Requests are not guaranteed and will be processed after the booking is paid in full, in sailing date order, and once we have finalized the estimated vaccinated guest count. Instead, the cruise line will introduce these on a rolling basis across the fleet. Although cruises from the US may not require covid vaccination, a port on the cruise may. For allsailings 6 nights or longer, vaccinated guests must present a digital or physical copy of a supervised and negative COVID-19 test result from a test taken within 3 days prior to sailing. Family cruises will be a bit easier in Europe now as Celebrity Cruises has become the first line to drop the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement for guests under the age of 18. You can keep up with her on Instagram at @IAmSarahJaneB. Which Cruise Lines Require COVID-19 Vaccinations? Currently, vaccinated guests departing on cruises from . Azamara. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. For those who are unvaccinated, pre-embarkation testing is required. Carnival, the largest cruise operator in the world, operates three vessels out of Long Beach. See more stories on Insider's business page. Disney Cruise Line becomes one of the final major lines to remove the vaccine mandate, along with relaxing testing requirements. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. 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. What other safety measures are in place: Ocean Cruise guests will be required to get tested for COVID-19 in the terminal. 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. "In addition to eliminating the mandatory Bahamas Travel Health Visa, the Government of The Bahamas announced today that fully vaccinated travelers will no longer be required to submit to pre-travel COVID-19 testing to enter the country," the Bahamas Ministry of tourism shared in a press release. 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 . RELATED: NCLH Drops COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements, Welcomes Everyone to Sail. November 11, 2021. Check the cruise lines websites for the most up-to-date information.). Now, the end of vaccination requirements on cruises could be closer than most people expected. Noting that NCLH passengers are a highly vaccinated population, President and CEO Frank Del Rio said they're not so concerned about catching COVID because they're protected against serious illness but they worry about having to isolate if they test positive or to quarantine if a close contact does. On 5 April, the proposal was amended to lift the age threshold to 60 years. Cruise travel's CDC status has come a long way in the past few months. Then theyll make decisions about whether or not they continue to require vaccines in certain settings," he added. 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. 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, the company announced. All rights reserved. The vaccination policy for Cunard passengers remains the same. Virgin Voyages also was the first to end pre-departure COVID testing. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. For all sailings 5 nights or less, no testing is required for vaccinated guests. 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. 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. "Gov. 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. The rules will vary by port, but an awful lot of sailings would be covered simply by adopting this rule change. Vaccine exemptions are limited to a small number of guests who are over age 5. NBC 6's Ryan Nelson reports on Norwegian Cruise Line dropping its COVID-19 testing requirement. "At Princess, we want to make your vacation as easy, hassle-free and safe as possible. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. As of July 14, Princess Cruises is beginning to more openly welcome unvaccinated passengers. "Cruise lines, the all-inclusives in the Caribbean everyone has a set of protocols. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC. 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. Cruises 5 days or less: With the exception of sailings to Bermuda and Canada, fully vaccinated passengers will not be required to test before sailing. 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. By maximizing miles and points, cheap deals, sales, backpacking, and couchsurfing Rocky has traveled to 75 countries and still counting. abruptly stopped any covid-related regulation. Disney Cruise Line has not chosen to pick one date to implement the new procedures onboard its ships. The NCL covid rules are among the most flexible for unvaccinated passengers on cruises leaving the United States. As of August 8, 2022 only children under 12 are welcome as unvaccinated guests on Celebrity cruise lines when leaving the United States. An update is coming August 14. As you heard me say, we have carried approximately 1.3 million guests since the restart, with about 2,500 guests testing positive for Covid-19, a positivity rate of 0.19%. Guests of . 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. Topline. Be sure to double check or work with a travel agent to ensure youre meeting the requirements of the cruise you are considering. Carnival Cruise Line removed testing for vaccinated passengers on sailings less than 16 nights, and eliminated the exemption request process for unvaccinated travelers, who will only need to show a negative test result at embarkation. 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. Now nursing homes are pushing to lift the vaccination mandate altogether. These protocols include that fully vaccinated guests do not need to provide proof of a negative test result. We'll send you a weekly newsletter to your inbox. 32. Disney Magic will be the last ship to make changes on November 7, sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its definition of what it means to be a highly . cruise lines are mostly holding strong to their vaccine mandates, When Will the Brightline to Orlando Open? To be exempt from testing requirements, fully vaccinated guests should still upload their proof of vaccination to the Inspire Diagnostics Safe Passage website by midnight before embarkation day. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. For the time being, cruise lines are mostly holding strong to their vaccine mandates, but another subset of travelers is hoping those will eventually go away, too. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lowered the travel advisory for cruise ships, indicating the agency thinks conditions have slightly improved from late last year. - As of July 25, 2022, the line no longer requires pre-cruise testing unless . Cruise lines have adopted very strong Covid protocols partly because of the CDC and partly because of the optics of an outbreak on a cruise. Virgin Voyages has also modified its vaccine policy to also allow 10% of guests to be unvaccinated. Children under 12 will not have to present negative Covid-19 tests, regardless of vaccination status. 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. Do note, that some countries still require covid-19 testing for sailing. He also predicted a quiet spring and summer 2022 since many people have been vaccinated or infected so immunity in the US . Find out when the conditional sailing order expires. That's what the three major cruise lines had to do. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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. Three months ago, on December 30, it was moved to the agency's highest-risk Level 4 category of travel advisories as the . Carnivals 50th anniversary sailabration kicks off in Long Beach. Royal Caribbean Group's Celebrity Cruises has rolled back its COVID-19-vaccine mandate for cruises sailing out of Florida ports, according to a June 17 update on Celebrity's website. This means any company that violates this proof-of-vaccination ban could be fined $5,000 for each customer. We make sure cruisers are fully prepared for their cruise vacation with tips on ships and ports. Other fun experiences include a Mickey Mouse-querade Party, a family costume party where kids can meet their favorite Disney characters, Halloween-themed movies, and even ghostly ship announcements. Unvaccinated guests are welcome on most voyages. (That mandate does not include a booster shot.) 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.. Some cruise lines already let children and a select few customers travel unvaccinated. He joined the Post in May 2021. With the CDCs removal of the pre-embarkation testing requirement, we are hopeful and pleased that the travel and cruising industries are sailing toward a new normal, said Oneil Khosa, CEO of Margaritaville at Sea. If unvaccinated guests have recently recovered from COVID and can provide appropriate documentation, they will also be exempt from the testing requirement. The vaccine-mandate reversal is the latest update in a heated battle between cruise lines and the state, which has banned vaccine passports. Number 8860726. NCL's last two Prima Plus ships will accommodate green methanol, Moving forward on multiple sustainability fronts: Insights from NAPA. There's one common reason for these reversals of vaccine mandates: the ban on vaccine passports in states like Florida and Texas, which has created a heated standoff between cruise lines and the states. But there's a catch: Unvaccinated passengers - or those unwilling to show proof of the vaccine - will face onboard restrictions, extra COVID-19 tests, and additional costs, according to the cruise line. The mass market of Unvaccinated cruises are not back yet. During a press conference on Thursday, the Florida governor suggested the state might fight efforts to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates on cruise passengers -- something that is at the core of comeback plans at a growing number of cruise lines. Vaccination Requirements: While all guests 12 and up are required to be fully vaccinated, children ages 5-11 may be unvaccinated with approval from the cruise line. Under the new rules, Unvaccinated passengers ages 12 and older must still present a medically supervised negative PCR or antigen test taken no more than 72 hoursbefore sailing. Here are some of the latest cruise lines that are pulling back on pandemic measures. All rights reserved. That could change. Otherwise all guests must be fully vaccinated 14 days before departure. That's likely only partly true because Royal . Here Are the Updated COVID-19 Testing Requirements for Each Major Cruise Line For many, testing and vaccination requirements have made cruising more confusing than ever but the consequences are here now. Share. On shorter cruises that . He has close to three decades of experience in journalism leading numerous investigations and long-form journalism projects for the OC Weekly and other publications. The vaccine-mandate reversal is the latest update in a heated battle between cruise lines and the state, which has banned vaccine passports. 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. Before boarding all three cruise lines, passengers must show their original vaccination cards. His expectation is that more companies will soon remove pre-cruise COVID-19 testing, as local regulations allow. The rules will vary by port, but an awful lot of sailings would be covered simply by adopting this rule change. Cruise planners call for Baltic 'reimagining,' sustainability support, Natalya Leahy succeeds Josh Leibowitz as Seabourn president, Carnival Corp. & plc arranges new forward starting $2.1b credit facility, Former Genting Hong Kong ship World Dream reported sold to Cruise Saudi, Port Canaveral overtook Miami as world's busiest cruise port in 2022 (updated), NCLH issues $250m 9.75% notes, amended Apollo deal has option for up to $650m notes, Court temporarily blocks Crystal/A&K from employing Lira, using Silversea info, Allowed HTML tags:

. Testing requirements for sailings in Europe are unchanged. ", 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. On most sailings, kids and teens ages 17 and under do not have a vaccine requirement. Receive full access to our market insights, commentary, newsletters, breaking news alerts, and more. The same date applies for Disney Fantasy, sailing from Port Canaveral, visiting Tortola, St Thomas, and Castaway Cay. Before boarding all three . Unvaccinated guests are welcome to sail on all voyages except for those in Australia or some that are 16 nights or longer. For departures five nights or less out of Los Angeles and Galveston, unvaccinated guests aged 2 and over must show a negative test result to sail. Not they continue to require vaccines in certain settings, '' he added `` at Princess, we want make. 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