Royal Caribbean drops vaccine mandate for U.S. cruises

It looks like Royal Caribbean has completely changed its rules for requiring vaccinations from passengers on most of its U.S. sailings. Included within the cruise line's ambitious July restart plans announced on Friday, Royal Caribbean changed the wording of its Covid-19 vaccine policy by saying they are now simply "strongly recommended".

Royal Caribbean had updated its policy a few weeks ago to say vaccines would be required for anyone above the age of 16 on U.S. and Bahamas sailings, but within the announcement of which ships will restart revenue cruises is new verbiage that changes the policy. The announcement now says, "guests are strongly recommended to set sail fully vaccinated, if they are eligible."

"Those who are unvaccinated or unable to verify vaccination will be required to undergo testing and follow other protocols, which will be announced at a later date." A vaccine will remain required for anyone sailing from Seattle to Alaska who are 16 years of age or older, and those 12 or older as of Aug. 1. On May 22, Royal Caribbean posted on its website that it would require all guests sailing from the U.S. or Bahamas who are at least 16 years old or older to be fully vaccinated to sail.

Shortly thereafter, Royal Caribbean updated its website and changed the wording from "U.S." to "Seattle". Why the change? Royal Caribbean has not provided any explanation yet, but there is rampant speculation it is the result of the ongoing war of words between the cruise lines and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a new law that prohibits businesses from being able to ask for proof of a vaccine from their customers.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/06/05/royal-caribbean-drops-vaccine-mandate-us-cruises