Royal Caribbean to further relax Covid protocols

Royal Caribbean International has confirmed plans to further relax its Covid-19 protocols to “align with the broader travel industry”.

From September 5, unvaccinated passengers can board Royal Caribbean ships providing they show a negative test result.

No testing is required for vaccinated passengers on cruises that are nine nights or less in length.

As part of the new protocols, if the sailing is longer than nine nights, all passengers – vaccinated or unvaccinated – must provide a negative test taken within three days of their sailing date.

Passengers aged five and below on all Royal sailings neither need to test nor be vaccinated.

Due to local regulations, sailings to or from Australia, Bermuda, Canada or Singapore still require passengers to be vaccinated.

And testing is still required for cruises departing from or calling into Greece or Israel.

The line said: “The cruise line continues to practice health and safety measures that exceed other types of vacations.

“These measures include the routine monitoring and vaccination of all crew members and keeping them up to date with boosters when they are eligible, enhanced testing and care capabilities in every onboard medical centre and more.”

Sister line Celebrity Cruises has also unveiled similarly relaxed protocols starting next month.

It confirmed that new measures were designed to make its cruises more accessible.