Another Problem for Canadian Cruisers

[Fouremco]

From tonight's Globe and Mail emailed Evening Update:

 

Air travellers could wait up to three days in isolation for on-arrival COVID-19 test result in Canada

Travellers arriving in Canada from countries other than the United States can expect to isolate for as many as three days while they wait for their COVID-19 test results, part of Ottawa’s evolving strategy to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

The new on-arrival testing rule for air travellers was first announced Tuesday in a suite of new measures. However, the details of its implementation were still foggy Wednesday, with the country’s major airports waiting for more information and the government not saying when the rule will be fully in place.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said travellers will either be tested at the airport or given one to take at home in isolation. He said the expected “service standard” to receive a test result is three days, but at the moment the majority of tests come back in a day. That could change, he cautioned, as the government increases the number of travellers being tested by more than 50 per cent.

The government said the on-arrival test and isolation rule will apply to all travellers who have been in a country other than the U.S. in the past 14 days – even if they arrive in Canada via the U.S.

 

So, for all of us with Caribbean cruises coming up, be prepared for a period of isolation upon return after taking a second PCR test. 

 

 

[K_e_short]

Glad that has been clarified.

 

So here's the next question.. how do they know that you got off the cruise ship at a port?

 

What happens if you get off the ship but do not write that info in the ArriveCan App.

 

I am totally fine not getting off the ship in port if it means I don't have to isolate when I get home.

 

 

 

 

[edrussell]

I guess our plan to drive to Baltimore for our upcoming Jan 20, 2022 seems like a better option so far.  Of course that 100% will likely change between then and now.  K_e_short poses a few good question.  Assuming your cruise departs and returns to a US port and you don't leave the ship do you still need to be tested?  A loophole for sure.   Given the speed of these announcements and changes things like this can and will occur.  

[Fouremco]

16 minutes ago, K_e_short said:

Glad that has been clarified.

 

So here's the next question.. how do they know that you got off the cruise ship at a port?

 

What happens if you get off the ship but do not write that info in the ArriveCan App.

 

I am totally fine not getting off the ship in port if it means I don't have to isolate when I get home.

 

Let me start my answer by drawing a comparison. A couple of years ago, there was a Chines student in the US on a student visa. He wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise out of Seattle, but was told by the cruise line at the terminal that he couldn't board because it stopped in Victoria and he required a Canadian visa, something he had neglected to acquire. He argued the point, saying no problem, he would just stay onboard while the ship was in port. It was explained to him that it didn't matter, as everyone aboard the ship is deemed to have landed in Canada when it entered the port. He returned to his university a poorer but wiser man.

 

Unfortunately, you would be in the same situation. Once you entered a foreign port, you would be deemed to have entered the country. If you indicated on the ArriveCAN app that you hadn't visited any other countries and CBSA discovered the falsehood, you would be in quite expensive trouble. I'd rather spend a couple of days at home while waiting for my result than face the problems that could arise.

 

I'd think that this is something they might look out for. It would be very easy to simply "forget" that you were even on a cruise, and claim that you spent your week or two in Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Of course, CBSA can easily verify through CBP whether you exited the US, other than back to Canada. All these integrated systems make it so easy to nail you down if they are curious for any reason. 

[DHLuCruise]

In our family's case we are driving to the port in NJ for our cruise -- so based on the current return rules we wont likely need to quarantine since we are coming back by land? 

 

[edrussell]

20 minutes ago, DHLuCruise said:

In our family's case we are driving to the port in NJ for our cruise -- so based on the current return rules we wont likely need to quarantine since we are coming back by land? 

 

 

That is the way it is right now.  We are in the same situation.  Who knows how long before this changes though.

[DHLuCruise]

17 minutes ago, edrussell said:

 

That is the way it is right now.  We are in the same situation.  Who knows how long before this changes though.

I hear you. We will be prepared if we need to quarantine for a few days in case the rules change. However, we're hopeful they dont tighten down the land borders.

[Forecheck]

WAY to many hoops to jump through for us ... Multiple Test's , most of our Itinerary stops only allow Ship Only tours , Isolation upon return  , and I haven't even mentioned the threat of contracting one of the variants .... NO THANKS !!  

 

Cancelled our trip in April and re booked to November .... (not even sure if that will happen).

 

[Chickadees]

We fly to Montreal tomorrow from FLL after our cruise. Will let you know what happens when we arrive. 

 

On Royal and had PCR test yesterday for flight home. Results within 6 hours. Very organized. 

Edited December 3, 2021 by Chickadees

[Florida_gal_50]

Not surprising.  I’m glad I had the chance to crawl out the window for my November cruise and crawl back in before all this went down.  I have a cruise booked for March.  Who knows what will happen with that.

[lx200gps]

35 minutes ago, Chickadees said:

We fly to Montreal tomorrow from FLL after our cruise. Will let you know what happens when we arrive. 

 

On Royal and had PCR test yesterday for flight home. Results within 6 hours. Very organized. 

We just did this exact trip a few days ago.  No real problems at all. At check-in at FLL, the AC agent will confirm if you have  your ArriveCan receipts, though ours didn't want to see them. Upon arrival at YUL, as you approach the customs hall, an ADM(?) person will ask you to show them your ArriveCan receipt on your phone. Don't know what happens to those who could not do ArriveCan. Once down the escalators into the customs hall, there are a lot of terminals for the passport scan etc. When we went through, the NEXUS line was a lot longer than the non-NEXUS line, since there were FAR more terminals in the non-NEXUS area. Once in front the CBSA agent, we answered the usual questions, he put a large blue dot on the outside of our passports, and off we went. After collecting our bags (45 minutes after landing, and that with priority stickers on them), and just as we were about to leave the customs area, another ADM rep demanded to see  the color of the dot on our passports. Our blue dots let us get through, but I suspect that some colors were probably the ones who had been selected for the random test? It wasn't CBSA related as we'd already technically left the customs area.  All in all, a bit more bureaucratic hurdles to jump through, but nothing too bad. Hope you had a great cruise.

Edited December 3, 2021 by lx200gps

[schiff1997]

I don't ever remember telling CBSA I am returning from a cruise and I don't recall ever being asked , as on the declaration form I believe I have only just checked Arriving From US.

[lx200gps]

5 minutes ago, schiff1997 said:

I don't ever remember telling CBSA I am returning from a cruise and I don't recall ever being asked , as on the declaration form I believe I have only just checked Arriving From US.

Pretty much every time we stand in front of the CBSA person, and we've done it many, many times,  they ask "Where have you been? We tell them we've been on a cruise. No big deal. Also, they should already know where you've been as you should have indicated ALL the countries you visited when you complete the ArriveCan info. The old-style declaration form we used to get on the airplane have disappeared, BTW.

Edited December 3, 2021 by lx200gps

[Searanger]

Unfortunately cancelled my cruise for next month .  This weeks announced policy changes by the Canadian and US governments adds even more restrictions and more hoops to jump through. 

Murphy's Law.  1st Law:  Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. 2nd Law: Nothing is as easy as it looks.  3rd Law: Everything takes longer than you think it will. 

[DHP1]

So you get off the ship get tested (PCR), fly home all in the “same day” and when you arrive back in Canada you get tested again???  That doesn’t make sense. Two test in one day. 

[DirtyDawg]

Not an issue for us. We'll schedule a grocery delivery for the morning we land. After being away  for a couple of weeks we'll order Tim Hortons and Swiss Chalet to calm the cravings, watch lots of Netflix and Hockey on the TV, read another book, and self isolate like we usually do every January and February.  It not like I'll be missing any golf games, or backyard BBQ's in those 3 days. 😉

[wendycook22]

12 hours ago, Fouremco said:

From tonight's Globe and Mail emailed Evening Update:

 

Air travellers could wait up to three days in isolation for on-arrival COVID-19 test result in Canada

Travellers arriving in Canada from countries other than the United States can expect to isolate for as many as three days while they wait for their COVID-19 test results, part of Ottawa’s evolving strategy to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

The new on-arrival testing rule for air travellers was first announced Tuesday in a suite of new measures. However, the details of its implementation were still foggy Wednesday, with the country’s major airports waiting for more information and the government not saying when the rule will be fully in place.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said travellers will either be tested at the airport or given one to take at home in isolation. He said the expected “service standard” to receive a test result is three days, but at the moment the majority of tests come back in a day. That could change, he cautioned, as the government increases the number of travellers being tested by more than 50 per cent.

The government said the on-arrival test and isolation rule will apply to all travellers who have been in a country other than the U.S. in the past 14 days – even if they arrive in Canada via the U.S.

 

So, for all of us with Caribbean cruises coming up, be prepared for a period of isolation upon return after taking a second PCR test. 

 

 

I wish the Government of Canada would update their website with the actual language for the new testing requirement.  I prefer to see the guidelines from the source and not reports from media.  It eliminates the risk of misinterpretation.  For example some media outlets using 24 hours and 1 day interchangeably.

Edited December 3, 2021 by wendycook22

[rodndonna]

23 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

Not an issue for us. We'll schedule a grocery delivery for the morning we land. After being away  for a couple of weeks we'll order Tim Hortons and Swiss Chalet to calm the cravings, watch lots of Netflix and Hockey on the TV, read another book, and self isolate like we usually do every January and February.  It not like I'll be missing any golf games, or backyard BBQ's in those 3 days. 😉

 

Same here. We'll plan for 3 days  worst case (we're only gone for 12 days, so we will have the groceries before we leave and shouldn't need anything

 

That being said, I will be really surprised if Canadians  coming in on US based flight from a cruise are going to be tested. 

[rodndonna]

18 minutes ago, wendycook22 said:

I wish the Government of Canada would update their website with the actual language for the new testing requirement.  I prefer to see the guidelines from the source and not reports from media.  It eliminates the risk of misinterpretation.  For example some media outlets using 24 hours and 1 day interchangeably.

 

 

If you go through Air Canada site, and put in your flight details (or mock details) it will give you the requirements and links to the sources (such as CDC) as well as the date it was last updated (currently last updated Dec 02). I find it a useful place to review both in and out requirements for our flight dates and airports.

 

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/book/travel-news-and-updates/2020/covid-19.html#/entryRequirements

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by rodndonna

[schiff1997]

1 hour ago, lx200gps said:

Pretty much every time we stand in front of the CBSA person, and we've done it many, many times,  they ask "Where have you been? We tell them we've been on a cruise. No big deal. Also, they should already know where you've been as you should have indicated ALL the countries you visited when you complete the ArriveCan info. The old-style declaration form we used to get on the airplane have disappeared, BTW.

Interesting,  I have never indicated all the caribbean countries we have visited, lol not enough room plus our passports have never been scanned in these destinations.    We always seem to be asked Where are you Coming from "  I always say the city we boarded our flight as this corresponds with our flight number . that shows up on their screens.    Never had any issues.   But have not used the new app yet so maybe interesting, but if we choose not to get off the ships, then my answer would still be the same

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, Chickadees said:

We fly to Montreal tomorrow from FLL after our cruise. Will let you know what happens when we arrive. 

 

On Royal and had PCR test yesterday for flight home. Results within 6 hours. Very organized. 

Thanks for the update!

 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, schiff1997 said:

I don't ever remember telling CBSA I am returning from a cruise and I don't recall ever being asked , as on the declaration form I believe I have only just checked Arriving From US.

On declaration forms in the past, your options were

Arriving from:

U.S. only

Other country direct

Other country via U.S.

 

But the ArriveCAN app specifically asks you to list all countries visited in the past 14 days.

[RealBatman]

Our return flight is from FLL to YYZ then to YYC. Would the isolation be at YYZ or at YYC? Common sense says YYC since that's the final airport - (and we still have to drive to SE BC to get to our home) but sometimes common sense is not so common. 🙂

 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, DHP1 said:

So you get off the ship get tested (PCR), fly home all in the “same day” and when you arrive back in Canada you get tested again???  That doesn’t make sense. Two test in one day. 

Depending on your cruise line, that's possible. Fortunately, some test you on the last full day of the cruise, so that's not an issue. And because Canada has (so far) kept to 72 hours, you could space out your tests even more if you choose to. We will be tested on board, but will be staying an extra day in port before flying home. There was no direct flight back to Ottawa on disembarkation day, and we opted to extend our holiday by a day and enjoy the convenience of the direct flight.

[karebare22]

3 hours ago, Chickadees said:

We fly to Montreal tomorrow from FLL after our cruise. Will let you know what happens when we arrive. 

 

On Royal and had PCR test yesterday for flight home. Results within 6 hours. Very organized. 

I’d love to hear about your experience on arrival. Our family is flying YUL to FLL on Dec 24 for a Dec 26 B2B cruise on a Royal ship. Making sure I cover and plan for all the recent requirements, which are now slightly different from when we cruised in August. After arriving in Montreal, we need to drive home to Orleans/Ottawa. I think that we will be allowed to drive straight home and isolate for up to 3 days until we get the test results.