junglejane

We are using EZ Air for business class seats on British Airways for our July 20 cruise. We requested early ticketing so that we could select seats. Our flights have now been ticketed but to our surprise we found out that British Airways won't let us select seats early without paying a fee. I have Bronze status with BA so I think I'll be able to pick them a week ahead. But in retrospect we didn't accomplish anything by asking Princess for early ticketing. We are happy with our flights and the price paid though.

There is an FAQ section on the Princess website about sailings from Southampton. It doesn't say anything specifically about those with pre-cruise land tours with Princess. It recommends arriving at the cruise terminal with proof of testing but says that "for fully vaccinated guests, we will be able to provide a limited number of antigen tests that meet our requirements, at or near the terminal." A $60 pp fee will be billed to your stateroom. We're doing a DIY pre-cruise visit, but plan to do an eMed proctored test from our London hotel room before heading to Southampton. We'll order the test kits and have them in our possession prior to leaving home for our trip to the UK. I don't know if the fact that you are doing a Princess pre-cruise excursion changes any of this, but I'd come prepared with either my own test kit (for proctored testing) or another backup plan for getting a test. https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/uk-southampton-cruises/?accordion=covid-test-prior-to-boarding

They were Purex Complete 3-in-1 but I think they were discontinued years ago. You can find people selling them on eBay!

Here's a news article from today about the possible end to US reentry testing. I'm just posting the link and am mindful of the forum rule stickied at the top about not engaging in opinion or debate, so I hope that's okay. https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2022-05-13/airlines-press-u-s-to-lift-pre-departure-testing-requirements

@dockman This is disheartening because we're on the July 20 Emerald cruise and we've been convincing ourselves that by diligently wearing masks and being extra vigilant, we can hope to avoid infection. May I ask what you did for meals before you tested positive? It seems like dining is a time of increased risk due to proximity to other unmasked people while you're unmasked yourself. Edited to add that I just saw your latest comment about eating on lido deck during slow times.

That sounds encouraging. Did they give you a paper result or was it by email?

We've been wondering about the same thing. We're on the July 20 sailing. Presumably the current cruise that started May 9 will have a port day in Le Havre. So I think we'll need to wait until May 20 to find out how it's handled. Unless something changes, we're going to bring those proctored self test kits from eMed in case we need to do our own, and hope for good wifi.

I'm anxious to see some reports about how disembarkation testing is handled for cruises ending in Southampton, especially for those of us with same day flights to the US. The Princess FAQ's for Southampton cruises says: "If a negative COVID-19 test is required for re-entry into your home country, Princess will cover the costs of tests, provided guests can show proof that their flight arrangements are the same day as they disembark the ship. Guests will need to make their own test arrangements if onward travel is not the day they disembark." That doesn't really explain the logistics of how it works. Do they conduct tests onboard for those with same day flights, or are we on our own and they'll reimburse?

We're new to NCL and also new to using cruise air. We're booked on the NCL Pearl 9/2 Canada/NE that starts in Boston and ends in Quebec. Final payment is due May 5. We booked when there was a BOGO air promotion for $349. We would want to fly in early to Boston and stay extra days in Quebec. It looks to me like this can be done by paying a fee for an air deviation, but the maximum deviation is 2 days on both ends. What I don't understand is how and when this happens. Do I take care of this before final payment or after? Does my TA add in the extra air deviation fee? Do I have any input on the flights or are they just assigned? I'd appreciate any advice and tips about the cruise air. I like my TA but she has a lot more experience with Princess than NCL.