Royal Caribbean Will Drop Vaccination Requirement On Select Cruises

After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes are finally coming to the cruise industry. The latest news is that Royal Caribbean plans to drop the vaccination requirement for select US and European cruises from September 5, 2022. Read on to find out how this could affect you when planning a cruise,

Royal Caribbean updates COVID protocols

In a press statement released on Wednesday, Royal Caribbean plans to update its protocols, to go into effect in September 2022. Basically, the cruise line plans to drop the vaccination requirement on certain sailings from the US and Europe. This is the next step in returning the cruise industry to normality, following other recently relaxed protocols.

From September 5, 2022, Royal Caribbean has announced that vaccination requirements will be dropped. The new ruling applies to certain sailings out of Los Angeles, New Orleans, Galveston and from Europe.

Royal Caribbean wrote in a press statement:

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. We continue to work with our destination partners to evolve our protocols and align with the broader travel industry, as we transition to the point that everyone can vacation with us.

Basically, this means that, regardless of vaccination status, anyone can enjoy select cruises, as long as they meet testing requirements.

How will this work?

Passengers cruising out of Galveston and New Orleans, heading for Grand Cayman will need to show proof of vaccination to go ashore.  On select European cruises, guests who are unvaccinated will need to be tested onboard to be able to visit Greece or Spain.

Departure of five nights or less

When it comes to departures of five nights or less from Galveston or Los Angeles, guests will still be required to follow the pre-cruise testing requirements. Meanwhile, unvaccinated children aged 2 and more will need a negative test result to sail. However, vaccinated guests of any age will no longer need to test for shorter sailings.

Cruises of six nights or more with Royal Caribbean

Those passengers aged two and over, cruising for six nights or more, will be required to present a negative test result taken 72 hours prior to departure. This can be a PCR or rapid antigen test supervised by a health professional.

European cruises

For European cruises, testing requirements are unchanged. At this stage, Royal Caribbean is finalizing testing for cruises out of New Orleans.

Eastern Caribbean cruises

Currently, there is no change with Eastern Caribbean cruises, including those to the Bahamas. At present, the Caribbean nation requires all cruise ship passengers aged 12 and over to be fully vaccinated to disembark. This ruling also applies to cruise line private islands, such as Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Speaking of the Eastern Caribbean cruises, Royal Caribbean said:

We are working with local governments in the Eastern Caribbean to align on vaccination requirements for more itineraries. We want to ensure a great experience going ashore at these ports, for guests of any vaccination status, while meeting local health regulations.

As soon as the cruise line has more news, Royal Caribbean will share information with guests and travel agents.

The latest news comes at a time when the cruise industry has started to relax its COVID protocols to align with other travel sectors, including flights. On July 18, 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ended its cruise ship program.

Since then, several cruise lines have announced updated protocols to allow unvaccinated guests to sail and have reduced pre-cruise testing. These include Norwegian Cruise Lines, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises.