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(Update 12:22 p.m. EDT) – Several cruise lines have quietly started changing their policies to ban passengers who have been vaccinated with two different types of vaccines.
Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises all changed their health and safety protocols to exclude those who had received mixed COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, noting that those who received AstraZeneca plus another vaccine would now be considered unvaccinated and unable to navigate.
The move left many Canadians and Britons who received mixed doses alongside AstraZeneca on recommendations from their home countries wondering what would happen to their cruises.
Specific policies for cruise passengers differ
There are caveats, as each line publishes slightly different policies.
Holland America Line says passengers who have received a dose of a vector vaccine like AstraZeneca and an mRNA vaccine (like Pfizer) will not be considered vaccinated. But passengers who have received two different mRNA vaccines (Pfizer / Moderna) will be.
Princess published similar guidelines, writing on her website that “customers who have received a single dose of a vector vaccine (eg AstraZeneca) and a single dose of an mRNA vaccine (eg Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna ) will not be considered fully immunized. Passengers who have received two single doses of mixed vaccines of the same type (e.g. mRNA) will be considered fully vaccinated and will be allowed to sail, provided the final dose is received at least 14 days before the start of the cruise. “
Carnival Cruise Line has also banned the use of mixed vaccines involving at least one dose of AstraZeneca.
Norwegian Cruise Line, on the other hand, states on its website that any mix of vaccines will result in passengers being considered unvaccinated. However, Norwegian’s rules only apply to US ports of embarkation.
“Passengers on ships embarking or disembarking at US ports should be vaccinated with FDA-approved vaccines,” the statement read on Norwegian Cruise Line’s website. “Double injections of Pfizer / Moderna mixed vaccines are not approved by the FDA.
“All other vessels will accept any single-brand vaccination protocol authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), or World Health Organization (WHO). Or a vaccination protocol. mixed composed only of AstraZeneca-SK Bio, Pfizer- BioNTech or Moderna combinations. “
Although dose mixing is common in countries like Canada and the UK, the US FDA does not recognize vaccine mix and only recognizes vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.
Sources told Cruise Critic in the background that the new changes are being imposed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for travel leaving U.S. ports of call under the conditional navigation order of the United States. CDC, although not all lines have announced this policy.
Critical Cruise Members Respond
Eagle-eyed Cruise Critic readers have spotted the changes.
“Holland America Line has just updated its FAQ to say that those who receive mixed vaccines (I received AZ first and Moderna second, as recommended by the Canadian government) will not be considered fully vaccinated,” written mathgirl314 “We can no longer participate in our August 7 cruise in Alaska.”
“WOW”, writes Kazu in response. “It’s going to kill a lot of people who are vaccinated.
Others wondered what to do with their government documentation that doesn’t show what their first brand of vaccine was.
“What do they need as proof? written xcell. “I have friends who received a mixed dose, and their vaccine confirmation printout indicates that they received Moderna / Pfzier as a second dose. They are fully vaccinated but it does not mention what their first dose was (that is, ie Astra). “
Many Cruise Critic members only discovered the changes by accident.
“I was about to book a summer trip to Alaska for a client and so glad I read all the fine print,” writes ceilidh1. “Princess does not accept those with Astra Zeneca followed by Moderna / Pfizer. This could potentially impact MANY Canadians who have been ‘urged’ to accept any vaccine offered.”
In many cases, residents did not have a choice of which vaccine they could take and were encouraged to take the first vaccine available to them.
It was not immediately clear where the mandate for these changes came from. Cruise Critic has contacted several cruise lines for comment and will update this article with more information when it becomes available.
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