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. 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. Fortunately, the CDC has also indicated that it is evaluating the situation, which may lead to welcome changes for cruise travelers. Gottlieb noted that the CDC would make the ultimate decision and that the agency needed more data first. On October 15, the procedures will be implemented onboard Disney Dream. However, with cruises providing notoriously great value for money, there's little worry from the cruise lines. 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. Cruise lines and Florida have been in a heated standoff over vaccine passports. 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. Despite passenger numbers rebounding post-pandemic, the company posted an annual net loss of $2.27 billion. Vaccine exemptions are limited to a small number of guests who are over age 5. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. READ NEXT: 18 Most Unique Cruise Ship Bars in 2022. The protocol changes come right on time for unvaccinated guests to experience the ever-popular Halloween on the High Seas cruises onboard the Disney ships in October. RELATED: Carnival Drops Pre-Cruise Testing & Vaccination Requirements. the White House is fighting efforts to lift lingering and nonsensical COVID rules. Clients are booking now and into the future, and he believes the cruise lines are mostly getting back to normal operations and looking at long-term planning. If you are taking a cruise and still need a rapid Covid-19 antigen test, try Azova for a inexpensive effective option. honestly, we should have never gotten rid of mask mandates in the first place. 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. On July 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the elimination of its COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships sailing in U.S. waters, a first-of-its-kind move that would allow each individual cruise line to manage its own COVID-19 mitigation programs. Children under 12 will not have to present negative Covid-19 tests, regardless of vaccination status. And, even when that ban was lifted, the cruise lines had to operate under a strict set of rules that no other industry had to follow. Disney Cruise Line becomes one of the final major lines to remove the vaccine mandate, along with relaxing testing requirements. Carnival Cruises no longer requires that passengers get vaccinated against COVID-19 for most voyages of less than 16 days, the company announced on Friday. An update is coming August 14. . ), This announcement is the most significant to date, and is another step to greater consumer confidence in travel, Tolkin said. The vaccination policy for Cunard passengers remains the same. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. "Cruise lines, the all-inclusives in the Caribbean everyone has a set of protocols. However, sailings visiting Greece require a supervised COVID test prior to embarking. 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. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. 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. 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. Disney Cruise Line adheres to local laws, regulations and protocols in place at all homeports and ports of call . As of July 14, Princess Cruises is beginning to more openly welcome unvaccinated passengers. Unvaccinated guests are welcome to sail on all voyages. 301 Route 17 N, Suite 1150, Rutherford, NJ 07070 USA | Telephone:(201) 902-2000. Cruises 6 days or more: All guests are required to take an official COVID-19 test before boarding. All rights reserved. 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, reduced isolation/quarantine times for highly vaccinated ships, Allowed HTML tags: . 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. 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. Now nursing homes are pushing to lift the vaccination mandate altogether. Ron DeSantis' office called the cruise line's vaccine mandate "discriminatory. 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 . Number 8860726. Since then, cruise lines can make their own rules and manage the monitoring of Covid-19 on cruise ships on their own. This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Now, the end of vaccination requirements on cruises could be closer than most people expected. But that's what travel in general is, and people are used to that. Azamara, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Viking were among the first to do so, where permitted. 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. All rights reserved. abruptly stopped any covid-related regulation. This also includes cruise line private islands, such as Royal Caribbeans Perfect Day at CocoCay. Youll find expert advice for experienced and first-time cruisers, as well as port and destination guides. "We continue to demonstrate that in a very tangible way. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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 . '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. Cruise lines will lift their mask mandates as they shift to a series of relaxed regulations under the CDC's voluntary Covid-19 Program for Cruise Ships operating in U.S. waters. Now that is being further expanded as cruise lines try to return to normal. scott@travelcodex.com, For updates: There are also excursion rules and limited capacity. 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. We will always have to be in compliance with the destinations. All Contents Copyright 2022 Cruise Radio, Inc. | Website Designed by Insider Perks, Inc. Get the real facts delivered straight to your inbox, with trustworthy cruise related news. Since 2009, Cruise Radio has provided the latest cruise news and industry analysis through informative articles, videos, and weekly podcasts. The CDC used that power to stop all cruises from U.S. ports from March 2020 through July 2021. These 3 major cruise lines are set to lift mask mandates as COVID cases drop. Guests of . "All unvaccinated travelers ages 2 and older will be required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test either a negative RT-PCR test or a Rapid Antigen test taken no more than three days (72 hours) prior to travel and present the negative test results at check-in before travel to The Bahamas.". Share. Unvaccinated passengers ages 12 and older must present a medically supervised negative PCR or antigen test taken no more than 72 hoursbefore sailing. Only those sailing on longer, more complex itineraries will be required to have an observed or in-person test prior to departure. Royal Caribbean, back in February, made masks optional for fully vaccinated passengers. Royal Caribbean released a further update to its protocols on Wednesday, which will go into effect in September 2022. Some people are upset at the way iPhones charge. And of course, some Americans either can't get vaccinated or have chosen not to. "Gov. This site is for entertainment purposes only. This doesnt apply to select destinations where local regulations vary, including Australia. 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. At this time, no changes have been made to our health and safety protocols for voyages originating in the U.S. as we look forward to reviewing the details of the CDCs planned guidelines for public health operations on cruise ships.. We make sure cruisers are fully prepared for their cruise vacation with tips on ships and ports. Those requirements are spelled out in more detail at the companys Have Fun. Princess Cruises removed its vaccine requirement for most voyages of less than 16 days and adjusted testing requirements.