Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is extending its passenger vaccine mandate "indefinitely," the company's CEO said on Wednesday. Check with Seabourn for protocols on your specific sailing. Just because the CDC has stopped paying attention does not mean Carnival, Royal Caribbean International (RCL) - Get Free Report, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) - Get Free Report, and other cruise lines that sail from the U.S. will drop pre-cruise covid testing and vaccine requirements. Starting March 11, 2023, proof of vaccination for sailings to or from Europe will no longer be required. Registered in England and Wales. Please view our privacy policy for details about the information we share with our partners. Oct 26, 2021, 4:08 AM. THURSDAY, March 31, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A two-year advisory that warned Americans against going on cruises has been dropped by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Azamara, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Viking were among the first to do so, where permitted. "At Princess, we want to make your vacation as easy, hassle-free and safe as possible. 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. Cruise travel's CDC status has come a long way in the past few months. The same date applies for Disney Fantasy, sailing from Port Canaveral, visiting Tortola, St Thomas, and Castaway Cay. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, how vocal some potential customers and cruise lines, Margaritaville at Sea Gears Up With Travel Advisors in Mind, Its a Summer of Record-Breaking Cruise Sales. Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. However, with cruises providing notoriously great value for money, there's little worry from the cruise lines. Children under 5 (from the US) and under 12 (from Australia) are exempt from vaccination and testing requirements. However, sailings visiting Greece require a supervised COVID test prior to embarking. Celebrity'highly recommended' vaccination although it won't be required for these trips. 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. 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Gottlieb,a former FDA commissioner and Pfizer board member, who also co-chaired the Healthy Sail Panel, spoke in an NCLH briefing for travel partners and media. by Rocky HoranLast updated October 26, 2022. That's what the three major cruise lines had to do. The industry is still recovering and working under a patchwork of regulations. Departing from Miami, she will visit the Cayman Islands and Castaway Cay on a 5-night Halloween On The High Seas western Caribbean cruise. This now means that regardless of vaccination status, guests can cruise on the select sailings, as long as they meet any testing requirements. Free expert cruise tips and news from Cruise Hive! Royal Caribbean, back in February, made masks optional for fully vaccinated passengers. Unvaccinated guests are welcome on most voyages. The new protocols will be introduced on a rolling basis, starting with Disney Wish, and concluding with Disney Magic on November 7. Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian all require anyone 12 and older sailing on their ships to be fully vaccinated. On most sailings, kids and teens ages 17 and under do not have a vaccine requirement. As of July 14, Princess Cruises is beginning to more openly welcome unvaccinated passengers. 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. Many cruise fans and potential passengers may expect that this CDC decision means that vaccine requirements and precruise testing may soon go away. Instead, the cruise line will introduce these on a rolling basis across the fleet. 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. He acknowledged some people don't want mask mandates lifted and predictedmany will still wear masks in congregate settings, particularly in winter when flu and COVID circulate. "The booster vaccine is causing the most challenges for my agency as far as clients not wanting to get an additional booster shot in order to sail in some parts of the world requiring this, Martindale said. It can be confusing to keep track of which lines require what, and in which regions unvaccinated guests can sail if there are still destination limitations. On October 16, it is Disney Wonders turn to implement the new protocols, sailing from San Diego on a 5-night Baja California cruise. Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises will soon lift vaccination mandates for many cruises and ease testing, while Cunard is easing testing. The vaccination policy for Cunard passengers remains the same. These new guidelines apply to itineraries from all departure ports except where government regulations and protocols may vary like Canada, Greece and Australia. Pre-cruise testing is no longer required, except for cruises to Canada, Bermuda, Greece and Australia (per local guidelines), and on voyages 16 nights or longer. Starting October 14, Disney Cruise Line will drop the vaccine mandate for all guests and introduce relaxed testing requirements for fully vaccinated guests. The cruise line is working with the ports and says it will share information to travel agents and guests as it becomes available. Testing is still required for some cruises. Unvaccinated guests are permitted to sail on most MSC voyages. Cruises visiting Greece require a supervised test. 'One-way masking works,' Gottlieb said, provided it's a high-quality mask like an N95. The cruise line will drop the vaccine requirement on select sailings from the U.S. and Europe. Unvaccinated children under 5 do not require pre-cruise testing. 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 . Starting Sept 3, 2022, Unvaccinated Guests are welcome to cruise with no capacity limits. Gottlieb noted that the CDC would make the ultimate decision and that the agency needed more data first. This news comes as the cruise industry starts to relax its protocols and aligns with other travel sectors, such as flights. Copyright 2023. The cruise line has dropped all pre-cruise testing for sailings less than 6 nights. Also starting Sept. 5,Celebrity Cruises will discontinue its vaccination mandate for sailings from Los Angeles, the UK and Europe (but not Iceland). NCL's last two Prima Plus ships will accommodate green methanol, Moving forward on multiple sustainability fronts: Insights from NAPA. 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 guests 18 and older must be vaccinated to sail, plus one booster shot if eligible. We'll send you a weekly newsletter to your inbox. Shes been on 10 cruises and counting, and her favorite onboard activities include trying out the water slides, spending time in the spas thermal suite, eating lots of food, and attending the love & marriage show. All rights reserved. If you are taking a cruise and still need a rapid Covid-19 antigen test, try Azova for a inexpensive effective option. Be Safe. 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 CDC will likely recommend COVID-19 vaccination for congregate settings like cruises through this fall and winter, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, advisor to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said Thursday. - All other cruises still require proof of initial vaccination and a booster until further notice. These new requirements apply to voyages from all ports except those in Canada, Bermuda, Greece and Australia, where government regulations still require vaccinations. Im talking more about CDC and the policy environment. And of course, some Americans either can't get vaccinated or have chosen not to. Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises will soon lift vaccination mandates for many cruises and ease testing, while Cunard is easing testing. The news about the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)] removing the COVID-19 Programfor CruiseShipsis the mostpositive indication yet that we are moving further away from the pandemic, said Brad Tolkin, co-chairman and CEO for World Travel Holdings. An order imposing restrictions on . Eventually, those rules were loosened and the CDC's program became voluntary, and now, the federal agency has abruptly stopped any covid-related regulation or tracking of the cruise industry. 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. CRUISE HIVE LTD 2008-2023. Guests who have not been fully vaccinated will be required to provide a COVID-19 test taken one or two days before the sail date. Learn to how to find the cheapest awards. For the next 12 months, he believes a lot of people are likely to get a booster to take them through the fall and winter. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed its "cruise ship travel health notice" after two years of warning travellers about COVID-19 infections linked to boarding a cruise ship. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. An update is coming August 14. ", "Companies doing business in Florida, including Celebrity Cruises, should immediately cease to impose such discriminatory policies upon individuals," Christina Pushaw, DeSantis' press secretary, told Insider in an email in May. Children under five are not required to apply for a vaccine exemption. Close to home: Climate change in Long Beach. Must be able to regularly lift up to 50 lbs KEYWORDS: RMF, Risk Management Framework, ICD, Information Assurance, IA, IAO, IAT, IAM, A&A, A+, Network+, Security+, Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet), Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), DISA Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), Splunk, ACAS . Now, the official termination of the CDC program is only accelerating the elimination of testing among other lines. 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. Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Cruises rolled back its COVID-19-vaccine mandate for Florida cruises. 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. "[Cruises] still trade, unfortunately, at a significant discount to land-based vacations. For all sailings 5 nights or less, no testing is required for vaccinated guests. All Rights Reserved. Its another step to normality and follows other recently relaxed requirements. (Note: Since the initial announcement, the CDC has released new guidance for cruise ships on the mitigation and management of the virus. 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. Before boarding all three cruise lines, passengers must show their original vaccination cards. When it comes to cruises that are six nights or more, all guests aged 2 and over must present a negative test result taken within three days before departure. The CDC's new opt-in cruise program reduced isolation/quarantine times for highly vaccinated ships. No matter how healthy you are, we strongly . Anne Kalosh | Aug 12, 2022. Martindale expects vaccine requirements will predominantly remain in place until at least the end of 2022, something that the majority of my clients are very much in favor of, he said. Royal Caribbean Vaccine Requirement Update. 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