A couple of cruise lines canceled a series of calls to Bermuda in October & November 2022 due to the island's COVID testing requirements.
Celebrity Cruises and NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line pulled 5 stops (4 Celebrity and 1 NCL). 3 other scheduled calls to Bermuda have been unofficially canceled by other lines.
After inquiries were made to the transport/health ministries about the cancelations, a government spokesperson responded that questions should be directed to the shipping agency handling cruise calls.
The official notice of the cancelation said that due to "the current requirements for testing Bermuda, the cruise lines have decided to cancel the upcoming (transatlantic/repositioning) calls to Bermuda."
The ship's routes contravene Bermuda's COVID protocols for cruise ships and cruise ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean have to pass a 2nd COVID test during the trip to come to Bermuda. Because of this, the lines have clashed with the Health Ministry all year.
The island travel authorization form (expected to remain in effect until spring) comes with a fee of $40.
Companies like Celebrity Cruises eased restrictions on travelers by 50% at the start of the summer as the U.S. CDC-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased restrictions.
Cruises rebounded this year following the Coronavirus crisis but despite growing numbers of tourists, the industry has taken the island's restrictions poorly.
Competing jurisdictions like the Bahamas lifted restrictions, prompting mounting criticism from the opposition to the virus protocols of Bermuda.
Although restrictions were eased last month, unvaccinated travelers must be tested within 2 days of disembarking.