Cruising is getting simpler again

Vaccinated cruise passengers can now enjoy an easier embarkation process on the US’ largest cruise companies after Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and MSC all dropped pre-testing requirements on shorter trips.

From August 5th, vaccinated passengers on Carnival cruises will no longer have to test before sailings of five days or less. Notable exceptions are on sailings that dock in Canada or Bermuda, as those countries both require PCR tests administered no more than three days before. Non-vaccinated passengers will still need to test as normal.

Royal Caribbean is implementing a similar ruling starting on August 8th. The cruise line is still only accepting vaccinated passengers but will allow unvaccinated guests if they can prove their recent recovery from Covid-19.

The news is another step forward for the cruise industry. Cruise ships have found themselves at the center of the global pandemic on multiple occasions after they proved to be the perfect breeding ground for super-spreader events. The CDC recently removed its program for monitoring cruise ships’ Covid protocols.