Covid has not actually gone away. The disease has apparently become less deadly as vaccines and treatments have become more available, but the pandemic is far from over. It has just moved into a new phase where people worry less about getting sick and take fewer precautions.
With hospitals having the space to treat the most severe cases, Covid has become a little closer to the flu – at least in the way we treat it as a society. This means that most areas of American life have given up any pretense of being concerned about Covid.
Social distancing has become a thing of the past, as have mask requirements and mandatory testing. The travel industry kept those rules in place longer than other parts of society, but hotels, airlines, theme parks and casinos have lifted all of the rules and precautions for COVID-19 (except for recommendations on what to do if you feel sick ).
The cruise industry has been very slow to completely remove the Covid regulations. At first, this was because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitored positive cases on board and set standards for testing, masks and vaccination. That changed in July when the CDC decided to drop surveillance of cruise lines.
This led to every major cruise line making protocol changes, but they all did so at different speeds. Now, Virgin Voyages, which has been leading the pack when it comes to dropping requirements, has made another big move that Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) followed (at least partially) but Royal Caribbean International (RCL) there is no.
Image source: Daniel Kline/TheStreet
Virgo, Carnival Rules for Covid
Virgin Voyages requires passengers (seafarers in cruise line parlance) to be at least 18 years of age. This already eliminated some protocols because the cruise line didn’t have to consider having different Covid-related rules for children under 12.
Now, the cruise line founded by Richard Branson has removed all testing and vaccination requirements for Covid. Previously, Virgin Voyages had required vaccinated passengers to show their vaccination card, while unvaccinated passengers had to submit a negative test.
“We have removed all vaccination and testing requirements,” Virgin shares at the top of its homepage.
The navigation bar further explains the movement when you click on the site.
In line with the rest of the cruise industry, we have waived all vaccination and testing requirements effective 10/30/22 on Valiant Lady and 10/28/22 on Scarlet Lady.
While all Sailors are no longer required to be tested for COVID-19 prior to their departure date, if a Sailor exhibits signs or symptoms of an illness during check-in (or during their voyage), Virgin Voyages reserves the right to tested it Sailor and their travel companion. (s) for COVID-19 at the terminal (or on board) and will cover testing fees.
Carnival Cruise Line has adopted a similar policy for its flagship brand and its Holland America line. It has lowered vaccination requirements for cruises of 15 nights or less. It has also removed testing requirements for unvaccinated passengers on cruises of less than 16 nights.
Royal Caribbean maintains (some) Covid rules
While Virgin Voyages and Carnival (at least on some of its brands) have essentially lifted all Covid rules, Royal Caribbean has kept some testing requirements in place. The cruise line dropped its vaccine requirements, but unvaccinated passengers must still get tested
Vaccinated guests do not need to take a test for cruises of 9 nights or less. On cruises of 10 nights or more, fully vaccinated guests age 12 and older will need to bring a negative test result for a COVID-19 test within 3 days prior to the day of embarkation.
Visitors aged 12 and over who have not been vaccinated have 3 days to take a test before their cruise, regardless of the length of the cruise.
All cruise lines remain subject to any Covid requirements imposed by the nations where they dock their ships. This means that Carnival, Virgin or Royal Caribbean may have to add testing or vaccination requirements on certain cruises.
