Is NCL going to require passengers to be vaccinated like RCL & Celebrity?

[source]

Has anyone heard any info yet?

[Chipster2]

Nothing official yet but that might change when they announce a return to sailing.

 

Almost afraid to say this but I hope they do require the vaccine. (Flames coming I am sure!)

[BirdTravels]

Probably not. Kidless cruises would not sell. The vaccinated adult demographic is too small.  

[FlGoodShips]

Would love it if NCL required vaccines. 

[Incognito1]

Doubtful.  Talked to a NCL person on the phone today who wouldn't give an official answer, but said they were probably going to vax the crew, but doubted it would extend to the pax.  We'll see.  I was canceling a July cruise because it's likely not going and I needed to put down $ for a US trip.

 

On a good note, they fully refunded it AND gave me a 10% credit for the next cruise.  Not quite the 125% FCC for Princess/RCCL, but again, it was fully refunded and they still gave me a credit.

[dumbth]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

The vaccinated adult demographic is too small

 

Could be a big jump in vax acceptance with recent unleashing of single dose. A couple days ago a vax appt here required very inconvenient time and place times 2. Now every grocery pharmacy seems to offer the single dose, and if my experience is any guide so far it seems the most painless flu shot and aftermath ever. Probably I already had the antibodies from everyday exposure. I think we are so well supplied with non-superfrozen 1dose they are thinking of offering to anybody in a month. Ha-ha to exactly half the population here who sneaked into the awkward two-shot rigamarole ahead of seniors often due to crony favoritism.

Edited March 23, 2021 by dumbth

[Froggitt]

No way is any cruise company going to risk being the virus capital of the high seas. They're all going vaccine only, possibly with some exemptions for those unable to get the vaccine.

[pe4all]

Yes, I think NCL will require passengers (and of course crew first) to be vaccinated before sailing.  With new vaccines coming out (single dose) and testing of vaccines on children I think all will be required to have a vaccine card to board.

[Beach Life 1]

9 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Probably not. Kidless cruises would not sell. The vaccinated adult demographic is too small.  

Richard Branson/Virgin Voyages thinks they would sell.  I do believe they could fill the cruises.  We usually sail on longer cruises in the winter,  and there are very few kids on board. Of course,  in the summer and school breaks, those cruises may not sell as well if parents can't bring kids,  but there's  always a buyer for something.  There will be people more than willing to cruise,  with or without kids.

[JamieLogical]

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Probably not. Kidless cruises would not sell. The vaccinated adult demographic is too small.  

 

I suspect, like Royal, they won't require vaccines for children under 16 or 18, but will require all adults to be vaccinated. Also, I don't know about the vaccinated adult demographic being too small. Sailing probably isn't going to start until over the summer and, by then, well over half of US adults will be vaccinated. Plus, of the adults who ARE vaccinated, more of them will match cruising's target demographics of older and wealthier people.

 

Between pent up demand and possibly reduced capacity, I don't think NCL will have a hard time finding enough vaccinated people to fill their ships.

[colecandler]

54 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I suspect, like Royal, they won't require vaccines for children under 16 or 18, but will require all adults to be vaccinated. Also, I don't know about the vaccinated adult demographic being too small. Sailing probably isn't going to start until over the summer and, by then, well over half of US adults will be vaccinated. Plus, of the adults who ARE vaccinated, more of them will match cruising's target demographics of older and wealthier people.

 

Between pent up demand and possibly reduced capacity, I don't think NCL will have a hard time finding enough vaccinated people to fill their ships.

I agree with you.  Vaccination required for adults. Kids will need a negative test....cutoff age TBD.

Vaccinations are rolling out pretty quickly - if not super efficiently. 

As a 57 year old in Virginia I can now schedule a vaccine. My wife is getting her first jab on Thursday.

As of today 83 million have at least one dose. 45 million fully vaccinated.  I think we're at about 2 million shots per day and would expect that rate to continue. So with a July 1 return to cruise goal....there is still time to do 200,000,000 doses (100 days times 2 mil per day). 

So....I would think that by July 1. IF vaccines are required, everyone who needs one to cruise will have had time to get vaccinated. I think there will be a significant portion of the population that will NOT want to get this vaccine which should really allow everyone that wants one to get one in the next 100 days. 

 

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I'd imagine their restart would be almost 100% identical policy wise to the other lines. 16/18+ needs to have had it done and children with a 72 hour covid test prior to sailing. They can't risk having an outbreak onboard again as it would be a PR disaster for their restart. With just a few ships doing the initial restart and smaller capacity it wouldn't be hard to meet their booking numbers with those rules in place.

[Yesimapirate]

Here's my admittedly selfish feeling.   I don't care.  I'll be fully vaccinated and will feel safe.  If someone wants to risk their health without affecting me then they're free to do whatever they want.

 

I'm far more concerned with a mask requirement.   While I'm ok wearing them in stores,  on planes,  etc there is absolutely no way I'd enjoy a cruise that requires it.  Masks are something I'd cancel over.  Vaccines are not.  

[Yesimapirate]

Let me add, anything that discourages kids would not upset me either.  I'm sure they're all angels but that doesn't mean I want to spend vacation surrounded by them.   This applies to those adults who act like children too.  Except me.  Put me near dessert and I'm acting 8!😁

[Darcy03231]

Even if the cruise lines don't require vaccination, I wouldn't be surprised if some countries require it for visitors as the vaccine becomes more widely available.   Dh is fully vaccinated and I get my first (and maybe only) shot on Saturday.

[colecandler]

That's a good point too. 

[brookie848]

7 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

Here's my admittedly selfish feeling.   I don't care.  I'll be fully vaccinated and will feel safe.  If someone wants to risk their health without affecting me then they're free to do whatever they want.

 

I'm far more concerned with a mask requirement.   While I'm ok wearing them in stores,  on planes,  etc there is absolutely no way I'd enjoy a cruise that requires it.  Masks are something I'd cancel over.  Vaccines are not.  

The reason you want others to be vaccinated is because it will lower the chance of an outbreak on your cruise. If there's an outbreak, there's a good chance the trip you thought you were going to have is going to be spent in your cabin and any port stops will be cancelled.

[hallux]

9 minutes ago, Darcy03231 said:

Even if the cruise lines don't require vaccination, I wouldn't be surprised if some countries require it for visitors as the vaccine becomes more widely available

THIS.  It will be MUCH easier for the cruise lines to book ports of call if they can attest that all passengers and crew are vaccinated.  The ports of call issue might also be part of the consideration given to not being able to restart cruising out of the US (in addition to the CDC, a discussion being had in another thread so that's all that needs to be said in this one).

[graphicguy]

Given the demographics of their paying cruisers, I think it's an almost certainty they'll require a vaccine to sail.  They've gone through the exercise of vaccinating crew, and installing high level air purification, all at significant cost.  I'm betting, they've gone through the effort to either disinfect every micro centimeter of their ships and furnishings, or replace anything they couldn't sterilize.

 

Given that effort, they will not risk someone boarding a) without a negative COVID test within a few days of sail date, and b) without proof of a vaccine!

 

I know there's been some hand wringing about "well, what if I can't get a vaccine because (state any reason)?".  The ships will not sail at capacity.  So, if they miss some cruisers because they can't/won't get the vaccine, it will be of little consequence.  

 

Demand is going to be high once the ships sail, again (which I believe will be sooner than later given the amount of vaccines being administered and the resulting precipitous drop in COVID cases).  As such, they'll be able to sail with ½, ⅔, ¾ whatever amount they want for the foreseeable future.

[Yesimapirate]

31 minutes ago, brookie848 said:

The reason you want others to be vaccinated is because it will lower the chance of an outbreak on your cruise. If there's an outbreak, there's a good chance the trip you thought you were going to have is going to be spent in your cabin and any port stops will be cancelled.

Maybe I'm naive but I was also assuming that a strong majority of people would be smart enough to get the vaccine,  required or not.  Enough that even if 2 or 3 people got it that there'd be enough herd immunity to prevent and outbreak.   Maybe I'm wrong?   Who knows? 

 

I still think the odds of a norovirus outbreak is much greater and washy washy seems to be enough to keep us happy happy.

 

Bottom line, I'll be sad if my Dec cruise is canceled or significantly altered for ANY reason.   It'll be our first experience with a Haven restaurant and I'm already planning the meals. 

[pghflyer]

It will be required. The continued cost of losses of enduring outbreaks otherwise isn't good business.

[Laszlo]

All adults, pax and crew will need to be vaccinated. Since their is very little data on people under 18 probably not.....but don't rule it out

[Froggitt]

2 hours ago, Darcy03231 said:

Even if the cruise lines don't require vaccination, I wouldn't be surprised if some countries require it for visitors as the vaccine becomes more widely available.   Dh is fully vaccinated and I get my first (and maybe only) shot on Saturday.

Which is where this thread started, because of all the unknowns with the different countries and their vaccine coverage and their infection rates, I can see single country only cruises being scheduled over the summer.

[david_sobe]

I am surprised at some of the comments here.  Of course NCL is going to require a vaccination prior to sailing.  If you know anything about cruising, they all follow the leader. NCL is not going to be the "vaccine free" cruise line.  Could you imagine what that would be like?  Some islands my not welcome NCL ships.  NCL could get a nightmare scenario and problems with the CDC if just one passenger caught COVID on board.  No doubt NCL like other cruise lines want their business back and will require vaccinations prior to boarding.  This may not last forever but at least for the next 2 years.  

The only way the world gets back to normal is to snuff this out.  It cant be snuffed out without mass vaccinations.  Without mass vaccinations, cruising cannot resume.  Passenger and customer safety is NCL's priority right after service charge fees and auto gratuities for your convenience of course!

Edited March 23, 2021 by david_sobe

[wwwfla]

I certainly hope all passengers will be vaccinated.