Covid protocols onboard ACL ships

[CarolynFH]

6 hours ago, twototravel said:

@CarolynFH That's great news. Still waiting to hear if we still need a PCR test for our Puget Sound cruise. I got no response from ACL when I sent in an email asking about this requirement.

I had sent a similar question about a month ago to the HealthSafety email address at ACL and received an acknowledgement that they had received my email but no answer to my question.  My dad emailed CustomerService on Monday and received his answer on Tuesday.  So maybe that made the difference!

[twototravel]

@CarolynFHSo I sent an email to customer service and got the following reply. According to ACL, "the Governor of Washington has lifted his mandate requiring pre travel testing for guests participating in a cruise in Washington State."

[chengkp75]

I believe that as of 1 March, when the new CDC voluntary program for cruise ships goes into effect, it states that US flag cruise ships, on strictly domestic itineraries, are no longer part of the CDC cruise ship program, as they are covered by state and local requirements.  I believe this means that testing is no longer required, vaccination status is no longer required, and the ships revert to being "general" public transportation and consequently subject to the mask mandate that covers trains, buses, and airplanes.

[CarolynFH]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

I believe that as of 1 March, when the new CDC voluntary program for cruise ships goes into effect, it states that US flag cruise ships, on strictly domestic itineraries, are no longer part of the CDC cruise ship program, as they are covered by state and local requirements.  I believe this means that testing is no longer required, vaccination status is no longer required, and the ships revert to being "general" public transportation and consequently subject to the mask mandate that covers trains, buses, and airplanes.

It would be wonderful if ACL were able to discontinue testing the morning of embarkation.  My dad is still very worried about that, even though he has minimal contact with anyone and is fully vaxxed, therefore at very low risk of testing positive and being denied boarding.  He could handle having to wear a mask around the ship, although of course it would be lovely if that requirement were dropped as well.  We have until mid-April to hope!

[twototravel]

@CarolynFH Have your Dad take a home test a few days before departing. We always do that so there are no surprises when taking the "official" test for wherever we are going.