Crystal Cruises to Require COVID-19 Vaccination for Guests

One of the most common questions we get asked these days is will passengers need a COVID-19 vaccination to sail when cruise lines resume operation. There wasn’t a concrete answer previously, but one major cruise line has come out and made the issue black and white. Crystal Cruises will require guests to get vaccinated once they resume operation in May 2021. That means both doses of the vaccine if that’s what the brand of vaccination you’ve taken requires for full inoculation and the final shot needs to be administered 14 days prior to sailing. Guests will need to provide proof of inoculation before embarkation.  

“We are encouraged by the progress being made with the COVID-19 vaccines and what this means for our Crystal Family and the travel industry as a whole as we eagerly look forward to exploring the world again,” said Crystal’s interim president and CEO, Jack Anderson. “We know that peace of mind is the greatest luxury; and the vaccine requirement is simply the best way to ensure the safest possible Crystal Experience for all onboard. This sentiment is underscored by conversations with our guests and travel partners and a recent Cruise Critic survey of cruisers that revealed that more than 80 percent of respondents would cruise if a vaccine were required.”

Crystal Clean+ 4.0

Crystal Cruises has already implemented what they’re calling “Crystal Clean+ 4.0” which is a stringent set of health and safety protocols created by science and innovation, and in accordance with the latest data and recommendations with health experts.

RELATED: Crystal Cruises Expands Booking Confidence Program

“As part of the company’s Crystal Clean+ 4.0 measures, crew members will be tested for COVID-19 prior to leaving their home location to join the ship and must receive a negative result. They also will take a COVID-19 test at embarkation; quarantine for seven days upon arrival; be tested again at the end of that seven-day period and must receive a negative result before beginning their duties,” Anderson noted. “When vaccines are widely available, they will be a requirement of employment for crew which must be completed at least 14 days prior to service.”

Will you take a cruise once you have the vaccine? Let us know in the comments below!