Revised Covid-19 Travel Rules Opens Cruising to Everyone!

Categories

Having scanned Charlie Brown cartoons in newspapers back in the day, the image of Charlie Brown falling on his back after Lucy snatches the football away at the last moment when he tries to kick a field goal comes easily to mind.

That's how announcements about cruises have played out during the Covid-19 era which has improbably stretched past the Summer of 2022.

As such, even now I am hesitant to share the obvious.

Major cruise lines including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess and Celebrity have announced that starting in the fall  --- now that kids and teachers have returned to school and can't travel as easily --- vaccinated guests will no longer need to test to board most cruises (unless a country being visited or a state from which the cruise embarks says contrary).

Even more significantly perhaps, those who have refused to get the jab will now be able to cruise on most departures as long as they test negative for Covid-19 before boarding.

I say, "more significantly perhaps," because most dedicated travelers long ago succumbed to their own wanderlust --- if not the social pressure --- to get vaccinated and boosted against this virus, regardless of whether they had trust in the vaccine's efficacy or safety.

Among people who are vaccinated and believe everyone else must be vaccinated too --- which I would estimate to be about the same number as the anti-vax crowd based on people I know --- this may be seen as a negative, resulting in them deciding to stay home until it's "safe."

If you believe in vaccinations and testing, then you should feel secure with this new arrangement, in fact safer cruising than going to the grocery store.

After all, if the unvaccinated have tested negative, then they aren't an immediate threat any more than those who like yourself are vaccinated.  Besides which, you are vaccinated, so what's the problem?

Sooner or later, we were destined to get back to what passes for normal, and hopefully this is it.

As a Charlie Brown-savvy travel advisor, I will give the caveat that politicians and their bureaucrats can change direction on a dime if it suits their purposes.  Nonetheless, I think most of our fearless leaders have realized that at some point they sound like kings telling their serfs to stay home in their own royal palaces dining on gourmet meals prepared by their private chefs rather than take affordable cruise vacations.

I hope this will be a green light for all of you to get back on the oceans.  Cruising is as great as you remember, maybe better after being deprived of sweet, sweet travel for so long.