American cruise lines refusing some Canadian passengers

Canadians may find it harder than usual to book a trip on a cruise line this season. What's going on?

As of late, certain American lines may not currently consider Canadians to be fully vaccinated, particularly if they've received mix and match COVID-19 vaccine doses.

For example, cruise line Princess Cruises' updated its policy to only permit fully vaccinated people to board the ship.

It proceeds by noting that cruisegoers who've received one dose of a vector vaccine (like AstraZeneca) and one dose of an mRNA (like Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) "will not be considered fully vaccinated."

"Guests who have received two single doses of mixed vaccines that are the same type (e.g., mRNA) will be considered fully vaccinated and will be permitted to sail, so long as the final dose is received at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the cruise," the policy adds.

Cruise company Holland America Line has similar requirements, as does Norwegian Cruise Line, which has since stated that their American liners will refuse passengers with mix and match COVID-19 vaccine doses, including mixed mRNA doses and mRNA doses mixed with AstraZeneca.

Royal Caribbean has also updated their policy to say it would bar passengers with mixed vaccines, considering them not fully vaccinated.

The Prime Minister has stated that he would "work with the international community to make sure that people who are fully vaccinated in ways that Canadians recognize as safe and effective are also recognized around the world." Apparently, this isn't the case. Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) approved mixing and matching vaccine doses back in June.