Health Protocols for Cruises Through February 28, 2022

[rj59]

I really enjoyed being able to take my mask off for shows and other 'vaccinated only' venues on a Royal cruise, and mask-wearing isn't required at all on Celebrity and NCL.  I wish everyone didn't have to pay on Princess because they want to give religious/medical exemptions to vaccination. On the other hand, I found myself too worried about masking on my last cruise and judging others for uncovered noses or no mask at all, instead of just enjoying my vacation, so I'll try to just not worry about it on the Majestic on Saturday, especially since I got my booster this week. Warm Mexican weather means I can also spend lots of time outside and not having to worry about masking. I also look on the protocol plus side that I'm on ships now with low occupancy and have found some great deals for solo passengers, with so many choosing to cancel/delay. I've found that a combination of Walgreen's/emed home tests removed the worry about the testing requirement too. 

[dog]

17 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

My cruise will start in Barcelona, Spain.  Is that consider "Sailings from United Kingdom"?

Barcelona is in Spain, a part of the EU 

if you have a cruise before Feb 2022, it remains the same as it was prior to this announcement 

[ontheweb]

28 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I guess you consider me one of those that complain.  Your assumption is I would not comply on board.  This is a wrong assumption.  Yesterday I cancelled my April cruise.   Point being, I am not going on a cruise and not complying as you assume.  I am not a rule breaker.  I am choosing not to go.

And that of course is your right, and obviously the right decison for you. 

[dreaminofcruisin]

Oh ugh.

This is problematic for us.

Our 2 year old and a 5 year old grand kids are supposed to be on a cancelled and rescheduled once already family cruise in February. Their parents absolutely intend to get them vaccinated once the approval is there, but it's going to be cutting it close for the 2 year old. 😒

I wish if Princess is doing this, they would at least move back final payment which is in November, until we see more timelines for vaccine approvals....

(And just an aside, both kids have absolutely no problem wearing masks whenever they are required. The 2 year old thinks that is just a normal part of life, since most of her life has been during covid. 😷)

 

[jwattle]

15 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

OP that is not exactly correct because there is smoking in the casino.  

Then that is on Princess, as I cut and pasted from their site...thanks🥂

[awinte2]

I understand everything except why UK test is on pier and complimentary. We are from Canada and the

Pharmacy is charging 199.00 for travel covid test with same day results.  Can get a test done at health centre for free but may not get test results in time.   

Why would Princess give UK no charge test on site but in US they have mobile testing with I believe is 150.00 US. 

It is  quite a some of money ( approx 400) to add to the cruise cost . 

 

[cltnccruisers]

4 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

How do you know this?  

 

It seems like a lot of people on CC are for mask wearing to prevent the spread of Covid on the ship......I think a lot of these opinions have a lot to do with what region in US people live.  We are required to wear mask in all public spaces where we live and I would say at least 95% comply.....even the gym I work out there is usually 100% compliance when people are working out

 

I know the people who complain about wearing masks are probably going to be the one's on the ships pushing the issue and probably not complying with what Princess asks.  It is really not a big deal!!!

We were on a Celebrity cruise last month.  Masks weren't required but we kept masks with us for whenever needed.  It wasn't oppressive or even inconvenient.  I expect our Princess cruise to be similar.

Edited October 14, 2021 by cltnccruisers

[jwattle]

25 minutes ago, awinte2 said:

I understand everything except why UK test is on pier and complimentary. We are from Canada and the

Pharmacy is charging 199.00 for travel covid test with same day results.  Can get a test done at health centre for free but may not get test results in time.   

Why would Princess give UK no charge test on site but in US they have mobile testing with I believe is 150.00 US. 

It is  quite a some of money ( approx 400) to add to the cruise cost . 

 

This is quite possibly because in the US government and insurance will pay for/reimburse for testing...

[MsSoCalCruiser]

3 hours ago, jwattle said:

Then that is on Princess, as I cut and pasted from their site...thanks🥂

I was just sharing… you’re welcome.  

[MsSoCalCruiser]

5 hours ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

The 2 year old thinks that is just a normal part of life, since most of her life has been during covid. 😷

 

 

 

This really makes me sad.  We have one that’s a little over a year and Covid is all she knows.  😭

[LACruiser88]

3 hours ago, cltnccruisers said:

Masks weren't required but we kept masks with us for whenever needed.  It wasn't oppressive or even inconvenient.  I expect our Princess cruise to be similar.

ALL guests will be required to wear a face mask – with no exceptions – in the following areas/situations:

• Elevators
• Designated indoor entertainment areas
• Retail shops
• The casino, except when eating or drinking
• Prior to being seated in our main dining rooms and in the buffet area
• Occasionally in other designated areas where larger number of guests may congregate
• During embarkation and disembarkation in the terminal
• During the disembarkation process on board

[cltnccruisers]

4 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

ALL guests will be required to wear a face mask – with no exceptions – in the following areas/situations:

• Elevators
• Designated indoor entertainment areas
• Retail shops
• The casino, except when eating or drinking
• Prior to being seated in our main dining rooms and in the buffet area
• Occasionally in other designated areas where larger number of guests may congregate
• During embarkation and disembarkation in the terminal
• During the disembarkation process on board

I hate the phrase but, "out of an abundance of caution" we masked up in several of those situations even though it was not forced.  So I don't really expect it to be a big deal.

[dog]

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

ALL guests will be required to wear a face mask – with no exceptions – in the following areas/situations:

• Elevators
• Designated indoor entertainment areas
• Retail shops
• The casino, except when eating or drinking
• Prior to being seated in our main dining rooms and in the buffet area
• Occasionally in other designated areas where larger number of guests may congregate
• During embarkation and disembarkation in the terminal
• During the disembarkation process on board

So for casino it doesn’t mention smoking 

[bltrn]

This is straight off the princess website today:

 

The 2-day period is 2 days before your cruise’s departure. The 2-day timeframe provides you with more flexibility than a 48-hour timeframe. By using the 2-day window, your test validity does not depend on the time of your embarkation or the time of the day that your test was administered. For example, if sailing on Sunday, the test may be taken on Friday and Saturday, and as late as Sunday, if you are guaranteed to receive your results in time for check-in.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

28 minutes ago, dog said:

So for casino it doesn’t mention smoking 

You have to open the part that tells what they are doing in the casino as far as cleaning and it’s in there.  It does not make sense to me since the other part says… No exceptions.

Edited October 14, 2021 by MsSoCalCruiser

[MarcusRex]

6 hours ago, awinte2 said:

I understand everything except why UK test is on pier and complimentary. We are from Canada and the

Pharmacy is charging 199.00 for travel covid test with same day results.  Can get a test done at health centre for free but may not get test results in time.   

Why would Princess give UK no charge test on site but in US they have mobile testing with I believe is 150.00 US. 

It is  quite a some of money ( approx 400) to add to the cruise cost . 

 

  

I am in the same boat and I looked into it. It's far simpler than you realize.

 

The US requires a test 3 days before a flight.

Princess requires a test 2 days before boarding.

Both accept Rapid Antigen test.

 

SO, assuming you're flying in the day BEFORE the cruise, you can get test on Cruise Day -2, fly in on Cruise Day -1 and board on Cruise day, all with the same 50$ rapid antigen test.

 

In the other direction, Canada requires a PCR test 3 days prior to boarding.

 

However, if needed, Princess will provide that test onboard for free.

 

So, 50$ per person to go to the US and board the ship, nothing to come back.

[cltnccruisers]

29 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

You have to open the part that tells what they are doing in the casino as far as cleaning and it’s in there.  It does not make sense to me since the other part says… No exceptions.

Well that will save us some $$$.

[AllAboardatSea]

Most of the requirements are fine, except the mask requirement while onboard. It really isn't necessary at this point for the vaccinated. We just got off of Celebrity Edge last week where masks were not required onboard and guess what? ZERO cases all week per the captain.

 

I took a Carnival Alaska cruise over labor day and while it was fun overall, the masks got old pretty quickly, so I'm not looking forward to my Princess cruise in two weeks after experiencing what could be the norm. After this next cruise with Princess I'm going to shift my bookings toward lines that don't require it.

[lx200gps]

1 hour ago, MarcusRex said:

  

I am in the same boat and I looked into it. It's far simpler than you realize.

 

The US requires a test 3 days before a flight.

Princess requires a test 2 days before boarding.

Both accept Rapid Antigen test.

 

SO, assuming you're flying in the day BEFORE the cruise, you can get test on Cruise Day -2, fly in on Cruise Day -1 and board on Cruise day, all with the same 50$ rapid antigen test.

 

In the other direction, Canada requires a PCR test 3 days prior to boarding.

 

However, if needed, Princess will provide that test onboard for free.

 

So, 50$ per person to go to the US and board the ship, nothing to come back.

To be clear, they don't test ON BOARD, they test on the pier after you have disembarked, quite possibly within a few hours of us flying home to Canada. Cutting it a bit short, but so far, seems to work OK. And yes, it's free.

 

FWIW, there's a very busy Canadian Cruisers subforum here on CC, well worth visiting for a lot of Canadian - specific cruise talk

Edited October 15, 2021 by lx200gps

[Steelers36]

10 hours ago, c-boy said:

isn't she wonderful  ☺️

That best be your opinion in a public forum!!

[Steelers36]

8 hours ago, awinte2 said:

I understand everything except why UK test is on pier and complimentary. We are from Canada and the

Pharmacy is charging 199.00 for travel covid test with same day results.  Can get a test done at health centre for free but may not get test results in time.   

Why would Princess give UK no charge test on site but in US they have mobile testing with I believe is 150.00 US. 

It is  quite a some of money ( approx 400) to add to the cruise cost . 

 

You do not need a PCR test for travel to USA and with Princess.  You can do the antigen rapid test with SDM and I have heard it is about $40.  If arriving in USA extra early, you can get tests there from Walgreens or CVS in many locations.  Lots of info on here.  Once in the USA, you can get monitored self-tests, but you need a US cell number, so it depends on whether you do that as part of your travel norm versus pay outrageous Canadian cell rates when out of country.

 

Princess will test you for free after the cruise for flying home - if Canada continues to require this for fully-vaccinated.  I am thinking it won't be long before this goes away.  For example, how are people going to make short cross-border land trips, now that it is opening, if they have to have a PCR test?  This is WAY over the top for fully-vaccinated.

 

[nocl]

8 hours ago, awinte2 said:

I understand everything except why UK test is on pier and complimentary. We are from Canada and the

Pharmacy is charging 199.00 for travel covid test with same day results.  Can get a test done at health centre for free but may not get test results in time.   

Why would Princess give UK no charge test on site but in US they have mobile testing with I believe is 150.00 US. 

It is  quite a some of money ( approx 400) to add to the cruise cost . 

 

Probably because it was required by the UK government in order for Princess to sail there. Part of that countries protocols.

[KruzPrincess]

Has anyone else noticed this? I’m booked on a cruise that’s longer than 10 days. This looks a lot more strict for longer cruises. 

[caribill]

7 hours ago, MarcusRex said:

 

The US requires a test 3 days before a flight.

Princess requires a test 2 days before boarding.

 

 

It is the CDC that requires Princess (and other cruise lines with cruises from USA ports) to have the test within two days of boarding.

 

It is not something Princess decided to do on their own. When the CDC eliminates this requirement, so will Princess.

[Honolulu Blue]

5 hours ago, KruzPrincess said:

Has anyone else noticed this? I’m booked on a cruise that’s longer than 10 days. This looks a lot more strict for longer cruises. 

 

It's been noticed.  There's a separate thread on just this change: 

I'm not a fan.🤬  That's all I'll say.