Covid checks for boarding

[Javert1969]

Hi,

 

Can someone help me clear up a query for the Covid rules for boarding.

 

We have one person in our party for an upcoming cruise who has recently turned 18 - she has had 2 Pfizer vaccines but has not had a booster vaccine, but, at the last date of the cruise, the second vaccine would have been less than 270 days prior. (Her second does of Prizer was on 24th November last year and last date of cruise is before mid August).

 

The way I read the rules on the P&O website, this is ok.  However my wife is saying that our cruise agent told her that everyone has to have had the booster regardless.  From my view, this is not what it says on the web site.

 

Can anyone confirm or deny my reading of the rules?

[Bin man]

I read it the same as you but I would check with p and o to make sure 

 

[PJ's]

Is there a reason why she did not have a booster round about May this year? I think that a booster is given approx 6 months after the second vaccine. A quick calculation if the last day of your cruise is round about 15 August shows a total of approx 264 days since her second vaccine. Quite close to the maximum days of 270. I would check with P&O to be absolutely certain that she will be okay or she could have a booster and that will cover her as long as she has it a minimum of 7 days prior to travel.

[Javert1969]

5 minutes ago, PJ's said:

Is there a reason why she did not have a booster round about May this year? I think that a booster is given approx 6 months after the second vaccine. A quick calculation if the last day of your cruise is round about 15 August shows a total of approx 264 days since her second vaccine. Quite close to the maximum days of 270. I would check with P&O to be absolutely certain that she will be okay or she could have a booster and that will cover her as long as she has it a minimum of 7 days prior to travel.

 

Reason is she just didn’t bother - we reminded her to get a booster but she forgot or whatever, and now it is too late as I don’t think we will be able to get her a booster 7 days before departure as we are already on  another trip and we don’t get back will less than 7 days before sailing date.

 

My concern is that if I call P&O and we can’t sail, there are 4 of us going on 3 separate bookings, so we then have no valid reason to cancel the other 2 bookings so we will then lose the money / credits.

 

However, when I read the P&O terms it seems pretty clear to me that they cannot refuse boarding if her return date will be less than 270 days since second dose.  

[PJ's]

If you have definitely calculated that there is less than 270 days between her second vaccine and return date from cruise then you should be okay. You do have to show your vaccine record at embarkation and you now have to do a LFT test and confirm this at the ship although you do not need a certificate to prove that you are negative. She'll probably be okay by the skin of her teeth. Maybe she needs to book a booster on your return home?

[Javert1969]

3 minutes ago, PJ's said:

If you have definitely calculated that there is less than 270 days between her second vaccine and return date from cruise then you should be okay. You do have to show your vaccine record at embarkation and you now have to do a LFT test and confirm this at the ship although you do not need a certificate to prove that you are negative. She'll probably be okay by the skin of her teeth. Maybe she needs to book a booster on your return home?

 

Oh I will make sure she gets a booster even before we leave but it won’t be within the 7 days, but she should still pass under the 270 day rule - if I had known she had not done it I would have driven her to get it last week!

 

She also has a record of +ve Covid test in March this year so she will have got some immunity from that as well but I don’t think that counts for anything by P&O.

 

When you say “show your vaccine record at embarkation” what does that mean - you have to show that you submitted a negative test result to NHS?

 

 

[PJ's]

No you don't have to show a negative test just confirm that you have taken a LFT test within 2 days of embarkation which shows negative. You also have to complete the health declaration which is on your CP and also have to confirm this again at the terminal. Everyone has to be vaccinated in order to board the ship and they have to show confirmation of this. Have you downloaded the NHS app? Your vaccine record shows on there and you can print it off (which is the best way) to show at the terminal. All the information is on the website and should have been emailed to you.

[Javert1969]

10 minutes ago, PJ's said:

No you don't have to show a negative test just confirm that you have taken a LFT test within 2 days of embarkation which shows negative. You also have to complete the health declaration which is on your CP and also have to confirm this again at the terminal. Everyone has to be vaccinated in order to board the ship and they have to show confirmation of this. Have you downloaded the NHS app? Your vaccine record shows on there and you can print it off (which is the best way) to show at the terminal. All the information is on the website and should have been emailed to you.

 

Yeah this is all fine we have the app and so on - I was only confused because what our cruise booking agent told us was not quite the same in detail as what is on the web site, and even on the website it’s a bit confusing because the final paragraph implies that everyone must have a booster “where applicable” but I think that comment applies to the Jansen single dose vaccine.

[PJ's]

Yes that's correct.  "where applicable" also means if it's more than 270 days since 2nd vaccine given and then a booster is definitely needed. Have a great cruise.