Several Cruise Lines to Consider Mixed Vaccinated Passengers Unvaccinated

Cruise lines have started altering COVID-19 vaccination policies to limit passengers who receive two different types of vaccines.

According to Cruise Critic, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises revealed last week they would no longer consider travelers who received mixed COVID-19 vaccinations that include AstraZeneca would not be considered fully vaccinated.

The cruise lines are still accepting passengers who received two different mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna), but travelers who got a vector vaccine like AstraZeneca and one mRNA vaccine will be unable to sail.

Carnival Cruise Line also announced that passengers who received mixed vaccinations with at least one dose of AstraZeneca would be banned from sailings for fully vaccinated travelers.

Norwegian Cruise Line went a step further, revealing that anyone who received two different types of coronavirus vaccines would be considered unvaccinated. The updated policies are only applicable to sailings from the United States.

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recognize vaccine mixing, government officials in Canada and the United Kingdom pushed for mixed doses with AstraZeneca, leaving impacted travelers in the lurch.

Last week, a panel of judges of the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s position in its ongoing legal battle with the state of Florida over the agency’s right to impose COVID-19 regulations on the cruise ship industry.