Roz

This was in my inbox this morning: IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION We are pleased to share that Transport Canada has amended its COVID-19 protocols for cruise ship guests effective October 1, 2022. As a result, the pre-cruise testing and vaccination requirements for this voyage have changed. Guests ages 5 and above who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 do not require pre-cruise COVID-19 testing for this voyage. To be considered fully vaccinated a guest must have completed their final dose of an approved vaccine at least 14 days prior to embarkation. Guests ages 5 and above who have not been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 are required to take a viral COVID-19 test within three days of embarkation and attest to a negative result. A self-administered Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) is accepted. Guests are no longer required to complete ArriveCAN in advance of travel.

Nice, even handed review. Thank you for taking the time to write it and post it. I found the service on my March cruise on the Rotterdam to be lacking, first time that's happened on a HAL cruise.

In general you're better off with a 3rd party insurer. As @Daisi just mentioned, you need to compare coverage. One big thing to consider is whether your health insurance offers coverage outside of the US.

This is from my Rotterdam review back in March: "We were in VE and it was crowded. It would have been tight if I was in there by myself let alone with someone else. There was 2 ft. between the end of the beds and the wall. The beds are smaller than a regular twin bed. The cabin door, bathroom door, and closet doors all converge, so we had to be careful coming back to the cabin that we didn't slam into the other person coming out of the bathroom or getting something out of the closet. There's a semi-sofa in an awkward position next to the sliding glass door, and a tiny coffee table. Both useless. We hardly ever used the balcony, and I would never book a balcony cabin again unless it was part of a suite. Very small bathroom and a person of size would have difficulty using it."

Why? Where are seeing Neptunes with adjoining cabins?

I personally don't think there are any bad Neptune locations. After all, it's a Neptune Suite.

Holding my breath.....

The requirement to have a Covid test before flying back into the USA was one of the reasons I deferred a European river cruise I had booked for last December. I was going to need a test to get into the Netherlands, another to get on the ship, and a 3rd to fly back after the cruise, all with tight timeframes. Way too much, and who wants to spend their time in Amsterdam searching out testing sites and waiting in line for a test?

@Mary229, you have mail. 😁

@CurlerRob, the website link you provided is still showing I need to submit ArriveCAN info twice - once to fly in and once to board the ship. Will be monitoring closely.

I've done 3 European river cruises (2 on the Danube and 1 on the Rhine) and at most stops there are interesting places to visit within walking distance of the pier or just a short bus ride away.

With all due respect to our friends and neighbors to the North, after my upcoming cruise I'm avoiding travel to Canada unless all this nonsense stops. Travel is stressful enough with all the last minute things that need to be done without adding to the list. @oakridger, what a hassle! Where do you have to go for the test?

Oct. 2 on the Noordam still showing vaccination and negative test required.

I've heard of Riviera river cruises but don't know anything about them.

@cruisemom42, I would be happy to.

Stay away from Viking. Everyone acts like they're the only game in town but they're not solo friendly at all. I've done 3 European river cruises on Uniworld that either had no single supplement or a reduced single supplement. Every year they come out with Solo Savings. The list isn't available for 2023. It will come out sometime next year. You just have to watch their website. I'm booked on Tauck for a Christmas cruise, and generally their Category E (aquarium class) cabins have no single supplement. Tauck and Uniworld are more inclusive and are a better value than Viking IMO. Gate 1, a budget river cruise line, also gives solos a break on their fares.

@atexsix, they dragged us from one end of Canada Place to the other and didn't seem to know what to do with us. What? Passengers are staying onboard for the next cruise? What an oddity! Things were complicated by the fact that there were 2 large Australian tour groups embarking, and again, officials at Canada Place acted like they had never encountered an Aussie before.

This has been a very informative discussion. Thanks to all who participated.

So.....I checked my Medicare supplement and it says "Foreign Travel Emergency Emergency care beginning during first 60 days of trip outside USA (after $250 deductible, benefits limited to $50,000/lifetime)". Covered at 80%. I was very surprised at the $50,000 lifetime limit, but maybe that's standard. Glad I found this out now.

@GeezerCouple, Geo Blue is who refers to Medicare supplements as primary, not me. I think they want you to have other medical insurance, not just a travel policy. I can't imagine the retirement plan for TN state employees only has $50,000 lifetime benefits, so now I AM totally confused. Where would I find travel medical insurance that's primary for older people?

@Jersey42, I have no idea if TN's plan covers foreign travel. That's something I need to research. When you say "It is all more complicated than it should be" you're absolutely right. 😁

@odie1024, @GeezerCouple, and @Jersey42, thank you for your thoughtful and informative responses. After I posted, I did some research on Geo Blue on the Trip Insurance Store website. I see that having a Medicare Supplement or being in a Medicare Advantage Plan qualifies as primary insurance. I'm a state employee and will be purchasing a Medicare supplement for state retirees. I noticed that both the Geo Blue Trekker Essential and Trekker Choice only offer $100,000 of medical coverage for those 70-95 yrs. old. The Essential plan has $250,000 of coverage for emergency medical evacuation and the Choice plan offers $500,000 of coverage. Both plans are very reasonably priced. I agree with @Hlitner about medical and evacuation coverage being much more important than trip cancellation or interruption. I have 2 big cruises coming up over the next 6 months - a river in Europe in December and a 31-day South American cruise next March/April. I purchased individual (pricey) policies for those. Going forward I seen that having an individual annual medical policy is going to be more cost effective and give me the coverage I'm more interested in.

I was just thinking about annual medical insurance today because I submitted my application for Medicare Part B. This thread has been very informative. I turn 70 in a few months and will be retiring the day after. 😎 Medicare kicks in on Jan. 1, 2023. As those of you on Medicare know, it doesn't cover medical outside of the US and its territories. Medicare will be my primary, so what would be the value in a travel insurance co. coordinating benefits with my primary? Medicare isn't going to pay.

I did b2b cruises once and turnaround day was a disaster. It was in Vancouver, and the passengers staying on knew more about what to do than the ship's employees. Canada Place was in a state of chaos. It was not at all the smooth process described by so many here on CC.

Keeping fingers crossed with you, as we've stressed over this for the past month. 😣