Princess COVID Vaccination/Booster Change Notice received today

[Ponderosamom]

We just received an Update on Princess Cruise lines this morning that boosters will be required for anyone who received their vaccinations more than 9 months ago. My niece is travelling with us and received her vaccines a year ago - BUT she recovered from COVID 3 months ago and has a letter of recovery. On the notice I received today is says that letters of recovery from doctors will not satisfy the vaccination/booster requirement.  Our cruise leaves in 14 days. And the requirement for vaccines says that you MUST have received the vaccine at least 14 days before the cruise sails.  Anybody have any information or suggestions on this?

[mom says]

Sounds like your niece needs to get her Booster today.

 

The positive PCR/letter of recovery was never intended to exempt vaccinations. It was only to deal with the covid test requirement

Edited April 23, 2022 by mom says

[Host CJSKIDS]

Is this for a cruise sailing out of the US or in Europe?

[memoak]

If the cruise stops in Canada there are no exemptions permitted

[Pink-belle]

2 hours ago, Ponderosamom said:

We just received an Update on Princess Cruise lines this morning that boosters will be required for anyone who received their vaccinations more than 9 months ago. My niece is travelling with us and received her vaccines a year ago - BUT she recovered from COVID 3 months ago and has a letter of recovery. On the notice I received today is says that letters of recovery from doctors will not satisfy the vaccination/booster requirement.  Our cruise leaves in 14 days. And the requirement for vaccines says that you MUST have received the vaccine at least 14 days before the cruise sails.  Anybody have any information or suggestions on this?

Did you post this on another site? If so I will have already replied to you.  😏

Many countries in Europe only regard you as fully vaccinated, after 2 jabs, for 270 days after the 2nd Jab.

To remain “fully vaccinated” you need to have at least one booster, the booster does not currently have any “expiry” boosted means you are still fully vaccinated after 7 days of receiving it.

[mustgo]

For the letter of recovery, does that mean the person does not need the pre-boarding test or does it mean take the test but if it is positive, it is still ok to board?  My DH has just recovered and we cruise in 4 weeks

[Jaymuxman]

If I were in her shoes, I would go get a booster TODAY and not take any chances. Tomorrow might be too late.

[LACruiser88]

From Princess web site:

 

UPDATED: What is considered fully vaccinated?

For European cruises departing on or after May 7, 2022, the definition of "fully vaccinated" is at least 14 days past completion of a primary vaccine series and no more than 270 days (9 months) since receiving the last dose in the vaccine series. A booster dose is required for guests 12 years and older whose final dose of an approved/authorized COVID-19 vaccine is older than 9 months (270 days) to be considered "fully vaccinated".

[nini]

We are two of those passengers that also received this today. We depart on a British Isles cruise in 16 days. We received the J&J 13 months ago. SURPRISE! Due to ONE STOP in Europe (Le Havre), we must get boosted. So, I spent over an hour finding an OPEN pharmacy which has AVAILABILITY for the booster. AND, we live 25 miles from a pharmacy and 75 miles away from a real city.

And, of course, tomorrow is SUNDAY- many pharmacies are not open then.

 

I am very upset with Princess, as we would choose to not get off of the ship in Le Havre if we could do that. How long have they known this!?!?

 

 

 

 

[nini]

1 hour ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Is this for a cruise sailing out of the US or in Europe?

Technically for the EU, not the UK (except we have one port in the EU).

[Astro Flyer]

20 minutes ago, mustgo said:

For the letter of recovery, does that mean the person does not need the pre-boarding test or does it mean take the test but if it is positive, it is still ok to board?  My DH has just recovered and we cruise in 4 weeks

The Princess CruiseHealth is a good source for current policy.

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/us-cruises/

 

Will I still need a pre-cruise COVID test before embarkation if I have recently recovered from COVID-19?

Guests who have recovered from COVID-19 within three months of their embarkation, do not need to get a viral test before embarkation if they are at least 10 days past their COVID-19 infection, have no symptoms and produce documentation of recovery from COVID-19 infection.

Documentation of Recovery consists of the following:

• Paper or electronic copies of the positive viral test result from a certified laboratory (dated no more than 90 days ago), or
• A valid digital COVID-19 certificate (DCC) or a document issued by an offcial health or government authority showing confirmed previous infection.

Guests who present these documents will need to go through a secondary screening at the terminal and boarding will be approved at the medical staff’s discretion. If guests are not able to obtain documentation of recovery that fulfills the above requirements, they will need to take the required COVID-19 viral test and show a negative result.

[John99]

Hopefully this does not happen – your niece does not have the booster 14 days before your Mediterranean cruise on May 7^th.  She will be denied boarding.  As others have suggested -- get your niece’s booster TODAY.  You better have a plan B ready.

[nini]

4 minutes ago, John99 said:

Hopefully this does not happen – your niece does not have the booster 14 days before your Mediterranean cruise on May 7^th.  She will be denied boarding.  As others have suggested -- get your niece’s booster TODAY.  You better have a plan B ready.

Do you count the day of?

[Coral]

41 minutes ago, nini said:

We are two of those passengers that also received this today. We depart on a British Isles cruise in 16 days. We received the J&J 13 months ago. SURPRISE! Due to ONE STOP in Europe (Le Havre), we must get boosted. So, I spent over an hour finding an OPEN pharmacy which has AVAILABILITY for the booster. AND, we live 25 miles from a pharmacy and 75 miles away from a real city.

And, of course, tomorrow is SUNDAY- many pharmacies are not open then.

 

I am very upset with Princess, as we would choose to not get off of the ship in Le Havre if we could do that. How long have they known this!?!?

 

Do you have a Walmart near you? Many of them are doing walk up vaccinations.

 

Most studies show a Pfizer or Moderna would protect you better than a J and J booster.

Edited April 23, 2022 by Coral

[nini]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

Do you have a Walmart near you? Many of them are doing walk up vaccinations.

 

Most studies show a Pfizer or Moderna would protect you better than a J and J booster.

 

We were able to do a walk-in at our Safeway 25 miles way. Princess will need to prepare for many cancellations due to this late notice.

[Coral]

Just now, nini said:

 

We were able to do a walk-in at our Safeway 25 miles way. Princess will need to prepare for many cancellations due to this late notice.

Glad you were able to get it done.

[ontheweb]

We also found that we did not need appointments to get our second boosters unlike the first 2 shots or the first booster. It was at a pharmacy at a supermarket (Shoprite).

[Happiest when cruising]

4 hours ago, nini said:

 

We were able to do a walk-in at our Safeway 25 miles way. Princess will need to prepare for many cancellations due to this late notice.

Here is just a part of the FAQ on the princess site. I’m not really sure this is their fault. I’m glad it worked out for you. Enjoy your cruise, you can now relax. 
 

as per the site…Boosters may be required on specific voyages or by certain health authorities on the itinerary. Vaccination entry requirements can change without notice, so we recommend you keep your vaccination status up to date and ensure you are familiar with the requirements for the destinations you plan to visit.

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 hours ago, nini said:

We are two of those passengers that also received this today. We depart on a British Isles cruise in 16 days. We received the J&J 13 months ago. SURPRISE! Due to ONE STOP in Europe (Le Havre), we must get boosted. So, I spent over an hour finding an OPEN pharmacy which has AVAILABILITY for the booster. AND, we live 25 miles from a pharmacy and 75 miles away from a real city.

And, of course, tomorrow is SUNDAY- many pharmacies are not open then.

 

I am very upset with Princess, as we would choose to not get off of the ship in Le Havre if we could do that. How long have they known this!?!?

 

 

 

 

FYI: “Staying on” a cruise ship is irrelevant. Once the ship crosses a country’s ocean border, you a have entered that country.

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

The Princess CruiseHealth is a good source for current policy.

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/us-cruises/

 

Will I still need a pre-cruise COVID test before embarkation if I have recently recovered from COVID-19?

Guests who have recovered from COVID-19 within three months of their embarkation, do not need to get a viral test before embarkation if they are at least 10 days past their COVID-19 infection, have no symptoms and produce documentation of recovery from COVID-19 infection.

Documentation of Recovery consists of the following:

• Paper or electronic copies of the positive viral test result from a certified laboratory (dated no more than 90 days ago), or
• A valid digital COVID-19 certificate (DCC) or a document issued by an offcial health or government authority showing confirmed previous infection.

Guests who present these documents will need to go through a secondary screening at the terminal and boarding will be approved at the medical staff’s discretion. If guests are not able to obtain documentation of recovery that fulfills the above requirements, they will need to take the required COVID-19 viral test and show a negative result.

A visited country’s stricter requirements outweigh Princess’ regulations. If vaccination had to have been done within 270 days and booster is required by any port on the itinerary, that is what you must demonstrate.

[Cuedon]

Has anybody been on an affected voyage that can weigh in on what happens if COVID policies change mid-journey? I have a rather extended trip running circles around Europe shortly which is promising to be quite... interesting. 

[nini]

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

FYI: “Staying on” a cruise ship is irrelevant. Once the ship crosses a country’s ocean border, you a have entered that country.

 

I get that!!! What YOU do not understand is that the ship was ALWAYS the same itinerary as it is now. The POLICY changed in ONE day!!!

[guitarcrazy]

I find this change frustrating.  The policy until today was fully vaccinated-but did not require a booster.  The sites my itinerary goes to, also do not require a booster.   We made our decision to take the cruise based on the information provided prior to today-including the dropping of covid requirements by all of the countries our cruise would visit.  Princess now has more strict rules than the US, UK, Iceland, Norway, Denmark.  Crazy.  My husband and I both had sever chest pain following our second covid vaccine—we are very nervous about getting an additional vaccine.

[2BACRUISER]

This mandate has been out in Europe and the UK for sometime, Princess are late to the game with updating their policy. Other Carnival brands ( Cunard and P&O)  have had it in place for a while, since March at lleast.Not sure why they've took so long possibly due to the late changes to Enchanted baltic season.

 

Edited April 24, 2022 by 2BACRUISER
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[Caribensun]

Anyone know if this applies to cruises out of Canada or US?

Anyone know if cruises RT US port, but cruise to Mexico have restrictions?
Thanks,