Cruises visiting Greece require a supervised test. What other safety measures are in place: Ocean Cruise guests will be required to get tested for COVID-19 in the terminal. However, Azamara still lists Miami as a port requiring COVID-19 tests, and Viking has yet to remove its testing in the U.S. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. parent to the Norwegian, Oceania and Regent brands also confirmed that they would keep health and safety protocols in place for ships operating in U.S. waters with the following statement: We welcome the decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to end the CDC COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships operating in U.S. waters. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is extending its passenger vaccine mandate "indefinitely," the company's CEO said on Wednesday. The new guidelines allow cruise ships operating in U.S. waters to choose to participate in the CDC's COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships, which requires participating cruise lines to report the . 'One-way masking works,' Gottlieb said, provided it's a high-quality mask like an N95. 2023 TheStreet, Inc. All rights reserved. In the case of European cruises, some destinations require travelers to be 'up to date' with their vacines to go ashore, Royal Caribbean said, andpassengersmay be subject to testing onboard in order to visit certain ports. but the consequences are here now. 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. The NCL covid rules are among the most flexible for unvaccinated passengers on cruises leaving the United States. "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.". Travel insurance. webpage. Which Cruise Lines Require COVID-19 Vaccinations? Royal Caribbean said in a letter to travel agents, Here at Royal Caribbean, you can trust we will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit. In late July the CDC relaxed Covid requirements for the cruise industry. On shorter cruises that . Carnivals 50th anniversary sailabration kicks off in Long Beach. The CDC used that power to stop all cruises from U.S. ports from March 2020 through July 2021. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. Passengers who are not fully vaccinated will need to bring a negative COVID-19 test result taken withinthree days before embarking. "We are already experiencing an increase in calls and bookings due to the pent-up demand for cruise, andwe expect to see another uptick as a result of this latest announcement.. But Gottlieb does have a timetable in which he expects the agency to act. You'll start to see us move into what society is doing at large. '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. 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. Keep in mind the world is one world but not one place. He became the CEO at Norwegian in 2015 after it brought a cruise line Del Rio founded in 2002. Since then, cruise lines can make their own rules and manage the monitoring of Covid-19 on cruise ships on their own. The cruise line has announced a further easing of its protocols by dropping the vaccine requirements on select sailings from September 5, 2022. We'll send you a weekly newsletter to your inbox. "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 . Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. That's a surprising move but it's one that outgoing Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Arnold Donald thinks rights a wrong. Unvaccinated travelers, or those who do not provide proof of vaccination, will need to self-test within three days before embarking and upload proof of a negative test. Currently, the island nation requires all cruise ship passengers 12 and over to be fully vaccinated to enter the port. Some people embraced the vaccines early, others waited, and some got vaccinated only when they absolutely had to. The vaccine-mandate reversal is the latest update in a heated battle between cruise lines and the state, which has banned vaccine passports. All unvaccinated guests ages 2 and older are required to receive a lab-administered PCR or antigen test up to 3 days before sailing. That's what the three major cruise lines had to do. Children under 5 (from the US) and under 12 (from Australia) are exempt from vaccination and testing requirements. Voyages 16 nights and longer will continue to have vaccination and testing requirements that are specific to the itinerary. Vaccine exemptions are limited to a small number of guests who are over age 5. This easing applies to certain departures out of Los Angeles in California, Galveston in Texas, New Orleans in Louisiana, and cruises in Europe. These new guidelines apply to itineraries from all departure ports except where government regulations and protocols may vary like Canada, Greece and Australia. 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. All Rights Reserved. Royal Caribbean Chief Executive Jason Liberty,during his company's fourth-quarter earnings call,pointed out how well those protocols have been working. Passengers no longer have to wear masks onboard while they are indoors, and while capacities have not returned to 100% . If you have a question or would like to make a press inquiry, please contact: Scott Mackenzie The rules will vary by port, but an awful lot of sailings would be covered simply by adopting this rule change. 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. 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. (That mandate does not include a booster shot.). We will always have to be in compliance with the destinations. Check the cruise lines websites for the most up-to-date information.). Princess Cruises, which sails out of the Port of Los Angeles, also announced similar changes to their vaccination guidelines on Friday. He also predicted a quiet spring and summer 2022 since many people have been vaccinated or infected so immunity in the US is high. The cruise industry has been bending over backward to show the public that cruises are a safe vacation opportunity. Unvaccinated travelers still need to apply for an exemption to cruise in Australia or on voyages 16 nights and longer. In short, Gottlieb sees a transition from government-imposed rules on isolation/quarantine to the expectation that people take personal responsibility. And every destination has its own thing. Since 2009, Cruise Radio has provided the latest cruise news and industry analysis through informative articles, videos, and weekly podcasts. 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. 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.. I think CDC is going to want to see what [that] looks like. 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: . Many cruise fans and potential passengers may expect that this CDC decision means that vaccine requirements and precruise testing may soon go away. Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. The CDCs latest updated guidance for cruise ships now only recommends, and no longer mandates, pre-cruise testing in the U.S. At this point, only Margaritaville and Virgin have revised their policies accordingly, but its very likely others will soon follow. The Bahamas, for example recently changed its covid testing rules opening up the possibility that many Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian cruises that stop there could change the rules for those sailings. The rules will vary by port, but an awful lot of sailings would be covered simply by adopting this rule change. Make sure you choose a travel insurance policy that covers you for cruising, and any activities you do on shore. The 10% rule remains in effect for cruising leaving the United States. The vaccination policy for Cunard passengers remains the same. As of now, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian have not made any major covid . "This would be unethical and harmful for society. This is like a transition year. 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, Allowed HTML tags: . Reason Magazine's archive of articles filed under Vaccine mandates. We know you like itthats why youre here. Im talking more about CDC and the policy environment. "Gov. Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess drop vax mandate for many cruises, Cunard eases testing. Number 8860726. If you are taking a cruise and still need a rapid Covid-19 antigen test, try Azova for a inexpensive effective option. Now nursing homes are pushing to lift the vaccination mandate altogether. The unvaccinated cruise is now back. If unvaccinated guests have recently recovered from COVID and can provide appropriate documentation, they will also be exempt from the testing requirement. Some cruise lines already let children and a select few customers travel unvaccinated. Disney Cruise Line becomes one of the final major lines to remove the vaccine mandate, along with relaxing testing requirements. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC. "Since we resumed operations, our goal has been to making cruising one of the safest vacations anywhere in the world while providing an exceptional guest experience,"he said. See more stories on Insider's business page. NCL's last two Prima Plus ships will accommodate green methanol, Moving forward on multiple sustainability fronts: Insights from NAPA. 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.