Daniel A

The "Self Test" is described on the testing FAQ's web page. It doesn't appear to be an honor system at all. FAQs for Cruises from U.S. & Canada (hollandamerica.com) Vaccinated guests may use a medically observed self-test (sometimes referred to a at-home test) that meets the following criteria: Only medically observed self-tests will be accepted. The test must be a SARS-CoV-2 viral test (nucleic acid amplification test [NAAT] or antigen test) with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Please note, antigen tests are accepted for fully vaccinated guests, but not for unvaccinated guests. The testing procedure must include a telehealth service affiliated with the manufacturer of the test that provides real-time supervision remotely through an audio and video connection. Some FDA-authorized self-tests that include a telehealth service may require a prescription. The telehealth provider must confirm the person’s identity, observe the specimen collection and testing procedures, confirm the test result, and issue a report that meets the requirements of the acceptable proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Holland America Line has partnered with Optum and Radeas so that U.S.-based vaccinated guests can order an FDA-authorized at-home antigen test kit, shipped to home. These at-home tests include a telehealth service. Please place your order with enough time to be shipped prior to your boarding. Order your Optum test kit online here * (2-pack for $69.99 or 3-pack for $99.99). Order your Radeas single pack for $45 here. An eMed 6-pack is available here. Optum Link https://cruise.emed.com?utm_source=carnival-corporation&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=two&utm_campaign=travel_ready_covid_test EMed Link for 6-pack https://store.emed.com/s/product/detail/01t8c00000M7G8yAAF?utm_source=website&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=Carnival+6+Pack&utm_id=Carnival+Cruise+Line+-+6+Pack+Link Radeas Link https://cruise.radeas.com/

A poster on another thread caught this. The August 16 update on the testing requirements for US, UK & Europe no longer shows a difference for the length of cruises. Is this an error or did they once again change the testing requirements? Link here: CruiseHealth™ - Vaccination & Testing Requirements by Region - Princess Cruises (I cannot take credit for finding this, @clueless2 found it.)

Hmmm.... Very interesting! It's not there anymore.

I'm glad it worked out for you. Besides the extra expense (and suspense), the OP's father-in-law has a passport that will be good for the currently scheduled cruise. Why take the chance of a hiccup during the process and not having the passport in time to cruise?

@klfhngr DO NOT RENEW THE PASSPORT NOW!! When you renew your passport, you need to mail in your current valid passport as part of the renewal process. Because of staffing issues at the State Department, it may take as many as three to four months for the new passport to arrive and during that time you will not have any passport at all! Just have your step-dad bring along his current passport and he should be fine. I posted the U.S> State Department's web page for Mexico in my previous post. The best advice is to go to an official site for confirmation, not Cruise Critic. This is why I gave you the government web page link. Here it is again: Mexico International Travel Information (state.gov) Again, it is too close to sailing to get a new passport in time. During normal times, the passport wouldn't come until the middle of October at the soonest and more likely it wouldn't come until November or December now. Here is the link for the U.S. State Department describing passport processing times: Processing Times for U.S. Passports (state.gov) I hope they enjoy their cruise.

If the cruise is stopping in Mexico only, I don't think Mexico requires a 6 month expiration. According to the U.S. State Department, the passport need only to be valid at the time of entry to Mexico. Mexico International Travel Information (state.gov) @Hlitner Can you verify this is correct information? Thank you.

If I remember correctly, Canada treated arriving on a cruise ship as a separate category, and when they say here arriving by land, air or water, they meant arriving by a privately owned yacht or a ferry, not a cruise ship. Canada has a different web page for cruise ships : COVID-19: Cruise ship travel requirements – Travel.gc.ca

Thanks for the info. I was posting that article to show that one can complete ArriveCAN on a computer if someone doesn't have a smart phone (like me.) Were your prior submissions for arriving by land or air rather than a cruise ship? I don't have direct experience with this, but I would think Princess would want to see the hard copy QR (or QR on a phone or tablet) as part of required embarkation documentation. I never needed to show any ID to Canadian authorities when stopping in Canada for a cruise excursion. I believe that is because the ship had already verified my information.

@Losnab I don't want to sound fatalistic, but when Covid wants you, it will find you no matter what. My brother kept himself and his wife at home with at home grocery deliveries and would finally go outdoors. He got hit by a car crossing the street to go to a doctor's appointment and he got Covid while in the hospital. Try to live your life to your comfort level. The best tool you possess against Covid is your own intelligence and common sense. Covid-19 is no longer what it was when everybody was ending up on a ventilator. It's nothing to ignore, but so is washing your hands frequently onboard because Noro is still out there. Spending too much time in the sun isn't good but some sunlight is also necessary for good health. Trust your intelligence and common sense and enjoy your cruise.

A little addition to my sermon: HAL has just announced the same testing and vaccination protocols starting the same date as Princess. I have a 35-day HAL cruise booked for February/March. How does it make sense that for a 10-day cruise I wouldn't need a test, but I would need a test because I'm will still be onboard for days 16 to 35? The only thing I can think of is the likelihood of many more sea days on the longer cruises with more PAX in onboard venues. Oh well, I'm hoping all of this stuff ends by the end of this year. 🤷‍♂️

It really makes no sense at all for a pre-embarkation test be taken for an Alaska cruise that stops in Canada on one of the last days of the sailing. Example: Ruby sails on a 10-day R/T from SFO on September 7. Passenger tests negative on pre-embarkation test on September 5. Ruby docks in British Columbia on September 14. The tested passenger has arrived in Canada either 9 or 10 days after testing negative. How does that mandatory pre-embarkation test help at all?

Tests done at pharmacies like CVS are medically supervised. I'm questioning what is a self-test and how does one provide proof of a negative result from the self-test?

According to this news story: If you don't have a compatible smartphone, you can submit your information through the browser version of ArriveCAN on any computer. This can include a public computer at a library, an internet café or a hotel. These places will also often have a printer, allowing you to print out your ArriveCAN receipt. Upon arrival, a Canadian Border Services officer will ask to see your Arrive CAN receipt. If you're not carrying a smartphone or other device, be sure to have a printout of our ArriveCAN receipt ready. Story is here: Coronavirus: How to use the ArriveCAN app if you don't have a smartphone | CTV News

Per the Carnival Corporation Press release: "Unvaccinated guests are welcomed aboard and must provide results of a negative medically supervised or self-test taken within three days of embarkation." I'm not sure how they define a self-test. If it's the free ones from the Government how do you provide the results, unless they're referring to the tests you do online.

There is an OLD story about the data center of the future. This data center runs 24/7 with only a man and a dog. The man's job is to feed the dog. The dog's job is to make sure the man does not touch the computer. Princess could learn a few things from the past....🤦‍♂️🐕💻

That same page says this about shore excursions: "Shore excursions in Canada during the cruise there is no arrival testing for passengers entering Canada for shore excursions you may be asked to show your ArriveCAN receipt from your initial embarkation you won’t have to resubmit ArriveCAN if you aren’t fully vaccinated due to medical reasons, you’re allowed to join a shore excursion. You must have proof of a valid medical contraindication and a valid ArriveCAN submission. if you aren’t fully vaccinated due to a sincerely-held religious belief, you aren’t allowed to disembark the ship in Canada except in a medical emergency."

After looking more closely at how Princess determines cruise length, it seems that Princess uses days and nights interchangeably. It looks like Princess doesn't count disembarkation day as a day added into the length of a cruise. So, your 15 night Royal cruise is most likely considered to be a 15 day cruise as well (even though you will be on the ship for 16 calendar days. You probably won't need to test if you're vaccinated on your cruise but it still won't hurt to double check with Princess before embarkation day. Enjoy your cruise! ( I just looked at a 35 day HAL cruise I have booked, and they are counting disembarkation day as one of the 35 days. Go figure, HAL is a Carnival subsidiary and Princess is a part of the Holland America Group in Carnival Corporation.) What a shock that there is no consistency... 😲

You are correct, I see what you were referencing on Princess' website. I just checked the itinerary for a "15 Day" Hawaii cruise on Ruby in October. It is clearly advertised as a 15 Day voyage, but PAX are actually onboard 16 calendar days. It looks as if Princess is not counting disembarkation day as a day onboard, making it only 15 days. The cruise is October 8 to 23. It would be much easier to understand if they either quantified by number of days or number of nights and have that standard be consistent in their releases.

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.

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.

If your cruise is 16 days, then testing is still required according to the press release: "Starting Sept. 6, vaccinated guests sailing on voyages of less than 16 days will no longer have to test before boarding..." & "No pre-cruise testing for vaccinated guests on voyages of up to 15 nights " It is interesting to note that at one point in the release, they count the nights and at another point they count the days. It's pretty clear that the voyage must be under 16 days in length to avoid testing. My read of the sentence stating "up to 15 nights" means 14 nights and under as they would have phrased it "up to and including 15 nights" if they were including 15 night cruises. JMHO, but I think the first statement of less than 16 days is very clear that you'll still need to test.

But if they're allowing scooters to be parked in the passageway, where would I put my breakfast dishes??? 😲

Not unless it is a CPAP with Oxygen. I don't know if they still have a ban on supplemental oxygen devices.

Since we aren't wine drinkers, we bring our own 3 or 4 pack of Prosecco on board with us and save them for disembarkation day. It's merely Italian Champagne and once it's in a Mimosa you really can't tell the difference.

She also found it works at local restaurant bars. But I can't take credit, someone else on CC suggested it. 🤷‍♂️ P.S. I'm glad you got a good tip from me; I will always remember your suggestion about the Prosecco and OJ in the disembarkation lounge. It gives us a little lift on a sad day...😢 - 🥂🙂