Two major cruise lines, Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Line, have announced plans to ease onboard . Children under five are not required to apply for a vaccine exemption. This announcement is the most significant to date, and is another step to greater consumer confidence in travel. Vaccinated travelers must continue to provide evidence of their vaccination status prior to embarkation. All rights reserved. For sailings from Southampton, Ravenna and Civitavecchia, and Amsterdam, vaccinated travelers must present a negative COVID test taken within two days before embarking, while unvaccinated travelers must test negative within one day of sailing. But the cruise line still "strongly recommends" that its eligible guests be vaccinated, a spokesperson told Insider in an emailed statement. Reason is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. We finally got to a place that brings us much closer to where the rest of society is in terms of freedom to operate responsibly," the CEO said, according to a Travel Weekly article. Cruise-specific travel insurance is recommended on both Australian domestic cruises and international cruises. We want to ensure a great experience going ashore at these ports, for guests of any vaccination status, while meeting local health regulations.. There will be no pre-cruise testing for vaccinated travelers on cruisesup to 15 nights, with the exception of full Panama Canal transits, trans-ocean and other special itineraries. 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. The Disney Cruise Line announced Wednesday that it will require all passengers ages five and older to be fully COVID-19 vaccinated in order to be granted entry onto the ship . Starting September 3, Norwegian Cruise Line will experience a major change in health and safety . The options available to unvaccinated guests continue to expand. (Note: Since the initial announcement, the CDC has released new guidance for cruise ships on the mitigation and management of the virus. All Rights Reserved. This means $178 worth of COVID-19 tests, strict mask requirements, seating restrictions in areas like theaters and casinos, and the possibility of not being able to go ashore, depending on local restrictions. 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. The announcement came just weeks after Celebrity Cruises' unveiled its resumption of sailing plans aboard the Celebrity Edge. Sign Up for Our Monthly Cruise Newsletter. The CDC has allowed cruise ships to operate with conditions since October 2020, requiring masks onboard and vaccinations or testing of passengers and crew, among other safety precautions. Whats notably missing are Eastern Caribbean cruises, such as those that sail to the Bahamas. Thats why were asking readers like you to support our independent, fact-based journalism. All rights reserved. ), This announcement is the most significant to date, and is another step to greater consumer confidence in travel, Tolkin said. All rights reserved. The cruise lines have dropped mask requirements but still require proof of vaccination. Unvaccinated guests are welcome on most voyages. This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. 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. Earlier this week, Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines relaxed their mask rules as well. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. Cunard testing changes, but not vaccination mandate. This news comes as the cruise industry starts to relax its protocols and aligns with other travel sectors, such as flights. If guests are sailing on back-to-back cruises, they will not be required to be tested in between cruises, as long as they are fully vaccinated. 32. This doesnt apply to select destinations where local regulations vary, including Australia. For those who are unvaccinated, pre-embarkation testing is required. Copyright 2023. Registered in England and Wales. The vaccination policy for Cunard passengers remains the same. I think CDC is going to want to see what [that] looks like. (That mandate does not include a booster shot.) "The U.S. consumer is sitting on $2 trillion of savings," Liberty said. Free expert cruise tips and news from Cruise Hive! The cruise industry is also being affected by the change in requirements as ship passengers will no longer need to have pre-boarding COVID tests, be vaccinated, or use ArriveCAN, the agency said. The 10% rule remains in effect for cruising leaving the United States. By the end of March, many mask mandates will go away, as is already happening in moststates and a growing number of schools. Virgin Voyages has also modified its vaccine policy to also allow 10% of guests to be unvaccinated. Celebrity will accept any commercially available tests, including self tests that are not monitored or proctored. Our ships have been sailing very full all summer, but there is still room for more of our loyal guests, and these guidelines will make it a simpler process, and make cruising accessible for those who were not able to meet the protocols we were required to follow for much of the past 14 months, said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is extending its passenger vaccine mandate "indefinitely," the company's CEO said on Wednesday. Anne Kalosh | Aug 12, 2022. . The Uniglobe travel agency says most cruise lines are making the same call: to keep the guidelines. "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. News Florida Disney. 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. We respect that every guest has choices, and regardless of your vaccination status, we have amazing vacations for you to enjoy, reads the lines CruiseHealth page. Royal Caribbean released a further update to its protocols on Wednesday, which will go into effect in September 2022. Unvaccinated travelers will need to show a negative supervised test taken within three days before embarking regardless of cruise length. Disney Magic will be the last ship to make changes on November 7, sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The CDC's mask mandate for public transportation runs untilMarch 18, and Gottlieb thinks the agency will extend it by two or three weeks but give a definitive end date. 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The Miami-based cruise line also announced that starting Sept. 6, vaccinated passengers sailing on voyages of less than 16 days will no longer have to test before boarding. 2023 TheStreet, Inc. All rights reserved. I'm looking forward to cruising again,' he said. If you are taking a cruise and still need a rapid Covid-19 antigen test, try Azova for a inexpensive effective option. This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. There are no other leisure industries as regulated as cruise lines are. Please be aware that health and safety measures may change at any time. Now that is being further expanded as cruise lines try to return to normal. As of July 14, Princess Cruises is beginning to more openly welcome unvaccinated passengers. Gottlieb,a former FDA commissioner and Pfizer board member, who also co-chaired the Healthy Sail Panel, spoke in an NCLH briefing for travel partners and media. Under the current voluntary CDC guidelines, 95% of passengers must be vaccinated. Disney Cruise Line is one of the last cruise lines to make these changes. For four out of five ships in the fleet, the changes come right on time for the popular Halloween cruises. "At Princess, we want to make your vacation as easy, hassle-free and safe as possible. 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. If this is the case, you still need a negative test or be vaccinated. As for Martindales agency, business is booming. If you are unvaccinated and looking to cruise, be sure to work with a travel partner, such as Scott & Thomas, who is familiar with the individual cruise lines policy. We continue to work with our destination partners to evolve our protocols and align with the broader travel industry, as we transition to the point that everyone can vacation with us.. At long last, cruise lines are finally starting to drop their vaccine mandates and allow all passengers inoculated or not to sail on their ships. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, how vocal some potential customers and cruise lines, Margaritaville at Sea Gears Up With Travel Advisors in Mind, Its a Summer of Record-Breaking Cruise Sales. 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. Im talking more about CDC and the policy environment. It will also . Keep in mind the world is one world but not one place. Anne Kalosh | Mar 03, 2022. He became the CEO at Norwegian in 2015 after it brought a cruise line Del Rio founded in 2002. Currently, the island nation requires all cruise ship passengers 12 and over to be fully vaccinated to enter the port. Subscribe to Apple News. NBC 6's Ryan Nelson reports on Norwegian Cruise Line dropping its COVID-19 testing requirement. Those requirements are spelled out in more detail at the companys Have Fun. No matter how healthy you are, we strongly . Shes been on 10 cruises and counting, and her favorite onboard activities include trying out the water slides, spending time in the spas thermal suite, eating lots of food, and attending the love & marriage show. Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, a physician who serves as chairman of Norwegian Cruise Line's SailSAFE Council, on March 3 spoke on the possibility of cruise lines being able to drop vaccination requirements. The changes are nuanced, depending on embarkation ports and destinations and, in some cases, by cruise length, and vary by . On October 16, it is Disney Wonders turn to implement the new protocols, sailing from San Diego on a 5-night Baja California cruise. Antibody tests are not accepted. Passengers who are not fully vaccinated will need to bring a negative COVID-19 test result taken withinthree days before embarking. Disney Cruise Line does still recommend that all guests get tested before sailing. 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. And one month later, the state passed a law to ban vaccine passports starting July 1.