Are Children 4 years old and under, (Who are not eligible for Covid-19 Vaccines) able to go Transatlantic Sailing?

[Katavas87]

My name is Katherine and I will be going on an upcoming trans-Atlantic cruise on May 2, 2022 aboard the Anthem of the Seas to Europe. I have a question regarding the latest email Royal Caribbean sent on March 21, 2022 with the subject “An Update to Your Healthy Sailing Protocols”. They stated under Transatlantic Sailing, “For transatlantic sailings, all guests, regardless of age, must be fully vaccinated.”  In my situation, I have a 5 year old and a 4 year old. Our 5 year old child has been vaccinated for Covid-19 already. Our 4 year old on the other hand, has not been vaccinated because there are currently no legal vaccines they can take for her age group. We would like to get her vaccinated, but are unable to do so at this point in time. My question is, will my 4 year old be allowed on our scheduled cruise May 2, 2022?

I am getting conflicting responses after calling Royal Caribbean different times, to get a clear definitive answer. I first called Royal Customer Service (800-256-6649) on 3/21/22 right after seeing the email and told them about the email and my 4 year old, they said my child would be fine to go on the cruise. That they would only need the PCR test showing negative.

I then called on 3/23/22 I called customer service Crown & Anchor Society (800-526-9723) and spoke with Astrid explaining my situation; she said my 4 year old would not be able to go on the cruise according to the CDC guidelines. She then directed me to another number to ask (866-499-1204). I again explained my situation and they said they are requiring everyone to be vaccinated according to the CDC and the ports we are visiting. And that since my 4 year old can’t get vaccinated, she would not be able to go on the cruise and that it could not be overridden because it is a transatlantic cruise and needs to comply with the ports we are going to and CDC guidelines. She said to just wait if a vaccine becomes available later on, but must receive the last dose 14 days before the cruise leaves.   

 

On the CDC website I found the following:

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/management/technical-instructions-for-cruise-ships.html

Cruise Ship Vaccination Status Classifications

[5] At this time, children under the age of 5 years (i.e., children who are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccines) will not be counted when determining the percentage of passengers on board who are fully vaccinated or up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.

 

In summary, I just want to know if my 4 year old child can go on the transatlantic cruise sailing on May 2, 2022 unvaccinated, because there are currently no vaccines available for this age group?

This will greatly affect our cruise plans as well as our party of 8 and multiple cabins, if my child cannot go, we would have to do one of the following, whether it is cancelation of whole cruise, finding alternative care, one parent staying home with child, etc.

If anyone can get back to me, I would greatly appreciate it and have peace of mind.

I also directly emailed the following hoping to reach someone hire up, but have not heard anything as of this posting.

Executive Contacts

Primary Contact
Carlos Jimenez
Sr. Manager, Guest Experience
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132
CarlosJimenez@rccl.com

Secondary Contact
Aurora Yera–Rodriguez
AVP, Guest Experience
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132
ayerarodriguez@rccl.com

Chief Executive
Michael Bayley
President and CEO
1050 Caribbean Way
Miami, FL 33132
MBayley@rccl.com

Guestclaims@rccl.com

Thank you.

 

[Christina]

Hallo Katherine,

Wir haben das selbe Problem mit unseren Kindern, 4 und 1 Jahr alt, und haben uns schon bei Anwälten informiert. Haben Sie nun schon eine verbindliche Rückmeldung von Royal Caribbean? Vielleicht sollten wir uns mal privat austauschen, meine Mailadresse lautet christina.wiebusch@googlemail.com 

Würde mich freuen!

Christina