BERMUDA TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION?

[treehugr]

For those who have been through the application process...how far out did you get your approval email from the cruise?

[chuckrock12]

We applied about a month out from our cruise and got the approval 4 days before we sailed.

[Wineaux007]

We had to respond to the email that they sent saying they received our application, asking for the status after about 2 weeks.  Got approval the next day.

[Mdta]

The authorization comes from the Bermuda government not the cruise line. Since cruises are back to full capacity it’s taking longer for approval to be processed but you will have it in time. I got mine 4 days prior to sailing.

[treehugr]

16 minutes ago, Mdta said:

The authorization comes from the Bermuda government not the cruise line. 

Yep, understand that part. Probably poorly worded on my part, I wanted to know how far out from the cruise would I receive from Bermuda. 

[long4acruise]

07 Jul - applied for our Bermuda TA 

13 Jul - mine was approved 

15 Jul - husband's was approved

28 Jul - Enchantment cruise - full capacity!

 

Edited August 21, 2022 by long4acruise

[Williamsburgcruiser]

Just another stress factor to add to this trip.  Bummer.  I  know Bermuda is trying to recoup money lost from tourism,  but with ships back to full capacity,  and Bermuda accepting unvaccinated, the backlog will only grow.

[SandG]

I submitted one month before the cruise and got our approval 9 days before the cruise.  But fellow passengers who submitted theirs only 2 weeks early got the approval on the same day I did.  I'm still happy I did it early because others who waited to the last minute were really stressing out over it.

[joyandjerry]

15 hours ago, Williamsburgcruiser said:

Just another stress factor to add to this trip.  Bummer.  I  know Bermuda is trying to recoup money lost from tourism,  but with ships back to full capacity,  and Bermuda accepting unvaccinated, the backlog will only grow.

On our cruise in May, in addition to applying, we had to upload negative test results two days before. If you didn't get a TA back in time, you could not board the ship. Total mess and stress. Many had to get it on the ship, government was overwhelmed. Now you don't have to upload the test.

[kitty-sail]

Leaving in 10 days and have not received approval yet.  Applied for authorization Aug 1st and still have received an okay. Getting anxious about this process.

[joyandjerry]

58 minutes ago, kitty-sail said:

Leaving in 10 days and have not received approval yet.  Applied for authorization Aug 1st and still have received an okay. Getting anxious about this process.

Try emailing them, as it has worked for others.

[Mdta]

For my August 6th cruise to Bermuda I didn’t receive it until August 2nd. They are processed based on your departure date.

[AK Dreaming]

Cruise date 8/29 received yesterday

 

[RMLincoln]

We depart Sunday 28 August, party of 5. 3 have received their approvals, one yesterday. Two of us are still waiting.  I’m encouraged to read here that some didn’t get theirs until 4 days out. Thanks for this info!  
 

I don’t want to wait until Friday, last business day, to email or call them but I will do so Thursday morning if we haven’t gotten the last two. That would be 3 days out. Still staying hopeful, for the Bermuda TAs and for Friday when we test for COVID!  
 

Not sure I’d have booked Bermuda if I knew all this then….  And rules keep changing. But it was a very good price and a time the grandkids could get off work, so again, still hopeful!  Living life has risks but not living life is too dismal…. We did too much of that 2020-2021!  Happy, healthy cruising all!  m—

[joyandjerry]

52 minutes ago, RMLincoln said:

 

Not sure I’d have booked Bermuda if I knew all this then….  And rules keep changing.

It will all work out. Read the hell others (like me) went through for sailings where you have to upload test results and wait fo the approval to board the ship. Mass confusion, hours delay boarding and unbelievable stress. The sailing immediately after ours, that rule was changed.

[Starry Eyes]

I’m considering a (relatively) last minute booking of a Bermuda cruise from Port Canaveral, but I am concerned about the authorization process.

Can you offer opinions: how far in advance you need to book&submit TA to be comfortable you’d get your authorization in time?  30 days?  20 days?  10 days?

[njhorseman]

5 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

I’m considering a (relatively) last minute booking of a Bermuda cruise from Port Canaveral, but I am concerned about the authorization process.

Can you offer opinions: how far in advance you need to book&submit TA to be comfortable you’d get your authorization in time?  30 days?  20 days?  10 days?

14 days should be fine.  Even 10. They prefer that you do it as early as 30 days out but the reality is that they process the applications in embarkation date order, not application filing date order.

[joyandjerry]

50 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

I’m considering a (relatively) last minute booking of a Bermuda cruise from Port Canaveral, but I am concerned about the authorization process.

Can you offer opinions: how far in advance you need to book&submit TA to be comfortable you’d get your authorization in time?  30 days?  20 days?  10 days?

This spring they got overwhelmed with requests due to increased demand. The demand would be lesser now, and (hopefully) they are more efficient. Even at the height of the mess with the TA, a call or email helped.

[RMLincoln]

Finally! Received the last 2 of 5 TA approvals today, Wednesday before a Sunday departure. 
 

So what do we do with them?  Are electronic versions on smartphone ok to show at embarkation? Or do we need hard copies?  There’s a barcode on the Waiver so I m hoping somebody at the embarkation terminal can scan that. Will bring hard copies too but our printer isn’t perfect, and only B&W. 
Thanks for all the encouragement here!  
Maureen 

[joyandjerry]

36 minutes ago, RMLincoln said:

Finally! Received the last 2 of 5 TA approvals today, Wednesday before a Sunday departure. 
 

So what do we do with them?  Are electronic versions on smartphone ok to show at embarkation? Or do we need hard copies?  There’s a barcode on the Waiver so I m hoping somebody at the embarkation terminal can scan that. Will bring hard copies too but our printer isn’t perfect, and only B&W. 
Thanks for all the encouragement here!  
Maureen 

I'm a file cabinet gal. Always have paper copies! Sometimes they are faster than e copies.

[canderson]

I am thoroughly confused.  The Celebrity site (and another) indicate that part of the paperwork process for obtaining the Bermuda TA is to upload negative test results (I assume images in some format or another).  Obviously, no negative test would be worth the bits wasted in sending it if taken 30 days out from embarkation.  So what is the real timing, please, from anyone who has actually been through this process?

 

You can start the form 30 days out.  Recommendation from Bermuda is to have it done within 14 days out.  How can you possibly fill in the form, pay your money, and get a positive response back from Bermuda any sooner than 2 days before a cruise if they require test results that won't be known until 2 days before the cruise?  What am I missing here?

 

What is the actual timeline for paperwork, $40, uploading test results, obtaining confirmation(s)?

 

 

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, canderson said:

I am thoroughly confused.  The Celebrity site (and another) indicate that part of the paperwork process for obtaining the Bermuda TA is to upload negative test results (I assume images in some format or another).  Obviously, no negative test would be worth the bits wasted in sending it if taken 30 days out from embarkation.  So what is the real timing, please, from anyone who has actually been through this process?

 

You can start the form 30 days out.  Recommendation from Bermuda is to have it done within 14 days out.  How can you possibly fill in the form, pay your money, and get a positive response back from Bermuda any sooner than 2 days before a cruise if they require test results that won't be known until 2 days before the cruise?  What am I missing here?

 

What is the actual timeline for paperwork, $40, uploading test results, obtaining confirmation(s)?

 

 

I’m not sure what you are reading from Celebrity, but Bermuda no longer requires the submission of test results to it as part of the Travel Authorization process.  The only tests required now are pre-embarkation tests that cruisers present to the ship before boarding, and shipboard tests if the cruise will take more than four days to reach Bermuda. This is all spelled out on Bermuda’s web site:

 

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

 

Edited to add:  I see what you are reading from Celebrity.  (“Bermuda requires all guests to complete an online Travel Authorization form, upload their negative test results, and pay an associated fee directly through Bermuda’s dedicated website located here.”) This is outdated, as the Bermuda site to which it links (the one that I linked above) shows. Not the first time Celebrity failed to fact-check its web site and remove obsolete language. 

Edited August 27, 2022 by Turtles06

[canderson]

6 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I’m not sure what you are reading from Celebrity, but Bermuda no longer requires the submission of test results to it as part of the Travel Authorization process.  The only tests required now are pre-embarkation tests that cruisers present to the ship before boarding, and shipboard tests if the cruise will take more than four days to reach Bermuda. This is all spelled out on Bermuda’s web site:

 

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

 

Edited to add:  I see what you are reading from Celebrity.  (“Bermuda requires all guests to complete an online Travel Authorization form, upload their negative test results, and pay an associated fee directly through Bermuda’s dedicated website located here.”) This is outdated, as the Bermuda site to which it links (the one that I linked above) shows. Not the first time Celebrity failed to fact-check its web site and remove obsolete language. 

Now on Celebrity's site:

 

"Bermuda Travel Authorization: The Bermuda government requires that all guests complete an online Travel Authorization form, upload their negative test results, and pay an associated fee directly through Bermuda’s dedicated website located here. "

A receipt of this form, digital or paper copy will need to be presented at check-in in order to board the ship. If this is not completed, it will cause delays at the terminal. This form is available beginning 30 days prior to sailing and all guests must present their approved authorization form in order to board their sailing."

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, canderson said:

Now on Celebrity's site:

 

"Bermuda Travel Authorization: The Bermuda government requires that all guests complete an online Travel Authorization form, upload their negative test results, and pay an associated fee directly through Bermuda’s dedicated website located here. "

A receipt of this form, digital or paper copy will need to be presented at check-in in order to board the ship. If this is not completed, it will cause delays at the terminal. This form is available beginning 30 days prior to sailing and all guests must present their approved authorization form in order to board their sailing."

 

Yes, I saw that as I noted in the edit of my reply to you.  As I said, Celebrity's web site is incorrect.  As we've all seen, cruise line web sites are too often wrong.  Fact-checking, supervision of communications, reading comprehension...sorely lacking and inexcusable. 

 

While we should be entitled to rely on what a cruise line tell us, the bottom line is that we, as travelers, need to know what is required of us by international destinations.  Here, it is simple to read the Bermuda Travel Authorization web site.  Celebrity linked to it, but did not read the rules correctly, lazily leaving in the very outdated requirement that travelers upload their negative test results to Bermuda.  (Bermuda eliminated the required upload of test results back in June.)

[nzdisneymom]

16 hours ago, canderson said:

What is the actual timeline for paperwork, $40, uploading test results, obtaining confirmation(s)?

 

 

As for the timeline, it seems the TA approvals are coming 7-8 days ahead of embarkation dates.  We submitted ours in early August for a Sept 3 departure; we got one approval yesterday and had to resubmit the second one as the vax records didn't make it.  We resubmitted those yesterday and got the approval today.  The approvals say this about COVID testing, but the cruise line may have different requirements.  (For example, our RCCL sailing says tests 2 days in advance including the PCRs.)

IMPORTANT NOTES: A Negative COVID Test is REQUIRED to board the ship. Please have your test in hand along with your Vaccine Certificate. What is an accepted Test? Supervised ANTIGEN up to 2 days before embarkation OR COVID-19 NAAT test (PCR, LAMP or TMA) up to 4 days before embarkation.

 

It looks like they prioritize requests based on airline arrivals, ship departures, etc.  When you apply, you select your ship and sailing date, so I suspect the application goes into a queue that they work on when it's about a week out to give time to fix anything (like what we had to do).  Hope this helps.