Royal Caribbean cruise restart in Cyprus now open to vaccinated UAE cruise tourists

Cyprus has added the UAE to a list of 65 countries from which fully vaccinated tourists can travel without any quarantine restrictions, just weeks ahead of the Royal Caribbean cruise restart in Cyprus.

This means that UAE cruise tourists will be able to take advantage of Royal Caribbean’s restart of Med cruises from Limassol this coming July.

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Other countries in the region included in the list are Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait and Lebanon.

According to Savvas Perdios, Minister for Tourism for Cyprus, visitors from these countries will neither need to provide a negative Covid test nor quarantine, so long as they have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The new tourism guidance will apply from May 10th onwards, just in time for the Royal Caribbean cruise restart in Cyprus, with its ship Jewel of the Seas homeporting in Limassol from July.

Israeli and British tourists were given permission to visit the east Mediterranean holiday destination last month, also without entry restrictions, which was partly what prompted Royal Caribbean to announce its summer cruise season from the island.

If tourists do holiday on the Mediterranean island, they will have to comply with health protocols such as mandatory mask wearing and social distancing. Similar safety protocols will be in effect aboard Jewel of the Seas.

Cyprus has recorded a total of 298 coronavirus deaths and 61,576 infections to date.

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The island will be the latest Mediterranean destination to allow cruises to resume, following Greece and Italy. In Italy, several hundred thousand cruise passengers have taken a cruise holiday aboard Costa and MSC Cruises ships, without any cases of COVID-19 reported.

The Royal Caribbean cruise restart in Cyprus will feature 7-night roundtrip itineraries from Limassol, visiting Cyprus and the Greek Isles between July and October.

“I’m delighted to announce our safe and gradual return to Europe,” Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International said at the time. “We know how eager our guests are to enjoy a getaway this summer, and these sailings, which include a mix of fantastic destinations and must-visit islands, make for the perfect getaway.”

Guests will be able to visit a combination of culture-rich cities and idyllic islands, including Limassol, Athens and the Greek islands of Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos and Santorini.