Virgin Voyages Will Require Passengers, Crew to Be Fully Vaccinated

Virgin Voyages has announced that all passengers will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before boarding future cruises.

A spokesperson for the cruise line confirmed to Travel + Leisure on Tuesday that they were "committed to fully vaccinated cruises, which includes both passengers and crew" when service resumes, expected later this year.

"We're really encouraged by the latest rollout plans in the May time frame from the new administration, and we know the future is about vaccinations," CEO of the cruise line, Tom McAplin, said in an additional statement provided to T+L. "We're an adult-only cruise line which allows for us to offer a highly controlled, safe environment for everyone on board. Our business makes us uniquely set up to do this with testing and vaccine travel requirements."

Virgin Voyages has not yet decided what kind of proof passengers or crew will need to provide of their vaccination.

The cruise line was expecting to make its grand debut in April last year, but plans were delayed (multiple times) due to the pandemic. The cruise line's debut ship, the "Scarlet Lady," is scheduled to make its grand debut in July from Miami. Its second "Valiant Lady" ship is expected to debut in November, with cruises from Barcelona. And a third ship, the "Resilient Lady" will sail from Greece in Summer 2022.

Virgin is far from the only cruise line that will require passengers to be vaccinated once they set sail again.

Crystal Cruises announced last month that it would require all passengers to be vaccinated before boarding.

Royal Caribbean will require all crew members to be vaccinated. It will also have one cruise ship that will be "fully vaccinated" and depart from Israel, although the company has not yet announced plans for any of its other ships.

Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.

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