Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji
Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan Area are relaxing their COVID-19 restrictions and opening to international tourists, however any implications for cruises were not immediately clear.
Seatrade Cruise News reached out to several cruise lines after the news broke Friday and will update this story with any reaction and insights. It’s possible there could be different rules for cruises.
No special visas for eligible countries nor mandatory hotel quarantine
Japan will fully open on Oct. 11, with no special visa needed for eligible nations, including the US, nor any visitor cap, while Hong Kong and Taiwan Area are doing away with mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals.
International arrivals to Hong Kong will no longer have to spend three days in a quarantine hotel, according to Reuters, but will need to self-monitor for three days and can’t go to restaurants or bars during that time.
Tawain will fully reinstate its visa-exempt entry scheme Sept. 29 for nationals of eligible countries to engage in activities that do not require a permit, including tourism.
No international Japan cruises since early 2020
Japan has been operating domestic cruises buthas not hosted internatinal ships since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020 when Diamond Princess experienced a highly publicizedoutbreak and was held at the Port of Yokohama for a lengthy isolation under the Ministry of Health.
Taiwan Area and Hong Kong had stints of cruisesfor residents
During parts of the pandemic, first Taiwan Area and later Hong Kong sanctioned domestic cruises and cruises tonowhere, respectively,for residents, and the now defunct Dream Cruises had operated a ship from each. Taiwan Area, in fact, was one of the first places globally to resume cruises, in late July2020.
Royal Caribbean International’s Spectrum of the Seas sailed from Hong Kong for a couple months until early January, when strict measures to stem the Omicron variant were imposed.
Due to the subsequent uncertainty about when cruising could restart, Spectrum was redeployed to Singapore and is scheduled there through April 2023. Last month, news broke that Royal Caribbean was applying to return to Hong Kong.
Update notes domestic cruises have been operating in Japan
