Planning details for our cruise to Alaska in May 2022 - Flying US into Canada concerns

[trueeden]

I'm in a similar position. Mid-May round-trip Vancouver cruise on HAL with final payment due 2/7. This is my third attempt at Alaska and I really don't want to cancel or switch to Seattle. But I'm concerned there's a good chance Canada will shut down again.

 

Regarding testing, as of now, I'm pretty sure Princess will take an antigen or PCR test. Their website says they're still negotiating the requirements for Canada but lists either option for current US cruises. As long as the timing works, you probably would only need one test. YVR appears to have good testing options. While you'll pay out of pocket, you can easily schedule whatever test you need for the return (for now, antigen for US).

Edited January 17, 2022 by trueeden

[luvfabricnpaper]

We are doing two cruises.  Northbound on Celebrity Millenium on June 10, Vancouver to Seward, Southbound on Royal Princess, Whittier to Vancouver,  on 2 July.  Two weeks in Alaska between them.  I am concerned about the testing requirements but have decided we will just figure it out when the time comes closer.   I am hoping (this might be a false hope) that the testing requirements are dropped and only the vaccinations are required.   It is me and my three young adult children.   This June works out perfectly for us as it is a graduation present for them as they are all graduating (high school, college, and master's program) and will be getting full time jobs where they likely won't be able to take a month off.   I am not getting any younger and we are planning on a lot of hiking so I am going to seize the opportunity and make it work.   Also,  I believe that if Canada closes it borders again the cruise lines will cancel their cruises as many/most of their passengers are US citizens.  

  

[kstetser]

We are scheduled to sail Eclipse at the end of July (pushed from last summer).  I'm starting to worry also about Canada not opening ports and the hurdles to get into the country.  I so wish we had booked out of Seattle to begin with.  It was not the ports we wanted, but at least we would sail.   Our daughter will be off to college in August, so our window is rapidly closing for travel with her.

[Heidi13]

19 hours ago, kstetser said:

We are scheduled to sail Eclipse at the end of July (pushed from last summer).  I'm starting to worry also about Canada not opening ports and the hurdles to get into the country.  I so wish we had booked out of Seattle to begin with.  It was not the ports we wanted, but at least we would sail.   Our daughter will be off to college in August, so our window is rapidly closing for travel with her.

 

Canadian Waters and ports were opened to cruise ships on 1st November 2021. I would be more concerned with how the US CDC is going to interfere with cruise ship operations.

[luvfabricnpaper]

Well, at least right now, the CDC has not renewed the Conditional Sail Order which expired 15 January.  Now it is up to the cruise lines to determine their policy and procedures.

 

[Senga]

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Canadian Waters and ports were opened to cruise ships on 1st November 2021. I would be more concerned with how the US CDC is going to interfere with cruise ship operations.

I think “interfere” is the wrong way to look at this.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Senga said:

I think “interfere” is the wrong way to look at this.

 

Well they certainly haven't assisted the industry with consistent requirements and their standards are well below best in class.

[Glaciers]

Not sure if this is a good thing or bad but the CDC has made some rules optional.

“…a Conditional Sailing Order and included steps like testing and quarantining for positive passengers, will now be optional for cruise lines.”

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/cdc-says-covid-protocols-are-now-optional-for-cruise-lines

 

As for Canada being open this year, that seems to be up to the Canada Minister of Transport.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Glaciers

[strickerj]

I was thinking of switching my HAL Glacier Discovery Northbound (Vancouver to Whittier on Noordam) to a Seattle roundtrip. We'd lose Skagway (I'm not sure if the WPYRR would run if the border closes again anyway) but gain Icy Strait and Sitka. Good idea, or hold off on it?

[cruiseryyc]

3 hours ago, strickerj said:

We'd lose Skagway (I'm not sure if the WPYRR would run if the border closes again anyway) but gain Icy Strait and Sitka. 

I very much doubt the border will close again; however, Canada could still ban cruise ships from coming into Canada.

[Northern Aurora]

3 hours ago, strickerj said:

I was thinking of switching my HAL Glacier Discovery Northbound (Vancouver to Whittier on Noordam) to a Seattle roundtrip. We'd lose Skagway (I'm not sure if the WPYRR would run if the border closes again anyway) but gain Icy Strait and Sitka. Good idea, or hold off on it?

 

 

I would take Sitka over Skagway.  And if you are interested in whale watching Icy Strait Point offers excellent whale watching tours.

[strickerj]

51 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

I would take Sitka over Skagway.  And if you are interested in whale watching Icy Strait Point offers excellent whale watching tours.

Thanks; I'd heard Icy Strait was good for whale watching - we had that planned for Juneau. I'd be bummed to miss the train ride but Sitka looks to be interesting too, and a little less visited as far as the Alaska ports go. (I expect this won't be our only Alaska trip.)

[dgc2861]

I saw this from Cruise Industry News:  Vancouver: ‘Preparing for Record Year’ in Cruise

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/26542-vancouver-preparing-for-record-year-in-cruise.html?fbclid=IwAR2lueuZyv80cYUg9H110LQVD_9qUOSVxPZq74SDiKIrWa817DgO7gbNtwE

 

Not much about making it easier on cruisers getting into Vancouver, these are early days.

 

I'm more concerned about the timing of the testing. Would we be able to get PCR test results for Vancouver before we fly in 1 day before our May cruise?  Also I think we could be randomly chosen for another test once we arrive. But read somewhere we can go on and continue our travel plans (even another flight) while waiting for that test result, but nothing about a cruise.  So much information on their travel site. Confusing and so many unknowns. I also wish Princess would push back our Feb 1 final payment as this particular itinerary is only offered mid Sept and none at all in 2023.

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, strickerj said:

I was thinking of switching my HAL Glacier Discovery Northbound (Vancouver to Whittier on Noordam) to a Seattle roundtrip. We'd lose Skagway (I'm not sure if the WPYRR would run if the border closes again anyway) but gain Icy Strait and Sitka. Good idea, or hold off on it?

 

If wanting to see Alaska, why would you opt to spend 2 full days in the Pacific Ocean and also miss Prince William Sound.

[strickerj]

4 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

If wanting to see Alaska, why would you opt to spend 2 full days in the Pacific Ocean and also miss Prince William Sound.

We had planned the one-way northbound with Denali afterwards, but with the road washout in Denali, we're expecting to return to that area anyway as soon as it's reopened. That, combined with the uncertainty of getting into Canada right now, makes me think the Seattle roundtrip might be the best option this year. I tried switching to the same one-way itinerary next year (2023) but HAL seems to be rigid about its FCC expiration at the end of this year.

Edited January 21, 2022 by strickerj

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, strickerj said:

We had planned the one-way northbound with Denali afterwards, but with the road washout in Denali, we're expecting to return to that area anyway as soon as it's reopened. That, combined with the uncertainty of getting into Canada right now, makes me think the Seattle roundtrip might be the best option this year. I tried switching to the same one-way itinerary next year (2023) but HAL seems to be rigid about its FCC expiration at the end of this year.

 

Not aware of any uncertainty regarding Canadian Ports. They are currently open to cruise ships and have been since 1st November 2021. There is no discussion from the Govt regarding changing the status.

 

Personally, I would be more concerned with your US CDC, which has changed requirements for cruise ships way more frequently than Canadian requirements.

[strickerj]

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Not aware of any uncertainty regarding Canadian Ports. They are currently open to cruise ships and have been since 1st November 2021. There is no discussion from the Govt regarding changing the status.

 

Personally, I would be more concerned with your US CDC, which has changed requirements for cruise ships way more frequently than Canadian requirements.

Well, to be fair, Canada is only open on paper for now since there are no cruises in the winter; we won't know for sure until April. I wouldn't be surprised if they changed their minds before then. You're right that the CDC hasn't been helpful either, but at least cruises to Alaska did depart out of Seattle last year.

 

Part of it too is that COVID tests are required for both admission to Canada and boarding the ship, and Canada doesn't accept the rapid antigen test, while the cruise line does. Anyone have experience with getting a test result before leaving home, and still getting to the departure port the day before embarkation? This seems challenging, since the negative test result can't be more than 2 days before embarkation, unless I'm mistaken?

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, strickerj said:

Well, to be fair, Canada is only open on paper for now since there are no cruises in the winter; we won't know for sure until April. I wouldn't be surprised if they changed their minds before then. You're right that the CDC hasn't been helpful either, but at least cruises to Alaska did depart out of Seattle last year.

 

Part of it too is that COVID tests are required for both admission to Canada and boarding the ship, and Canada doesn't accept the rapid antigen test, while the cruise line does. Anyone have experience with getting a test result before leaving home, and still getting to the departure port the day before embarkation? This seems challenging, since the negative test result can't be more than 2 days before embarkation, unless I'm mistaken?

 

In Metro Vancouver we have labs that provide PCR test results in 6 hrs or less. They are expensive, but that is part of travelling in these times. Our son had to get a rapid PCR test every time he returned from leave. I expect most reasonably sized towns/cities have rapid PCR tests available.

 

I don't expect Canada will issue another ban on cruise ships, as our Govt is currently working with the industry to ensure cruise ship travel is safe. When opening the ports, they did indicate that similar to flights, all cruise pax must be vaccinated, which is higher than the US CDC standard. Since the largest percentage of pax are from the US, which has lower vaccination rates and no Govt issued digital vaccine record, I expect our Govt is investigating options for ensuring all pax are in fact vaccinated and are free of COVID when coming ashore.

 

Our preferred cruise line also requires a PCR test prior to boarding and does daily non-invasive PCR testing on board. On disembarkation, they provide a test certificate for return home. Since they also actively verify vaccination status and require mandatory vaccine + booster, I have no doubt they will easily meet the Canadian standards.

[lexmiller]

We also have to keep in mind the PVSA - Passenger Vessel Services Act, which is the piece of legislation from 1886 which among other points, makes it so that cruise ships can't sail from and back to an American port without stopping in a foreign port.  This was temporarily suspended last year, allowing Alaskan cruises to operate, though only for a partial season.  Transport Canada, in Nov 2021, lifted the Canadian ban on cruise ships to it's ports (early, as it was in effect until Feb 2022) - which means, according to all that I've read, that the PVSA is back in effect - so once again, a foreign port must be made, say for example, on a Seattle to Alaska round trip cruise.  So basically we are back to where we began - if Canada does once again ban cruise ships then American politicians will again have to legislate for a temporary lifting of the PVSA in order to allow Seattle round trip AK cruises to operate without a stop in Canada.  I know that Murkowski has a bill in the Senate now to permanently dissolve the PVSA as far as it effects cruise ships needing to make a stop in a foreign port but this hasn't passed yet, from what I can find.   Sorry as it's not like you all don't know all of this, but it's good to vent - I have an AK cruise booked for this June on the Millennium with a land tour, and I'm really hoping it happens!  

[rpetrillo]

I’m a Walgreens Pharmacy tech and immunizer (and I also administer both rapid and PCR tests) here in Arizona (going to Alaska via Vancouver in May). There are 4 Walgreens in Vancouver where you can make a test appt. 

[Glaciers]

2 hours ago, rpetrillo said:

I’m a Walgreens Pharmacy tech and immunizer (and I also administer both rapid and PCR tests) here in Arizona (going to Alaska via Vancouver in May). There are 4 Walgreens in Vancouver where you can make a test appt. 

Don't you also need a test to get into Canada?

[rpetrillo]

7 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

Don't you also need a test to get into Canada?

I believe so. I will be in Canada for 4 days before my cruise and as of now I believe the ship requires a negative test within 72 hours which is why I checked to see if we had any locations in Vancouver - with that said, who knows what the requirements will be in 4 months 

[Ashland]

We have an RCI cruise scheduled for mid September out of Vancouver. I'm hoping to know soon so I can start looking at flights....LAX-YVR.

[55Division]

I googled Walgreens in Vancouver.  Are you sure the Walgreens aren't located in Vancouver, Washington vs Vancouver, B.C.?

[bookbabe]

15 hours ago, 55Division said:

I googled Walgreens in Vancouver.  Are you sure the Walgreens aren't located in Vancouver, Washington vs Vancouver, B.C.?

I was thinking the exact same thing…