Ex UK Cruises - Vaccination Exemption for 5-12 Year Olds - Princess Excursions only?

[Mary loves to travel]

11 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Your agent is not correct. See post below by Jmox84 for correct information

 

 

Following post also confirms it is not a Princess requirement. (I like the attempt to push for a Princess excursion anyway).

 

I'd be careful basing my trip with vaccine exempted children based on posts here or in Twitter.

Below is a direct quote from the Princess web site - it seems quite clear that even with an exemption, "you may not be permitted to go ashore in all ports", and in those where you are allowed, it must be on a Princess excursion.

 

Remember, it's not simply the port country's rules, Princess is trying to minimize the threat that someone brings covid back onto the ship from a port.    Princess has much more control about Covid protocols being followed on their shore excursions that they do when we go off on our own.

 

• You may not be permitted ashore in all ports and, if allowed, may only go ashore through shore excursions sold by or through Princess using tour operators who comply with our COVID-19 protocols. Self-exploration or participation in shore excursions not sold through or operated by Princess will not be permitted.

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

 

If Princess rules that it's simply up to the port country, you may want to get that from them in writing, just to avoid disappointment.

 

 

Mary

 

 

[Mary loves to travel]

the website can be confusing... so here's the entire Q&A on this topic from the UK sailings FAQ (link above):

 

•  

CruiseHealth™ FAQ: Sailings from the United Kingdom

Updated 6 May 2022

What's on this page: COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements | COVID-19 Testing Requirements | Before You Sail | Embarkation | Onboard Experience | Health & Safety | Shore Visits & Excursions | After You Sail

/images/global/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/uk-southampton-cruises/snippet-content/intro-uk-southampton-sailing.jpg

Current Health Protocols for Cruises

For cruises departing from Southampton on:

• Sky Princess® from 28 March
• Emerald Princess® from 1 May
• Enchanted Princess® from 4 May
• Island Princess® from 13 June

 

---

 

UPDATED: What requirements are in place for guests who have been approved for a vaccination exemption?

In accordance with health authority directives, all unvaccinated guests must follow these COVID-19 protocols:

• Show proof of a negative pre-travel COVID-19 RT-PCR test performed three days prior to sailing.
• Have an embarkation day COVID-19 test performed at the terminal. We must provide testing information and reporting to the destinations we visit. Guests will be responsible for the cost of testing and administration in most destinations. Each test is offered at our internal cost and the number of tests required will vary by length of voyage and local requirements.

  Testing requirement	Cost per test	Charge location
  Terminal COVID-19 test	$60	onboard folio
  Testing on board every 4 days	$10	onboard folio
  Testing required by local authorities to go ashore	$10 ($0 if part of company shore excursion)	onboard folio
  Disembarkation test on board	$10	onboard folio

• You may not be permitted ashore in all ports and, if allowed, may only go ashore through shore excursions sold by or through Princess using tour operators who comply with our COVID-19 protocols. Self-exploration or participation in shore excursions not sold through or operated by Princess will not be permitted.
• You may also be required to have a COVID-19 test performed prior to disembarkation.

If you refuse to be tested or screened or to follow COVID-19 protocols, you will be denied boarding, and no refund or credit will be issued.

Anyone who doesn’t comply with the onboard public health measures may be disembarked at the first available opportunity. Other consequences could include being denied service, required stateroom isolation and being banned from sailing in the future. If you are non-compliant, no refund of the cruise fare for unused cruise days or travel expenses (if flying home) will be covered. If your travel party is impacted and/or they are required or voluntarily choose to leave with you, the same policies will apply to them: no refund of cruise fare for unused cruise days or coverage of travel expenses home.

If you feel you need to change your plans after reading these directives for unvaccinated guests, please refer to our Book with Confidence policy for cancellation options.

Edited May 10, 2022 by Mary loves to travel
remove extraneous info

[caribill]

5 hours ago, Mary loves to travel said:

 

• You may not be permitted ashore in all ports and, if allowed, may only go ashore through shore excursions sold by or through Princess using tour operators who comply with our COVID-19 protocols. Self-exploration or participation in shore excursions not sold through or operated by Princess will not be permitted.

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

 

If Princess rules that it's simply up to the port country, you may want to get that from them in writing, just to avoid disappointment.

 

 

 

 

That "may not be permitted" in practice is just what the country/port visited requires. Princess itself does not prohibit you from going ashore on your own, only if the port does.

 

It says "may not" because what ports permit can change at any time.

[Mary loves to travel]

12 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

That "may not be permitted" in practice is just what the country/port visited requires. Princess itself does not prohibit you from going ashore on your own, only if the port does.

 

It says "may not" because what ports permit can change at any time.

hmmm.   To me, "Self-exploration or participation in shore excursions not sold through or operated by Princess will not be permitted" seems very clear.   But then again, who knows?

[annarack]

I kind of wish I hadn't started the thread now, but it was really useful to have the discussion as it shows how unclear it is and how everyone has different views and interpretations.  I also thought Princess's Twitter response was very cheeky and noncommittal!

As noted above we cancelled after speaking to our travel agent.  We didn't want the worry over the next three months about this.  Cancellation went through fine and we received a full cash refund, so presumably Princess agreed that this trip would not work for our family. 

We are now booking with a different cruise line whose Health Protocols state we can explore independently. "Guests who are travelling with unvaccinated children are also able to go ashore independently." Obviously things can change at anytime, but we feel more comfortable.

To the people above who are travelling with under 5s, I personally think you will be fine, as these children, although also unvaccinated, do not need an exemption and the clause discussed above just applies to those with the exemption. So presumably you will be able to get off and explore as normal.

Very sad not to be doing our original cruise but very happy to have had a refund and a replacement now booked to look forward to.