Canadians on Cruises out of the US over Christmas - New Quarantine Rules / NCL Covid Cancellation Policy

[Z3r0]

My wife and I have a cruise out of LA over the Christmas break (Bliss 26th - 2nd), and we're planning to fly home on the 2nd as we both have to work.

 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/refund-and-cancellation-policy-covid-19

According to the above site under the "Book with Confidence" section I see:

Simply put, for new and existing reservations for any voyage with an embarkation date through and including March 31, 2022, guests are free to cancel anytime up to 24 hours in advance of embarkation for the following reasons:

 

• your local government changes the travel restrictions to the destination you are travelling to at the time of your sailing and as a result you are required to quarantine upon your return home;

 

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid

According to our government of Canada travel page

Temporary border restrictions and measures to address COVID-19 Omicron variant of concern
In effect: Fully vaccinated travelers who have been in any country other than Canada and the United States in the 14 days prior to entry to Canada may be selected for arrival testing. They must quarantine in a suitable place until they receive a negative test result. They may take public transportation (for example, connecting flights) to their place of quarantine.

 

The way I look at this, I would qualify to cancel and receive future cruise credit due to the fact that I may have to quarantine when I return home as I would have been in a country that isn't the US or Canada (in this case Mexico).  And the last thing I would want to do is lie to border services.

 

I've tried calling NCL to see if I would qualify based on the above, and the best I've been told is that I have to cancel, put in a claim, and hope for the best, which isn't exactly encouraging.

 

Just wondering if anyone else is in a similar situation, and what you've done or are planning on doing.

 

Thanks! 

[OrcaGirl]

We're sailing on the Bliss the week before you, and the new Canadian entry regulations aren't deterring us from sailing. The only thing it changed is that I'm making a point to stock up on a few food items (and wine!) before we leave in case we do need to quarantine upon our return and grocery store deliveries are harder to get during the holiday season. (For context: we were on the NCL Epic sailing in March 2020 that wasn't allowed to disembark in San Juan, and had to do the full 14-day quarantine upon our return.)

 

From what I've read, as vaccinated travelers, we may have to take another COVID test when we arrive in Vancouver, and then will be sent home to quarantine (rather than at an airport hotel) until the results are ready. Once the test results come back negative, quarantine is over so it could literally be as short as a few hours or a day.

 

If you haven't already, check out the Canadian Cruisers board; lots of discussion of the travel regulations over there.

 

 

[bookbabe]

We're on the Encore that same Xmas-NY week, and we're definitely going as long as the US will allow us in.  🙂  Canada has to take us back, and we've done so many covid tests at this point that another one on our return won't faze us in the least.  And, DH works from home, so being stuck at home for a couple days while we wait for the test results isn't a problem for us.

 

However, I did interpret the NCL sail safe info the same way as the OP, that if our government has changed the rules that we'd be eligible for a refund in the form of a FCC.

[sanger727]

As I read the Canadian governments rules it says you MAY be selected for a test and would only have to quarantine until your test comes back. Seeing as how you have to test shortly before returning to Canada anyway, this seems like a relatively small change and a small window to go from negative to positive. No, I think NCL would not have to accept the cancellation over this. 

[YVR Stew]

DH and I are going to be on Bliss as well for Christmas.  This morning's Gov't of Canada briefing hasn't changed our minds about going but my parents are justifiably worried.  I'm not how sure this affects travel insurance though.

[BirdTravels]

If  you are selected for testing, you need to quarantine until the test results are back. An antigen test would be a few hours. A PCR test would be a day or two. Take your cruise. Enjoy!

[gmbhardy]

On 12/13/2021 at 10:36 AM, Z3r0 said:

My wife and I have a cruise out of LA over the Christmas break (Bliss 26th - 2nd), and we're planning to fly home on the 2nd as we both have to work.

 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/refund-and-cancellation-policy-covid-19

According to the above site under the "Book with Confidence" section I see:

Simply put, for new and existing reservations for any voyage with an embarkation date through and including March 31, 2022, guests are free to cancel anytime up to 24 hours in advance of embarkation for the following reasons:

 

• your local government changes the travel restrictions to the destination you are travelling to at the time of your sailing and as a result you are required to quarantine upon your return home;

 

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid

According to our government of Canada travel page

Temporary border restrictions and measures to address COVID-19 Omicron variant of concern
In effect: Fully vaccinated travelers who have been in any country other than Canada and the United States in the 14 days prior to entry to Canada may be selected for arrival testing. They must quarantine in a suitable place until they receive a negative test result. They may take public transportation (for example, connecting flights) to their place of quarantine.

 

The way I look at this, I would qualify to cancel and receive future cruise credit due to the fact that I may have to quarantine when I return home as I would have been in a country that isn't the US or Canada (in this case Mexico).  And the last thing I would want to do is lie to border services.

 

I've tried calling NCL to see if I would qualify based on the above, and the best I've been told is that I have to cancel, put in a claim, and hope for the best, which isn't exactly encouraging.

 

Just wondering if anyone else is in a similar situation, and what you've done or are planning on doing.

 

Thanks! 

Just wondering if you’ve received any further clarification on a refund or FCC if you cancel your cruise.