Renewed daily shipboard testing?

[Edmond33]

We have just been notified that there will be daily covid testing on board Jupiter during our South Atlantic Crossing departing Barcelona on November 10th. Does anyone know if other cruises have been affected, and why?

[Jim Avery]

Why?  No longer need to be vaccinated to cruise but spit test every morning?  Makes no sense.  We are booked out of San Juan for Christmas but will probably cancel if they intend to do this silly test for Christmas.

[katlew]

It has been added to our New Zealand/Australia cruise requirements for December as well. From what I understand it has to do with the requirements for cruise passengers entering New South Wales. We also have to test before boarding now. I personally don't think it's a big deal. I guess, I'd rather catch people who are sick as soon as possible than have it turn into a larger outbreak. 

[keokukjoe]

Check MVJ, Pre-Cruise requirements. Recently updated  to show new masking and testing (pre-cruise and/or on-board) requirements for certain countries. This was updated on 10/19.

[Iloveketo]

50 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Why?  No longer need to be vaccinated to cruise but spit test every morning?  Makes no sense.  We are booked out of San Juan for Christmas but will probably cancel if they intend to do this silly test for Christmas.

I checked and it looks like it is mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. 
 

[Iloveketo]

52 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Why?  No longer need to be vaccinated to cruise but spit test every morning?  Makes no sense.  We are booked out of San Juan for Christmas but will probably cancel if they intend to do this silly test for Christmas.

I checked and it looks like it is mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. 
 

[Jim Avery]

That would be good news for Christmas.  At least in the Caribbean...🍹

[katlew]

By the way, I was looking online for more information & Viking is not the only cruise line that just announced new rules for testing, at least for Australia.

[Iloveketo]

Just now, katlew said:

By the way, I was looking online for more information & Viking is not the only cruise line that just announced new rules for testing, at least for Australia.

I think the rules have more to do with what countries the cruise stops in and even the order of the ports, than the cruise-line. 
For example if you go to Panama before Honduras you need a yellow fever vaccination to get off the ship there, but not if you go first to Honduras, then Panama. 

[katlew]

4 minutes ago, Iloveketo said:

I think the rules have more to do with what countries the cruise stops in and even the order of the ports, than the cruise-line. 
For example if you go to Panama before Honduras you need a yellow fever vaccination to get off the ship there, but not if you go first to Honduras, then Panama. 

Exactly. I had seen in some other threads people saying this was Viking being over the top, that’s why I mentioned it.

[trtog7]

I cruised with Viking Jan. This year and was happy everyone had to a daily spit test.

Cruised with HAL in Aug. and no one wore masks and I got Covid.

I would be happy to do a spit test every da6 on a cruise boat.

[Jim Avery]

One persons favorite is another persons deal breaker.

[Peregrina651]

7 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

No longer need to be vaccinated to cruise

 

Viking still requires that guests be vaccinated:

 

[Frenchberet]

3 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

One persons favorite is another persons deal breaker.

Daily testing again?  We’re vaccinated plus 3 boosters.  I can’t imagine dealing with the stress of daily testing on vacation.  This very well may be a deal breaker for our Antarctica cruise.  

[SJD117]

8 minutes ago, Frenchberet said:

Daily testing again?  We’re vaccinated plus 3 boosters.  I can’t imagine dealing with the stress of daily testing on vacation.  This very well may be a deal breaker for our Antarctica cruise.  

Stress? What stress? We tested every day on our March cruise from San Juan to Barcelona. No problem at all. 

[SpiritRiver]

7 hours ago, Iloveketo said:

I checked and it looks like it is mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. 
 

 

[swayingpalms2]

We received an email today for Across the Bay of Bengal -- India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand on Nov. 14, 2022.  This cruise does not sail below the Equator.

 

20OCT2022

Dear Viking Guest,

While most countries have relaxed their travel requirements, some countries in the region you will visit still maintain testing requirements for visitors arriving by cruise ship. Viking ships are among the first to return to the region and we expect—as countries get to recognize the effectiveness of our protocols—these requirements to be lifted over time, possibly even ahead of your arrival. However, out of an abundance of caution and to ensure you can freely travel along your entire itinerary, we are temporarily reinstating some COVID-19 protocols for itineraries that visit the southern hemisphere. As you know, your itinerary is one of these.

As your departure nears, please ensure the following:

• Verify your COVID-19 vaccination status using VeriFLY.
• Viking strongly recommends that you take a COVID-19 Test prior to traveling.

Along your itinerary: Frequent PCR testing will be administered as needed. These tests will be taken in the privacy and comfort of your stateroom.

We will continue to monitor and adjust these temporary measures as necessary and will advise you if there are any further changes prior to your departure.

Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to welcoming you on board.

Sincerely,

Viking

[Jim Avery]

26 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

Stress? What stress? We tested every day on our March cruise from San Juan to Barcelona. No problem at all. 

Lucky you.  Anyone onboard stuck in a cabin on 3 deck for 5 or more days?

[UWDawg]

In my opinion, the daily testing isn't that inconvenient... it's just a morning saliva/spit into a test tube and leave it at your cabin door.  Knowing that we had been tested daily and were not infected was somewhat comforting.  The mandatory wearing of face masks was far more impactful and impeded social activities.

 

That having been said, folks who's sample came back positive had their trip significantly impacted... confined to quarantine quarters for many days.  But at least the proactive testing curtailed the spread of the virus aboard. 

[millybess]

Very nicely worded UWD.  You are right in feeling that you and your wife felt safe that you hadn’t tested positive at a moment in time, and granted, you were on a very long WC. 

 

Our experience in May was quite different. No, we didn’t test positive. But we twice experienced our tests being labelled with other passengers’ names. We told guest relations about it and we were still allowed to continue with our day’s activities. We could have been infected and still socializing with others. We heard of several other people this had happened to.

 

We also talked to two couples whose spouses thought they might have come into contact (coughing, etc) with Covid, so the other spouse did spittings into both tubes to avoid the possibility of quarantine. 

 

In an environment such as a cruise ship, these tests are only safe if they are proctored. 

[tocruiseguy]

9 hours ago, katlew said:

It has been added to our New Zealand/Australia cruise requirements for December as well. From what I understand it has to do with the requirements for cruise passengers entering New South Wales. We also have to test before boarding now. I personally don't think it's a big deal. I guess, I'd rather catch people who are sick as soon as possible than have it turn into a larger outbreak. 

NSW doesn't seem to require a covid test on their website, unless I missed something?

 

https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/travel/international-arrivals

[UWDawg]

14 minutes ago, millybess said:

"...the other spouse did spittings..."

The integrity of a system depends upon the integrity of the individual sub-systems. processes and people involved.  Unfortunately, some people are willing to compromise the health and safety of others so they themselves are not inconvenienced.  A sad situation, but it is what it is.  My brain isn't wired that way.  During the time frame of the 21/22 World Cruise, the daily saliva test was only one component of the comprehensive Covid prevention plan.  Luckily, the Covid situation as subsided to the point where the other aspects of the program are not required at this time.

[katlew]

1 hour ago, tocruiseguy said:

NSW doesn't seem to require a covid test on their website, unless I missed something?

 

https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/travel/international-arrivals

Yeah, I noticed it wasn’t online either, but thought I was missing something too. Apparently from what others have said in other threads, it’s actually a deal the cruise industry made with Australia, because Australia wasn’t going to allow cruises yet. So, I guess the NSW thing wasn’t correct. Either way, we’re just gonna roll with whatever is required & enjoy our cruise. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by katlew

[Cleopatra99]

1 minute ago, katlew said:

Yeah, I noticed it wasn’t online either, but thought I was missing something too. Apparently from what others have said in other threads, it’s actually a deal the cruise industry made with Australia, because Australia wasn’t going to allow cruises yet. So, I guess the NSW thing wasn’t correct. 

FYI ..

 

18_July_Eastern_Seaboard_Cruise_Protocols.pdf (nsw.gov.au)

 

 

This would suggest ships are being monitored by the NSW Government

 

https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/travel/cruising-rules

 

 

 

[tocruiseguy]

3 minutes ago, katlew said:

Yeah, I noticed it wasn’t online either, but thought I was missing something too. Apparently from what others have said in other threads, it’s actually a deal the cruise industry made with Australia, because Australia wasn’t going to allow cruises yet. So, I guess the NSW thing wasn’t correct. Either way, we’re just gonna roll with whatever is required & enjoy our cruise. 

Even Canada relinquished our crazy covid protocols, I thought we were the last (to be clear I boosted twice already, just think its time to move on).....Our cruise is in March so maybe things will lighten up by then,.  Will go with the RAT test if not, seems easiest.  Celebrity only requires self disclosure of a negative test.  Whatever it is, we are locked in.