Vaccine Requirements for 5-11YO are coming soon to a cruise ship near you

[orville99]

Only a matter of time before RCL falls in line now that Disney Cruise Lines announced that they will start requiring 5-11YO children to be fully vaccinated starting on January 14, 2022.

[newcruzer2]

HALLELUJAH

[cbettua]

We sail Jan 23rd. My 10 and 11 year old will be fully vaccinated by November 30th. It makes no sense to me to cruise and not be vaccinated. I don't want to be limited anywhere. 

[SidneyHuff1950]

3 minutes ago, cbettua said:

We sail Jan 23rd. My 10 and 11 year old will be fully vaccinated by November 30th. It makes no sense to me to cruise and not be vaccinated. I don't want to be limited anywhere. 

Just because you are vaccinated doesnt mean you wont be limited, the only difference between a vaccinated person and a unvaccinated person on a Disney cruise is the vaccinated person doesnt have to test 3 days before arriving to port, literally thats the only difference.

[SidneyHuff1950]

43 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Only a matter of time before RCL falls in line now that Disney Cruise Lines announced that they will start requiring 5-11YO children to be fully vaccinated starting on January 14, 2022.

I dont think they will jump as quickly as you think they will, they already said they arent there yet. But we will see.

[cbettua]

1 minute ago, SidneyHuff1950 said:

Just because you are vaccinated doesnt mean you wont be limited, the only difference between a vaccinated person and a unvaccinated person on a Disney cruise is the vaccinated person doesnt have to test 3 days before arriving to port, literally thats the only difference.

Aren't we on the Royal page? Royal does have restrictions with the unvaccinated. 

[orville99]

1 hour ago, SidneyHuff1950 said:

I don't think they will jump as quickly as you think they will, they already said they aren't there yet. But we will see.

I respectfully disagree. Disney just gave them a perfect opening to follow suit without appearing to be the ones pressing the issue.

Edited November 17, 2021 by orville99

[Merion_Mom]

Princess has already announced this. It's not just Disney.

 

[LorraineP]

Just now, Merion_Mom said:

Princess has already announced this. It's not just Disney.

 

Hoping RCL follows. 

[Longhorn Cruiser]

Last week, Royal Caribbean’s leadership discussed this issue during the official ceremony for its newest ship the Odyssey of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain explained that he expects updated protocols soon (for smaller children), but that the cruise line will have no new vaccine requirements at this time. He added that he expects there will still be room for unvaccinated kids onboard.

This is no surprise as Royal Caribbean has made a commitment to families throughout their resumption of service. Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, Mark Tamis commented previously “A good 20 to 25 percent of our guests are kids…more than 1 million children sail on Royal Caribbean ships each year”. Royal sees itself as the largest family cruise brand in the world.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, SidneyHuff1950 said:

Just because you are vaccinated doesnt mean you wont be limited, the only difference between a vaccinated person and a unvaccinated person on a Disney cruise is the vaccinated person doesnt have to test 3 days before arriving to port, literally thats the only difference.

Well,,, on Royal, being unvaccinated (or being with an unvaccinated person) excludes you from some shows, you are relegated to the back balcony seating in the theater, restricted from even walking through some venues, restricted from eating in some restaurants, restricted to certain MDRs and times, and restricted to cruise line shoreex only (no exploration of a port). 

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, SidneyHuff1950 said:

Just because you are vaccinated doesnt mean you wont be limited, the only difference between a vaccinated person and a unvaccinated person on a Disney cruise is the vaccinated person doesnt have to test 3 days before arriving to port, literally thats the only difference.

When Royal mandates 5 and up vaccinated, there will be no issue reaching a 95% vaccinated threshold, limitations and restrictions change drastically at that point. 

[not-enough-cruising]

52 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

Princess has already announced this. It's not just Disney.

 

Don’t forget NCL

[travelhound]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

When Royal mandates 5 and up vaccinated, there will be no issue reaching a 95% vaccinated threshold, limitations and restrictions change drastically at that point. 

Good point, it's just a matter of time before competitive pressure will force RCL to match the other lines.  They also have to compete with many land based alternatives that have no restrictions or testing requirements.

[smokeybandit]

RCL has proven it's no longer a family-friendly cruise line. I never expected Disney to stoop to the same levels.

 

 

[AustinCruise]

Richard Fain said last week that he thought there would still be room for unvaccinated kids in Jan/Feb.  He really didn't make a commitment beyond that from what I remember.

 

It's already required for the adults.  Most (but not all) of the adults that are vaccinated have plans to get their kids vaccinated.

 

I see them moving into vaccinated territory March 1, 2022.  But, like everyone here, just a guess.

 

[Russ Lomas]

6 hours ago, orville99 said:

Only a matter of time before RCL falls in line now that Disney Cruise Lines announced that they will start requiring 5-11YO children to be fully vaccinated starting on January 14, 2022.

That should make it very interesting for citizens of other countries booked to cruise after the 14th, because most countries have not yet approved the vaccine for children under 12 years of age.  They are predicting that it will be just before the Christmas break in Canada before 5-11 year olds will be eligible to get their 1st of 2 shots, so they likely will not have their full shot regime anywhere near January 14th.  I am not sure where other countries in the world, other than the US who have already given approval, are currently with approval of the vaccines for children under 12 years of age.

[SidneyHuff1950]

3 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

When Royal mandates 5 and up vaccinated, there will be no issue reaching a 95% vaccinated threshold, limitations and restrictions change drastically at that point. 

Doubt that, simply because the same logic will most likely hold for Disney and they have 0 plans on changing any of their protocols other than requiring younger children to be vaccinated.

[Iamcruzin]

4 hours ago, Longhorn Cruiser said:

 “A good 20 to 25 percent of our guests are kids…more than 1 million children sail on Royal Caribbean ships each year”.

 

Those seem like pretty big numbers. All the more reason to mandate the vaccine.

[Jasukkie]

I would find it very hard to continue with Royal if they become the cruise line for people not wanting to vaccinate their kids. I'll go even further, no one under the age of five should be on a cruise ship. Make it five and up, 100% vaccinated, no exceptions. Test in, and then you could go fully mask free. 

[Mapleleafforever]

5-11 approval coming to Canada by the end of the week. In my Province the vaccine is not mandated for health care workers or teachers.......that being said we'll be doing a wait and see with our not yet 5 year old. Cruising is just a leisure vacation and not the only game in town, I suspect many other parents are thinking the same. Not complaining, just stating a fact. I'm more than ok with not cruising for awhile.....been doing ok without it for 2 years already. 

 

[Iamcruzin]

2 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

I would find it very hard to continue with Royal if they become the cruise line for people not wanting to vaccinate their kids. I'll go even further, no one under the age of five should be on a cruise ship. Make it five and up, 100% vaccinated, no exceptions. Test in, and then you could go fully mask free. 

 Our youngest son was 5 and the oldest was 8 when we took a split vacation between Royal Caribbean 4 day cruise and Disney. While they weren't over the moon about Disney which cost more than the cruise I don't think they would have enjoyed either or remembered either if they were younger than 5. I'm glad we didn't spend a week in Disney. They never asked to go back but they did ask to go back on a cruise.

[LuCruise]

2 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

I would find it very hard to continue with Royal if they become the cruise line for people not wanting to vaccinate their kids. I'll go even further, no one under the age of five should be on a cruise ship. Make it five and up, 100% vaccinated, no exceptions. Test in, and then you could go fully mask free. 

You would probably have even more unvaccinated kids if Royal doesn't add this rule.  Those  with kids under 12 wanting to cruise would have to skip Disney, and Royal is also very family friendly so they'd jump to Royal.

[doppelganger2621]

We're traveling in June with another family, 3 kids total (two 8 year olds and one 12 year old). 12 year-old is fully vaccinated, the two youngest get their second doses next week. 

 

Part of the reason we even chose to cruise was because of the vax requirements, and the availability of the 5-11 vaccine now. Will be nice if all kids (mostly) on board are fully vaccinated

[UNCFanatik]

if only the vaccines stopped the spread of the virus.

 

I am an advocate for the vaccines because they reduce the effects of Covid but the vaccines do not prevent covid transmission. See New Hampshire in the US. Vaccination rate of 92% of populace over 18 but having big spike in Covid cases. 

 

What ALL the cruise lines need to do is recognize acquired natural immunity from Covid infection. 

 

It will be interesting to see how many parents get their 5-11 year olds vaccinated and how that plays into family cruising. But since the seasonal flu is a bigger risk to children than covid is, then logic dictates that the cruise lines require Flu vaccines as well. But that wont happen. 

 

Covid is becoming endemic. Covid Zero isnt possible. No matter what the cruise lines do they cannot stop covid cases on cruise ships. I am not saying that they shouldnt take proven effective safety measures like improving ventilation. But requiring 5-11 year olds who have not been proven to be vectors of covid spread to be vaccinated will only be safety theater just like wearing a mask in the dining room while you walk to the table and then take it off for 2 hour dinner in indoor space where you are breathing in aerosols from other people.