No more pre-cruise COVID testing on NCL in EU starting August 1

[Markanddonna]

https://www.ncl.com/sail-safe

 

There are a few exceptions, but this is good news for most of us!

[CruiserBruce]

A little misleading on the title. NCL is dropping the requirement for testing ANYWHERE they sail, unless a country they are sailing from or to requires a test, like Greece or Canada. 

 

Keep in mind HAL is currently test driving the no-testing unless a country requires it concept, sailing out of Amsterdam this month. So the EU is not requiring a test to get on a ship, except Greece.

[Markanddonna]

54 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

A little misleading on the title. NCL is dropping the requirement for testing ANYWHERE they sail, unless a country they are sailing from or to requires a test, like Greece or Canada. 

 

Keep in mind HAL is currently test driving the no-testing unless a country requires it concept, sailing out of Amsterdam this month. So the EU is not requiring a test to get on a ship, except Greece.

You are correct.  It is only for NCL, but this news will likely lead to more announcements this week.

[Flatbush Flyer]

15 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

You are correct.  It is only for NCL, but this news will likely lead to more announcements this week.

This is a sad decision - particularly with yet another omicron variant recently spreading. While vaccination/boosters has certainly lessened the symptoms/hospitalization for some, “long Covid” and increasing evidence of lingering/new issues for those who have supposedly “recovered” from Covid is mountin quickly.

Recently returned from the final two segments of Oceania’s ATW cruise. Though unverified, some CC users on that cruise have reported that 50% of the 200+ full ATW passengers had Covid during the cruise. Optional mask wearing and no social distancing requirement certainly contributed to that statistic. Worse still was the proven erroneous belief among some (not all) of them that having had Covid made them immune. 
Fortunately for the crew, O’s continuing mask requirement for crew protects them from clueless/maskless passengers.

[dcipjr]

I'm OK with dropping the test requirement as long as they keep the vaccine requirement.

 

Other forms of travel no longer require pre-testing, and with proctored tests getting more expensive or harder to find (due to lack of funding), it's going to get harder and harder to keep those tests in place. 

 

Yes, testing does catch some cases before they become onboard cases, but accepting a rapid-test that was administered two days before departure doesn't really make all that much sense. Only pre-cruise tests that are positive have any real meaning.

 

If NCL was rapid-testing at the pier, that would be better in terms of catching cases, but logistically I don't think they can do that. And even pier-side testing wouldn't be a slam dunk.

 

The vaccination requirement should stay indefinitely. And now that vaccines are available for those 6 months and older (in the US, and hopefully elsewhere soon), I'd eventually like see them extend the vaccine requirement to children under 12 as well, once the vaccines have been out long enough for people to get them.

I'd also like them to continue to honor 100% FCC if you test positive before your cruise—after all, it's still prudent to test yourselves before you depart, if only to avoid being quarantined during your vacation.
 

And yes, I realize this is only for the EU for now, but let's face it: NCL won't be testing in perpetuity in the US. It's only a matter of time before the testing requirement is dropped here as well.

 

I'm not minimizing the risks of getting COVID and developing complications or Long COVID...but people that are concerned about it are just going to have to find another way to take a vacation. 

[The Shrike]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

This is a sad decision - particularly with yet another omicron variant recently spreading. While vaccination/boosters has certainly lessened the symptoms/hospitalization for some, “long Covid” and increasing evidence of lingering/new issues for those who have supposedly “recovered” from Covid is mountin quickly.

Recently returned from the final two segments of Oceania’s ATW cruise. Though unverified, some CC users on that cruise have reported that 50% of the 200+ full ATW passengers had Covid during the cruise. Optional mask wearing and no social distancing requirement certainly contributed to that statistic. Worse still was the proven erroneous belief among some (not all) of them that having had Covid made them immune. 
Fortunately for the crew, O’s continuing mask requirement for crew protects them from clueless/maskless passengers.

Testing 48-72 hours before embarkation is nothing but meaningless theater.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, The Shrike said:

Testing 48-72 hours before embarkation is nothing but meaningless theater.

Preventing embarkation of those who test positive is hardly meaningless. 

[The Shrike]

40 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Preventing embarkation of those who test positive is hardly meaningless. 

Scenario:
I test negative three days prior to embarkation.  Then I go hit some crowded bars, a crowded restaurant, and another crowded bar.  I wake up the next morning and go to Waffle House (always crowded).  Then I sit for 90 minutes in a crowded shuttle to the crowded airport to sit around a crowded gate before getting on two crowded flights with a five-hour layover in another crowded airport in between.  I spend a total of ten hours on the planes, land, go through the crowded airport to crowded baggage claim, through crowded customs and immigration, and get on the crowded shuttle to take me to the crowded pier for embarkation.

At no point in any of the activities I engaged in after testing until embarkation are masks, vax, or proof of a negative test required.

The test I took three days earlier is, as stated, meaningless.  It proves absolutely nothing except for the obvious:  three days ago I was clear.  You can lie to yourself and say it's kept you safe but it definitively hasn't.

[Flatbush Flyer]

44 minutes ago, The Shrike said:

Scenario:
I test negative three days prior to embarkation.  Then I go hit some crowded bars, a crowded restaurant, and another crowded bar.  I wake up the next morning and go to Waffle House (always crowded).  Then I sit for 90 minutes in a crowded shuttle to the crowded airport to sit around a crowded gate before getting on two crowded flights with a five-hour layover in another crowded airport in between.  I spend a total of ten hours on the planes, land, go through the crowded airport to crowded baggage claim, through crowded customs and immigration, and get on the crowded shuttle to take me to the crowded pier for embarkation.

At no point in any of the activities I engaged in after testing until embarkation are masks, vax, or proof of a negative test required.

The test I took three days earlier is, as stated, meaningless.  It proves absolutely nothing except for the obvious:  three days ago I was clear.  You can lie to yourself and say it's kept you safe but it definitively hasn't.

Better scenario: you test positive and are denied boarding. One less disease spreader on the ship.

Not rocket science.

[The Shrike]

17 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Better scenario: you test positive and are denied boarding. One less disease spreader on the ship.

Not rocket science.

Whatever you need to tell yourself...

Edited July 7, 2022 by The Shrike

[recruiter 28]

Will NCL require testing for cruises leaving Italy with scheduled stops in Greece? 

[ChiefMateJRK]

Why August 1?  Why not immediately?

[The Shrike]

21 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Why August 1?  Why not immediately?

Yeah, seems arbitrary.  And if they're doing arbitrary, they might as well make it now.

[TrumpyNor]

43 minutes ago, recruiter 28 said:

Will NCL require testing for cruises leaving Italy with scheduled stops in Greece? 

According to that press release, no they will not. Only for cruises that are "originating" (=starting) from Piraeus, Greece.

[sergel02]

5 hours ago, The Shrike said:

Scenario:
I test negative three days prior to embarkation.  Then I go hit some crowded bars, a crowded restaurant, and another crowded bar.  I wake up the next morning and go to Waffle House (always crowded).  Then I sit for 90 minutes in a crowded shuttle to the crowded airport to sit around a crowded gate before getting on two crowded flights with a five-hour layover in another crowded airport in between.  I spend a total of ten hours on the planes, land, go through the crowded airport to crowded baggage claim, through crowded customs and immigration, and get on the crowded shuttle to take me to the crowded pier for embarkation.

At no point in any of the activities I engaged in after testing until embarkation are masks, vax, or proof of a negative test required.

The test I took three days earlier is, as stated, meaningless.  It proves absolutely nothing except for the obvious:  three days ago I was clear.  You can lie to yourself and say it's kept you safe but it definitively hasn't.

 

4 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Better scenario: you test positive and are denied boarding. One less disease spreader on the ship.

Not rocket science.

Flatbush does have the right of it though. Part of the reason for the testing is to limit the people who are positive onboard. If someone tests positive then they won’t be able to board, limiting potential spread.
 

Testing right before boarding would probably be best for that but that would be an even bigger nightmare for both guests and the cruise line. Plus with 48 hours, a lot of people haven’t flown yet, like in your scenario. That way some can get a voucher or refund for their flight.
 

Cruise lines can’t follow people and what they do between testing and boarding but they’re trying to minimize the risk. Most places don’t have to take care of people if they get sick, but cruise ships do. 
 

That all said, I can still see lines taking away testing. It’s a stressful and now expensive hurdle for guests, and as long as vaccinations are required there is less risk of someone getting really sick on a ship, which was always the biggest concern. 

Edited July 7, 2022 by sergel02

[Level six]

If they stop pre testing, will they also stop quarantine  onboard?

[casofilia]

To make everyone clear of what has been announced under SAIL SAFE here it is

 

EU Healthy Gateways Ends Pre-Cruise Testing Requirements

For sailings beginning August 1, 2022, vaccinated guests sailing on a cruise originating from any port EXCEPT a U.S. port; Canadian port; or Piraeus, Greece are exempt from all pre-cruise COVID-19 testing requirements.

[Readytotravel0731]

Any ideas about what to do with the Covid test kits I ordered right before NCL changed the testing requirements? I now have 4 tests from Inspire I can’t use.

[ChiefMateJRK]

52 minutes ago, Readytotravel0731 said:

Any ideas about what to do with the Covid test kits I ordered right before NCL changed the testing requirements? I now have 4 tests from Inspire I can’t use.

Sell them to somebody who is sailing from the US or Canada?