No unvacinated kids on TA's?

[exm]

My TA also mentioned that Royal might make vaccines mandatory for kids 5 and up. Talking about going backwards! If that's the case, I'll cancel my 2 upcoming cruises, and won't cruise again until further notice. And I was thinking Royal would drop all vaccine mandates.

[crazyank]

On 3/22/2022 at 11:58 AM, lm121 said:

We could also fly from UK to USA,

This is from the US Embassy in London.

All nonimmigrant, non-citizen air travelers to the United States are required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to the United States.

Are you sure you can fly into the USA with unvaccinated kids?

[njkruzer]

1 hour ago, exm said:

My TA also mentioned that Royal might make vaccines mandatory for kids 5 and up. Talking about going backwards! If that's the case, I'll cancel my 2 upcoming cruises, and won't cruise again until further notice. And I was thinking Royal would drop all vaccine mandates.

Mandatory on the transatlantics this spring. 

[Kezzie62]

13 minutes ago, crazyank said:

This is from the US Embassy in London.

All nonimmigrant, non-citizen air travelers to the United States are required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to the United States.

Are you sure you can fly into the USA with unvaccinated kids?

Children under 18 are exempt 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/proof-of-vaccination.html#noncitizen

 

[lm121]

Disappointing that I still don't have any answers from royal caribbean on this matter.

[lm121]

3 hours ago, exm said:

My TA also mentioned that Royal might make vaccines mandatory for kids 5 and up. Talking about going backwards! If that's the case, I'll cancel my 2 upcoming cruises, and won't cruise again until further notice. And I was thinking Royal would drop all vaccine mandates.

If I could get the kids vaccinated and I was choosing not to then I would completely understand this decision. But my kids can't be vaccinated in the UK 

[xxHadleyxx]

19 minutes ago, lm121 said:

If I could get the kids vaccinated and I was choosing not to then I would completely understand this decision. But my kids can't be vaccinated in the UK 

At least, from what i Have heard, you will finally be able to get kids under 12 vaxxed starting next month.  It must be frustrating in the meantime.  One can hardly blame the cruise lines for making rules that most passengers from most nations can follow.

[njkruzer]

44 minutes ago, lm121 said:

Disappointing that I still don't have any answers from royal caribbean on this matter.

So sorry you are still waiting.   You should have heard back from the email. 

[DukeASUGirl]

I would check into it again tomorrow morning if you don't hear anything by close of East Coast business today.

Edited March 23, 2022 by DukeASUGirl

[crazyank]

5 hours ago, Kezzie62 said:

Children under 18 are exempt 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/proof-of-vaccination.html#noncitizen

 

ok, but read down a little further and see what is required for a person traveling under that exemption.

[Kezzie62]

58 minutes ago, crazyank said:

ok, but read down a little further and see what is required for a person traveling under that exemption.

Yes there are conditions but they can enter the USA. 

[Namelocg]

About an hour ago I got another email reminder from Royal stating that all guests Regardless of age must be fully vaccinated in order to board the ship. The phone reps probably don't know that there is a difference for transatlantic cruises. They are just used to answering questions regarding cruises leaving from Florida to the Caribbean.

[exm]

1 hour ago, Namelocg said:

About an hour ago I got another email reminder from Royal stating that all guests Regardless of age must be fully vaccinated in order to board the ship. The phone reps probably don't know that there is a difference for transatlantic cruises. They are just used to answering questions regarding cruises leaving from Florida to the Caribbean.

I guess they are doing this in case a ship is in mid-Atlantic with unvaccinated children and a destination changes policies? 🤷‍♂️
 

There shouldn’t be too many children anyway on TA but this is really odd.

[njkruzer]

1 hour ago, Namelocg said:

About an hour ago I got another email reminder from Royal stating that all guests Regardless of age must be fully vaccinated in order to board the ship. The phone reps probably don't know that there is a difference for transatlantic cruises. They are just used to answering questions regarding cruises leaving from Florida to the Caribbean.

Didn't get that one.  Got the first one.  

[Billy Baltic]

2 hours ago, Namelocg said:

About an hour ago I got another email reminder from Royal stating that all guests Regardless of age must be fully vaccinated in order to board the ship. The phone reps probably don't know that there is a difference for transatlantic cruises. They are just used to answering questions regarding cruises leaving from Florida to the Caribbean.

Understandably, there has been a lot of focus on how this affects children especially where they live in a country where vaccination isn’t available for under 12s. However surely this impacts adults too. I recall talk of an exception process from needing vaccination at one point. Is that still around?

 

[Namelocg]

This is the 2nd email I got. It says nothing about exceptions for the transatlantic   ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS

Dear Guest, On our Transatlantic sailings, all guests, regardless of age, must be fully vaccinated by an approved manufacturer in order to board the ship. To be considered fully vaccinated, a guest must have received their last dose in their vaccine series no less than 14 full days before their sail date. Regrettably, children with only one dose of a two-dose vaccine are not considered fully vaccinated for our sailing. All guests are required to bring proof of vaccination issued by either the issuing country’s health authority or electronic vaccination records where the country uses electronic documentation (e.g. UK NHS App, NHS Certificate, Israel Green Pass, EU Digital COVID Certificate), as a condition to boarding. Please be sure your vaccination documentation reflects your first and second dose (or single dose for Johnson and Johnson), in addition to your booster information if you are up to date. To learn more about our health protocols, please visit RoyalCaribbean.com/Health. As a reminder, we continue to evaluate circumstances around the globe, our health protocols are subject to change. If everyone in your travelling party will be fully vaccinated by the time we sail, there’s nothing for you to do! If someone in your reservation isn’t fully vaccinated, please contact us or your travel partner immediately. For those guests who will not be vaccinated in time, we will provide you with a full refund including any air and hotel arrangements booked through Royal Caribbean. You’ll also be reimbursed for non-refundable, pre-purchased transportation change fees incurred (such as a flight, train ticket, parking fees, or rental car). We’ll cover up to $400 USD per guest for changes. Please email your receipts and booking information, once your reservation is cancelled, to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com for review and reimbursement. Please use the following contact information to advise us you will be ineligible to sail with us: 1 888 281 9344 in the U.S. 1 800 754 500 in Australia  In the UK only, contact us through our webchat service or by calling 0344 493 4005. All other countries, please visit http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We hope to have you onboard one of our sailings in the future. Sincerely, Royal Caribbean International

[xxHadleyxx]

14 hours ago, Namelocg said:

About an hour ago I got another email reminder from Royal stating that all guests Regardless of age must be fully vaccinated in order to board the ship. The phone reps probably don't know that there is a difference for transatlantic cruises. They are just used to answering questions regarding cruises leaving from Florida to the Caribbean.

Exactly.  We ran into a similar issue when we were on a UK sailig last fall....US reps had no idea whatsoever that any ship was sailing under different protocols than the US based ships had.  I had to (politely) talk reps and even superviros I was transfered to through finding the infomoration on the website step by step (go the Healthy Sail Center, scroll down to Southamptom, now read what it says about testing there....)

13 hours ago, exm said:

I guess they are doing this in case a ship is in mid-Atlantic with unvaccinated children and a destination changes policies? 🤷‍♂️
 

There shouldn’t be too many children anyway on TA but this is really odd.

I think it is more likely that RCI (and/or their insurance company) doesn't want to risk a passenger having a severe case of COvid caught on board and needing medical help that is unavailable onboard when evacaution to a land based hospital is not possible for a few days of the sailing....given that the vast majority of serious cases of covid happen in unvaccianted people.

[lm121]

I got a phone call from florida last night 6pm in the UK to advise that the kids could definitely not sail. She said that someone would be in touch yesterday to give more information as they didn't have any other information. I was also to contact air to sea to cancel my own flights. 

Got the same email about everyone being vaccinated and heard nothing else. 

Can't move forward to plan anything else until RC at least advise what they are planning. 

Putting me off planning future cruises.

 

[Darkingnj]

4 hours ago, Namelocg said:

This is the 2nd email I got. It says nothing about exceptions for the transatlantic   ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS

Dear Guest, Please be sure your vaccination documentation reflects your first and second dose (or single dose for Johnson and Johnson), in addition to your booster information if you are up to date. To learn more about our health protocols, please visit RoyalCaribbean.com/Health.

Is RCCL requiring the booster shot as well for TA's?

[njkruzer]

1 minute ago, Darkingnj said:

Is RCCL requiring the booster shot as well for TA's?

No but some countries require it depending on when your last shot was.  It seems that if 2nd shot was more than 180 days you need booster.

[crazyank]

7 hours ago, njkruzer said:

No but some countries require it depending on when your last shot was.  It seems that if 2nd shot was more than 180 days you need booster.

Nope,  270 days for most places,  Italy is 180 days

[njkruzer]

6 minutes ago, crazyank said:

Nope,  270 days for most places,  Italy is 180 days

We're ok as our booster will be less than 270 days.  Our 2nd shot was more than 180 days. 

[cruiseboy89130]

Nice they don't have unvaccinated kids on TA's - should be like this on all cruises!

[DukeASUGirl]

23 hours ago, lm121 said:

I got a phone call from florida last night 6pm in the UK to advise that the kids could definitely not sail. She said that someone would be in touch yesterday to give more information as they didn't have any other information. I was also to contact air to sea to cancel my own flights. 

Got the same email about everyone being vaccinated and heard nothing else. 

Can't move forward to plan anything else until RC at least advise what they are planning. 

Putting me off planning future cruises.

 

Any update? I'm so sorry about this. I know it's disappointing.

[exm]

8 hours ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

Nice they don't have unvaccinated kids on TA's - should be like this on all cruises!

find a different cruiseline