Royal Caribbean has shared the health protocols for summer 2022 cruises out of Southampton.
The newly released protocols apply to ships sailing from Southampton, England through May 31, 2022.
Keep in mind these protocols are subject to change.
Here's a look at what Royal Caribbean has planned for protocols.
Vaccine & booster requirement
All guests 12 years and older must be fully vaccinated, having received their final dose no less than 14 days prior to sailing.
Additionally, for the purpose of these sailings from Southampton, to be considered up-to-date, guests must have received all doses in their vaccine series and have received their booster if the second vaccine was administered over 270 days (9 months) ago.
Children aged 5 to 11 years are not required to be vaccinated.
Royal Caribbean will not accept a Certificate of Recovery in the place of a vaccination record.
All crew onboard the ship and at our private destinations are fully vaccinated and receive a booster dose as they become eligible.
Entry into the UK
Guests traveling into England do not have any entry requirements at this time. This applies whether you are vaccinated or not.
Royal Caribbean advises guests traveling into England from another country to look into any requirements of their own home country may have for exiting or re-entering its borders.
Testing
Pre-cruise
Guests who are up-to-date with their vaccines will be required to present a negative test result for a COVID-19 test taken no more than 2 days before sailing.
Guests 2 years and older who are not up-to-date with their vaccines, or who are unvaccinated, will be required to present a negative test result for a COVID-19 test taken no more than 1 day before sailing.
The test must be conducted at a certified testing location or supervised by a healthcare telemedicine professional.
Onboard
Depending on the itinerary, guests 12 years and older who are considered unvaccinated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or who are not up-to-date with their vaccines will require additional testing during UK sailings.
This test is at the guest's expense if they are ages 12 years and up and considered unvaccinated or if they are not up-to-date at the price of $55 USD per test.
Guests under 2 years of age will not be tested.
Return home
Guests may be required to complete testing before flying home at their own expense.
- Guests can take advantage of testing offered via ExpressTest at Heathrow and Gatwick airports by registering ahead of time here.
- Some local testing options include The Regenerative Clinic or Randox Health.
- Vaccinated North American guests can travel with tele-health testing kits such as eMed for U.S. guests and Switch Health tests for Canadian guests.
Shore Excursion
Fully vaccinated guests and unvaccinated kids can visit ports of call freely.
Additional testing requirements may exist in some countries for guests who are unvaccinated.
For sailings visiting France, guests who are from an Orange List country will not be allowed to visit the port, per French government regulations. Learn which countries are on the Orange List.
Masks
Masks are optional for fully vaccinated guests.
Unvaccinated children are expected to continue wearing masks indoors and in crowded settings.
Masks will be required in Adventure Ocean, in the cruise terminal, and may be required at various destinations.
Guests under 2 years do not have to wear a mask at any time.
Full protocols
