It’s an honor system now onboard the mainstream cruise lines, as Royal Caribbean and Celebrity move to allow guests to board based on unmonitored home tests.
Starting Sept. 5, Royal Caribbean guests not visiting Canada, Bermuda, Greece or Singapore can use home test kits that “are not required to be administered under live video supervision,” according to a new FAQ page (What Types Of Tests Are Accepted And Where To Submit The Results? | Royal Caribbean Cruises).
Guests will present the negative test result at the time of boarding “in the form of a printout, an email, or an app screen from the test provider. Or you can show a picture of your negative home test on your phone, or present the actual negative test itself.”
Vaccinated travelers will be exempt from testing on cruises shorter than 10 nights, while unvaccinated travelers aged five or above will have to show proof of a negative test taken within three days of embarking on a sailing.
Celebrity cruises also will accept at-home tests on trips from US ports that don’t include Canada or Bermuda (COVID-19 Cruise Health & Safety Protocols | Celebrity Cruises) and on many European sailings.
As always, when it comes to Covid news, travel advisors were split on their reaction. “Yes!!! This is amazing news,” said Mandee Migliaccio.
“If they’re gonna do unmonitored home tests, then they might as well just cancel testing altogether,” said Shauna Goodman.
“It is ridiculous and wide open to being abused,” said Paul Barton. “I am glad my clients are all sailing out of Canadian ports at the moment where proctored testing is still required. I will be watching the cruise news carefully to see if there is an uptick from Other ports that only require a self-test.”
Says Matthew Vaughn, “The cruise lines want to ‘get back to normal and see the rest of society re-opening, but they can’t be as lax — or shouldn’t be, anyway. The major cruise lines have been so cautious and diligent with their safety protocols since return-to-service, it pains me to observe them now showing more risky behavior with such dramatic ease of restrictions.”
“I will take this for sure, but if unsupervised home tests are acceptable, then it is just a charade, and all Covid restrictions should just be dropped,” says Nancy Leos in Katy, TX. “But I see a LOT more bookings in store for me.”
And yet, says Mara Hargarther, “in my opinion, this is a bad move. I understand they are bleeding millions of dollars, but I think this move is too soon. I took pride in telling my clients that cruising is among the safest of travel environments due to the protocols. Now that they are lifting them, I have great concern that the outbreaks will be all over the media. I just returned from a 12-night cruise with a group, and cases increased dramatically after several days. Some of my clients tested positive. The captain announced that all had to wear masks except in their staterooms. How can they do this when they know what is happening?”
