The Cayman Islands are moving to Phase II after the successful Phase I of the reopening for cruise visitors.
Phase II means the restrictions on the number of cruise vessels docking each day will be removed. Cruise ships have not been allowed to stop in Cayman for 2 years since March 21, 2020, when the first cases of COVID were found on the island.
In Phase I, between March 21-April 17, a total of 21 cruise ships, carrying ~75,000 passengers, were allowed to call in Cayman.
Phase II, which starts on Monday, April 18, “will continue until the Long-Term Cruise Tourism Strategy is completed, before the end of the year”, the government announced in a press release.
The primary difference between Phases I & II is the restrictions on the number of cruise ships have been removed.
According to Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, the government is expecting 60 ships through to June as the transition starts for Phase II.
Cruise ships will "revert to the normal process of liaising with the Port Authority Cayman Islands for approval to dock, rather than going through the Ministry of Tourism, as was the case for Phase I.”
The health protocols that exist for Phase I remain in force for Phase II, including the conditions for all guests and crew to be fully vaccinated and for kids under the age of 12 to take on the vaccination status of their parents.
Travellers are tested for COVID before boarding the cruise ships but are not required to be tested instantly prior to landing in Cayman.
Anybody who tests positive will not be allowed to disembark.