Disney Cruise Line changed the itinerary for the Disney Fantasy’s June 27, 2020 9-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral swapping out Fort-de-France, Martinique for Castries, St Lucia on July 1st. Recent passport requirements in Martinique now require passengers to have a valid passport to go ashore in Fort-de-France.
The Fantasy’s June sailing is a closed loop cruise, meaning the voyage begins and ends at the same port of call. As a result, not all passengers are required to have a passports to sail as a birth certificate is acceptable in most cases for United States citizens sailing a closed loop cruise.
Below is the copy of the correspondence from Disney Cruise Line regarding the change which was shared by Heather from Storybook Destinations.
A number of readers shared the direct correspondence which is slightly different as it is worded directly to the guest.
Dear PASSENGER,
We are writing to provide you with important information regarding your June 27, 2020, 9-night sailing aboard the Disney Fantasy.
We recently became aware that Martinique now requires all Guests going ashore have a passport. Knowing the impact this change will have on our Guests without passports, we have made the decision to visit Castries, St. Lucia instead of Fort-de-France, Martinique on July 1, 2020. St. Lucia boasts mountainous peaks, lush rainforests and breathtaking vistas. We know our Guests will enjoy this popular port.
We look forward to welcoming you onboard and providing you with an exceptional cruise experience.
Sincerely,
The Cast and Crew
Direct Guest Correspondence from Disney Cruise Line 2/5/2020
Disney Cruise Line
The revised sailing for the Disney Fantasy is as follows:
- Saturday June 27, 2020 – Port Canaveral
- Sunday June 28, 2020 – At Sea
- Monday June 29, 2020 – At Sea
- Tuesday June 30, 2020 – Basseterre (St. Kitts)
- Wednesday July 1, 2020 – St. Lucia
- Thursday July 2, 2020 – Antigua
- Friday July 3, 2020 – St. Thomas (St. John)
- Saturday July 4, 2020 – At Sea
- Sunday July 5, 2020 – Castaway Cay
Monday July 6, 2020 – Port Canaveral (Debarkation)
Given this is the one and only sailing of this itinerary, at least at this time, we are changing the itinerary on the website and have published a revised itinerary map.
One guest, who recently called on Martinique aboard the Disney Wonder, informed me via an email that Disney informed them of the passport requirement, but the local authorities were not checking passports. Ultimately, this doesn’t matter as Martinique requires a passport to go ashore. It is up to the local authorities to enforce the requirement, but I know I wouldn’t take the chance.
For more on St Lucia, check out our trip report from our Southern Caribbean Cruise on the Disney Magic.
This is an interesting swap. As a few of us have reported, as of last week, there were no authorities present during the stop in Martinique on the Wonder and no real checkpoints Now, I know that Martinique was the least liked stop based on an informal survey that was done in our Facebook group post cruise, whereas St.Lucia ended up at #2. I personally quite liked my excursion in Martinique but would agree that St.Lucia tops Martinique. The other issue with Martinique is language and using USD in the port area yielded mixed results, so the ship would also have to carry some euro. All that to say that it is one of those things that may work out better for everyone involved
…and a few cruisers experienced a “strong” (but not violent) protest while in town and trying to exit the port area to visit a few stores. The protest had nothing to do with the cruise (ie: French politics) but that is beside the point as we all know that DCL is all about safety…
Thanks for keeping us informed, Scott. You’re faster than our TA! This is good news for us, in that we have been to Martinique, but not St. Lucia. Wasn’t crazy about Martinique, so excited to try a new port.
I will be sailing on this voyage and I am very excited as I have not been to St. Lucia. I always love going to experience new places like these. Can’t wait!
Can you please change the ports and map in the itinerary summary to reflect St Lucia instead of Martinique. Thanks https://disneycruiselineblog.com/cruise-planning/itineraries/sail-date-summary/?saildate=5029
David, the revised map has been published.
they simply need to start requiring passports for closed loop cruises. sorry. spend the money to protect yourself. it’s never a good idea to travel abroad without one, you never know what could happen. and by requiring passports it negates the need to make changes to existing itineraries, which i’m sure is a headache for the cruise lines to have to do. and there could be people who booked a cruise for a specific port who now miss out. a passport is good for 10 years, it’s just the smart thing to do to make sure you’re totally covered in case of an emergency. the cruise industry just needs to start requiring this. you might get some people who dig their heels in and refuse to spend the money for one, so then they will miss out on cruising, but i would bet the majority of people who don’t have a passport, if told they are required,would take the time to get one.
and i’ll add- i only use my passport to fly, even domestically. it’s a document worth it’s weight in gold. then there are no hangups at the airport either over if your driver’s license meets requirements or not (which once my current one is up, my state now finally complies with REALID mandates so i’ll get one of those too).