aged 5 to 11 for sailings departing U.S. and Canadian ports after previously requiring all guests 5 or older to be fully vaccinated. 

Disney Cruise Line’s website states that it will “highly” recommend that guests 11 years old and younger are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but starting on Sept. 2 it will only require those 12 years old and older to have received the shots.

The cruise line continues to require guests to test negative for COVID-19 to sail on its ships leaving U.S. and Canadian ports. 

Guests who are fully vaccinated must show a negative result to a test that was taken one to two days before departure to be exempt from testing at the terminal before leaving. Those who are not fully vaccinated must provide proof of a negative test taken one to three days before departure, followed by a second negative test that is taken at the terminal on the day of departure. 

Guests who test positive, a result that is confirmed with a second test, are denied boarding. 

The policy change comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) loosened its guidance last week to shift responsibility to individuals for assessing their own risk for the virus instead of businesses, governments and schools. CDC officials said the change was driven by recognition that most people have some protection from the virus through vaccination or prior infection and are unlikely to become seriously ill.