Vaccination Cards- keep bringing them?

[OSUZorba]

1 minute ago, davekathy said:

Many years ago we had the same concerns about protecting our passports.  We purchased passport wallets to protect our passports and that's where we'll put our covid vaccination cards. 

I'll take a look at that. I never take my passport ashore with me, so I haven't worried about it in the past.

[joepeka]

10 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Better to ask RC what is acceptable.  

True and we know we can always rely on consistent answers from the reps answering the phones. FWIW, RCI's web site mentions nothing about U.S. state/county health department certification as acceptable, just the easily counterfeited CDC card or a detailed document from the provider that administered the vaccinations.

Edited September 21, 2021 by joepeka

[davekathy]

Just now, OSUZorba said:

I'll take a look at that. I never take my passport ashore with me, so I haven't worried about it in the past.

We don't either. If we are required to take the original vaccination cards while ashore we'll use one of the pass port wallets (without the passport) for both cards and either my wife will carry it in her pocket book or I'll carry it in my cargo shorts pocket. We're hoping a copy of the vaccination cards will be sufficient while going ashore, if required. 

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, joepeka said:

True and we know we can always rely on consistent answers from the reps answering the phones. FWIW, RCI's web site mentions nothing about U.S. state/county health department certification as acceptable, just the easily counterfeited CDC card or a detailed document from the provider that administered the vaccinations.

Agree. I do have better luck calling the C&A desk for my questions than the general call center. Some CC members do share valuable info, but everything revolving around covid and protocols is a moving target. 

[GA Dave]

7 hours ago, Tony O said:

On our September 5th sailing on the Oasis we had to show our vaccination card several times before we boarded

Tony, your profile pic wouldn't have something to do with SCV would it?  If not, just ignore the comment as it relates to a niche activity.

[cruizzing]

38 minutes ago, OSUZorba said:

I'll take a look at that. I never take my passport ashore with me, so I haven't worried about it in the past.

Some of the passport holders now have a slot specifically for the Vaccine Card which is convenient. 

[pcur]

Am I missing something significant here? Why would it be an issue to bring a .5oz piece of paper tucked into either your passport holder or your passport?

 

I'm flying to Kauai in November, and I've already uploaded my vaccination card to the State of HI's safetravel.com web site.  Even with them having a digital copy of it, there's NO WAY I'm not taking the original with me.  Why take the chance?

[reallyitsmema]

1 hour ago, OSUZorba said:

I just assume it would be a pain to get replaced if needed. Also it is made of basic card stock and is too big to fit a wallet, so it is pretty fragile as compared to drivers license.

 

There are clear plastic sleeves being sold everywhere that fit the vaccine cards, just pick up one of those.  

[ryano]

24 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

There are clear plastic sleeves being sold everywhere that fit the vaccine cards, just pick up one of those.  

 

I was actually one that rushed back to work to laminate mine months ago after getting the one shot J&J and then got to sweating that a few weeks ago until i read a big bold sentence on the RC website that a laminated card is fine as long as it has all the information on it.   They never batted an eye.   Evidently the biggest thing against lamination  is future boosters but a laminated card is perfectly acceptable as long as its the original card and has all info below.   Mine did.   I printed off the whole page of info below off of their website to take with me just in case though.  

 

• The Proof of Vaccination must include the name of the vaccinated person matching the registered cruise guest with date of birth (DoB), the dates of the completed vaccination cycle, the administering physical or medical services provider, and the manufacturer of the vaccine issued. 
• The full vaccination cycle must be completed at least 14 days before your sail date (e.g., received the second dose in a two-dose series such as Pfizer or Moderna or a single dose of J&J). 
• The vaccine is recognized and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) and/or the World Health Organization (WHO).

NOTE: Royal Caribbean will accept a laminated original vaccine card from your country’s health authority as acceptable proof of vaccination, providing it meets all the aforementioned criteria. 

Edited September 21, 2021 by ryano

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, ryano said:

 

I was actually one that rushed back to work to laminate mine months ago after getting the one shot J&J and then got to sweating that a few weeks ago until i read a big bold sentence on the RC website that a laminated card is fine as long as it has all the information on it.   They never batted an eye.   Evidently the biggest thing against lamination  is future boosters but a laminated card is perfectly acceptable as long as its the original card and has all info below.   Mine did.  

 

• The Proof of Vaccination must include the name of the vaccinated person matching the registered cruise guest with date of birth (DoB), the dates of the completed vaccination cycle, the administering physical or medical services provider, and the manufacturer of the vaccine issued. 
• The full vaccination cycle must be completed at least 14 days before your sail date (e.g., received the second dose in a two-dose series such as Pfizer or Moderna or a single dose of J&J). 
• The vaccine is recognized and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) and/or the World Health Organization (WHO).

NOTE: Royal Caribbean will accept a laminated original vaccine card from your country’s health authority as acceptable proof of vaccination, providing it meets all the aforementioned criteria. 

 

We didn't laminate our cards, we just have a removable plastic sleeve that protects it.  They were actually giving them out for free at the place my DH and son got their shots.  I got a free pin at the place I went but I was able to get a sleeve at Staples.

[ryano]

2 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

We didn't laminate our cards.

I wouldnt either if I had it to do over again.  

[BND]

8 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Good thing the cards are hard to fake. 😅

Well, good thing some people can't spell and aren't always that bright,  lol.  If you don't know what I'm referring to, a woman faked a card for a trip to Hawaii and spelled Moderna as Maderna, and gee she got caught.  She also lived in Illinois but her shot was supposedly in Delaware.   TSA confirmed via contact with DE that she had not received a shot there.  While it may be  "easy" to fake, people do get caught.

Edited September 21, 2021 by BND

[BND]

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

There are clear plastic sleeves being sold everywhere that fit the vaccine cards, just pick up one of those.  

We got ours on Amazon and there were a ton of different sellers on there.

[Lou33]

So no card, no cruise??

 

I'm glad that I asked, and I learned that a photo of my VAX card is not accepted.  In California, almost everybody accepts either a photo of our card or the state's Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record system, where we download a special bar code onto our phones. 

 

https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/

 

It's too bad that we don't have a national version of what California is doing, but that would make things too easy.

 

What if somebody loses their paper card?  In CA, I understand that they don't send you a replacement card.  But they direct you to the website above to obtain the digital version.  Which you can print out, but it looks very different from the original Vax card.  Would RCI accept that?  If not, this would be a huge problem for "anybody" who lost their card.  

Edited September 22, 2021 by Lou33

[vjmatty]

14 minutes ago, Lou33 said:

I'm glad that I asked, and I learned that a photo of my VAX card is not accepted.  In California, almost everybody accepts either a photo of our card or the state's Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record system, where we download a special bar code onto our phones. 

 

https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/

 

It's too bad that we don't have a national version of what California is doing, but that would make things too easy.  

NY has the same thing…. RC says they want “vaccine certification”, and I don’t see why the digital NY Excelsior Pass Plus or CA version of the same thing doesn’t qualify, especially having QR codes  🤷🏻‍♀️

Edited September 22, 2021 by vjmatty

[ReneeFLL]

19 hours ago, Heymarco said:

Crazy that you had to show again in that case.

True. We had to show it again when they gave us a covid test since we were staying on.

[ReneeFLL]

17 hours ago, Lou33 said:

Won't they accept a photo of your card on your phone?  Do you need to bring the physical card?

They made us show the card.

[ReneeFLL]

6 hours ago, Steve&Teri said:

Quick question I received mine  and they are posted in my  medical record  for our health care system which I have access to on my phone shows all the same info that is on the physical card.  Can I show that or do I need the care the actual card. I only ask because I hate carrying the card unless I need to scared it will get lost or damaged as it is just a paper card.  

Buy a protective cover if you are worried about it. We keep ours in our passports.

[rj59]

I've found it best not to confuse the people at boarding, who are often retirees working a few days a week and who aren't prepared to handle ambiguity or challenges. I used to carry a Nexus card for cruises, instead of a passport, but check-in people were so unfamiliar with it and had to ask for help on how to input it in their systems, and NCL wasn't going to let me on the ship at all, and the ship security dolt standing there had no clue of what a Nexus pass is.  Customs agents in California also didn't understand it, thinking it's just for Canada instead of a WTI-compliant document, so I was hassled and sent for secondary screening. The same goes for QR code vaccine proof systems, since it may be valid but it's out of the norm. That's why I'll also print out test results and a boarding pass, to make things simpler and have a backup in case my phone has problems. I bought a cheap leatherette holder for a passport and vaccine card, which protects both and makes sure I won't lose either. 

[Lou33]

15 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

They made us show the card.

But what if you lose your card?  In CA the printable replacement looks very different.  It shows: Name, DOB, dates of each dose, and the manufacturer of the vaccine.  It does not show the administering service provider, but that might be embedded in the QR code.  Would RCI deny boarding to somebody who lost their card, but had a photo copy or official replacement?  

Edited September 22, 2021 by Lou33

[jkx]

What if someone lost their CDC card, but they can get a copy of a printed vaccination records from the Walgreens or clinic that they took it at?

[ReneeFLL]

3 minutes ago, jkx said:

What if someone lost their CDC card, but they can get a copy of a printed vaccination records from the Walgreens or clinic that they took it at?

They can replace it for you from my understanding.

[ReneeFLL]

34 minutes ago, Lou33 said:

But what if you lose your card?  In CA the printable replacement looks very different.  It shows: Name, DOB, dates of each dose, and the manufacturer of the vaccine.  It does not show the administering service provider, but that might be embedded in the QR code.  Would RCI deny boarding to somebody who lost their card, but had a photo copy or official replacement?  

That I don’t know if they will deny boarding. I would check to see if you can get a replacement from where you got the shots at. From what I read you can get a replacement card.

Edited September 22, 2021 by ReneeFLL

[John&LaLa]

5 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

They can replace it for you from my understanding.

 

I have a replacement from Walgreens

[PhillyFan33579]

We have been on two cruises in the last 6 weeks. For both cruises we had to show our vaccine cards multiple times during embarkation. I have not heard of anyone not having to show a vaccine card because they used it/ had a picture taken of it on a prior cruise.