Oceania to require proof of vaccination prior to boarding,

[delee78]

I literally just went through this process for a land vacation that I am taking in October.  Definitely not the same as a cruise, but it is a multiple week trip where we will be traveling with a larger group of 6 across multiple modes of transportation. 

 

The tour company provides us with an online system similar to the Oceania "manage reservations" screen on the website.  I had to upload a photo of my CDC card.  The language on the site stated that you needed to show proof of full vaccination and I had to provide the vaccine manufacturer and the dates of vaccination.  As an American, they recommended that you upload the CDC card.  They did not provide instructions or guidance for other countries.  This might be because the tour company is US-based. 

 

I did find it interesting the language to certify my CDC card, in addition to the specific vaccination data,  as evidence.  It was very concise language stating that what I uploaded was accurate and officially issued by the governing body and vaccine administrator.  I had to click a box that affirmed this statement.  I am assuming they are preparing for people uploading forged or fake documentation. 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, nikless said:

Thanks, but unless I am missing something, that link didn't help.  It tells adults about several places to look, specifically their parents records, school records, etc.  Or contact your health care provider for a tester test....

It does say there is no national database....

It does say the following, so you might want to contact your county health department (bold type mine):

"Contact your health care provider or county health department. Please be advised that records are maintained by the health care provider’s office for a limited number of years.

Check with the county health department to determine if you have immunizations recorded in the Florida SHOTS™ system."

 

My understanding is that NCLH is planning to accept the CDC vaccination cards for US citizens as they are aware that there is no official centralized source of these records in the US. Oceania's FAQs suggest that as the CDC card is an official document.

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2021-05/sail-safe-health-program-v3.pdf

4. Will guests be required to show proof of vaccination? Yes, all guests will be required to show proof of vaccination at the time of initial boarding. Acceptable proof of vaccination is the official record you were issued by health authorities or medical personnel at the time you received your vaccine.

Edited May 26, 2021 by njhorseman

[Harters]

5 hours ago, nikless said:

not sure whether the "checkers" there will be conscientiousness enough to spot a false card.  Same principle applies to negative testing results that are required prior to entry into the EU.

There have been reports in the UK press that, even with the current relatively small numbers entering the country, Border Force officers are picking up 100 false test certificates daily.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/covid-certificate-fake-vaccine-passport-b1834590.html

[Queen of DaNile]

On 5/26/2021 at 10:26 AM, nikless said:

Good to know...but where is the info located?

Apparently you can only get it from your doctor. Even though Publix in Florida gave me one previously, they would not give me another updated one today. The pharmacist said individuals cannot access their information.

[travelwell]

Those in the United States can get a copy of their immunization record from their states health dept. Every shot given by any provider should be downloaded.  I had the little CDC card that I was concerned would hold up to scrutiny. I went to health dept and they pulled up my immunization record thru their GRITS ( specific to Ga)system. Had every shot I had been given in Ga since 2006 and showed my two vaccines and showed in bold letters Covid Vaccination complete also.

[mauibabes]

We have had our Moderna shots and have the original card tucked away for safe keeping. We do hope not to have to carry it with us on any trips however. We have a copy of the card laminated to carry and hope that will be adequate. We also carry it in several files on our iPhones and iPads. Maybe We can put a laminated card on a lanyard and wear it around our necks too.

We are very fortunate to be boarding Riviera October 18 in Istanbul and are really looking forward to connecting with our Oceania family again. Since we won’t arrive in Miami until December 3, we can hope all the posturing, legislation, Executive Orders, Conditional Sail Orders and any other hindrances to sailing will have gone by the wayside. We know we will have to abide by whatever rules are in place from Oceania and the EU and nothing is in stone but we are so happy to be back on board and sailing on Oceania Riviera. 

[PaulMCO]

There is an international vaccine passport called the WHO "Yellow" Card.

It lists all of your internationally required jabs like Yellow fever.  My old one also has Cholera.

 

Our Primary Care doctor is able to access our state data base and has entered them into the My Chart system.  Also added the data into the other vaccine page of the yellow card as well as other vaccines.

 

This serves as a backup to the CDC card.  Some EU countries are using the Yellow Card to document their travelers jab records.

 

 

[easy dad]

Florida governor prohibits cruise lines from requiring COVID vaccinations to sail.  Cruise lines should impose a significant “COVID Fee” unless guests can show they are vaccinated.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, easy dad said:

Florida governor prohibits cruise lines from requiring COVID vaccinations to sail.  Cruise lines should impose a significant “COVID Fee” unless guests can show they are vaccinated.

Or maybe they just will not sail from Florida 🤔

[Hlitner]

In the USA we have no National vaccine data base although the CDC does try to capture some National statistics (without the personal data necessary for a good data base).  States each do their own thing which ranges from decent Statewide vaccine data bases to nothing.  Some States only maintain vaccines data bases for children, some keep them for everyone, and others are so disorganized that they could likely produce nothing reliable.  One mistake many make in our country is to assume that because their own State does something that every other State also does the same thing.  When I worked for our State Government we would get some guidance (and recommendations) from the CDC along with suggestions to maintain some databases.  Depending on who was in charge at the time, the budget, available staff time, etc.  we may or may not have followed the data base recommendations.  At one point in my career I actually spent a couple of weeks writing and designing an internal data base (using SQL and dBase) for  one of our HIV/AIDs drug programs.  They used my data base for several years.  The funny thing was that I was not a professional programmer or IT person, but just happened to have enough SQL knowledge to do the task.  That data base (for our internal use only) was not compatible with anything else done by other States.    They may still be using that data base today, but it was never online or available to anyone other then a few of us who had access through an internal network not even linked to the Internet.  I think you would find that many State vaccine data bases were pretty similar in how they evolved.  

 

Because the USA does not have one National data base, and the various State systems (where they even have a system) are not linked or of a common design, that data is essentially worthless for the use of a National Vaccine Passport (I dislike that term).  It is a darn shame that the CDC did not implement a National data base before the first vaccines were dispensed but that ship has sailed and the truth is that trying to create a decent National Database would be so politically controversial that it is not likely to ever happen.  

 

Hank

[PhD-iva]

42 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Or maybe they just will not sail from Florida 🤔

+1

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

In the USA we have no National vaccine data base although the CDC does try to capture some National statistics (without the personal data necessary for a good data base).  States each do their own thing which ranges from decent Statewide vaccine data bases to nothing.  Some States only maintain vaccines data bases for children, some keep them for everyone, and others are so disorganized that they could likely produce nothing reliable.  One mistake many make in our country is to assume that because their own State does something that every other State also does the same thing.  When I worked for our State Government we would get some guidance (and recommendations) from the CDC along with suggestions to maintain some databases.  Depending on who was in charge at the time, the budget, available staff time, etc.  we may or may not have followed the data base recommendations.  At one point in my career I actually spent a couple of weeks writing and designing an internal data base (using SQL and dBase) for  one of our HIV/AIDs drug programs.  They used my data base for several years.  The funny thing was that I was not a professional programmer or IT person, but just happened to have enough SQL knowledge to do the task.  That data base (for our internal use only) was not compatible with anything else done by other States.    They may still be using that data base today, but it was never online or available to anyone other then a few of us who had access through an internal network not even linked to the Internet.  I think you would find that many State vaccine data bases were pretty similar in how they evolved.  

 

Because the USA does not have one National data base, and the various State systems (where they even have a system) are not linked or of a common design, that data is essentially worthless for the use of a National Vaccine Passport (I dislike that term).  It is a darn shame that the CDC did not implement a National data base before the first vaccines were dispensed but that ship has sailed and the truth is that trying to create a decent National Database would be so politically controversial that it is not likely to ever happen.  

 

Hank

This 2017  document from the CDC provides some insight and suggests immunization data may now be more widely available than you may think:

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/Williams_IIS Fundamentals remediated.pdf

You'll find that:

(1) As of mid 2017 every state has an IIS, with New Hampshire the last to come on board.

(2) While each state maintains its own system, 43 jurisdictions use one of three large IIS platforms so there may be many similarities in the data maintained.

 

Obviously the above report was pre-COVID.  The CDC did issue extensive COVID-19 vaccination reporting requirements, but allows jurisdictions to submit redacted format records . If full personal information were required the CDC could have maintained a COVID vaccination data base but instead chose to leave it to the states to maintain that data in their IIS.

 

 

[Hlitner]

10 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

This 2017  document from the CDC provides some insight and suggests immunization data may now be more widely available than you may think:

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/Williams_IIS Fundamentals remediated.pdf

You'll find that:

(1) As of mid 2017 every state has an IIS, with New Hampshire the last to come on board.

(2) While each state maintains its own system, 43 jurisdictions use one of three large IIS platforms so there may be many similarities in the data maintained.

 

Obviously the above report was pre-COVID.  The CDC did issue extensive COVID-19 vaccination reporting requirements, but allows jurisdictions to submit redacted format records . If full personal information were required the CDC could have maintained a COVID vaccination data base but instead chose to leave it to the states to maintain that data in their IIS.

 

 

I think what you describe was almost a half hearted attempt (by the CDC) to get some compatibility between the various State data bases (one responsibility of the CDC is to gather health related statistics).  But when it comes to data bases, even having similar data bases does not bode well for compatibility when trying to put them together.  Just having different fields and field definitions can drive mere mortals to drink lots of margaritas as he/she wrestles with trying to merge data (been there,,done that).  If is amazing to me that with all of our computer sophistication and user friendly software the ability to merge similar (but not identical) data bases can be a nightmare.   And in the USA we always have to deal with privacy concerns, HIPAA, civil libertarian groups (i.e. stakeholders), etc.  Those who have not worked in government have no idea how many roadblocks exist to stop what sounds like common sense reforms.

 

Because of the opposition (in many States) to the concept of "Vaccine Passports" we are now seeing new State Laws (and proposals for more laws) that are partially designed to block the ability of creating a decent National Data base.  Given the politics of the time I see no chance of such a system.  The EU may well be able to put together a data base by the summer, but their desire to merge it with some kind of USA data base will never happen.  I suspect that frequent International travelers will find themselves needing to work with multiple apps and upload copies of their CDC vaccine form and test results to these systems.  Folks that are not well versed in using a Smartphone are going to have a difficult time.

 

Hank

 

 

[Tranquility Base]

4 hours ago, easy dad said:

Florida governor prohibits cruise lines from requiring COVID vaccinations to sail.

I guess we'll find out in 29 days when Celebrity Edge is due to depart Fort Lauderdale for a Caribbean cruise.

[lj77346]

In early 2020 the cruise industry was in the eye of the storm relative to Covid-19 outbreaks. It's taken about 1-1/2 years for protocols to be developed for the resumption of operations in the U.S.  IMO it's easy to understand the cruise industry's desire to see cruises resume with vaccinated crews and passengers.  The cruise industry cannot afford to lose more time before cruises resume.

 

While political posturing in FL may play well with the governor's base, it could well lead to the demise of cruising in FL.  From the cruise industry's perspective, vaccinations are not about politics, but rather about health and safety.

 

Even a small outbreak of Covid-19 on a cruise ship could have deleterious effects not only on the specific ship with the outbreak, but on the cruise industry in general.  A cautious approach relative to vaccinations appears to be a prudent approach.  In matters of public health, the responsibility of a cruise line is to its customers, employees, and shareholders.  If a state's law prevented a company from safely operating there, it would make sense to move to a state that was receptive to its proposed business practices.

 

I would really love to start cruising again as I've had 10 Oceania cruises cancelled from April 2020 through the end of this year.  But when I start cruising again, I certainly want to feel safe.

[Tranquility Base]

It is being reported that Malta, wef this coming Wednesday, will only accept Vaccination certificates which are issued by Malta, EU and UK as vaccination proof.

This is being discussed on a very active Viking thread as Viking are due to cruise out of Malta this coming week.

[Laszlo]

Yesterday I did check in for two cruises. One was our Oceania cruise in January 2022 the other is our NCL cruise in January 2023. No where on the Oceania check in did it ask me anything about being vaccinated or vaccine cards. On NCL check in process the have a box to check off for being vaccinated and you need to upload a photo of yourself. 

 

Screen shot from my NCL check in

 

[Robjame]

4 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Yesterday I did check in for two cruises. One was our Oceania cruise in January 2022 the other is our NCL cruise in January 2023

Wow. That is so strange that NCL would ask for this 18 months out. We do not know what the protocols will be by 2023 and the requirement of a COVID booster or a different vaccine for variants are definite possibilities.

[Laszlo]

12 minutes ago, Robjame said:

Wow. That is so strange that NCL would ask for this 18 months out. We do not know what the protocols will be by 2023 and the requirement of a COVID booster or a different vaccine for variants are definite possibilities.

It is, its probably just across the board for all their cruises until they change it. I was sure I was missing something in our Oceania check it, I didn't see anything for vaccines or photos. I do think uploading photos of passengers is a smart thing to do. It will save time at the pier when checking in. 

[Robjame]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

I do think uploading photos of passengers is a smart thing to do.

 

...as long as you do not age too much in the next 18 months...😜

[RJB]

Sure hope that O dos not change their mind and will still require vaccinations from everyone to cruise on their ships.  Keep us safe. 

[Laszlo]

26 minutes ago, Robjame said:

 

...as long as you do not age too much in the next 18 months...😜

Lol, won't do the photo until a month or two before

 

[Laszlo]

12 minutes ago, RJB said:

Sure hope that O dos not change their mind and will still require vaccinations from everyone to cruise on their ships.  Keep us safe. 

I just don't see it, but then again who knows with the way things are going. 

[marieps]

2 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

I just don't see it, but then again who knows with the way things are going. 

When you say you "checked in" to your O cruise, do you mean filling out the guest registration form?  I'm on the cruise after yours and my registration information is already on file.  I don't see an actual "check in" for the cruise this far out.  Am I missing something?  Thanks.

[Laszlo]

21 minutes ago, marieps said:

When you say you "checked in" to your O cruise, do you mean filling out the guest registration form?  I'm on the cruise after yours and my registration information is already on file.  I don't see an actual "check in" for the cruise this far out.  Am I missing something?  Thanks.

On NCL its "Online Check In", Oceania calls it Guest Registration.... same thing just different names. This is our first time sailing on O, so I needed to fill out everything