Disney Cruise Line Ending Tests For Vaccinated Guests
Disney Cruise Line will soon be ending all testing requirements for fully vaccinated guests! This covers details on the dropping of health safety protocol, exceptions to the rule change, answers to frequently asked questions, and our commentary.
In a statement, Disney Cruise Line prefaced its announcement by offering a reminder that beginning on September 2, 2022, for sailings departing U.S. and Canadian ports, Disney Cruise Line will only require Guests ages 12 and older to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at the time of sailing, as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
This comes about one month after the CDC ended its COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships. In their place, theres new CDC Guidance for Cruise ships on the Mitigation and Management of COVID-19. The key distinction between the two is that the latter is exactly what the name suggestsguidelines, rather than binding rules. This means that cruise operators like DCL are free to create their own policies.
With that in mind, beginning September 23, 2022, for Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Wish sailings departing the U.S., fully vaccinated Guests are no longer required to participate in COVID-19 testing.
Unvaccinated Guests will need to submit proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken 1-3 days before the sail date. Unvaccinated Guests will no longer be required to complete a second COVID-19 test at the terminal on embarkation day.
Back-to-Back Sailings
Advice If Your Cruise Ship Travel Is Outside Of Canada
- Ensure that your passport is valid beyond the duration of your trip and check with your transportation company and destination countries about passport requirements.
- Check the Travel Advice and Advisories page for your destination or shore excursion locations to find local COVID-19 restrictions and requirements.
- Buy a comprehensive travel health insurance and plan to have access to sufficient funds to cover unexpected medical bills, including COVID-19 related expenses or medical evacuation while you are abroad. The cost of required medical care could be very high and you may need to pay medical bills upfront or immediately after treatment. The Government of Canada doesnt pay hospital and medical bills.
- Access to consular services while travelling on cruise ships may be quite limited, particularly in quarantine situations.
- You could be subject to mandatory testing, quarantine and isolation procedures onboard the ship or in a foreign country.
What To Know Before You Cruise
Vaccine and pretrip testing requirements can be confusing, especially if you are cruising internationally. Cruise lines have their own rules countries have their own rules. And the rules are constantly changing.
Before your trip, you will need to review your cruise lines health and safety protocols. You may be required to arrive at your ship with a negative COVID-19 test result in hand or not. And you may have to be vaccinated or not. Depending on the cruise line, fully vaccinated can mean having received the original series at least 14 days prior to your cruise, or the original series plus a booster shot.
In you are an unvaccinated adult, some cruise lines will now let you sail, others will not. If you are allowed onboard, you will need to be tested precruise, which is required for unvaccinated children as well.
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Carnival Royal Caribbean And Celebrity Cruises Are The Latest To Relax Coronavirus Protocols
Three giant cruise companies are dropping vaccine requirements for some ships, following a wave of recent moves to ease pandemic-era restrictions that precluded some travelers from boarding.
Sister cruise lines Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises said on their websites that as of Sept. 5, everyone regardless of vaccination status would be able to sail on specific cruises as long as they met testing requirements.
For Celebrity, that means cruises leaving from Los Angeles, the United Kingdom and Europe . Royal Caribbean cruises that dont require vaccination include sailings that leave from European ports, Los Angeles, Galveston, Tex. and New Orleans.
Bahamas and Caribbean cruises that leave from Florida ports the busiest in the world still have vaccine rules in place.
Carnival Cruise also announced Friday that unvaccinated guests are welcome on board starting Sept. 6, though they will still need to provide a negative coronavirus test result taken three days before sailing. Proof of vaccination will remain required for cruises to Australia and voyages longer than 16 nights.
Vaccinated guests will no longer need to test, Carnival said, with the exception of sailings to Canada, Bermuda, Greece and Australia, per local guidelines, and on cruises longer than 16 nights.
Disney Cruise Line Begins To Lift Covid Vaccine Requirements
by Professor Heather Adamczak | Sep 27, 2022 | Beyond the Parks, Disney Cruise Line, News |
This morning Disney Cruise Line made an announcement updating their Covid vaccine requirements aboard some ships. Take a look at the full announcement below:
Beginning Oct. 14, 2022, for Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, and Disney Wish sailings and Nov. 7, 2022 for Disney Magic sailings, Disney Cruise Line will no longer require Guests to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at the time of sailing, however, it is highly recommended. All Guests ages 5 years and older who are not fully vaccinated will need to submit proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken 1-2 days before the sail date. Guests ages 4 years of age and younger do not require testing.
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Cruise Lines That Dont Require Covid Vaccines
Do you have to be vaccinated to go on a cruise? The answer is quickly changing, but it depends.
The long answer is that vaccine requirements vary by cruise line, cruise ship, and departure port/destination. Currently, major cruise lines are re-evaluating their Covid protocols, including requiring passengers to be vaccinated. This is largely in part due to Covid becoming far less deadly, and society’s desire to move past the lockdowns and restrictions.
Many U.S.-based cruise lines restarted cruises with mainly vaccinated guests, and the vaccination requirement remains in place for these lines. Some lines have even begun requiring children be vaccinated, such as Disney Cruise Line. Royal Caribbean, on the other hand, allows unvaccinated kids on their ships. However, lines that planned to welcome unvaccinated adults have had to get stricter about vaccine requirements to adhere to new government policies.
Heres the current list of cruise lines that do not require Covid vaccines to sail, for travelers who cannot or choose not to get the shot.
August 22, 2022
Will I Need A Covid
Editors note: This post has been updated with new information.
When the first cruises allowing Americans restarted in spring 2021, all major lines were sailing with at least 90% of passengers vaccinated against COVID-19. That meant they required just about everyone on board to have their shots, with few exceptions allowed for young children and people who cant be vaccinated due to medical conditions or religious beliefs.
But now, little more than a year later, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has withdrawn its opt-in guidance for cruise lines, and many are now allowing more unvaccinated passengers to sail.
So, will you need a vaccine to cruise? Click on your favorite cruise line below to find out.
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Note: In order to be considered “fully vaccinated,” passengers must have received their final shot at least 15 days prior to embarkation. Most lines only accept vaccines recognized and approved by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Generally, proof of inoculation must include your name, the type of vaccine you received and the dates on which you received all required doses.
Check out our recap of youth immunization policies for details on cruise vaccination requirements for kids. For general information on testing, please refer to our article on cruise testing requirements.
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Royal Caribbean Vaccine Policy
As of September 5, 2022, Royal Caribbean will no longer require passengers to be vaccinated to sail if departing from ports in California, Louisiana, and Texas. As well, no vaccine will be required if sailing from Europe. No special request or exemption is need to sail unvaccinated.
Cruises from Florida and other ports of departure will still require the shot for those 12 and older in order to sail for the time being. According to Royal Caribbean’s website, the cruise line is “working with local governments in the Eastern Caribbean to align on vaccination requirements for more itineraries.”
As well, even if not required, Royal Caribbean asks that you still bring proof of vaccination to your cruise.
Disney Cruise Line Removes Vaccination Requirements This Fall
Disney Cruise Line has just announced that proof of COVID vaccination will no longer be required for guests sailing on the Disney Wonder, Dream, Fantasy, and Wish beginning on October 14, 2022.
Guests who choose not to vaccinate will be required to undergo COVID-19 testing prior to sailing.
Vaccination and testing requirements differ for sailings from New York aboard the Disney Magic from September 30, 2022, through October 31, 2022. Beginning on November 7, 2022, policies for the Magic will match those on the other ships. The Magic will be sailing to Bermuda and Canada prior to November 7.
The exact text of the email sent to guests with booked sailings on the Wonder, Dream, Fantasy, and Wish is below, with the date of change modified to November 7 for guests with bookings on the Magic:
09/27/2022
Reservation #: xxxxxxxx
Dear Erin,
All of us at Disney Cruise Line look forward to welcoming you aboard soon. We are reaching out with important updates to the COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements for your sailing.
Upload Proof of Vaccination and/or COVID-19 Test Results
After appropriate documents have been uploaded and reviewed by Inspire, Guests should see the words Clear to Arrive or Clear to Sail in the Pre-Sail Screening section when they log into their Safe Passage account before arriving at the port.
Sincerely,
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Grand Circle Cruise Line
Where they sail: Grand Circle Cruise Line sails small ships and river cruises all over the world, including an extensive list of European itineraries. The company plans to start sailing again in August, including to Greece, Turkey, and Italy.
Who needs the vaccine: All guests and crew are required to be fully vaccinated with the booster shot.
What other safety measures are in place: All ships have been equipped with High Efficiency Particular Air filters and buffets have been eliminated. The cruise line states some itineraries will require proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to travel, and that instructors will be sent out 30 days prior to travel.
Find out more: Grand Circle Cruise Line
Do I Need A Vaccine To Cruise Policies For Major Cruise Lines
Do I need a vaccine to cruise? Thats been one of the biggest questions in a return to sailing.
And the good news for many people? The restrictions requiring vaccines are dropping quickly.
As the United States has opened up again following the worst of the pandemic, many people have returned to a normal way of life. That includes things like visiting restaurants or movie theaters, going to a sporting event, and of course, travel.
The good news is that given the vaccines, a milder variant, and prior cases, the amount of serious illness seems lower. As a result, people are able to get back to the things they love and cruises have had a successful restart with millions heading back to sea.
In fact, apart from vaccines and testing, the onboard experience has returned to exactly what it was before the pandemic. Now, a recent shift has led to cruise lines removing those hurdles as well.
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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Inc
The three cruise lines under NCLH have also made amendments to their testing and vaccination policies.
Norwegian Cruise Line announced a large easing of vaccination requirements, effective August 11: all guests 12 and up will be required to either provide proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test result.
There will be, of course, some itineraries with different rules, due to specific destinations requirements, like Greece, Canada and Bermuda, which continue to require fully vaccinated guests.
Beginning September 3, Oceania Cruises will no longer require vaccinated travelers to test prior to embarkation. Unvaccinated travelers will be able to sail with a recently administered negative COVID-19 test result, with some exclusions.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises will also amend its testing and vaccination requirements beginning September 3. Fully vaccinated guests will no longer need to provide negative COVID-19 tests, while unvaccinated guests will be allowed onboard provided they test negative ahead of embarkation .
Travelers will also undergo a pre-embarkation health screening.
Which Vaccines Are Accepted To Cruise
There are a number of vaccines available around the world. While each cruise line might accept different ones, the major vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca — all seem to have wide acceptance. If you have received one of these shots, then you should be good to go. However, your cruise line will have more details about which specific shots they accept.
If you don’t have the shot, then cruise lines are easing rules in that you don’t have to be vaccinated to sail in many cases.
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Four Cruise Lines To Drop Covid Vaccination Requirements
Aug. 14, 2022 — Four major cruise lines are dropping their COVID-19 vaccination requirements for some sailings next month, according to USA Today.
Carnival Cruise Line wonât require unvaccinated guests to apply for an exemption to sail after Sept. 6. The changes are subject to local restrictions, such as those in Bermuda, Canada and Greece, and donât include voyages in Australia or trips that are 16 or more nights.
Princess Cruises will remove vaccination requirements on Sept. 6 for most voyages that are less than 16 days. The cruise line currently requires unvaccinated guests to have a vaccine exemption before they sail.
Royal Caribbean Group, which includes Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, will welcome all travelers regardless of vaccination status beginning Sept. 5 âas long as testing requirements are met,â a spokesperson told USA Today.
For Royal Caribbean, the changes include sailings from Los Angeles, New Orleans, Galveston and Europe. For Celebrity, that means cruises leaving from Los Angeles, the U.K. and Europe â but not Ireland. Bahamas and Caribbean cruises that leave from Florida ports still have vaccine rules in place.
Starting Sept. 6, Princess Cruises will require passengers on sailings of 16 nights or longer to take a test within three days of leaving, as well as those on full Panama Canal transits. Unvaccinated passengers will be required to show a negative test for all trips.
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Former Fda Chief Talks When Vaccine Requirement For Cruise Ships Might End
Currently three of the major cruise lines, Royal Caribbean International, Carnival Cruise Line, and Norwegian Cruise Line require that guests older than five years of age be fully vaccinated in order to cruise. However, as more amenities return to, and reopen, on cruise ships, there are more and more talks on when cruise lines might end their requirement for proof of vaccination.
On these particular cruise lines, passengers are no longer required to wear facial coverings onboard when indoors while being fully vaccinated. The overall feel of a cruise vacation is slowly returning to that of pre-pandemic times.
Guests are additionally required on many cruise lines to provide a negative COVID-19 test in addition to proof of vaccination. Most cruise lines will accept a negative COVID-19 test that has been taken no more than two days before the cruise sailing.
These requirements are likely to change at some point in the future according to Former Food and Drug Administration Chief Scott Gottlieb, I think that its likely to be a requirement that is in place through this fall and winter. Im talking more about CDC and the policy environment. I think that the public health officials CDC is going to want to see what the epidemiology of this disease is when it gets to a quote, unquote, normal state, Said Gottlieb in a statement.
The former Food and Drug Administration Chief is also a physician who serves as a chairman with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Sail Safe Council.
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Carnival Cruise Line Vaccine Policy
Carnival will now allow all passengers — including those who are unvaccinated — to sail freely as of September 6, 2022. This simplifies the requirements to sail.
First and foremost, unvaccinated passengers of any age are allowed to sail the cruise line without having to first apply for an exemption as was previously required. However, before they cruise, those without the shot will need to have a negative test taken within three days of cruising .
There are a few exceptions. Cruises from Australia — or those 16 nights or longer — do still require a passenger be vaccinated to sail.
Vaccinated passengers don’t need to test unless visiting Canada, Bermuda, Greece or Australia and on trips of 16 nights or longer.
You can view Carnival’s latest policies here.
When You Cruise You Have Almost No Rights
If anything, Sublabans case underscores the fact that you have almost no rights when you take a cruise. Your ticket contract gives the cruise line a broad license to add and delete any new rules it wants to. You have practically no remedies.
The cruise industry doesnt want anyone to know about your lack of rights. For example, earlier this year it managed to downplay the most significant revisions of the Passenger Vessel Act in a century. The update forced cruise lines to refund a cruise if delayed by more than three days.
I reviewed the comments on the federal rulemaking, and its clear that someone went to great lengths to bury this rule. Had more people known about it, then the cruise lines wouldnt have gotten such a sweetheart deal a refund after only a three-day delay. Imagine if your airline did that!
What kind of rights do passengers deserve? Well, thats easy.
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