If you want to sail, then your experience on the ship could be much different than you
might realize, depending on whether or not you've been vaccinated.
Like it or not -- and whether it is even fair -- cruising has been tied in many people's
minds with the pandemic. Those early days, when ships were quarantined and passengers
and crew onboard came down with cases, ingrained a lasting image for many.
It also led to cruise ships being one of the last things to return as vaccines rolled out
and cases plummeted. Specifically, the CDC put "No Sail Orders" in place, along with
a tough framework to return.
Known as the Conditional Sail Order, this framework provides the rules and regulations
that cruise lines must follow in order to sail again.
Having looked at the rules, the restrictions put in place by the CDC and cruise lines make
sailing unvaccinated sound like a much worse experience than if you have the shot.
Not everyone is eligible for the vaccine, but if you are, then it's a good idea to take
it before you cruise. Here's what you can expect on the ship...
Want to ditch the facemask while you cruise? Then get vaccinated. The CDC's framework lays
out rules for mask usage on the ship, and they are more lenient for those with the shot.
For cruises with 95%+ vaccination rates, cruise lines are allowed to let passengers not wear
masks around the ship. So whether you are in the casino, the theater, or hanging out
by the pool, you don't have to mask up.
If sailing on a cruise with a mix of passengers, but you are vaccinated, then masks aren't
required for extended meals or hanging out at the bar. Cruise lines can also designate
areas of the ship for only vaccinated passengers where masks aren't required.
If you don't have the shot, it's different. You don't have to wear one outdoors, but inside
the ship anywhere other than your cabin, then it's mask on. Eating or drinking? You can't
remove the mask for "extended meal service or beverage consumption," according to the
CDC.
Similar to the mask requirements, the CDC orders for distancing are much better if you
are sailing after being vaccinated.
If the entire ship has the shot, then current rules say that distancing isn't required but
only recommended. With no masks and no distancing, it's similar to sailing before the health
crisis. That's certainly not the case for unvaccinated passengers.
In that case, distancing rules are in place around the ship. Restaurants, casinos, gyms,
pools and more must have plenty of space for all passengers to be able to spread out. Conga
lines? That's a no-go.
If you are inoculated on a mixed cruise, then the ship can designate areas where vaccinated
passengers can visit where distancing isn't required.
One of bedrocks of the plan to return to sailing before vaccines were introduced was universal
testing of all passengers. The CDC required testing before embarkation and before leaving
the ship at the end of the cruise. With no vaccines, this was the most important way
of keeping the virus off the ship. However, testing isn't fun for anyone and can be unpleasant
depending on the method.
With vaccines now widely available, the health agency has changed rules. Now if you are vaccinated,
testing isn't required before boarding or at the end of the cruise unless the cruise
line decides to keep the rule in place.
Don't have the shot? Then the CDC require tests before boarding, at the end of cruises
that are more than four nights, and between back-to-back sailings.
Some cruise lines are warning that people eligible for the vaccine who don't get it
(or refuse to show proof) will have to pay for these tests. In other words, you'll get
hit in the wallet in addition to multiple tests.
One of the big changes announced to help keep passengers healthy was the introduction of
so-called "bubbles" for shore excursions. Under this guidance, cruise passengers could
only leave the ship on certain excursions that would adhere to health protocols.
Those suggestions have eased somewhat. Now the CDC requires passengers that don't have
the shot to only be allowed on excursions where distancing is in place and masks are
worn. It is not required that ships keep unvaccinated passengers from heading off into port on their
own, but it is recommended.
Vaccinated passengers don't have either of these things to worry about. According to
the CDC, "Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew
that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may engage in self-guided or independent exploration
during port stops."
If masks, distancing, and testing aren't enough to show how much different life on a cruise
ship will be for unvaccinated passengers, consider what happens if someone comes down
with a case of COVID.
Say you are sailing on a cruise and someone returns a positive test. In that case, the
cruise line will start looking into close contacts of that person (those within six
feet of a person for 15 minutes).
Vaccinated? The CDC says you only have to take a test if you are symptomatic (the cruise
line may ask you to test anyway). However, you don't have to quarantine if you aren't
feeling symptoms.
If you are unvaccinated, then it's a completely different situation. In that case, the CDC
says that you need to be tested if you are a close contact whether you show symptoms
or not (unless you have documentation that you've gotten over the virus in the past 90
days). In addition, the CDC says a passenger needs to quarantine for 14 days.
If there is one thing that's sure, it's that as time goes on these rules will change and
evolve. We've already seen this happen considerably since the first rules were announced by the
CDC months ago compared to today.
It could be that as time goes on, assuming virus cases fall and cruise lines can sail
safely, the sea of difference between rules for unvaccinated and vaccinated passengers
narrows.
For now at least, there is a world of difference between sailing with the shot and sailing
without.
In fact, the cruise lines even admit it. As mentioned earlier, when Carnival decided to
start back with vaccinated sailings, they sent a letter to passengers saying that "the
current CDC requirements for cruising with a guest base that is unvaccinated will make
it very difficult to deliver the experience our guests expect."
In other words, sailing unvaccinated right now means a vacation that just isn't the same.