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Royal Caribbean, Celebrity drop vax, testing mandates from wider array of cruisesRoyal Caribbean, Celebrity drop vax, testing mandates from wider array of cruises

Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises are dropping their vaccination mandate for most US and European cruises starting Sept. 5.

Anne Kalosh, Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

August 22, 2022

2 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

This expanded what both lines earlier signaled. For example, the relaxed rules will newly apply to cruises from Florida.

Royal Caribbean specifics

For Royal Caribbean, unvaccinated travelers will be able to cruise with negative results from any commercially available test, including self-tests.

No testing for most sailings under 10 nights

Vaccinated travelers won't have to be tested for cruises of nine or fewer nights, unless the destination requires it. Examples include Greece and Israel.

On cruises of 10 or more nights, both unvaccinated and vaccinated travelers will have to provide a negative test taken within three days before their sailing date.

For all cruises, children 5 and younger will have no vaccine or testing requirements.  

Exceptions: Austraila, Bermuda, Canada, Singapore

Sailings to or from Australia, Bermuda, Canada or Singapore still require vaccination.

Crew will continue to be monitored and vaccinated, keeping them up to date with boosters when they are eligible.

Royal Caribbean details are here.

Celebrity specifics

Celebrity Cruises, likewise, will welcome passengers regardless of vaccination status on most sailings from the US and Europe as long as they meet local testing requirements. 

However, Canada, Australia and New Zealand require all passengers 12 and up to be fully vaccinated; for the Galápagos, that applies to ages 3 and up.

Testing

Fully vaccinated travelers no longer need to test for cruises from the US that are nine or fewer nights, excluding cruises that visit Canada and Bermuda.

Celebrity will also accept any commercially available test, including self-tests, for many destinations. Exceptions are cruises that visit Bermuda, Canada, Greece, Australia or New Zealand.

Children under 5 sailing from the US and those under 12 sailing from Europe do not need to test before embarking.

Details of country requirements are here.

About the Author

Anne Kalosh

Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

Anne Kalosh covers global stories, reporting both breaking and in-depth news on cruising's significant people, places, ships and trends. A sought-after expert on cruising, she has moderated conferences around the world, including the high-profile State of the Industry panel at Seatrade Cruise Global. She created and led the acclaimed itinerary-planning case study for Seatrade's cruise master classes held at Cambridge and Oxford universities. She has been the cruise columnist for AFAR.com, and her freelance stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, from The New York Times to The Miami Herald.

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