How long will Celebrity require Pre-Cruise Testing?

[stevenr597]

It appears that Carnival Corporation is going ahead with plans to eliminate the need for pre-cruise tsting on most of its cruises.  Wonder if Celebrity will be eliminating testing requirements in the near future.   

[Ipeeinthepools]

Celebrity will continue pre-cruise testing as long as the ports they visit require the testing.  It's that simple.

[davekathy]

My Magic 8 Ball says, "cannot predict now. Ask again later". 🎱 Hopefully Canada and Celebrity will end this nonsence before 21 September. 😂 Wishful thinking, delouginal... We all know, wish in one hand and s$%t in the other and see which one fills up first.

Edited August 13, 2022 by davekathy

[phoenix_dream]

16 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Celebrity will continue pre-cruise testing as long as the ports they visit require the testing.  It's that simple.

Exactly.  If the ports require it (like Canada) then it will be required.

[bigbenboys]

Argentina requires us to do a PCR test to cruise from their port. Also Argentina is requiring medical insurance coverage to fly into Argentina. Our health insurance is you pay the bill and we will pay as in network. I have put the cruise on hold for now. Where is that magic 8 ball.

Our next cruise ends in Vancouver. I already have the E-Med kits and ArriveCan app. I even got my E-Doc and luggage tags at 30 days out.

 

This is from the US Embassy in Argentina. "For cruise ships:  Only a negative COVID-19 PCR test (not antigen) administered no more than 72 hours prior to the departure of the cruise ship will be accepted.

Provide evidence of medical travel insurance that includes hospitalization, quarantine, and transportation coverage for COVID-19."

[catlover2027]

We are cruising on the Celebrity Flora 8/21, going to Quito Ecuador first.  Ecuador seems ok with proof of vaccination from the US but the cruise out of Baltra, Galapagos requires a pre-cruise COVID test which Celebrity administers.  AND as bigbenboys noted, we need proof of medical insurance including emergency evacuation insurance to cruise out of Baltra.

 

Eileen Derrick

[Virginia100]

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Celebrity will continue pre-cruise testing as long as the ports they visit require the testing.  It's that simple.

Then cruises to the Caribbean need no pre cruise test. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

20 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

Argentina requires us to do a PCR test to cruise from their port. Also Argentina is requiring medical insurance coverage to fly into Argentina. Our health insurance is you pay the bill and we will pay as in network. I have put the cruise on hold for now. Where is that magic 8 ball.

Our next cruise ends in Vancouver. I already have the E-Med kits and ArriveCan app. I even got my E-Doc and luggage tags at 30 days out.

 

This is from the US Embassy in Argentina. "For cruise ships:  Only a negative COVID-19 PCR test (not antigen) administered no more than 72 hours prior to the departure of the cruise ship will be accepted.

Provide evidence of medical travel insurance that includes hospitalization, quarantine, and transportation coverage for COVID-19."

 

We are planning an Antarctica trip later this year so I have also been following this issue.  There are really two questions here: Covid tests and medical insurance.  The medical insurance seems to be included in an online form that you need to complete before departure.  Travel insurance that says it has pandemic coverage seems to cover that and GeoBlue also can produce a letter that confirms coverage if you carry GeoBlue.  I will carry a copy of the travel insurance policy as well as the GeoBlue letter if challenged for documentation.  In our case, the cruise originates from a hotel in Buenos Aries and the cruise line will conduct any required tests. 

 

Good Luck

[Ipeeinthepools]

7 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

Then cruises to the Caribbean need no pre cruise test. 

 

The Caribbean is more than one country so there are different rules for different countries.

[wrk2cruise]

4 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

Then cruises to the Caribbean need no pre cruise test. 

 

Why do you say that?   Many of those ports require vaccination which is why the FL departures still require it.   I believe many of the islands require testing before arrival for tourists.  There's a discussion on our roll call right now about St Kitts who require it for all tourists.  Many islands (including St Kitts) that have the requirements haven't required testing for cruise port stops.   I'd assume that's due to negotiations between the ports and cruiseline convincing them their covid requirement of pre-cruise testing and vaccination were an acceptable alternative.

 

I believe the lines are re-negotiating with these ports as they would like to drop the requirements for profitability reasons.   Remember many of these ports are poor and have lower vaccination rates and less medical  capability.

 

[Virginia100]

Just now, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

The Caribbean is more than one country so there are different rules for different countries.

The Covid test to enter nearly all of them are now gone. 

[Virginia100]

4 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

Why do you say that?   Many of those ports require vaccination which is why the FL departures still require it.   I believe many of the islands require testing before arrival for tourists.  There's a discussion on our roll call right now about St Kitts who require it for all tourists.  Many islands (including St Kitts) that have the requirements haven't required testing for cruise port stops.   I'd assume that's due to negotiations between the ports and cruiseline convincing them their covid requirement of pre-cruise testing and vaccination were an acceptable alternative.

 

I believe the lines are re-negotiating with these ports as they would like to drop the requirements for profitability reasons.   Remember many of these ports are poor and have lower vaccination rates and less medical  capability.

 

No Covid test required to enter for USVI, BVI, Grenada, St Martin, Barbados, Anguilla, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Antigua, etc. Only questions still is St Kitts, Grenadines and Tobago. All require vaccination. That’s not my point.

[wrk2cruise]

Still not sure what your point is and I don't care.  Testing will be required until it's not.

[Virginia100]

13 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

Still not sure what your point is and I don't care.  Testing will be required until it's not.

My point is if all these islands do not require a test to enter if vaccinated then what’s the premise of a pre cruise test and one that NCL, Regent, Carnival and now Princess eliminated if vaccinated. The fact you don’t care is irrelevant to me.

[Ipeeinthepools]

5 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

My point is if all these islands do not require a test to enter if vaccinated then what’s the premise of a pre cruise test and one that NCL, Regent, Carnival and now Princess eliminated if vaccinated. The fact you don’t care is irrelevant to me.

 

The earliest any of those cruise lines go to St Kitts, for example is the beginning of November, so maybe they can ignore those requirements for now.  Maybe you found the answer.

[Virginia100]

16 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

The earliest any of those cruise lines go to St Kitts, for example is the beginning of November, so maybe they can ignore those requirements for now.  Maybe you found the answer.

I’m on the Nov 5 cruise out of San Juan on the Millennium that’s visits St Kitts. They have a very large number of excursions to pick from. The most I have seen for an island in some time. So it seems no test for St Kitts. St Kitts is day 3.

[Ipeeinthepools]

7 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

I’m on the Nov 5 cruise out of San Juan on the Millennium that’s visits St Kitts. They have a very large number of excursions to pick from. The most I have seen for an island in some time. So it seems no test for St Kitts. St Kitts is day 3.

 

I'm sorry, maybe it's me but I don't see how you connect the dots.  What does the number of shore excursions and the timing of your arrival in St Kitts have to do with pre-cruise testing for a 7-day cruise?

Edited August 13, 2022 by Ipeeinthepools

[Jeremiah1212]

32 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

My point is if all these islands do not require a test to enter if vaccinated then what’s the premise of a pre cruise test and one that NCL, Regent, Carnival and now Princess eliminated if vaccinated. The fact you don’t care is irrelevant to me.

Those cruise lines aren’t foregoing tests at ports that require it. Once they can stop, they will. It’s not the cruise lines making the decision at this point. They’ve made it clear they do not want to require testing but it’s not always their decision to make. 

 

[wrk2cruise]

56 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

The earliest any of those cruise lines go to St Kitts, for example is the beginning of November, so maybe they can ignore those requirements for now.  Maybe you found the answer.

 

My sailing on Equinox calls on St Kitts on 9/5 but that's neither here nor there.   It's going to be agreements between RCG and the ports on what will or won't be required.  I'm sure they are working on relaxing things.

[Ipeeinthepools]

52 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

My sailing on Equinox calls on St Kitts on 9/5 but that's neither here nor there.   It's going to be agreements between RCG and the ports on what will or won't be required.  I'm sure they are working on relaxing things.

 

Maybe I wasn't clear, Celebrity has sailings that go to St Kitts and Celebrity is doing testing.  The cruise lines that aren't doing the testing aren't going to St Kitts any November.  I guess the other cruise lines are betting that requirements will change before they are schedule to get there or they will need to make other adjustments.

[stevenr597]

5 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

Still not sure what your point is and I don't care.  Testing will be required until it's not.

But....NCL which has been probably the strictest in respect to vaccinations and testings, no longer requires it.  Carnival Corporation has stated that they will not require pre-cruise testing for cruises less than 16 days in length.  

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 minute ago, stevenr597 said:

But....NCL which has been probably the strictest in respect to vaccinations and testings, no longer requires it.  Carnival Corporation has stated that they will not require pre-cruise testing for cruises less than 16 days in length.  

 

 

It depends on the ports visited by the cruise lines.  All of the cruise lines don't go to the same ports.

[NMTraveller]

I am thinking about an Alaska cruise for next year,  but not while they have the restrictions in place.  Can't they just skip Canada until they are open for business?

[Ipeeinthepools]

12 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I am thinking about an Alaska cruise for next year,  but not while they have the restrictions in place.  Can't they just skip Canada until they are open for business?

 

Nope.  It's the law.

[njhorseman]

12 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I am thinking about an Alaska cruise for next year,  but not while they have the restrictions in place.  Can't they just skip Canada until they are open for business?

The Passenger Vessel Services Act requires foreign-flagged cruise ships to make a port call in a foreign country. Celebrity's ships are flagged in Malta so they fall under this restriction...hence the port call in Canada.

Last year, when Canada was totally closed to cruising the US enacted a short term law effective just for the 2021 cruise season permitting foreign-flagged ships to do Alaska itineraries with having to make a port call in Canada. The purpose of the law was to help towns in Alaska that depended heavily on money spent by cruise passengers to get some economic relief  .