Tag Archives: vaccination status

Virgin Voyages will allow more non-fully vaccinated passengers to sail

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Photo Credit Spacejunkie2 – Flickr

Virgin Voyages will allow more non-fully vaccinated passengers to sail after it removed a 10% cap on guests without a full Covid-19 vaccination. 

Previously, the line required 90% of guests to be fully vaccinated – allowing for 10% of customers to be non-fully vaccinated.

From 18 September for sailings onboard Valiant Lady and from 21 September for Scarlet Lady, the cap will be removed and all passengers will be able to board regardless of their vaccination status.

However, non-fully vaccinated travellers will still be required to provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of embarkation.

A Virgin Voyages spokesperson said: “The health and safety of our sailors (guests) and crew are most important, and we’ll continue to emphasize our ’Voyage Well’ protocols.

“We’re excited to see cruising make its way back to 2019 sailing levels and to welcome aboard both new and returning cruisers seeking a different kind of adventure on the high seas.”

Celebrity Cruises Announces New Protocols for Sailing

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Celebrity Cruises today announced new protocols for guests sailing from U.S. and European ports by dropping vaccination requirements and simplifying testing guidelines.

Beginning September 5, 2022, all guests, regardless of vaccination status, departing on most sailings from the U.S. and Europe can now cruise as long as they meet local testing requirements to board. Celebrity Cruises will also now accept any commercially available test, including unsupervised self-tests, in many destinations. 

“A new world is waiting and I’m thrilled to now more closely align our operations with the rest of the travel industry and open up opportunities for everyone to explore, once again,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises. “Travel is making its grand comeback and we’re looking forward to the continued momentum from consumers around the world.” 

New pre-boarding testing requirements for the U.S. and Europe include:

  • Fully vaccinated guests no longer need to test to board sailings from the U.S. that are nine nights or less (excluding sailings that visit Canada and Bermuda). 
  • A negative test result from a simple, unsupervised and self-administered test will be accepted for all sailings (excluding sailings that visit Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Greece or New Zealand).
  • Children under 5 years of age sailing from the U.S. and guests under 12 years of age sailing from Europe do not need to test prior to boarding. 

Requirements in Other Regions

While Celebrity Cruises has dropped vaccination requirements, sailings to and from ports in Canada, Australia and New Zealand require all guests ages 12 and up to be fully vaccinated to sail in keeping with country requirements. Galapagos cruises require guests ages 3 and older to be vaccinated.

Americans have been warned to avoid cruising – irrespective of their vaccination status

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P&O Britannia in the Caribbean, photo credit Spacejunkie2

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday (30 December) strengthened its advice for cruising, upping its warning for cruise travel to level four – its highest level.


The CDC said Covid-19 was continuing to spread quickly in confined spaces, such as on a ship, and said the likelihood of infection was therefore high.


It also said there had been an increase in cases onboard cruise ships following the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, now known to be significantly more transmissible than earlier variants.

The CDC is recommending cruise passengers get tested up to 72 hours prior to embarkation, and again three to five days into their cruise – regardless of their vaccination status.


It is also urging unvaccinated cruise passengers to self-isolate for a week after disembarking.


The health authority is currently monitoring Covid-19 outbreaks on 92 cruise ships, up from 86 earlier this week.


It is colour-coding ships according to evidence of “sustained transmission” of Covid onboard; currently, no ships have been marked red.