Important vaccine requirements for ALL European cruise ports if arriving from eg. USA

[TheGinBoy]

We can but hope Keith!

[BklynBorn47]

10 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

But I'm not sure that (some/all?) travel insurance will cover expenses that are due to the traveler not doing things properly/not following directions/etc.  That is, if it was under the control of the traveler, then what circumstances would be covered IF the traveler could have avoided the loss because the requirements were known for some time?

That is an excellent point.  One more reason for me to read CC threads and news reports in addition to cruise line websites.  I am super organized (all docs in digital and paper forms, spreadsheets for quick review etc) and STILL I missed that Bermuda requires a "Travel Application & fee" for the first port on our TA later this month until I read it here.
I cannot expect cruise lines to notify me of every change in every port worldwide.  
So many things are beyond their control.  Our Black Sea cruise was cancelled for obvious reasons.  I really wanted to see Odessa for personal reasons.  Now I wonder if it will ever be possible.  

[reeinaz]

This is what the NCL website has to say about testing at the terminal. It's in their Sail Safe protocols.

 

On select sailings where local government or health authorities may require guests to partake in additional COVID-19 testing prior to boarding, NCL will provide free testing at the terminal. Please refer to Cruise Travel Requirements by Country for country specific requirements.

All unvaccinated guests under the age of 12 on sailings from or to a U.S. port will be required to bring proof of a negative NAAT test (i.e. PCR) result administered by a verified third party within three days prior to embarkation date. Failure to comply will result in denial of boarding. Additionally, these guests will be subject to additional testing at embarkation and disembarkation administered and paid for by the cruise line, as part of the U.S Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Voluntary COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships Operating in U.S. Waters.

[TrumpyNor]

14 minutes ago, reeinaz said:

 

 

On select sailings where local government or health authorities may require guests to partake in additional COVID-19 testing prior to boarding, NCL will provide free testing at the terminal. P

I guess this part is the one to notice - "where local government or health authorities may require...."

[reeinaz]

1 minute ago, TrumpyNor said:

I guess this part is the one to notice - "where local government or health authorities may require...."

But right now, no European countries are listed on the country specific requirements page. But I get the impression that anything could trigger additional testing at any moment. LOL

[KeithJenner]

Yes, that is the keep passage, and it does seem to be new. That wasn’t on the email I received a couple of weeks ago.

 

As reeinaz says, there are currently no European countries on the  country specific requirements page yet. If Barcelona is in fact requiring on the day testing then I would expect that to change soon.

 

As I see it, this is a potential inconvenience on the day, but if NCL are paying for it then it isn’t a major issue.

[cassie55]

3 hours ago, BklynBorn47 said:

That is an excellent point.  One more reason for me to read CC threads and news reports in addition to cruise line websites.  I am super organized (all docs in digital and paper forms, spreadsheets for quick review etc) and STILL I missed that Bermuda requires a "Travel Application & fee" for the first port on our TA later this month until I read it here.
I cannot expect cruise lines to notify me of every change in every port worldwide.  
So many things are beyond their control.  Our Black Sea cruise was cancelled for obvious reasons.  I really wanted to see Odessa for personal reasons.  Now I wonder if it will ever be possible.  

Sorry for a change of topic but was your Black Sea cruise completely cancelled? We've booked for next year. And I know a lot can happen in a year but I wondered if they would just change the routing to skip Odessa.

[steamboats]

7 hours ago, ChC said:

But some lines or countries may require it must be 14 days before travel.

 

It´s just some cruise lines which require the booster 14 days before travel. Here in Germany there is no 14 day rule for the booster (only for the second shot).

 

steamboats

[BklynBorn47]

3 hours ago, cassie55 said:

Sorry for a change of topic but was your Black Sea cruise completely cancelled? We've booked for next year. And I know a lot can happen in a year but I wondered if they would just change the routing to skip Odessa.

It was completely cancelled as soon as Russia invaded Ukraine.  As for next year, there are mines that would have to be cleared from the Black Sea.  As for me I do not intend to go anywhere near a Russian port.  I should specify that I have family in Slovakia and Lithuania.  They remember life under Russian domination and have good reason to be fearful.

[jennjess]

5 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Yes, that is the keep passage, and it does seem to be new. That wasn’t on the email I received a couple of weeks ago.

 

As reeinaz says, there are currently no European countries on the  country specific requirements page yet. If Barcelona is in fact requiring on the day testing then I would expect that to change soon.

 

As I see it, this is a potential inconvenience on the day, but if NCL are paying for it then it isn’t a major issue.

It could be that testing at boarding is a requirement to sail from Greece.  It certainly was last year and personally I'll be happy if it still is. So I'll test twice, 3 days before cruising, and again at the port if it is still needed (and hopefully free as it was last year).

[KeithJenner]

3 minutes ago, jennjess said:

It could be that testing at boarding is a requirement to sail from Greece.  It certainly was last year and personally I'll be happy if it still is. So I'll test twice, 3 days before cruising, and again at the port if it is still needed (and hopefully free as it was last year).

Testing at the port was a requirement last year regardless of the port. That was NCL policy at the time, but that was officially changed from the start of March, so experience from last year is now irrelevant.

 

So far I have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that port testing may be required in Greece. That isn't to say that it won't be, but so far the discussions seem to centre around Spain and maybe Italy.

[jennjess]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

Testing at the port was a requirement last year regardless of the port. That was NCL policy at the time, but that was officially changed from the start of March, so experience from last year is now irrelevant.

 

So far I have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that port testing may be required in Greece. That isn't to say that it won't be, but so far the discussions seem to centre around Spain and maybe Italy.

We will see what happens I guess.  I believe the onboard masking last year was a greek policy rather than NCL's choice.  Greece still does require face masks in indoor areas.

[KeithJenner]

3 minutes ago, jennjess said:

We will see what happens I guess.  I believe the onboard masking last year was a greek policy rather than NCL's choice.  Greece still does require face masks in indoor areas.

Yes, the mask policy is European (not just Greece), and hasn't changed.

 

To be clear, I am not saying that there won't be a future requirement to test at the port in Greece. My only point is that this was an NCL thing last year and applied to every port in the world, so the fact that you had to test there last year tells us nothing in itself. You would equally have had to test in Miami.

 

The current NCL guidance is that there is no port testing required in Athens. That is per the details that I have been supplied for my cruise from there next week, and the details currently on the NCL website. That may change, but at the moment there is no port testing required in Athens.

Edited April 5, 2022 by KeithJenner

[Cruiseandgamble]

2 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Yes, the mask policy is European (not just Greece), and hasn't changed.

 

Have you heard any rumblings that the onboard mask policy might change anytime soon?  I've got 3 European cruises this summer and I'd really like to not have to wear a mask on them 🙂

[KeithJenner]

1 minute ago, Cruiseandgamble said:

 

Have you heard any rumblings that the onboard mask policy might change anytime soon?  I've got 3 European cruises this summer and I'd really like to not have to wear a mask on them 🙂

A while ago I read speculation that Greece was going to further reduce their mask policy towards the end of March, but that didn't come to anything. I was hoping that they would change it, as it could have impacted on the need for a mask on our Athens cruise, but that looks extremely unlikely now.

 

I'm more hopeful for Summer cruises though. Maybe 50:50 that they won't be required then, but we just don't know.

[bdl729]

16 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

That is correct, and they will charge you for that test. I have a feeling it’s about $99 each for the tests at the port.

That doesn’t make any sense if they are going to test anyway in European ports. The first cruise on the Star everyone was tested before boarding. 

[KeithJenner]

7 minutes ago, bdl729 said:

That doesn’t make any sense if they are going to test anyway in European ports. The first cruise on the Star everyone was tested before boarding. 

The situation at Barcelona is confused at the moment, and if they are making everyone test at the port then it won’t be chargeable. The new addition to the detail on the website states that the test is free of local authorities require them. Events have moved on a bit since I make the post that you quoted.

 

Do you know for sure that they tested everyone on the Star, by the way. I have seen a few conflicting claims about what happened there, but nothing definite.

Edited April 5, 2022 by KeithJenner

[bdl729]

2 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

The situation at Barcelona is confused at the moment, and if they are making everyone test at the port then it won’t be chargeable. The new addition to the detail on the website states that the test is free of local authorities require them.

 

Donyou know for sure that they tested everyone on the Star, by the way. I have seen a few conflicting claims about what happened there, but nothing definite.

I read on a certain social media site that everyone was tested at the pier even though thry had their 72 hour covid test results 

[TheGinBoy]

That's basically what we've been told, yeah. 

 

We need out 72 hour results but we also need to be tested by NCL/EuroFins at the pier too.

[KeithJenner]

22 minutes ago, bdl729 said:

I read on a certain social media site that everyone was tested at the pier even though thry had their 72 hour covid test results 

I’ve seen so much conflicting and confused information posted on there regarding what happened on Sunday that I’m sceptical about what is being claimed at the moment.

 

It will be interesting to hear from people who successfully boarded after the cruise to see how their stories match up.

 

On balance it looks like they probably did test everyone, but I’ve not seen anything definite yet.

Edited April 5, 2022 by KeithJenner

[KeithJenner]

10 hours ago, TheGinBoy said:

That's basically what we've been told, yeah. 

 

We need out 72 hour results but we also need to be tested by NCL/EuroFins at the pier too.

From the updated information on the NCL site it looks like it is now confirmed about the port test, but you no longer need the 72 hour one.

[jennjess]

12 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Yes, the mask policy is European (not just Greece), and hasn't changed.

 

To be clear, I am not saying that there won't be a future requirement to test at the port in Greece. My only point is that this was an NCL thing last year and applied to every port in the world, so the fact that you had to test there last year tells us nothing in itself. You would equally have had to test in Miami.

 

The current NCL guidance is that there is no port testing required in Athens. That is per the details that I have been supplied for my cruise from there next week, and the details currently on the NCL website. That may change, but at the moment there is no port testing required in Athens.

The mask policy is not a Europe wide policy.  Each country decides on that themselves, here for instance masks are no longer required (The Netherlands), but in Greece and Italy they still are inside most venues.  Cruises will be obliged to follow the rules of the countries they are visiting and sailing from.  Port testing also seems very likely imo.

[KeithJenner]

1 minute ago, jennjess said:

The mask policy is not a Europe wide policy.  Each country decides on that themselves, here for instance masks are no longer required (The Netherlands), but in Greece and Italy they still are inside most venues.  Cruises will be obliged to follow the rules of the countries they are visiting and sailing from.  Port testing also seems very likely imo.

I mean that the policy is applied by NCL to the whole of Europe.

[KeithJenner]

3 minutes ago, ChC said:

 

It does appear only Barcelona confirmed as pier test. Greece currently did not confirm it will be pier test paid for by NCL. Just saying 72 hours PCR or 24 hours Anti-gen. Different wording in Europe/Greece/Spain...etc. The Europe section and Spain section says paid by NCL a t the pier. Others seems to be prior arrival to pier at customer's cost. I read the NCL section several times and could not confirm about Greece.

Yes, just in Barcelona. I was specifically responding to someone who is sailing from there.
 

My reading of Greece is that it is at our expense prior to arrival, rather than offered by NCL at the port.

 

I’m going to cancel our tests hefore flying to Athens and find a testing centre in Athens the day before the cruise.

Edited April 6, 2022 by KeithJenner

[KeithJenner]

3 minutes ago, ChC said:

 

I am flying in one day earlier than my cruise. I might book one anti-gen test just before the flight in Heathrow. It should satisfy the 24 hours rule I hope. Or maybe a rapid PCR. 

We are flying in two days early, so Heathrow test would have to be PCR.

 

If you are flying the day before then you should be fine (although that is assuming 24 hours actually means day before).

Edited April 6, 2022 by KeithJenner