If NCL do not drop Bermuda - Im going to drop NCL

[TopofWorld]

On 9/18/2022 at 7:43 PM, DensolandMouthy said:

Sorry just catching up as been away. I changed my cruise from TA to New York to a very nice 11 night Canary Islands cruise for a fantastic price and ports Ive never visited. The NCL staff member said a few people are changing because of Bermuda and promised to pass my feedback upwards.
 

I have another TA on the Epic going back to EU in April. Keeping an eye out and hoping Bermuda either changes their rules or its dropped from the schedule. If not Ive got my eye on an alternative that avoids Bermuda and Canada. 
 

Its good to read that cruise lines are starting to drop Bermuda. Testing 4,000 onboard for 6.5 hours ashore is madness. 

Hi. It seems we are on the same TA in April 2023. I too hope they drop Bermuda, as the hassle for doing the test in a city unknown to us at a considerable cost JUST for one stop seems absurd to me. If the test was required by NCL for the whole cruise, or required by many other countries, then IMHO it would be okay. The whole world is trying to recover from the pandemic and to me it seems Bermuda is trying to cash in. Just my 0.02

Edited September 20, 2022 by TopofWorld
Typo

[Blossom73]

On 9/5/2022 at 8:08 AM, cruiseny4life said:

I think your tantrum is highly disrespectful to the people of Bermuda who needed, and still need, to protect their country and now need the money to ensure government budget is balanced. I'm very glad to pay the fee, support Bermuda, and enjoy the beautiful island. 

 

Matter of fact, I will be there in a few days. Two tests later. One before embarkation which occurred in the comfort of my home and one on the ship, at no charge. 

 

Not sure what your issue is, but you're being selfish.

So NCL is or was doing a second test on board before arrival in Bermuda? Are they still doing this?

 

Husband and I are heading out on NCL on Thursday to Bermuda. Got tested at CVS today. 

Edited September 20, 2022 by Blossom73
typo

[cruiseny4life]

16 minutes ago, Blossom73 said:

So NCL is or was doing a second test on board before arrival in Bermuda? Are they still doing this?

 

Husband and I are heading out on NCL on Thursday to Bermuda. Got tested at CVS today. 

Is your primary destination Bermuda? After embarkation, when do you get to Bermuda (number of days)? 

 

If your ship takes longer than 4 days to reach Bermuda, NCL will test you onboard. I'm not sure who is footing the cost for that (I've read conflicting information). If your ship is getting there 4 days, or before, then you only need your CVS test. The requirement is slightly different for unvaccinated passengers (see below). 

 

Here are the requirements:

 

Source: https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

[BermudaBound2014]

It looks like there have been more cruise cancellations for Bermuda. Best to check individual itineraries.

 

Edited to add: Looks like Canada is dropping it's vaccine requirement making Bermuda one of the very last destinations with any requirements at all.

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-canada-to-drop-covid-19-vaccine-requirement-for-entering-country-on/

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by BermudaBound2014

[Eggs2Go]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

It looks like there have been more cruise cancellations for Bermuda. Best to check individual itineraries.

 

I checked. Epic transatlantic in December still has Bermuda port stop. I'm losing hope that it will be dropped. 

[Eggs2Go]

57 minutes ago, vtgumby said:

 

Glad Bermuda is still doing what’s best for their country.

 

I'm fine with Bermuda's requirements and understand they are trying to protect their island. But it makes for a very expensive 6 hour port stop on a transatlantic cruise. So I wish Norwegian would do what's best for its passengers and drop that short stop on all its TAs this season, including the Epic. Would be best for those on an Atlantic crossing and would also be best for the vulnerable island population.

[styxfire]

On 9/20/2022 at 7:50 PM, Eggs2Go said:

 

Yep, and the passengers will be spared not only Bermuda's test fee AND Bermuda's paperwork fee, but also Bermuda's PORT FEE per passenger.   Cruisers save a lot of money when the cruise drops Bermuda from the itinerary.

[BirdTravels]

26 minutes ago, styxfire said:

Yep, and the passengers will be spared not only Bermuda's test fee AND Bermuda's paperwork fee, but also Bermuda's PORT FEE per passenger.   Cruisers save a lot of money when the cruise drops Bermuda from the itinerary.

But, you will add 3-4 hours to your disembarkation and have to go through the full interrogation in NY with a limited number of CBP officers. 

[njhorseman]

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

But, you will add 3-4 hours to your disembarkation and have to go through the full interrogation in NY with a limited number of CBP officers. 

How does not making a port call in Bermuda on a transatlantic cruise add to the disembarkation time and CBP processing at the end of the cruise?  You don't clear US immigration in Bermuda. 

Perhaps you're confusing the process with immigration and customs  preclearance for airline passengers flying from Bermuda to the US. There's no equivalent preclearance for cruise passengers. 

[jsn55]

On 9/5/2022 at 1:03 AM, DensolandMouthy said:

I have a TA in Dec from Europe to NY stopping at Bermuda. I am taking the same one back in April 2023. 
 

Bermudas insane testing rules before I am even getting on the ship and then another before I get off into their country ( despite all other countries stopping it ) mean I am voting with my feet before final payment date and choosing another cruise line. 
 

I cruised in Oct, Jan, May and July when testing was required ( incredibly stressful ) 

 

My Europe July cruise finally required no testing. The relief to actually look forward to my cruise and not have to have background contingency plans ( just in case)  was immense. 
 

NCL do view these boards, so I hope they reconsider Bermuda as a stop. 
 

 

I know EXACTLY what you mean.  Had I known that Canada required testing to board a ship, I would have cancelled this cruise which we are about to start today from Quebec.  We wasted an entire day diddling with testing, results, getting everything printed at a hotel ... blah, blah, blah.  I'm sick and tired of being pushed around by mindless bureaucrats and politicians.  Fiona is making her presence known, so we will probably board today as scheduled, but not sail until tomorrow.  That's fine, of course, who wants to sail into a hurricane?  But my TA tells me that we may not be allowed off the ship to enjoy time in Quebec.  The ship docks right at Chateau Frontenac, so we will just sit on the balcony and stare at leChateau for 24 hours?  And for no reason, other than the stupid, stubborn Canadian officials.  I travel for enjoyment, not to be annoyed with mindless regulations. 

[RW75]

2 hours ago, njhorseman said:

How does not making a port call in Bermuda on a transatlantic cruise add to the disembarkation time and CBP processing at the end of the cruise?  You don't clear US immigration in Bermuda. 

Perhaps you're confusing the process with immigration and customs  preclearance for airline passengers flying from Bermuda to the US. There's no equivalent preclearance for cruise passengers. 

I was under the impression US Immigration on Westbound transatlantic was taken care of in Bermuda. 
quite happy to be wrong and never an issue in any case. It’s so long since I took a Westbound I don’t actually recall being dealt with in Miami at all. 
I usually take Eastbound or closed loop from the US and hadn’t really thought about this in detail. Maybe the obligatory Cabernet lounge visit once docked. 
In years gone by US Immigration had two officers onboard QE2 for transatlantic crossings and the Eastbound had UK officers onboard whom would be available for two hours each day during the five day crossing. Was very convenient. 

[goofy4mickey]

We just received an email yesterday that Bermuda and Virginia have been dropped from our 8 Day Getaway March 23' & I am thrilled not having to deal with the hassle of porting in Bermuda for only 6 hours. We did it October 21' & found it very stressful.

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, RW75 said:

I was under the impression US Immigration on Westbound transatlantic was taken care of in Bermuda. 
quite happy to be wrong and never an issue in any case. It’s so long since I took a Westbound I don’t actually recall being dealt with in Miami at all. 
I usually take Eastbound or closed loop from the US and hadn’t really thought about this in detail. Maybe the obligatory Cabernet lounge visit once docked. 
In years gone by US Immigration had two officers onboard QE2 for transatlantic crossings and the Eastbound had UK officers onboard whom would be available for two hours each day during the five day crossing. Was very convenient. 

I  recall immigration officers being on board the QM2 years ago when it first cruised from NY, but this wasn't even a transatlantic cruise, it was merely a closed loop cruise from NY to the Caribbean and Bermuda . At the time the cruise facilities in NY were so crude that I attributed their presence to the lack of adequate immigration facilities at the NY pier. Subsequent renovations to the cruise terminal added airport-like lanes and booths for immigration and customs  processing .

 

While it's certainly possible that a transatlantic having Bermuda as its last port call could have the formalities done there because there are USCBP officers stationed on the island to service airline flights to the US I do not think it was routine to do so, but I could be wrong. 

[RW75]

A Google search produced nothing cruise related. Who knows! 
Im guessing I’ll not be finding out in person this year 

[rdemn]

On 9/23/2022 at 10:11 AM, goofy4mickey said:

We just received an email yesterday that Bermuda and Virginia have been dropped from our 8 Day Getaway March 23' & I am thrilled not having to deal with the hassle of porting in Bermuda for only 6 hours. We did it October 21' & found it very stressful.

On same cruise and we are thrilled too testing It’s just too stressful just got off a Alaska Cadana cruise and that’s all I worried about was that stupid Covid test what a relief when I finally got my negative test results you spent thousands of dollars on a cruise and you have to be stressed it’s just not worth it

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 9/5/2022 at 10:55 AM, BirdTravels said:

And we are happy that it is one itinerary where pre-cruise testing is still being done. 

Isn't pre-cruise testing still required by NCL for unvaccinated? 

[tsahall01]

On 9/23/2022 at 7:39 AM, RW75 said:

I was under the impression US Immigration on Westbound transatlantic was taken care of in Bermuda. 
quite happy to be wrong and never an issue in any case. It’s so long since I took a Westbound I don’t actually recall being dealt with in Miami at all. 
I usually take Eastbound or closed loop from the US and hadn’t really thought about this in detail. Maybe the obligatory Cabernet lounge visit once docked. 
In years gone by US Immigration had two officers onboard QE2 for transatlantic crossings and the Eastbound had UK officers onboard whom would be available for two hours each day during the five day crossing. Was very convenient. 

I did a westbound TA from Europe to Bermuda to Miami (with stops in between).  We DID NOT clear customs in Bermuda, and customs in Miami was a cluster****.  I am on the Dec 7th Epic TA and sure hope that Bermuda drops the requirement or NCL drops the port.  I have heard that they plan on keeping the Bermuda testing/authorization until 3/2023.  I have also heard that the Cruise Lines are working with the Bermuda Government to change/alter the regulations.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, tsahall01 said:

I did a westbound TA from Europe to Bermuda to Miami (with stops in between).  We DID NOT clear customs in Bermuda, and customs in Miami was a cluster****.  I am on the Dec 7th Epic TA and sure hope that Bermuda drops the requirement or NCL drops the port.  I have heard that they plan on keeping the Bermuda testing/authorization until 3/2023.  I have also heard that the Cruise Lines are working with the Bermuda Government to change/alter the regulations.

Bermuda officials have just announced that the testing requirements will be eliminated effective 10/25/22 .

https://www.royalgazette.com/health/news/article/20220929/ta-form-to-be-phased-out-but-no-decision-on-fee/

"From October 25, the requirement for pre-arrival and pre-departure testing, arrival testing, and day-four testing for travellers will be dropped. The requirement for unvaccinated visitors to provide proof of health insurance which covers Covid medical expenses will remain."