seasickphil

1 hour ago, kohl1957 said:

Sadly, you have far more chance of catching... well whatever this is now... in your local supermarket in any country than flying domestically or internationally. Or indeed on a cruise ship.  Nationality and national policy regarding all this has become moot.  People get and spread viruses not citizens or residents. 

 

A no landing cruising of 14-28 days surely takes care of all contingencies.

 

Oh well, hopefully disease and germ free, I look forward to arriving in Southampton on 14 January and embarking on a Cunarder for... well someplace that is delightfully neither nation, country or province, but a great liner at sea.  We will take the batteries out of the tv control to ensure we never accidentally switch on "the news". Don't know, don't care! Leave us alone!

 

 

I think you will find that "well whatever this is now " is still called Covid 19 and there was 313 recorded deaths from it yesterday in the UK. When i am at home i eat with my wife only, we have our groceries delivered and we go out where we consider it to be as safe as it can be. Now when we were holiday on the Queen Elizabeth Dec 1st/13th there was just over 1300 passengers and unless you stayed in your cabin all the time (then what is the point in going) you have to mix in all venues. Because of the weather, on most sea days you could barely find a seat anywhere on the ship as nearly everywhere was full.

You only have to read other boards on here to see there has been a number of positive cases on practically every ship sailing at the moment. Everyone obviously has to make their own minds up if it is right for them to cruise at the moment, for me right now i'm very unsure. I also have no idea what you mean by people get and spread viruses not citizens or residents,  i thought people where both citizens and residents. 

4 hours ago, rusty2 said:

We are sailing on Explorer on February 4th. Our first Regent cruise. Online check-in is available next week. We are in a Concierge suite. I see part of the check-in is an arrival time at the port. Is this assigned arrival time at the port determined by your suite category without regard to the time the online check-in is completed? Or, is the arrival time determined by the time the online check-in is completed so we need to do this as soon as the check-in is opened in the middle of the night? How is this arrival time determined? Thank you.

As you are in a Concierge Suite, i presume you are taking the included 1 night pre departure hotel, so unless you, like many others right now are doing and making your own way to the ship your arrival time will be determined when your transfer arrives to take you to the ship.

On QE Dec 1st there was a very good Irish folk duo called Cula playing most lunchtimes and evenings. The menu was slightly different, no sausage and mash and no cottage pie but there was a cheese burger with crispy brisket instead. 

Aday10,

Regarding the food, our companions were sailing for the first time on Cunard and they thought the food was very good. We ourselves thought the food to be no where near as good as previous sailings, there wasn't any, what i call premium fish dishes on the menu including on the three Gala nights. To be fair to Cunard, after the last 20 months where it has cost Carnival millions of pounds, cut backs can only be expected. The cruise we just had, with all the restrictions of Covid to us was way inferior to pre Covid cruises but what can we expect in these very uncertain times. Everybody like different things on a cruise, we much prefer anytime/freedom dining, call it what you want, to fixed dining, in fact 90% of our cruises in the last 10 years have been when you can dine when you want, so i am probably not the best person to advise you. If you can get a Club Balcony though for only £200 extra then i would definitely go for that, whilst we haven't been in a Club Balcony, we have been in Princess & Queens Grills and there you have the same table & waiters for the duration of the cruise, so i would expect the same to apply to dining in the Club Balcony restaurant.

We disembarked the Queen Elizabeth on  Dec 13th, there was 4 of us and on the first 2 nights we booked via the My Voyage App for 7.45pm after speaking to our waiters, we were told that if we wanted the same table we should speak to the maitre'd, this we did but was told that we could only have the same table if it was available when we arrived. He did tell us though that there was no need to book on the app and that if we went on deck 3 to enter Britannia and not deck 2, we could arrive and be seated earlier than 7.45pm if we wished.We never went earlier but did go without booking every evening at around 8.00pm and apart from the last night when we were later than 8.00pm we got either one of the same 2 tables side by side with the same waiters.Things could obviously be different on subsequent cruises, although we were told that Cunard could be looking at bringing these procedures in on future cruises, this would not suit everyone i know but for us anytime dinning is fine. The one thing we found was that when asked, the waiters did not seem to be aware of the always available items (not shown on the menu) if there was nothing on the menu that took your fancy, they had to get the maitre'd who then quickly sorted everything out.

4 hours ago, Twolittleboys said:

I was on the last cruise (disembarked on the 13th) and like someone else said, we had to pay $25 for an antigen test in order to be able to leave the ship in Lisbon (if we wanted to). Everyone who did not chose to take that test had to take a test on Saturday instead (rule was changing during the trip). Anyone who had had the test for Lisbon (actually done on the 9th) was allowed to disembark without another test. However, that was a special exception. Seems like in the future everyone will need to get a test done closer to disembarkation.

 

However, the good news is that the testing process was very smooth. I assume a good portion of passengers had a test done on the 9th (like me). There were time slots depending on which deck your cabin was on. I had the first time slot (8:15 to 8:45 I think). There were already a number of people in line when I got there shortly before the beginning of the time slot. However, once the doors opened (it was done in the Britannia restaurant) it went very fast. They scanned your card, sent you to a table, took a swab  and you were free to go (took less than 5 minutes). Based on this, I feel certain that Cunard will offer tests for disembarkation and hopefully they should go off without a hitch.

 

 

I  was on this cruise as well, as i said earlier, in post 14. The letter i received, did say that if you didn't go ashore in Lisbon that a test would be required on Sat 11th Dec for us to be able to disembark in Southampton. What i don't understand is, you were presumably tested before getting off in Lisbon but that would have been outside the 48 hours limit to disembark. When we got off no one checked our paper work but if yours was checked i wonder if that would have been ok, as you would have been way outside the 48 hour period required for getting off the ship, according to the UK entry rules. 

21 minutes ago, wenlyn said:

I think from Sandancer's comment we were fortunate to get the free LFT, probably because the rules changed while we were on board. Those going now will have to pay in the same way those who got off in Lisbon paid  for theirs as that was already in the small print when we booked/boarded.

 

That is most probably very true, i fully expected to pay, although the letter received informing us of the tests didn't indicate either way if there would be any costs involved. 

We disembarked Queen Elizabeth this morning in Southampton.On Saturday everyone onboard was asked  to attend the Britannia Restaurant for a lateral flow test, we were not charged for this and as far as we know no one else was either. Whether it will continue to be free in the future is anybody's guess.

3 hours ago, LadyL1 said:

How odd! Cunard and the last post re P&O, differ, re leaving ships in Portugal and Madeira as st 8.50 this morning.

I hope the Cunard one is correct! However, the above link might change if P&O update their site.

Cunard updated it's site on 11th October regarding Portugal, nothing has changed since then. No tests required and you can go ashore independently.On the P & O site it states unvaccinated people over the age of 12 have to be tested but to be able travel on Cunard presently, everyone needs to be fully vaccinated, so this would not apply to Cunard sailings.

6 hours ago, majortom10 said:

There seems to be a lot of confusion with regards to Lisbon as since Cunard produced their port guide to whether you need tests and if you can get off independently/shore excursion there are some saying that Portugal Government have relaxed its rules and you dont need test and you can get off independently. How true that is we will have to wait and see when we arrive into port.

Tom as i said to you earlier in this thread, the entry requirements changed on the 4th October.Cunard did not update their website until the 11th October, it says that you do not need a test no more but you can not go ashore unless you are booked on a Cunard excursion, this afternoon i was on the phone to ask them this and other questions regarding our upcoming cruise, unfortunately for some reason after being on hold for 2 hours i was cut off. I will phone them again on Monday hopefully to get an answer and i will post their reply.

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

I am departing the UK on the 22nd for a Med cruise on Princess, and need to show a completed PLF at Southampton before I can embark. 

Seems pretty clear to me. 

I thought you only have to fill in the PLF form when returning to England, you are no longer required to do this when embarking if you are fully vaccinated.

15 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

So why have Cunard updated their website and sent out documents on 5th Oct stating that for Lisbon you do have to have an Antigen test and cannot get off without booking an excursion.

As i said before, the FCDO didn't update their website until late on Friday 8th October regarding this,  which was obviously after Cunard's latest update on the 5th Oct.So i would be very surprised if Cunard do not change their information on entry to ports in Mainland Portugal.There is a live thread on Tripadvisor at the moment re Entering Portugal October 2021, i know that is for entry by air but would expect it to apply for cruises as well.

11 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

They have already updated their site you do not need a test or to go on an excursion in Madeira but for Lisbon you have to have an Antigen test ta cost of $25 and can only get off the ship if you are on an organised ship excursion. See link above in post #1 by watsonbeau.

You now no longer need any tests to enter Mainland Portugal as from October 4th, if you are fully vaccinated.No tests have been required to enter Madeira for months if you are fully vaccinated. So i expect to be able to leave the ship with no tests and no Cunard excursion.

On 8/9/2019 at 1:02 AM, TxCityKat said:

FYI to all:

 

To only quote a portion of a post is mentioned in the pinned thread on the first page of this forum titled How to: Reply to a Topic / Quote / Multi-Quote at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2629963-how-to-reply-to-a-topic-quote-multi-quote/. There is also info about using it on a mobile device/tablet too.

6 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Whilst I agree with your sentiment we are due in Lisbon in November and having been many times in the past will not consider paying $50 for 2 of us to get off just to wander around for a couple of hours. Also $50 on top of already extortionate excursion prices is a no for us so we will happily spend the day onboard.

We are visiting Lisbon on Queen Elizabeth in December and i believe from October 4th no tests are required to enter mainland Portugal, the UK. Gov site was updated on Friday regarding this. Hopefully Cunard will update their site soon and we will not have to take a test nor an excursion to get off the ship.  

39 minutes ago, Rebjon said:

Have seen a post tonight on a well known social media site showing a photo of a P&O notice on Iona saying covid tests no longer needed for Lisbon. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this.

The UK foreign travel advice site has been updated today regarding entry requirements for mainland Portugal.

2 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

We were the same on the one occasion I had noro (a few years ago now). Both confined to cabin until, released by the Doctor. Food trays dropped off at the door. Watched endless films!
 

I have heard that more recently the healthy party is allowed out but with some restrictions eg can’t use the buffet or public toilets but thats just hear say.

 

By the way I like your name, it made me smile. And are you regularly seasick?

Lets just say i'm not that great on the water, worst i have been was in the caribbean. I do take prescribed tablets with me now, although i couldn't take them on my last cruise because where i was embarking (Dubai) don't allow these drugs in the Country,19 days on Queen Mary and i was perfectly alright, so i might have to change my profile name now. 😉 😉

1 hour ago, davecttr said:

That paragraph includes travelling companions so why with Norovirus do we have sufferers being confined to cabin but their travelling companions are free to roam the ship.

Dave we were on the Jewel of the Seas, my wife along with nearly 500 other passengers got the Norovirus, i did not get it but was still confined to our cabin with my wife, i was certainly not allowed to roam the ship. We had a red sticker put on our cabin door to alert our room stewards not to enter and our food was left outside our cabin door. This was a few years ago now so things might have changed.

We were on the ill fated Queen Mary 2020 world cruise ( only 2 segments ) we and a great many others had to change our flights back to the UK not once but twice from  Hong Kong to Singapore to the UK then Singapore to Perth to the UK, Cunard's satellite internet coped perfectly well then, not to mention all of us who also had to apply for visas to gain entry in to Australia as well, all on their satellite internet.Surely not everyone would be trying at the same time to fill in the required form, as once you have purchased whatever test is needed, you would have plenty of time then to fill in the code before disembarking.

Cunard's site say you can fill in the PLF prior to boarding then complete it later while onboard using your smartphone, for people who do not have access to one, there will be computers onboard available to use to complete the form, so i don't see what the problem would be.

Major 

Why do you think they would not be ok?, airlines and tui sell to their customers tests to get in and out of the UK. You will be on the ship so you will be able to fill in the Locator form on board before you arrive back in the UK, then take the test when back home. I know taking the free NHS test is not accepted for travel but i can't see Cunard selling those on the ship can you. So i don't see the ones Cunard will sell you could not be accepted, and why could they not provide them to their customers at a cost anyway.

We are ourselves on Queen Elizabeth 1st /13th Dec 2021, if Cunard are selling Antigen/PCR Tests onboard for $25/$35  why can't you purchase these onboard , after all you do not have to complete the Passenger Locator Form until up to 48 hours before your arrival back in UK, as you are on the ship this would be not be a problem.Then you just have to take the test within 2 days of arriving back in the UK.