Princess Cruises Removes Vaccine Requirement For Most Voyages

Princess Cruises said it will remove the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for most voyages of fewer than 16 days and will ease pre-travel testing requirements.

Starting Sept. 6, vaccinated guests sailing on voyages shorter than 16 days will no longer be required to test before boarding and only will need to upload proof of vaccination.

Unvaccinated guests, or those who do not provide proof of vaccination, on those itineraries will be required to self-test within three days of sailing and upload proof of a negative test before boarding.

These new guidelines apply to itineraries from all departure ports except where government regulations and protocols may vary, such as in Canada, Greece and Australia.

Here are Princess’ updated CruiseHealth guidelines for embarkation:

– No pre-cruise testing for vaccinated guests 5 and older on voyages of up to 15 nights with the exception of full Panama Canal transits, trans-ocean and other special itineraries.

–Guests 5 and older sailing on voyages 16 nights or longer, or sailing on full Panama Canal transits, trans-ocean and other specific itineraries, need to take a supervised test within three days of embarkation. Guests on these types of voyages will be contacted directly by an Ocean Navigator to assist.

– Unvaccinated guests must provide a negative self-test result taken within three days of embarkation; unvaccinated children under 5 years do not require pre-cruise testing.

“These updated guidelines help ensure a Princess vacation is available to everyone,” said John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises.