Not looking promising

[mcoler181]

We have a 10 day cruise booked out of Port Canaveral on the 14/04 on Divina, as it stands its not looking promising. Me and the wife have both had the AZ vaccine (so as it stands wouldn’t be allowed to board) but also we were flying in on the 11th and having a few days in Orlando to do a couple of theme parks with the kids (Both under 12), but with the negative PCR required 72 hours before we would have to get that done in Orlando somewhere which might be a bit of a mess on.

 

Probably be cancelled if things don’t change.

[ulster-cruiser]

Yes we are looking to book the Meraviglia from Miami late November however just noticed the AZ restriction last night and one of our party is vaccinated with AZ. 
 

I do not understand why they are excluding the AZ vaccine as other cruise lines are allowing it to the Caribbean. Most other lines state a vaccine approved by FDA or WHO and the AZ would come under the WHO approval.  

[mcoler181]

Just been looking again on MSC site, it says Antilles cruises AZ is accepted, Caribbean AZ is not.

 

Bahamas official website says they are acepting the AZ and as far as i can see Mexico are using the AZ vaccine, the cruise doesnt go to any other countries so could I take form that the AZ vaccine would be accepted to let us board?

 

Very confusing.

[ulster-cruiser]

50 minutes ago, Couple-Somerset said:

Now that the US are accepting AZ arrivals, I'm sure it's just MSC slow to react.

 

After all, MSC accept AZ on cruises in Europe so it can't be a "cruise line thing"

 

Also, if any of the Islands did not allow AZ, the cruise line could simply say guests with AZ cannot get off at that Port and blame the Port for it - it's not in MSCs interest to turn guests away, only to have to re-accommodate them later.

 

Interestingly, the US website for MSC states for the Caribbean - "Guests residing outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico will be considered fully vaccinated if they have received their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as Pfizer, Moderna, Astrazeneca (or the single dose such as Johnson & Johnson vaccine) at least 14 days prior to the cruise. "

 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/health-and-safety-measures/caribbean-cruises

 

We are B2B on Grandiosa in Europe Nov 20th and Divina in Florida in Jan so fingers crossed.

I wonder if the UK site is just slow to be updated then?

I was on phone twice this morning to MSC UK and they were certain that AZ not accepted and did not know if it would be changed. If someone raised the discrepancy between UK site and US site they may look into it

[Morgsmom]

3 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

We have a 10 day cruise booked out of Port Canaveral on the 14/04 on Divina, as it stands its not looking promising. Me and the wife have both had the AZ vaccine (so as it stands wouldn’t be allowed to board) but also we were flying in on the 11th and having a few days in Orlando to do a couple of theme parks with the kids (Both under 12), but with the negative PCR required 72 hours before we would have to get that done in Orlando somewhere which might be a bit of a mess on.

 

Probably be cancelled if things don’t change.

Getting PCR or Rapid tests in Orlando is easy peasy.  They are done for free at the local Walgreens and CVS pharmacies. You do need to make an appointment, but this can be done online and in advance.  (Usually a few days out).  

[Rhea98]

To follow up on Morgsmom post, there is a CVS not terribly far from the airport, but check this out for possible testing at MCO. There is a Walgreen's closer, but I couldn't find any info on testing there. You'd have to go through the application process to determine eligibility/cost. 

[Morgsmom]

52 minutes ago, Couple-Somerset said:

 

For non-US citizens too ?

 

You can indicate that you have no (US) insurance.  There are plenty of folks here "without papers" that get tested for free.  (It is billed back to the Govt).  Worse case is that you have to pay one of these "side of the road" testing sites (approx $50-75USD) that have sprung up.  

[miataman19]

We got our Antigen tests at a local park. The test is administered by The Orange County government. Drive in, you never get out of your car. Open 9-5 every day. There were at least 50 cars already in line when we arrived. They have 4 tents set up. Took 15 minutes to get to the tents and only 20 minutes to get our results. You don't need an appointment but you do have to register online, we used Barnett Park...here is the link.

https://www.ocfl.net/EmergencySafety/Coronavirus/Testing.aspx#.YW17jhwpDct

Edited October 18, 2021 by miataman19

[sidari]

Saw a post a day or so back that said MSC will not accept anyone on Europe cruises who have had mixed jabs ... 🙄

[mcoler181]

Thanks for all that, I assumed the free tests would be jsut for US citizens, i'll have to look into it.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

4 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

Thanks for all that, I assumed the free tests would be jsut for US citizens, i'll have to look into it.

The tests given by Orange County government (link listed above) are for anyone. Pre-registration is required but there are no appointments.

[styles27]

Currently only residents of the US and Puerta Rico can sail from Florida ports with MSC. This was updated last week on the MSC US site. So I wouldn’t book and pay for a cruise until this is lifted seeing how MSC sometimes drags it’s feet refunding passengers $$$

 

 

[Beamafar]

19 hours ago, sidari said:

Saw a post a day or so back that said MSC will not accept anyone on Europe cruises who have had mixed jabs ... 🙄

Dave, we have friends who cruised on Grandiosa a week ago who got mixed jabs. 

[sidari]

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

Dave, we have friends who cruised on Grandiosa a week ago who got mixed jabs. 

Will try and find the post, quite sure it was on an MSC page. Thought it sounded somewhat odd for Europe.

[Cardex]

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

Dave, we have friends who cruised on Grandiosa a week ago who got mixed jabs. 

 

Can you find out more info about this from your friends? My DH and I have a cruise booked on Grandiosa and we were told by MSC via Facebook that they do not accept mixed doses right now. We were hoping that would change before our cruise.

[Beamafar]

It depends on the region the ship is sailing.   They sailed in the Med. 

[ulster-cruiser]

Still no clarification on AstraZeneca on the MSC website though.

[Cardex]

5 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

It depends on the region the ship is sailing.   They sailed in the Med. 

Yes our cruise is in the Med too

[sidari]

53 minutes ago, ulster-cruiser said:

Still no clarification on AstraZeneca on the MSC website though.

For guests and even general travelers to enter the U.S., they must be fully vaccinated with a World Health Organization (WHO) approved vaccine, including Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca.

 

Three MSC Cruise Ships Ready to Take International Guests in the U.S. (cruisehive.com)

[Beamafar]

2 hours ago, Cardex said:

Yes our cruise is in the Med too

I know that mixed vaccines won’t be accepted by the US when they lift the travel ban (perhaps that will change).  Perhaps there’s some confusion on MSC’s part.   I know that it wasn’t even an issue for our friends (who are Norwegian). 

[sidari]

26 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

I know that mixed vaccines won’t be accepted by the US when they lift the travel ban (perhaps that will change).  Perhaps there’s some confusion on MSC’s part.   I know that it wasn’t even an issue for our friends (who are Norwegian). 

It is still an utter mess, I believe Canadians were advised to have mixed jabs and under the above will not be able to sail from the USA, there are also people in the UK who have had mixed jabs and it seems the booster jabs will be a different manufacturer which would then stop anyone having it from traveling to the US.

[Beamafar]

Totally agree, Dave.  It’s beyond farcical.  Is it even safe to book for next year if you have to sail within 6 months of your 2nd jab (according to the health questionnaire for Med cruises where it’s implied)?

[mcoler181]

1 hour ago, sidari said:

It is still an utter mess, I believe Canadians were advised to have mixed jabs and under the above will not be able to sail from the USA, there are also people in the UK who have had mixed jabs and it seems the booster jabs will be a different manufacturer which would then stop anyone having it from traveling to the US.

My wife's first two were AZ, she has just had a third as she works for the NHS and that was Pfizer, hopefully that doesnt cause any issues.

[styles27]

2 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

My wife's first two were AZ, she has just had a third as she works for the NHS and that was Pfizer, hopefully that doesnt cause any issues.

Here in the states it was announced this morning for those of us who received J&J a study shows the benefit of getting a Moderna booster 
The FDA will determine if this will happen so I’m thinking if they do than MSC will follow suit. 
I was vaccinated back on March 9th because my job (before retiring in Sept) was working with seniors who have been the most vulnerable in many areas.  
So we were eligible for the vaccine in some cases 1 to 2 months before others in my age group.  So I’m already at month 7 post vaccination.  

I will definitely wait to book a cruise overseas  

Edited October 19, 2021 by styles27