CRUISE ships will not be allowed to enter a port in The Bahamas unless passengers aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the latest amendment to the emergency order.
The new rule, which takes effect September 3 to November 1, also requires the captain or master of the cruise ship to submit a crew and passenger manifest that discloses the vaccination status of all persons onboard prior to arrival in the country.
The order said exceptions to the vaccination requirement will be made in cases of emergencies, “in other exigent circumstances approved by the government” or if a passenger has a medical excuse for not being vaccinated.
The new guideline also does not apply to “crew, contractors and any non-revenue passenger” under existing protocols previously agreed upon between the government and cruise lines.
Last week, Royal Caribbean announced it will require all passengers 12 and older sailing from Florida to be vaccinated to comply with the latest emergency order. All crew are fully vaccinated, according to the company.
According to international reports, the cruise line had already required proof of vaccination from passengers 12 and older who were sailing from other US ports.
“Royal Caribbean’s top priority is maintaining everyone’s well-being while complying with federal, state and local laws as we always have. We will continue to evaluate and update our health and safety measures as circumstances evolve,” the cruise line said in a statement.
Other cruise lines sailing from Florida are following suit.
Unvaccinated passengers who are set to depart from Florida between September 3 and October 31 won’t be allowed to sail, MSC Cruises said.
Comments
birdiestrachan 3 years, 2 months ago
Does not make much sense when the Official In Florida Chantiz I believe his name is says it is an offence to ask persons if they are vaccinated.
WETHEPEOPLE 3 years, 2 months ago
Desantis
WETHEPEOPLE 3 years, 2 months ago
I call bs! The ports will allow ships in regardless. We are better of just implementing a fine or something per passenger not vaccainated.
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 2 months ago
What about private charter or personal boats ? there's probably enough of those arriving to equal the number of passengers on a cruise ship.
tribanon 3 years, 2 months ago
Now that's got to be the joke of the day. Management of Royal Caribbean has only ever cared about one thing when it comes to The Bahamas and that's cutting corrupt deals with our government officials in order to royally screw our small nation by profiteering to the maximum extent possible from our pristine territorial waters with no regard or concern whatsover for sustaining the natural beauty of our environment.
None of these corrupt foreign owned cruise ship enterprises contribute a damn thing to the well-being of our country and its people. Their corrupt business practices and very greedy 'all-for-them' business model assures we get absolutely nothing from them but their shiit, contaminants, garbage, pollution and lethal pathogens as they go about destroying our coral reefs and poisoning our conch. And it's all too obvious they have Minnis and D'Aguilar in their pockets big time.
Cobalt 3 years, 2 months ago
I swear you have to be the stupidest idiot alive. Cruise ships bring millions of dollars to the Bahamian economy. It’s our number one bread winner! If cruise ships stop coming to our country, then what? Thousands of Bahamians would be out of work! What the hell are you talking about? Why don’t you go and run for PM instead of complaining! Since you have all the answers. And I guess cruise ships only started coming to the Bahamas when Minnis and Di Agular took office right? We really need to get rid of fools like you. You’re the ones destroying our country.
ScubaSteve 3 years, 2 months ago
HA!! Tribanon doesn't have ANY answers -- only complaints. And yes, he or she is a confirmed IDIOT.
DonAnthony 3 years, 2 months ago
Tribanon has no answers to anything, just wild conspiracies around every corner, slander, unsubstantiated accusations and delusions. Negativity incarnate!
tribanon 3 years, 2 months ago
ZZZZZZzzzzzz........
tribanon 3 years, 2 months ago
ZZZZZZzzzzzzz........
tribanon 3 years, 2 months ago
@Wannabe Doctor Cobalt, you really should stick to your dream of being a physician because you clearly know nothing about the cruise ship industry and our economy. The cruise ships of the 1970's and 1980's were much smaller and had much less onboard in the way of entertainment, restaurants, shopping, etc.
Also, back then the cruise ships were not allowed to open their onboard shops and casinos while in our territorial waters. Downtown Nassau and The Mall in Freeport were a bee hive of economic activity in the 1970's and 1980's with a great variety of stores and restaurants, not to mention the night clubs with live entertainment of the best kind by well known Bahamian musicians.
The cruise ships got much bigger in recent decades and their very greedy foreign operators now put in their own pockets all of that money their passengers used to spend in our local economy. And that's why Downtown Nassau and The Mall in Freeport now look like grave yards. Wake up to reality my friend.
tribanon 3 years, 2 months ago
P.S.: Should have mentioned booming late 1960's too.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 2 months ago
Vaccinated people can be carriers. The protocol should be noone allowed to enter without a negative PCR test. We are well beyond the point of trying not to inconvenience tourists
tribanon 3 years, 2 months ago
....especially cruise ship tourists who usually have little if anything left in their pockets to contribute to our economy after their pockets have been picked clean by the very greedy business model of the cruise line operators.
ohdrap4 3 years, 2 months ago
Dont worry. Cdc called level 4, DO NOT TRAVEL.
Cat got Renward's tongue.
tribanon 3 years, 2 months ago
Yup. Yesterday both the CDC and the US Department of State issued travel avoidance alerts/warnings for The Bahamas. Cat has also got D'Aguilar's tongue.
TalRussell 3 years, 2 months ago
Wouldn't wanna be the red so delegated to tell this late amendment to the emergency order, news to Dionisiso James, — Yes?
Cobalt 3 years, 2 months ago
If I were Dr. Minnis I would really shutdown the entire country again and let all y’all suffer. Simply because it’s a no win situation. If he opens the country people complain. If he closes the country people complain. Complain complain complain! That’s all Bahamian people do! And they do so knowing that if they were in his position, they could do no better! If Dr. Minnis places heavy travel restrictions on the tourism industry, won’t we still suffer? Won’t that put thousands of Bahamians out of work? Then what? Please let me hear y’all solution to the problem.
DonAnthony 3 years, 2 months ago
No more shutdowns, let the chips fall where they may. We have more than enough vaccines. The unvaccinated will just have to deal with the consequences of their poor decision. Sadly there will be collateral damage as non COVID patients suffer from deteriorating healthcare as more resources are allocated to selfish, ignorant unvaccinated COVID infected Bahamians. We simply can not afford to close the economy again and shutdowns lead to a whole host of social ills as well ( hunger, spousal and child abuse, stress etc).
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 2 months ago
I haven't changed my position since June 2020. Control the border control the virus. If they had adopted that approach we would not have had the spikes of July 2020, March 2021 or June/July 2021. Their current strategy is dont inconvenience the tourists
tribanon 3 years, 2 months ago
@Wannabe Doctor Cobalt:
Surprised you have so much time on your hands to be able to post so many comments to this website. Shouldn't you be on duty at PMH or another health facility attending to the urgent medical needs of COVID-19 patients?
I thought all vacation for medical personnel was put on hold because of the pressing need for them to be on deck, especially an eminently qualified wannabe physician like yourself. You really disappoint me. But then again, lives of the hospitalized unvaccinated might actually be saved by you not being on deck.
John 3 years, 2 months ago
Is the poodle D Aguilar trying to grab the spotlight unrelenting? Didn’t the cruise ships announce before resuming sailings that every adult passenger and crew must be vaccinated? And they also will not be sailing at full passenger capacity, amongst other safety measures. So why does the tourism minister come two months later and say The Bahamas will be turning away cruise ships with unvaccinated passengers? Using every effort to hype up vaccines.
B_I_D___ 3 years, 2 months ago
All passengers and workers on commercial air flights in Canada will soon have to prove they've been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Canada's government will also require all federal workers to be vaccinated, citing a "dynamic public health situation" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new travel vaccination policy will apply to passengers and workers in the federally regulated air, rail and cruise ship sectors. It will be enacted "as soon as possible in the fall and no later than the end of October," the Canadian Treasury Board said on Friday.
tribanon 3 years, 2 months ago
Looks like many of us will soon be flying those new discount airlines with names like Unvaccinated Airways and Naturally Immune Airways. lol
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