Bahamas to allow fully vaccinated travelers to bypass PCR testing requirement

[sunshinetricia]

It's scary enough for me to complete a form like that in the US that says if I lie I could be subject to criminal proceedings. I've seen enough Dateline specials to know I don't want to take that chance in a foreign country!!

[dswallow]

11 minutes ago, sunshinetricia said:

It's scary enough for me to complete a form like that in the US that says if I lie I could be subject to criminal proceedings. I've seen enough Dateline specials to know I don't want to take that chance in a foreign country!!

 

Brad Davis in "Midnight Express" comes to mind... 🙂

[dswallow]

We need more states to do this.

 

Bill to Criminalize Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Verification Cards Introduced - Insider NJ

[A&L_Ont]

2 hours ago, bouhunter said:

1.  You would never know who lied

2.  You would never know for sure where you got covid

3.  You would never be able to prove where you got covid

4.  No lawyer would take that case

 

Except for maybe number 4... a lawyer might take a case against the cruise line saying that they were not diligent in keeping the guest safe from Covid. 
 

One will try, but shouldn’t get far with it. 

[Booking It]

This is great news! I was having some anxiety surrounding the requirement for a test, uploading it to get a health visa, waiting for approval for the visa, and then possibly needing to get a second test to meet the Royal Caribbean requirements since the timelines would be different. We are planning on flying out two days early, so it was going to be a mess!

[Sunshine3601]

7 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

Where I currently see holes, if not quite conflicts, in policies are:

- Those 16 or 17 who ARE vaccinated.

- Potentially those 12, 13, 14 and 15 who ARE vaccinated, since we might see approval for this happen soon.
- Timetables for testing of those "Under 18" as required by Royal Caribbean.
- Any potential changes to testing requirements to match the same exceptions on those under 10 that The Bahamas permits without testing.
- Perhaps more detail about any allowances for anyone unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons (other than currently the "contact the special needs department" statement).

 

Any others anyone can think of?

What about the health visa one needs to purchase before arrival?  Is this still needed for vaccinated people?  How will someone input online for health visa they are vaccinated?  A simple yes or no question should Not be sufficient, IMO.

[dswallow]

Just now, Sunshine3601 said:

What about the health visa one needs to purchase before arrival?  Is this still needed for vaccinated people?  How will someone input online for health visa they are vaccinated?  A simple yes or no question should Not be sufficient, IMO.

 

I'd expect you upload the proof of vaccination, which for the most part in the US is the CDC-labeled paper vaccination card, just like you previously would have uploaded RT-PCR test results.

[harkinmr]

2 hours ago, Booking It said:

This is great news! I was having some anxiety surrounding the requirement for a test, uploading it to get a health visa, waiting for approval for the visa, and then possibly needing to get a second test to meet the Royal Caribbean requirements since the timelines would be different. We are planning on flying out two days early, so it was going to be a mess!

Has Royal come out and said that vaccinated persons do not have to have a test at embarkation? The Bahamas' vaccine exception for testing does not mean that Royal won't still require one.

[ReneeFLL]

8 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

Random anti-body testing might be one way to discourage using falsified vaccination proof. Especially when it happens in a country with less-than-desirable prison conditions.

I was thinking the same thing without no get out of jail free card. Must spend x amount of days.

[Iamcruzin]

8 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

Lying to the customs and immigration officials when entering a country always leads to good things happening 100% of the time, right?

Yeah, it's a sad thing that the US is failing to provide a standardized way to confirm proof of vaccination; it's simply not helping at all to get us out of this pandemic faster. But over time it will get better, and states are starting to do something to provide such proof themselves, since the states do technically have this information.

I just downloaded the NYS wallet app. They ask your Name, DOB ,the date you received the second dose, the county you were vaccinated in and the name of the vaccine you got. That's how they verify that it's you. Then you get a QR code to store in the app. This will enable you to enter sports events and concerts without having to to show proof of a negative covid test. It has an expiration date of 9/2021 so I will have to resubmit the information when it expires. Much better than having to carry a card that's too big for a wallet.

[ReneeFLL]

5 hours ago, B Midged said:

I hope they have a no exception policy, regardless of whatever documents one has. 

Agreed at least for in the beginning. Just because someone can’t get the shot doesn’t mean they should be allowed to possibly bring it on board.

 

5 hours ago, coffeebean said:

Seriously? Are you proud to profess that?

Unfortunately there are THOSE kind of people that will do anything to get on a cruise including lying. They don’t care that they could possibly bring covid into another country.

[Booking It]

34 minutes ago, harkinmr said:

Has Royal come out and said that vaccinated persons do not have to have a test at embarkation? The Bahamas' vaccine exception for testing does not mean that Royal won't still require one.

I am certain that Royal would still require it. I meant that I was going to have to get one test to get a visa for entry to the Bahamas (where we would prefer to arrive two days early), and because that test would be taken so early to meet the visa requirements, we would have to get a second test for Royal since they would probably require one closer to the sail date. One test in the Chicago area is about $150, so not having to get the test for the visa will save us about $300 and a lot of hassle. 

[harkinmr]

1 minute ago, Booking It said:

I am certain that Royal would still require it. I meant that I was going to have to get one test to get a visa for entry to the Bahamas (where we would prefer to arrive two days early), and because that test would be taken so early to meet the visa requirements, we would have to get a second test for Royal since they would probably require one closer to the sail date. One test in the Chicago area is about $150, so not having to get the test for the visa will save us about $300 and a lot of hassle. 

Got it.  Thanks for responding!

[dswallow]

45 minutes ago, harkinmr said:

Has Royal come out and said that vaccinated persons do not have to have a test at embarkation? The Bahamas' vaccine exception for testing does not mean that Royal won't still require one.

 

Umm, yeah. That's the whole restart thing with the new home ports in The Bahamas and in Bermuda. Vaccination proof required for those 18+ and for those under 18, a negative RT-PCR test.

 

The RT-PCR test for those 18 and older was only ever for entry to The Bahamas, as part of the required Bahamas Health Visa. Now that the RT-PCR test requirement is gone for those 18+ who are vaccinated, there's definitely no RT-PCR test requirement for those vaccinated to get on the ship.

 

[harkinmr]

51 minutes ago, dswallow said:

 

Umm, yeah. That's the whole restart thing with the new home ports in The Bahamas and in Bermuda. Vaccination proof required for those 18+ and for those under 18, a negative RT-PCR test.

 

The RT-PCR test for those 18 and older was only ever for entry to The Bahamas, as part of the required Bahamas Health Visa. Now that the RT-PCR test requirement is gone for those 18+ who are vaccinated, there's definitely no RT-PCR test requirement for those vaccinated to get on the ship.

 

51 minutes ago, dswallow said:

 

I don't think that the cruise line has eliminated the rapid antigen test at embarkation for all passengers as yet.  It was an additional testing requirement set out in the FAQs when the cruises first went up for sale.  That is a separate test from the PCR test to get in to the Bahamas.

Edited April 22, 2021 by harkinmr

[dswallow]

3 minutes ago, harkinmr said:

I don't think that the cruise line has eliminated the rapid antigen test at embarkation for all passengers as yet.  It was an additional testing requirement set out in the FAQs when the cruises first went up for sale.  That is a separate test from the PCR test to get in to the Bahamas.

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/AD_FAQs.pdf

[harkinmr]

11 minutes ago, dswallow said:

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/AD_FAQs.pdf

That paragraph does state that guests will likely be required to undergo a rapid antigen test at the terminal during the boarding process.  That applies to all passengers.  

[bstel]

10 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/AD_FAQs.pdf

i would hope that if you tested positive with the rapid antigen test, prior to boarding, that they would let you take a 2nd or 3rd test due to false positives with these tests.

[harkinmr]

4 minutes ago, bstel said:

i would hope that if you tested positive with the rapid antigen test, prior to boarding, that they would let you take a 2nd or 3rd test due to false positives with these tests.

Yes. A PCR test would be done following a positive antigen test to confirm. They are not going to give test after test unfortunately.  Some are advising testing before leaving for your departure port so if you test positive then you can pull the trigger then. It is a risk that everyone has to accept, at least for the near future. 

[little britain]

Where I live the Bahamas 🇧🇸 has just been downgraded to Cat 4 for immigration quarantine restrictions. Category 4 includes countries and regions which have a prevalence rate of more than 100 per 100,000 for 7 consecutive days.
Not a good sign. 

Edited April 22, 2021 by little britain

[DCGuy64]

I wouldn't put too much stock in these travel advisories, for instance that the Bahamas is now listed by the US State Dept as Category 4, Do Not Travel. Those advisories are often region specific and don't apply to tourists or cruisers. For example, my wife and I booked an all-inclusive to Mexico last summer when Mexico was also listed as Do Not Travel. When I looked at the travel advisory, all of the regions they warned about were FAR away from the Cancun travel corridor we'd planned to visit. We had no troubles whatsoever. I think it's a good sign when the Bahamas is dispensing with the PCR testing requirement, as this thread mentions.

[Iamcruzin]

3 hours ago, bstel said:

i would hope that if you tested positive with the rapid antigen test, prior to boarding, that they would let you take a 2nd or 3rd test due to false positives with these tests.

Just like when calling a customer service rep. You keep calling until they give you the answer you want to here. In this case keep testing until one comes up negative.

[BecciBoo]

23 hours ago, RFerrington said:

Even though we are not getting vaccinated, we both have an International Certificate of Vaccination and Prophylaxis (ICVP) that has been completed and signed by our physicians.  We both have medical exemptions as well as being on a prophylaxis.  It will be interesting to see how Royal handles these "exceptions".  We aren't traveling out of the country (right now, at least) to board a cruise so not worried about the Bahamas or Bermuda but eventually (maybe ??) cruising will resume from the US and we'll have to see how that is handled.

I will ask my doctor about that ASAP ...better to have and not need than get left at the dock (fulfilling my usual cruise nachtmahr) Does anybody else have those? LOL🤪

[BecciBoo]

23 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

Oh, I know that. Hence the smiley face there and the way that particular conversation had progressed was through talk about how to identify fake vaccination proof -- i.e., randomly pull aside people to confirm their claim in some way, to the extent that a state wasn't providing some way to prove vaccination that wasn't as simple to counterfeit as the paper CDC cards.

HOw about a phone vid ...I have that too, me getting my  vax at WalMart!

[BecciBoo]

22 hours ago, bstel said:

probably depends on the State.  when I got vaccinated in Virginia, I got the card and they wrote the dates and type of vaccine on the card for both shots.  Then the State also sent me an email after each shot with a link, with the detailed information of the vaccination (date, name, SSN, manufacturer, lot #, etc).  

 

Honestly for these first early cruises I would still hope that RCCL would still require at least a rapid test prior to boarding since the vaccines are 100% nor can we trust everyone to be truthful about the vaccine since those cards are so easy to forge.

Did you see the link I posted to the you tube vid "Cruising with Covid"?  Those guys are on their MSC cruise right this minute in the Med.  MSC has got it handled pretty well.  They had to produce a current test and then MSC did another in the check in process...they are having a blast BTW.