While cruise ships are slowly returning to service in North America and Europe, when people will be able to cruise down under remains a mystery.

Australia still has a cruise ship travel ban that runs through September 2021, leaving many cruises scheduled for later this year in a state of flux.

Australia's Health Minister Greg Hunt announced an extension of the legislation governing Australia's coronavirus travel ban until at least September 17.

Royal Caribbean sent an email to guests with cruises booked sailing from Australia that updates will hopefully be available soon, but in the meantime, final payment dates will be suspended until further notice for Australia cruises.

"The final payment due date will be suspended until further notice for those sail dates that reach Final Payment while we iron out the details of our next steps."

"We’re currently working through this latest government update, and it is taking a bit of time to finalize, but we are getting closer to sharing details with you very soon."

The final payment date is the when full payment for the cruise is required.  Ordinarilly, if final payment was not made, the reservation would be cancelled.

Royal Caribbean did something similar with Alaska cruises earlier this year, when they kept pushing back the final payment date until Alaska cruises got the go-ahead to sail this year.

Since March 27, 2020, no foreign-flagged cruise ships may enter Australian waters.  The Australian Health Principal Protection Committee reviews the ban regularly.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said the ongoing red light on cruises is putting 18,000 jobs at risk, and estimated it has cost the nation $6 billion since last March.

CLIA Managing Director Australasia Joel Katz said the cruise ship ban has had a major impact on Australia's economy, "After months of discussions with government, the suspension has been extended again without any clear route from government towards a careful and responsible resumption of cruising."

"The cruise industry has done an enormous amount of work to implement extensive new health protocols globally, but Australia is now the only major cruise destination in the world where there is no progress towards their adoption."

"The cruise industry is not asking for special treatment or to simply reopen the doors to cruising."

When Royal Caribbean restarts sailing on its first cruise ship back in service, a few areas of the ship will be unavailable to unvaccinated passengers.

Freedom of the Seas will sail from Miami on July 2, and Royal Caribbean has updated its website with a list of places on the ship that are available to vaccinated or unvaccinated passengers.

Royal Caribbean says all cruise companies sailing from U.S. ports are guided by CDC regulations which currently govern many aspects of cruise ship operations. 

Guests who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 will have full access to venues onboard, and won't need to wear a mask at vaccinated-only venues. 

This list of areas unavailable to unvaccinated passengers applies to Freedom of the Seas from Miami in July 2021 only. Royal Caribbean has not announced a list of venues similar to this list for other ships yet.

Unvaccinated guests have access to the turquoise colored boxes and not to the white boxes. 

Your SeaPass card will be required to access lounges, shows and dining venues.

Vaccinated guests will receive a wristband and those who are unvaccinated (or choose not to disclose if they are) will have a hole punched in their SeaPass card.

The concept of areas specifically for those vaccinated is not new, as the cruise line previously announced such plans.

According to its website, Royal Caribbean says it thinks most guests will be vaccinated, and primarily children will make up the majority of unvaccinated passengers.

"On your sailing, most guests (and all our crew) will be vaccinated and those that aren’t are primarily children."

"Travel parties with vaccinated and unvaccinated guests, such as parents with kids, should stick to those venues marked unvaccinated, when together."

It is important to remember the protocols will likely change often with changes to onboard rules throughout the summer and fall.

Volunteering to show vaccination status

Due to Florida law, Royal Caribbean cannot ask if a passenger is vaccinated or not, so it is up to the passenger to inform the cruise line if they are vaccinated.

For guests sailing on the July 2nd Freedom of the Seas cruise, an email was sent to allow them to submit their vaccination status.

Unvaccinated guests 16 years of age and older will need to undergo an RT-PCR test administered by an accredited laboratory of the guest’s choice, and taken within three days of sailing.

Royal Caribbean will require documentation of a negative result for this test prior to embarkation. All costs for this test are the unvaccinated guest’s responsibility.

There is now even more time to earn double Crown and Anchor points.

Royal Caribbean announced it has extended the Loyalty 2X Points benefit so that it applies to existing bookings, as well as new bookings made between now and September 30, 2021 for cruises sailing through December 31, 2022.

Prior to this extension, the program was good for bookings made through June 30, 2021 and departing between now and September 30, 2022. This is the third time Royal Caribbean has extended the Double Points offer.

Double points means guests earn twice the amount of points per night than usual in the Crown and Anchor Society.

There is no change to existing cruises booked during the extended time period, as they already qualify for the benefit as well.

Since the Double Points benefit was announced, it was a big hit with guests because it allows people to move up the cruise line's customer loyalty program faster.

Instead of the usual one point per night, Royal Caribbean said it would double the points per night (including other staterooms as well):

• Standard room: 2 points per night
• Suite room: 4 points per night
• Solo guest in standard room: 4 points per night
• Solo guest in suite: 6 points per night

Loyalty 2X Points is available to Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Society members.

Crown and Anchor points will be applied once the guest has paid their booking in full and completed their sailing. 

Why you want double points

Earning double the amount of points per night means you can earn points quicker, which is something Royal Caribbean has rarely offered in the past.

By earning more points, you can reach the higher tiers of Crown and Anchor Society faster, and there are some really lucrative benefits for reaching the Diamond and Diamond Plus tiers.

Complimentary alcoholic drinks, balcony discounts, complimentary photos, and reserved seating at shows are just some of the great freebies guests who reach the top tiers of Crown and Anchor Society can expect.

Moreover, this type of offer has rarely been seen.  Previous extra point offers were much more restrictive and have not been made available for a while.

Celebrity Edge will set sail today from South Florida, becoming the first cruise ship to sail from the United States since early 2020, but Royal Caribbean Group is still working on details for other ships to come.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain celebrated the restart of cruising from the U.S. from onboard Edge, but he admitted the exact path forward for all ships is still not totally certain.

Speaking in a new video update, Mr. Fain said there is still "confusion" surrounding requirements, regulations, and guidelines on the state and federal levels.

"There's still confusion and it will take a while for the fog to completely clear. For example, we're still not 100 percent sure about the specific protocols on specific sailings and here in Florida, we still don't understand all the implications of the law about vaccination documentation."

Celebrity Edge will sail today from Port Everglades, while Freedom of the Seas will sail from PortMiami next week.

Mr. Fain also alluded to the fact Florida won its lawsuit against the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which puts the Conditional Sail Order in question.

"You also know that the U.S. District court ruled in favor of the State of Florida, in a lawsuit challenging the CDC's authority to issue the Conditional Sail Order."

"So more and more uncertainty pending, continued mediation between the parties, and possible further legal action."

Regardless of the challenges, Mr. Fain is optimistic that the industry can persevere.  Despite positive Covid-19 cases on Celebrity Millennium and Adventure of the Seas, the new protocols in place worked well and kept the rest of the guests safe and unencumbered.

"No drama for the other guests, no interruption of their cruise, no difficulty for the local community."

"Simply put, the protocols and procedures worked precisely as they were intended to work."

To summarize his thoughts, Mr. Fain proclaimed, "Cruising in the US is back."

RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com will aboard the first sailing of Freedom of the Seas next week to share what the first Royal Caribbean International sailing from the United States in 15 months is like for passengers.

Unvaccinated guests sailing on Adventure of the Seas will no longer be able to book shore excursions on their own beginning with the next sailing.

Guests booked on Adventure of the Seas received an email indicating unvaccinated passengers, including parents traveling with unvaccinated children, are required to participate in shore excursions offered by local tour operators approved by Royal Caribbean.

If your traveling party is fully vaccinated, there is no change in the shore excursion policy.

In an abundance of caution, when visiting ports other than Perfect Day at CocoCay, parties that include unvaccinated guests, including parents traveling with unvaccinated children, are required to participate in shore excursions offered by local tour operators approved by Royal Caribbean. These tours meet our health and safety requirements for unvaccinated guests.

Entirely vaccinated traveling parties may visit the port freely. All guests are subject to restrictions and requirements as defined by local authorities in the ports we visit. Additional details will be provided onboard.

Royal Caribbean will offer a discount for guests under 16 to help offset the change.

The cruise line says the decision was made "to protect you and the communities we visit."

The change comes one day after two unvaccinated children on Adventure of the Seas tested positive for Covid-19 and had to be quarantined and brought home.

Celebrity Cruises made a similar change this week for their Celebrity Edge sailings that begin this weekend as well from the United States.

Guests traveling on #CelebrityEdge June 26 that excursions will be required to disembark in Mexico. This is a change from what was done on Adventure of the seas this week.

A bit disappointing, but we understand everyone must remain flexible for a bit. Happy to be #cruising! pic.twitter.com/llfaRjuk9k

— CruiseHabit (@CruiseHabit) June 24, 2021

Policy changes are nothing new for cruise lines as they resume operations. One constant in the months leading up to cruises restarting has been policy adjustments, reversals, and additions. 

Read more: Top 8 things you should know about going on a cruise in 2021

When Adventure of the Seas' sailings from The Bahamas were announced, shore excursions were initially limited to just cruise line tours.

Then, the company changed policies prior to the first sailing to allow guests to go on any tour, regardless of vaccination status.

Royal Caribbean added a series of new protocols to its ships to detect Covid-19 cases early, and the system in place identified two unvaccinated teenage passengers who tested positive for Covid-19 on Adventure of the Seas.

According to Royal Caribbean, two teenagers on Adventure of the Seas were in isolation and then disembarked in Freeport earlier today.

Their parents, who are vaccinated, tested negative.

As part of Royal Caribbean's multi-faceted plan in preparation for a scenario like this, the medical care and transportation home will be handled by the cruise line.

The cases were caught during end of cruise testing, which is required at the end of a sailing.

Here is Royal Caribbean's official statement:

Two guests on Adventure of the Seas tested positive for COVID-19 after routine testing that is required before returning home. Here are the facts:

• Both guests, under the age of 16 and unvaccinated, were immediately quarantined. One guest is asymptomatic, and the other guest is experiencing mild symptoms.
• Those in their immediate travel party are vaccinated and have tested negative.
• Close contacts were quickly identified and tested. All are vaccinated and tested negative.

The guests and their travel party disembarked today in Freeport, The Bahamas and are on their way home to Florida. Ninety-two percent of our guests on Adventure are fully vaccinated and the remaining 8% are under 16 years old. One hundred percent of our crew are fully vaccinated.

Adventure of the Seas is the first Royal Caribbean International ship to restart operations in North America, and she is on her second sailing back in operation.

On Adventure of the Seas sailings from The Bahamas, guests who are 16 years of age and older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and those 12 and older as of Aug. 1.  In addition, anyone unvaccinated had to get a negative PCR test result in order to board the ship.

All crew members are fully vaccinated as well.

While the ship is sailing from outside the United States, Royal Caribbean's safety rules have been in development over the past year during the cruise industry's shutdown.  This includes testing, mandatory health screenings, online check-ins and contact tracing through CCTV cameras.

The ships have been upgraded to prepare for a situation like this, with immediate medical evaluations, rapid Covid-19 testing and dedicated zones for Covid-19 care, more critical care beds on each ship, and robust treatment plans.

Royal Caribbean has been keenly aware of the statistical likelihood of positive cases onboard, but they worked on how to catch it early and avoid it becoming a major issue.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said the Health Sail Panel of health experts has worked on this specific contingency, "A really important part and a really big focus of the panel's effort was on how to respond if we do have a case that gets on board."

"We respond properly. We have a extensive contingency plan so that we don't have to go through one of these processes of quarantining huge numbers of people. We take care of the the the small number that we catch early and everybody else can go about their business."

Royal Caribbean Group Senior Vice President of Shared Services Operations recently spoke about the importance of these protocols to keep crew members and guests safe.

"All of the different things that we’ve done technology-wise as well as with testing and safety, those are going to stay. Those are Royal Caribbean protocols, whether or not they’re required of us or not," Ms. Hodges Bethge said.

"We feel very good that we have some of the strongest kind of processes of anywhere you go in the world today."

Response plan

Royal Caribbean developed a plan to respond to a scenario such as this, and coordinated these plans with the Bahamanian government.

According to Royal Caribbean's health protocols, in the event a guest tests positive for Covid-19, a "robust, tiered response plan" goes into effect.

The tiers increase protocols and vigilance onboard while providing transparent updates to guests the whole way.

In partnership with local authorities, Royal Caribbean has developed transport protocols to ensure we can get guests home safely. 

In fact, Royal Caribbean identified early that being "stuck" in quarantine on a cruise ship was not something any guest wanted, and a result, Royal Caribbean has developed transport agreements with local authorities in a situation like this to get everyone home safely.

Following a two-night cruise, Freedom of the Seas has completed a test cruise under the supervision of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC).

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley celebrated the completion of the mandated test sailing in a social media post on Tuesday.

"Today Freedom of the Seas returned to Terminal A, Port of Miami after completing its 3 day, 2 night simulated voyage to Perfect Day at Coco Cay."

"Huge Thank you to our Operations team and all our crew! Onwards and upwards!"

He added that the CDC was part of the test cruise experience, and that the experience went well, "The CDC sailed with us ! Wrap up meeting this morning and looks like all is good."

According to Mr. Bayley, Royal Caribbean is now waiting for feedback from the CDC following the test voyage.

Freedom of the Seas is scheduled to sail from PortMiami on July 2, which would be the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to resume operations from the United States.

In addition, he added Royal Caribbean will shoot off fireworks on its first sailing when Freedom visits Perfect Day at CocoCay on July 4th.

Freedom of the Seas is the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to conduct and complete her test cruises.

Test cruises are part of the Conditional Sail Order (CSO) that the CDC implemented as a way for cruise ships to resume operations.

Since Royal Caribbean will not require at least 95% of its cruise passengers to be fully vaccinated, test cruises are needed to demonstrate to the CDC that the onboard health protocols work.

All of the crew members on Freedom of the Seas are fully vaccinated as well.

These test cruises are conducted with unpaid volunteers, per the CDC's requirements.

Royal Caribbean restarted cruises from North America with Adventure of the Seas last week, and there are plenty of questions about what it is like to be onboard.

While I have shared a lot of information about the cruise experience in live blogs and a recap of the big differences, there are still questions cruise haves have about going on a cruise ship today.

I asked for which questions folks still have, and I'll do my best to answer as many as I can right here.

If it puts your boarding time at 1pm, can you still try to get there early like you used to be able to or not because of the screening?

The answer is no, you cannot check-in earlier than your scheduled time you get the via app.

Before the cruise industry shutdown, check-in times were more of a suggestion, but now they are enforced.

You can, however, drop off your luggage at the British Colonial Hilton before your check-in tine, so that you can walk around Nassau unencumbered.

How do you think protocols for cruises originating in the US might change compared to those you’re experiencing now?

Royal Caribbean is still working on its protocols for all ships and sailings from the United States, but we know about the protocols for Freedom of the Seas from Miami.

Compared to Freedom, the most noticeable changes will be the requirement of face masks for vaccinated and unvaccinated guests indoors in certain situations, the possibility to cruise without being a fully vaccinated adult, and vaccinated-only venues.

I'll compare and contrast the experiences when I sail on Freedom of the Seas next week, and I will absolutely be sharing what it is like with all of you.

Are they cleaning the cabins every day?

Yes, the service provided by your stateroom attendant remains unchanged from what you experienced earlier.

Stateroom attendants visit your room twice a day still, including turn down service in the evening.

Which ship amenities, such as hot tubs and gym, require an advanced reservation that would not have pre-COVID?

To the best of my knowledge, here is what has advanced reservations now that did not before

• Theater entertainment (this did not exist on Adventure, although Oasis and Quantum class ships had it)
• Studio B ice skating show
• Windjammer
• Fitness center
• Adventure Ocean

Can you sit with other guests in the main dining room?

I double checked with the Maitre d' to confirm the policy has not changed.

Whether in specialty restaurants or the main dining room, you can only dine with other guests if your reservation numbers are linked.

I am wondering what the kids club is like now?

Adventure Ocean is open, but with limited capacity.

The biggest changes are you register via an iPad instead of paper, and there are limited hours available initially.

Very similar to how Royal Caribbean's nursery works, the staff provide an allotment of hours to register for on the first day to ensure everyone has a fair chance at booking time.

On the first sailing, they gave everyone 15 hours to book, but that dropped to 12 hours for this sailing.

You can book up to the 12 hour limit initially, and then by day 3 or so, they open bookings without a limit.

Are they selling the duty free alcohol on board the ship?

Yes, the duty free alcohol shop is still open on the Royal Promenade, along with all the shops.

You can shop at the jewelry, alcohol, and souvenir shops onboard during their regular hours.

In the Diamond Lounge, are they really swiping your card for every drink you get, including coke and water?

Yes, the adjusted Diamond, Diamond Plus, & Pinnacle benefits mean you get a daily allotment of drink vouchers to use instead of unlimited drinks while in the lounge.

I believe the intent of this change was to reduce demand for guests in the Diamond Lounge, but there are still plenty of guests in and around each evening.

Anyone treating your kids poorly (such as dirty looks) because they are unable to get vaccinated?

Absolutely not, I have not encountered anything like this onboard with our kids.

I make very certain my kids are following the rules onboard, especially wearing masks while indoors and ensuring their masks stay above their nose.

Otherwise, it's "business as usual" when it comes to kids onboard, and they are loving every minute of it.

Is a reservation for Windjammer a necessity, or do the walk-ins get in pretty quickly as well?

I have yet to actually need a reservation, but it is a possibility.

When you walk into the Windjammer, they ask for your stateroom number so they can keep track of how many people are in the restaurant.

Both of the first two sailings have had roughly the same passenger count (just over 1,000 passengers), and I asked the hostess at the Windjammer this morning if they had to enact the policy and turn someone away. Thus far, they have not had to do it.

As I understand it, for entry back in the U.S. you are required to provide a negative Covid test. Is Royal Caribbean providing Covid test on the ship prior to disembarkation?

Yes, you can register for an antigen test that Royal Caribbean will administer onboard towards the end of the sailing.

The test is complimentary, and administered in the main dining room on deck 5.  There is a QR code in the Cruise Compass where you can get the link (although there is a kiosk at the entrance to the dining room where you can register as well).

The test result is emailed to you, as well as delivered via a print out to your stateroom.

What is procedure for back-to-back sailings?

The process for me was very similar to what it was before the industry shutdown.

1. Meet at the dining room at an assigned time
2. Do an antigen test
3. Wait for results
4. Get new SeaPass card
5. Walk down to the gangway and check out of the first sailing, and then check into the new sailing

We did not have to actually disembark the ship.

To get off the ships in port do you still have to have purchase an excursion with Royal Caribbean? Or can you just go on your own?

You can book any tour you like, through the cruise line or on your own.

You can also walk around the port area.

Is the ship at limited capacity and do you have to wear masks all the time.

There is a limited capacity for these Adventure of the Seas sailings, although the exact number is not known.

There have been on the first two sailings just over 1,000 passengers.

Fully vaccinated passengers do not need to wear a mask onboard (indoors or outside).  Some ports have mask requirements, such as Cozumel.

Unvaccinated guests (children on these cruises) need to wear masks while inside, unless they are seated for eating or drinking. They do not need to wear a mask outside, or at Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Are the Coke Freestyle machines still self service?

No, there is a crew member who will take your cup and fill it for you.

The first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to start test cruises is scheduled to set sail today.

Freedom of the Seas is in Miami to begin a short test cruise, which is a necessary step for revenue cruises to begin.

Royal Caribbean will have 100% of its crew members fully vaccinated on all its sailings.

Royal Caribbean announced a test cruise for Freedom of the Seas back in late May, and she will sail between June 20 - 22.

Simulated voyages (also known as test cruises) are when cruise lines can operate ships with volunteer passengers in order to prove their new protocols work.

These are not cruises you can book, but rather, are limited voyages where a cruise line invites certain unpaid volunteers to help go through all the necessary steps and procedures to ensure cruise ships can be run safely.

If all goes to plan, Freedom of the Seas is scheduled to begin revenue sailings from Miami on July 2, which would make her the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to restart revenue sailings from the United States.

Test cruise requirements

Test cruises come with a variety of requirements that must be completed in order to demonstrate the ship can be operated in a safe manner with the new health protocols

While the ship is indeed conducting a cruise as if it were a normal cruise, the CDC wants the cruise ship to test out procedures and ensure it can handle any health situation it could encounter.

Each ship must conduct at least one simulated cruise, and each voyage must be between 2-7 days in length with a least one overnight stay, including through embarkation, disembarkation, and post-disembarkation testing.

The CDC recommends a test cruise is at least 3 days with 2 overnight stays.

Passengers and crew must meet standards during the simulated voyage for hand hygiene, use of face masks, and social distancing for passengers and crew, as well as ship sanitation.

Royal Caribbean must modify meal service and entertainment venues to facilitate social distancing during the simulated voyage.

And then there is a laundry list of activities that the CDC says the ship needs to test across one or many separate test cruises:

• Embarkation and disembarkation procedures, as approved by U.S. port and local health authorities as part the cruise ship operator’s Phase 2A agreements, including procedures for terminal check-in.
• Onboard activities, including seating and meal service at dining and entertainment venues.
• Medical evacuation procedures.
• Transfer of symptomatic passengers or crew, or those who test positive for SARS-CoV-2, from cabins to isolation rooms.
• Onboard and shoreside isolation and quarantine, as per the terms of the cruise ship operator’s Phase 2A agreements, of at least 5% of all passengers and non-essential crew.
• Recreational activities that the cruise ship operator intends to offer as part of any restricted passenger voyages, e.g., casinos, spa services, fitness classes, gymnasiums.
• Private-island shore excursions if any are planned during restricted passenger voyages. The following measures must be observed on the private island:
  • Only one ship can port at the island at any one time.
  • A routine screening testing protocol must be implemented for island staff who are expected to interact with volunteer passengers or crew, unless they are fully vaccinated or have documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 90 days.
  • Mask use and social distancing must be observed in indoor areas while on the island.
• Port of call shore excursions if any are planned during restricted passenger voyages. The following measures must be observed on port of call shore excursions:
  • Shore excursions must only include passengers and crew from the same ship.
  • Cruise ship operator must ensure all shore excursion tour companies facilitate social distancing, mask wearing, and other COVID-19 public health measures throughout the tour while in any indoor areas.
  • Cruise ship operators must have a protocol for managing persons with COVID-19 and close contacts at all foreign ports of call. At a minimum, the protocol must include the following:
    • Disembarkation and housing of persons with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 needing shore-based hospital care and their travel companion(s) for the duration of their isolation or quarantine period.
    • Commercial repatriation of U.S.-based persons with COVID-19 and close contacts only after meeting criteria to end isolation and quarantine per CDC guidance. For commercial repatriation of foreign-based persons with COVID-19 and close contacts, cruise ship operators must consult with all relevant public health authorities.