No 10 days. How about back-to-back 7 days?

[Cornteen]

My 10 day Caribbean cruise was cancelled due to CDC regs. My trip planner at Princess, Joni, who is awesome by the way, booked me on a 7day Eastern Caribbean cruise. After checking it out on line i saw a Western Caribbean cruise that leaves the previous week, returns and then goes on the eastern cruise. So i have a call in to her to see if i can do the western and then either debark and reboard or just stay on board making it a 14 day cruise. 

I'm hoping this loophole works. I really need a vacation. 

Thoughts?

 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

From what my agency has learned from the various cruise lines - no b2b cruises to/from US ports, regardless of individual cruise length, until after 11/1/2021. This is per CDC. 

[KreinKrunker]

3 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 no b2b cruises to/from US ports

Our agency just booked us on a B2B2B, last week.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

9 minutes ago, KreinKrunker said:

Our agency just booked us on a B2B2B, last week.

That was last week, this is now.

 

We just got the word yesterday in an internal company memo. At some point cruise the cruise lines intend to reach out to agents/customers and see which cruise they want to stay with and cancel the attached booking(s). 

 

Of course this can all change next week, and again the week after that, and again in two months, and again the day after that. NOTHING is 100% “for sure” right now - NOTHING!!!! Especially with the CDC having a stranglehold over the industry and pulling all the strings. 

Edited November 22, 2020 by AtlantaCruiser72

[memoak]

 I have an Alaskan b2b booked for August September still good to go per my PVP. I think it will be a wait and see. The CDC will probably monitor vaccinations and quite possibly change that date it is not set in stone

[franktown]

12 hours ago, memoak said:

 I have an Alaskan b2b booked for August September still good to go per my PVP. I think it will be a wait and see. The CDC will probably monitor vaccinations and quite possibly change that date it is not set in stone

I got a completely different answer from my PVP.  Was told that Princess was aware of the work around and the IT department was working on the software to be able to identify those who have a b2b booking.   She told me that they will contact them and give them the option to cancel one of the b2b.

[Coral]

Maybe book a NB Alaskan cruise, spend a few days on land and then book a SB Alaskan cruise. Can be different ships, different lines, etc...

[skynight]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

Maybe book a NB Alaskan cruise, spend a few days on land and then book a SB Alaskan cruise. Can be different ships, different lines, etc...

You would have to check the protocols first. Could be easy, could be difficult. Depends on the boarding protocols. 

[southpawsdakota]

Yesterday I was told by our PVP that the CDC will not allow B2B because passengers would need to be tested between each cruise. Our February 2021 was cancelled. 

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

Maybe book a NB Alaskan cruise, spend a few days on land and then book a SB Alaskan cruise. Can be different ships, different lines, etc...

It's seems a possibility but the main reason we take B2B cruises is that we don't have to pack everything just to move. I even dislike having to change cabins no less moving to another ship. 

I suppose we'll just wait it our until they relax the stringent rules & a vaccine is available. 

[bstrauss3]

Quoting the CDC order...

 

 

CDC-Conditional-Sail-Order_10_30_2020-p.pdf

[skidroe]

We had a B2B out of Seattle on the Emerald Princess , we switched  the 2nd cruise to the Majestic Princess leaving a day later out of Seattle.

This should get around the B2B cancellation

 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, southpawsdakota said:

Yesterday I was told by our PVP that the CDC will not allow B2B because passengers would need to be tested between each cruise. Our February 2021 was cancelled. 

So why would the passengers need to be retested but not the crew?

[skynight]

23 minutes ago, memoak said:

So why would the passengers need to be retested but not the crew?

Suspect that there are frequent testing protocols for crew. 

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, skynight said:

Suspect that there are frequent testing protocols for crew. 

If that will be the case then it should be fairly simple to also test b2b passengers. By the time our cruise sails we will have been vaccinated. It should not be a big deal. Testing will not do it but vaccination will

[Coral]

58 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

It's seems a possibility but the main reason we take B2B cruises is that we don't have to pack everything just to move. I even dislike having to change cabins no less moving to another ship. 

I suppose we'll just wait it our until they relax the stringent rules & a vaccine is available. 

While I like B2Bs - the interior of Alaska is also worth seeing!

[Shmoo here]

59 minutes ago, skidroe said:

We had a B2B out of Seattle on the Emerald Princess , we switched  the 2nd cruise to the Majestic Princess leaving a day later out of Seattle.

This should get around the B2B cancellation

 

Unless, of course, the requirement would be that 72 hour test precruise and the rapid (on embarkation) test.  With only a day between cruises, the 72 hour test wouldn't be possible.

[wallyj]

36 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Unless, of course, the requirement would be that 72 hour test precruise and the rapid (on embarkation) test.  With only a day between cruises, the 72 hour test wouldn't be possible.

I think testing requirement for cruising will still be required even after vaccine for awhile. I can see some  enterprising Labs close to ports that will open to do rapid 1 hour testing, similar to the Airlines doing for travel to Hawaii. These tests are PCR not antibody. I have seen pricing for the 1 hour tests $150 - $250. So with a day between cruises, pre-test can still be done.

 

My understanding with MSC in Europe, they do the quick test at embarkation, followed by PCR if quick test is positive. A positive for both tests results in denied boarding. I believe MSC offers low insurance to cover your cruise loss in this instance. I believe this policy has not resulting in major outbreaks. I have only read of a couple of cases where testing showed positive when returning to ship from port stop, passenger isolated then debarked, following cruise, a 'contact' was tested and was positive and debarked , but no other spread. The key is to control the spread as we know testing is not 100% and Covid will make it onto the ship. The vaccines are also not 100%, so there will always be a risk, hopefully it will be very low with protocols.

 

Seadream required the 72 hour pretest and testing on embarkation. It has not been confirmed, but rumor was the party that tested positive, tested in CA, then flew to Florida, celebrated un safely in Miami where they were possibly infected, or they were infected already but not enough for testing to show. 

 

Still waiting to find out if upto 72 hour pretest will be required, as my understanding only embarkation and disembarking testing to be done per current CDC guidelines. Will cruiselines invest to upgrade Medical Labs to be able to test all crew and passengers before disembark on ship, or have lab facilty at port, so you test after getting off ship with your luggage and released with a negative result? 

 

Have read Viking has one small ship with updated lab that can test all crew and passengers, not sure how easy to do with large cruiseships. 

[Cornteen]

Thanks for all the replies. The cruise isn't until the end of July. Hopefully all this covid bs is behind us by then. 

I'll let you know what happens. 

[caribill]

12 hours ago, wallyj said:

Have read Viking has one small ship with updated lab that can test all crew and passengers, not sure how easy to do with large cruiseships. 

 

If all the passengers on a ship such as the Royal (3560 passenger capacity) need to be tested in an 8 hour period (for example, before disembarkation or onshore) that would mean processing about 7.4 passengers per minute.

 

Not sure how this could be accomplished on or off the ship, even with a quick response test.

[tring]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If all the passengers on a ship such as the Royal (3560 passenger capacity) need to be tested in an 8 hour period (for example, before disembarkation or onshore) that would mean processing about 7.4 passengers per minute.

 

Not sure how this could be accomplished on or off the ship, even with a quick response test.

 

I do not see a problem as they could easily set up a number of places around the ship to test different passengers/crew.

 

[voljeep]

4 minutes ago, tring said:

 

I do not see a problem as they could easily set up a number of places around the ship to test different passengers/crew.

 

muster stations would be a good start ... this won't just be a crew of 4-5 to do the testings - more like 20 or so per ship if needed depending upon occupancy when cruising resumes

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If all the passengers on a ship such as the Royal (3560 passenger capacity) need to be tested in an 8 hour period (for example, before disembarkation or onshore) that would mean processing about 7.4 passengers per minute.

 

Not sure how this could be accomplished on or off the ship, even with a quick response test.

 

1 hour ago, tring said:

 

I do not see a problem as they could easily set up a number of places around the ship to test different passengers/crew.

 

 

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

muster stations would be a good start ... this won't just be a crew of 4-5 to do the testings - more like 20 or so per ship if needed depending upon occupancy when cruising resumes

 

The ships won't be near full in the early days.  Again, mass vaccination is going to be the key to eliminating - or almost eliminating - all the new rigamarole.

 

[memoak]

Bring on the vaccines. I am ready to get protected and then sail 

[wallyj]

Just saw YouTube video posted by a travel agent from Canada saying the updated CDC alert to level 4 requires quarantine after a cruise which essentially will bar B2B sailing. You can not get around by switching cruise lines and the period between cruises appears to be about 7 days! I think it was said if you do not test after cruise, you have to quarantine for 14 days?

 

I hope these rules will be amended with vaccination? The posted who said switching to Majestic a few days after would NOT be able to sail and will probably be notified one of their sailings needs to be cancelled.

Edited November 24, 2020 by wallyj