Revised NCL/Oceania COVID Guidelines Out Today: Drops Pre-Cruise Testing for the Vaccinated

[PhD-iva]

9 minutes ago, fizzy said:

Wow..travel may not be the right thing for you at this time. The chances of coming in contact with "the great unwashed" on Oceana as you call them, may just be too stressful and dangerous.

If I wanted to sail with the unvaccinated, I could choose to go on celebrity. I don’t.

[fizzy]

54 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

If I wanted to sail with the unvaccinated, I could choose to go on celebrity. I don’t.

Good point.  Unless mandated, I can't imagine staying on a ship for a whole cruise just to look at the port scenery.

[Robjame]

2 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

If I wanted to sail with the unvaccinated, I could choose to go on celebrity. I don’t.

The politicization of a health pandemic has certainly set up a we/they situation - use of the word “unwashed” is a prime example. 
 

Why not look at what the world is doing about Covid right now and how successful various other countries have been? Examine what your actual risks are with pre-tested unvaccinated people as opposed to untested vaccinated people. Trust the science, not the politics.

[basenji56]

2 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

If I wanted to sail with the unvaccinated, I could choose to go on celebrity. I don’t.

I might have missed this, but the last time I checked, Celebrity/Royal require vaccinations?  Maybe not for small children.

[pinotlover]

One of the areas missed is South America. To enter Argentina or Chile one must be vaccinated. We’re on a B. A. -Lima cruise in February. Doesn’t sound like the unvaccinated will even be allowed on the plane to get there. Oceania’s policy means squat. Same goes for the Santiago-BA cruise preceding ours.

 

Once Japan opens back up, does anyone here believe the unvaccinated will be let in? I’m doubtful anyone will get into Australia or NZ unvaccinated either. 
 

This new policy has put off information on all of these ports.

[sunlover12]

15 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I might have missed this, but the last time I checked, Celebrity/Royal require vaccinations?  Maybe not for small children.

It is true that both of those lines require vaccinations.  I really wish NCLH would follow their lead. 

I'm going to feel safer on my upcoming Royal cruise than I will on Oceania.

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

One of the areas missed is South America. To enter Argentina or Chile one must be vaccinated. We’re on a B. A. -Lima cruise in February. Doesn’t sound like the unvaccinated will even be allowed on the plane to get there. Oceania’s policy means squat. Same goes for the Santiago-BA cruise preceding ours.

 

Once Japan opens back up, does anyone here believe the unvaccinated will be let in? I’m doubtful anyone will get into Australia or NZ unvaccinated either. 
 

This new policy has put off information on all of these ports.

Don’t worry. This little PR stunt by NCLH in general (and O specifically) will backfire when someone at the top starts having to rectify all the “oops - forgot about that” results of this “lax vax” fiasco.

[MEFIowa]

10 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

... This new policy has put off information on all of these ports.

No, the policy is clear that there are exceptions: "Certain destinations have specific requirements which will vary from our new base-level protocols."

[MEFIowa]

11 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

One of the areas missed is South America. To enter Argentina or Chile one must be vaccinated. ...

Don't get me started on S. America! Having flown to Asuncion, Paraguay thru Sao Paulo and back. See how the Mercosur nations (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) were eventually willing to waive vaccination and testing requirements for their citizens going back and forth across these borders.

 

I suspect the German national and his family and I were the only 4 vaccinated and tested people on our GOL 737 flying into Asuncion on April 19, 2022. Crammed into a plane with no empty seats and so many Paraguayan shoppers coming back with their buys in Brazil filling the overhead bins.

 

But God forbid you were not a Mercosur resident, then you had to follow specific protocols. As if COVID can't be transmitted by certain citizens over non-citizens!

[sunlover12]

I am wondering what Oceania is going to do at the ports who still have Covid restrictions in place. Have they thought about that? 

 

For example, my October cruise on Sirena stops in 2 ports in Morocco.  Morocco requires passengers to be either fully vaccinated or present a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours.  When we arrive in Morocco it will be more than 72 hours since we embarked the ship. So is Oceania going to be doing PCR testing on the ship? If not, those passengers who are not vaccinated won't be allowed to get off the ship.

Spain requires either vaccination or a negative test. We disembark in Barcelona so there will have to be more testing on the ship.

Many things to think and wonder about for the unvaccinated passengers. 

[bbtondo]

The unvaccinated people are all over!  Stores, restaurants, planes, trains, buses, cars, hotels, museums, some people's homes, you name it!  It's crazy out there. 😂

[Flatbush Flyer]

24 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

I am wondering what Oceania is going to do at the ports who still have Covid restrictions in place. Have they thought about that? 

 

For example, my October cruise on Sirena stops in 2 ports in Morocco.  Morocco requires passengers to be either fully vaccinated or present a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours.  When we arrive in Morocco it will be more than 72 hours since we embarked the ship. So is Oceania going to be doing PCR testing on the ship? If not, those passengers who are not vaccinated won't be allowed to get off the ship.

Spain requires either vaccination or a negative test. We disembark in Barcelona so there will have to be more testing on the ship.

Many things to think and wonder about for the unvaccinated passengers. 

 This little PR stunt by NCLH in general (and O specifically) will backfire when someone at the top starts having to rectify all the “oops - forgot about that” results of this “lax vax” fiasco.
If the current state of incorrect and/or contradictory cruise specific O email notices about “(fill in the blank) changes” continues, O will need to eliminate its long-standing “cut and paste” process for creating such notices.

[basenji56]

30 minutes ago, bbtondo said:

The unvaccinated people are all over!  Stores, restaurants, planes, trains, buses, cars, hotels, museums, some people's homes, you name it!  It's crazy out there. 😂

And how many of them have recovered from covid and therefore have natural immunity?  A high percentage I am sure.

 

[ToxM]

7 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

And how many of them have recovered from covid and therefore have natural immunity?  A high percentage I am sure.

 

There’s no such thing as natural immunity if you have caught it and recovered anymore - immunity lasts for around 100 days now with BA5 onwards… the virus is sneaky. 

 

We are all going to catch it multiple times. 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, sunlover12 said:

It is true that both of those lines require vaccinations.  I really wish NCLH would follow their lead. 

I'm going to feel safer on my upcoming Royal cruise than I will on Oceania.

NCLH and Royal Caribbean Group worked hand-in-hand on the original Healthy Sail Panel, which developed the industry's most comprehensive set of COVID protocols for the restart of cruising in 2021. While each has made some adjustments over time, prior to this announcement by NCLH, the two cruise holding companies' protocols have remained substantially similar.

 

It's highly likely that Royal will follow NCLH's lead, whether partially or fully . They've already given notice to expect changes in their protocols including this recently added statement on both Royal Caribbean's and Celebrity's websites: "We are currently developing updated protocols that provide for the continued safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit, better align with the travel and hospitality sector, and meet destination regulations. This means we’re transitioning to the point where everyone will be able to vacation with us."

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Don’t worry. This little PR stunt by NCLH in general (and O specifically) will backfire when someone at the top starts having to rectify all the “oops - forgot about that” results of this “lax vax” fiasco.

 

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

No, the policy is clear that there are exceptions: "Certain destinations have specific requirements which will vary from our new base-level protocols."

 

45 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 This little PR stunt by NCLH in general (and O specifically) will backfire when someone at the top starts having to rectify all the “oops - forgot about that” results of this “lax vax” fiasco.
If the current state of incorrect and/or contradictory cruise specific O email notices about “(fill in the blank) changes” continues, O will need to eliminate its long-standing “cut and paste” process for creating such notices.

Oceania are well are of the need to update their protocols to reflect the requirements of destinations they will be sailing to in the future. In fact the Sail Safe program pdf, https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2022-08/sail-safe-new-program.pdf ,which includes an outline of current exceptions also says

"The above summaries are applicable to all currently scheduled voyages departures from September 2, 2022 through October 31, 2022. Further guidance for departures outside this range and for destinations not listed above will be made available in the near future."

[Flatbush Flyer]

33 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

And how many of them have recovered from covid and therefore have natural immunity?  A high percentage I am sure.

 

Are you being serious? Having had Covid is no guarantee that you cannot get it again.

[hawkesbaynz]

Immunity for a month my understanding with current Omnicrom.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

 

 

Oceania are well are of the need to update their protocols to reflect the requirements of destinations they will be sailing to in the future. In fact the Sail Safe program pdf, https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2022-08/sail-safe-new-program.pdf ,which includes an outline of current exceptions also says

"The above summaries are applicable to all currently scheduled voyages departures from September 2, 2022 through October 31, 2022. Further guidance for departures outside this range and for destinations not listed above will be made available in the near future."

Have you not ever received an incorrect O communication: wrong visa application link, wrong change of embarkation location (just happened to us and most others joining Insignia in Stockholm in May), contradictory statements within the same  message(!), wrong excursion changes (looking at one right now that has a nighttime “star gazing” event in Hobart (6 hours after the ship has left)?

As much as I prefer Oceania, its “attention to detail” is challenged on a daily basis - with or without Covid in the mix.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, hawkesbaynz said:

Immunity for a month my understanding with current Omnicrom.

Citation(s)?

[shepherd really]

6 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Are you being serious? Having had Covid is no guarantee that you cannot get it again.

I wish you would stop being right so I can go back to disagreeing with you.  

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just now, shepherd really said:

I wish you would stop being right so I can go back to disagreeing with you.  

Really? “Shepherd Really.” 😉😎

[njhorseman]

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Have you not ever received an incorrect O communication: wrong visa application link, wrong change of embarkation location (just happened to us and most others joining Insignia in Stockholm in May), contradictory statements within the same  message(!), wrong excursion changes (looking at one right now that has a nighttime “star gazing” event in Hobart (6 hours after the ship has left)?

As much as I prefer Oceania, its “attention to detail” is challenged on a daily basis - with or without Covid in the mix.  

I don't find O to be much different than most corporations I do business with in this regard. 

[shepherd really]

Just now, Flatbush Flyer said:

Really? “Shepherd Really.” 😉😎

It really is confusing and makes me a bit uneasy.  😎   

[basenji56]

31 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Are you being serious? Having had Covid is no guarantee that you cannot get it again.

And four shots is?