Lou33

7 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

You don't have to tell them it is for travel.  One more time, this is a federal program, I don't understand why CA is making it so difficult for you.  

Testing is the cornerstone of the Federal mitigation plan, why would California not allow their citizens to participate?

There's no problem to get a free PCR test in California with results in 2-3 days.  But for some reason Walgreens, CVS etc. do not offer the antigen tests.  You might find a rapid antigen test at an Urgent Care or dedicated testing clinic here, but you have to pay them.  They don't want to even hear the word insurance.  I don't think this is a California rule, I think this is a decision by local Walgreens and CVS.  

.

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

This is on one of my college kid’s websites.

 

Those who have had a positive COVID-19 test within the past 90 days must submit their isolation dates as provided by a medical professional or public health department. 

Are you saying that your college does not require a negative COVID test after somebody tests positive?  That's not what it says above. 

@RedIguana 

@DMWT Cruiser

@smokeybandit

The death rate is not that high among children, nobody is arguing that.  The problem is that many, many children are getting infected, and they infect somebody else, and eventually it reaches vulnerable people who die.  We are still losing 1,500 Americans every day.  

BTW, my family is one of the "families of 745,000 dead Americans may disagree with you."

1 hour ago, leisuretraveler223 said:

The CDC does not advise re-testing withing three months as a persistent positive may result.

56 minutes ago, leisuretraveler223 said:

Thank you.  It is utterly non-sensical.

I understand that in some cases, people may have a prolonged period of positive test results.  But where does the CDC say to not get retested?

After contracting COVID, it does provide some level of immunity, but people do get re-infected and some people may have prolonged infections.  It's all about keeping the virus off the ship, and testing is one of the best tools that they have.    If there is one place to keep COVID free, it's a cruise ship.  

I hope that you had a good recovery and that you get to go on your cruise.  

On 10/27/2021 at 2:02 PM, Chauncey Picklepants said:

I hope whoever Royals Up and gets our two aft junior suites on deck 7 has the absolute BEST time!

7392?  That one is still there.  Happy future cruises.

@borg1of2Yes.  The will come available because people will cancel and people already in that category can be upgraded.

25 minutes ago, PolytheneGirl said:

 

What steps would you deem appropriate for Royal to take in this instance? 

The problem is that you can't get off the ship unless you book an RCI tour.  And all of the tours, especially the less expensive beach break tours may be selling out.  RCI could work with beach vendors to ensure that there is enough space so that everybody has on option to get off the ship if they choose.  Our beach break excursion in Barbados is limited from 8:15 to 11:45, not an ideal time, but the only slot left.  It would be nice if they could arrange so that people could come and go from the ship to assigned beach sites at their leisure.   

Also since RCI now has a monopoly on tours, they will generate a lot of extra income from passengers who otherwise wouldn't buy them.  Knowing this, and that many passengers may be disappointed that they can't make their own arrangements, they could offer a discount on certain tours as a good will gesture.   I doubt that they will do this.  In fact, they waited until after the sale was over to announce that RCI excursions are required.  

I'm hopeful that RCI will work out something.  But otherwise we are happy to be on the cruise and we will go with the flow.  

10 minutes ago, kjenaz said:

I have held off replying, but have seen enough.  As to the comment of "Who could have predicted this.....

Which post are you referring to?  In my post I said:

"We booked a long time ago and of course nobody could predict what restrictions would be in place"

We booked this cruise back in March 2021.  Way back then, how could somebody have predicted anything regarding COVID restrictions?  Actually, back then, I seriously hoped that by November, COVID would be a distant memory, and cruise ships would be at full capacity with no restrictions.  And things probably would be normal if not for Delta.  

Yes within the last month I have seen your posts that Celebrity cruises had port restrictions in the Southern Islands.  I thought your posts were helpful and I booked a few ship's excursions at that time just in case.  Thank you for your help.  We hope to see you in a few weeks.  

30 minutes ago, mauicruiser said:

According to RC, only option is FCC.  I think if you are unvaccinated, you can get a refund.

Easy, then tell them that you are unvaccinated.

Did you speak directly with RCI?  Several people people here, including @Chauncey Picklepantswere vaccinated and got a refund.  So apparently FCC is "not" the only option.   

15 hours ago, mauicruiser said:

I talked with them as well as my travel agent.  No refund only future cruise credit.

booked this cruise six months ago.

If you booked this six months ago, then that was before the vaccine requirements, so you have even more leverage.  I'm not saying that this applies to you, but if a person is anti-vax, they would have to get a refund because they would never be able to cruise.  Until the just announced November COVID protocols, it was never confirmed that adults would still need to be vaccinated.  And this is in addition to the port restrictions.  If you disagree with the protocols, I don't see how RCI could legally keep your money.  

58 minutes ago, mauicruiser said:

Not according to what my travel agent was told by RCCL!  For this cruise only future cruise credits.😢

You have a really bad travel agent.  I would show them a link to this thread and have them get you on a 3 way conference call with RCI.  You can tell RCI directly that you don't accept the just announced protocols and they will offer you a refund.  If your TA won't do that, then they are trying to hide something.  

Remember, we are just trying to help you!🙂

19 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

It doesn't matter why the restrictions are in place - the issue is what is the penalty for not complying with the excursion rules and to what extent will RCI/tour operator enforce those rules.

Since the islands are paranoid about having cruise passengers there in the first place, can't imagine that enforcement of the rules would involve leaving you at the dock.  The islanders wouldn't be happy with that.  They want the cruise passengers off their island.  Maybe the penalty would involve forcing you to sit through an art auction.  🙂

56 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

If RCI is as strict as MSC was in the Med, you may also be waiting at the pier as they deny you re-boarding.

I think this situation is different.  In the Mediterranean, they were probably trying to protect the cruise passengers from getting infected on shore, where the vaccination rate may have been low at the time.  But in the Caribbean, the islands impose restrictions because of a perceived threat that the dirty cruise passengers will infect the locals.  

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

You can initiate your cancellation on the link below. You will generate a large amount of Future Cruise Credit that must be used by April or you lose it. 

 

24 minutes ago, rvlandandsea said:

Has anyone received good results canceling on line. 

Just call and say that you don't accept the COVID protocols and ask for a full refund.  Somebody on my cruise just did this today.  

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2809771-refund-if-you-disagree-with-covid-protocols/

It depends which port and what type of activity I will be doing. 

If I'm at an island in the Caribbean and I'm going to the beach or snorkeling, then the passport stays in the safe.  There too much of a chance that my passport will be lost, stolen, or end up at the bottom of the ocean.   I take my driver's license, and credit card and sea pass.  If for some reason I need my passport, it's in a safe place, and the ship is just a few miles away.  

If I'm at a European port and I take a train on my own to a destination 40 miles from the port, I would take my passport with me.  But if I took a ship's tour, I would probably leave it in the safe.   The ship's tour guarantees you will get back to the ship, but if there is some emergency, I'm sure they would arrange to get your passport to you.  

5 hours ago, sean of the seas said:

Is there a certain way I have to word the email re wanting to reluctantly cancel due to restrictive protocols.

It sounds like all you have to do is call them and say that you don't accept their COVID protocols, and they will issue a full refund.  

9 minutes ago, Chauncey Picklepants said:

I just canceled with 100% refund about 15 minutes ago as that is an acceptable reason to cancel

We are on the same cruise.  I'm not happy about the requirement for ship's excursions.  So we would be able to cancel and get a refund for the cruise, but not for our airfare.  We will go with the protocols, but it would be nice if RCI would offer tour discounts since we would otherwise be held hostage on the ship.  And will they have a plan if the tours sell out?  

You would think that they would offer discounts and alternatives, rather than have many people cancel.  

40 minutes ago, mauicruiser said:

You cannot a full refund, just a future cruise credit valid for a fixed amount of time.

Somebody on my cruise just posted that they were able to get a refund.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2809771-refund-if-you-disagree-with-covid-protocols/

On another thread about Explorer cruises, the question came up regarding if you can get a refund if you do not agree with new or changing COVID protocols.  Is RCI still offering the option for a refund if you do not agree with changing protocols?  RCI may not want to publicize such an option, but it would make sense.   If they no longer offer a refund option, when did this change?

11 hours ago, mauicruiser said:

We want out and we want our fare refunded.

6 hours ago, DMWT Cruiser said:

Nope.  100% FCC if canceled up to 48 hours before sailing. 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-with-confidence

2 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

No Refund.....FCC only per CWC

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-with-confidence

This doesn't fall under CWC.  If somebody doesn't agree with the November San Juan COVID protocols, which were just announced yesterday, they can get a full refund.  

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/07/01/royal-caribbean-will-refund-your-future-cruise-credits-if-you-dont-new-health-protocols

This is an older link, but I think the policy is still valid.  

I just got an email:  "Your San Juan Sailing Protocals".  It shows the requirement for the Puerto Rico TravelSafe Declaration.  Also port restrictions:

Vaccinated Guests
Fully vaccinated parties may book a shore excursion or visit most ports freely — with the exception of those listed below, which will require tours for all guests who wish to go ashore, regardless of their vaccination status.

St. Lucia (November visits)

Barbados (November visits)

St. Kitts (November visits)

Antigua (November visits)

We like to do ports on our own, so I'm not happy that 4 out of our 6 ports require a ship's tour, but at least we get to cruise.  

1 hour ago, karena1 said:

I have to wait until Dec to get the booster for Pfizer when I will be 65.

You may be able to get it now if you have an underlying medical condition.  The list of conditions on the CDC website is very extensive, and I would think that there are very few older people who don't fall into one of the categories.  It includes asthma, cancer survivor, former smoker, diabetes, obesity, hypertension.  

I would think that there are many people on a cruise ship who have "all" of those conditions.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html

On the other hand, if you don't have any of the conditions listed, you should be fine.  Count your blessings.  

5 hours ago, Birdnutty said:

We did get tested at Quest this AM for our Sunday cruise, but had bought these for back-up.

For a backup plan, many Urgent Care and dedicated test facilities that will do a 30 min rapid antigen test for $50-$100, just google them.  Also RCI has contracted with a company to do last hour testing at the pier in many American ports, starting at $99.  But you may need a reservation.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-if-i-dont-find-a-pre-cruise-test-or-get-test-results-in-time

3 hours ago, pcur said:

At least my local Costco pharmacy is scheduling appointments.  Mine is this Sat at 10am.

What area of California?  For anybody 65+?  When I tried to schedule at our local Costco, they have plenty of appointments, but the website says:

Moderna third doses are only available to patients who are immunocompromised and received 2 doses of Moderna vaccine at least 28 days ago. Other patients are not eligible for additional Moderna doses at this time.

The website to schedule seems to be a national costcorx site.