8/12/22 PRINCESS CRUISES REMOVES VACCINE REQUIREMENT FOR MOST VOYAGES, ELMINATES PRE-CRUISE TESTING FOR VACCINATED GUESTS

[phabric]

13 minutes ago, dog said:

Well, For my May 4- 8/ 22 Discovery Princess cruise We had to show ArriveCAN to embark May 4 th. We were asked for it when we checked in to start the cruise.

Others maybe did not.

There was a lot of uncertainty about it, but we were asked for it.

 

I don’t know if you need to do it again on the ship.

 

 

 

Canada is only on embarkment day.    All the other ports are USA and disembarkment is USA.

[LouCoop]

Does anyone know why Panama canal cruises not included in this? We have a 15 day cruise from FLL to LAX.

[Daniel A]

18 hours ago, winty said:

Great news. But does a 15 night Hawaii cruise from LA count ?? Anyone have an idea. I think the 15 nights seems to fit as it says 16 nights or over but what about the ‘trans-ocean’ part? Or does that mean going from one side of the ocean to another?  Cheers 

First, I don't know if it was a typo or not, but it says up to 15 nights, not including 15 nights and doesn't use the phrase "16 nights or over."  If you look at the declarative statement that it definitely must be a cruise of less than 16 days.  A 16 day sailing would entail 15 nights, so it can't have any more than 14 nights.  I'm just posting this as a precaution for those considering a 15 night trip.  I would double check with Princess first, rather than presuming no test is needed.

[LidoLiz]

28 minutes ago, ebeluga said:

The press release is not meant to be an operational protocol, rather it's for marketing/sales.  Between now and Sep, the actual protocols will get ironed out and clarified, just give a little time and not sweat it now.

Good advice. The devil will be in the details.  
We are on a 16 day UK-US TA this fall….still unclear whether we will be able to self-test/attest in Southampton or need a medical certificate. 

[dog]

26 minutes ago, phabric said:

Canada is only on embarkment day.    All the other ports are USA and disembarkment is USA.

Yes, I understand that.

it just did not make much sense to us that we embarked in Vancouver, went to Ketchikan, disembarked in Seattle.

and still needed ArriveCAN to embark.

 

 

Princess rep actually phoned us two weeks prior to cruise to tell us what was required. The ArriveCAN app, the negative Covid test , vaxed.

 

Now that was near beginning of the season & it was unclear,   They may not require it now.  Maybe check in the Canada forum for recent cruisers. 

 

Edited August 13, 2022 by dog

[phabric]

2 minutes ago, dog said:

Yes, I understand that.

it just did not make much sense to us that we embarked in Vancouver, went to Ketchikan, disembarked in Seattle.

and still needed ArriveCAN to embark.

 

 

Princess rep actually phoned us two weeks prior to cruise to tell us what was required. The ArriveCAN app, the negative Covid test , vaxed.

 

Now that was near beginning of the season & it was unclear,   They may or require it now.  Maybe check in the Canad forum for recent cruisers. 

 

It doesn’t hurt to fill ArriveCAN before Vancouver 

[dog]

7 minutes ago, phabric said:

It doesn’t hurt to fill ArriveCAN before Vancouver 

There is another thread on this being junk. they can get help filling it in at pier.

[AF-1]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

I don’t think that the areas of the website and specific FAQs have caught up with the press release yet. 

I agree with you

[AF-1]

1 hour ago, prmssk said:

Canada currently requires a test for all cruise ship passengers when a cruise starts, ends, or stops in Canada.  So if your October 8 trip stops in Canada at any point, you will need a test.  I do not anticipate Canada dropping these requirements before the end of their cruising season this year.

Where does it say stops in Canada?

Voyages that include Canada:
Please note that cruises that begin, end or visit Canada will require sailing guests ages 12 and above who are not Canadian citizens be fully vaccinated, unless they are granted a medical exemption. Find out if you can enter Canada at travel.gc.ca^. Note all Alaska voyages include Canadian ports.

This is from Princess website;  it says vacinnated it does not mention having to get a covid test to visit Canada.

[AF-1]

2 hours ago, Lido deck main said:

Hi, current Canadian rules are for fully vaccinated with a Covid test for any ship that will dock in Canada at any point.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

Yea that article mentions cruises starting or ending in Canada.  It does not mention a covid test for ships on shore excursions.

[memoak]

35 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Where does it say stops in Canada?

Voyages that include Canada:
Please note that cruises that begin, end or visit Canada will require sailing guests ages 12 and above who are not Canadian citizens be fully vaccinated, unless they are granted a medical exemption. Find out if you can enter Canada at travel.gc.ca^. Note all Alaska voyages include Canadian ports.

This is from Princess website;  it says vacinnated it does not mention having to get a covid test to visit Canada.

The words visit Canada means any stop in Canada

[memoak]

48 minutes ago, dog said:

There is another thread on this being junk. they can get help filling it in at pier.

So how to you drive across the border without the app ?

[Cruise till you drop]

16 hours ago, Barter123 said:

Until our last cruise tour I would have agreed with you. My DH and I both tested negative to start the land portion and one week later tested negative the morning of embarkation (Saturday). The following day (Sunday) afternoon both of us tested positive. We are proof that your pre-cruise test can be negative but 1 day after boarding symptoms began and we moved to an isolation cabin for the rest of the cruise. We were treated very well and have no complaints about our time in isolation. 

Just curious if you spent the entire cruise in quarantine, did you get any money back from Princess ?

[cr8tiv1]

6 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Those arriving by cruise ship are to complete it 72 hours before embarking 

 

6 hours ago, dog said:

Yes, we had to complete it to embark in Vancouver 

I am confused here.

I think I understand having to complete ArriveCan within 72 hours of embarking in Vancouver or Quebec.  Especially if coming in by plane or car.

???  Example, if I embarked in Seattle, do I have to follow the same (within 72 hours of joining the ship) or is it with 72 hours of porting in Victoria/Vancouver?

 

I might as well add one more question.  
 

Is a PCR test 3 days or 72 hours needed if you are fully vaccinated before flying in to Canada a few days early or before embarking on cruise?

thank you

 

edited….I should have read to the end of page 5 before posting.  Regardless, there seems to be a lot of confusion.  Best let the dust settle.  Still have these questions though. 

Edited August 13, 2022 by cr8tiv1

[Daniel A]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

The words visit Canada means any stop in Canada

I think we're confusing apples with oranges.  It seems that one needs to be vaccinated to stop on a one-day excursion in Canada, but no covid-19 test is required for that.  The testing is for cruises starting or ending in Canada.

[Coffeehound510]

19 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

The biggest question I have that Princess didn’t seem to address was what happens if someone tests positive for Covid during the cruise.  Have they done away with quarantine ?  If they keep quarantine, how long does it last?  Do they grant a refund for those quarantine days ? <snip>

^^^^^^^^

This is my concern.  Some of the horror stories from people who tested positive are what really concern me.

 

COVID is going to be on the ships and these changes are likely to increase cases.  Has Princess figured out how they are going to deal with it?  The full on isolation approach with crew wearing bunny suits and blocking off desirable balcony cabins doesn't seem to be the way back to pax satisfaction or profitability.

 

I hope there is a plan.

[LACruiser88]

1 hour ago, LouCoop said:

Does anyone know why Panama canal cruises not included in this? We have a 15 day cruise from FLL to LAX.

Good question!  These cruises are usually 15 days in length and are not in the "open" ocean. 🤫

[memoak]

16 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I think we're confusing apples with oranges.  It seems that one needs to be vaccinated to stop on a one-day excursion in Canada, but no covid-19 test is required for that.  The testing is for cruises starting or ending in Canada.

 

[PacnGoNow]

6 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

Good question!  These cruises are usually 15 days in length and are not in the "open" ocean. 🤫

But they are between 2 oceans.  
 

Because of the lack of medical facilities enroute, and government restrictions.

 

We had to get an ambulance pick up a guest in the middle of the locks, for a very ill guest. It was quite a delicate maneuver.

 

They said the medical facilities enroute were very sparse and as soon as the guest was stabilized they would try to fly him to the States for care.  

 

 

 

 

[LACruiser88]

1 minute ago, PacnGoNow said:

But they are between 2 oceans.  
 

Because of the lack of medical facilities enroute, and government restrictions.

 

We had to get an ambulance pick up a guest in the middle of the locks, for a very ill guest. It was quite a delicate maneuver.

 

They said the medical facilities enroute were very sparse and as soon as the guest was stabilized they would try to fly him to the States for care.  

 

 

 

 

I understand what you are saying, but how does that compare to a Hawaii cruise where you are in the middle of the ocean for several days?  There must be a government mandate along the way for the Panama Canal?

[wineglass]

1 hour ago, dog said:

Yes, I understand that.

it just did not make much sense to us that we embarked in Vancouver, went to Ketchikan, disembarked in Seattle.

and still needed ArriveCAN to embark.

 

 

Princess rep actually phoned us two weeks prior to cruise to tell us what was required. The ArriveCAN app, the negative Covid test , vaxed.

 

Now that was near beginning of the season & it was unclear,   They may not require it now.  Maybe check in the Canada forum for recent cruisers. 

 

The Arivcan requirement is not for the ship, it is a requirement for ANYONE entering Canada. You must enter Canada to get to Vancouver. Canada also will do random Covid tests when arriving by air. They just pull random people passing through immigration. Canada is still way behind the rest of the western world when it comes to Covid. But, at least they are ahead of Asia.

[dog]

1 minute ago, wineglass said:

The Arivcan requirement is not for the ship, it is a requirement for ANYONE entering Canada. You must enter Canada to get to Vancouver. Canada also will do random Covid tests when arriving by air. They just pull random people passing through immigration. Canada is still way behind the rest of the western world when it comes to Covid. But, at least they are ahead of Asia.

okay, I am done with this- read all my posts on topic if interested. 

[lx200gps]

1 minute ago, wineglass said:

The Arivcan requirement is not for the ship, it is a requirement for ANYONE entering Canada. You must enter Canada to get to Vancouver. Canada also will do random Covid tests when arriving by air. They just pull random people passing through immigration. Canada is still way behind the rest of the western world when it comes to Covid. But, at least they are ahead of Asia.

Not just by air. From personal experience, they can also demand a random test if you drive over.  I was over the border for literally 30 minutes a few weeks ago and got "selected". Trouble is, they didn't tell me at the time and I only found out three days later when I started to get menacing robo-calls from the feds demanding a status of my quarantine and test results.

[Parrottdizes]

2 hours ago, LouCoop said:

Does anyone know why Panama canal cruises not included in this? We have a 15 day cruise from FLL to LAX.

We just did the San Francisco to Ft Lauderdale via the Panama Canal this last spring and while the Princess web site indicated that we would be tested some time during the cruise, that didn't happened. 

However, when we got to the port for Panama City, the Panama authorities wanted everyone to have a covid test. The cruise line got that number down to 80 people (this is what we were told). Anyway, because of this most people got to their excursions 2 hours late.

So, from what we experienced, I am going to guess that it might be something that the Panama authorities want.   

[PacnGoNow]

1 minute ago, Parrottdizes said:

We just did the San Francisco to Ft Lauderdale via the Panama Canal this last spring and while the Princess web site indicated that we would be tested some time during the cruise, that didn't happened. 

However, when we got to the port for Panama City, the Panama authorities wanted everyone to have a covid test. The cruise line got that number down to 80 people (this is what we were told). Anyway, because of this most people got to their excursions 2 hours late.

So, from what we experienced, I am going to guess that it might be something that the Panama authorities want.   

Yes, it is.  And they are not equipped to handle large amounts of covid cases, in case of hospitalizations or any serious medical illnesses. That’s what we were told.