HAL requiring masks?

[Vict0riann]

8 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Thanks Ann.  I’ve seen that.  

 

It doesn’t cover flights, hotels etc and that can be a big investment for many especially if they can’t board.

 

Not to mention they are the ones left to deal with the mess.

It does say hotels - FAQ 8 - will be arranged by the cruise line for quarantine, but if you choose not to use their hotel you have to pay the difference, so some of that must be covered at least, plus air change fees, etc., and per diem, and help with making arrangements.   I just wonder if my original flights home are from FLL home, and we get stuck in Italy,  they would cover the flights.....

[zelker]

And because of this, we just cancelled an early November cruise (had until this Friday to cancel and get a refund) - no way we feel comfortable going to Mexico now.  Bummmmmmmed!

 

[Galley Slave]

37 minutes ago, syesmar said:

EDITED

 

I thought the first cruise to require testing was for 8/14.  We are on the 8/7 cruise and have been told only about the mask mandate, not required testing.

[panamashark]

4 minutes ago, zelker said:

And because of this, we just cancelled an early November cruise (had until this Friday to cancel and get a refund) - no way we feel comfortable going to Mexico now.  Bummmmmmmed!

 

Yes we are seriously considering canceling our 24 day Eurodam September cruise.  Bummer.

[zelker]

17 minutes ago, Crazy For Cats said:

I'm glad we are on board now before this change.  I'm in the Ocean Bar and the crew is unaware of the change.   We will be canceling our December cruise if this policy is in place when final payment is due. 

We just cancelled a November 6th cruise before final payment is due this Saturday, also out of San Diego on Zuiderdam.  We're keeping the November 18th cruise since we have a few more weeks before final is due on that one to see how things play out but not hopeful.  We've been saying all along that things will get worse once we move back indoors, kids go back to in-person classes, and we actually do have a cold and flu season this year on top of accelerating COVID cases.  

 

Sigh.

[kazu]

1 minute ago, Vict0riann said:

It does say hotels - FAQ 8 - will be arranged by the cruise line for quarantine, but if you choose not to use their hotel you have to pay the difference, so some of that must be covered at least, plus air change fees, etc., and per diem, and help with making arrangements.   I just wonder if my original flights home are from FLL home, and we get stuck in Italy,  they would cover the flights.....

 

Yes, for the hotels for quarantine until the false positive is negative and then you are on your own.  and I shudder to think what room I would be stuck in.  I’m sure it would not be one I would have chosen.

 

And still time to go if you had a long cruise.  I like a land tour as much as anything but last minute arrangements are difficult.

 

I am confident based on the past that HAL would not cover flights unless possibly you used Flight Ease.

It all sounds good in practice but the complications are huge and I don’t think HAL will cover what some think they will.  JMO.

 

[atexsix]

19 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

The first cruise in Europe, on Eurodam out of Greece is August 15.  I'm wondering how they are going to organize pier-side testing there in 11 days!  And if they can, why can't they do it in the US?

Nothing against Greece, but it's the last place I would peg as up to such a task.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, zelker said:

There are no CVS's within 100 miles of Denver that are doing testing.  It's pretty much Walgreens or nothing.  

 

 

A fair number of posters on the Celebrity boards (which instituted pre-cruise testing from Florida last week) reported success getting appointments for testing at urgent care facilities.

[idiebabe]

24 minutes ago, Crazy For Cats said:

I'm glad we are on board now before this change.  I'm in the Ocean Bar and the crew is unaware of the change.   We will be canceling our December cruise if this policy is in place when final payment is due. 

Did the Bar Servers switch to N95 Masks from the Blue HAL Masks?  
 

Thanks!  

[atexsix]

1 minute ago, zelker said:

We just cancelled a November 6th cruise before final payment is due this Saturday, also out of San Diego on Zuiderdam.  We're keeping the November 18th cruise since we have a few more weeks before final is due on that one to see how things play out but not hopeful.  We've been saying all along that things will get worse once we move back indoors, kids go back to in-person classes, and we actually do have a cold and flu season this year on top of accelerating COVID cases.  

 

Sigh.

I'm with you.  I don't think the outlook for fall is good if the situation in Australia is any indication.  

 

But for me the issue is not having to get the test or wear the mask, it's logistics that nobody at HAL or any other cruise line seems to care about.  Cruise vacations were once marketed as "easy" "worry free", "they'll handle everything: hotel, air, shuttles"

[AncientWanderer]

1 minute ago, atexsix said:

 

But for me the issue is not having to get the test or wear the mask, it's logistics that nobody at HAL or any other cruise line seems to care about.  Cruise vacations were once marketed as "easy" "worry free", "they'll handle everything: hotel, air, shuttles"

 

I have a feeling they're gonna have to get it together on this or die on the vine.  Their mainly older clientele are not running around looking for Covid tests.  If they can arrange for luggage to be picked up and delivered to the ship, they can also provide a quick test at the pier.

[atexsix]

1 minute ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

I have a feeling they're gonna have to get it together on this or die on the vine.  Their mainly older clientele are not running around looking for Covid tests.  If they can arrange for luggage to be picked up and delivered to the ship, they can also provide a quick test at the pier.

BINGO!  The tests at the pier went fine in Florida once they got it going, the issue was the poor last minute implementation.  With a little advance planning and some slight adjustments to the boarding times I don't see the issue, unless they just don't feel like paying for it.  At this point I'd be find paying for it if they are providing the convenience.

[tjcox9]

20 minutes ago, atexsix said:

Nothing against Greece, but it's the last place I would peg as up to such a task.

Sorry, but they've been doing this successfully for Seabourn now for three cruises. There are other lines also cruising out of Athens, so I think they may have some experience in handling the tests at port.

[atexsix]

2 minutes ago, tjcox9 said:

Sorry, but they've been doing this successfully for Seabourn now for three cruises. There are other lines also cruising out of Athens, so I think they may have some experience in handling the tests at port.

Well then perhaps they can share their expertise with Seattle. 

[syesmar]

29 minutes ago, Galley Slave said:

I thought the first cruise to require testing was for 8/14.  We are on the 8/7 cruise and have been told only about the mask mandate, not required testing.

Yes, that information matches what's in the Email shared in Post 13 above. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2794510-hal-requiring-masks/?tab=comments#comment-61586303 FWIW, HAL's website right now isn't fully updated, I would imagine they'll have it completely up-to-date soon.

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by syesmar

[OVgirl]

We might need a temporary sticky at the top of the HAL board to list easy access testing locations in each port city.

 

We will be flying to FLL from Canada the day before our cruise . We need to be tested within 72 hours of flying with a PCR test. We can't risk doing it any later because it can take that long to get test results.

 

So for a cruise departing the next day that would be 4 days.

Looks like we'll need to find somewhere to get a quick test on our way from the airport to our hotel.  

Not even sure if we, as Canadians can book a test just for travel.

 

I realize that our cruise isn't anytime soon but I can see a lot of this still hanging around through the coming winter.

 

 

 

[atexsix]

7 minutes ago, OVgirl said:

We might need a temporary sticky at the top of the HAL board to list easy access testing locations in each port city.

 

We will be flying to FLL from Canada the day before our cruise . We need to be tested within 72 hours of flying with a PCR test. We can't risk doing it any later because it can take that long to get test results.

 

So for a cruise departing the next day that would be 4 days.

Looks like we'll need to find somewhere to get a quick test on our way from the airport to our hotel.  

Not even sure if we, as Canadians can book a test just for travel.

 

I realize that our cruise isn't anytime soon but I can see a lot of this still hanging around through the coming winter.

 

 

 

The cruise lines are going to have to rethink it, this was just posted in the Carnival forum:

 

Huge freak out in my roll call with people who are traveling to Florida 3+ days before the cruise and being told they are overwhelmed in Orlando and won’t do the antigen and aren’t guaranteeing the pcr in less than 5 days.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by atexsix

[1ANGELCAT]

11 minutes ago, atexsix said:

Well then perhaps they can share their expertise with Seattle. 

FYI.  Seaborn is in Seattle, 

[Crazy For Cats]

38 minutes ago, idiebabe said:

Did the Bar Servers switch to N95 Masks from the Blue HAL Masks?  
 

Thanks!  

No. Crew is still wearing the HAL mask 

[idiebabe]

Just now, Crazy For Cats said:

No. Crew is still wearing the HAL mask 

Thank you!  Hope you are enjoying your Cruise as much as we did last week!

 

Cheers!  🥂

[Crazy For Cats]

Just now, idiebabe said:

Thank you!  Hope you are enjoying your Cruise as much as we did last week!

 

Cheers!  🥂

We are enjoying the cruise.   A few minor hiccups but that is life.   

[cruisewiththekids]

I personally would never wait until I arrived at the cruise terminal to get the Covid test.    What if you are asymptomatic positive?   Denied boarding and unable to fly home.    I'll definitely have test in hand before I board my flight.   

[Florida_gal_50]

37 minutes ago, atexsix said:

BINGO!  The tests at the pier went fine in Florida once they got it going, the issue was the poor last minute implementation.  With a little advance planning and some slight adjustments to the boarding times I don't see the issue, unless they just don't feel like paying for it.  At this point I'd be find paying for it if they are providing the convenience.

The prices of cruises is very high.  They should foot the bill for this.

[Sharon in AZ]

I’ve read this thread with great interest because we are on the August 28th sailing. However, we will not have any problem with the new mandates. Getting a rapid test will be no problem at our Urgent Care 2 miles from us with results given within 15 minutes. Travel is one of the qualifiers to have a rapid test done. And it’s quite possible it will change to be done at the pier. 
 

I do understand the concerns though due to traveling ahead and logistics of finding a site to do the test. 
 

However, as someone said, this is doable if you want to. If it’s outside your comfort zone then cancel. 

Edited August 5, 2021 by Sharon in AZ

[atexsix]

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The prices of cruises is very high.  They should foot the bill for this.

Lots of people canceling on the Carnival board already.  I can't see this working now that demand is even higher for tests.