Virgin Voyages Will Drop Pre-Cruise Testing This Month

Another cruise line is dropping its COVID-19 testing requirements.

Virgin Voyages on Thursday announced that it was dropping its pre-cruise COVID-19 requirements for both U.S. and European sailings, joining others who have opted to do the same in recent weeks.

Virgin made the announcement on Thursday, writing that it “responded immediately” to the CDC’s recent news to discontinue their voluntary COVID-19 program, and chose to remove pre-embarkation testing from July 24 for Europe sailings and from July 27 for U.S. sailings.

“Along with the rest of the cruise industry, the brand welcomes the update and autonomy that has been afforded the rest of the travel sector over the past several years. The news comes as the cruise industry continues to regain post-pandemic momentum,” Virgin said in its announcement.

Virgin will keep vaccination requirements for both Valiant Lady and Scarlet Lady. It will also now require all of its U.S. sailings to be marked at 90% vaccination, allowing those who are unvaccinated to contact Virgin’s Sailor Services to book a sailing “if these thresholds are met.”

However, it said that it is “evaluating this policy and will announce further updates in the near future.”

Other pandemic-era health measures, including enhanced air purification systems and deep cleaning/sanitization, will continue.

With the news, Virgin joins other lines, including Azamara and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, in dropping some of its testing requirements over the past recent weeks.