Royal Caribbean will require all cruise ship passengers 12 and older to be fully vaccinated to comply with Bahamas policy

[LSUfan4444]

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise


Vaccination Requirement

Royal Caribbean guests age 12 and older must present proof of COVID-19 vaccination with the final dose of their vaccine administered at least 14 days before sailing.

 

[atricks]

Just got the email about this for our Sep 5th cruise. It doesn't affect us, but still important to let everyone know about it.

Florida September 2021 Sailings Protocols Before we say, "Welcome aboard," we'd like to share our health & safety protocols for our sailings departing from Florida homeports September 2021. This includes the recent advisement from the Bahamian Government that cruise ships will only be permitted to enter a Bahamian port, including private destinations, if all passengers ages 12 and older are fully vaccinated. Health and safety protocols are subject to change and as these occur, we're committed to updating you. Visit this link for all of our health protocols & additional details. Please save it for future reference.​ VIEW HEALTHY SAIL CENTER​

Vaccination and Testing Requirements Vaccination As a result of the Bahamian Government's vaccine requirement, all guests 12 and older must bring proof of vaccination, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 vaccination record card, with the final dose of the vaccine completed at least 14 days before sailing.

 

[John VN]

I am in agreement with the notification and expect other's will follow.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I agree others will follow but the entire 12 year old thing is silly. Kids under 12 do not have the option to be vaccinated so it doesnt allow for any exclusions or exceptions for kids just turning 12 even though they have absolutely no method of complying to a vaccination mandate even if they wanted to. Its silly, arbitrary, follows no science and another example of a mandate not backed by science that will cause divide and not allow people to live their lives.

 

[sam_gordon]

I agree others will follow but the entire 12 year old thing is silly. Kids under 12 do not have the option to be vaccinated so it doesnt allow for any exclusions or exceptions for kids just turning 12 even though they have absolutely no method of complying to a vaccination mandate even if they wanted to. Its silly, arbitrary, follows no science and another example of a mandate not backed by science that will cause divide and not allow people to live their lives.

So you would have been fine if they just said "all guests must bring proof of vaccination"? How does that change the end result?

 

[LSUfan4444]

Its not for me..I am vaccinated. Its for my daughter who turns 12 four days before we sail and has no opportunity to be vaccinated.

The arbitrary cutoff point at 12 does not create a window for those who just turned 12. had she been born a month earlier or four days later, she would subject to different protocol and have different options.

There is no science behind it and plain lazy to just state 12 and over.

So yes...either go with all guests like the test sailing I just completed or allow a window for guests who just turned 12 to still travel, treated as unvaccinated while they work towards full vaccination. Well I wouldn’t like that option any better, at least it makes sense.

 

[spiffgirl101]

Its not for me..I am vaccinated. Its for my daughter who turns 12 four days before we sail and has no opportunity to be vaccinated.

The arbitrary cutoff point at 12 does not create a window for those who just turned 12. had she been born a month earlier or four days later, she would subject to different protocol and have different options.

That's very frustrating. Where I live (Canada), they just opened up vaccinations for everyone who WILL turn 12 this year, mostly so that kids in the same grade can be vaccinated, especially as the school year is starting next month.

My son is 12 and fully vaccinated, but as of today he would be the only one who is considered fully vaccinated by RCL out of Florida because his father and I have mixed vaccines. The rules that have been implemented are necessary, but can be frustrating. So we have the opposite problem - our son can sail, but we can't...

 

[LadyBeBop]

Won't that run afoul of Florida law, not allowing the cruise lines to ask about vaccinations?

 

[LSUfan4444]

Right now there is an injunction against that law stemming from a lawsuit filed by Norwegian Cruise Line. Its currently under appear from Florida's governer but as of now, the law is not in effect

 

[LSUfan4444]

The rules that have been implemented are necessary

Im going to politely disagree...there is nothing necessary about alot of these protocols. They're often myopic and arbitrary. There us no reason Royal has to instill a vaccine mandate on sailings out of california going to mexico because the Bahamas won't let in unvaccinated passengers.

 

[Marrila]

.

 

[OKW Lover]

Right now there is an injunction against that law stemming from a lawsuit filed by Norwegian Cruise Line. Its currently under appear from Florida's governer but as of now, the law is not in effect

This is just a technicality (legality?) but the injunction only applies to NCL cruises. I'm sure RCL would get the same treatment if it was a part of the lawsuit, but they were not.

 

[plutolovr]

Im going to politely disagree...there is nothing necessary about alot of these protocols. They're often myopic and arbitrary. There us no reason Royal has to instill a vaccine mandate on sailings out of california going to mexico because the Bahamas won't let in unvaccinated passengers.

The only port Royal was allowing unvaccinated people sail from was Florida because of the governor's stupid order...they have requiring vaccines for all from every other port they are sailing from.

 

[LSUfan4444]

The only port Royal was allowing unvaccinated people sail from was Florida because of the governor's stupid order...they have requiring vaccines for all from every other port they are sailing from.

I get that....they havent listed any protocol for California yet so far as I am aware...it was just a (bad) example of something that isn't "necessary".

I guess I could have just used the "real" example of a vaccine mandate for anyone "12 or over" without giving those who turn 12 a realistic opportunity to ever become vaccinated. There is nothing necessary about that, from the Bahamian Gov't, Royal or anyone else. It's lazy. It's not that hard to set a date 6 weeks / 42 days from someone's 12th birthday to allow them to become vaccinated and consider them "ineligible" until then since technically, at the moment, they are.

I'll save all my thoughts on vaccine mandates in general and maybe it was semantics but I just disagree with the sentiment that all of this is "necessary". I'll do it, did it on my test sailing, will do it again when they ask because it isn't that big of a deal to me personally. And I'm not insinuating this falls on any of the cruise lines...some of it comes directly from the CDC and their conditional sailing order.

 

[sam_gordon]

Its not for me..I am vaccinated. Its for my daughter who turns 12 four days before we sail and has no opportunity to be vaccinated.

The arbitrary cutoff point at 12 does not create a window for those who just turned 12. had she been born a month earlier or four days later, she would subject to different protocol and have different options.

There is no science behind it and plain lazy to just state 12 and over.

So yes...either go with all guests like the test sailing I just completed or allow a window for guests who just turned 12 to still travel, treated as unvaccinated while they work towards full vaccination. Well I wouldn’t like that option any better, at least it makes sense.

But, if they would have left off the "12 and over" and just said "all pax need to be fully vaccinated", how would that have changed your situation? Your DD still wouldn't be vaccinated.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Its not about my situation, its about a policy that makes sense. How does this policy address those kids who turn 12 on the ship. Will royal let them on, only to violate Bahamian law? I am not looking for a policy that allows me on the ship, I am looking for things that make sense and isn't contradictory. If you have a portion of cruisers you are considering ineligible for the vaccine because they are not of the age to be fully vaccinated when they step on board, make the policy coincide with the timeline that supports that stance. The day a 12 year old turns 12 does not make them eligible to be fully vaccinated.

 

[doubleosix]

We are also planning to sail about a week after a child turns 12. There has to be some way to vaccinate early or they are granted an exemption.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I talked to a couple of pediatricians I know who said it's basically luck of the draw when it comes to being able to vaccinate early. They will ask for a DOB when getting vaccinated and some places may turn you away if they're not 12 but more than one I talked to yesterday said they have quite a few patients under 12 who had success just trying different pharmacies.

I'm not advocating it but anecdotally, I have heard some "success" stories for those who want to pursue it.

 

[hdrolfe]

This was a concern for me, I had a cruise booked in December to celebrate my son's 12th birthday. We moved it to March so he'll be able to get vaccinated (now I'm not considered fully vaccinated because I have mixed doses which is a whole other issue I still have to sort out by December PIF dates). In another twist, Ontario finally opened the shots to all kids born in 2009 based on evidence of safety from two other provinces that have allowed it from the start, so he would have been fine for December.

But I did check with RCL before cancelling and they wouldn't make an exception for him turning 12 on the cruise. I believe most cruise lines are following that hard line. So the choice is to find someway to get it early, cancel or move the cruise to a later time.

 

[chimo2u]

That's very frustrating. Where I live (Canada), they just opened up vaccinations for everyone who WILL turn 12 this year, mostly so that kids in the same grade can be vaccinated, especially as the school year is starting next month.

My son is 12 and fully vaccinated, but as of today he would be the only one who is considered fully vaccinated by RCL out of Florida because his father and I have mixed vaccines. The rules that have been implemented are necessary, but can be frustrating. So we have the opposite problem - our son can sail, but we can't...

My son just got a 3 shot , we live in Alberta (he was pfizer/moderna) mixed. He is a young adult, but thankful he got a third to be accepted for our RCCL cruise in Oct 2022... I was tired of the policies always changing. Now he has 2 pfizer so he won't be denied boarding at least