Will Pre-board testing be scrapped?

[Dusko]

3 hours ago, Laylam said:

Sorry for the delay in replying, I have had trouble with the internet.

YES, YES, YES, YOU DO NEED TO HAVE A COVID TEST!! 

As we turned up without one we were sent upstairs to a testing site.   Within 15 minutes we had our negative results.  We were lucky, Seabourn Odyssey was the only ship in port (and it is only half full) so the testing site wasn't busy.

When I posted the link on August 27 I hoped that people would read the FAQs carefully. My subsequent post and extract referenced the requirements for European cruises. The requirements for North American cruises state:

 

"How far in advance do I need to be tested for COVID-19 before my cruise’s departure?
Guests embarking in a Canadian port OR a U.S. port that includes Canada in the itinerary::
All guests aged 2 and older are required to take either a medically observed antigen COVID-19 test within 2 days of embarkation or PCR COVID-19 test within 72 hours prior to embarkation. "

 

I think the FAQs are actually clear and the first step is to know which set of guidelines you must follow.

 

 

[Catlover54]

What a confusing, useless and unproductive theatrical mess.  Our TA proudly informed us a couple weeks ago that per new SB rules, we do not need to provide proof of  a test for our upcoming Canada SB cruise (though we like to do our own personal, and cheap, testing before any major trip to minimize risk of being sick and landing up quarantined).  Then I come here (after a refreshing respite away for a few weeks, to detox) and get pages of contrary information.

 

Post #75 is the most useful so far, thank you Laylam.

 

[CalmSea]

4 hours ago, Laylam said:

Sorry for the delay in replying, I have had trouble with the internet.

YES, YES, YES, YOU DO NEED TO HAVE A COVID TEST!! 

...

Thanks Laylam for the update. This clarifies what we need to do for our upcoming cruise. Now, I will start the process of making a booking for covid tests.

[jeffbrig]

Glad to hear you made it, Laylam! 

 

In case it helps anyone else, I'll share our experience with forms /apps and boarding the Odyssey in Vancouver yesterday.

 

We flew in 2 days before the cruise. Used ArriveCAN and the automated kiosks at customs without any issues or delays. 

 

We filled out veriFLY for boarding the cruise ship, including uploading negative covid test results. At the pier, seabourn had a side desk for veriFLY check-in. They looked at our confirmation and pretty much waved us thru. Super easy.  

 

As for your 2nd arriveCAN, this wasn't clear to me until we got help from the seabourn people at the pier. We had prepared a dummy arriveCAN for our departure (yes, I realize this makes zero sense, it's an "arrive" app). What they actually wanted was for us to submit one for the end of the cruise when we return to Vancouver. We deleted the dummy one, and it took 5 minutes to submit a new one and show them the code. Then they waved us thru and we boarded the ship. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by jeffbrig

[Mr Luxury]

In a nutshell 

If you have an observed Antigen test at least forty eight hours before travel you can go anywhere in the World on any ship.

😁

Simple 

[saminina]

True, plus whatever other hoops ports/countries/little fiefdoms wish to add.   Canada on top of list for another month.

[Tuscany4]

Until the testing stops we have decided not to take another Seabourn cruise, or any other that requires testing. The threat of isolation and a ruined vacation is still too great. With everyone now triple or quadruple vaccinated, it’s inevitable that it will stop soon but the CDC seems to work at a snails pace. 

[cruiseej]

1 hour ago, Tuscany4 said:

the CDC seems to work at a snails pace.

 

Can't blame the CDC; the cruise lines and individual countries are making their own rules. 

[CalmSea]

In the case of requiring a test before boarding Seabourn in Vancouver, one cannot blame Seabourn. They are just following the Canadian government's requirements.

[nancygp]

On 9/8/2022 at 11:17 AM, saminina said:

True, plus whatever other hoops ports/countries/little fiefdoms wish to add.   Canada on top of list for another month.

 

 

1 hour ago, CalmSea said:

In the case of requiring a test before boarding Seabourn in Vancouver, one cannot blame Seabourn. They are just following the Canadian government's requirements.

yes…it’s not seabourn, it’s the Canadian government 

 

Nancy

Edited September 10, 2022 by nancygp

[Flamin_June]

This from the Seabourn website dated September 8th:

"We have relaxed our global protocols and travel requirements. Vaccinations are not required on most voyages. Vaccinated guests will no longer have to test before boarding and only need to show proof of vaccination. Unvaccinated guests are welcome aboard with a self-administered COVID-19 test taken within 3 days of embarkation."

 

It goes on to say

"Some voyages require Enhanced Protocols such as all Alaska, Canada, Australia cruises and Greece embarkations. Before you cruise, check our Enhanced Protocols to find out if if your voyage requires additional health regulation requirements."

Clicking on the Enhanced Protocols link will take you to a list of relevant cruises

Edited September 12, 2022 by Flamin_June

[robertmartha]

Flamin Jane

 

thank you for the link - looks like we will not need to test for our upcoming sailing out of Italy visiting the Adriatic (including ports in Greece). Was thinking because we were stopping in 4 Greek ports and ending in Athens we would need to test prior to boarding but as of now does not appear so

[wingit]

I have a question that is somewhat related.  Are crew members still required to wear masks?  I don’t see that information on the Seabourn website.  Our two criteria for cruising are no pre-embarkation tests and no mandated masks for crew (or passengers for that matter).  Since Australian embarkations still require a test the cruise we wish to go on is not an option at this point. But we are hopeful that the testing requirement will go away soon. Thanks in advance for any help.

[nancygp]

1 hour ago, wingit said:

I have a question that is somewhat related.  Are crew members still required to wear masks?  I don’t see that information on the Seabourn website.  Our two criteria for cruising are no pre-embarkation tests and no mandated masks for crew (or passengers for that matter).  Since Australian embarkations still require a test the cruise we wish to go on is not an option at this point. But we are hopeful that the testing requirement will go away soon. Thanks in advance for any help.

Disembarked the ovation late august and crew was still required to wear mask indoors, not necessarily outside.  I believe this is still the case across all seabourn ships.

 

nancy 

[Mr Luxury]

Yes Nancy it is

[labonnevie]

4 hours ago, nancygp said:

Disembarked the ovation late august and crew was still required to wear mask indoors, not necessarily outside.  I believe this is still the case across all seabourn ships.

 

nancy 

Just disembarked Saturday from Quest. 
All staff required to wear masks except outside. That made the pool deck and grill and Earth and Ocean a very appealing place to be. So nice to see the staff’s faces and smiles. 
Inside, a large number of staff, including management, dutifully wore their masks snuggly around their chins, sometimes managing to cover their mouths, but not their noses. 
It is time for this kabuki theatre to end. 

[nancygp]

20 minutes ago, labonnevie said:

Just disembarked Saturday from Quest. 
All staff required to wear masks except outside. That made the pool deck and grill and Earth and Ocean a very appealing place to be. So nice to see the staff’s faces and smiles. 
Inside, a large number of staff, including management, dutifully wore their masks snuggly around their chins, sometimes managing to cover their mouths, but not their noses. 
It is time for this kabuki theatre to end. 

thanks.  We will be on the quest this fall.

 

I fully concur with all that you’ve said.  We did have more staff (inside) with their masks covering both their mouths and noses on the ovation but many just covering  theirs mouths and chins! 😁

 

I do hope the mask wearing for staff inside ends sooner than later.

also, based on posts here and fb, I sure hope the service issues aboard the quest during the route of the Vikings cruise have improved.  However, there were some very good comments.

 

Nancy

Edited September 13, 2022 by nancygp

[cruiseej]

So for your enjoyment, the crew should remove their masks, even if it puts them at somewhat greater risk of falling ill, being forced off duty  and being restricted to their cabins?

 

Yes we can all wish Covid away, but the reality is that it's still with us. Passengers post complaints when service isn't up to expectations because crew members are sidelined and they are short-handed, yet passengers complain when crew members wear masks to improve their odds of staying healthy? We know that masks do not create immunity from Covid — but masks do create some additional protection. While we would love to see the smiling faces of the crew at all times, how can we put that above hoping they remain healthy cruise after cruise after cruise?

[Dusko]

14 hours ago, cruiseej said:

So for your enjoyment, the crew should remove their masks, even if it puts them at somewhat greater risk of falling ill, being forced off duty  and being restricted to their cabins?

 

Yes we can all wish Covid away, but the reality is that it's still with us. Passengers post complaints when service isn't up to expectations because crew members are sidelined and they are short-handed, yet passengers complain when crew members wear masks to improve their odds of staying healthy? We know that masks do not create immunity from Covid — but masks do create some additional protection. While we would love to see the smiling faces of the crew at all times, how can we put that above hoping they remain healthy cruise after cruise after cruise?

Thank you!!

[nancygp]

14 hours ago, cruiseej said:

So for your enjoyment, the crew should remove their masks, even if it puts them at somewhat greater risk of falling ill, being forced off duty  and being restricted to their cabins?

 

Yes we can all wish Covid away, but the reality is that it's still with us. Passengers post complaints when service isn't up to expectations because crew members are sidelined and they are short-handed, yet passengers complain when crew members wear masks to improve their odds of staying healthy? We know that masks do not create immunity from Covid — but masks do create some additional protection. While we would love to see the smiling faces of the crew at all times, how can we put that above hoping they remain healthy cruise after cruise after cruise?

If the crew is required to wear masks inside, they should wear them properly, covering their mouths and noses.  I wore a mask from time to time on my recent cruise when I was exposed to more people than I was comfortable being around.  I do feel for the crew because it’s hard to breath and hard to talk, especially when they are working so hard and for many hours.

crew removing masks is NOT for my enjoyment!  
 

nuff said

 

Nancy

Edited September 14, 2022 by nancygp

[BuckGood]

On 9/13/2022 at 11:38 PM, cruiseej said:

So for your enjoyment, the crew should remove their masks, even if it puts them at somewhat greater risk of falling ill, being forced off duty  and being restricted to their cabins?

 

Yes we can all wish Covid away, but the reality is that it's still with us. Passengers post complaints when service isn't up to expectations because crew members are sidelined and they are short-handed, yet passengers complain when crew members wear masks to improve their odds of staying healthy? We know that masks do not create immunity from Covid — but masks do create some additional protection. While we would love to see the smiling faces of the crew at all times, how can we put that above hoping they remain healthy cruise after cruise after cruise?

We are currently on Regent and 99% of the crew are Not wearing masks and as far as we know No one has Covid! We will be joining the Sojourn October 30 for a 19 night TA cruise to Miami! Seabourn, Do Away with crew masks! 😎

[crickette]

24 minutes ago, BuckGood said:

... Seabourn, Do Away with crew masks! 😎

disagree

[Dusko]

4 hours ago, BuckGood said:

We are currently on Regent and 99% of the crew are Not wearing masks and as far as we know No one has Covid! We will be joining the Sojourn October 30 for a 19 night TA cruise to Miami! Seabourn, Do Away with crew masks! 😎

As you will note from various posts, announcements are not made about cases on board but both crew and guests do disappear from time to time. I don’t know your basis for “No one has Covid “. Let’s not forget that, although most well vaccinated people, myself included, don’t find Covid worse than a flu case, there’s still people dying and long Covid is no joke. If the crew or guests wearing masks can help prevent tragedy, I consider them a really minor inconvenience. 

[BuckGood]

18 hours ago, crickette said:

disagree

That’s your right! 

[BuckGood]

14 hours ago, Dusko said:

As you will note from various posts, announcements are not made about cases on board but both crew and guests do disappear from time to time. I don’t know your basis for “No one has Covid “. Let’s not forget that, although most well vaccinated people, myself included, don’t find Covid worse than a flu case, there’s still people dying and long Covid is no joke. If the crew or guests wearing masks can help prevent tragedy, I consider them a really minor inconvenience. 

Really? They Don’t make announcements about that? We are all Adults here and Masks have done it’s course in certain areas!