Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean drop pre-voyage COVID-19 testing requirements

Two more cruise lines are dropping COVID-19 testing requirements before passengers embark on a trip.

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Disney Cruise Line updated its requirements on Tuesday, saying that U.S. sailings starting on or after Nov. 14 will no longer require a coronavirus test, regardless of vaccination status.

Disney also does not require vaccinations for guests 5 years old and older but does recommend them.

Until Nov. 14, Disney will continue to require passengers who are fully vaccinated and would like to be exempt from testing to upload their proof of vaccination status to the Inspire Diagnostics Safe Passage website by midnight before embarkation day.

Unvaccinated guests who are sailing before Nov. 14 must still submit results from a proctored telehealth antigen test, a rapid or lab-based PCR test or Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) that was taken no more than two days before the sailing.

If a guest is not fully vaccinated, meaning they’ve only received a partial vaccine series, the cruise line considers them unvaccinated.

Children under the age of 4 are not required to be vaccinated or tested.

For more information, visit Disney Cruise Line’s Know Before You Go webpage.

Royal Caribbean has also rolled back its pre-cruise testing requirements with some exceptions.

For cruises starting in the U.S. or Caribbean but that stop in Colombia, Haiti or Honduras, there are still testing requirements for guests 12 and up and who are not fully vaccinated.

Transatlantic passengers 5 and older must have a negative test result taken within two days of departure.

Passengers 2 and older on cruises from Australia must have a negative test within two days of boarding for PCR tests or one day for a rapid antigen test.

For more information about Royal Caribbean’s requirements, visit the cruise line’s Frequently Asked Questions webpage.

Disney and Royal Caribbean are the latest cruise lines to drop testing requirements.

Virgin Voyages dropped testing and vaccine requirements for cruises sailing last month, USA Today reported.

Carnival Cruise Line also removed the requirements last month for most trips, except for trips sailing from Australia.

Holland America Line says vaccine and testing requirements vary depending on itineraries, so passengers should check their specific trip using the company’s Health Protocols Tool.

Princess Cruises said that there are no vaccine or testing requirements for most trips, “except in destinations where government regulations may vary like Australia and a few enhanced guidelines voyages that have their own vaccination and testing requirements.” Princess Cruise says that passengers should check their trip’s specific requirements on its CruiseHealth tool.

Norwegian Cruise Line did away with its mask, vaccine and testing requirements in early October.

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