Vax and Testing requirements for Hawai’i to Vancouver

[TylerB]

I noticed on Royal carribeans website that they changed their testing and vac requirements to include cruises from Hawaii to Vancouver. I have cruise booked that goes Vancouver to Hawaii in October, should I expect those requirements for my cruise as well?

 

Any ideas why the new change/announcement? 

[DoomSlayer]

Canada no longer requires the vaccination for foreign visitors, so the foreigners traveling to Canada from Hawaii are good to go.  However, the US still has a mandate in place that non US Citizens or residents must show proof of vaccination to enter the US with little exception -- Meaning, there are probably going to be some requirements for non US citizens or residents cruising from Vancouver to Hawaii that are mandated by the Government and Royal will set policies to match this.  Keep your eye out for a change in policy around May.  That is when the current US mandate expires if they do not extend it which will affect requirements for your October sailing.

[TylerB]

@DoomSlayer Yeah I knew about the US requirement for non-residents. This new “policy” was just posted on their site within the last few days and the wording suggests it only applies for cruise starting in Hawaii and ending in Vancouver. It also requires a negative test, in addition to the Fully vaccinated requirement.

 

Our cruise starts in Hawaii and ends in Vancouver which doesn’t seem to be covered in their updated policy announcement; That is, it applies there isn’t any testing/vaccination requirements other than the aforementioned U.S non-residents mandate.

 

So I’m curious as to why this was added kind of out of the blue.

[DoomSlayer]

30 minutes ago, TylerB said:

@DoomSlayer Yeah I knew about the US requirement for non-residents. This new “policy” was just posted on their site within the last few days and the wording suggests it only applies for cruise starting in Hawaii and ending in Vancouver. It also requires a negative test, in addition to the Fully vaccinated requirement.

 

Our cruise starts in Hawaii and ends in Vancouver which doesn’t seem to be covered in their updated policy announcement; That is, it applies there isn’t any testing/vaccination requirements other than the aforementioned U.S non-residents mandate.

 

So I’m curious as to why this was added kind of out of the blue.

That is weird -- just looked it up on their site and I am curious now too.

[TylerB]

1 hour ago, DoomSlayer said:

That is weird -- just looked it up on their site and I am curious now too.

Yeah that’s what I thought too. Let me know if you figure it out. 

[BrianAlt]

I'm on the cruise from Hawaii to Vancouver in May.  It's put some into a tizzy, especially those that are unvaxxed.  They had till yesterday to cancel after the rules were changed.  I think it mostly has to do with the fact that the cruise came from Australia.  There are many passengers doing the B2B, Australia --> Hawaii --> Vancouver.  Damn, I wish I was!!! Oh well, another time.  I think they don't want to differentiate between those that ended in Hawaii vs those that just got on there. That's the only reason I can think of. 

So, will Vancouver --> Hawaii be affected?  First thought, probably not.  But you never know.  None of us on this sailing know exactly why Royal put this regulation in.  We also have to self-test before boarding (at least no proctoring needed, but so easy to cheat). So you'll have to wait and see.  But it's possible and you'll have a chance to make a change, even if it's after final payment.

[Vancity Cruiser]

I can confirm that Canada has no vaccination/testing requirement at all for arriving into Canada so not sure why that was put into effect.

On a side note. I am cruising from Vancouver to Alaska in early may and need to show proof of vaccination because cruising to the US. My how the script has flipped from 2021.

[TylerB]

23 hours ago, BrianAlt said:

I'm on the cruise from Hawaii to Vancouver in May.  It's put some into a tizzy, especially those that are unvaxxed.  They had till yesterday to cancel after the rules were changed.  I think it mostly has to do with the fact that the cruise came from Australia.  There are many passengers doing the B2B, Australia --> Hawaii --> Vancouver.  Damn, I wish I was!!! Oh well, another time.  I think they don't want to differentiate between those that ended in Hawaii vs those that just got on there. That's the only reason I can think of. 

So, will Vancouver --> Hawaii be affected?  First thought, probably not.  But you never know.  None of us on this sailing know exactly why Royal put this regulation in.  We also have to self-test before boarding (at least no proctoring needed, but so easy to cheat). So you'll have to wait and see.  But it's possible and you'll have a chance to make a change, even if it's after final payment.

@BrianAlt That sounds a bit of a pain. Yeah it seems to me that this only applies to Hawaii to Vancouver cruises. 
This is mainly out of curiosity and incase they add it for our cruise going the other way; but do you know if you can do any type of RAT and just take pic of it? 
 

I'm guessing that’s what you mean by “easy to cheat” because all you need is a pic of negative rapid antigen test? 

[BrianAlt]

1 hour ago, TylerB said:

 but do you know if you can do any type of RAT and just take pic of it? 
 

I'm guessing that’s what you mean by “easy to cheat” because all you need is a pic of negative rapid antigen test? 

Yes, that's exactly what I mean.  Yes, that's the requirement.  Rapid Antigen Test or better and a pic is fine.