Some shipping companies started operating in May and June, and although we will see many more ships operating in July, it will not be until mid-August that we will see the docks at their fullest.
Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 57 – June 2021
European cruise lines such as Costa and MSC Cruises accept both unvaccinated and vaccinated passengers who undergo an antigen test at the terminal before boarding.
Celestyal Cruises accepts both unvaccinated and vaccinated passengers who present a negative PCR test taken within the previous 72 hours. American cruise lines only accept vaccinated passengers and even then, they also administer antigen tests at the terminal. In fact, some US states, such as Florida and Texas, have prohibited discrimination based on vaccination status, so the requirements for Caribbean cruises are not entirely clear.
European shipping companies accept unvaccinated passengers, while American companies opt for "vaccinated passengers only".
When it comes to port calls, both Costa and MSC Cruises have opted for "bubble excursions," where there is minimal interaction with the local population and passengers cannot disembark independently. However, Celestyal Cruises does allow independent exploration, as the country is open to tourism, as is Cyprus. The same applies to cruises operated by North American companies in the Greek Islands, such as Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line. We have not included in this list the British Isles cruises exclusively for British passengers that many companies will be operating, such as the MSC Virtuosa, Anthem of the Seas, Scarlet Lady, Britannia, Queen Elizabeth, Disney Magic, and Regal Princess, among others.
