Excursion Required to Get Off the Ship?

[grimaldi]

Is this true, a rumor, or dependent on the ship and itinerary, i.e. U.S. vs. abroad? I can't find any documentation though I've read a few TRs that claim it's the case. I understand anyone with an excursion will likely get off the ship before those without one booked, but is it all or nothing?

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, grimaldi said:

Is this true, a rumor, or dependent on the ship and itinerary, i.e. U.S. vs. abroad?

The main factor is being unvax, those typically require a ship's excursion.

[c-leg5]

Dependent on ship and itinerary 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise

[awestover89]

Some ports require unvaccinated passengers to be on a ship sponsored excursion to be allowed off the ship. I'm not currently aware of any ports that require it for vaccinated passengers, but things can always change day to day

[grimaldi]

Just now, Biker19 said:

The main factor is being unvax, those typically require a ship's excursion.

So if vaxxed, then you can come and go without issue? Is this proven via bracelet, a sticker on the SeaPass, or do you need the same docs you used to originally board with? I was curious how they made that differentiation at the MDRs or in the theatres, with separate sections for the vaxxed and unvaxxed.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, grimaldi said:

Is this proven via bracelet

This.

[grimaldi]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

This.

Got it. Thank you.

[FionaMG]

33 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

Some ports require unvaccinated passengers to be on a ship sponsored excursion to be allowed off the ship. I'm not currently aware of any ports that require it for vaccinated passengers, but things can always change day to day

Currently, Italian ports require ship sponsored excursions for everyone regardless of vaccination status.

[badvector]

For our Alaska cruise on Serenade, if you are unvax or had children unvax, you were required to take a RCI excursion and when it was complete you were expected to return directly to the ship.  Didn't really pay much attention to see if it was enforced but those were the requirements at the time. You are provided with a color coded rubber bracelet to indicate you have been vaccinated.

[Sianli]

1 hour ago, awestover89 said:

Some ports require unvaccinated passengers to be on a ship sponsored excursion to be allowed off the ship. I'm not currently aware of any ports that require it for vaccinated passengers, but things can always change day to day

Italy is only allowing ship sponsored excursions.

[beshears]

I almost passed up this question when I seen it, as I "thought", YES anyone should be able to get off the ship, either with/without a reservation.  Now that I have read a little further, I guess because of the pandemic, it depends upon if a person is vaccinated or not?? I'm sure the cruise ship line would LIKE for "everyone" to book tours, etc. through them.  I have found for myself, it is much cheaper to book tours, etc. through other ways.

[FionaMG]

19 minutes ago, beshears said:

I almost passed up this question when I seen it, as I "thought", YES anyone should be able to get off the ship, either with/without a reservation.  Now that I have read a little further, I guess because of the pandemic, it depends upon if a person is vaccinated or not?? I'm sure the cruise ship line would LIKE for "everyone" to book tours, etc. through them.  I have found for myself, it is much cheaper to book tours, etc. through other ways.

 

It depends not only on whether a person is vaccinated or not but also on the rules in place wherever the ship is cruising. As I and another poster mentioned, if you are cruising to Italy at the moment you can only get off the ship by buying an excursion from the ship, regardless of your vaccination status.

 

And as soon as this was announced, Royal hiked the prices of their excursions, in some cases by more than double, which is a real pain for folks coming from far away and who might not get the chance to come back to Europe any time soon. 😞 

[BopRN]

On 9/12/2021 at 5:18 PM, badvector said:

For our Alaska cruise on Serenade, if you are unvax or had children unvax, you were required to take a RCI excursion and when it was complete you were expected to return directly to the ship.  Didn't really pay much attention to see if it was enforced but those were the requirements at the time. You are provided with a color coded rubber bracelet to indicate you have been vaccinated.

So they are mixing unvax and vax passengers on the same excursion? 

[UPNYGuy]

6 hours ago, BopRN said:

So they are mixing unvax and vax passengers on the same excursion? 

 

no. unvax are on a bubble excursion. 

[livingonthebeach]

I was just on FOTS and on our stop in Nassau I took a ship sponsored excursion.  Our tour guide stated that if we wanted to walk around by ourselves in Nassau after the tour we had to bring our CDC card with us, otherwise we had to go back to the ship.  Nassau requires masks even outdoors but I saw many cases of non-enforcement. 

[badvector]

8 hours ago, BopRN said:

So they are mixing unvax and vax passengers on the same excursion? 

I don't recall seeing any kids on our busses, but for each excursion we were on, the tour guide made the same announcement regarding unvaccinated returning to the ship. 

[c-leg5]

11 hours ago, BopRN said:

So they are mixing unvax and vax passengers on the same excursion? 

 

4 hours ago, UPNYGuy said:

 

no. unvax are on a bubble excursion. 

Everyone already mixes on the ship. I don’t know if excursions are exclusively vaccinated/non-vaccinated but I thought the idea was to keep track of where the unvaccinated had gone and limit the exposure of locals as well as being able to see who within the ship had been in contact. 
 

I am glad to hear there is at least  some pretence now that unvaccinated should return to the ship at the end as this was certainly not the case in early reports and seems to negate the point of bubble tours.

Edited September 14, 2021 by c-leg5