How is Celebrity handling Bermuda testing requirements?

[Bo1953]

15 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Just another fee. Oh well

Just another reason to not travel anywhere.... LOL

 

bon voyage

[JamieLogical]

10 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

On NCL, NCL was having passengers who had not done the Bermuda Travel Authorization fill it out and pay the $40 at the cruise terminal. No embarkation without it. It would not surprise me if Celebrity did the same have the ones who had not done it do it at the cruise terminal. .But maybe on the transatlantic they will have passengers apply onboard.  Celebrity is not going to pay it though. I would wait as long as possible to do it on the transatlatlantic because Bermuda has often been skipped on transatlantics. 

 

I can't foresee a method by which Celebrity could complete the TA and pay the fee for you. Currently, the TA form requires a visa or mastercard and you have to upload your vaccine card and your test results when you receive them. There would have to be a whole new process built to allow a third party to complete it for you. Celebrity would have to collect electronic versions of your test results from you ahead of the cruise (right now they only require visual inspection of test results at the pier). Plus Celebrity would have to submit a lot of personally identifiable information on your behalf, which I am assume would require some sort of sign-off from you. Oh, not to mention, the TA requires an electronic signature!

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by JamieLogical

[Bo1953]

4 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I can't foresee a method by which Celebrity could complete the TA and pay the fee for you. Currently, the TA form requires a visa or mastercard and you have to upload your vaccine card and your test results when you receive them. There would have to be a whole new process built to allow a third party to complete it for you. Celebrity would have to collect electronic versions of your test results from you ahead of the cruise (right now they only require visual inspection of test results at the pier). Plus Celebrity would have to submit a lot of personally identifiable information on your behalf, which I am assume would require some sort of sign-off from you. Oh, not to mention, the TA requires an electronic signature!

 

Thank you for the follow up info as I readily surmized that those who want X to complete and pay for the TA had not really gone to the website of Bermuda to actually see what is required.

 

In health and bon voyage

[Laurab23]

I have no issue with paying the fee. I am just freaking out about filling it out. I am not very good with all the computer stuff and have always just printed everything out. So this is stressing me. I'm sure I can find someone to help me and I do have a smart(er than me) phone but what about people who don't?

 

Laura

[JamieLogical]

17 minutes ago, Laurab23 said:

I have no issue with paying the fee. I am just freaking out about filling it out. I am not very good with all the computer stuff and have always just printed everything out. So this is stressing me. I'm sure I can find someone to help me and I do have a smart(er than me) phone but what about people who don't?

 

Laura

 

Hopefully people can find others to help them. When I cruised to Bermuda with my parents back in September, I filled it all out for them. The tricky part was getting pictures of their vaccine cards to upload, since they live in a different state from me. I just took pictures of their vaccine cards on my phone while I was visiting them in the months before the cruise.

[Laurab23]

3 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Hopefully people can find others to help them. When I cruised to Bermuda with my parents back in September, I filled it all out for them. The tricky part was getting pictures of their vaccine cards to upload, since they live in a different state from me. I just took pictures of their vaccine cards on my phone while I was visiting them in the months before the cruise.

Yes my friend who I am cruising with lives in a different state.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

17 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I must be too much of a kicked back California but really not stressed at all about Bermuda.   Unless I hear otherwise from Celebrity I'm not planning on doing anything.   If we have to file a TA and pay the $40 prior to board then I'll just do it.  

 

 

 

Love this approach!  Please don't forget to come back and let us know if it worked.  For now, absent any instructions from Celebrity, I'm adopting the same approach.

[Wineaux007]

We're taking Summit in July, and it's not a listed ship on their form - only Silhouette, along with several from other cruise lines.

[carsail1260]

Just now, Wineaux007 said:

We're taking Summit in July, and it's not a listed ship on their form - only Silhouette, along with several from other cruise lines.

It's not there because your cruise is in July.  Things could change by then, but they don't add a ship to the list until it is only 30 days until your arrival in Bermuda.  The TA on Silhouette will be in Bermuda the 11th of April.

[Oceansaway17]

13 hours ago, the penguins said:

Yes, just like the fee we have paid every 2 years to visit the USA. The only suprise is why it's taken so long to introduce it.

i do not think either should have a fee.  Passports should be enough.

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Love this approach!  Please don't forget to come back and let us know if it worked.  For now, absent any instructions from Celebrity, I'm adopting the same approach.

Ok..   I'll definitely post our experience. 

 

Since we are on the first Celebrity Cruise of the season we will be the guinea pigs.   Traveling in Retreat and boarding at Terminal 25 I'm sure I can complete at the terminal if we deed to do so.   Hopefully Celebrity will give some advise in the next 3 weeks. 

 

BTW I always travel with my laptop so be as easy to do as doing it in advance from home. 

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, Wineaux007 said:

We're taking Summit in July, and it's not a listed ship on their form - only Silhouette, along with several from other cruise lines.

 

They only list the ship and the arrival 30 days prior to arrival (in my case it posted exactly on the 30th.   day). 

[Charles4515]

13 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

i do not think either should have a fee.  Passports should be enough.

I agree but the US has been requiring ESTA for travel to the US for a bunch  of years. Apparently other countries have decided to do a tit for tat........

[Oceansaway17]

1 minute ago, Charles4515 said:

I agree but the US has been requiring ESTA for travel to the US for a bunch  of years. Apparently other countries have decided to do a tit for tat........

yes the tit for tat game is everywhere these days.  

[Jim_Iain]

I guess we American's may have a similar experience in 2023 and be required to get an ETIAS to visit the EC.    I'm guessing there will probably be a similar UK requirement.

 

https://www.prevuemeetings.com/news/e-u-to-require-etias-visa-waiver-in-2023/

Edited March 19, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[rim140]

Couple of our friends boarded Oceania ship yesterday, they were required to complete the form for Bermuda and pay $40 fee. But no one checked and asked for the form during the boarding process. And...after all that, yesterday afternoon passengers were notified they were no longer going to Bermuda, instead replaced by Bahamas. Huh! Interesting!

[sippican]

9 minutes ago, rim140 said:

Couple of our friends boarded Oceania ship yesterday, they were required to complete the form for Bermuda and pay $40 fee. But no one checked and asked for the form during the boarding process. And...after all that, yesterday afternoon passengers were notified they were no longer going to Bermuda, instead replaced by Bahamas. Huh! Interesting!

 

Wow!

I wonder if they're getting their $40 back, lol!

I have a feeling that may happen to us on the Silhouette TA in April.

[LGW59]

12 minutes ago, rim140 said:

Couple of our friends boarded Oceania ship yesterday, they were required to complete the form for Bermuda and pay $40 fee. But no one checked and asked for the form during the boarding process. And...after all that, yesterday afternoon passengers were notified they were no longer going to Bermuda, instead replaced by Bahamas. Huh! Interesting!

Did they have to complete it in advance of boarding, i.e. from home etc or did they do it on the ship?  Also, where did they get the form, direct from Oceania or another source?  

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Did they have to complete it in advance of boarding, i.e. from home etc or did they do it on the ship?  Also, where did they get the form, direct from Oceania or another source?  

The form is on Bermuda's government site. It is an electronic form.

[rim140]

11 minutes ago, sippican said:

 

Wow!

I wonder if they're getting their $40 back, lol!

I have a feeling that may happen to us on the Silhouette TA in April.

They were told they're getting $50 OBC

[rim140]

9 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Did they have to complete it in advance of boarding, i.e. from home etc or did they do it on the ship?  Also, where did they get the form, direct from Oceania or another source?  

They filled out in advance, and loaded test results online (Bermuda's website). 

[Guppy99]

5 minutes ago, rim140 said:

They were told they're getting $50 OBC

That's very nice of Oceania. Not something they had to do.

[Laurab23]

53 minutes ago, rim140 said:

Couple of our friends boarded Oceania ship yesterday, they were required to complete the form for Bermuda and pay $40 fee. But no one checked and asked for the form during the boarding process. And...after all that, yesterday afternoon passengers were notified they were no longer going to Bermuda, instead replaced by Bahamas. Huh! Interesting!

Bahamas instead of Bermuda? That would not make me happy. Hope things smooth out be my cruise in May.

[Bo1953]

6 minutes ago, Laurab23 said:

Bahamas instead of Bermuda? That would not make me happy. Hope things smooth out be my cruise in May.

I wonder if Bermuda was the only stop on the Oceania sailing? If so, then not an issue, logistically.

 

The logistics nightmare would be for our sailing in May, which includes Newport, Bermuda and Charleston, SC .... I do not think the other ports would be cancelled as Bahamas is quite a hike down and back...

 

But we shall see for sure...

 

bon voyage

[Jim_Iain]

Wouldn't it be easier for the cruise line to be transparent from the start.

Edited March 19, 2022 by Jim_Iain