Covid Testing for Alaska Cruises

[bmc alabama]

2 minutes ago, travelhound said:

Good point 👍  We have no interest in going into Canada, too much of a PIA.

It will also be interesting to see what Princess does with the vaccination exemptions as up to 5% of the ship can be unvaccinated (I anticipate this to be many of our 5 and under guests).  My guess is that they will handle it like Grand Cayman (which also requires fully vaccinated people) did for the DCL ship that visited and just did not allow those folks off the ship.

 

I wonder if they have to fill out ArriveCAN?

[travelhound]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:53 AM, erber said:

I am hopeful the requirement will be dropped as many other countries are dropping testing to reenter their countries. But, we shall see. We are bringing covid tests with us to test as well. 

Yup, hopefully these ridiculous protocols will be dropped by the time we cruise in July to Alaska.

[travelhound]

On 4/3/2022 at 10:56 PM, stevenr597 said:

I have read that although Princess requires a negative Covid Antigen Test 72 hours prior to boarding.

However, if there is a stop in Canada, one must have a negative antigen test 24 hours prior to boarding.

We are scheduled to cruise on the Discovery Princess, July 10-18 out of Seattle Washington.  We will be arriving in Seattle on July 8th.  The cruise does have a stop in Victoria Canada, and in addition, one tour that we have booked goes from Alaska into Canada.

Where would it be best to obtain the necessary Covid Testing?

Thanks for help and suggestions. 

We will also be on that cruise.  If the testing is still required, we plan to do it from our hotel room on July 9th with the emed proctored test.  We just did that for our Caribbean cruise in March.  The only problem that we encountered was not having adequate bandwidth in the hotel.  It seemed to vary depending on how many guests were using it at the time.  After several attempts we were able to get to work, but we really don't need that stress again.  Hopefully these crazy protocols won't be required by then.

[stevenr597]

14 minutes ago, travelhound said:

We will also be on that cruise.  If the testing is still required, we plan to do it from our hotel room on July 9th with the emed proctored test.  We just did that for our Caribbean cruise in March.  The only problem that we encountered was not having adequate bandwidth in the hotel.  It seemed to vary depending on how many guests were using it at the time.  After several attempts we were able to get to work, but we really don't need that stress again.  Hopefully these crazy protocols won't be required by then.

We are thinking of doing the same thing, but also considering a backup by scheduling the testing to be done at the Port.  I believe that the charge is $100.00/person.  A bit high, but considering the cost of the vacation, worth itr. 

[DougH]

Thanks Mike, I found the info after I posted. I never looked that far down the page  LOL. Now the only thing I have to worry about is the first test before boarding, the state of Utah is changing their test system and has closed down our local site. Not many options nearby

[nini]

5 hours ago, eclue said:

That is correct - mandatory masks on planes goes until the 18th. There has been no mention of the testing.

 

My comment was referring to someone who stated that testing for Covid to fly home, would end April 18th. My comment was referring to the fact that this was referring ONLY to the masks on flights, but not the testing. I was asking for the "proof" referring to the testing before flying home.

[Ombud]

20 hours ago, bmc alabama said:

It will also be interesting to see what Princess does with the vaccination exemptions as up to 5% of the ship can be unvaccinated (I anticipate this to be many of our 5 and under guests).  My guess is that they will handle it like Grand Cayman (which also requires fully vaccinated people) did for the DCL ship that visited and just did not allow those folks off the ship.

 

I wonder if they have to fill out ArriveCAN?

They (or their responsible adult for them) only have to fill out ArriveCAN if they want to board the ship at embarkation. Won't let them off the ship, just on it

 

Whats the resistance to completing ArriveCAN?

[bmc alabama]

4 hours ago, Ombud said:

They (or their responsible adult for them) only have to fill out ArriveCAN if they want to board the ship at embarkation. Won't let them off the ship, just on it

 

Whats the resistance to completing ArriveCAN?

Oh, I'll fill it out if I have to, I just find it kind of pointless.  I can see them requiring it to go through customs/immigration when/if you get off at a Canadian port, but for those not getting off (which I suspect will be mostly the 5 and under crowd, though, things can change), it seems silly to have to fill this out.  The ship would already have your passport information, etc. on their manifest.  Not really sure what this would be adding...

 

Just seems to me a pointless hoop to jump through (unless you actually enter Canada)...

Edited April 6, 2022 by bmc alabama

[hapster85]

On 4/5/2022 at 10:56 AM, bmc alabama said:

It will also be interesting to see what Princess does with the vaccination exemptions as up to 5% of the ship can be unvaccinated (I anticipate this to be many of our 5 and under guests).  My guess is that they will handle it like Grand Cayman (which also requires fully vaccinated people) did for the DCL ship that visited and just did not allow those folks off the ship.

 

I wonder if they have to fill out ArriveCAN?

From the Princess CruiseHealth FAQ page:

 

Voyages that include Canada:
Please note that Canada is not currently supporting a process for exemptions to vaccination for embarkation or disembarkation in Canada (e.g. Vancouver) for non-Canadian citizens. Cruises beginning or ending in Canada will require 100% of guests to be fully vaccinated, except for children under 12. Find out if you can enter Canada at travel.gc.ca^.

 

No mention of in-transit visits, like Victoria.

Edited April 6, 2022 by hapster85

[travelhound]

5 hours ago, bmc alabama said:

Oh, I'll fill it out if I have to, I just find it kind of pointless.  I can see them requiring it to go through customs/immigration when/if you get off at a Canadian port, but for those not getting off (which I suspect will be mostly the 5 and under crowd, though, things can change), it seems silly to have to fill this out.  The ship would already have your passport information, etc. on their manifest.  Not really sure what this would be adding...

 

Just seems to me a pointless hoop to jump through (unless you actually enter Canada)...

Good point 👍  ArriveCAN is just another pointless bureaucratic hoop to jump through!!  Hopefully, some of these crazy protocols will be gone by July 🙂

[mpdog42]

Still waiting to hear if there will be testing in Seattle...No word from Princess...

[seagunthera]

4 hours ago, mpdog42 said:

Still waiting to hear if there will be testing in Seattle...No word from Princess...

I'd like to know the same thing.  Keep us posted if you hear/read anything...

 

[mpdog42]

Yeah I will....If you could get through to somebody at Princess😬

[Torfamm]

On 4/4/2022 at 10:53 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Although our particular Alaska cruise is not until August, I'm certainly following all of this closely. (Port call in Victoria, PLUS possible entry into Canada via White Pass Railroad.)

 

FYI There will be no trips into Canada on the White Pass Railroad this year. https://wpyr.com/updates/

 

Cross Border Tours – Service Suspended for 2022 Operating Season

After months of working towards restoring the Carcross and Fraser Train Service Combination, we unfortunately must announce that we are unable to provide these offerings for the 2022 Season.  We have delayed this difficult decision for several months in the hopes that we could find a workable solution for all involved and provide passenger service on these international routes.  The challenges of logistics, restrictions, and uncertainty around wait times would have made it impossible for us to provide a consistent high quality service without delays and would create significant disruption to the passenger experience.

[caribill]

On 4/4/2022 at 6:33 AM, logan25 said:

I don’t disagree with your point.  But also conflicting, confusing and outright wrong answers can be received from cruise line telephone representatives and travel agents.

 

And different information on the web site vs. E-mails one receives vs. Personalizer information.

[STREETKING]

6 hours ago, Torfamm said:

FYI There will be no trips into Canada on the White Pass Railroad this year. https://wpyr.com/updates/

 

Cross Border Tours – Service Suspended for 2022 Operating Season

After months of working towards restoring the Carcross and Fraser Train Service Combination, we unfortunately must announce that we are unable to provide these offerings for the 2022 Season.  We have delayed this difficult decision for several months in the hopes that we could find a workable solution for all involved and provide passenger service on these international routes.  The challenges of logistics, restrictions, and uncertainty around wait times would have made it impossible for us to provide a consistent high quality service without delays and would create significant disruption to the passenger experience.

Well that's disappointing news. We had this booked on our upcoming April 30th cruise. I wonder when Princess plans on letting us know so we have an opportunity to book something else. They also still have the White Pass excursions  available to book on their website.

[Yehootu]

Wonder how Canada or Princess will handle our cruise. We are on a 14day Glacier that rt out of Vancouver. It's really just a b2b but being it was a 14day trip for us, wonder if we'll be made to test in Whittier or prior to Victoria. Only time will tell.

[Torfamm]

7 hours ago, STREETKING said:

Well that's disappointing news. We had this booked on our upcoming April 30th cruise. I wonder when Princess plans on letting us know so we have an opportunity to book something else. They also still have the White Pass excursions  available to book on their website.

Some tour operators are running the tours using busses in both directions There is a lot of info in the Alaska port page

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

Some tour operators are running the tours using busses in both directions There is a lot of info in the Alaska port page

Big difference between a train and a bus. If it changes to anus we will most likely cancel the excursion

[Torfamm]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

Big difference between a train and a bus. If it changes to anus we will most likely cancel the excursion

I would too. I’ve already cancelled our train trip into Canada and booked alternate tours

Edited April 10, 2022 by Torfamm

[Buckeye10640]

38 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

I would too. I’ve already cancelled our train trip into Canada and booked alternate tours

I have done so as well. Kudos to Chilkoot Tours, they are all over this, and they are losing money/bookings in the process. 

[seagunthera]

Excursions to the summit are still happening on the train I believe.