Chatter on Oceania about dropping Vaccination requirements

[Vineyard View]

We have narrowed down choices for a trip next year based on itineraries. Two are with Viking - whom we know well and love -  but one was on Oceania which we have never sailed on. 
 

A new thread started today about the possibility, and it appears to be strong one, that Oceania will start a no vaccine requirement. NCL is going this direction and has announced.  There seems to be an assumption, or maybe strong feeling,  that all cruise lines will head in this direction. 
 

I am so very hopeful that since Viking is family owned, that they will not follow suit on this concept……at least until they stand back and see how this all rolls out. It makes me a bit uncomfortable to book a cruise. I know we all have different feelings about this, but watching and waiting can sometimes be a very good path to take. 

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

We have narrowed down choices for a trip next year based on itineraries. Two are with Viking - whom we know well and love -  but one was on Oceania which we have never sailed on. 
 

A new thread started today about the possibility, and it appears to be strong one, that Oceania will start a no vaccine requirement. NCL is going this direction and has announced.  There seems to be an assumption, or maybe strong feeling,  that all cruise lines will head in this direction. 
 

I am so very hopeful that since Viking is family owned, that they will not follow suit on this concept……at least until they stand back and see how this all rolls out. It makes me a bit uncomfortable to book a cruise. I know we all have different feelings about this, but watching and waiting can sometimes be a very good path to take. 

 

NCL owns Oceania and Regent. Hard to imagine they would implement the same protocols across their brands. What other lines will do, and when, is anyone's guess - there's a lot of current speculation regarding Carnival and their brands also. 🍺🥌

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

 

A new thread started today about the possibility, and it appears to be strong one, that Oceania will start a no vaccine requirement

It's not just a possibility...the new protocols are in place to become effective on September 3:

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2022-08/sail-safe-new-program.pdf

 

Of course there are some countries that require cruise passengers to be vaccinated and those requirements override the cruise line's protocols.

[Vineyard View]

2 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

NCL owns Oceania and Regent. Hard to imagine they would implement the same protocols across their brands. What other lines will do, and when, is anyone's guess - there's a lot of current speculation regarding Carnival and their brands also. 🍺🥌

Thank you for clarifying what I meant to say - in that Oceania is under NCL and likely to follow. 

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

It's not just a possibility...the new protocols are in place to become effective on September 3:

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2022-08/sail-safe-new-program.pdf

 

Of course there are some countries that require cruise passengers to be vaccinated and those requirements override the cruise line's protocols.

Ahhh. So it will be interesting to see how other more ‘luxury’ lines respond to this that are not owned by larger main cruise lines. Plus to your point, countries that still require vax. 
 

[CurlerRob]

1 minute ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you for clarifying what I meant to say - in that Oceania is under NCL and likely to follow. 

 

And, clarified by @njhorseman above ... 🍺🥌

[Redtravel]

We got the letter from Oceania stating that there is no precruise testing for vaccinated guests age 12+.  Kids and unvaccinated guests must test.  Feeling stressed about this change.  I was also stressed when Viking dropped testing.  At least on Viking, guests must be vaccinated.  I had the utmost respect for Viking when they did daily Covid testing on ships.  It protected everyone.  It also made Viking the line with the highest reported positive cases.  The other lines didn’t have high numbers since they didn’t test. People got sick on other cruise lines.  Since they didn’t need to test, they didn’t report cases.  There are many unreported Covid cases.  It is still spreading. For your own safety, test before embarking.

[Heidi13]

14 hours ago, njhorseman said:

It's not just a possibility...the new protocols are in place to become effective on September 3:

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2022-08/sail-safe-new-program.pdf

 

Of course there are some countries that require cruise passengers to be vaccinated and those requirements override the cruise line's protocols.

 

Thanks for posting the link, which I just read.

 

Interesting to note that their standard for Canada effective 3rd September is contrary to the current Govt of Canada regulations. The current regulations still require vaccinated pax with very few exceptions.

 

The requirements are under review, but I'm not aware of any changes to the vaccination requirements being approved. Possibly Oceania have some advance notice, time will tell.

[njhorseman]

57 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Thanks for posting the link, which I just read.

 

Interesting to note that their standard for Canada effective 3rd September is contrary to the current Govt of Canada regulations. The current regulations still require vaccinated pax with very few exceptions.

 

The requirements are under review, but I'm not aware of any changes to the vaccination requirements being approved. Possibly Oceania have some advance notice, time will tell.

If it's wrong it wouldn't be the first time a cruise line has had an error in their published protocols.