Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship is ready to begin her first test sailing today from south Florida.

While not announced by Royal Caribbean, Odyssey of the Seas appears to be ready to set sail today from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a test sailing.

These simulated voyages are required by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) in order to get approval to sail from the United States.

Odyssey of the Seas has had a long journey to this point, having been delayed during constructed and had a few inaugural sailings canceled due to the global health crisis in Europe and Israel.

Any Royal Caribbean cruise ship sailing from the United States is required to undergo a test cruise so that the cruise line can demonstrate to the CDC the new health protocols onboard are effective at keeping passengers and crew members safe.

So far two other Royal Caribbean ships have successfully conducted test cruises: Freedom of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas.

It is not clear how long this test voyage will be, but if all goes well, Odyssey could be ready for her scheduled first sailing with paying passengers on July 31, 2021.

Odyssey will offer cruises from Fort Lauderdale this summer, fall, and winter.

Odyssey is the first Quantum Ultra Class ship to cruise from the U.S., which features SeaPlex - the largest indoor and outdoor activity complex at sea - and a vibrant, Caribbean-inspired pool deck.

Royal Caribbean chose to do test cruises instead of requiring 95% of its passengers be fully vaccinated as a way to ensure families could continue to sail.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley posted recently on social media there are a substantial amount of children too young for a vaccine on most sailings, "As a family brand, Royal Caribbean typically sails with 10 percent of our guests under 12 years old, and today, they are ineligible for the vaccine."

As a family brand that traditionally has over 1 million children sailing onboard, leaving kids out (and subsequently their parents and extended family) was not an option Royal Caribbean ever considered.

Royal Caribbean International's senior vice president of Hotel Operations, Mark Tamis, indicated choosing to do test cruises was a clear decision, "When the first set of potential regulations were published, it was such an obvious choice of the path that we had to go down."

"Once there were two clear paths, 95% or under 95%, it wasn’t even really a consideration."

Mr. Tamis called the decision "obvious" given how many kids sail with Royal Caribbean, along with the cruise line's dedication to remaining a family brand. "A good 20 to 25 percent of our guests are kids."

Test cruise requirements

The CDC has a laundry list of tasks required to be completed during a test cruise before a ship could be approved.

Cruise lines have the choice of doing all of these steps on one or over multiple test sailings, but thus far, Royal Caribbean has opted to conduct its test sailings over the course of a single voyage.

• 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.

Another milestone in the cruise industry's recovery has been reached today, with the official restart of cruises to Alaska.

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas is scheduled to depart Seattle on July 19.

After more than a year with cruising on pause, Serenade will sail from Pier 91 in Seattle  – a change from its previously scheduled homeport in Vancouver. 

The significance of this first sailing is as large for the cruise industry as it is for the people of Alaska.

Just like cruises to the Caribbean, cruises to Alaska have been shutdown since 2020. 

Without cruise tourists to Alaska since late 2019, the economic impact has been massive.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) has incurred a $3.3 billion loss in tourist dollars over that timeframe.

For Royal Caribbean, this is another ship back in service and another ship that has received approval from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) to sail again.

Each of Royal Caribbean's cruise ships must perform a test cruise, where various health protocols and social distancing rules are tested out to demonstrate the ship can be operated safely.

Serenade of the Seas conducted her 4-night test cruise back on July 7 with 300 fully vaccinated passengers onboard.

The week-long itinerary features a lineup of ports of call, including Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Icy Strait Point, Alaska, as well as Endicott Arm fjord and Dawes Glacier.

For Alaska sailings departing from Seattle, Washington before August 1, all Royal Caribbean guests age 16 and older must present proof of Covid-19 vaccination, with the final dose of their vaccine administered at least 14 days before sailing.

After August 1, that requirement drops to 12 years old.

Guests under the age of this requirement don’t need to be vaccinated and will receive a Covid-19 test at the terminal before boarding.

It looks like Royal Caribbean has perhaps changed its mind about the mixed vaccine policy after all.

Over the weekend, Royal Caribbean had joined other cruise lines in adding language to its vaccination policy saying it would not accept mixed vaccines as being fully vaccinated.

As of this morning, that policy has been removed from its website, and there is no mention at all of mixed vaccines.

The rule change was originally about not considering someone who had taken doses of different brands of Covid-19 vaccines fully vaccinated. This would mean someone who took 1 dose Pfizer + 1 dose Moderna, or 1 dose AstraZeneca + 1 dose Pfizer, etc.

Royal Caribbean's revised policy on July 19

Royal Caribbean's policy on July 17

If a guest did have a mixed vaccine regiment, they would be considered instead unvaccinated.

The practice of mixing vaccines is prevalent in countries like Canada or Germany, where those governments have been openly advocating this approach for months.

The new policy would have resulted in many Canadian cruise fans potentially unable to sail.

Royal Caribbean has not commented publicly about the policy change, but it was not the only line to update its requirements.

Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Princess Cruises all modified their Health and Safety protocols to exclude those who had received mixed COVID-19 vaccinations.  Royal Caribbean followed with their change a day later.

As of right now, Royal Caribbean's policy posted online makes no mention of mixed vaccines and it is not clear if public pressure or something else compelled them to reverse the change.

Happy Sunday! We hope you are having a great weekend! Now it’s time to sit back, relax, and catch up on all the Royal Caribbean news from the week!

Royal Caribbean shared which changes to its customer loyalty program will be temporary or permanent.

As cruise ships return to service, the Crown and Anchor Society has had some changes made to adhere to certain social distancing guidelines.

Most of the changes are enhancements or additions, although there are a few benefits that have been temporarily rescinded and fewer that have been permanently removed.

To clarify the situation, Royal Caribbean has outlined which changes are going to be lasting, and which are just here for the time being.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean gets CDC approval to start test sailings on Ovation of the Seas
• NCL sues Florida over vaccine passport ban
• Royal Caribbean reverses decision to get rid of popular customer loyalty perk after fan backlash
• Royal Caribbean Group CEO celebrates cruise ships sailing again
• A look at Royal Caribbean's new fleetwide drink menu
• Top questions Royal Caribbean hasn't answered yet about its restart plans
• Coco Beach Club: cost, tips & review
• Some cruise lines will not allow passengers with mixed vaccines to sail
• Canada lifts cruise ship ban beginning in November
• Grand Lucayan resort day pass in Freeport

Video: What's one thing you will never do on a cruise?

Have you subscribed to the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel? We share some great videos there regularly, all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise! This week, we are sharing our latest video — What's one thing you will never do on a cruise? — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 414th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where Matt shares the best food he's eaten so far on a cruise ship this year.

It may be just three sailings so far, but Matt got to try a few new restaurants and return to some favorites. In this episode, he has a look at which dishes really stood out.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

Royal Caribbean will begin picking volunteers to go on test cruises

Check your email, because invitations to test cruises are coming soon.

Royal Caribbean posted on social media it will begin picking randomly from its list of well over a quarter of a million volunteers to come aboard a test cruise.

"The time is here," Royal Caribbean announced with excitement. "This week we’ll be randomly selecting and extending invites to registered Volunteers to participate in upcoming simulation cruises."

The rules under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Conditional Sail Order were set to become just a recommendation last night, but a new judge has ruled to hold off on that change just yet.

POLITICO reporter Josh Gerstein reports the Circuit Court of the 11th District voted 2-1 to put U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday’s June 18 ruling on hold.

The Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has not yet shared its opinions on the case.

Judge Steven D. Merryday ruled on June 18 in favor of the State of Florida in its lawsuit against the CDC to lift the Conditional Sail Order.

Florida Governor Ron Desantis sued the CDC in April as a way to combat the CDC holding cruise ships back from restarting cruises.

The CDC instituted a ban on all cruise ships from the United States in March 2020 due to the global health crisis. Then on October 30, 2020 the CDC imposed a four-phase conditional framework it said would allow the industry to gradually resume operations if certain thresholds were met.

The CDC appealed the verdict and asked Judge Merryday for a stay to ensure the CSO did not get lifted while the litigation is sorted out in the appeals process.

Judge Merryday denied the stay, saying the CDC can show no factor that outweighs the need to conclude an unwarranted and unprecedented exercise of governmental power.

He also called out the CDC's claim that their actions are about protecting the public health, "this action is not about what health precautions against COVID-19 are necessary or helpful aboard a cruise ship; this action is about the use and misuse of governmental power."

The CSO was set to expire at 12:01 a.m. EDT on JULY 18, 2021, and instead become a recommendation instead of a requirement.

The intention of the ruling was to bring cruise ships in line with other forms of leisure travel and entertainment, such as airlines, railroads, hotels, casinos, sports venues, buses, subways, and others.

The CDC believes the Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) plays an important role in keeping passengers and crew safe on a ship, "It does not shut down the cruise industry but instead provides a sensible, flexible framework for re-opening, based on the best available scientific evidence."

"The undisputed evidence shows that unregulated cruise ship operations would exacerbate the spread of COVID-19, and that the harm to the public that would result from such operations cannot be undone."

"Cruise ships are uniquely situated to spread COVID-19, due in part to their close quarters for passengers and crew for prolonged periods, and stops at foreign ports that risk introducing new variants of COVID-19 into the United States."

In the CDC's opinion, "The balance of the harms and the public interest thus overwhelmingly favor Defendants and maintaining the status quo pending appeal."

Joining other cruise lines, Royal Caribbean has revised its Covid-19 mixed vaccination protocols.

UPDATE: Since posting this article, Royal Caribbean has revised its website and no longer lists this policy.

Less than a day after other cruise lines announced similar policies, Royal Caribbean updated its website with new guidance that says passengers who have mixed doses of the vaccines.

Specifically, Royal Caribbean says guests who have used mixed vaccination protocols will not be considered fully vaccinated (i.e. 1 dose Pfizer + 1 dose Moderna, or 1 dose AstraZeneca + 1 dose Pfizer, etc.).

To be considered fully vaccinated, a guest must have received all doses of one accepted vaccine. Otherwise, a guest will be considered unvaccinated.

Similar policies were announced by Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line and other lines.

It is not clear yet what compelled Royal Caribbean to make this change.

Mixing vaccine doses is more of an issue in certain countries, such as Canada, than it is in the United States.

Canada currently uses vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca, as well as Johnson & Johnson, which uses a single shot.

In June, Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization issued guidance permitting AstraZeneca-Oxford, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots to be used interchangeably in certain situations.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this week his government is working to ensure Canadians will be allowed to travel if they have shots from two different vaccines, even if other countries haven't approved mixing doses.

"We're going to work with the international community to make sure that people who are fully vaccinated in ways that Canadians recognize as safe and effective are also recognized around the world," he said.

Many cruise fans were concerned about this policy and their ability to go on a cruise, and shared their frustrations on the RoyalCaribbeanBlog Facebook page.

Marc Van Niekerk posted, "I have the mixed vaccine and there is no way to undo that not that I even would. I know there are a very large number of Canadians in this situation as well as those from other countries."

Heather Whitehead exemplified many others by pointing out the decision to get a mixed vaccine regiment was prescribed by medical professionals, "I got told by my doctor to get the AstraZeneca because it was the first one available. Then got told to get Pfizer/moderna for the second because of the blood clotting issue (and because it would be more effective). And now I’m hearing that I might have trouble with travelling/cruises. So frustrating!"

Daniela Bahr said in Germany, the national rule is not to get two of the same doses, "No two doses of AstraZeneca for anyone under 60, it has to be Pfizer/Biontech."

A few cruise lines have announced new policies regarding which Covid-19 vaccines are acceptable, as well as prohibiting mixed vaccine regiments.

At least three cruise lines have announced new policies this week.

Norwegian Cruise Line has updated its policy to say their U.S. based vessels will not accept mixed vaccinations, such as Pfizer + Moderna or AstraZeneca + Pfizer, etc.

NCL will accept accept any U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or World Health Organization (WHO) authorized single brand vaccination protocol.

NCL policy on their website as of July 16

This includes J&J Janssen, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Oxford.

NCL's other ships not based in the U.S. will accept any U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), or World Health Organization (WHO) authorized single brand vaccination protocol. Or a mixed vaccination protocol of only AstraZeneca-SK Bio, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna combinations.

Holland America Line & Princess Cruises also updated their policies to exclude mixed vaccinations.

HAL policy on their website as of July 16

The website for both Princess and HAL indicates guests who have had one single does of a vector vaccine and a single dose of a mRNA vaccine will not considered fully vaccinated, whereas guests who have had mixed vaccines from the same type of vaccine will be considered fully vaccinated.

"Guests who have received one single dose of a vector vaccine (e.g. AstraZeneca) and one single dose of a mRNA vaccine (e.g. Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna) will not be considered fully vaccinated. Guests who have received two single doses of mixed vaccines that are the same type (e.g., both are mRNA) will be considered fully vaccinated and will be permitted to sail, so long as the final dose is received at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise."

Princess policy on their website as of July 16

Carnival Cruise Line also added verbiage addressing mixed vaccines to their website.

Carnival says Pfizer and Moderna can be mixed to complete a full vaccination series. All other vaccines in a 2-dose series are required to be of the same type.

Carnival policy on their website as of July 16

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean has updated its policy to match other cruise lines.

The policy change among the cruise lines comes just days after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of the trend of mixing vaccines as "dangerous".

WHO's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan spoke about the issues with mixing vaccines earlier this week, "It's a little bit of a dangerous trend here."

"We're in a data-free, evidence-free zone here as far as mix-and-match. There is limited data on mix-and-match. It will be a chaotic situation in countries if citizens start deciding when and who will be taking a second, a third, and a fourth dose."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says on its website Covid-19 vaccines are not interchangeable.

"The safety and efficacy of a mixed-product series have not been evaluated. Both doses of the series should be completed with the same product."

While the CDC advises against mixing and matching, it does address those "exceptional situations" in which it's unclear whether someone had an initial dose of a Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccine, for example. In that case, "any available mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may be administered" to complete the series.

Another Royal Caribbean cruise ship has a test sailing scheduled.

Royal Caribbean confirmed on Thursday that Ovation of the Seas has received permission from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to start test cruises.

Ovation is one of a half dozen ships within the Royal Caribbean fleet to have gotten approval to start test cruises so far.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley confirmed the news on Facebook, along with sail dates.

Ovation will sail from Seattle to Alaska on July 30 to August 4th.

"Onwards and upwards ship by ship," Mr. Bayley added with the news.

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.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean test cruises

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.

Each cruise ship needs to be approved by the CDC in order to conduct test cruises.

During these test cruises, Royal Caribbean will go through a variety of scenarios to prove to the CDC that the ship can conduct sailings in a safe manner. Specifically, the new protocols aimed at preventing Covid-19 from getting onboard the ship are at the heart of these dry runs.

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.

According to the CDC, 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.

Canada's multi-year ban on cruise ships is coming to an end.

Canada's Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced today it will end its prohibition on cruise ships as of November 1, 2021.

Prior to today's announcement, the cruise ship ban was set to go through February 2022.

Effectively, the announcement means cruise ships can sail to Canada for the start of the traditional cruise season beginning in 2022.

"As Canadians have done their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19, our government continues to work hard to safely restart our economy and build back better," said said Alghabra, in a release Thursday.

"We will welcome cruise ships — an important part of our tourism sector — back in Canadian waters for the 2022 season."

Cruise ships have been banned since March 2020 in Canada due to the global health crisis, although unlike the United States, there had been no pathway for ships to restart until today.

Canada's cruise ship ban had a significant impact on cruise ships, which meant due to U.S. cabotage laws, ships were unable to conduct Alaska or New England cruises.

Canada banning cruise ships means cruise lines cannot legally offer cruises to Alaska or New England because of cabotage laws that require a foreign port to be visited during the sailing.

Cruises sailing from the United States must adhere to the Passenger Vessel Service Act of 1886 (sometimes referred to as the Jones Act).

For the 2021 cruise season, the United States passed a temporary waiver allowing cruise ships to bypass Canada, although that only helped Alaska cruises for this season.

Hours after Royal Caribbean announced it was making changes to its customer loyalty program, one change has been rolled back.

In a webinar on Wednesday, Royal Caribbean told travel agents one of the benefits for their top tier members was going away.

Crystal blocks are given to Diamond Plus guests periodically after they accrue enough points, but evidently many of these heavy blocks were being left behind on the ship.

Royal Caribbean said over 60% of guests that received a crystal block left it on the ship for one reason or another, leading the cruise line to announce they would distribute whatever stock they have left and then end the amenity.

That decision did not sit well with many cruise fans, who told Royal Caribbean exactly how they feel about that change.

While there may have been some guests that did not care for them, many others felt strongly about getting them.

Clearly Royal Caribbean heard the feedback loudly, and decided to continue the crystal block program.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley posted on Facebook on Wednesday evening that a formal announcement will be made, but the crystal blocks will continue.

"We will be posting an official update on the future of Crystal Blocks tomorrow, however, here’s a sneak peek.   Crystal Blocks will remain!"

Mr. Bayley said Crown and Anchor members will now have the option to either have the bocks delivered onboard, delivered at home, or decline them completely.

The new options are aimed at ensuring many blocks do not end up in the trash.

The same cruise fans who were upset at the change celebrated the policy reversal.

barbeyg loved the change back, "It is funny how the smallest of things can lift the spirits. Made my day!"

smokeybandit thinks cruise fans may have surprised the company with their response, "I assume they got a bit more negative feedback on that move than they expected."

Royal Caribbean is no stranger to reversing policies due to strong customer feedback.  From honoring the $18 drink package error, to grandfathering in Oasis Class neighborhood perks, the cruise line listens very closely to their loyal customers.

Read more: Five times Royal Caribbean changed its mind after announcing something

How to earn a crystal block

Crystal blocks are a recognition of loyalty and for achieving milestones in the Crown and Anchor Society.  

Once you reach 140 points in Crown and Anchor Society, you earn a crystal block from the ship you happen to be on at the time.

You then earn a new block every 70 points you accure thereafter. 

The block you get is from the ship you are on when you cross the point threshold.