Questions related to all things Covid testing relating to Princess Cruises

[Thrak]

2 minutes ago, bmc alabama said:

Nice!  Do you get the full inside passage up the Eastern side of Vancouver Island as well?  I think that's the other drawback of going out of Seattle...

 

No. Originally the cruise was booked on Sapphire Princess but they changed it to Royal which is too big (and lacks azipod propulsion that allows tighter turns) to do the actual inside passage. The cruise was booked as an Inside Passage but, sadly, it won't actually be "inside".

[memoak]

1 hour ago, travelhound said:

I am not sure that I do want to keep my reservation for an Alaskan cruise if the PIA factor is too high.  But there is some hope:

 

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/02/18/bill-from-alaskas-congressional-delegation-would-allow-cruises-to-bypass-canada-ports-again/#:~:text=In 2020%2C Canada stopped allowing,a statement announcing the bill.

However where would the 7 day cruises sail from ?  Seattle does not have the capacity that Vancouver does

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

You must have an inferior itinerary. I have often had full days in Victoria and will have another on a coastal in 29 days

We loved our full day in Victoria on a coastal in 2012. We could have spent even more time there.  Six years later we took the entire family (daughter, SIL, son, DIL and 3 year old grandchild) on an Alaska cruise out of Seattle so they only had the evening for an excursion.  Knowing that all of them are interested in gardening, we suggested Butchart Gardens for the adults and we would stay on board and babysit the grandchild.  Four years later they still talk about how lovely it was and the magic of the illuminations as it got dark. 

[Mike & Zen]

2 hours ago, victoriaj said:

Actually doing B2B 7 days  Vancouver-Vancouver  so believe we have to do ArriveCan?

Yes, you are correct.  We'll be doing a couple of those out of Vancouver, Royal Princess, in July and August.

 

• Country of original departure - Canada
• Date of embarkation....ArriveCAN will allow you to enter date approx 4 days before embarkation (about a day more than by air or land)
• Port of entry - Vancouver Cruise Ship Operations
• Date of arrival... ArriveCAN gives you a 30 day calendar for Entry by marine so well within your 14 day back to back.

Which ship?

[Jaymuxman]

Would someone that has/is currently sailing on the Regal Princess (Mediterranean) cruise, and left from the US be so kind as to tell me what paperwork you had to fill out before boarding the plane for ITALY? Thanks in advance.

[VibeGuy]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

No. Originally the cruise was booked on Sapphire Princess but they changed it to Royal which is too big (and lacks azipod propulsion that allows tighter turns) to do the actual inside passage. The cruise was booked as an Inside Passage but, sadly, it won't actually be "inside".

None of the Princess fleet is podded (thankfully - pods disrupt more cruise itineraries than Norovirus).   The issues is that Royal handles like a barge due to high wind loading and a comparatively flat bottom, and there are tide / current / vertical clearance challenges - note the arrival time in Vancouver on the 14th.  Seymour Narrows, Lions Gate and some power lines all make Royal a comparatively poor fit for Vancouver sailings, but pods it ain’t.

[Mike & Zen]

3 hours ago, travelhound said:

I am not sure that I do want to keep my reservation for an Alaskan cruise if the PIA factor is too high.  But there is some hope:

 

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/02/18/bill-from-alaskas-congressional-delegation-would-allow-cruises-to-bypass-canada-ports-again/#:~:text=In 2020%2C Canada stopped allowing,a statement announcing the bill.

Which cruise ship are you booked in for Alaska/BC?  If its out of Seattle, you have the answers already.  Using the easy ArriveCAN app takes a few minutes of your time to get an account, upload passport and proof of vaccination, and fill in the other data when your cruise date is near.  That's it!  Kind of like when Hawaii had their app to fill in, maybe not, I heard of issues.   I see your from Minnesota.  Hockey!  If you are having any issues with ArriveCAN, we are all here to help each other...and try to bring down your PIA factor and soften you up, maybe a bit, eh?😊

[victoriaj]

1 hour ago, Mike & Zen said:

Yes, you are correct.  We'll be doing a couple of those out of Vancouver, Royal Princess, in July and August.

 

• Country of original departure - Canada
• Date of embarkation....ArriveCAN will allow you to enter date approx 4 days before embarkation (about a day more than by air or land)
• Port of entry - Vancouver Cruise Ship Operations
• Date of arrival... ArriveCAN gives you a 30 day calendar for Entry by marine so well within your 14 day back to back.

Which ship?

 

Thank you so much for all your assistance. We have been many times to Alaska but never under these conditions with paperwork that I guess I'm getting too old to feel confident I'm reading things correctly, particularly when the logic escapes me.

We were originally on the Saphirre then they switched us to Royal when Saphirre cancelled, really not a fan of the Royal and particularly not for Alaska so I moved our booking to the Grand which we have sailed on many times before. Just looking forward to being able to cruise again, even if we don't venture further than our balcony !!!!  Thanks again and enjoy your upcoming cruises. We are also on the Grand in Aug B2B Vancouver. 

[memoak]

38 minutes ago, Mike & Zen said:

Which cruise ship are you booked in for Alaska/BC?  If its out of Seattle, you have the answers already.  Using the easy ArriveCAN app takes a few minutes of your time to get an account, upload passport and proof of vaccination, and fill in the other data when your cruise date is near.  That's it!  Kind of like when Hawaii had their app to fill in, maybe not, I heard of issues.   I see your from Minnesota.  Hockey!  If you are having any issues with ArriveCAN, we are all here to help each other...and try to bring down your PIA factor and soften you up, maybe a bit, eh?😊

Just set up the ArriveCAN and it was much easier than setting up the medallion app. Way easier

[coo359a2]

11 minutes ago, memoak said:

Just set up the ArriveCAN and it was much easier than setting up the medallion app. Way easier

Did you have to upload a photo of your passport.  All I saw was to put in the passport number

[Mike & Zen]

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

Just set up the ArriveCAN and it was much easier than setting up the medallion app. Way easier

Agree, way easier than Med app.  I've had a ticket in to fix an unusual problem, and many phone calls to escalate, too.   The Med app linked two separate ships together:  Crown and Discovery.  The two cruises are one day apart!  Tried deleting the app, and load the two cruises again. NO joy!  Plenty of food onboard, so not to worry.  

[Mike & Zen]

Just now, coo359a2 said:

Did you have to upload a photo of your passport.  All I saw was to put in the passport number

You must be using the online version and not the app?  In the app, ArriveCAN can scan docs but if using online you have to enter manually.  I used the app and haven't used it online.

 

The ArriveCAN app also has optional travel document scanning technology. This makes it easier and faster to enter your travel document information. The following documents can be scanned:

• passport
• FAST card
• NEXUS card
• enhanced driver's license

This technology is only used to scan your travel document information. ArriveCAN doesn't keep an image of your travel document.

[Ombud]

6 minutes ago, Mike & Zen said:

Agree, way easier than Med app.  I've had a ticket in to fix an unusual problem, and many phone calls to escalate, too.   

Agreed. I finally get my blue medallion after 35 cruises.😷 @Mike & ZenI apparently made an error. On ArriveCAN I listed Ruby Princess & my stateroom as quarantine location. Then I listed Ruby Princess Victoria Cruise Port (my last port in Canada) as the street address. I now have the qr code, 6 dogit code, and QV. How big of an OOPS is this?? It looks like it took

[Mike & Zen]

10 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

Did you have to upload a photo of your passport.  All I saw was to put in the passport number

Try this help link

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/arrivecan/help.html

 

[Mike & Zen]

5 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Agreed. I finally get my blue medallion after 35 cruises.😷 @Mike & ZenI apparently made an error. On ArriveCAN I listed Ruby Princess & my stateroom as quarantine location. Then I listed Ruby Princess Victoria Cruise Port (my last port in Canada) as the street address. I now have the qr code, 6 dogit code, and QV. How big of an OOPS is this?? It looks like it took

If you go back to the beginning do you see a delete (garbage can) sign?  If so, delete it and start again.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't your first port of arrival in Canada Vancouver?  Then you go to Victoria?

 

If so, then you enter Vancouver as your first port of arrival in Canada, as it says in the app, and the date.

 

And enter your ship and cabin number on the first line then the Canada Place address I had posted for Vancouver.  You don't need to do anything for Victoria, as you are already in Canada.  Just like flying in or driving in, once you have entered your FIRST port of arrival, your good to go where ever you want.  Its nobodies business where you go after you enter Canada.  It just so happens your going to Victoria in a cruise ship.

 

100 The Point, 999 Canada Place

Vancouver, BC,  V6C 3T4

 

Here is what ArriveCAN help says:

If you haven't entered Canada yet

If you've already submitted your information and have an ArriveCAN receipt, start over in ArriveCAN. ArriveCAN will clear your previous information.

 

Let us know how is works out!

 

[Ombud]

Thank you!! Now its just a V, no longer QV

[kamelia]

49 minutes ago, Mike & Zen said:

Agree, way easier than Med app.  I've had a ticket in to fix an unusual problem, and many phone calls to escalate, too.   The Med app linked two separate ships together:  Crown and Discovery.  The two cruises are one day apart!  Tried deleting the app, and load the two cruises again. NO joy!  Plenty of food onboard, so not to worry.  

With as much experienced information as I've gotten from you, please allow me the opportunity to share the benefit of mine with you re: linked cruises.  I had a similar one-day gap in between two cruises on two different Princess ships last December that were linked by the app.  I could not use some of the app features on the second cruise, and kept getting an error message, "cannot find emerald.princes.com" - probably because I was on Enchanted Princess by then.  🙄  I finally gave up, which was easier for me to do as I had no need for the features I was being blocked from.  I have two back-to-back cruisetours later this summer that end and begin at the same Princess lodge, but again on two different Princess ships, and they are currently linked on the MedallionClass app.  I have asked the onboard Ocean Navigators for help to understand why these two cruisetours are linked, and keep getting the definitive answer: "because that's the way the system is set up."  When I try pointing out the pitfalls I've already encountered, I get a response along the lines of, "well, this is a new app, we're still working out some issues, so wait until after the next update."  I'm reasonably sure I will be boarding the Royal Princess with an app that's trying to connect to the Grand Princess.  Lovely app.  (cue the sarcasm!)

[coo359a2]

56 minutes ago, Mike & Zen said:

You must be using the online version and not the app?  In the app, ArriveCAN can scan docs but if using online you have to enter manually.  I used the app and haven't used it online.

 

The ArriveCAN app also has optional travel document scanning technology. This makes it easier and faster to enter your travel document information. The following documents can be scanned:

• passport
• FAST card
• NEXUS card
• enhanced driver's license

This technology is only used to scan your travel document information. ArriveCAN doesn't keep an image of your travel document.

Yes I have used the online version and have two Travellers  info saved.  Can you also use the app and complete the same info in both online and app. 

 

There was no problem uploading the pictures of our vaccination cards when asked to do so on the online version.  Just got concerned when reading posts about "scanning the passport" and there was no option for that using the on line version.

[Mike & Zen]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

Thank you!! Now its just a V, no longer QV

Excellent!  Did you just write over the old info and resubmit?

[Ombud]

I deleted and resubmitted. Why was QV wrong? 

[Mike & Zen]

1 hour ago, kamelia said:

With as much experienced information as I've gotten from you, please allow me the opportunity to share the benefit of mine with you re: linked cruises.  I had a similar one-day gap in between two cruises on two different Princess ships last December that were linked by the app.  I could not use some of the app features on the second cruise, and kept getting an error message, "cannot find emerald.princes.com" - probably because I was on Enchanted Princess by then.  🙄  I finally gave up, which was easier for me to do as I had no need for the features I was being blocked from.  I have two back-to-back cruisetours later this summer that end and begin at the same Princess lodge, but again on two different Princess ships, and they are currently linked on the MedallionClass app.  I have asked the onboard Ocean Navigators for help to understand why these two cruisetours are linked, and keep getting the definitive answer: "because that's the way the system is set up."  When I try pointing out the pitfalls I've already encountered, I get a response along the lines of, "well, this is a new app, we're still working out some issues, so wait until after the next update."  I'm reasonably sure I will be boarding the Royal Princess with an app that's trying to connect to the Grand Princess.  Lovely app.  (cue the sarcasm!)

Thank you for that information.  Very much appreciated.  After so many hours on the phone, after you informing me of your experience, I'm going to let this one go, let it ride, and veg out!  And you have two great cruise tours! 🙂

[Mike & Zen]

17 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I deleted and resubmitted. Why was QV wrong? 

 

The Q meant you may have to discuss your quarantine plan with an official.  But now that you have the correct info in the app, you are good to go.  Don't forget to take a screen shot, tool

 

From the ArriveCAN help website here are the meanings of the letters:

 

You may see one or more letters beside your name on your receipt. This means that you may have to discuss one of the following with a Government official at the border:

• (Q) your quarantine plan
• (S) your symptom self-assessment
• (A), (V) or (I) your vaccination status
• (D) dependent adult
• (M) medical contraindication

To qualify for the fully vaccinated traveller exemption, you must have an (A), (V) or (I) next to your name. Ensure you have evidence of your proof of vaccination when you travel. It must include the type of vaccine(s) and the date(s) of your vaccinations. Be prepared to show it on arrival.

If there's no (A), (V) or (I) next to your name:

• you aren't fully vaccinated according to Canada's requirements or
• you didn't upload proof of vaccination

If there's a (D) next to your name:

• you've indicated that you're unvaccinated and a dependent adult

If there's a (M) next to your name:

• you've indicated that you're unvaccinated and have a valid medical contraindication to a COVID-19 vaccine

Here's the link to ArriveCAN help.  There are lots of little links in the text to click on for more info such as above.

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/arrivecan/help.html

 

[Mike & Zen]

2 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

Yes I have used the online version and have two Travellers  info saved.  Can you also use the app and complete the same info in both online and app. 

 

There was no problem uploading the pictures of our vaccination cards when asked to do so on the online version.  Just got concerned when reading posts about "scanning the passport" and there was no option for that using the on line version.

According to the ArriveCAN help website, you must use the same platform to start and finish a submission.

 

I find the app very easy to use.  Are you able to use the app as your preferred platform?  When it comes time to enter your travel data, submit, and get your receipt you can take a screen shot, and if you have an iphone or ipad as well as the other two travellers, you can air drop the receipt to their idevices, so all travellers have a copy for a back up incase of device failure or even losing a device.  I believe there are ways with android devices, using an app.  Anyone know how to do this with android devices?

 

Here is the ArriveCAN help website link:

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/arrivecan/help.html

 

Here is the info in ArriveCAN help website.

Using ArriveCAN

You can use the ArriveCAN website or the ArriveCAN mobile app to submit your travel information. Once you create your account, you can use the same email and password for both the website and the app. However, you must use the same platform to start and finish a submission. For example, you can't start a submission on the app and finish it on the website.

 

[Mike & Zen]

4 hours ago, victoriaj said:

 

Thank you so much for all your assistance. We have been many times to Alaska but never under these conditions with paperwork that I guess I'm getting too old to feel confident I'm reading things correctly, particularly when the logic escapes me.

We were originally on the Saphirre then they switched us to Royal when Saphirre cancelled, really not a fan of the Royal and particularly not for Alaska so I moved our booking to the Grand which we have sailed on many times before. Just looking forward to being able to cruise again, even if we don't venture further than our balcony !!!!  Thanks again and enjoy your upcoming cruises. We are also on the Grand in Aug B2B Vancouver. 

Thanks for your kind words.  Yes, I enjoy the GRAND Class ships especially the promenade deck for having a good walk and a little bit of a "mental massage."  Sapphire is one of our favourite ships.

 

I see your from up island in Courtney.  I used to go to the Comox area every summer as a Royal Canadian Sea Cadet at Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) QUADRA.  Great times! 

And you, too, enjoy your cruises! 

[highloyo]

14 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

Does that mean you must arrive in a vehical, or that you must have an appointment?

 

The sign means you can’t walk up to the window but must be in a vehicle. Having looked for testing only at the CVS’ in my area, they all indicate that you need to make an appointment and the testing is administered in the drive-thru lane.