Looks like cruising is going to get a little more expensive for some through December

[Ken the cruiser]

Just saw this on the FB RC Blog regarding Royal Caribbean cruises. I wonder if Celebrity is going to follow suit?

 

For cruises departing from Florida homeports from August 1 through December 31, 2021, as a condition of boarding, each unvaccinated guest 12 and older must provide proof of a valid insurance policy that has a minimum of (a) $25,000 per person in medical expense coverage and (b) $50,000 per person for quarantine and medical evacuation related to a positive COVID-19 test result.

 

The insurance policy must name the unvaccinated guest as the policy holder or beneficiary, and may be purchased from a travel insurance company of the guest’s choosing or through the Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program, which includes the requisite coverage.

[opa&oma]

Happy to see this. Makes sense on their part financially.

[goldsmip115]

Amen.  I think that and daily Covid testing at the guests expense as well as room service only dining should make for a much safer and stress free cruise for those that are fully vaccinated.

[Bruin Steve]

WELL DONE!

I hope people realize this is in response to Florida not allowing the cruise lines to require vaccination and proof of vaccination.  The answer:  GET VACCINATED.

It's still not good enough for me.  I don't want to cruise with unvaccinated people.  Not because I am afraid of getting Covid...BUT because I don't want to be on a ship where a bunch of unvaccinated people contract the virus and the scheduled ports don't allow us to dock as expected.  Those people's selfish, misguided or foolish actions would ruin MY cruise.

 

Since Florida won't do the right thing and let them require vaccination, they've got to do whatever they legally can to discourage as many unvaccinated people from cruising as possible--to PROTECT the vacation investment of the majority of cruisers.

[Cruising89143]

I like this. I expect that Celebrity will follow as they should. 

[ch175]

I don’t see how this is going to discourage anyone who is unvaccinated from cruising.

 

If I am spending anywhere from $5K to $10K (or more) for a cruise plus airfare, I am probably going to buy insurance anyway. Especially given how poorly airlines are performing right now.

 

All this does for someone who is not vaccinated is confirm the insurance bought from RC or Celebrity covers any covid related problems. So in essence it seems to reduce risk for those individuals.

[rucrazy]

I am so pleased we booked our holiday b2b before the cruises began again .. we got a great deal (for holiday pricing) and prices have indeed risen since the return of the embarkation!

[nocl]

The timing of this make me think that this was more due to the fact that they have already run into a situation where they had to pay to fly infected individuals home via private plane and they do not want to incur any expense for unvaccinated individuals.

 

Basically even with most people vaccinated, even with tests being required before flying into the country, and boarding the ship, they still had two cases on board.  This is even when the case rate in the US has dropped dramatically.

 

Just think if the cruise lines had started up prior to vaccinations being widely available, and case rates were 10-20X what they are today.  

Edited June 29, 2021 by nocl

[phoenix_dream]

9 hours ago, rhblake said:

Are you saying that parents and grand parents who travel with their kids or grand-kids under the age of 12 (who are currently unable to get vaccinated) should stay home? Why?

It wasn't my post, but I agree.  I think kids who are unvaccinated (anyone unvaccinated for that matter) needs to stay off cruise ships for now.  If you want a family trip do a land trip.  Life is not fair.  This virus is not fair.  It is also not fair IMHO to put an entire ship at risk by boarding without a vaccine.  Even if others don't get seriously ill, they could really ruin the cruise for the other passengers.  If they get sick, they could end up affecting close contacts who would then need to quarantine for at least a day until they get a negative test.  They could cause ports to be missed.  They could conceivably cause the entire cruise to be cancelled if too many of them get sick.   

 

And that doesn't even take into consideration that you are potentially risking your child's or grandchild's life by exposing them to people from all over the world who may be contagious even if vaccinated, as well as variants they have not been previously exposed to, and doing so thousands of miles away from home and perhaps thousands of miles from first rate medical care beyond what the ship can provide.  I am saying this as both a parent who has cruised with children, as well as a grandparent who has done the same. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by phoenix_dream