Getting Ready to go Back Onboard, All You Need to Know

The latest information provided for Royal Caribbean Group crew regarding the process of going back to service, travel documents, medical paperwork, PCR testing including Celebrity, Azamara, Silversea, and Tui Cruises.

I recommend you first read this detailed blog about how the return to work will look like, regarding the selection of crew and general conditions.

Necessary Documentation

C1/D Visa Renewal

Can usually be done by mailing previous documentation to your local embassy, LOE is usually required as proof.

Medical Renewal

Crew members can renew their medicals onboard if their current certificate expires at least 6 months after signing-on.

STCW Refresher Courses

Only specific courses like firefighting and lifeboat commander tranings are eligible for refresher courses, the basic STCW has to be retaken once it's expired. Check local training facilities or approved online sites like Marlin's.

Getting Ready

Here are the guidelines Royal has pointed out for crew to make themselves elegible to be assigned a ship as soon as possible.

Updating Documents

Understanding the international situation it has been pointed out that no supporting documentation for the renewal of documents is currently being provided to general crew, except only to those who have an active assignment.

Everyone is encouraged to renew personal documents and courses on their own.

Crew will be contacted in batches to renew their documents, be patient.

Official Communications Say

"We are working on assessing documents for all our active crew. This is a big task that will be done in groups, so not everyone will be contacted at the same time. Continue to check MyRCL and your personal email address for a document request email. This email will include a document readiness survey that helps give your HR team an idea of the status of your required documents and how we can help you update them without delay. When you receive the survey, take a few minutes to complete it as soon as possible

Should you renew your expired documents before you have an assignment? It is recommended for your documents to be valid and uploaded to C-TRAC. Currently, we are not providing supportive documentation to renew documents, unless you have an assignment. However, there are several documents you can renew without a letter of employment, including: · Passport · STCW training certificates · Seaman’s Book

Important Reminders:

• Please allow up to five (5) business days for your documents to be validated once submitted.

• If your current documents are already in C-TRAC or they are expired, please do not upload them to the system.

• Uploading your valid documents does not guarantee or confirm an assignment but will help you be ready for when one is offered.

• We will contact you as soon as we have an assignment available for you"

Bottom line is: Get all you can ready and whatever needs extra documentation you will renew when you have an assignment.

New Embarkation Protocols

No surprise here, to travel nowadays we need to prove we are Covid-free possibly in several instances, but for now, make sure you identify the approved PCR testing facility in your region.

Click here to access the list of Royal Caribbean approved PCR test providers per country.

Steps to follow prior to travel

Click here to read the most updated and detailed information about the testing and travel process.

The timeline of the process might vary depending on where you are travel to and from but basically, we need to:

Self-quarantine after testing and before flying.
Wear masks as we travel.
Carry the test results and payment confirmation with you.
Probably be tested on the pier before embarkation.
Quarantine on board before starting to work.

If we test positive we cannot travel until we undergo a 15-day quarantine and test again until we are virus-free.

Read: New protocol recommendations affecting crew published by the Healthy Sail Panel of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Groups.

A Note About your STCW

You might see on your C-Trac that your STCW section appears incomplete even though you've previously uploaded your Basic Training Certificate and it's not yet expired, well now you can upload all your safety and security training certificates (indicating the exact type of it as shown in the picture) in order to make the embarkation process smoother. So once you are contacted to check your documents, just re-upload your Basic Training and add any other certificates you might have completed onboard for review and approval.