Royal Caribbean just changed vaccination requirements for transatlantic leaving from USA

[topnole]

4 hours ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

I would not trust that statement either! They issued the protocol now before final - for a reason!

Symphony is well past final payment.   

[Wineaux007]

5 hours ago, jerseygirl3 said:

Not true for a transatlantic. They require a supervised test. 

That was true for 2022 Transatlantics.  Recent guidance for 2023 transatlantics require tests, and they can be unsupervised, which in my opinion is stupid.  You either have supervised or no test at all.  Unsupervised tests are nothing more than virtue signaling.  

[pcur]

12 hours ago, Wineaux007 said:

That was true for 2022 Transatlantics.  Recent guidance for 2023 transatlantics require tests, and they can be unsupervised, which in my opinion is stupid.  You either have supervised or no test at all. 

I agree.  It should be DIGITALLY DATED unsupervised tests.

[SilkySal]

22 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I believe you would follow these requirements 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/ca/healthy-at-sea/international-travel-requirements

Yes, thanks, I read the section entitled transatlantic/transpacific cruises but it only mentions Australia and maybe NZ. We are only cruising to Hawaii, then flying home after 5 nights in Honolulu, and it doesn't mention Hawaii from Vancouver, so I'm guessing there will be no requirements. Will definitely keep checking though before flying to Vancouver!

Edited January 9, 2023 by SilkySal
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[vjmatty]

4 minutes ago, SilkySal said:

Yes, thanks, I read the section entitled transatlantic/transpacific cruises but it only mentions Australia and maybe NZ. We are only cruising to Hawaii, then flying home after 5 nights in Honolulu, and it doesn't mention Hawaii from Vancouver, so I'm guessing there will be no requirements. Will definitely keep checking though before flying to Vancouver!

 

Believe it or not, as far as Hawaii may seem, it is not even halfway across the Pacific from the US.

[crzndeb]

28 minutes ago, SilkySal said:

Yes, thanks, I read the section entitled transatlantic/transpacific cruises but it only mentions Australia and maybe NZ. We are only cruising to Hawaii, then flying home after 5 nights in Honolulu, and it doesn't mention Hawaii from Vancouver, so I'm guessing there will be no requirements. Will definitely keep checking though before flying to Vancouver!

You’re right. Hawaii is not considered a TP, so your protocols fall under normal sailings. Just keep fingers crossed that Canada doesn’t change their protocols. 😬

Edited January 9, 2023 by crzndeb

[RedIguana]

On 1/7/2023 at 10:45 AM, sibs said:

Royal Caribbean has not changed the testing requirements. They’re changing the vaccination requirements. Before I could leave from New York and take a transatlantic over to Europe without needing a vaccine. As of yesterday I was informed that I need a vaccine. You only needed a vaccine if you were going from Europe to the USA

Vaccination Requirement

All Royal Caribbean guests, regardless of age, on transatlantic sailings must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with the final dose administered at least 14 days before sailing. Guests who are not vaccinated will not be permitted to board a transatlantic sailing departing from Europe to the U.S.

Each guest’s original vaccine series must include at least two doses of vaccine to board, unless the guest received the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This is per U.S. CDC guidance, and no exceptions will be made, even if the guest's resident country has authorized a single-shot regimen for a two dose vaccine.

Your vaccine must be approved or authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO) or European Medicines Agency (EMA) to board the ship. 

Guests who are up to date on their vaccination will have more time to complete their pre-cruise test.

To be considered up to date by all European countries we sail to, your vaccination must meet both of the following requirements.

1. You received your most recent vaccine dose no more than 9 months (270 days) ago. This could have been the final dose in your original vaccine series (or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson), or a booster dose.

2. Your most recent vaccine dose is on this list of EMA-approved vaccines:

• Pfizer
• Moderna
• Johnson & Johnson
• AstraZeneca
• Nuvaxovid

A Certificate of Recovery is not acceptable in lieu of a full vaccination for guests of vaccine eligible age.

All crew onboard the ship and at our private destinations are fully vaccinated and receive a booster dose as they become eligible.

Read Detailed Vaccine FAQs

 

These are the requirements from last August. There have been no changes.

[easyqueasy]

34 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Vaccination Requirement

Guests who are not vaccinated will not be permitted to board a transatlantic sailing departing from Europe to the U.S.

 

 

These are the requirements from last August. There have been no changes.

Yes, it’s changed. It specifically says from Europe to US. Now it’s been changed to generic transatlantic, meaning bidirectional. Even people have been told that when called and have been refunded. 

[RedIguana]

6 minutes ago, easyqueasy said:

Yes, it’s changed. It specifically says from Europe to US. Now it’s been changed to generic transatlantic, meaning bidirectional. Even people have been told that when called and have been refunded. 

The ones from the US to Europe were last spring, vaccines were required for those also. Royal has not had a TA sailing since the restart that did not require vaccines. TA's have always been the exception to the no vaccine requirement that came out last august. I don't think it is a matter of that they changed the requirements as much as they hadn't posted the current protocols for the spring TA's yet. That specifies Europe to the US because Royal does not do US to Europe in the fall season. 

[easyqueasy]

9 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

The ones from the US to Europe were last spring, vaccines were required for those also. Royal has not had a TA sailing since the restart that did not require vaccines. TA's have always been the exception to the no vaccine requirement that came out last august. I don't think it is a matter of that they changed the requirements as much as they hadn't posted the current protocols for the spring TA's yet. That specifies Europe to the US because Royal does not do US to Europe in the fall season. 

On their website it states vaccinations are not required for sailings with exceptions of Canada, Bermuda, Transatlantic from Europe to US, etc. during that time period of late August on and continued easing of protocols. Even if you don’t think there’s a change, at least Royal agrees there’s a change in protocol and are refunding those booked and will not meet the vaccination requirement.

[cruisin from florida]

Royal knows those TA cabins will book up fast (based on how fast the 2024 that we just booked is running out of cabin categories) and they'll probably be able to charge an arm and a leg. Glad those who aren't happy with the protocol are getting full refunds.

[vjmatty]

4 minutes ago, cruisin from florida said:

Royal knows those TA cabins will book up fast (based on how fast the 2024 that we just booked is running out of cabin categories) and they'll probably be able to charge an arm and a leg. Glad those who aren't happy with the protocol are getting full refunds.

 

That could backfire.... one of the draws of a TA is the cheaper price.  Once that goes, bookings will likely take a hit.

[cruisin from florida]

44 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

That could backfire.... one of the draws of a TA is the cheaper price.  Once that goes, bookings will likely take a hit.

Good point ! We got a great price on our JS for fall 2024 TAs

[cruiseboy89130]

On 1/9/2023 at 3:39 PM, pcur said:

I agree.  It should be DIGITALLY DATED unsupervised tests.

You realize you can swab the kitchen sink or nothing and have a test?

[RedIguana]

4 hours ago, easyqueasy said:

On their website it states vaccinations are not required for sailings with exceptions of Canada, Bermuda, Transatlantic from Europe to US, etc. during that time period of late August on and continued easing of protocols. Even if you don’t think there’s a change, at least Royal agrees there’s a change in protocol and are refunding those booked and will not meet the vaccination requirement.

from last august

6 hours ago, RedIguana said:

All Royal Caribbean guests, regardless of age, on transatlantic sailings must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with the final dose administered at least 14 days before sailing

Now

COVID-19 Vaccination is no longer required to sail, with a few exceptions. At this time, only the following sailings have COVID-19 vaccination requirements:

Guests age 12 and older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to sail:

• Cruises from Australia Learn more about cruising from Australia
• Transatlantic and Transpacific Sailings

[pcur]

On 1/10/2023 at 10:23 AM, cruiseboy89130 said:

You realize you can swab the kitchen sink or nothing and have a test?

Ah, but I don't.  I would prefer to inform myself and others that I do not have COVID.  I'm kinda fussy about making other people sick.

[jerseygirl3]

So I'm confused.  Do TA's from Europe to US still require supervised testing? We are vaccinated, and when we were due to sail from Ravenna to Florida this past October (we had to cancel as I, very unexpectedly, suffered a massive stroke), we had to be tested under supervision.  We have rebooked a TA for this coming October (fingers crossed we're able to go healthwise), and I wonder if we need to set up a supervised test.  I know it's many months away and things can change, but as of now what are the testing protocols for Europe to US TA's

[Keksie]

22 hours ago, pcur said:

Ah, but I don't.  I would prefer to inform myself and others that I do not have COVID.  I'm kinda fussy about making other people sick.

Except you can't know for certain you don't have covid because the tests don't always show positive for a few days.  Therefore you could be making other people sick and not know it.  

[Tiggerontheseas]

10 minutes ago, jerseygirl3 said:

So I'm confused.  Do TA's from Europe to US still require supervised testing? We are vaccinated, and when we were due to sail from Ravenna to Florida this past October (we had to cancel as I, very unexpectedly, suffered a massive stroke), we had to be tested under supervision.  We have rebooked a TA for this coming October (fingers crossed we're able to go healthwise), and I wonder if we need to set up a supervised test.  I know it's many months away and things can change, but as of now what are the testing protocols for Europe to US TA's

 

As of now you no longer need a supervised test for Europe to US TA's.   This is a very recent change.  Here is the wording from the website:

 

Required testing can be completed using any type of PCR or antigen COVID-19 test. It can be professionally proctored at your doctor or drugstore, or it can be a test you administer to yourself at home without supervision.

[cruisin from florida]

1 hour ago, Tiggerontheseas said:

 

As of now you no longer need a supervised test for Europe to US TA's.   This is a very recent change.  Here is the wording from the website:

 

Required testing can be completed using any type of PCR or antigen COVID-19 test. It can be professionally proctored at your doctor or drugstore, or it can be a test you administer to yourself at home without supervision.

If I were doing one of these cruises this spring or fall, I'd be preparing for other potential changes to protocols. Might not happen, but certainly could. We have a TP and New Zealand cruise coming up, and are watching very carefully for any protocol changes for all flights, countries, and cruises.   

[Tiggerontheseas]

1 minute ago, cruisin from florida said:

If I were doing one of these cruises this spring or fall, I'd be preparing for other potential changes to protocols. Might not happen, but certainly could. We have a TP and New Zealand cruise coming up, and are watching very carefully for any protocol changes for all flights, countries, and cruises.   

 

Absolutely.  Everything at the moment is subject to change. 🙂

[HappyTexan44]

Out of curiosity.   Would travel insurance cover the flights if you couldn't take the cruise because of protocol changes?

[crzndeb]

I have read through most of the thread, but may have missed something. Protocols for TA’s posted for 2022, and didn’t think anything had been posted on the Royal website for 2023. So for those that booked, believing you didn’t need to be vaxxed, was there an update for TA’s and TP’s on the website, and then changed, or were you allowed to book with a rep, who told you you didn’t need to be vaxxed.

[Mikew0805]

On 1/7/2023 at 9:12 AM, gumshoe958 said:

You’d never, ever see anyone in shorts in the MDR there.

 

This feels like a challenge. 🤣

[Wineaux007]

7 hours ago, jerseygirl3 said:

So I'm confused.  Do TA's from Europe to US still require supervised testing? We are vaccinated, and when we were due to sail from Ravenna to Florida this past October (we had to cancel as I, very unexpectedly, suffered a massive stroke), we had to be tested under supervision.  We have rebooked a TA for this coming October (fingers crossed we're able to go healthwise), and I wonder if we need to set up a supervised test.  I know it's many months away and things can change, but as of now what are the testing protocols for Europe to US TA's

Too early for the Fall TA's.  They just released the  Spring covid and testing requirements.  Standby to standby for the Fall requirements.