According to a press statement, Costa Cruises is revising its health guidelines regarding COVID-19, making its cruises more accessible.
The company has announced that as of the 8th of October, a new simple process will offer passengers full access to all ships and port facilities.
Most noticeably, pre-embarkation testing for vaccinated passengers will no longer be required for travel to or from the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, or the United Arab Emirates.
Guests not vaccinated but whose pre-embarkation antigen testing comes back negative will also be allowed to board ships in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
Guests who have received the COVID-19 vaccine and are embarking on a cruise of fewer than 14 nights’ duration will not be required to perform any further pre-embarkation testing in the Mediterranean (except Greece) or the Caribbean.
Guests who have not been vaccinated or treated against COVID-19 are still welcome to travel with Costa to these locations, provided they present an official certification of the negative result of an antigenic swab (or also an RT-PCR molecular swab, at guest’s choice) performed within 48 hours of embarkation.
Only passengers who have been fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and have fully recovered, and who have passed antigen testing with a negative result within 48 hours after embarkation will be allowed on cruises that stop in Greece.
Passengers on cruises to Morocco who have not received a complete vaccination series will be asked to perform an additional RT-PCR molecular test on board no later than 48 hours before entering the country.
Unvaccinated passengers on Caribbean cruises may disembark for shore excursions only if an antigen test conducted 24 or 48 hours before their scheduled arrival has returned negative results.
All these checks and those required before entering Morocco may be performed on Costa ships at a discounted rate.
Only fully vaccinated passengers can embark on cruises departing from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, or Qatar at this time, but no pre-boarding testing is necessary.
Passengers on cruises longer than 14 nights, including those around the world and across the Atlantic, must be completely vaccinated and perform an antigen test with a negative result within 48 hours of embarkation time.
In addition, during the first week of the trip, mask-wearing is required in public areas. In contrast, it is just advised in other regions (the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the United Arab Emirates).
