Do I need to be vaccinated before going on my cruise?

Simon Calder answers your questions on cruises, his favourite parts of Ireland and travelling to the US

MSC will allow unvaccinated cruisers (MSC Cruises)

Q Are new guidelines expected regarding cruising and vaccination? We are booked on MSC in July. At the moment they don’t require fully vaccinated guests. But someone has quoted that new guidelines are coming out this week and all must be vaccinated. Heard anything?

Dawn B

A The government published new guidelines on cruising on Friday 23 April, which may be what the person had in mind. They say nothing about vaccinations. The key points are:

* The Foreign Office still warns against international sea-going cruises (but not river cruises) anywhere in the world. This is said to be “based on the latest public health medical advice”

* UK-only cruises are allowed but only with half the usual number of passengers up to a maximum of 1,000; if you are booked on one of the MSC Virtuosa voyages from Southampton, you can look forward to oceans of space because the ship is designed for around 5,000 passengers

* Only residents of the UK and Ireland are allowed on board. While the ship is permitted to sail beyond UK waters, she is not allowed to call at any foreign ports

* In interior areas on board, there is initially to be no mingling beyond the standard land-based rule (for England) of a maximum of six people in two households; that may well change by July

* The guidance is silent on vaccinations, and cruise lines are split on their policies.

Many cruise lines, including P&O, Cunard, Saga and Viking, insist that every passenger has completed a course of vaccinations – P&O Cruises says it is “the strong expressed preference on the part of our guests”. Others, such as MSC and Fred Olsen, say they will allow unvaccinated (or part-vaccinated) passengers to sail. On MSC, people who have not had both jabs will need to provide a PCR test in advance of boarding.

It is possible that the UK government may update the rules, but I am not expecting any tightening such as making vaccinations compulsory. Once international cruises begin, it may be that some destination countries stipulate that every passenger must be vaccinated. Were that to happen, anyone who has already booked on an affected cruise but will be unvaccinated should be entitled to a full refund.

Cork in the southwest of Ireland (iStock)

Q When do you think I will be able to visit Cork again, travelling by ferry? And while you’re here, what is your favourite part of the Republic of Ireland?

Henry H

A At present, all visitors to Ireland from overseas must provide a negative PCR test taken within the 72 hours prior to arrival, and complete a passenger locator form. This document must include an address where they will go into quarantine. (This is irrespective of whether you arrive direct by sea or air, or travel overland from Northern Ireland.)

The standard length of self-isolation is two weeks. But the Irish government has the same “test to release” policy as the UK. It says: “You can end your period of quarantine if you receive written confirmation of a negative or ‘not detected’ RT-PCR test result taken no less than five days after arrival.”

Even five days in quarantine on arrival rules out a holiday in Ireland for most of us, and the stringent measures in force as the Republic battles high coronavirus numbers may dampen any remaining appetite.

When will the rules be eased? July, I hope, in time for a couple of million people from Great Britain to take summer holidays in this easily accessible, friendly, fascinating and beautiful nation, which has the added bonus that there are no restrictions on arrivals in the UK from Ireland. Since the start of the pandemic, people travelling into the UK from the Common Travel Area (which includes the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands as well as Ireland) have needed neither testing nor quarantine.

To answer your second point: I first hitched across Ireland in the Seventies and have returned many times since. My plan to explore the west of Donegal has been put on hold by the current crisis, so that region may yet turn out to be my favourite. But until I get to explore that far northwestern corner, I will settle on the destination for my first trip: Kinsale, south of Cork, combined with the city itself and nearby Cobh. But similar combinations, such as the city of Galway and the wild coast of Connemara, and the whole spread of Dublin Bay, are also intensely rewarding.

Not at liberty to say... it’s up to the destination country to accept tourists (AFP/Getty)

Q You’ve written extensively about the UK’s traffic light system. But what do you think the reaction of the country that the government sets to “green” will be? I am asking because we have a trip booked to the US on 25 June. Unless they open their borders it’s a no-go, even if the US gets a green light from the UK.

Kaz H

A The US, despite the tragic scale of Covid deaths, is now vaccinating successfully – with the Centres for Disease Control announcing on Friday that more than half of American adults have received one coronavirus jab and one-third of the population has had two. So I think there is a strong chance that the US will make the UK green list, either when it is first announced early next month or soon afterwards.

Yet the basic principle cannot be overstated: if the UK gives a green light to British holidaymakers to go to a particular country without needing to quarantine on the way home, that is only half the story. It is entirely up to the destination country to decide whether or not to let UK visitors in.

Now to the particular case of your planned trip to the US. Non-Americans “who were physically present within the [UK] within 14 days prior to their entry or attempted entry into the United States” have been banned since March 2020.

Soon, though, the US will surely open up to the UK. Not only do tourism businesses from Florida to California desperately want our business – there are hundreds of thousands of “transatlantic families” who want to be reunited. I believe there is a fairly strong chance of your summer trip going ahead.

Email your questions to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder