Changes to Bermuda rules for cruise ship passengers, effective August 22, 2022

[Turtles06]

"Effective August 22, 2022, the following changes to travel policy will take effect for cruise ship passengers:

- To travel to Bermuda, unvaccinated and not fully vaccinated cruise passengers will be required to submit in their travel authorization application BOTH a valid pre-arrival test AND proof of overseas travel health insurance:

Valid Proof of Travel Health Insurance includes a certificate of insurance, letter from insurer or medical declaration of insurance or travel insurance which states:

- Insurer name and address

- insured traveller’s name

- confirmation medical expenses are covered, including COVID-19 coverage (or "all medical expenses"), and,

- Period of coverage: that is, insurance coverage start date and end date

- Unvaccinated and not fully vaccinated visitors 12 years and older will no longer be required to provide proof of medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination

- In order to disembark in Bermuda, unvaccinated and not fully vaccinated cruise passengers 12 years and older must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 2 days before arrival to Bermuda.

- Unvaccinated children 11 and under can enter Bermuda with a vaccinated or unvaccinated parent or guardian. Those children will be assessed on the vaccination status of the parent or guardian travelling with them.

-Fully vaccinated passengers must take either a COVID-19 NAAT test taken no more than 2 days before arrival, or a supervised antigen test no more than 2 days before arrival.

-Unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated passengers must take either a COVID-19 NAAT test taken no more than 4 days before arrival (strongly recommended), or a supervised antigen test no more than 2 days before arrival.

-Unvaccinated travellers with TAs approved before August 22 who are travelling after August 22 will not have to submit proof of travel health insurance, but they will be held to the new testing and quarantine requirements on arrival (no quarantine, no day 10 test, and no arrival test if they have a valid pre-travel test)

-Unvaccinated travellers with a TA submitted before August 22 but TA not yet approved will be held to the new requirements."

 

Please see the full Bermuda "Cruise Passenger Travel Authorisation" web site here:

 

https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

 

[Note: I wonder if the reference to fully vaxxed passengers having the option to take a NAAT test (PCR test) no more than 2 days before arrival is a typo; that option is currently 4 days, and the summary table still says 4 days.]

 

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Turtles06

[ysolde]

Interesting.  DH and I will be on a Med cruise that will then be crossing the Atlantic, stopping by Bermuda along the way.  The only way to get a Covid test two days prior to the ship's arrival in Bermuda would be if we got the test on board the ship itself.  I wonder whether NCL will make those arrangements.  Hmm . . .

[Turtles06]

2 minutes ago, ysolde said:

Interesting.  DH and I will be on a Med cruise that will then be crossing the Atlantic, stopping by Bermuda along the way.  The only way to get a Covid test two days prior to the ship's arrival in Bermuda would be if we got the test on board the ship itself.  I wonder whether NCL will make those arrangements.  Hmm . . .

 

My guess all along has been that the fall westbound transatlantics, whatever the cruise line, will skip Bermuda rather than test everyone on board. 

[Charles4515]

32 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

[Note: I wonder if the reference to fully vaxxed passengers having the option to take a NAAT test (PCR test) no more than 2 days before arrival is a typo; that option is currently 4 days, and the summary table still says 4 days.]

 

 

I think it is a typo. That they cut and pasted from air arrivals. In the article in Bernews it says 2 days before departing port.

 

https://bernews.com/2022/08/unvaccinated-travelers-allowed-island/

[cruiseny4life]

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll find the information for vaccinated passengers which is the same as what the chart outlines. Thankfully, those of us that are vaccinated face no changes to the testing regime. Please, correct me if I'm wrong in that assertion!

 

Source: https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

[dcipjr]

I am super confused by this...is there a change for vaccinated travelers?

 

>Fully vaccinated passengers must take either a COVID-19 NAAT test taken no more than 2 days before arrival, or a supervised antigen test no more than 2 days before arrival.

 

Before arrival? Surely they mean before embarkation?

 

What about on voyages where the ship takes longer than 4 days to arrive in Bermuda? Has that requirement been removed?

 

At first I thought that nothing changed for vaccinated travelers, because of the Summary Table on that page, but then I noticed that the table wasn't updated to include unvaccinated travelers over the age of 12, so it must be out of date.

 

Once again, clear as mud... 

Edited August 18, 2022 by dcipjr

[Charles4515]

59 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll find the information for vaccinated passengers which is the same as what the chart outlines. Thankfully, those of us that are vaccinated face no changes to the testing regime. Please, correct me if I'm wrong in that assertion!

 

Source: https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

What it says at the bottom is what I think they mean. I think someone botched the top, cut and pasted or something from the air arrival requirements.

[Charles4515]

58 minutes ago, dcipjr said:

 

What about on voyages where the ship takes longer than 4 days to arrive in Bermuda? Has that requirement been removed?

 

That remains the same.

[NYMama]

Do the ships provide Covid tests if the Bermuda port stop is towards the end of a cruise?  Bermuda is the last stop on our 8 day cruise in February.

[NYMama]

1 minute ago, NYMama said:

Do the ships provide Covid tests if the Bermuda port stop is towards the end of a cruise?  Bermuda is the last stop on our 8 day cruise in February.

Clarifying:  I know per the fine print it has to be done by the ships medical team, but is it free or will I be paying an outrageous amount of money for Covid tests on ship just to get off in Bermuda.

[Turtles06]

17 minutes ago, NYMama said:

Do the ships provide Covid tests if the Bermuda port stop is towards the end of a cruise?  Bermuda is the last stop on our 8 day cruise in February.   

22 minutes ago, NYMama said:

Clarifying:  I know per the fine print it has to be done by the ships medical team, but is it free or will I be paying an outrageous amount of money for Covid tests on ship just to get off in Bermuda.

 

 

I hope folks will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's really been much if any experience yet with ships calling at Bermuda more than 4 days from embarkation, at least from the East Coast. Cruise lines with such sailings to Bermuda rearranged itineraries to avoid just such a scenario.  They don't want to have to test a ship full of people, nor do they want to find and have to deal with a bunch of covid-19-positive guests.   

 

February is a long way off.  Anything could change by then.

[NYMama]

Just now, Turtles06 said:

 

I hope folks will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's really been much if any experience yet with ships calling at Bermuda more than 4 days from embarkation, at least from the East Coast. Cruise lines with such sailings to Bermuda rearranged itineraries to avoid just such a scenario.  They don't want to have to test a ship full of people, nor do they want to find and have to deal with a bunch of covid-19-positive guests.   

 

February is a long way off.  Anything could change by then.

Thanks.  I know February is a long ways out.  Hopefully requirements change or they switch the itinerary around and maybe do it in reverse.  I know when I booked that I agreed to go with the flow on port changes, but I would be super bummed if Bermuda was completely dropped.

[schmoopie17]

1 minute ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I hope folks will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's really been much if any experience yet with ships calling at Bermuda more than 4 days from embarkation, at least from the East Coast. Cruise lines with such sailings to Bermuda rearranged itineraries to avoid just such a scenario.  They don't want to have to test a ship full of people, nor do they want to find and have to deal with a bunch of covid-19-positive guests.   

 

February is a long way off.  Anything could change by then.

Our November 1st TA is 16 days long, with Bermuda being the last stop before New York.

[Turtles06]

1 minute ago, schmoopie17 said:

Our November 1st TA is 16 days long, with Bermuda being the last stop before New York.

 

Yes, there are a number of westbound TAs across the cruise lines this Fall that have a scheduled port call to Bermuda before reaching the East Coast.  My prediction has been that if the rules don't change by then, Bermuda will be skipped by at least some of these ships.  It's just hard to envision the ships wanting to test everyone on board, for the reasons I mentioned above (and especially for those cruises where the port call to Bermuda is only for part of a day). 

[schmoopie17]

11 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Yes, there are a number of westbound TAs across the cruise lines this Fall that have a scheduled port call to Bermuda before reaching the East Coast.  My prediction has been that if the rules don't change by then, Bermuda will be skipped by at least some of these ships.  It's just hard to envision the ships wanting to test everyone on board, for the reasons I mentioned above (and especially for those cruises where the port call to Bermuda is only for part of a day). 

The new rule states. "In order to disembark in Bermuda, unvaccinated and not fully vaccinated cruise passengers 12 years and older must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 2 days before arrival to Bermuda."

 

So...the old rule said everyone, regardless of whether or not you are dismbarking, needed to be tested...at embarkation and again two days before landing in Bermuda. I assume this new rule eliminates the "embarkation testing"...which made no sense, since we are embarking in Rome 15 days before landing in Bermuda...where there is no testing requirement for NCL...only to be tested on the ship again two days before landing in Bermuda.

 

So if it only applies to diembarking passengers, I can see where this will be a nightmare for cruise ship staff. Not only will they have to test the majority of passengers (those planning to disembark), but will also need to check the status of everyone who actually disembarks to make sure they've been tested.

 

I'm now hoping that NCL decides to skip Bermuda altogether due to all the hoop-jumping required.

Edited August 18, 2022 by schmoopie17

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll find the information for vaccinated passengers which is the same as what the chart outlines. Thankfully, those of us that are vaccinated face no changes to the testing regime. Please, correct me if I'm wrong in that assertion!

 

Source: https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

@schmoopie17 - I'm being a silly ego guy by quoting myself....but all you need to do is read the information above and you'll know that vaccinated passengers still need a test prior to embarkation, and a test 2 days, or less, prior to arriving in Bermuda. Sorry to burst your bubble...also I much enjoy Bermuda, so if you don't like it, just don't go. Let those that don't mind the hoop de hoop circus enjoy it. 

4 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

The new rule states. "In order to disembark in Bermuda, unvaccinated and not fully vaccinated cruise passengers 12 years and older must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 2 days before arrival to Bermuda."

 

So...the old rule said everyone, regardless of whether or not you are dismbarking, needed to be tested...at embarkation and again two days before landing in Bermuda. I assume this new rule eliminates the "embarkation testing"...which made no sense, since we are embarking in Rome 15 days before landing in Bermuda...where there is no testing requirement for NCL...only to be tested on the ship again two days before landing in Bermuda.

 

So if it only applies to diembarking passengers, I can see where this will be a nightmare for cruise ship staff. Not only will they have to test the majority of passengers (those planning to disembark), but will also need to check the status of everyone who actually disembarks to make sure they've been tested.

 

I'm now hoping that NCL decides to skip Bermuda altogether due to all the hoop-jumping required.

 

[schmoopie17]

6 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Sorry to burst your bubble...also I much enjoy Bermuda, so if you don't like it, just don't go. Let those that don't mind the hoop de hoop circus enjoy it. 

 

Just don't go?? Seriously?? It's not like I have a choice...unless I jump ship between the Azores and Bermuda. And unless I want to cancel and eat the majority of our payment, since we're after final payment.

Edited August 18, 2022 by schmoopie17

[schmoopie17]

9 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

@schmoopie17 - I'm being a silly ego guy by quoting myself....but all you need to do is read the information above and you'll know that vaccinated passengers still need a test prior to embarkation, and a test 2 days, or less, prior to arriving in Bermuda. Sorry to burst your bubble... 

 

What you pasted regarding testing prior to embarkation applies to cruises that take four days or less to get to Bermuda from the embarkation port. We will be arriving in Bermuda on day 15 of our cruise. 

 

All it says regarding four days or more from embarkation is a test no more than two days before coming ashore.

[cruiseny4life]

8 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

What you pasted regarding testing prior to embarkation applies to cruises that take four days or less to get to Bermuda from the embarkation port. We will be arriving in Bermuda on day 15 of our cruise. 

 

All it says regarding four days or more from embarkation is a test no more than two days before coming ashore.

That's correct = NCL will test you on board. And, based on Bermuda's current vaccinated person regulations - you'll need to test within 4 days of embarking for your lovely journey. 

 

I can't wait until I take a trans-Atlantic...all those sea days to soak up the warmth of the thermal suite. Ahhhhh, that would be perfection. 

15 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Just don't go?? Seriously?? It's not like I have a choice...unless I jump ship between the Azores and Bermuda. And unless I want to cancel and eat the majority of our payment, since we're after final payment.

I mean...you didn't have to book the cruise. 

 

I suppose you can hope that the Turtles poster is correct and NCL will just divert from Bermuda due to the regulations. 

 

[Turtles06]

14 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

What you pasted regarding testing prior to embarkation applies to cruises that take four days or less to get to Bermuda from the embarkation port. We will be arriving in Bermuda on day 15 of our cruise. 

 

All it says regarding four days or more from embarkation is a test no more than two days before coming ashore.

 

I do think that @cruiseny4life is reading the rules correctly.  I don't think there have been any changes to the testing requirements for fully vaxxed guests, including when the ship arrives in Bermuda more than 4 days from embarkation.   The web page still says: 

 

Cruise voyages that take more than 4 days to get to Bermuda from the embarkation port:

All passengers regardless of vaccination status must undergo a further supervised antigen or COVID-19 NAAT on-board, by the ships medical team, no more than 2 days before passengers are to come ashore in Bermuda. 

 

[NB: I added the emphasis to the word "further" --  Bermuda's use of that word indicates a prior test had to be taken, i.e., the pre-embarkation test.  I agree it's silly for TAs that don't arrive in Bermuda for two weeks after the ships left Europe...I think we'll all need to see how Bermuda fixes their site after August 22 when the updated rules take effect.]

 

https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

[AK Dreaming]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I hope folks will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's really been much if any experience yet with ships calling at Bermuda more than 4 days from embarkation, at least from the East Coast. Cruise lines with such sailings to Bermuda rearranged itineraries to avoid just such a scenario.  They don't want to have to test a ship full of people, nor do they want to find and have to deal with a bunch of covid-19-positive guests.   

 

February is a long way off.  Anything could change by then.

 I board Sept 3 and we don't get to Bermuda for 5 days.  I was hoping for the need to test to change but it looks like it will not.  I am expecting a lot of waiting.  

[spanishguy1970]

17 hours ago, ysolde said:

Interesting.  DH and I will be on a Med cruise that will then be crossing the Atlantic, stopping by Bermuda along the way.  The only way to get a Covid test two days prior to the ship's arrival in Bermuda would be if we got the test on board the ship itself.  I wonder whether NCL will make those arrangements.  Hmm . . .

exactly, We are on the Escape Nov 1 and we will be stopping in Bermuda. I would not mind if they remove this island and just give us another sea day. 

Edited August 18, 2022 by spanishguy1970

[Mira28]

Our ship arrives in Bermuda on the 7th day of a 10 day cruise (Getaway from NYC, 9/12-9/22/22.)

It appears that nothing has changed for vaccinated passengers as far as pre cruise testing. It’s also hard to imagine that NCL will test everyone on the ship in the 2 days before arriving there. I don’t know how they’ll manage that. 

[cruiseny4life]

14 minutes ago, Mira28 said:

Our ship arrives in Bermuda on the 7th day of a 10 day cruise (Getaway from NYC, 9/12-9/22/22.)

It appears that nothing has changed for vaccinated passengers as far as pre cruise testing. It’s also hard to imagine that NCL will test everyone on the ship in the 2 days before arriving there. I don’t know how they’ll manage that. 

I'm on the cruise right before you. The only excursions we're doing are in Bermuda, so I'm hoping to get there again...if we don't, I'm totally fine with two extra sea days. Five sea days on a 9 day cruise would be lovely!

 

Alas, I believe NCL was testing passengers back in the spring prior to arrival in Bermuda, so they have a system in place, and as they don't want to antagonize customers, I think they'll just keep Bermuda on both of our itineraries. 

[schmoopie17]

Just to point out the absurdity of the Bermuda rule further...if we were on an around the world cruise embarking in Rome (where no testing is normally required) that left six months before hitting Bermuda as our last stop, they would make us test before even embarking?? Even though we would have to be tested two days before getting to Bermuda. Something tells me if you tested positive a few days before embarking, you'd be over it 180 days later. And if not, they can always get you with the second test...which makes the first test moot.

 

How lame and inane is that?

 

I suppose it's their country and they can make up whatever lame rules they want...like charging everyone $40 and filling out a form, whether or not they get off the ship...no matter how crazy.

Edited August 18, 2022 by schmoopie17