Will cruise lines mandate their passengers be vaccinated?

[coffeebean]

Cruising seems to be very popular with Villagers, myself and hubby included. I am hoping that cruise lines mandate their passengers and crew to be vaccinated before boarding their ships.

[Chi-Town]

NCL is looking at the legality of an immunity passport given to those who have had the virus and those who have been vaccinated.

Norwegian is looking into Covid-19 vaccine requirement: Travel Weekly (https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Norwegian-is-looking-into-the-legality-of-vaccination-requirement)

[stanley]

Cruising seems to be very popular with Villagers, myself and hubby included. I am hoping that cruise lines mandate their passengers and crew to be vaccinated before boarding their ships.

Be careful what you wish for!

[JoMar]

Even with the vaccine there will be restrictions on the cruise ships that may not be popular with cruisers.

[rjn5656]

I hope so.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Floating petri dishes full of over eaters and drinkers before the pandemic, add a néw virus to the mix AND WHAT COULD GO WRONG ???

[Stu from NYC]

Until we are able to cruise without a mask and social distancing goes away we will not be cruising.

I think they should mandate having a vaccine.

Cruise lines have to mandate crew members have vaccine. The virus gets onto a cruise ship and they will lose customers in droves.

[Bill14564]

Floating petri dishes full of over eaters and drinkers before the pandemic, add a néw virus to the mix AND WHAT COULD GO WRONG ???

I'm not sure I understand your reply, does that mean you think they *will* mandate that passengers be vaccinated?

[JoMar]

Until we are able to cruise without a mask and social distancing goes away we will not be cruising.

I think they should mandate having a vaccine.

Cruise lines have to mandate crew members have vaccine. The virus gets onto a cruise ship and they will lose customers in droves.

Might be awhile until you cruise again, if ever. The Countries visited and the itineraries will dictate plus I don't believe any cruise line will relax restrictions anytime soon, too much liability. And how do you guarantee a passenger has been vaccinated?

[Stu from NYC]

Might be awhile until you cruise again, if ever. The Countries visited and the itineraries will dictate plus I don't believe any cruise line will relax restrictions anytime soon, too much liability. And how do you guarantee a passenger has been vaccinated?

This is why after having a bunch cancelled this year the only one booked now is December 2021.

Contemplating another Spring 2022 hoping that in a year the virus is just a memory

[coffeebean]

Be careful what you wish for!

What could possibly be the downside to knowing everyone on board has been vaccinated for Covid and the ship you are on will not be in jeopardy of being a "sick" ship.

[coffeebean]

Might be awhile until you cruise again, if ever. The Countries visited and the itineraries will dictate plus I don't believe any cruise line will relax restrictions anytime soon, too much liability. And how do you guarantee a passenger has been vaccinated?

I thought that the microchip in the arm would be proof. (not serious, just a joke)

[stanley]

I thought that the microchip in the arm would be proof. (not serious, just a joke)

Again...be careful what you wish for

[coffeebean]

Again...be careful what you wish for

Still scratching my head. Would you care to elaborate?

[Bill14564]

Still scratching my head. Would you care to elaborate?

Today you care about the COVID vaccine and you intend/expect/hope to get it. What happens tomorrow? Will the cruise industry decide that the mandate for the COVID vaccine worked well and require documentation of a flu vaccine or hepatitis or meningitis or measles? It would be all in the spirit of ensuring the ship is disease free.

Or maybe they want to go further to ensure the safety of their passengers. Perhaps there will be a study that shows people over 80 are more likely to die than those under 80 so the cruise lines will impose an age limit. Certainly, some of the excursions can be physically demanding and those with heart or weight problems could be adversely affected so maybe they should require cardiac health certifications or body fat measurements.

Basically, it's terribly risky to invite an entity (cruise lines, the govt, the developer) to impose restrictions and requirements. Sure, what they impose today fits with your thinking and makes sense but what they impose tomorrow might not.

[stanley]

Still scratching my head. Would you care to elaborate?

If it came down to getting a microchip implanted somewhere in your body, for proof of getting the vaccine, would you still get it? How will anyone know if another got the vaccine? It may seem like a silly question now but is perfectly plausible in the future.

[patfla06]

Actually the CDC tells the cruise lines what the rules will be. :ohdear:

[Dana1963]

Cruising seems to be very popular with Villagers, myself and hubby included. I am hoping that cruise lines mandate their passengers and crew to be vaccinated before boarding their ships.
” Its has become very clear to me why the 1918 pandemic was followed by the roaring 20s & why people were dressing up to go just about anywhere”

[asianthree]

Just because there is a vaccine, doesn’t mean something else could effect the masses. Companies need money, they may ask if you would get a vaccine, but it’s not mandatory.
If you are vaccinated, and you have a 96% chance of effective vaccine, why would you be worried, unless you are not believing in the data from science

[coffeebean]

Today you care about the COVID vaccine and you intend/expect/hope to get it. What happens tomorrow? Will the cruise industry decide that the mandate for the COVID vaccine worked well and require documentation of a flu vaccine or hepatitis or meningitis or measles? It would be all in the spirit of ensuring the ship is disease free.

Or maybe they want to go further to ensure the safety of their passengers. Perhaps there will be a study that shows people over 80 are more likely to die than those under 80 so the cruise lines will impose an age limit. Certainly, some of the excursions can be physically demanding and those with heart or weight problems could be adversely affected so maybe they should require cardiac health certifications or body fat measurements.

Basically, it's terribly risky to invite an entity (cruise lines, the govt, the developer) to impose restrictions and requirements. Sure, what they impose today fits with your thinking and makes sense but what they impose tomorrow might not.

Thank you for your comprehensive answer. I still would like the cruise lines to impose a mandate for Covid vaccination.

[dadoiron]

Cruising seems to be very popular with Villagers, myself and hubby included. I am hoping that cruise lines mandate their passengers and crew to be vaccinated before boarding their ships.

I am hearing that from Celebrity, NCL and Carnival so far. Cruising is likely to restart when vaccines have bly- likely in April-May. All seem to want proof so I will ask my Doctor for a travel note when I get the vaccines.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Today you care about the COVID vaccine and you intend/expect/hope to get it. What happens tomorrow? Will the cruise industry decide that the mandate for the COVID vaccine worked well and require documentation of a flu vaccine or hepatitis or meningitis or measles? It would be all in the spirit of ensuring the ship is disease free.

Or maybe they want to go further to ensure the safety of their passengers. Perhaps there will be a study that shows people over 80 are more likely to die than those under 80 so the cruise lines will impose an age limit. Certainly, some of the excursions can be physically demanding and those with heart or weight problems could be adversely affected so maybe they should require cardiac health certifications or body fat measurements.

Basically, it's terribly risky to invite an entity (cruise lines, the govt, the developer) to impose restrictions and requirements. Sure, what they impose today fits with your thinking and makes sense but what they impose tomorrow might not.

As a business, a cruise line has every right to decide who they will or will not do business with. They every right to impose whatever restrictions that'd like as long as they are not prohibited by law.

As far as age discrimination, if they can show that people over a certain age places them at risk, they might have a case for being to have an age limit.

[blueash]

If you don't believe that the travel industry can disallow passengers based on their health status you might wish to read THIS (https://www.tripsavvy.com/flying-while-pregnant-policies-3994876) which reviews the restrictions placed on pregnant women who wish to fly. For those do cruise you certainly are aware of the health screening form you are required to supply to check in which asks about recent illness.

Princess has this already on their website
We're making sure embarkation reflects best practices by including:

mandatory health screenings including pre-travel testing for COVID-19, touchless temperature checks and health questionnaires
secondary screenings (and health checks throughout the cruise) when necessary
we will refer anyone with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 for additional medical screening and testing before allowing to board

Once vaccines are available I am certain that the cruise industry will require documentation as may the international ports to which the ships go. No vaccine, no entry. It seems likely that there will be a mechanism to have the vaccine information stored in your passport (https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+passport&oq=covid+passport&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l6.2939j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)perhaps via a stamp or digitally.
Once the world gets this pandemic under control there will be a massive effort to keep it that way.

[coffeebean]

As a business, a cruise line has every right to decide who they will or will not do business with. They every right to impose whatever restrictions that'd like as long as they are not prohibited by law.

As far as age discrimination, if they can show that people over a certain age places them at risk, they might have a case for being to have an age limit.

Why deny boarding to a senior who has been vaccinated? The senior is a safer bet than a young non vaccinated person.