indybelle

Sir Richard may have zero to do with the day to day running of the company, but he started it and it is definitely his brand. He may not be interested, and that's fine. But if hundreds of us wrote to him, he might at least know we're unhappy. If it was a question of more people signed up for the San Juan embarkation, why didn't those on Valiant get first crack at change of itinerary. It's likely most of us would have taken that change since it wouldn't necessitate such draconian schedule shifting. In my case, the window to change was small, the availability of RS Aft suites was almost nil, so I was looking at into next year or heading to Australia - been there, don't want to go back right now. And next year is booked with other commitments. I think because in this case the product didn't live up to the hype is why I'm so upset over the cancellation. Somehow, naively, I expected better. Now I know.

Thank you for further clarification on what happened. I am actually sending an email to Sir Richard Branson - for all the good that will do - to let him - or somebody - know how disappointed I am that Virgin Voyages so summarily throw me to the curb. I thought his brands were different. I was wrong. I won't be rebooking after being treated so shabbily.

Except that we were booked on two B2B cruises on Valiant which were apparently cancelled so that passengers from Brilliant could be booked in our stead. I had a RS Aft cabin - they aren't available on this short notice, and the other cruises out of Miami are just 5 days - that is not a quid pro quo. While the rebooking options seem ok, for me they aren't feasible this year - and I'm not sure how I feel about Virgin Voyages at this point.

We are just back from a 26 day Med. cruise on the Oosterdam. We had three outstanding tours with Italy.EU: Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, The Best of Rome and Vatican and The Best of Florence (without Pisa). All three tours were outstanding (well, Florence was so crowded it was hard to enjoy but that's not Italy.EU's fault! and the guide, Marco, tried to find ways to avoid the really busy main streets). The guides were knowledgeable and fun. We were picked up right at the pier and returned in plenty of time for all aboard. There were no problems in any of them. Information and updates were timely and clear. I would not hesitate to use them again.

We completed our 26 day Med. cruise with a full day tour of Barcelona and Montserrat. Barcelona Day Tours was a pleasure to work with - we had originally planned this for 2020 but of course that didn't happen. They continued to work with us, holding our reservation, until we were finally able to take the tour in November, 2022. The tour was everything I had hoped for. Our guide, Marta, was amazing. She had so much information to give us on a wide variety of topics that made our understanding of the region and the sites much richer. The skip the line tour of Park Guell was well worth it, and she knew how to navigate the site to avoid as many of the crowds as possible. Again, her knowledge absolutely contributed to our understanding of what we were seeing. I can't think of anything that would make this tour better - great company, great guide, great itinerary. Take it if you get the chance.

Just adding our two cents on Rome Cabs. We arranged for transport from FCO to our hotel near Trevi, and then from Trevi to Civitavecchia. Their service was flawless - driver met us on time at FCO and our hotel with clean, comfortable Mercedes sedans. Highly recommend!

My Oct. 10 cruise still shows negative test required so until they change that, I can't use Verifly. It did help in Seattle when we boarded for Alaska.

And whatever happened to the idea that you weren't nickeled and dimed once aboard - I remember back in the dark ages when tips were neither expected nor asked for and it was touted that's what made HAL different from say, Carnival, where apparently you were hit up for tips constantly. This seems like the nose of the camel and where will it end - Up charges at dinner, paying for extra appetizers in the Pinnacle, one wonders what's next.

They would call because it is confusing, especially for those of us on the extended voyage to Barcelona and the question of when and where to test is ambiguous to say the least. On another thread, I posted that the reason the Oct. 10 voyage is not on the Enhanced Protocols and the Oct. 22 voyages are is because it is Spain that is currently requiring testing, not Greece. This from my very knowledgable TA. Therefore, passengers boarding in Civitavecchia, going to Trieste and disembarking don't go to Spain so don't have to test. The question is whether those of us continuing need to have a test when we embark in Civitavecchia. I can imagine the confusion at the pier when those on the first segment theoretically don't have to provide a test and those on the continuing segments do, so presumably we would all have a test at that point and be done with it. And of course this could all change in a nanosecond. My husband and I recovered from covid in August so will present letter of recovery and positive test in lieu of negative test - hope that is acceptable as they currently say it is. But yes, as we approach D-Day for testing, in the absence of any further information, I would just take a test for boarding in Civitavecchia.

My TA told me today that the reason for the testing requirements for the Oct. 22 voyages is that Spain is currently requiring a negative test - so it's not Greece. Since the Oct. 10 voyage doesn't touch Spain, no test required and hence no Enhanced Protocol. And as he said, of course this could all change by October. So, I guess we just keep ourselves up dated on changes. My husband and I have recovered from Covid within the 90 day window so we will be presenting a letter of recovery/positive test result. Anyone heard if there are issues with that? It should see us through the entire cruise.

But if everyone embarking in Civitavecchia is required to test, why, then, is the Oosterdam Oct. 10-22 voyage from Civitavecchia to Trieste not on the enhanced protocol list? That is seriously Greek intensive. And since it's not currently on the list, and people show up for the 12 day cruise without a test because of that, how will HAL handle that at the dock. It is confusing and it seems someone somewhere should have the answers. But as you say, good luck with that. We're on the 26 day booked as single cruise so it's not going to matter, we will test, but inquiring minds want to know why that cruise is not on the enhanced list.

To Miss G - you are right - and that would make sense except that our Oct. 10 voyage - which is pretty Greek intensive - isn't on the list so people who are just on the Civitavecchia to Trieste leg don't have to test? Just seems odd. I agree with you, though - we apparently come under the enhanced protocols since the voyages after us are on the list. I just don't get why the Oct. 10 voyage is not listed. At any rate, for us, we recovered from Covid in August so are within the 90 day window to show a positive test result and/or certificate of recovery (once again, the instructions are unclear on that) - see you aboard.

My cruise is 26 days (Oct. 10-Nov 5) and the first segment - Civitavecchia to Trieste - is Greek intensive and yet is not on the Enhanced Protocol list - which if Greece is requiring negative tests prior to boarding, one would assume our voyage would be included. The next two segments from Trieste to Barcelona and on are on the list but have only one stop in Greece That's why I'm confused - my first segment should be on the list but isn't. Per the Enhanced Protocols pdf, "If your cruise falls under any part of an Enhanced Protocol itinerary, including back-to-back cruises or Collectors’ Voyages, the Enhanced Protocols apply." This would indicate that we will need to test prior to boarding in Civitavecchia. I'm not intimating that this is an error - and I'm not arguing with the requirements - they are, after all, what they are - but I'm trying to find out what why. Of course the cruise industry must comply with local requirements and perhaps that is ultimately the answer, but inquiring minds just want to know.

It's confusing. We are on the Oosterdam Oct. 10-Nov. 5. The leg Oct. 10-22 is not on the Enhanced Protocol list. The next two legs from Trieste to Barcelona (and the TransAt) do. Instructions state that if any part of your voyage is listed in the Enhanced Protocols, you fall under them. Hence, even though our Oct. 10 voyage is not listed, we apparently are required to present a test prior to boarding on the 10th. What I don't understand is none of the countries we visit require any covid vaccines or tests to enter, even Greece (gr.usembassy.gov). So I'm still trying to figure out why the testing. I'm not against it, but I just can't make sense of the why, and of course it could change. Anyone have an answer?

We're on the same cruise (10/10) - it's true that our cruise is not listed, but the Oosterdam voyages of Oct. 22, both the Trieste to Barcelona and the Barcelona to FLL, are listed as requiring the "enhanced protocols." This is what is confusing - I quote from the HAL website FAQs: "Check the list to find out if your voyage is a cruise with Enhanced Protocols that includes more extensive health regulations. If your cruise is any part of an Enhanced Protocol itinerary, including back-to-back cruises or Collectors’ Voyages, the Enhanced Protocols apply. If your cruise is not listed, follow the simplified Standard Protocols." I guess if you are just Rome to Trieste you are not required to test, but if you stay on??? So are we included because we are aboard the Trieste to Barcelona segment? or are we not? We are not doing the TransAt which is clearly marked out as requiring testing. When I contacted HAL the representative was still giving information about the 16 day length being determinative so she wasn't even up to date on the Sept. 1 protocols, let alone Sept. 6. So, if anyone has clarification on the Oct. 10 Rome to Barcelona, it would be appreciated. And why is Greece still an issue? Everything I've read says it's totally open - so if someone has information on that, it would be helpful. Thanks!

I hadn't seen anyone mention this and the board is usually where I see these sorts of things first, so am wondering if I'm missing something in the new protocols. It looks like vaccinated guests no longer have to provide a negative covid test to board in Europe (except for Greece)- this removes the 16+ day exception to the previous policy. Am I missing something? Updated August 23, 2022 Until further notice, these are the requirements for our cruise guests on Europe sailings. Important Update: For European cruises* departing on or after September 6, 2022, guests will enjoy new simplified vaccine and testing protocols on most voyages. *New protocols do not apply to cruises embarking in Greece, trans-ocean, and designated remote voyages. For European cruises departing on September 6 or after: Pre-cruise testing is no longer required for vaccinated guests. Vaccinated guests must provide proof of vaccination status prior to embarkation. Unvaccinated guests are welcome and must provide results of a negative medically supervised or at-home self-test taken within three days of embarkation.

We have booked 3 tours with them for October - made final payment on July 17 and received email confirmation today for all three..