Updated Requirements But For Caribbean Cruises Only?

[Navis]

Hello,

 

Just thought I would share that I noticed a recent update to the Seabourn website under the Caribbean cruise section that revises the 100% vaccination requirement through January 15, 2022. The post goes on to say that guidance for cruises departing beyond that date will be forthcoming once they have worked out the operating procedures/requirements with those ports.

 

It was curious to me that the Greece guidance was not updated with the same dates (well, at least not yet). Maybe this gives some insight into all the dynamics of these decisions …. in part passenger expectations but also what these ports are going to require to allow the ships to dock and now I’m thinking it has far more to do with the latter rather than the former. 
 

I hope this thread does not violate the posting rules in any way as that is not my intention … I just want to share the factual information with others about Seabourn’s decision to extend vaccination requirement for the Odyssey cruises through 1/15/22.

Edited July 7, 2021 by Navis

[jenidallas]

Thank goodness… otherwise we would have been cancelling our 21 nights at the holiday.  
 

We are still watching the situation closely and I’m concerned about another post I just read that only ship excursions are allowed, which is hopefully not accurate as we don’t generally do excursions in the Caribbean.

[Navis]

22 minutes ago, jenidallas said:

Thank goodness… otherwise we would have been cancelling our 21 nights at the holiday.  
 

We are still watching the situation closely and I’m concerned about another post I just read that only ship excursions are allowed, which is hopefully not accurate as we don’t generally do excursions in the Caribbean.

I did read that as well in the exact same release about the extension of the vaccination requirement. But I’ll add that a portion of Seabourn’s answer to that question did catch my eye … they continue to say the shore excursion limitation still applies “during our initial return to cruising.” So perhaps there is some flexibility after the Oct cruises to see where things are at?

 

I have noticed that the excursion offerings for our March 2022 cruise seem to be far more than what was offered when we were supposed to be on the same cruise in March 2020 (at least 4-5 more per stop … with the exception of St Bharts, of course). Wondering if they are expecting the excursion requirement to remain in place and just want to have enough options for all? 

[cruiseej]

The excursion situation is likely to remain fluid for the foreseeable future. It's not up to Seabourn; it's up to the governments of each country. I'm sure most tour operators in those countries are eager to resume full business once their governments allow. We're already seeing different rules and requirements in various Caribbean nations, and I think that's likely to continue. The situation as cruises resume this month will likely be different by fall, and may change again -- for better or worse -- by winter, depending on the course of the virus. 

 

51 minutes ago, Navis said:

I have noticed that the excursion offerings for our March 2022 cruise seem to be far more than what was offered when we were supposed to be on the same cruise in March 2020 (at least 4-5 more per stop … with the exception of St Bharts, of course). Wondering if they are expecting the excursion requirement to remain in place and just want to have enough options for all? 

 

I don't think so -- we're finding some pretty limited options for our cruise in late September/early October, with a number of excursions recently canceled. In Grenada, for instance, there are only two excursions available. In other countries, there are a few more, but the options are still limited. Several catamaran boat excursions have been canceled;  the only boating excursions available on our entire cruise require you to rent an entire boat for 8-12 people. It's disappointing, especially in ports where (as of now) we won't be able to leave the ship except on a bubble excursion.

 

For those traveling later in the year or next year, hopefully those countries will open up more, which will allow more excursions as well as independent touring.