It seems Royal Caribbean realized maybe they went a bit too far by saying anyone holding a passport from China, Hong Kong, or Macau could not board any of their ships, no matter where they live.
I just got this email about my upcoming Caribbean cruise.
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ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS
Dear Guest,
It’s important to us to be as communicative as possible during this very fluid novel coronavirus situation. Over the last few weeks, governments around the world have been restricting travel for Chinese, Hong Kong, and Macau passport holders – often times with little advance notice. As a result of these restrictions, last week we decided to add a similar policy to our travel regulation, to avoid disruption to impacted guests’ vacations.
Now that governmental restrictions have been clarified, we have made a change to our travel regulation. We’re happy to share that effective immediately, passport holders from China, Hong Kong, and Macau will be able to sail with us.
If you had to cancel your upcoming reservation due to this travel regulation and you’d like to reinstate your reservation, please contact your Travel Advisor, contact us at 1-800-256-6649, or visit www.RoyalCaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number. Please know, we can help reinstate your reservation and your rate will be protected. We are terribly sorry for the impact to your vacation and the inconvenience.
To help protect your health and safety, we will continue to maintain the following protocols for boarding. These measures apply to all guests and crewmembers, regardless of nationality. We will deny boarding to any guest or crewmember, regardless of nationality, if they’ve:
1. Traveled from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau less than 15 days prior to their sailing.
2. Been in contact (which the CDC defines as 6 feet or 2 meters) with someone that has traveled from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau less than 15 days prior to their sailing.
Additionally, there will be mandatory specialized health screenings performed on all guests:
1. Holding a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, regardless of residency or when they were there last;
2. That are unsure if they have been in contact with individuals who have traveled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the past 15 days;
3. Who report feeling unwell or demonstrate any flu-like symptoms;
4. Presenting with fever or low blood oximetry in the specialized health screening will be denied boarding.
We know that these steps are very conservative, and we apologize that they will inconvenience some of our guests. We regret to have to do this, but it is our responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit.
Lastly, should we have to make any changes to our newly implemented travel regulation, we will let you and your Travel Advisor know immediately, as we have been doing. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Sincerely,
©2020 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Ships' registry: The Bahamas.
Royal Caribbean International
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132 USA