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Covid for cruiseships is over


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30 minutes ago, kernow said:

Thanks. That is similar to what was happening in Europe last year although I think most countries over here have done away with isolation when you leave the ship now. Our rates seem to be rising again so it could come back. Even if Royal don't pay our insurance should cover us if the worst should happen so I think we will be OK. 

If it is linked to the cruise, they will have an arrangement with a hotel, particularly if they are paying the bill. These aren't dedicated quarantine hotels as in days gone by. That is the case if testing positive on the ship, but not sure of the cruise lines level of involvement should you test positive prior to boarding. 

 

As residents, we still have to complete our 7 days of isolation, but if we can take our own transport or live within 2 hours of the port for the cruise line to get us there, we are able to complete that in our own home. If we are more than 2hrs or need to get a flight home, we are off to the same hotels.

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7 hours ago, kernow said:

We are coming to Sydney for a b2b on Ovation in Nov. We're British not American and know about sockets, currency, testing etc but can someone tell me how long we have to quarantine should we test positive and is it in a regular hotel or somewhere else? We do have covid insurance to cover costs if it should happen. 

Thanks.

This may interest you, link to NSW Health.  I hope it all works out for you, you are flying in and out of Sydney I presume? Then doing the B2B's? 

297055132_CruisingandCOVID-19_NSWGovernment.html

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23 minutes ago, NSWP said:

This may interest you, link to NSW Health.  I hope it all works out for you, you are flying in and out of Sydney I presume? Then doing the B2B's? 

297055132_CruisingandCOVID-19_NSWGovernment.htmlUnavailable

The link doesn't work for me, it comes up as unavailable. Yes, we are flying in and out of Sydney with the b2b from there.

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1 hour ago, NSWP said:

This may interest you, link to NSW Health.  I hope it all works out for you, you are flying in and out of Sydney I presume? Then doing the B2B's? 

297055132_CruisingandCOVID-19_NSWGovernment.htmlUnavailable

 

1 hour ago, kernow said:

The link doesn't work for me, it comes up as unavailable. Yes, we are flying in and out of Sydney with the b2b from there.

Try this link. 
 

https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/travel/cruising-rules

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12 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

Thank you, that works. 

Just been reading through and there is some great information. There are a couple of points I'm not clear on. Are masks required in some circumstances on the ship? If we do an antigen test in the 24 hours before we board does it have to be certified (like it does for European cruises) or can we just bring our own test and sign to say it was negative?

 

I realise that things may change by Nov but just trying to get a picture now in case it stays the same.

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18 minutes ago, kernow said:

Thank you, that works. 

Just been reading through and there is some great information. There are a couple of points I'm not clear on. Are masks required in some circumstances on the ship? If we do an antigen test in the 24 hours before we board does it have to be certified (like it does for European cruises) or can we just bring our own test and sign to say it was negative?

 

I realise that things may change by Nov but just trying to get a picture now in case it stays the same.

Currently the rules (as agreed between the cruise lines and the state governments) are that we have to have a COVID test (within 72 hrs for a PCR and within 24 hrs for a RAT (Rapid antigen test). If you decide to have a PCR test, in Aust you now have to pay for it for travel purposes. RAT tests are available from chemists for around $8 each. The RAT can be self-administered and it does not have to be supervised/certified. We just have to attest that it is negative and up-load a photograph of the negative test strip. We can use our own RAT test but we should not take it to the terminal (it's a biohazard).

 

Currently masks have to be worn for embarkation/disembarkation. On board, masks should be worn in the lifts and when social distancing isn't possible, such as in the theatre. The theatre is called a 'sip and cover' venue. Masks must be worn when entering or leaving the dining room, but can be removed as soon as you sit down. On board, masks are worn by some people as they walk around.  

 

On board, if you turn up at the dining room and aren't wearing a mask, they will politely offer to get one for you. There were masks waiting in our cabin when we boarded.

Edited by Aus Traveller
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12 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Currently the rules (as agreed between the cruise lines and the state governments) are that we have to have a COVID test (within 72 hrs for a PCR and within 24 hrs for a RAT (Rapid antigen test). If you decide to have a PCR test, in Aust you now have to pay for it for travel purposes. RAT tests are available from chemists for around $8 each. The RAT can be self-administered and it does not have to be supervised/certified. We just have to attest that it is negative and up-load a photograph of the negative test strip. We can use our own RAT test but we should not take it to the terminal (it's a biohazard).

 

Currently masks have to be worn for embarkation/disembarkation. On board, masks should be worn in the lifts and when social distancing isn't possible, such as in the theatre. The theatre is called a 'sip and cover' venue. Masks must be worn when entering or leaving the dining room, but can be removed as soon as you sit down. On board, masks are worn by some people as they walk around.  

 

On board, if you turn up at the dining room and aren't wearing a mask, they will politely offer to get one for you. There were masks waiting in our cabin when we boarded.

I think they've become a lot stricter about mask wearing in the last couple of weeks. 

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9 hours ago, kernow said:

Thank you, that works. 

Just been reading through and there is some great information. There are a couple of points I'm not clear on. Are masks required in some circumstances on the ship? If we do an antigen test in the 24 hours before we board does it have to be certified (like it does for European cruises) or can we just bring our own test and sign to say it was negative?

 

I realise that things may change by Nov but just trying to get a picture now in case it stays the same.

In short, the antigen test doesn't need to be certified. They have applied the same reasoning as our other areas of life, where we self-test and report our RAT'S.

 

Not sure what Royal will do as far as attesting goes, as they are likely to just adapt whatever system they are using in the US. The memtioned photo of the test is only to satisfy the Princess app so that you can move on to the health survey. Princess rules don't require you to take a photo, which provides no proof anyway.

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8 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

It will be interesting to see what happens between now and our November cruise

 

Now wondering how long to get a refund if cancelled

 

Good Night   Don

I am not sure that YOU can simply cancel your cruise without penalty - you never used to be able to do this. I am interested to hear other peoples take on this question.  

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2 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

I am not sure that YOU can simply cancel your cruise without penalty - you never used to be able to do this. I am interested to hear other peoples take on this question.  

Definitely a double edge sword!

 

Covid refunds were because of covid rules. If covid rules go away then presumably covid refunds go away too!

 

We always booked refundable deposits anyway backed up with insurance. The stress of travel in the covid era isn't worth the easy refund haha. 

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7 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

I am not sure that YOU can simply cancel your cruise without penalty - you never used to be able to do this. I am interested to hear other peoples take on this question.  

Barry it depends on the cruise line and more importantly how far out from the sail date you cancel.  I have cancelled cruises from Princess direct bookings with no penalty. 

 

Another example, booked direct my HAL Westerdam cruise on 23 November 2022, deposit was AU$99, I have paid for the cruise but up to Sept 9, if I cancel it is refund minus the $99 deposit. Penalties: From Sept 9 is 50% gross fare, Sept 24  is 75% gross fare, from October 24 is 100% gross fare.

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2 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

I am not sure that YOU can simply cancel your cruise without penalty - you never used to be able to do this. I am interested to hear other peoples take on this question.  

Currently you can cancel, at least for Princess and P&O, much closer to departure date than before. Alas, this only allows you to get credits or to move to a later cruise. 

 

Refunds are still governed by the usual terms and dates we are used to.

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1 minute ago, NSWP said:

Barry it depends on the cruise line and more importantly how far out from the sail date you cancel.  I have cancelled cruises from Princess direct bookings with no penalty.  

Yes Les- I understand that - but in this case, I thought I detected an assumption that people can just cancel their cruise at anytime now if they fear that risk of Coronavirus is too risky for them. 

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2 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Currently you can cancel, at least for Princess and P&O, much closer to departure date than before. 

Does that apply to an unconditional cancellation - for any reason??? or maybe only if you contract Covid? 

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2 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

Does that apply to an unconditional cancellation - for any reason??? or maybe only if you contract Covid? 

There are different dates for both. For covid, that applies right up to the gangway. Last I checked for unconditional, it was around a month out for those lines. There is a moving target with them, as that policy only applies up till a certain date - but they keep moving the date because of covid. 

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22 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

Does that apply to an unconditional cancellation - for any reason??? or maybe only if you contract Covid? 

I have just looked at these policies again for the ships currently operating, and they last extended this by another month on 1st July. If the current status continues, they are likely to extend an extra month on 1st August.

- So yes, to get a refund, the usual cutoff dates apply.

- To get an unconditional credit or change to another cruise, you must act more than 30 days before sailing (Princess) 15 days (P&O), and you need to apply them to a sailing departing before 30th September 2023 (Princess).

- Covid covers you up to the gangway, but you must confirm this with them prior to the departure. P&O has now spelled this out in the same way Princess has.

 

Book with Confidence — Cancellation Policy & Final Payment - Princess Cruises

 

P&O Assurance | P&O Cruises Australia (pocruises.com.au)

 

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I personally do not want to cancel..... i was thinking if princess cancel the cruise...

 

I wonder what would happen if NZ closed to cruise ships...   13 nights

leave Melbourne and do laps of Tasmania before returning ???

 

Time to stop thinking... and just see what happens.... Don

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30 minutes ago, getting older slowly said:

I personally do not want to cancel..... i was thinking if princess cancel the cruise...

 

I wonder what would happen if NZ closed to cruise ships...   13 nights

leave Melbourne and do laps of Tasmania before returning ???

 

Time to stop thinking... and just see what happens.... Don

Melbourne - Eden and back 6 times Don...b2b x 6 . lol.

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14 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

Currently the rules (as agreed between the cruise lines and the state governments) are that we have to have a COVID test (within 72 hrs for a PCR and within 24 hrs for a RAT (Rapid antigen test). If you decide to have a PCR test, in Aust you now have to pay for it for travel purposes. RAT tests are available from chemists for around $8 each. The RAT can be self-administered and it does not have to be supervised/certified. We just have to attest that it is negative and up-load a photograph of the negative test strip. We can use our own RAT test but we should not take it to the terminal (it's a biohazard).

 

Currently masks have to be worn for embarkation/disembarkation. On board, masks should be worn in the lifts and when social distancing isn't possible, such as in the theatre. The theatre is called a 'sip and cover' venue. Masks must be worn when entering or leaving the dining room, but can be removed as soon as you sit down. On board, masks are worn by some people as they walk around.  

 

On board, if you turn up at the dining room and aren't wearing a mask, they will politely offer to get one for you. There were masks waiting in our cabin when we boarded.

Thank you Aus Traveller for that information.

Do you know if we have to test during B2B cruises, I'm B2B2B2B from August the 12th and wondering if I need to test 4 times? If so, are self administered RATS tests okay? I can bring plenty from home.

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5 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Thank you Aus Traveller for that information.

Do you know if we have to test during B2B cruises, I'm B2B2B2B from August the 12th and wondering if I need to test 4 times? If so, are self administered RATS tests okay? I can bring plenty from home.

The Princess protocols say that B2B passengers have to test before each successive cruise. Self-administered RATS are OK. Princess also said that they would supply test kits for successive testing, but it would be a reasonable precaution to bring your own. We took extra on our 26th June cruise and (thankfully) didn't need them.

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9 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The Princess protocols say that B2B passengers have to test before each successive cruise. Self-administered RATS are OK. Princess also said that they would supply test kits for successive testing, but it would be a reasonable precaution to bring your own. We took extra on our 26th June cruise and (thankfully) didn't need them.

Thank you Aus Traveller.

 

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47 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The Princess protocols say that B2B passengers have to test before each successive cruise. Self-administered RATS are OK. Princess also said that they would supply test kits for successive testing, but it would be a reasonable precaution to bring your own. We took extra on our 26th June cruise and (thankfully) didn't need them.

What the protocols say and what happens in practice can be two different things. I think @Cbtours said that they only did an initial RAT and weren’t required to one at the start of each cruise on their recent B2B2B… on the Coral Princess. 

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