bishop84

AFAIK your clarification is correct but keep an eye on the websites in case they change before your cruise as the requirements may change! IMO It may be stressful to leave your PCR test to when you get to the airport so maybe consider getting it before then? There are several options available but Boots do in store tests in Cardiff or Swansea and you can also order a self administered Fit-to-fly LFT test from them as well.

Check out the VistBarbados.org website which has the Barbados current requirements: COVID-19 TRAVEL GUIDELINES 2022 - Visit Barbados. Basically they want a PCR test at a testing service to avoid any mistakes with a self administered test. If you Google PCR Covid test for travel you should be able to find one near you, IIRC you cannot use a the free NHS test for travel purposes. The self administered LFT test the night before is to ensure you haven't gone positive since your PCR test and may be for TUI/Marella purposes.  

Pasted from VisitBarbados.website:

ALL travellers into Barbados, inclusive of those deemed fully vaccinated, are asked to review, and indicate their acceptance of the following:

ALL travellers must travel with an accepted valid negative COVID-19 PCR Test OR Rapid Antigen Test result.

Travellers are permitted to travel to Barbados with a valid negative Rapid COVID-19 PCR test OR Rapid Antigen test result done within 1 day prior to arrival in Barbados OR a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test result done within 3 days prior to arrival.

Accepted tests include tests which were taken at an accredited or recognized laboratory by a healthcare provider via any of the below:

• Nasopharyngeal sample
• Oropharyngeal sample
• Nasal sample
• Anterior nares sample
• Mid-turbinate sample

LAMP tests, self-administered tests or home kits and tests using saliva samples will NOT be accepted.

With specific reference to the type of test required and accepted for entry into Barbados:

Specific Requirements:

1. The specimen must be taken at an accredited or recognized laboratory by a healthcare provider via any of the below: nasopharyngeal sample, oropharyngeal sample, nasal sample, anterior nares sample or mid-turbinate sample.
2. The sample must be taken within 3 days prior to arrival for RT PCR test or 1 day prior to arrival for Rapid COVID-19 PCR Test OR Rapid Antigen Test.
3. The laboratory performing the test must be an accredited, certified or recognized facility

Please note that the following will NOT be accepted:

• Shallow nasal swab samples
• Saliva samples
• Self-administered tests (even if the sample was taken under the supervision of a healthcare provider)
• Home kits

The COVID-19 Protocols are sanctioned by Ministry of Health and Wellness (MHW)
Last Updated: 26th February 2022,
Last Verified by MHW: 26th March 2022

On 3/5/2022 at 6:16 PM, joeecco said:

Sorry to be a pain but we’ve never been before so unsure of the canal names etc. do you happen to know whether the ship will follow the red line or the yellow line? Or would the path be something totally different 👍 

It would be similar to the yellow route which is the route for commercial ships to Porto Marghera. The red route would not possible due to lack of depth of water in that part of the lagoon. If your call is diverted to the new cruise terminal I understand that it is at the Ferry port in Fusina. Google maps: Fusina - Google Maps

17 hours ago, idh2019 said:

So Discovery set off on Sunday, supposedly on "Taste of the Tropics". I thought the itinerary was the same for each named cruise. This one seems to be a major variant.

 

From Cruisemapper:

Bridgetown*
Saint Vincent Island*
Castries*
Basseterre St Kitts*
Philipsburg St Maarten*
St Georges Grenada
Roseau
Bridgetown

*=correct to date

 

From TUI:

Bridgetown, Barbados

Kingstown, St Vincent

Fort De France, Martinique

Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe

Castries, St Lucia

St George's, Grenada

Scarborough, Tobago

Bridgetown, Barbados

 

As a result, next week's itinerary (Paradise Islands) is very similar ti this week.

 

Is therea problem with some islands rejecting cruise ships?

I believe it was because Martinique, Guadeloupe and Tobago; are not open to cruise ships yet.

Depends on the which cruise line you are comparing Marella too. Different companies include or exclude different things which need to be factored in to get a true price for comparison.

I see that the 30 Jan cruise on Discovery is no longer showing on the Marella website. I hope this is due to it being sold out to capacity rather than cancelled!

On 10/1/2021 at 4:11 PM, MAC_1867 said:

Waiting for alternative offers on the 5th October, not even sure if they will be using Jamaica as a home port early next year. 

At the moment Marella Discovery 2 is scheduled to do the cruises from Montego Bay for Winter 22/23.

6 hours ago, rodndonna said:

Are Marella still offering these cruises?

 

We were booked on Exotic Explorer for March 2022 through a Canadian tour operator. We cancelled about a month ago (to make space to rebook another cancelled holiday into the March 2022 timeslot),  but have noticed just today that the Canadian operator has removed the Marella Caribbean cruises. They were removed sometime in the last week I believe. 

 

Still available on the TUI UK website. Maybe they have restricted them to UK Cruisers only?

5 minutes ago, GOQ said:

Never mind, I can always drive down. My proposed train is direct from Cardiff to Southampton and the sail date is 10th September, not sure if this would bypass Bristol ?

Just looked it up and towards the end of the works the Cardiff to Southampton trains are scheduled to operate but via Bristol Parkway instead of Bristol Temple Meads. Not sure if that will change how long it will take to get to Southampton.  Hopefully they will finish the works on time and you won't get affected!

29 minutes ago, GOQ said:

I did intend to travel to Southampton using the Marella recommended Intercruises Coach, but their website does not seem to be working. I emailed them with no response. However for me rail travel to Southampton is an easy choice.  

FYI the major railway works at Bristol may not be finished by the scheduled date of 3 Sept due to the weather and Covid situation. This may or may not impact on your plans to take the train to Southampton. 

22 hours ago, Riocca said:

Have just read that Grand Cayman is closed to cruise ships until at least 2022. 
This has been known for many months but Marella are still selling itineraries that go there for November & December this year. 
We’ve still got almost 3 months until our balance is due but it’s becoming obvious that Explorer 2’s itineraries are not going to be viable. Would like to know what plans they have so we can make decisions ourselves.

I would assume that they will substitute another port, possibly another Jamaican port, until Grand Cayman reopens to cruise ships in, currently, January. That is assuming the Covid status of Cuba changes by then as it is a 'Red' country at the moment. 

3 hours ago, ormy said:

Of course Jim, but nothing to date on Ambassador Forum - small ships and a lot of Marella posters like the smaller ships

Actually the Ambience, Ambassador Cruises (first) ship, has a larger gross tonnage than the Discovery ships. 🙂 

Following the latest changes the Marella website now has the following:

Discovery will now sail  a series of cruises to Greek ports from Corfu in September and October. She will then sail to Palma and pick up her scheduled cruise to Barbados.

Discovery 2 will now not sail with guests until April 2022!

Explorer 1 doesn't appear to have any further changes!

Explorer 2 will sail some cruises to Spanish ports from Malaga following its UK cruises and will start its cruise to Montego Bay from Malaga on 7/11 instead of Naples on 4/11 and with the exception of that and not calling at Palma the cruise appears to be the same schedule

Hopefully there won't be anymore changes!!

7 minutes ago, Brummijam said:

I would think that there could be a problem getting berths ( is that the correct term for parking a ship?) at Southampton with all of the cruise lines that are doing U.K. trips.

As per the article Marella management think "Dover has never looked so attractive!” 

Maybe they are waiting to see what ships they will have available then ...

Each port has 2 cruise terminals. IIRC the one Margaret Rees refers to above is the Singapore Cruise Centre and additionally is very near Sentosa Island with its Hotels, Casino, Theme Park etc. The other one is at Marina Bay but I haven't been there yet (!) so sorry can't help. In Hong Kong if you are at the Ocean Terminal then you are right in the centre of Kowloon with its many attractions and links to other parts of the city. The other terminal is at the old airport at Kai Tak and is further out and is not on the subway so buses or taxis are needed to go into the main part of the city.

14 hours ago, FuzzyDuckUK said:

But not the Marella fleet...

 

The Marella ships have moved from the Torquay area and are now anchored in Lyme Bay and near Portland. I guess it could be due to the current weather?

2 hours ago, davecttr said:

I would not be surprised if Celebration went as well, leaving a 4 ship operation with relatively modern ships. There may be a 5th from TUI, Mein Schiff Herz, of the market can bear it

Celebration has already been sold to Turkish breakers. I hope that they do acquire a replacement but don't think that is likely for at least a year.

On another Social media page I saw a post from a TUI employee that they had been to the Marella ships in Weymouth concerning planning for upcoming docking periods with consulting on improvements and developing the product. I hope that this is a good signal that TUI intend to keep Marella Cruises 🙂

Pullmantur's Monarch has now arrived off Aliaga, Turkey; a place where many ships have met their end. Apparently Sovereign is to follow shortly.

Looks like Carnival's oldest ship the Carnival Fantasy is possibly heading for the same fate as she has sailed from Curacao with an AIS destination of Izmir, Turkey; which is very near to Aliaga. 

1 hour ago, so,ton saint said:

Looking at cruiseindustrynews read that Key west might  limit the number of paxs coming of ships to 1500 a day ,ships with more than 1300 pax would not be allowed to disembark paxs in key west, that means no port of call for Discovery seems odd.

This ballot initiative would wipe out virtually all their cruise calls as they often have 2 or more large ships in at a time. I hope that they local economy will survive the impact if this passes in the November referendum. 

It could be that Royal Caribbean are clearing the old (30+ year) ships from Pullmantur in order to move other tonnage to them once they sort out what is happening with their tonnage. As always everything is speculation until confirmed by the companies involved.

It is likely that there will be many 'middle-aged' ships available in the near future. Any speculation that TUI/Marella may take advantage of this situation?

4 hours ago, Vitalsign said:

TUI have been given €1.6billion to help them by the German government according info online so that should keep them afloat - excuse the pun

To avoid any confusion it is a repayable loan from commercial and state owned banks which has been guaranteed by the German government rather than a bail out or just being given the money. TUI will have to repay it to the lenders on the terms it has agreed with them.  

The Discovery 2 will be docked at Mahogany Bay along with the Carnival Legend as per their website: https://www.mahoganybaycc.com/port-schedule.aspx.

Looks like the other 4 ships will be fighting it out over the 1 berth at Coxen Hole, that is if some don't change their itineraries.  Should be a bit crowded as one of them is the Harmony of the seas!

Many years ago the ship I was on stopped at Suez for a port call. It was not a very nice experience then and I doubt if it has changed since then. Even the Egyptians told us that we should not go ashore there, especially at night! 

Also IIRC a lot of Egypt is on the 'unnecessary travel to be avoided list' of the UK government.