Good News: Elimination of Pre-Cruise Testing!

[MichiganBound]

All things being equal, I believe NCL will drop the pre-cruise testing requirement within the next 2-3 months.  Personally, I'm fine with pre-cruise testing but recognize it is probably going to be gone soon.  Having said all that, I also believe NCL will hold firm on only allowing vaccinated travelers (with the limited exception for some children) to cruise for now.  No need to follow the lead of Carnival/RCCL.  Throughout the pandemic, NCL has been one of the most cautious cruise lines in terms of restrictions on the unvaccinated.  Whilst that has turned off a segment of potential cruisers, it has almost certainly endeared NCL to a larger segment of cruisers who prefer to be very careful and as safe as possible.  If that means a contingent of cruisers from AL/MS/SC/WV/TN or wherever refuse to travel with NCL, I'm good with that.

[BermudaBound2014]

2 minutes ago, MichiganBound said:

All things being equal, I believe NCL will drop the pre-cruise testing requirement within the next 2-3 months.  Personally, I'm fine with pre-cruise testing but recognize it is probably going to be gone soon.  Having said all that, I also believe NCL will hold firm on only allowing vaccinated travelers (with the limited exception for some children) to cruise for now.  No need to follow the lead of Carnival/RCCL.  Throughout the pandemic, NCL has been one of the most cautious cruise lines in terms of restrictions on the unvaccinated.  Whilst that has turned off a segment of potential cruisers, it has almost certainly endeared NCL to a larger segment of cruisers who prefer to be very careful and as safe as possible.  If that means a contingent of cruisers from AL/MS/SC/WV/TN or wherever refuse to travel with NCL, I'm good with that.

NcL releases 3Q22 next week. I’m guessing they will make announcements then. 

[MichiganBound]

1 minute ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

NcL releases 3Q22 next week. I’m guessing they will make announcements then. 

That's fine if they do that.  I would rather testing be kept in place but I am realistic about it being removed.

[travelhound]

On 7/30/2022 at 3:08 PM, vince_g said:

I just read yesterday that Virgin Voyages is removing the pre-testing requirement, because the CDC ended their cruise ship guidance program last week.  It also states that effective August 8th Royal Caribbean will remove pre-testing for cruises of 6 nights or less.  It went on to say that 30-45 days after that they expect to remove the pre-testing requirement from all voyages.

 

I would expect that Carnival is going to jump onboard with that, and I think NCL will join them at that point.  No pre-testing requirement will be seen as a strategic advantage, and as we have seen time after time, once one line does something, they all seem to fall in line.  Ju

 

Hoping NCL removes the requirement by my October 15th Prima cruise!

👍

[cruise*enthusiast]

3 hours ago, travelhound said:

👍

I’m actually hoping that they DON’T do away with it. I’d rather the entire ship be tested. Doing away with it would probably lead to people carrying the virus on board the ship, even if they don’t have symptoms. Some people wouldn’t even know that they have it unless they get tested. For me, getting tested isn’t that big of a deal if it means lowering my risk of contracting the virus, provided everyone else gets tested as well. 
 

Recently, my nephew had Covid and had to cancel his cruise to Bermuda. He had absolutely no symptoms and was caught totally off guard. Had he not been required to test, he would have brought the virus on board with him. 
 

Happy cruising!!

 

[cruiseny4life]

8 hours ago, cruise*enthusiast said:

I’m actually hoping that they DON’T do away with it. I’d rather the entire ship be tested. Doing away with it would probably lead to people carrying the virus on board the ship, even if they don’t have symptoms. Some people wouldn’t even know that they have it unless they get tested. For me, getting tested isn’t that big of a deal if it means lowering my risk of contracting the virus, provided everyone else gets tested as well. 
 

Recently, my nephew had Covid and had to cancel his cruise to Bermuda. He had absolutely no symptoms and was caught totally off guard. Had he not been required to test, he would have brought the virus on board with him. 
 

Happy cruising!!

 

 

And then there's me - I could care less. To me the tests are just a snapshot in time. You might test negative at 9 AM, then test positive at 2 PM. The only test that would be worth anything (to me) is an at embarkation test as I'm sure many test two days before their cruise, then become positive without even knowing it, by the time they embark. 

 

I do hope your nephew is recovering well!

[graphicguy]

Not sure when this will happen, but it's probably sooner than later.  NCL was one of the first cruise lines to require pre-cruise testing.  They have stuck to that for nearly 2 years.  Their policy never wavered and they stayed consistent.

 

Proof of a negative COVID test is still required on most NCL cruises still.

 

I think that's the reason why they are now sailing near capacity, if not AT capacity.  I give them credit.

 

But, we all knew that this policy would be dropped.  

 

I do believe that COVID vaccinations will continue to be required, however.  If anything, that has helped them to sail at capacity, again.

Edited August 4, 2022 by graphicguy

[BermudaBound2014]

12 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Not sure when this will happen, but it's probably sooner than later.  NCL was one of the first cruise lines to require pre-cruise testing.  They have stuck to that for nearly 2 years.  Their policy never wavered and they stayed consistent.

 

Proof of a negative COVID test is still required on most NCL cruises still.

 

I think that's the reason why they are now sailing near capacity, if not AT capacity.  I give them credit.

 

But, we all knew that this policy would be dropped.  

 

I do believe that COVID vaccinations will continue to be required, however.  If anything, that has helped them to sail at capacity, again.

 

How silly. All cruise lines have stuck to the pre-testing policy until very recently.

 

Since the resumption, NCL has remained very fluid in their covid policies, making many changes along the way. They had to because covid itself remains a very fluid virus. 

 

NCL is not sailing anywhere near capacity. They will give an official statement on capacity to the Securities Exchange Committee on the 9th. I'll be sure to update this thread then. If I'm wrong, I have no problem admitting it. 

[BermudaBound2014]

For those interested here is RCL's official press release on the change in pre-testing protocols. Notice at the bottom how they are transitioning to the point where 'everyone can travel with us" 🙂 🙂 

 

 

 

[Chasing Summer]

There isn't much made of this, but on Carnival's website it says cruises 5 days and under do not need a pretest "unless the destination requires it." Grand Cayman is one of those destinations. Many of those short cruises go to Cayman, so it's not always up to the cruise line to decide whether to test or not.

[BermudaBound2014]

9 hours ago, Chasing Summer said:

There isn't much made of this, but on Carnival's website it says cruises 5 days and under do not need a pretest "unless the destination requires it." Grand Cayman is one of those destinations. Many of those short cruises go to Cayman, so it's not always up to the cruise line to decide whether to test or not.

 

Yes, there are still a few hold outs for requiring pre-testing. The RCL release said they are working with their destinations and I suspect one of two things will happen, 1) The destination will relax the requirement to meet cruise ships protocols. 2) Cruise ships will alter their itineraries to avoid certain ports. For what it's worth, Grand Cayman maybe one of the last hold outs since they don't need the $$$ cruise ships generate, I suppose that's the beauty of their banking system ;-). 

 

Carnival's website is very interesting because they are claiming that the Bahamas requires a test. This is a massive destination for shorter cruises. What makes it weird is that Carnival is claiming it's a requirement of the Bahamas, while the Bahama web site says pretesting is not required (and RCL and Virgin cruises are sailing there without a pre-test). So there is a discrepancy somewhere in the chain that will need to be ironed out along the way.

 

All this goes to show that Covid protocols remain fluid for all cruise lines :-), 

[Karaboudjan]

27 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Carnival's website is very interesting because they are claiming that the Bahamas requires a test. This is a massive destination for shorter cruises. What makes it weird is that Carnival is claiming it's a requirement of the Bahamas, while the Bahama web site says pretesting is not required (and RCL and Virgin cruises are sailing there without a pre-test). So there is a discrepancy somewhere in the chain that will need to be ironed out along the way.

 

All this goes to show that Covid protocols remain fluid for all cruise lines :-), 

 

It could be a requirement specifically for Carnival.  Maybe something in their policies/procedures is more concerning to the Bahamas.

[BermudaBound2014]

Just now, Karaboudjan said:

 

It could be a requirement specifically for Carnival.  Maybe something in their policies/procedures is more concerning to the Bahamas.

 

Could be. Lots of speculation on the Carnival board why the discrepancy.

 

Carnival looks rather silly, they came out and said no pre-testing on short cruises, then added back in bahamas and said it was the Bahamas that was requiring it, but now RCL, Virgin, and a few other small lines are sailing there without requiring a pre-test so clearly the Bahamas isn't requiring it for all cruise ships. It's odd to say the least. 

[BermudaBound2014]

And just like that, more changes will be announced August 14th.

 

For those following along with what RCL/Celebrity is doing, apparently the changes that go into effect August 8th will be amplified on August 14th.

 

 

 

[Karaboudjan]

4 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

And just like that, more changes will be announced August 14th.

 

For those following along with what RCL/Celebrity is doing, apparently the changes that go into effect August 8th will be amplified on August 14th.

 

 

 

 

Let's hope it's not that short cruises to the Bahamas DO require pre-tests after all!  😬

[BermudaBound2014]

Just now, Karaboudjan said:

 

Let's hope it's not that short cruises to the Bahamas DO require pre-tests after all!  😬

 

That would be funny.

 

I suspect the august 14th announcement is going to address what Baley stated in his blog about increasing the number of unvaccinated they welcome onboard to 20%. That last line in todays release again hints to welcoming the unvaccinated. 

[n4w]

On 8/4/2022 at 5:44 AM, cruiseny4life said:

 

And then there's me - I could care less.

you mean that you could NOT care less.

 

you care so much that you COULD care less, vs. you care so little that you could NOT care less.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by n4w

[cruiseny4life]

Just now, n4w said:

you mean that you could NOT care less.

yes sir, of course mr grammar whatever you want to call yourself. feel better about yourself now? 

 

i'm just a podunk country boy.

[n4w]

1 minute ago, cruiseny4life said:

yes sir, of course mr grammar whatever you want to call yourself. feel better about yourself now? 

 

i'm just a podunk country boy.

 

just trying to help you sound less podunk.

[BermudaBound2014]

More information was revealed today regarding RCL timeline for removing pre-testing. Looks like they are shooting for 45 days which would be sometime in September. Of course, ports have a say in the decision but the trend is positively moving toward ports reducing covid protocols and I suspect that those ports which depend on the cruise industry dollars will be the first to accommodate 😉 

 

 

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/royal-caribbean-ceo-hint-when-fully-drop-covid-testing

[scooter6139]

IF any cruise line wishes to require testing, they should offer it, for free, at the pier during embarkation.  Like NCL used to.  It worked, for the most part, when we went last August.  

 

I'm fine if they want to keep vaccination a requirement too, like NCL does then and now.  They likely gained more cruisers with that steadfast caution than they lost.

Edited August 5, 2022 by scooter6139

[ChiefMateJRK]

25 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

More information was revealed today regarding RCL timeline for removing pre-testing. Looks like they are shooting for 45 days which would be sometime in September. Of course, ports have a say in the decision but the trend is positively moving toward ports reducing covid protocols and I suspect that those ports which depend on the cruise industry dollars will be the first to accommodate 😉 

 

 

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/royal-caribbean-ceo-hint-when-fully-drop-covid-testing

Nice!!!  We need to hear more stuff like this.  😎

[MichiganBound]

I'll be very disappointed if NCL reduces restrictions on the unvaccinated.

[PTC DAWG]

On 8/4/2022 at 12:37 AM, cruise*enthusiast said:

I’m actually hoping that they DON’T do away with it. I’d rather the entire ship be tested. Doing away with it would probably lead to people carrying the virus on board the ship, even if they don’t have symptoms. Some people wouldn’t even know that they have it unless they get tested. For me, getting tested isn’t that big of a deal if it means lowering my risk of contracting the virus, provided everyone else gets tested as well. 
 

Recently, my nephew had Covid and had to cancel his cruise to Bermuda. He had absolutely no symptoms and was caught totally off guard. Had he not been required to test, he would have brought the virus on board with him. 
 

Happy cruising!!

 

Zero symptoms, sounds like a big old pile of nothing.  I hate his trip was cancelled because of it. 

[scooter6139]

4 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Zero symptoms, sounds like a big old pile of nothing.  I hate his trip was cancelled because of it. 

 But it wasn't nothing and that is the point.  I am not certain this is true, but I thought a big portion transmissions were done by by folks who were not showing symptoms?  (I could be very wrong here though)

Edited August 5, 2022 by scooter6139