Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has just announced that children 12 and older must be fully vaccinated for Covid-19, along with all adults, if they choose to sail from the U.S. after August 1.
Initially RCCL had mandated that all guests 18+ were to be fully vaccinated before coming onboard for their initial sailings in June. Children under 18 needed to provide proof of a negative PCR test.
This has since been dropped to age 16 for vaccinated guests for June and July departures and for all cruises beginning August 2 and onwards, dropped further down to children aged 12 +.
Children aged 2-11 will require the negative PCR test, unless they have vaccination proof, also.
For cruises departing international ports, the 18+ mandate still hold.
Royal Caribbean’s sister line, Celebrity Cruises was requiring guests 16 and older to show vaccination proof. They, too, have dropped the age to line up with Royal Caribbean’s 12 and older mandate for sailings post August 1st. They have not put an international caveat on that, so it seems it will be fleet/itinerary wide except for U.K. residents where the age cut off remains at 18 and up.
A growing number of cruise lines have announced they will require most, if not all guests to be vaccinated before sailing, with most providing clear cut guidance on their websites.
Disney Cruise Line has not made any updates in regards to their future cruises, with information for their U.K. guests sailing on their initial Disney Magic at Sea U.K. Staycations only.
Carnival Cruise Line is remaining even more ambiguous on the subject with no decision made and no mention of vaccination requirements made on their website at all.
12+ is definitely going to be a tough call for many passengers hoping to sail on RCCL or Celebrity this Summer and impossible for other nationalities whose vaccine rollouts do not include children yet.
What do you think of the age drop? Let us know in the comments below- will this put you off sailing on Royal or Celebrity, or make you feel safer?
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