It doesn't have anything to do with vaccinations directly, but I think it's worth a mention since it's a change that didn't exist on my first two sailings. In the testing area, they were each given an on-site rapid antigen test. The major cruise line previously mandated the covid vaccine for crew members only. On the one hand, no business wants to shell out $5,000 (which would be equivalent to at least 2,500 hot dogs) per customer just for the heck of it. This includes more contagious variants that now have sorority and fraternity sounding names, as I recently covered for Forbes. (Photo by Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images) Due to changing vaccine regulations in the Bahamas, which is a frequent stop for many cruise lines, Royal Caribbean's policy for voyages leaving from Florida will now be the same as its policy for those from all other U.S. embarkation ports -- proof of inoculation is required -- from Sept. 3 through at least Nov. 1, 2021. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Carnival cruise lines are easing their pandemic-era protocol by allowing unvaccinated travelers on more sailings, as well as accepting at-home COVID-19 tests. The venue was open to both vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers. Reminders going from indoors to outdoors and vice-versa were especially helpful. Royal Caribbean won't require COVID-19 vaccination to - New York Post But keeping track of which places were which on this voyage made my head spin. Unvaccinated travelers can join us for almost all U.S. If anyone on our team wouldnt recommend it to a friend or a family member, we wouldnt recommend it on The Points Guy either. Travelers to be Screened for COVID-19. Sometimes it's worth a large investment to reap the benefits of a great credit card. The Royal Caribbean cruise line plans to drop its COVID-19 testing requirement for some guests starting on Aug. 8, according to a statement on its website. The travel company announced on Friday that an additional six ships will resume trips from US ports in Florida and Texas starting in July and August. Caribbean. Tauck But all the major cruise lines that sailed from the U.S. opted into the CDC program. "This Order introduces a phased approach for resuming passenger cruises. Royal Caribbean no longer says Florida cruise passengers must receive the coronavirus vaccine, instead noting the shots are "strongly recommended." The reversal comes as Gov. More than 2.7 million people have died worldwide and more than 69.9 million have recovered as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley shared some numbers the CDC had given to him, during his remarks to passengers on the 2022 President's Cruise, Royal Caribbean Blog first reported. With few exceptions, Royal Caribbean has dropped its pre-cruise testing requirements across the board. It can be professionally proctored at your doctor or drugstore, or it can be a test you administer to yourself at home without supervision. Richard Fain, chief executive of Royal Caribbean, told . For customers looking to board Lindblad for an adventure cruise, they will need to abide by the new regulations in place. Both crew members and guests over 16 years old will have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to sail on the . Learn more. Royal Caribbean announces cruises with no vaccine requirement - The The current welcome offer on this card is quite lucrative. Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Symphony of the Seas (WPLG) Royal Caribbean announced Thursday it's no longer requiring vaccinated guests to take a COVID-19 test prior to embarking on. The about-face is an apparent submission to Gov. The line's decision to sail less than 95% vaccinated (which requires each ship sailing from the U.S. to complete test voyages under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's supervision) means that there are restrictions on board. What are the pre-cruise testing requirements for my cruise? | Royal User @drsimonegold tweeted: "WOW: @RoyalCaribbean cruises is now requiring you to get an experimental vaccine to book a cruise with them. "The no vaccine question is is a huge question that none of us know the answer to," Bayley said. (Enrollment required for select benefits.). Without very high vaccination rates among passengers and crew members, it can be difficult for a cruise ship to prevent the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) once the virus has made it on board. No, you need to bring the card. The order was most recently extended on September 30 last year but on October 30, "a Framework for Conditional Sailing Order" was issued by the CDC. Guests under this age requirement who haven't been vaccinated will instead have to be tested for the virus. Silversea, Azamara, Lindblad, and Viking will require the additional COVID-19 vaccine dose. Many cruise fans and potential passengers may expect that this CDC decision means that vaccine requirements and precruise testing may soon go away. The graphic below, produced by Statista, illustrates the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. Newsweek, in partnership with NewsGuard, is dedicated to providing accurate and verifiable vaccine and health information. Get tested again after cruise travel. On a practical level, the CDC had been tracking serious illness and death and the numbers were very encouraging. Vaccination Form | Royal Caribbean Cruises Royal Caribbean Extends Vaccine Mandate Further Into 2022 - Cruise Radio Check here before booking an award fare. Vaccinated vs. unvaccinated: Two different experiences on Royal By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider The graphic below, produced by Statista, illustrates countries with the most COVID-19 vaccine doses administered per 100,000 people. These Cruise Lines Will Require a Booster Shot to Board - Travel Required testing can be completed using any type of PCR or antigen COVID-19 test. Before joining the News 6 team, Samantha was a political reporter for The Villages Daily Sun and has had freelance work featured in the Evansville Courier-Press and The Community Paper. Requiring passengers to be fully vaccinated would be one of the best ways of preventing an outbreak. According to Viking's COVID-19 protocol, select at-home tests will meet Viking's travel requirement, provided they include a laboratory-certified proof of result. One of the world's biggest cruise companies says coronavirus vaccinations will be needed to get on its ships. Royal Caribbean Drops Vaccine Requirement for Some Cruises Royal Caribbean Won't Require Florida Passengers To Get Vaccine Action Alerts PLUS is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc. Maarten.". Carnival, Royal Caribbean and more to drop vaccination requirements for select sailings. 20102023Regal Sea Media LLC. Guests who have certain pre-existing medical conditions,. 2 shots of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, etc., or 1 shot of Johnson & Johnson). A line-by-line guide, 15 ways that cruising newbies waste money on their first cruise, Cruise hack: 6 ways to turn a voyage on a mass-market ship into a luxury experience, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. A Country-by-country Guide, Carnival Cruise Line to Lift Mask Requirement on Board Starting March 1, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Will No Longer Require Face Masks, Spain Now Requires Booster Shot For Travelers What To Know, Every Caribbean Island's COVID-19 Travel Policies and What You Need to Know to Plan Your Trip, Anguilla Becomes Latest Caribbean Island to Ease Entry Protocols for Vaccinated Visitors, Traveling to Italy Just Got Easier With Easing of COVID-19 Testing Requirements, Countries That Are Open to COVID-19 Vaccinated Travelers, A Country-by-country Guide to COVID-19 Entry Requirements in Europe, made its guidance optional for cruise lines. First and foremost, it's worth noting that. However, passengers on U.S.-based voyages should be aware that protocols are likely to differ by cruise line, ship and departure state. Vaccines, however, have clearly helped limit the number of severe cases onboard, and showing vaccination cards is a much smaller ask of passengers than requiring them to get tested no more than two days before their cruises. After all, rarely do you hear someone ask, is that person wearing a full business suit or just a suspender man thong? . Royal Caribbean announced Thursday its no longer requiring vaccinated guests to take a COVID-19 test prior to embarking on cruises six nights or less. Royal Caribbean will accept a variety of tests as proof to board, including simply taking a photo of a self-administered home test, a new rule that Bayley also noted on social media. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Strongly recommended is certainly different from required. $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. "Effective November 2, 2022, all travelers on U.S. sailings regardless of vaccination status will no longer require pre-departure testing (excludes sailings to Colombia, Haiti, & Honduras)." Going forward, the cruise line will make pre-departure. Royal Caribbean Shares Huge News on Covid Testing, Vaccine Rules President Michael Bayley gave some straight answers on pre-cruise covid testing and potentially dropping vaccine. In addition to having more rules in place than some other cruise lines, Royal Caribbean also enforced those protocols more strictly, with crew checking for wristbands in vaccinated-only venues and checking for masks in indoor places accessible to everyone. According to Royal Caribbean's Healthy Sail Center, for all sailings departing on or after Friday, February 25, 2022, face masks will become optional for all fully vaccinated passengers - with . Our intention is to comply with all federal, state and local laws, she said via email. Gee, what could possibly go wrong? Crew will be tested regularly while on board. At this checkpoint, an agent told me that if I wanted to present a vaccine card, that was the time to do so. We'll run a soft credit check to find special offers, but it wont affect your credit score. User @HardLinesBlog tweeted: "I'm saying goodbye to all venues moving to this requirement," in response to the tweet by @drsimonegold. When Will Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian End Vaccine Mandate Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. The cruise line will still require unvaccinated guests and vaccinated guests embarking on cruises six nights or longer, to take a COVID-19 test within three days of their departure date. There were physical check-in desks, but I checked in using the app, so I headed straight for the area where port workers were scanning digital SetSail Passes. "We want you to be more comfortable walking onboard a ship than walking down Main Street.". The US hasn't mandated the COVID vaccine for all eager cruiser goers, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that cruise lines with 98% of crew and 95% of passengers vaccinated can skip the "simulated voyages" that would otherwise be necessary for cruise lines to resume "restricted passenger voyages" again. Or do we need the physical card? Norwegian Cruise Line Requiring COVID Vaccine for Guests - Insider Vaccines must be approved for use by the WHO or U.S. FDA, with the exception of CanSino. The CDC has dropped its voluntary program to monitor cruise ships. Royal Caribbean will now require all guests to get tested for COVID-19 for certain cruises, regardless of their vaccination status. Cruise giant Royal Caribbean is dropping its COVID-19 vaccine The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a "No Sail Order" for cruise ships from March 14, 2020, as the national health body had "reason to believe that cruise ship travel may continue to introduce, transmit, or spread COVID-19.". Royal Caribbean also said it will continue to maintain a high percentage of fully vaccinated guests, and crew members will continue to be fully vaccinated and boosted as well as tested regularly when eligible. Each person sailing was required to download the Royal Caribbean app. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Starting September 5, 2022, all guests can sail with Royal Caribbean, regardless of vaccination status. The update on the health protocols for Royal Caribbean ships came in a letter sent to travel agents, which are now also available online. Royal Caribbean Internationals sister brand Celebrity Cruises (both owned by Royal Caribbean Group) is still requiring all passengers 16 years old or older be vaccinated on its seven-night Caribbean cruises that are restarting from Port Everglades on June 26. COVID-19 vaccines no longer will be required for Celebrity sailings from European countries with the exception of Iceland and sailings from . Lyan Sierra-Caro, a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean International, said the plans to require passengers be vaccinated that the company submitted to the CDC only applied to its test cruises. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Carnival cruise lines are easing their pandemic-era protocol by allowing unvaccinated travelers on more sailings, as well as accepting at-home COVID-19 tests for boarding. #BoycottRC pic.twitter.com/5xSNzyz0It. Royal Caribbean International's sister brand Celebrity Cruises (both owned by Royal Caribbean Group) is still requiring all passengers 16 years old or older be vaccinated on its seven-night. "Cruise passengers are at increased risk of person-to-person spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, and outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported on cruise ships," the CDC warns. Royal Caribbean: We expect all cruise guests to be vaccinated Rather, we focus on discussions related to local stories by our own staff. sailings.". All guests aged 4 and older are required to have a negative COVID-19 test before boarding. Unvaccinated travelers (who are 5 and older on most U.S. sailings and 12 and older on select European sailings) will be required to get tested within three days of boarding. Instead, Odyssey will begin her inaugural season out of a new homeport, Haifa, Israel from June to October 2021. The industry-wide trend comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially ended its pandemic-era program for cruise ships last month. The initial phase requires crew screening to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 among all crew members currently on cruise ships in U.S. waters," the health body advises. Hmm in my country there are no physical vaccination cards. box below. The most important change may be the following: Guests who are not vaccinated can sail on any cruise from the U.S. or Europe (*except. Your sailing is fast approaching, and we're looking forward to welcoming you onboard. These Cruise Lines Are Ending Vaccine Requirements Several luxury cruise lines are implementing new vaccine protocols, each requiring guests to show proof of having received a booster shot to board. Virgin Voyages Becomes First Major Cruise Line to Eliminate Pre-embarkation COVID Testing in the U.S. Margaritaville at Sea Becomes Latest Cruise Line to Ease Pre-boarding COVID Testing Requirement, Where Can Americans Travel Right Now? "We want you to be more comfortable walking on board a ship than walking down Main Street," Richard Fain, Royal Caribbean's CEO, told the BBC. The CDC may not be directly saying that it's done all it can, but the cruise lines clearly have taken reasonable precautions, and given the state of covid in the U.S., that's all that anyone can reasonably expect. When you strongly recommend that proper clothing be worn to a business meeting, technically that slingshot mankini is still fair game. Follow her adventures on Instagram. Copyright 2022 Travel + Leisure Co. All Rights Reserved. Interestingly, certain shows -- such as the ice show in Studio B -- required reservations due to their lower capacity. Starting July 2, Royal Caribbean ships will not be requiring passengers to have covid vaccines for sailings from the U.S. Royal Caribbean extended the suspension of sailings for its global fleet through May 31 (excluding cruises aboard the Quantum, Spectrum, Voyager and Odyssey of the Seas cruise ships) "in order to allow additional time for our return to service preparations," the company said in a statement on March 19.