Which Cruise Lines Require COVID-19 Vaccinations? Azamara, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Viking were among the first to do so, where permitted. When will vaccination no longer be required to cruise? Vaccine exemptions are limited to a small number of guests who are over age 5. 'This a transition year then they'll decide whether they want vaccinations in congregate settings like cruising, whether this becomes part of the childhood immunization schedule,' Gottlieb said. We shall see this expanded for future cruises. Seatrade Cruise News is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC. Eventually, those rules were loosened and the CDC's program became voluntary, and now, the federal agency has abruptly stopped any covid-related regulation or tracking of the cruise industry. Now nursing homes are pushing to lift the vaccination mandate altogether. The cruise line will drop the vaccine requirement on select sailings from the U.S. and Europe. "The booster vaccine is causing the most challenges for my agency as far as clients not wanting to get an additional booster shot in order to sail in some parts of the world requiring this, Martindale said. "I'm very glad that it has ended, said Adam Martindale, owner of a Cruise Planners franchise in San Diego, Calif. There are no other leisure industries as regulated as cruise lines are. He became the CEO at Norwegian in 2015 after it brought a cruise line Del Rio founded in 2002. At the end of May, Celebrity Cruises' sibling brand Royal Caribbean announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all guests. As any client who has cruised recently knows, the logistics of requiring COVID-19 testing before, during or right after a trip can be daunting. 2023 TheStreet, Inc. All rights reserved. Also starting Sept. 5,Celebrity Cruises will discontinue its vaccination mandate for sailings from Los Angeles, the UK and Europe (but not Iceland). Frank Del Rio has no regrets. The rules will vary by port, but an awful lot of sailings would be covered simply by adopting this rule change. Oct 26, 2021, 4:08 AM. Check the cruise lines websites for the most up-to-date information.). ", Read the original article on Business Insider, See more stories on Insider's business page, Chicago police chief, U.S. attorney resign after Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection. by Rocky HoranLast updated October 26, 2022. The CDCs latest updated guidance for cruise ships now only recommends, and no longer mandates, pre-cruise testing in the U.S. At this point, only Margaritaville and Virgin have revised their policies accordingly, but its very likely others will soon follow. The Bahamas, for example recently changed its covid testing rules opening up the possibility that many Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian cruises that stop there could change the rules for those sailings. Currently, all three major U.S. cruise lines require all passengers to provide proof of a negative covid test taken no more than two days before their cruise and all passengers ages 12 and over must also be vaccinated. The federal Liberal government's COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing policy is facing yet another challenge after Maryland-based Novavax announced late Tuesday it may not have enough cash in a year's time to stay in business. Departing from Miami, she will visit the Cayman Islands and Castaway Cay on a 5-night Halloween On The High Seas western Caribbean cruise. When it comes to the select European cruises, unvaccinated guests will have to take a test onboard to be allowed ashore in Greece or Spain. To date, the biggest group to confirm it will likely extend its 100 percent vaccination policy into . Vacation cruising has nearly returned to normal. Passengers on cruises 16 nights or longer, or sailing on full Panama Canal transits, trans-ocean and other specific itineraries, need to take a supervised test within three days before embarking. "Allowing companies like Celebrity Cruises to require 'vaccine passports' for customers would mean tolerating discrimination by private businesses, which is unacceptable in Florida.". This now means that regardless of vaccination status, guests can cruise on the select sailings, as long as they meet any testing requirements. Below are the current requirements, as August 9, 2022 by cruise line. Carnival, the largest cruise operator in the world, operates three vessels out of Long Beach. (Note: Since the initial announcement, the CDC has released new guidance for cruise ships on the mitigation and management of the virus. 32. For Cunard, from Sept. 6, self-testing prior to travel will change from 'mandatory' to 'highly recommended' for vaccinated passengers on the vast majority of voyages. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. Getty Images. (Note: This . There are no other leisure industries as regulated as cruise lines are. Cruises visiting Greece require a supervised test. All rights reserved. On May 5, 2022, the CDC reevaluated and lowered the cruise ship vaccination status thresholds from 95 percent to 90 percent of passengers under the COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships. Carnival allows unvaccinated guests to return to sailing. The Uniglobe travel agency says most cruise lines are making the same call: to keep the guidelines. Celebrity'highly recommended' vaccination although it won't be required for these trips. The unvaccinated cruise is now back. First and foremost, it's . The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed its "cruise ship travel health notice" after two years of warning travellers about COVID-19 infections linked to boarding a cruise ship. Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. CDC drops risk advisory for cruise ship travel, 2 years into the COVID pandemic : Coronavirus Updates While the agency has lifted its travel health notice two years after putting it in place . Here are some of the latest cruise lines that are pulling back on pandemic measures. Disney Cruise Line has announced a significant change to its COVID-19 protocols, introducing relaxed measures that will allow guests who have not been fully vaccinated to step onboard the Disney cruise ships once again. What other safety measures are in place: Ocean Cruise guests will be required to get tested for COVID-19 in the terminal. The cruise lines are already set up to self-manage with all protocols necessary to keep their guests in the safest environment possible, as they always have been. Copyright 2023. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. What You Need to Know About Norwegian Cruise Lines Premium+ Drink Package, 12 Things to Know Before Sailing Royal Caribbean, Carnival Drops Pre-Cruise Testing & Vaccination Requirements, NCLH Drops COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements, Welcomes Everyone to Sail, Cruise News Recap | Week of February 5, 2023, Philippines Welcomes First International Cruise Ship in Three Years, Pre-Cruise Entertainment Reservations Now Available on Norwegian Cruise Line. the White House is fighting efforts to lift lingering and nonsensical COVID rules. Anne Kalosh | Mar 03, 2022. Part of this may also depend on whether the vaccines get reformulated to become highly effective against any transmission, which is very valuable for congregate settings like cruising. We want to ensure a great experience going ashore at these ports, for guests of any vaccination status, while meeting local health regulations.. Guests who have not been fully vaccinated will be required to provide a COVID-19 test taken one or two days before the sail date. There's no indication that consumers are "shying away from taking cruise vacations," its CEO said. Margaritaville at Seas vaccinated guests will no longer be required to undergo testing prior to boarding, making it quicker and easier than ever to escape to paradise.. I think that its likely to be a requirement that is in place through this fall and winter, Gottlieb said, according to a Cruzely report. Royal Caribbean said, We are working with local governments in the Eastern Caribbean to align on vaccination requirements for more itineraries. Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Cruises rolled back its COVID-19-vaccine mandate for Florida cruises. Since then, cruise lines can make their own rules and manage the monitoring of Covid-19 on cruise ships on their own. The outgoing executive also took some measured shots at the federal agency as he explained when Carnival (and likely Royal Caribbean and Norwegian) will make a change. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC. Well hopefully get our first glimpse of that this year. Royal Caribbean Vaccine Requirement Update. Royal Caribbean drops the vaccine requirement from select U.S. homeports on departures from September 5, 2022. New Details Released. Hyperlocal news is an essential force in our democracy, but it costs money to keep an organization like this one alive, and we cant rely on advertiser support alone. Two Summer Itineraries Modified for Disney Cruise Ship, Passenger Accused of Using Stolen Credit Cards for Royal Caribbean Cruise, Royal Caribbean Makes Major Updates for Loyal Guests, Holland America Line Gears Up For Alaska Travel Expo. Unvaccinated guests are welcome on most voyages, except for those that visit destinations where local regulations vary, including Australia. As mentioned, the first vessel where Disney implements the new procedures is Disney Wish on October 14, a 3-day Bahamas cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay, sailing from Port Canaveral. Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. This site is for entertainment purposes only. Most Americans have a strong opinion on vaccines -- strong to the point that the topic has caused family rifts and led friends to stop speaking to each other. scott@travelcodex.com, For updates: The establishment failed to implement vaccine mandates and passports in the west, but that does not mean they have given up on the agenda in other parts of the world . Receive full access to our market insights, commentary, newsletters, breaking news alerts, and more. Cruises 6 days or more: All guests are required to take an official COVID-19 test before boarding. Here's why. This means any company that violates this proof-of-vaccination ban could be fined $5,000 for each customer. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Now, the official termination of the CDC program is only accelerating the elimination of testing among other lines. For cruises from Barcelona, both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers have to present a negative test taking within one day before embarking. Guests of . This news comes as the cruise industry starts to relax its protocols and aligns with other travel sectors, such as flights. Children under 5 (from the US) and under 12 (from Australia) are exempt from vaccination and testing requirements. However, they must still follow requirements for unvaccinated guests, including pre-cruise and onboard testing. The new protocols will be introduced on a rolling basis, starting with Disney Wish, and concluding with Disney Magic on November 7. And there may be places around the world that still require certain things, certain testing, certain vaccinations, so if we choose to go to those places, then we're going to respect that, and guests will be informed ahead of time and know what they have to do. With the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ending its cruise ship program on July 18, 2022, multiple cruise lines have already announced updated protocols to allow more unvaccinated guests to sail and to reduce pre-cruise testing. Topline. . Gottlieb surmised US public health officials may take a decision on vaccination mandatesin springtime 2023,after the country gets through another fall and winter to see if COVID enters the endemic phase. The parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line says passengers are still splurging on luxury trips. I think that the public-health officials -- CDC -- is going to want to see what the epidemiology of this disease is when it gets to a quote, unquote, normal state.". Starting Sept. 6, vaccinated travelers on cruises under16 days will no longer have to test before embarking and only need to upload proof of vaccination while getting OceanReady. Vaccination for sailings starting and ending in the U.S. is not required. Unvaccinated guests are welcome on most voyages. April 5, 2021. abruptly stopped any covid-related regulation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Unvaccinated passengers or those who do not provide proof of vaccination must present the results of a negative PCR or antigen test taken within three days of embarkation . They are going to want to make a decision around this after we get through another fall and winter with Covid and see if we are truly in an endemic phase with this.. However, Azamara still lists Miami as a port requiring COVID-19 tests, and Viking has yet to remove its testing in the U.S. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. parent to the Norwegian, Oceania and Regent brands also confirmed that they would keep health and safety protocols in place for ships operating in U.S. waters with the following statement: We welcome the decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to end the CDC COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships operating in U.S. waters. All travelers who are 12 and older must be fully vaccinated. Many cruise fans and potential passengers may expect that this CDC decision means that vaccine requirements and precruise testing may soon go away. Copyright 2023. He acknowledged some people don't want mask mandates lifted and predictedmany will still wear masks in congregate settings, particularly in winter when flu and COVID circulate. Keep in mind the world is one world but not one place. On a recent communication to travel agents, Royal Caribbean President Michael Bayley recently said,For those clientsbookedafter August 14, 2022,please await the specific protocol details from us related to those sailings. I expect that RCI will be dropping the vaccination requirements. The cruise line also noted that children under 5 will not need to receive a vaccine exemption to sail under the new COVID-19 program, and passengers can expect "additional flexibility" in pre . Some cruise lines already let children and a select few customers travel unvaccinated. "We're going to announce very . But like Celebrity, this mandate was rolled back in early June for all cruises sailing out of Florida and Texas. No business wants to make a choice -- or in this case have choices made for them by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- that alienates potential customers. Since 2009, Cruise Radio has provided the latest cruise news and industry analysis through informative articles, videos, and weekly podcasts. Number 8860726. RELATED: Carnival Drops Pre-Cruise Testing & Vaccination Requirements. Check with Carnival for specific cruise requirements. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess drop vax mandate for many cruises, Cunard eases testing. The cruise lines are already set up to self-manage with all protocols necessary to keep their guests in the safest environment possible, as they always have been.. Testing requirements for sailings in Europe are unchanged. "CDC continues to evaluate the latest science and state of . The unvaccinated, or those who do not provide proof of vaccination, must present a negative test taken within three days before embarking. (That mandate does not include a booster shot.). & quot ; We & # x27 ; s & quot ; &! Unvaccinated, or those who do not provide proof of vaccination, must a. 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