cpw0807

18 hours ago, CruiserDoc said:

Does anyone know what Atlas' policy is if you test positive on the required pre-trip COVID tests? Is there an option to get a full refund?

 

This is from the documentation they sent us with the travel documents in the leather folder: 

"If a guest receives a positive test result at Orlando International Airport, the affected guest and close contacts will not be allowed to proceed on the charter flight. However, Atlas Ocean Voyages will provide the following courtesies should a guest receive a positive result: 

100% Future Cruise Credit for affected guest and first contacts
Rental car for the affected guest to return home 
Return flight for all close contacts of the affected guest, including change fees
One night hotel stay in Orlando if same-day return flights are unavailable"

@swkrupa78So I was finally able to sign up for our tests (February 2 departure) now that we have flight information and I didn't see anything about how you would denote that you need a PCR. I signed us up for paid PCRs at MCO earlier that day (they promise 60 minute results) that were $175/ea as a backup. You may be glad to have just done the paid PCRs at home with less stress and waiting around at the airport.

@swkrupa78This was posted in the FB group tonight by the CFO of Atlas. It seems they can do a PCR for you in Orlando if needed but it doesn't appear it's free. When I logged into the portal it had documentation for both the Binax (antigen) test as well as for the PCR. Without knowing our flight times I didn't book an appointment to see what the process is like, but as an FYI. 

@harbormaster This reply was posted this afternoon in the FB group by the CFO of Atlas. I don't have any idea what the cost of doing Atlas' option at MCO is (it does seem like they're charging extra currently) but it is an option if you can't find anything locally. You sign up in the same portal whether you want antigen or PCR.

14 minutes ago, Tobbie888 said:

The test Atlas is doing at Orlando airport is an Antigen test and Atlas is trying to create a bubble for the charter flight to my knowledge.

 

The 72 hour PCR test is an Argentina government requirement. You can only do the test the day before your flight to Orlando but not sooner than 7:45am EST that day since the arrival time at Ushuaia is 9:45am local time. Otherwise it will be more than 72 hours. Nowadays getting a test result within 48-72 hours is quite unpredictable especially in big cities. In order to get this test result, we will need to have an expedited PCR test which is not free. We will get the test result when we arrive at Orlando. Then we can finish the Argentina Sworn Health Declaration (within 48 hours of arrival Ushuaia) at the hotel by uploading the test result and proof of insurance to their website. At the end we still need to print a hard copy of the test result to carry with us and enter the Declaration Confirmation number in Atlas website.

 

There is so much effort and steps we need to follow in order to get on to our cruise this time. 

Hi Tobbie888, this was all accurate as of early December but reports from those who went over New Years and those who left on the 15th of January say Atlas has changed to RT-PCR tests in Orlando. That's the impetus for this new line of questioning. 

Additionally, people are reporting that the Argentinian DDJJ (the declaration) is no longer requiring a file upload. So the situation is changing under our feet and it's very unclear. I think it's important to be prepared to comply with the original ask (do your own PCR, print and bring your documents, be prepared to upload them, etc. etc.) until we get official confirmation, but it would be very nice to not have to source our own PCRs with astronomical wait times or hefty price tags.

1 hour ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

I have never seen anything from Altas indicating that "full travel insurance" was included.  I have only seen reference to emergency medical evacuation.  https://atlasoceanvoyages.com/press-releases-list/2020-09-23 -- Atlas Includes Emergency Med Evac Insurance.pdf?_t=1621344856

This has been my experience as well--only emergency medical evacuation. With that said, enough people have mentioned this that I wonder if they changed the wording sometime prior to when I first engaged with them in mid-2021.

I've been wondering about this as well. Until I get specific written confirmation from Atlas that they're going to provide a PCR at the airport and that it will suffice for entry to Argentina, I'm not going to risk it. I would however love the save the money and not have to pay for the rush job private PCR I'm planning on. 

4 hours ago, joepeggy said:

Thanks for your update.  We are on the 2 February sailing and I'm wondering about the jacket and the boots.  Do you have any pictures you can share?  Will we be able to tuck our pants into the boots?  How cold was it?  Any suggestions on what to pack.  Also, what did you do on the last day after getting off the ship until your flight home.  Thanks for any and all info and pictures. 

Peggy

I'd also love to hear about last day activities. @joepeggy I was told the pants don't get tucked into the boots because if they are then water can get into your boots if you're splashed getting off the zodiacs. Untucked, the water rolls down off you and onto the outside of your boots. Just a random tidbit I picked up.

There's finally starting to be some good content on Instagram about Atlas. There are several travel influencers onboard right now. If you check the AOV IG they're reposting a lot of it. AskaConcierge, thecubancarrie, and Ranagood are all putting out a lot of content. Not a lot of straight reviews yet since I'm sure Atlas is paying for their trips but it's still interesting and more than we had previously. 

@skrink In the absence of anything better, I suppose so!

2 hours ago, skrink said:

If this is a requirement by Argentina, may I ask what the official source is?  I found this page but it seems to reference travelers from Africa and is unclear regarding a COVID-specific insurance requirement for travelers from other countries.  (That might be due in part to google’s translation of the page, so if anyone here knows Spanish and can translate it more clearly, please do!).   My TA spoke with their insurance rep (from whom I bought very expensive comprehensive coverage for this trip last spring), who stated that “Emergency Sickness Medical Expense” includes covid.  It does NOT specifically mention covid coverage, though.  

 

Cruisecritic is giving me error messages when I try to include the link, so if you can’t see it, it’s at the Argentine Ministry of the Interior’s website under “Migrations” and the English title is “Measures in force for entry and exit to the national territory”.

The page is correct, although the English translation is rough. The original Spanish version says "Por su parte, las personas extranjeras no residentes que ingresen por motivos turísticos deberán presentar esquema de vacunación completo, PCR negativo 72 hs. previas al embarque y un seguro de salud de COVID-19, quedando eximidos de realizar cuarentena"

Which, translated by a real person (me, Spanish undergrad), says "For their part, non-resident foreigners who enter for tourist reasons much present a complete vaccination scheme, negative PCR [taken] 72 hours before boarding, and COVID-19 health insurance, to remain exempt from quarantine." Obviously you could argue semantics with that in that technically most any health insurance would be "covid-19 health insurance" but I'd rather be safe than sorry. 

7 hours ago, skrink said:

Wait, what?  Is anyone else concerned that Atlas snuck in this requirement without telling us?  It raises a number of questions for me, like is it even possible to get it this late after purchase?  How does one add this to existing trip coverage?  What is the cost?  Why have they not told the rest of us directly and provided guidance?

 

If I hadn’t happened to see lynninAZ’s post, I wouldn’t have known about it.  Between this and the latest pandemic developments, I’m deeply concerned about going on this trip next month.

I can't speak to when this policy was instituted but it was part of the policy when I first started talking to AOV ~2 months ago. I was able to get a policy at a reasonable price (less than $1000 for two) with explicit COVID coverage from AXA by googling trip insurance coverage. Make sure that you choose that you want it to be the primary payer. You may be able to save a little money if you remove/reduce the emergency evac coverage that most of them include since AOV allegedly includes it, but I chose to keep it after hearing reports of people on Silversea being airlifted off after testing positive.  

All of this seems to be highly dependent on your "advisor" with AOV. I was provided most of this information prior to my final payment and upon making the payment was informed that their air department is working one voyage at a time. So they're currently booking domestic air connections for those leaving in December. That seems insanely chaotic and last minute to me. They also didn't have LAS or SLC available as departure airports so I had to choose between adding another connection to get to LAX or booking flights to MCO on our own. 

I hate wearing a mask on a plane as much as anyone (especially for long flights), but I'm very concerned about the idea of the plane being mask-optional. The last thing I want is this expensive, complicated trip to be derailed by an outbreak that happens on the plane.

@vicd1969 That is my understanding from what I was told. You will pick up your luggage at baggage claim and a rep from AOV will be there to direct you to where you need to go for testing.