This summer, all three of the major cruise lines began loosening their covid protocols.
For a while, there was a standard protocol that the three cruise lines, Royal Caribbean International (RCL), Carnival Cruise Line (CCL), and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH), followed. The crew had to be vaccinated and regularly tested, while all passengers 12-and-over must be vaccinated and provide proof of that before boarding and all passengers must provide a negative covid test taken no more than two days before their sailing.
Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian all moved largely in lockstep during the pandemic. In July 2021, when all three cruise lines returned to service from U.S. ports, they had to deal with oversight from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the companies all began relaxing those rules in different ways. For example, Royal Caribbean began accepting results from self-administered home tests, and it also decided that vaccinated guests wouldn’t have to take a pre-cruise test on cruises that are shorter than 10 nights.
While it is important to still be safe and use common sense, there’s now a general sense that we’ve generally turned the corner on the covid-era, and that everyone who is going to get vaccinated has done so by now, and President Biden officially declared the pandemic over.
The cruise industry is following suit, as Norwegian has now decided to do away with most of its covid-era protocols.
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Norwegian Will No Longer Require Masks, Vaccinations, and Tests
Norwegian effective Oct. 4 will now remove all covid-19 testing, masking and vaccination requirements, owing to what the company terms positive progress in the public health environment.
"Health and safety are always our first priority; in fact, we were the health and safety leaders from the very start of the pandemic," said Harry Sommer, Norwegian Cruise Line president and chief executive officer in a statement. "Many travelers have been patiently waiting to take their long-awaited vacation at sea and we cannot wait to celebrate their return."
The Center for Disease Control has a great deal of jurisdiction over the cruise industry, as ships travel all over the world, and each country has its own health and safety standards. Last year, the CDC labeled sailing a high risk, level 4 activity, but slowly began lowering the risk level until doing away with it entirely in March. Over the summer, the CDC announced that its covid-19 Program for Cruise Ships was no longer in effect.
Norwegian will continue to follow the health guidelines of every country it visits, and that list for customers is here.
Will Royal Caribbean and Carnival Follow?
Norwegian was the first cruise line to drop pre-cruise covid testing, unless the country the ship sails from requires it.
It’s unclear, at the moment, if Royal Caribbean and Carnival if or when follows suit and drops all its requirements as well.
At the moment, both companies have covid protocols listed on their websites.
Royal Caribbean’s website states that for cruises departing from North America, “All Royal Caribbean guests age 12 and older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with the final dose administered at least 14 days before sailing. We will ask that you disclose your vaccination status prior to boarding (via the Royal Caribbean app, on our website, or at the terminal).”
On Carnival's website, the company states “Carnival's protocols have evolved, making it easier for more guests to sail with simplified vaccination and testing guidelines.”
“We encourage all guests to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines and to test within three days prior to their cruise. However, testing is required for unvaccinated guests, or irrespective of vaccination status as specified by a destination, and on cruises of 16 nights or longer.”
Vaccinated guests on Carnival cruises that provide proof of vaccination are not required to take a pre-cruise test except on cruises of 16 nights or longer or when required by a destination.
