Cruise line vs Private Excursions

[Luckiestmanonearth]

I’m hearing that if one wants to get off of the ship at any port, that one needs to book a cruise line offered excursion

 

Question is when do you think things will change and cruise lines will allow you to get off the ship on your own and allow you to start taking private excursions 

[Aquahound]

It's already happening.  

[mom says]

It's mostly port dependant. Some allow independent excursions, with certain conditions. Others only allow cruise excursions. And different cruise lines are permitting different amounts of latitude. And all those can change on a dime, depending on the COVID situation in each location.

Edited July 11, 2021 by mom says

[CruiserBruce]

The current recommendations are if you are vaccinated,  you don't need to use cruise line excursions. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

The current recommendations are if you are vaccinated,  you don't need to use cruise line excursions. 

LOL. Tell that to the government of Barbados (and others).

[Luckiestmanonearth]

What about ports like St Thomas and St Kitts on Princess ? 

Edited July 11, 2021 by Luckiestmanonearth

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 minutes ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

What about ports like St Thomas and St Kitts on Princess ? 

Google is your friend.

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The current recommendations are if you are vaccinated,  you don't need to use cruise line excursions. 

As others have said, those are CDC recommendations and they can be superseded by regulations of other countries when you are in their ports. Note that vaccination percentages in many Caribbean countries are very low.

[George C]

I just got off Edge yesterday no restrictions on shore excursions in St Thomas and no restrictions in St Maarten for fully vaccinated passengers. 

[ontheweb]

4 minutes ago, George C said:

I just got off Edge yesterday no restrictions on shore excursions in St Thomas and no restrictions in St Maarten for fully vaccinated passengers. 

Did the authorities in St. Maarten check vaccination status, or did they rely on the information from the cruise line?

[cruisemom42]

13 minutes ago, George C said:

I just got off Edge yesterday no restrictions on shore excursions in St Thomas and no restrictions in St Maarten for fully vaccinated passengers. 

 

I was pleased to read on the Celebrity forum, though, that two unvaccinated passengers who decided to wander off on their own were put off the ship.  (Note:  it is unclear at this time whether they left their "bubble" excursion or whether they somehow exited the ship on their own. 

 

Either way, it's good that they were tracked down and were not allowed to get away with their entitled behavior.

[Flatbush Flyer]

10 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I was pleased to read on the Celebrity forum, though, that two unvaccinated passengers who decided to wander off on their own were put off the ship.  (Note:  it is unclear at this time whether they left their "bubble" excursion or whether they somehow exited the ship on their own. 

 

Either way, it's good that they were tracked down and were not allowed to get away with their entitled behavior.

Hopefully that includes a ban for life. 

[Luckiestmanonearth]

7 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Google is your friend.

The reason for Cruise critic is to get answers and opinions from fellow passengers.  I posted and got my answer on the Princess forum.

 

Thanks for nothing 😂 

[Luckiestmanonearth]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I was pleased to read on the Celebrity forum, though, that two unvaccinated passengers who decided to wander off on their own were put off the ship. 

 

Either way, it's good that they were tracked down and were not allowed to get away with their entitled behavior.

I had heard this and am happy to hear this news.  Means they are being serious about non vax pax.

Bravo Celebrity

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

The reason for Cruise critic is to get answers and opinions from fellow passengers.  I posted and got my answer on the Princess forum.

 

Thanks for nothing 😂 

When it comes to government regulations (particularly related to any kind of travel restrictions), the last place I would look is here on CC where the misinformation is legendary.

My suggestion to “look to Google” was meant to urge you to take the time to check the website of the nearest consulate (of the country in which you are interested) to you for the latest/correct information regarding entry (or tour requirements, etc.). 

Though not international, a perfect example is Hawaii. Just a few days ago, a MAJOR change in the requirement for Covid testing (even with vaccination) became effective. Ergo, folks planning on cruising to Hawaii who are seeking out what they need for entry would be best served by going directly to the Hawaii Safe Travels website rather than asking on (and trusting) CC.

 

Even in the non-Covid era, info about government entry et al. requirements can vary even among official sources. As an exercise, research what is the correct type of visa required for cruisers entering Sri Lanka. Be ready for total confusion. On one of our cruises, even the cruise line has the wrong info!

 

 If that’s not enough reason, check some major airline websites right now and you’ll see some significant changes in refund policies resulting from the current upsurge in airline restarts. IMO, what answers about that you’d read here on CC were most likely already wrong (even if they were correct when first posted).

 

But, if you prefer secondary sources for info that involves “costly” purchases (e.g., a cruise), be my guest.

Edited July 11, 2021 by Flatbush Flyer

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

I had heard this and am happy to hear this news.  Means they are being serious about non vax pax.

Bravo Celebrity

“Serious” about non-vaccinated passengers would be not allowing them on the ship to begin with. It won’t take much to shut down the industry once again. We know many folks who cruise regularly and not a one of them would step foot on a ship where all passengers and crew are NOT required to be vaccinated. And now, particularly with new Covid variants spreading quickly, 100% vaccination mandate is just plain common sense.

Edited July 11, 2021 by Flatbush Flyer

[Luckiestmanonearth]

4 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

When it comes to government regulations (particularly related to any kind of travel restrictions), the last place I would look is here on CC where the misinformation is legendary.

My suggestion to “look to Google” was meant to urge you to take the time to check the website of the nearest consulate (of the country in which you are interested) to you for the latest/correct information regarding entry (or tour requirements, etc.). 

 

But, if you prefer secondary sources for info that involves “costly” purchases (e.g., a cruise), be my guest.

Yes that is what I prefer to hear from real people about their real experiences .

[Luckiestmanonearth]

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

“Serious” about non-vaccinated passengers would be not allowing them on the ship to begin with. It won’t take much to shut down the industry once again. We know many folks who cruise regularly and not a one of them would step foot on a ship where all passengers and crew are NOT required to be vaccinated. And now, particularly with new Covid variants spreading quickly, 100% vaccination mandate is just plain common sense.

FL Governor saw to it that cruise ships can’t exclude non vax passengers onboard.  I applaude the cruise lines for their efforts to keep everyone else safe as you now can’t count on the government to look after the people’s best interests 

 

Politics wins again over human decency 

Edited July 11, 2021 by Luckiestmanonearth

[Hlitner]

We have two cruises coming up (one out of Pireaus, Greece and another out of Barbados) and have found that we need to keep up on changing rules on a near daily basis if we want to do any kind of planning.  The current reality is that what you can and cannot do ashore varies by port and even cruise line.  So on our upcoming Greek Island cruise there are very few restrictions on our ship (passengers do not need to wear masks or social distance) or shore (at the current time passengers are free to go ashore on their own on all the Greek Islands).  But in the Caribbean it is a different story and not always a good situation for cruisers.  

 

So, the sad reality is that the rules that will exist when you take a cruise are very likely to be substantially different then the rules that existed at the time you booking and paid for that cruise.  So all of us who have been traveling (and plan on taking future trips) are essentially gambling on future policies.  At this time we think the best place to cruise (in the world) is Greece where the government has lifted all its restrictions on cruise lines in terms of their onboard policies, ports and excursions.  This does create some interesting comparisons.  So, for example, while Silverseas Cruise Lines is still requiring their passengers to mask in many parts of their ship, Seabourn does not require passengers mask anywhere on the ship.  

 

Somebody mentioned Barbados (used as an embarkation port by several cruise lines) and that island has some onerous rules including the requirement of vaccination and a recent (within 3 days) standard RT-PCR test prior to flying in followed up by another test as soon as you arrive (there is currently a provision which allows a cruiser flying-in the day of their cruise to go directly to the port through a "sterile corridor" in approved transportation.   You cannot make this stuff up.  

 

Hank

[George C]

On 7/11/2021 at 6:32 PM, Luckiestmanonearth said:

FL Governor saw to it that cruise ships can’t exclude non vax passengers onboard.  I applaude the cruise lines for their efforts to keep everyone else safe as you now can’t count on the government to look after the people’s best interests 

 

Politics wins again over human decency 

But they can make life a little uncomfortable for passengers not vaccinated, celebrity is requiring Covid test at there expense, and other restrictions, in St Maarten they were required to only do ships tours , we could do things on our own. One couple left assigned tour and were kicked off the ship last week.

[ontheweb]

On our very first port on our very first cruise, one of the places you could go was Nice. We visited the Chagall and Matisse Museums. Then DW went swimming in the Mediterranean. I watched our stuff, and she plopped us down by some topless French women so I would no mind that my head was melting.

[mom says]

23 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

On our very first port on our very first cruise, one of the places you could go was Nice. We visited the Chagall and Matisse Museums. Then DW went swimming in the Mediterranean. I watched our stuff, and she plopped us down by some topless French women so I would no mind that my head was melting.

Did you post on the wrong thread?

[Pudgesmom]

2 hours ago, mom says said:

Did you post on the wrong thread?

Possibly he was on his own "private excursion?" 😉

 

[zekekelso]

3 hours ago, mom says said:

Did you post on the wrong thread?

Maybe he’s saying that France is better than Greece, cause of the topless bathers. 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, zekekelso said:

Maybe he’s saying that France is better than Greece, cause of the topless bathers. 

You can also find topless bathers in Greece, especially on some of the beaches South of Athens (on the route to Sounion.  Most Europeans do not have the topless hang-ups of our North American culture.

 

Hank