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Is Antigua allowing private tours?

indie

By indie,
in Antigua

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susiesan

susiesan

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No, Antigua will not allow independent shore ex per government edict from Minister of Health document from April 2021.

 

Cruise ship operators should arrange shore excursions to reduce passengers and crew from being exposed to COVID-19. In ports of call, shore excursions should be limited to cruise line-controlled offerings and conducted in a manner consistent with Antigua and Barbuda Port Health authorities and local public health laws, regulations and protocols.

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indie

indie

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On 10/18/2021 at 3:57 PM, susiesan said:

No, Antigua will not allow independent shore ex per government edict from Minister of Health document from April 2021.

 

Cruise ship operators should arrange shore excursions to reduce passengers and crew from being exposed to COVID-19. In ports of call, shore excursions should be limited to cruise line-controlled offerings and conducted in a manner consistent with Antigua and Barbuda Port Health authorities and local public health laws, regulations and protocols.

Thank you. I guess I better see what is available through royal. I don't want to not be able to see Antigua my first visit.

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indie

indie

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Sorry phone wouldn't let me delete the quote above.

 

I am a bit more confused as I have read the protocols but Royal doesn't say the tours must've booked through the cruise line except in the section regarding those with unvaccinated kids. The kids section specifically says you must book at tour through Royal Carribean.

 

Vaccinated Guests
Fully vaccinated parties may book a shore excursion or visit most ports freely — with the exception of those listed below, which will require tours for all guests who wish to go ashore, regardless of their vaccination status.

  • St. Lucia (November visits)
  • Barbados (November visits)
  • St. Kitts (November visits)
  • Antigua (November visits)

Tours Required for Families With Unvaccinated Children
Families traveling with unvaccinated kids must purchase a local tour through Royal Caribbean if they wish to go ashore. This applies to all ports of call except Perfect Day at CocoCay, and Port Canaveral, Florida. Vaccinated parents wishing to go ashore freely can visit our youth facilities onboard to learn about drop off program hours and availability, and reserve time for their child on the day they wish to go in port.

 

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OntarioCruiser38

OntarioCruiser38

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56 minutes ago, indie said:

Sorry phone wouldn't let me delete the quote above.

 

I am a bit more confused as I have read the protocols but Royal doesn't say the tours must've booked through the cruise line except in the section regarding those with unvaccinated kids. The kids section specifically says you must book at tour through Royal Carribean.

 

Vaccinated Guests
Fully vaccinated parties may book a shore excursion or visit most ports freely — with the exception of those listed below, which will require tours for all guests who wish to go ashore, regardless of their vaccination status.

  • St. Lucia (November visits)
  • Barbados (November visits)
  • St. Kitts (November visits)
  • Antigua (November visits)

Tours Required for Families With Unvaccinated Children
Families traveling with unvaccinated kids must purchase a local tour through Royal Caribbean if they wish to go ashore. This applies to all ports of call except Perfect Day at CocoCay, and Port Canaveral, Florida. Vaccinated parents wishing to go ashore freely can visit our youth facilities onboard to learn about drop off program hours and availability, and reserve time for their child on the day they wish to go in port.

 

When is your cruise?  I’m going in January.

 

All of this is subject to change at any time.

 

What I provided was posted by Antigua on October 22.  

 

The notification your referenced also stated the following.

 

Requirements for Going Ashore

Below are our current tour requirements at ports of call, which are subject to change as we continue to evaluate circumstances around the globe.

 

If in doubt check when you get on the ship.

 

Edited by OntarioCruiser38
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indie

indie

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I am sailing November 21st. I already had a tour booked for several months through shoreexcursioneer. I went ahead and booked a tour just in case through Royal as all of the excursions are almost sold out. It was only about two options left. I will figure out if I can get a definitive answer in the next couple of weeks and decide which one to cancel.

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OntarioCruiser38

OntarioCruiser38

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58 minutes ago, indie said:

I am sailing November 21st. I already had a tour booked for several months through shoreexcursioneer. I went ahead and booked a tour just in case through Royal as all of the excursions are almost sold out. It was only about two options left. I will figure out if I can get a definitive answer in the next couple of weeks and decide which one to cancel.

Thanks for posting what you did.   We were going to go on a cruise on November 27th through celebrity but postponed because Grand Cayman was closed and there were questions about Key West so it was down to two ports for a week. 

 

I took a look at my notes and what I found was only St. Kitts was still in a bubble however you could get two tours on shore.   All four ports were asking for recent PCR tests.  It may be the cruise won’t do PCR tests for ports.   

 

Your approach of booking ship and private is a good strategy.  We will do the same just to be safe.  You can still likely cancel the private when you find out on board what the situation is on the 21st.  

 

Would you mind posting when you get back and let us know how things evolved for you?

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indie

indie

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13 hours ago, OntarioCruiser38 said:

Thanks for posting what you did.   We were going to go on a cruise on November 27th through celebrity but postponed because Grand Cayman was closed and there were questions about Key West so it was down to two ports for a week. 

 

I took a look at my notes and what I found was only St. Kitts was still in a bubble however you could get two tours on shore.   All four ports were asking for recent PCR tests.  It may be the cruise won’t do PCR tests for ports.   

 

Your approach of booking ship and private is a good strategy.  We will do the same just to be safe.  You can still likely cancel the private when you find out on board what the situation is on the 21st.  

 

Would you mind posting when you get back and let us know how things evolved for you?

Thank you, I followed up with someonr from Royals executive office who I had corresponded with before. Here was their response today.

 

Per our current tour requirements, Antigua is listed as one of the ports requiring tours booked through Royal for all guests going ashore regardless of vaccination status. As stated in the email notification sent, these tour requirements at ports of call are subject to change as we continue to evaluate circumstances around the globe.
 

 

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susiesan

susiesan

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2 hours ago, indie said:

Thank you, I followed up with someonr from Royals executive office who I had corresponded with before. Here was their response today.

 

Per our current tour requirements, Antigua is listed as one of the ports requiring tours booked through Royal for all guests going ashore regardless of vaccination status. As stated in the email notification sent, these tour requirements at ports of call are subject to change as we continue to evaluate circumstances around the globe.
 

 

Hope your pushing RC to relax the restriction which is the same as Celebrity. I am scheduled to be in Antigua on Dec. 4 and surely the greedy cruise lines will release us to go ashore independently. It took Celebrity over a month to clear us for Nassau, long after everyone else was able to tour independently there.

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crewsweeper "Live from...." Rare

crewsweeper

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As the Bubble is removed, do note that it takes time for cruise lines to update their web sites.

 

But this is good news,  I just want to go down to Nelson's Harbor, visit any Atlantic Challenge rowers arriving and come back.  Maybe grabbing a local bite on return. RCCL's excursion there looks a bit too long.

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indie

indie

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8 hours ago, kjenaz said:

Antigua was just removed from the "Must do Ship Excursion" list for Royal Caribbean in November.  🙂

 

Of course, now that I have canceled my local tour and booked a Royal Tour. Im thinking about cancelling with Royal and rebooking what I had originally. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
indie

indie

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I canceled my rcl tour and rebooked the tour I originally had through Shoreexcursioneer: Antigua Traditional House, Pineapple Farm, Fryes Estate, Beach Break and Lunch Excursion, it is with Heavenly Tours

7 hours ago, RentSunnyFlorida.com said:

Thank you for sharing. All RCL excursions are sold out so now I have to find a private tour.  Know of any good ones?

 

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