Royal Caribbean is Dropping Vaccination Requirement on SOME US Cruises

[JT1962]

From Cruise Fever:
 

Beginning September 5, 2022, all travelers, regardless of vaccination status, can take a cruise on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise ships from a few homeports.  

 

Unvaccinated travelers can cruise from the following homeports as long as they meet any testing requirements: 

 

• Cruises from Los Angeles, California

 

• Cruises from Galveston, Texas

 

• Cruises from New Orleans, Louisiana

 

• Cruises from a European homeport

 

However, only guests showing a valid vaccination card will be able to get off the ship in Grand Cayman. Guests who are not “up to date” on their vaccination per EMA standards will need to take a test onboard in order to get off the ship in Greece and Spain.

 

https://cruisefever.net/royal-caribbean-ditching-vaccine-requirement-for-some-homeports-in-the-u-s/

Edited August 10, 2022 by JT1962

[ghjcmo]

I don't know why the cruise lines continue to split hairs like this.  Some ports?   Why not just bite the bullet and do what NCL did?  OR in the alternative, stand your ground and keep things the same.  It's a real hodgepodge now between the different cruise lines.  SMH

[Joebucks]

The first domino fell a long time ago, and the rest will follow.

 

For as much as people love to tote the "private business" line, most large businesses are identical (at least in the end) on "hot topics". 

[JT1962]

Here is a link to to updated Royal Caribbean website: 

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center?icid=hlthys_wrnssn_hlt_nbrdxp_pghdr_3467

[Denverdonkeys]

12 hours ago, ghjcmo said:

I don't know why the cruise lines continue to split hairs like this.  Some ports?   Why not just bite the bullet and do what NCL did?  OR in the alternative, stand your ground and keep things the same.  It's a real hodgepodge now between the different cruise lines.  SMH

It’s probably a way to test the policy.

[PUNKT2]

13 hours ago, ghjcmo said:

I don't know why the cruise lines continue to split hairs like this.  Some ports?   Why not just bite the bullet and do what NCL did?  OR in the alternative, stand your ground and keep things the same.  It's a real hodgepodge now between the different cruise lines.  SMH

Blame the countries they are visiting, not the cruise lines. I'm sure they would rather make it simple and drop everything. The policy stated is basically the same as NCL - the reason you only have those home ports listed is because the other home ports offer cruises to countries that still have testing requirements, like Canada (for all Alaska cruises) and Bermuda (for cruises that go there from the NE). So they are dropping requirements everywhere they are allowed to. 

Edited August 11, 2022 by PUNKT2

[Lee Cruiser]

It's a bummer that they are not dropping the testing requirement for 6+ day cruises like NCL is (at least in Galveston and L.A.)  Hopefully Carnival will follow NCL and drop those as well.

 

For cruises from Galveston and Los Angeles, testing requirements are as follows. For cruises that are five nights and less, unvaccinated guests aged two and older will need to bring a negative COVID-19 test results on embarkation day.  On cruises that are six nights and longer, all guests aged two and over will have to bring a negative test results with them to board the ship.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, Lee Cruiser said:

It's a bummer that they are not dropping the testing requirement for 6+ day cruises like NCL is (at least in Galveston and L.A.)  Hopefully Carnival will follow NCL and drop those as well.

 

For cruises from Galveston and Los Angeles, testing requirements are as follows. For cruises that are five nights and less, unvaccinated guests aged two and older will need to bring a negative COVID-19 test results on embarkation day.  On cruises that are six nights and longer, all guests aged two and over will have to bring a negative test results with them to board the ship.

NCL isn't currently cruising from either port.

[Lee Cruiser]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

NCL isn't currently cruising from either port.

I put the parenthesis in the wrong place.  I meant that RCI is still requiring testing for 6 day or more cruises from those ports.

[TNcruising02]

It's a good start for them to start dropping vaccination requirements.  Little by little, things are getting back to normal.

[asalligo]

So excited. We are on the road back to actual normal instead of the new normal. A year from now Covid will be treated more like a Noro outbreak.  

[firefly333]

On 8/10/2022 at 6:33 PM, ghjcmo said:

I don't know why the cruise lines continue to split hairs like this.  Some ports?   Why not just bite the bullet and do what NCL did?  OR in the alternative, stand your ground and keep things the same.  It's a real hodgepodge now between the different cruise lines.  SMH

Its the ports. I was told carnival has the same requirements for these ports. I spoke up on my roll call and was told well carnival does it too. Lol.

 

Grand cayman is on my sept 18 cruise. Unvaccinated age 12 and over cannot get off in the port.

 

I hear bermuda also has some special protocols. 

 

So you say that what .. cruiselines should skip these ports or what if these ports have their own requirements. Unvaccinated can board the cruise, they cant get off in the port. Blame the ports. I'm sure not something the cruiselines want. I think canada is another problem. 

 

I'm just mad I still have to pretest. 

[Hoosierpop]

CDC is even dropping the distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated. 

 

 

[firefly333]

It's the plrts, it's not the cruiselines. Bermuda canada grand Cayman. 

 

Since I'm in grand Cayman I asked. 

 

 

[Oceansaway17]

first the CDC relaxes and then the cruise lines.

But in the end, it is the various ports that have the last say like Canada and Bermuda for instance.

Very confusing for folks who get excited and forget to read the fine print.

[Hoosierpop]

Then Carnival should make it very clear. When you look for a cruise, you should be able to filter for no test required (And soon to be no vaccine required) for the cruises where the ports don’t require it. 
 

Let the market decide. See how long places like grand cayman hold out.

[ProgRockCruiser]

13 minutes ago, Hoosierpop said:

Then Carnival should make it very clear. When you look for a cruise, you should be able to filter for no test required (And soon to be no vaccine required) for the cruises where the ports don’t require it. 
 

Let the market decide. See how long places like grand cayman hold out.

That would be a nightmare maintenance-wise, as things change weekly it seems. And what would happens if a port reverses course?  (Like has happened in New Delhi.)

 

The only thing Carnival could maybe do is manage a dedicated page that somehow tries to stay updated on the current port requirements, and I can just hear the complaints from people who see that some island changed their protocols 55 minutes ago and Carnival's page is totally out of date.

[Hoosierpop]

2 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

That would be a nightmare maintenance-wise, as things change weekly it seems. And what would happens if a port reverses course?  (Like has happened in New Delhi.)

 

The only thing Carnival could maybe do is manage a dedicated page that somehow tries to stay updated on the current port requirements, and I can just hear the complaints from people who see that some island changed their protocols 55 minutes ago and Carnival's page is totally out of date.

Good point. But, I don’t see many ports getting more restrictive unless some new variant comes along that is more, not less deadly, than the one before it.

 

These ports are free to make their own rules. But they also need to understand there are consequences to their decisions. I don’t want to have to test because some Caribbean country decided they don’t like science.

[BlerkOne]

6 hours ago, asalligo said:

So excited. We are on the road back to actual normal instead of the new normal. A year from now Covid will be treated more like a Noro outbreak.  

Cruise ships have been denied entry to a port before for having a noro outbreak.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Hoosierpop said:

Then Carnival should make it very clear. When you look for a cruise, you should be able to filter for no test required (And soon to be no vaccine required) for the cruises where the ports don’t require it. 
 

Let the market decide. See how long places like grand cayman hold out.

 

Grand Cayman can hold out a long time.

 

Circumstances in any of the ports can change faster than Carnival could update, and exposes Carnival to new liability. And some would whine that the covid rules changed since they booked. I think any cruise line would say a hard NO on that.

 

Cruisers who don't accept conditions change shouldn't book cruises. They should put that at the top of the ticket contract.

[Hoosierpop]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

 

Grand Cayman can hold out a long time.

 

Circumstances in any of the ports can change faster than Carnival could update, and exposes Carnival to new liability. And some would whine that the covid rules changed since they booked. I think any cruise line would say a hard NO on that.

 

Cruisers who don't accept conditions change shouldn't book cruises. They should put that at the top of the ticket contract.

Yeah, GC can hold out. But it doesn’t matter how long they hold out because cruising would not bat an eye if no one ports at GC.

 

I know it’s a pipe dream that cruise lines will do this, but they should just say, we aren’t requiring vaccinations and pre-testing and if you want us to port there, fine. If you change your rules, we will drop you from the itinerary. As a guest, I would rather drop a port than have to go through pre-testing. And, it’s following science.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Hoosierpop said:

Yeah, GC can hold out. But it doesn’t matter how long they hold out because cruising would not bat an eye if no one ports at GC.

 

I know it’s a pipe dream that cruise lines will do this, but they should just say, we aren’t requiring vaccinations and pre-testing and if you want us to port there, fine. If you change your rules, we will drop you from the itinerary. As a guest, I would rather drop a port than have to go through pre-testing. And, it’s following science.

Carnival doesn't take a my way or the highway approach to business. They know what they are doing and they do follow science.

[Hoosierpop]

2 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Carnival doesn't take a my way or the highway approach to business. They know what they are doing and they do follow science.

Yep. And today’s announcement is a good start to following science. Next, I hope that Carnival follows the CDC guidelines to treat vaccinated and unvaccinated the same way.

 

But today is a good start.

[BlerkOne]

3 minutes ago, Hoosierpop said:

Yep. And today’s announcement is a good start to following science. Next, I hope that Carnival follows the CDC guidelines to treat vaccinated and unvaccinated the same way.

 

But today is a good start.

Not exactly their recommendations.

[asalligo]

5 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Cruise ships have been denied entry to a port before for having a noro outbreak.

I care not if they port anywhere. I finally get to cruise again without restrictions!