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

[david_sobe]

Simple way to wrap this up.  If you dont want to cruise to Bermuda and dont like something about their port then DO NOT take a cruise that goes there.  There are plenty other cruises that dont go there.  It would be like someone railing against the Cuban government and then taking a cruise there (when the cruise lines went).   

Spend your money on where you want to go.  

[Zippeedee]

16 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Everyone is entitled to his opinion. For me, the one that counts most is from those who live on Bermuda. And I've heard Bermuda residents consistently say they have to protect their island from disease. If that means every passenger aboard a cruise ship that calls in Bermuda has to pay the $40, so be it. And yes, that includes passengers who don't plan to disembark, too. Why? Well, I don't make the rules and it's not my place to judge those who do. But I'd say what happens if a sick passenger who had previously not intended to disembark had to, for health reasons? I also think it'd be a logistical nightmare to try and figure out who'd paid the $40 and who hadn't, who planned to leave the ship and who didn't. BUT EVEN IF THAT'S POSSIBLE, BERMUDA MAKES THE RULES AND IT'S THEIR COUNTRY AND THEIR DECISION. If you don't like the rules, cancel. Simple as that.

Isn’t the worst case scenario that so many people test positive that Bermuda refuses to allow the ship to dock? It doesn’t matter who is planning to go ashore. 

[Mira28]

21 hours ago, DensolandMouthy said:

Thanks to the polite posters who even if they didnt agree with me, they still conducted themselves with respect and dignity. 
 

This has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with $40. 
I fly to Lisbon a few days before to catch the ship. All other tests are stopping now on other routes. On this cruise I get to Lisbon, test and what if its positive? So I cant get on the ship, I have to turn around and fly home. Cancel my NY stay and flight. 
 

Then going back in April Ive flown from UK to NY. I then test. What if that is positive ? I fly back home again ? 
 

At the time of booking all other ports / cruises ALL required tests. I have tested for FOUR cruises so far this year. These have gradually stopped and the US requirement final dropped a couple of weeks ago = relief.  Thus NOW Bermuda stands out as a real problem port. Some of you will follow this. Some of you will rant. 
 

My decision therefore is to decide and find another cruise that fits in with my availability. 
 

I am pleased NCL has dropped Bermuda from some cruises. I will keep my fingers crossed they do the same before final payment date which is the beginning of Oct and I will decide then 

I'm glad some of those who responded were respectful. I don't know why everyone cannot be at least polite.

It is the prerogative of any government to set the rules for entry into their country. However, it is still frustrating and anxiety provoking to deal with the additional uncertainty of getting the Travel Authorization, and the required negative test(s). It is also not so easy to "just cancel" a cruise.

When many of us booked or cruises, almost all itineraries had testing requirements, now Bermuda and Canada are among the few that still do. 

The 9/3 cruise from NYC to Bermuda before mine (mine is 9/12/22-9/22/22) went through all the testing and paid the money (and waited) for the authorisation, and they ended up not going to Bermuda at all due to the potential tropical storm heading there. I'm wondering if they'll get refunded? Not really 🙂

For me, it's all good. I'm on a ship. But I can empathize with the OP's frustration. 

[njkate]

22 hours ago, DensolandMouthy said:

Thanks to the polite posters who even if they didnt agree with me, they still conducted themselves with respect and dignity. 
 

This has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with $40. 
I fly to Lisbon a few days before to catch the ship. All other tests are stopping now on other routes. On this cruise I get to Lisbon, test and what if its positive? So I cant get on the ship, I have to turn around and fly home. Cancel my NY stay and flight. 
 

Then going back in April Ive flown from UK to NY. I then test. What if that is positive ? I fly back home again ? 
 

At the time of booking all other ports / cruises ALL required tests. I have tested for FOUR cruises so far this year. These have gradually stopped and the US requirement final dropped a couple of weeks ago = relief.  Thus NOW Bermuda stands out as a real problem port. Some of you will follow this. Some of you will rant. 
 

My decision therefore is to decide and find another cruise that fits in with my availability. 
 

I am pleased NCL has dropped Bermuda from some cruises. I will keep my fingers crossed they do the same before final payment date which is the beginning of Oct and I will decide then 

I totally get it to book a cruise that is just Bermuda where you’re spending 3 days there is one thing, to throw it in as a port stop on a trans Atlantic is another, it’s not necessary to stop there and hopefully NcL realizes it’s more trouble than it’s worth as far as trans Atlantics

[schmoopie17]

8 minutes ago, njkate said:

I totally get it to book a cruise that is just Bermuda where you’re spending 3 days there is one thing, to throw it in as a port stop on a trans Atlantic is another, it’s not necessary to stop there and hopefully NcL realizes it’s more trouble than it’s worth as far as trans Atlantics

Looks like they have realized it with the dropping of Bermuda on two consecutive TAs (including ours).

[spanishguy1970]

they dropped Bermuda on my Nov 1 Transatlantic cruise, posted the new itinerary today.

[RW75]

On 9/6/2022 at 3:42 PM, DensolandMouthy said:

Thanks to the polite posters who even if they didnt agree with me, they still conducted themselves with respect and dignity. 
 

This has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with $40. 
I fly to Lisbon a few days before to catch the ship. All other tests are stopping now on other routes. On this cruise I get to Lisbon, test and what if its positive? So I cant get on the ship, I have to turn around and fly home. Cancel my NY stay and flight. 
 

Then going back in April Ive flown from UK to NY. I then test. What if that is positive ? I fly back home again ? 
 

At the time of booking all other ports / cruises ALL required tests. I have tested for FOUR cruises so far this year. These have gradually stopped and the US requirement final dropped a couple of weeks ago = relief.  Thus NOW Bermuda stands out as a real problem port. Some of you will follow this. Some of you will rant. 
 

My decision therefore is to decide and find another cruise that fits in with my availability. 
 

I am pleased NCL has dropped Bermuda from some cruises. I will keep my fingers crossed they do the same before final payment date which is the beginning of Oct and I will decide then 

Looking at this from a different angle, aren’t you tempted to test prior to embarkation anyway?  I will certainly take an lateral flow test prior to boarding a ship for two weeks. For my own peace of mind.  I would not want to board a ship knowing I had Covid and could infect others. 
Would not want to face the prospect of isolating onboard either. 
While I absolutely understand what you are saying regarding the prospect of testing positive, I rather feel you may be simplifying the situation.  
I have two cruises with stops in Bermuda which I fully expect to be missed due to the logistics and have received no communication with regard to testing or the travel authority application.

In my opinion no cruise line is going to take the expense a full ship testing and the implications to follow with any positive cases when the port stop is only seven hours or so.

[BermudaBound2014]

 

 

Not sure if this applicable to your sailing, but it looks like Celebrity and NCL have canceled several sailings to Bermuda because of the excessive testing requirements.

 

https://thepointsguy.com/news/bermuda-cruise-call-cancellations-covid-rules/

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2022 by BermudaBound2014

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Not sure if this applicable to your sailing, but it looks like Celebrity and NCL have canceled several sailings to Bermuda because of the excessive testing requirements.

As a point of clarification, what was cancelled were port calls to Bermuda on long, westbound transatlantics.  So far, at least to my knowledge, there have been no cancellations of “sailings to Bermuda” in terms of cruises leaving from the East Coast with Bermuda as the only, or a primary, port of call.   
 

I’m not surprised about the cancellations on the TAs. 

[HBCcruiser]

In this video he says the cancellations are due to the testing requirements and discusses the $40 fee as a revenue source for Bermuda. 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2022 by HBCcruiser

[njhorseman]

25 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

In this video he says the cancellations are due to the testing requirements and discusses the $40 fee as a revenue source for Bermuda. 

And he totally ignores the fact that the cancelled cruises were transatlantics making a brief port call in Bermuda that would have required a second COVID test to be done on board within two days the ship's arrival in Bermuda. No cruise lines have cancelled their regular Bermuda cruises where only one test has to be done prior to embarking the cruise. Passengers on those cruises also have to pay $40 for their travel authorization as well as paying for their COVID tests. but the cruise lines haven't made an issue of it for those cruises. The only reason the cruise lines are cancelling the TA cruises is because it would cost them a lot a money to do the additional on board COVID test.

Basically the cruise lines are saying to their passengers "If you're paying for the tests and travel authorizations that's too bad for you...if you don't like it don't cruise to Bermuda. But if we have to pay for the tests, uh, uh, we're not doing it.

[HBCcruiser]

4 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

And he totally ignores the fact that the cancelled cruises were transatlantics making a brief port call in Bermuda that would have required a second COVID test to be done on board within two days the ship's arrival in Bermuda. No cruise lines have cancelled their regular Bermuda cruises where only one test has to be done prior to embarking the cruise. Passengers on those cruises also have to pay $40 for their travel authorization as well as paying for their COVID tests. but the cruise lines haven't made an issue of it for those cruises. The only reason the cruise lines are cancelling the TA cruises is because it would cost them a lot a money to do the additional on board COVID test.

Basically the cruise lines are saying to their passengers "If you're paying for the tests and travel authorizations that's too bad for you...if you don't like it don't cruise to Bermuda. But if we have to pay for the tests, uh, uh, we're not doing it.

Why don’t they let passengers bring their own telemed tests onboard, or just charge passengers for the extra test? 

[njhorseman]

5 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Why don’t they let passengers bring their own telemed tests onboard, or just charge passengers for the extra test? 

I doubt the cruise ships' wifi systems and satellite connections could handle a couple of thousand people trying to do telemedicine tests in a short span of time.  

I'm sure there'd be hell to pay if the cruise lines tried to charge passengers for a test.

[BirdTravels]

On 9/7/2022 at 8:50 AM, njkate said:

I totally get it to book a cruise that is just Bermuda where you’re spending 3 days there is one thing, to throw it in as a port stop on a trans Atlantic is another, it’s not necessary to stop there and hopefully NcL realizes it’s more trouble than it’s worth as far as trans Atlantics

Hardly "thrown in". They have always been on the itinerary. Long transatlantics without port calls are very unattractive. NCL is trying to accommodate those who want to get on dry land once and a while. 

[njkate]

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Hardly "thrown in". They have always been on the itinerary. Long transatlantics without port calls are very unattractive. NCL is trying to accommodate those who want to get on dry land once and a while. 

You have your opinion I have mine. TA coming back from Europe Bermuda is not necessary, if one has an issue with sea days maybe trans Atlantics aren't for them

[njkate]

1 minute ago, njkate said:

You have your opinion I have mine. TA coming back from Europe Bermuda is not necessary, you have maybe one more day to reach Fl ports or NY,  if one has an issue with sea days maybe trans Atlantics aren't for them

 

Edited September 18, 2022 by njkate

[schmoopie17]

17 hours ago, njhorseman said:

The only reason the cruise lines are cancelling the TA cruises is because it would cost them a lot a money to do the additional on board COVID test.

Basically the cruise lines are saying to their passengers "If you're paying for the tests and travel authorizations that's too bad for you...if you don't like it don't cruise to Bermuda. But if we have to pay for the tests, uh, uh, we're not doing it.

Not true. In a communication sent to passengers on our TA, this was included.

 

• ** Approximate cost per Covid-19 Antigen test is $95. Approximate cost per PCR is $199. This cost may vary and is the responsibility of the guest. We will share guests’ test results in the Bermuda Maritime Declaration and those guests with a negative result will be able to go ashore.

[DensolandMouthy]

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. 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

Not true. In a communication sent to passengers on our TA, this was included.

 

• ** Approximate cost per Covid-19 Antigen test is $95. Approximate cost per PCR is $199. This cost may vary and is the responsibility of the guest. We will share guests’ test results in the Bermuda Maritime Declaration and those guests with a negative result will be able to go ashore.

You ignored my subsequent post where I said there would be "hell to pay if the cruise lines tried to charge passengers for a test" . Apparently that proved to be true because NCL did cancel the Bermuda port calls...no doubt because of the negative reaction to their plans to charge for the test.

 The cruise lines wouldn't cover the cost and the passengers wouldn't pay, so the port calls were cancelled. 

Edited September 18, 2022 by njhorseman

[Georgia_Peaches]

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

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

🙄

[style9ine]

On 9/5/2022 at 4:03 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. 
 

 

Aside from now debating lling my trip due to hurricane, if I do go, this will sadly be my last Bermuda cruise 😞 i live there island but i spent way too much freaking money on TA and covid tests x 6. Trying hard not to stress but time to move into another port. 😩 

[style9ine]

13 hours ago, njhorseman said:

You ignored my subsequent post where I said there would be "hell to pay if the cruise lines tried to charge passengers for a test" . Apparently that proved to be true because NCL did cancel the Bermuda port calls...no doubt because of the negative reaction to their plans to charge for the test.

 The cruise lines wouldn't cover the cost and the passengers wouldn't pay, so the port calls were cancelled. 

Wait what??? You have to pay for another test????? 

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, style9ine said:

Wait what??? You have to pay for another test????? 

The additional test would have been required for the transatlantic cruises that arrive in Bermuda more than 4 days after embarkation, which is why their port calls in Bermuda were cancelled. 

A typical itinerary that arrives in Bermuda two days or so after embarkation doesn't require a second test.

[Travelling2Some]

We are taking an (unusual for November) transatlantic going from New York to Lisbon.  NCL still canceled our Bermuda stop (substituted Newport, RI) even though our embarkation tests would have still been valid since Bermuda was to be our first stop.  This decision was VERY popular judging by the reaction on our Roll Call.  As has been stated several times, there is a big difference in attitude towards the Bermuda testing between those who's main destination is Bermuda itself and those who are primarily headed to more distant ports where Bermuda was to be just one (unnecessary) stop among many. 

 

Speaking for myself, I have all kinds of money (and time!) already laid out on the several weeks we have planned in Europe after we get off the ship.  We have been trying to take this trip since "the before times" so it would be a huge disappointment to have it all ruined (yet again) at the very last minute.  

[style9ine]

3 hours ago, njhorseman said:

The additional test would have been required for the transatlantic cruises that arrive in Bermuda more than 4 days after embarkation, which is why their port calls in Bermuda were cancelled. 

A typical itinerary that arrives in Bermuda two days or so after embarkation doesn't require a second test.

Oh I see. Thank you for the clarification. Phew. Bad enough I'm probably losing money already. Starting to resent my beloved Bermuda 😞