Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises will require their crew members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine before they can resume working onboard. In a letter published on Crew Center, a website run by ex-crew members, it said, “we expect vaccinations will be required for our crew as part of our plan for your return to working on our ships”
Royal Caribbean Group is still working on the details and doesn’t have all the answers at this moment about how, when and where the crew may get the vaccine,” the letter continued. “The vaccination process may be different depending on the country of residence, the timing of the next contract and whether the crew is already on board or traveling. Royal Caribbean Group will keep updating the crew and asked for patience as the company is working through these details.”
In December, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio said its brands, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas, would “certainly” require its crew to be vaccinated.
Neither the letter nor Royal Caribbean Group has so far indicated whether passengers will be required to have vaccines to sail on Royal ships. So far, only Saga Cruises and two U.S.-based small-ship lines, American Queen Steamboat Company and Victory Cruise Lines, have said they will require passengers to be vaccinated before boarding.
