Singapore’s Vaccinated Travel Lanes - Opening FlyCruise possibilities?

UPDATE (FEBRUARY 2023): With the lowering of Singapore’s Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) to GREEN LEVEL as of February 2023, the preventive measures and/or testing requirements mentioned within this article are no longer in effect. Guests are advised to enquire with the respective cruise lines for updated Testing, Vaccination Requirements and Preventive Measures.

VTL INBOUND

You can make use of the Vaccinated Travel Lanes for your cruise overseas now. PHOTO: SINGAPORE AIRLINES, ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL — You can make use of the Vaccinated Travel Lanes for your cruise overseas now. **PHOTO: SINGAPORE AIRLINES, ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL**

Vensen Wong, Ethan Wang

@sgcruisesociety

SINGAPORE: As part of the country’s opening, Singapore recently announced the establishment of new Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) with nine new countries, on top of Germany and Brunei which have already been in effect since September. These additional countries come just in time for the 2021 year-end festive period of Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year.

Confused about which countries are now a part of Singapore’s VTL scheme?

Take a look at our handy-dandy table down below:

What is VTL and its prerequisites?

You can select any flight out of Singapore as there are no restrictions on departure. However, do ensure you comply with the requirements above and book a VTL flight for return.

For visitors and Singapore Pass Holders entering Singapore, do apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) ahead of your arrival in Singapore, ensure you comply with the above requirements and book a VTL flight arriving into Singapore. For your return, you may select any flight departing out of Singapore.

Do note that COVID-19 tests are still required for pre-departure or on-arrival tests, subject to Singapore and your travel destination prevailing requirements.

Flying out of Singapore for a cruise overseas - Quick Overview

If you are currently in Singapore, you can now travel out of the country for a cruise sailing anywhere from the VTL regions, and return without serving quarantine under the VTL scheme, but with a catch - if your cruise visits a port that is not within a VTL country/region - you will have to restart your 14 days travel history upon return to the VTL country.

We recommend that you do extensive research on travel restrictions and local rules and regulations before you book your cruise.

You must comply with all COVID-related health protocols and testing regimes of the country you are in, the ports you are visiting, and the requirements to return back to Singapore on top of the vaccination and onboard health protocols of the cruise lines, with or without using the VTL scheme.

What is the outlook on FlyCruises to Singapore?

With the addition of more VTL’s from global cities, there is a real possibility of the resumption of FlyCruises to Singapore, where VTL’s could go along with Royal Caribbean and Genting Cruise Line’s cruises to nowhere. Royal Caribbean’s current commitment to its successful series of Ocean Getaway Cruises increases the likelihood for fly-cruises to be reintroduced based on a stringent and controlled basis.

According to Annie Chang, STB’s Director of Cruise, she believes that “as our economy and borders gradually re-open, we will review the requirements to allow non-residents, including those on Vaccinated Travel Lanes, to sail from Singapore.” Prior to the pandemic, Singapore’s cruising industry has been heavily reliant upon fly cruisers with Singapore being the gateway cruise hub for South-East Asia. The intention to bring this stature back to Singapore in a post-pandemic world depends upon the border measures instilled by the local government as the situation evolves.

More recently, the announcement of Spectrum of the Seas 2022-2023 Singapore deployment is strong evidence that the resumption of fly-cruises to Singapore is well underway for next year as long as the pandemic seems to be tamed. Some highlights of the deployment announcement included sailings ranging from 3-9 nights visiting popular ports of call in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam.