What if my sailing requires vaccination and I cannot get vaccinated due to a pre-existing allergy? What if I am not vaccinated for religious reasons? What if I have recently recovered from COVID-19 and am not now eligible to be vaccinated? 

For some sailings where local regulations require vaccination, such as those visiting Canada and Bermuda, we have adopted operational capacity restrictions that restrict the number of guests we can carry who are not vaccinated. This means vaccination accommodations are not available on all sailings.  Whenever we grant a vaccination accommodation, we reserve the right to revoke it at any time. 

Note: Beginning September 5, 2022 for sailings from U.S. home ports in California, Louisiana, and Texas as well as all European home ports, any guest will be able to sail regardless of vaccination status. However some ports of call may only allow vaccinated guests or those with a vaccine accommodation to go ashore during that stop. In these cases, you will need to receive approval on your accommodation from local authorities.

Following public health guidance and Federal and State Government guidelines, our ships are highly vaccinated environments. Accordingly, we have adopted operational capacity restrictions that restrict the number of unvaccinated guests we can carry. This means vaccination exemptions/accommodations are not available on all sailings.  Whenever we grant a vaccination exemption for guests aged 12+, we reserve the right to revoke it at any time.

As part of Australian Federal and State Government guidelines for cruising, at least 95% of guests must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.  Children aged 11 and under, and guests with a medical exemption are permitted to travel. However, there is a limit on the number of unvaccinated guests that can travel on each cruise departure, regardless of age.

If you are travelling with children aged 11 or under that are unvaccinated or if anyone in your travel party is unvaccinated due to a medical exemption, you must notify us as soon as possible for approval to cruise.  You can notify us by completing the vaccination survey which will be sent to the email address in your booking seven (7) days after your booking is made, by contacting our call center team on 1800 754 500 or by contacting your travel advisor.

We are currently only processing requests for vaccination accommodations on deposited, active bookings on sailings through September 30, 2022. Requests for sailings beyond this date will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

As you prepare to submit a request for vaccination accommodation, please:

• Submit your request at least 30 days prior to your cruise departure date or even earlier if possible.

• Be aware that we may not be able to process requests submitted less than 14 days to sailing.

• Be aware that approvals or denials for vaccine accommodation may be issued up to 2 weeks prior to sailing or later.

• Wait for a response to your request before booking travel arrangements such as flights and hotel accommodations. Royal Caribbean is not responsible for any travel-related expenses incurred by you or members of your traveling party should your request be denied.

If you believe that you meet the requirements for a vaccination accommodation, please send an email to vaxaccommodations@rccl.com. You can also have your local travel agent or International Representative contact us.

Your initial email to vaxaccommodations@rccl.com should include the following details:

• The full name of the person who needs the accommodation, as the name appears on their reservation

• Ship Name

• Date of Sailing

• Reservation Number

• Best phone number to reach the requesting guest (or their legal guardian if they are a minor)

• Best email to reach the requesting guest or their guardian, should it be different than the one you are emailing from

Religious Requests: For religious accommodation, please describe the nature of your sincerely held religious beliefs, religious practice or observance that conflicts with the vaccination requirement.

Medical Requests: For your request to be considered by our medical team, a letter from a physician is required. Please see the specific requirements for the letter below:

• The letter must come from a Medical Doctor (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO).

• The letter must include the full name and date of birth for the guest requesting the accommodation.

• The letter must clearly indicate the pre-existing, non-COVID medical condition or disability that is contraindicated for vaccination.

• The letter should include a note that the guest is medically fit to travel.

• The letter must be signed by the MD or DO.

Vaccine accommodation requests should be submitted individually, and will be considered individually. It may be possible for some members of the same travel party to receive an approval and others be denied.

Our receipt of your vaccination accommodation request in no way implies or guarantees an approval.

For sailings departing from or visiting Canada, you must first secure an approval from the Government of Canada and provide evidence of that approval with your request.

Approvals apply only to the sailing for which they were granted and need to be renewed for each new sailing as protocols and operational needs change frequently. Approvals do not imply or guarantee an approval for any future sailings.

Please note that vaccination accommodated guests must adhere to all health protocols and travel requirements for guests who are not vaccinated as required by the cruise line and at the local, state and national level. 

If we are unable to approve your request, you can:

• Change the ship/sail date and submit a new request, if your denial was based on operational capacity.

• Cancel only the unvaccinated guest(s) from the booking, if the remainder of the traveling party still wishes to sail. The unvaccinated guest will receive a full refund after cancellation.

• Cancel the booking that includes the unvaccinated guest and receive a full refund for the booking. Only those guests in the impacted booking are eligible to receive a full refund. Related bookings (family, friends, etc. traveling on another booking) remain subject to the standard cancellation penalty schedule.

No, for North American ports that require vaccination in order to go ashore, a Certificate of COVID-19 Recovery is not acceptable in lieu of full vaccination.