Lets try the breaking news again

[ZoeyVictoria]

8 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

It would require flying unless you had a big boat and then why would you want to cruise if you had a big boat. 

I wish I had a friend with a big boat.

[Ourusualbeach]

Are the ferries to Nassau from Florida running?

[sandebeach]

Baleria Ferry has started running again from Ft. Lauderdale to Freeport, but not to Nassau. 

[HxFx]

1 hour ago, molly361 said:

 

I don't find Royal sailing out of Nassau to be exciting news😃

I agree that St. Maarten would be a better destination but for me, flying to Nassau is a lot easier than St. Maarten. Until retirement I need to take that into account.

[molly361]

Just now, HxFx said:

I agree that St. Maarten would be a better destination but for me, flying to Nassau is a lot easier than St. Maarten. Until retirement I need to take that into account.

I can no longer get my husband on a plane at all

[ZoeyVictoria]

31 minutes ago, molly361 said:

I can no longer get my husband on a plane at all

I was looking up flights when I realized my SO has only a passport card 😟

[Cigar King]

2 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I was looking up flights when I realized my SO has only a passport card 😟

I didn't know that was an option.  That's a bummer, but, there is time to get a passport, especially if you expedite it.  

[Iamcruzin]

5 hours ago, molly361 said:

 

I don't find Royal sailing out of Nassau to be exciting news😃

Unless it's sailing from Nassau County L.I.  It means nothing to me.

[AF-1]

Still too many restrictions to sail from the Bahamas.  Royal will require vaccination proof. (most people in the US will have them).  Bahamas requires negative covid19 test prior to arrival and then another one prior to going back to the US.  That is an added fee for two tests in a weeks time.  

[smokeybandit]

12 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Still too many restrictions to sail from the Bahamas.  Royal will require vaccination proof. (most people in the US will have them).  Bahamas requires negative covid19 test prior to arrival and then another one prior to going back to the US.  That is an added fee for two tests in a weeks time.  

 

You're not going to get around any testing requirement any time soon, no matter where the cruise sails from, be it either the cruise line's rule or the home port country's rule.

[not-enough-cruising]

12 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Still too many restrictions to sail from the Bahamas.  Royal will require vaccination proof. (most people in the US will have them).  Bahamas requires negative covid19 test prior to arrival and then another one prior to going back to the US.  That is an added fee for two tests in a weeks time.  

Best get used to this protocol even for when US embarkations start back up.

 

FYI Royal is including the cost of the debarkation test in the cruise fare, as well as OBC to cover the cost of the Bahamian "Health Visa" 

[AF-1]

9 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

You're not going to get around any testing requirement any time soon, no matter where the cruise sails from, be it either the cruise line's rule or the home port country's rule.

Yea, I get it.  I don't see any rules easing up until late summer

[AF-1]

8 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Best get used to this protocol even for when US embarkations start back up.

 

FYI Royal is including the cost of the debarkation test in the cruise fare, as well as OBC to cover the cost of the Bahamian "Health Visa" 

Thanks for the info on Royal covering the cost of test and Health Visa.  Hopefully by end of summer things will get easier.  

[smokeybandit]

One thing people should be very wary of is the Bahamas covid visa application. You basically have to take your PCR test 5 days out and have to apply for your health visa 2 days out with the negative test results..  You're putting a lot of faith in your testing provider for a fast turnaround.

[livingonthebeach]

The most worrisome thing to me about the testing is getting a false positive.  If this happens upon disembarkation one is surely going to miss their flight home.  Then there's scramble to change plans, get retested and start again from square one.  This scenario, (although probably highly unlikely) is more bothersome to me than mask wearing, social distancing and cruise line sponsored shore excursions.  

[AF-1]

3 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

One thing people should be very wary of is the Bahamas covid visa application. You basically have to take your PCR test 5 days out and have to apply for your health visa 2 days out with the negative test results..  You're putting a lot of faith in your testing provider for a fast turnaround.

Don't know if this helps;  Walgreens offers a 24 hr turnaround for PCR tests.  You can go online and set up your appt.  I have to do this to travel to Hawaii in June.  Hawaii requires a negative test 72 hrs prior to arrival

[smokeybandit]

Just now, AF-1 said:

Don't know if this helps;  Walgreens offers a 24 hr turnaround for PCR tests.  You can go online and set up your appt.  I have to do this to travel to Hawaii in June.  Hawaii requires a negative test 72 hrs prior to arrival

 

That's good to know. My wife got tested after Christmas for a return to work, and it took 8 days for results.

[not-enough-cruising]

6 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

The most worrisome thing to me about the testing is getting a false positive.  If this happens upon disembarkation one is surely going to miss their flight home.  Then there's scramble to change plans, get retested and start again from square one.  This scenario, (although probably highly unlikely) is more bothersome to me than mask wearing, social distancing and cruise line sponsored shore excursions.  

I agree 100%, this scenario is exactly what prevented us from booking a Caribbean AI trip this summer.

[HxFx]

9 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

The most worrisome thing to me about the testing is getting a false positive.  If this happens upon disembarkation one is surely going to miss their flight home.  Then there's scramble to change plans, get retested and start again from square one.  This scenario, (although probably highly unlikely) is more bothersome to me than mask wearing, social distancing and cruise line sponsored shore excursions.  

I think in many areas, if you test positive and are asymptomatic they automatically test you again.

[livingonthebeach]

25 minutes ago, HxFx said:

I think in many areas, if you test positive and are asymptomatic they automatically test you again.

 

Hopefully that's the case now.  This past summer some cruise lines had a few false positives and they headed back immediately to port and the rest of cruises was cancelled.  It was some time before they discovered the positives were indeed false positives. 

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Hopefully that's the case now.  This past summer some cruise lines had a few false positives and they headed back immediately to port and the rest of cruises was cancelled.  It was some time before they discovered the positives were indeed false positives. 

Thise were also cruises operating without passengers or crew being vaccinated where the risk of an outbreak was magnitudes greater than on a fully vaccinated ship.  There will be an entirely different set of protocols in place for these kind of situations. 

[livingonthebeach]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Thise were also cruises operating without passengers or crew being vaccinated where the risk of an outbreak was magnitudes greater than on a fully vaccinated ship.  There will be an entirely different set of protocols in place for these kind of situations. 

 

True, hopefully things won't be as crazy as back then. 

[Milwaukee Eight]

20 hours ago, molly361 said:

I can no longer get my husband on a plane at all

That limits what one can do for a vacation. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

3 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

That limits what one can do for a vacation. 

It makes cruising all the more attractive.

[Milwaukee Eight]

2 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

It makes cruising all the more attractive.

If you can drive there. Our cruise out of Barcelona was one of the best.