As of today, UnCruise Adventures is “pivoting to vaccinated cruises,” according to the company’s CEO, Dan Blanchard. This rule pertains to both guests and crew onboard its vessels (except in the Galapagos Islands), who will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before coming onboard. UnCruise’s first Alaska voyage for the season sets sail on May 10, 2021.
On a conference call with Mike Dunleavy, the governor of the state of Alaska, and Beth Weldon, the mayor of the city of Juneau, UnCruise led a discussion promoting the state’s status as open for travel.
“We’re ready for visitors,” said Weldon, who also added that no quarantine will be required of vaccinated visitors.
Weldon also said that she is “encouraging vaccines” to other small cruise operators, but that it is ultimately up to each brand as to whether they will require vaccines
For UnCruise guests, only adults 18 and over will need to be vaccinated, while children under the age of 18 will not face the same requirement. As a further precaution, negative pre-cruise molecular testing is still required of all passengers within the four days leading up to boarding the vessel.
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The line continues to emphasize the need to wash hands, wear a mask and physically distance. Face coverings will not be required when eating or drinking, while in private cabins or on deck and during activities so long as physical distancing is possible.
According to Blanchard, 2021 is “going to be the year to visit.”
“This wild Alaska free space is going to be theirs,” he said of travelers.
While efforts are underway to permit large cruise ships to sail this season, both the current Canadian ban and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) restrictions are likely to make that an impossibility.
Weldon indicated that there are two other unnamed but presumably larger lines that are looking to start up with summertime vaccinated cruises in hopes that it would sway the CDC.
“We’re trying very hard to get the CDC and of course Canada to budge,” she said.
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UnCruise Adventures
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