NCL drops protocols. Will Royal follow?

[moposh]

Even with the testing protocols, people still get COVID on cruises.  I wonder how eliminating the testing requirements will affect cruise COVID numbers.

[smokeybandit]

2 minutes ago, moposh said:

Even with the testing protocols, people still get COVID on cruises.  I wonder how eliminating the testing requirements will affect cruise COVID numbers.

People have always gotten colds on cruises. Just part of the deal.

Edited October 4, 2022 by smokeybandit

[moposh]

27 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

People have always gotten colds on cruises. Just part of the deal.

I never got sick on a cruise.  My daughter did get COVID on a cruise.  Fortunately, she is vaccinated so it wasn't bad.  And yes, we know it is a risk.  I would just be curious if more or fewer people get COVID with relaxed requirements, but I don't think anyone is tracking.

Edited October 4, 2022 by moposh

[F27TW]

21 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

That is the thing. It is somewhat misleading because no matter what NCL says about dropping protocols they have to follow the protocols of their destinations. Royal has seemed to be more honest. 

 

It does seem like a very misleading thing .. since many of the destinations do still require it.

[bucfan2]

3 hours ago, moposh said:

Even with the testing protocols, people still get COVID on cruises.  I wonder how eliminating the testing requirements will affect cruise COVID numbers.

We'll never know.  And guess what?  Even most of those that get it...will never know.

[nferr]

5 hours ago, F27TW said:

 

It does seem like a very misleading thing .. since many of the destinations do still require it.

 

Many? Just a few left. Pretty much just Bermuda for sailings out of the US.

[imola]

Received and email today from RC regarding our October 20th sailing through the Panama Canal.  Seems Nicaragua is not allowing to cruise ships into port so we will no longer be stopping there.  They will be porting in Hautulo, Mexico instead.  We have not been to either port so I guess it doesnt matter.  We are not mad just have to do new research for the new port.

[PolicromaSol]

11 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

People have always gotten colds on cruises. Just part of the deal.

 

Better a cold than norovirus....

[ShazM]

We have to have supervised tests for the transpacific from Honolulu to Sydney that leaves on Sunday. Quite a few Aussies thought it would have been done away with so didn't book an appointment and are now scrambling to find one that is even at a reasonable price. I booked months ago in case and it is $60USD but some are charging as high as $295 which is nuts for a RAT.

 

Then 3 weeks or so ago Royal advised of the protocols for this cruise. Aside from the supervised test they said that all passengers over the age of 5 have to be fully vaccinated which is in total contradiction to what they had said even the week before. There were a few families who were going to have to cancel. One had a daughter aged 6 who hadn't been vaccinated and the mother had 3 emails from Royal saying she didn't have to be, the last email was 3 days before this came out. We can only assume it is coming out of Polynesia/Tahiti because it isn't a requirement in either Australia or New Zealand. Only giving these new rules out 3 weeks before the cruise wasn't going to give them enough time to get it done given the 2nd shot has to be at least 14 days in advance of the cruise leaving. So sad for them.

[Biker19]

Norwegian Cruise Line is implementing more restrictive health and safety protocols, including requiring tests, for some passengers on all its ships through the end of January 2023.

 

The new protocols apply only to guests who have recently visited mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau, or hold passports from those countries, but are applicable to all Norwegian Cruise Line ships and sailings regardless of embarkation port or itinerary.

 

 

Norwegian Cruise Line is tightening its health and safety protocols for guests, but only for those passengers who have visited mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau within 10 days of embarking on a cruise, or if guests hold passports from those countries cannot provide proof that they have not visited the regions in the past 10 days

 

“As a result of growing concerns regarding COVID-19 in China, and recently implemented travel restrictions by several countries including the United States, we are proactively implementing preventative health and safety measures for all sailings embarking between Jan. 5 – Jan. 31, 2023,” the email states.

 

 

This means that all of Norwegian Cruise Line’s 18 ships will be using these tighter protocols, but only for guests from the listed countries or who hold the listed passports.

The enhanced protocols include the following:

 

• Guests must be fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 with an approved World Health Organization vaccine prior to boarding.
• Guests must submit a medically supervised, negative test result taken within 48 hours prior to boarding.
• Guests will be required to take a medically supervised PCR test at the embarkation port within 8 hours of embarkation.
• Further tests will be administered every 48 hours onboard until 10 days have passed since the guest’s last time in the restricted countries.

Expenses related to required tests are guests’ responsibility. Onboard testing is currently offered at $99 (USD) per person, per test.

 

“We apologize for any inconvenience caused by these measures and thank our guests for their continued understanding as we work to protect the health, safety, and well-being of our guests, crew, and communities we visit worldwide,” the email concludes.

 

It should be noted that there have been no large-scale outbreaks of COVID-19 reported aboard any Norwegian Cruise Line ship, and these measures are being taken out of an abundance of caution to protect everyone aboard.

 

In addition to the pre-cruise and recurrent testing onboard, Norwegian Cruise Line continues to maintain other onboard health and safety protocols to minimize the risk of transmission.

 

Crew members continue to frequently clean and sanitize each ship with EPA-approved disinfectants, and upgraded air filtration is installed onboard Norwegian vessels. Ships’ medical centers have been upgraded and have additional staffing to assist with potential situations.

 

 

Should guests test positive while onboard, contact tracing is used to notify other guests as needed, as well as to minimize the potential spread, and that quarantine measures are available.

 

At this time, there is no indication that Norwegian Cruise Line will be reinstituting mandatory mask-wearing onboard any ships, though guests are welcome to wear masks if they prefer.

 

Guests should also note that health and safety protocols are subject to change at any time, even last-minute before embarkation, and booked guests should stay in close contact with the cruise line and their travel agent via email, phone, and text message for updates as necessary.

 

While China and other areas of Asia have maintained much stricter protocols and lockdowns in the past two years, particularly as other parts of the world have eased restrictions over time, those areas are now gradually reopening. This has led to a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases as isolation ends and travel restarts.

 

In particular, cases have been spiking throughout the popular travel holiday period since late November, as groups gather once more and infections can spread more easily.

 

Norwegian Cruise Line Tightens Protocols for Some Guests (cruisehive.com)

[toad455]

With various reports of a spike in COVID cases on ships now, I wonder if they might bring back pre-cruise testing? Are any ships reporting/announcing COVID cases? Are any ships currently dealing with staff shortages?

[MommaBear55]

4 hours ago, toad455 said:

With various reports of a spike in COVID cases on ships now, I wonder if they might bring back pre-cruise testing? Are any ships reporting/announcing COVID cases? Are any ships currently dealing with staff shortages?

I don't know anything about that but I was surprised to get an email today about mandatory vaccine and negative Covid testing for our transpacific in April. I guess it's to make sure the unvaccinated can get vaccinated in the appropriate time frame or choose not to sail

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 minute ago, MommaBear55 said:

I don't know anything about that but I was surprised to get an email today about mandatory vaccine and negative Covid testing for our transpacific in April. I guess it's to make sure the unvaccinated can get vaccinated in the appropriate time frame or choose not to sail

😲... I was considering that cruise. My decision would not be based on vaccination but your post was the first factual observation that requirements are still changing and in flux.

 

No judgement about the mandatory requirements. We agree to the terms of the cruise or we cancel the cruise.

 

Thank you for the update. 🙂 Even if it is not what I want to hear. 😔

[smokeybandit]

On 1/5/2023 at 7:52 AM, Biker19 said:

The new protocols apply only to guests who have recently visited mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau, or hold passports from those countries, but are applicable to all Norwegian Cruise Line ships and sailings regardless of embarkation port or itinerary.

What percentage of cruisers fit into that category? 1%? Seems like more of a new "look at us we're doing something" protocol.

 

5 hours ago, toad455 said:

With various reports of a spike in COVID cases on ships now, I wonder if they might bring back pre-cruise testing?

I have seen no such reports.

Edited January 6, 2023 by smokeybandit

[Engineroom Snipe]

4 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

What percentage of cruisers fit into that category? 1%? Seems like more of a new "look at us we're doing something" protocol.

 

I have seen no such reports.

I am not an alarmist. This is a recent small cruise that had problems. Only reporting what is written.

 

https://en.mercopress.com/2022/01/04/german-cruise-to-canary-islands-interrupted-in-portugal-because-of-covid-outbreak

[BirdTravels]

7 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

What percentage of cruisers fit into that category? 1%? Seems like more of a new "look at us we're doing something" protocol.

 

I have seen no such reports.

Mandatory mask use by all passengers and crew. 

[Engineroom Snipe]

3 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I am not an alarmist. This is a recent small cruise that had problems. Only reporting what is written.

 

https://en.mercopress.com/2022/01/04/german-cruise-to-canary-islands-interrupted-in-portugal-because-of-covid-outbreak

I would add that all passengers were identified as vaccinated and tested prior to passage. I am not sure how much more the cruise line could do to prevent the situation.

[smokeybandit]

1 minute ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

I would add that all passengers were identified as vaccinated and tested prior to passage. I am not sure how much more the cruise line could do to prevent the situation.

I wonder how many had anything more than mild symptoms? That ship in Australia that had 800 test positive had no one with more than mild symptoms and most were asymptomatic.

 

Covid still exists, obviously, but massive overreactions should be long gone by now.

 

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 minute ago, smokeybandit said:

Covid still exists, obviously, but massive overreactions should be long gone by now.

 

 

It seems not. 😬

 

[Biker19]

4 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Covid still exists, obviously, but massive overreactions should be long gone by now.

This is CC, overreactions by some is the norm.