Majestic Princess in Singapore, June 2017.
The change applies to all itineraries sailing from US and European homeports except destinations where government regulations, such as Australia and New Zealand, may still have their own requirements.
Beginning October 21, Princess Cruises is lifting its Covid-19 protocols, meaning there are no longer vaccination or testing requirements on most voyages. Guests sailing with Princess Cruises will no longer have to provide a negative test result, regardless of their vaccination status.
The cruise line already changed its protocols on September 6, when it removed the need for test results for vaccinated guests. This has now been updated to include unvaccinated guests. Children under five do not require pre-travel testing. The minimum age to sail is 6 months or 12 months based on the cruise itinerary.
The change applies to all itineraries sailing from US and European homeports except destinations where government regulations, such as Australia and New Zealand, may still have their own requirements.
A small number of sailings that the cruise line calls “enhanced guidelines voyages” also continue to have their own vaccination and testing requirements. Guests are advised to continue to check the requirements for their cruise before booking and again before it’s time to sail.
Canada
On September 26, Transport Canada announced that it was removing its COVID-19 requirements for cruise guests to enter the country effective for cruises October 1 and beyond. Visitors are also no longer required to upload their information into the ArriveCAN app. Thus, protocols for cruises including Canada are now the same as the standard in the United States, United Kingdom & Europe (this excludes any Enhanced Guidelines Voyages).
Australia & New Zealand
If cruise departs, arrives or visits Australia guests 12 to 17 years old must be fully vaccinated (no booster). Guests ages 18 or older must have received primary series of COVID-19 vaccines including one booster dose if eligible, received any time before embarkation.
Guests aged 18 years or older who are not up to date require a vaccination exemption to sail. Guests 12 and older not fully vaccinated on cruises departing, arriving or visiting Australia require a medical exemption and have different testing requirements. Under local protocols, prior infection with COVID-19 is not grounds for a medical exemption. Medical exemptions need to be submitted to Princess for validation before a booking can be guaranteed.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
