Covid requirements

[ak1004]

My apologies if it was discussed before, but what are the updated Covid requirements on Silversea?

 

I found this - https://www.silversea.com/lp-silversea-hrts-consumer.html

 

Specifically: 

"Up to Date Vaccinated Guests: You will need to be fully up to date with your vaccine status (“up to date” means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible), in accordance with each of the countries you plan to visit on your respective itinerary."

 

Does it mean that if for example someone has only 2 doses, and one of the countries on the itinerary requires a booster, this person will be denied boarding? 

[Nuka]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

My apologies if it was discussed before, but what are the updated Covid requirements on Silversea?

 

I found this - https://www.silversea.com/lp-silversea-hrts-consumer.html

 

Specifically: 

"Up to Date Vaccinated Guests: You will need to be fully up to date with your vaccine status (“up to date” means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible), in accordance with each of the countries you plan to visit on your respective itinerary."

 

Does it mean that if for example someone has only 2 doses, and one of the countries on the itinerary requires a booster, this person will be denied boarding? 

Check with your TA + don't forget to check airline policies as well.  Requirements are fluid so you will need to keep checking to be sure. Not too much fun, but better to know before departure.  If a booster is required, I have seen that it needs to be 14 days before arrival for some countries. Good luck.

[cruiseej]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

"You will need to be fully up to date with your vaccine status (“up to date” means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible), in accordance with each of the countries you plan to visit on your respective itinerary."

 

Does it mean that if for example someone has only 2 doses, and one of the countries on the itinerary requires a booster, this person will be denied boarding? 

 

I don't know anything more than what it says, but that seems pretty straightforward to me. Yes, I would think if any country on your itinerary requires "up to date" boosters (typically defined as initial vaccination or booster within the past 9 months, but you should check for the countries you will visit), and you don't have such a shot, then you could be denied boarding for not being in compliance. What part of that seems unclear or ambiguous to you? 

[ak1004]

15 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

I don't know anything more than what it says, but that seems pretty straightforward to me. Yes, I would think if any country on your itinerary requires "up to date" boosters (typically defined as initial vaccination or booster within the past 9 months, but you should check for the countries you will visit), and you don't have such a shot, then you could be denied boarding for not being in compliance. What part of that seems unclear or ambiguous to you? 

 

What is not completely clear is the definition of "fully vaccinated". 

 

For example:

 

Passengers travelling to Dubai from all countries, including the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC), must fulfil one of the below requirements at the airport of departure:

• present a valid COVID-19 vaccination certificate, reflecting that the passenger is fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) or the UAE. The certificate must contain a QR code.
   

https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law/handling-the-covid-19-outbreak/travelling-amid-covid-19/travelling-to-the-uae 

 

I have no idea what they mean by fully vaccinated. 2 doses? 2 doses plus booster? When it has to be taken? Last 270 days?

 

Silversea does not mention it in their travel confirmation. 

[Catlover54]

And does "fully vaccinated" mean a requirement for the new "Omicron" (though constructively outdated) "vaccine" that is designed to deal with Omicron variants no longer prevalent?    LOL!  (Not to mention no regard for natural immunity, especially within 90 days). The insane irrational  theatre continues, and we are over 2.5 years into Covid.  Sigh.

[crusinbanjo]

Mrs Banjo and I are just off the Whisper Quebec to Boston.  In this case “fully vaccinated “ meant having the 2 shot regimen, or 1 shot J&J.  We received these in 2021 and nothing since.  The requirement for boarding was to pass the temp check and show our vax card, nothing more, no discussion of boosters at all.

[Randyk47]

1 hour ago, crusinbanjo said:

Mrs Banjo and I are just off the Whisper Quebec to Boston.  In this case “fully vaccinated “ meant having the 2 shot regimen, or 1 shot J&J.  We received these in 2021 and nothing since.  The requirement for boarding was to pass the temp check and show our vax card, nothing more, no discussion of boosters at all.

Interesting.  The CDC defines “up to date” as the basic two doses and any boosters available.  Intake that to mean you are not “up to date” unless you don’t meet the age, health, etc., requirements.  We’re not going to take the chance of some cruise terminal agent deciding we’re not up to date so will be getting our third booster around Thanksgiving in preparation of our mid January cruise.   

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, Randyk47 said:

Interesting.  The CDC defines “up to date” as the basic two doses and any boosters available.  Intake that to mean you are not “up to date” unless you don’t meet the age, health, etc., requirements.  We’re not going to take the chance of some cruise terminal agent deciding we’re not up to date so will be getting our third booster around Thanksgiving in preparation of our mid January cruise.   

Hi Randy, when did you have your 2nd booster?

[Randyk47]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Hi Randy, when did you have your 2nd booster?

We got our second Moderna booster at the end of July.   

[cruiseej]

"Fully vaccinated" means the initial vaccine regimen. Generally that's two shots, but for some vaccines (like J&J and perhaps others in different countries), it's one shot.

 

"Up to date" means whatever boosters you are eligible to have received in your home country. So for us in the US, for adults, that means receiving the updated bivalent booster which became available in September — unless you had received a previous booster in the past two months, or had Covid in the past 3 months. Canada's vaccine recommendations may be slightly different. In all cases, shots must be received two or more weeks before the cruise. 

Edited November 10, 2022 by cruiseej

[ak1004]

4 hours ago, cruiseej said:

"Fully vaccinated" means the initial vaccine regimen. Generally that's two shots, but for some vaccines (like J&J and perhaps others in different countries), it's one shot.

 

"Up to date" means whatever boosters you are eligible to have received in your home country. So for us in the US, for adults, that means receiving the updated bivalent booster which became available in September — unless you had received a previous booster in the past two months, or had Covid in the past 3 months. Canada's vaccine recommendations may be slightly different. In all cases, shots must be received two or more weeks before the cruise. 

 

Yes, but Silversea defines "up to date" as:

 

""Up to Date Vaccinated Guests: You will need to be fully up to date with your vaccine status (“up to date” means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible), in accordance with each of the countries you plan to visit on your respective itinerary."

My understanding is that they go by the requirement of the countries you visit, not your home country.

[crusinbanjo]

23 hours ago, Randyk47 said:

Interesting.  The CDC defines “up to date” as the basic two doses and any boosters available.  Intake that to mean you are not “up to date” unless you don’t meet the age, health, etc., requirements.  We’re not going to take the chance of some cruise terminal agent deciding we’re not up to date so will be getting our third booster around Thanksgiving in preparation of our mid January cruise.   

We check the requirements closely.  For me, I will not chance the boosters, as I developed a heart issue shortly after receiving the 2 shot vaccine.  Dr’s can’t or won’t say if there is any connection, but it scared me enough to not chance additional shots.  Neither Mrs Banjo or myself have had Covid, (to the best of our knowledge), and will continue with our normal regimens that seem to be working really well.  If it is determined at some future point that we cannot cruise because of our status, so be it, we will use other means to travel. Hopefully that does not happen and that Covid is moving to the rear view mirror.

[Randyk47]

30 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

We check the requirements closely.  For me, I will not chance the boosters, as I developed a heart issue shortly after receiving the 2 shot vaccine.  Dr’s can’t or won’t say if there is any connection, but it scared me enough to not chance additional shots.  Neither Mrs Banjo or myself have had Covid, (to the best of our knowledge), and will continue with our normal regimens that seem to be working really well.  If it is determined at some future point that we cannot cruise because of our status, so be it, we will use other means to travel. Hopefully that does not happen and that Covid is moving to the rear view mirror.

Sorry to hear you developed a heart issue.  There are people who can’t or shouldn’t get vaccinated because of health concerns and potentially damaging your heart is certainly a good reason to not get the boosters.  Whether related or not I would make the same decision.  As for the future of Covid who knows.  I would second your hope that Covid moves to “rear view mirror”.

[ak1004]

41 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

We check the requirements closely.  For me, I will not chance the boosters, as I developed a heart issue shortly after receiving the 2 shot vaccine.  Dr’s can’t or won’t say if there is any connection, but it scared me enough to not chance additional shots.  Neither Mrs Banjo or myself have had Covid, (to the best of our knowledge), and will continue with our normal regimens that seem to be working really well.  If it is determined at some future point that we cannot cruise because of our status, so be it, we will use other means to travel. Hopefully that does not happen and that Covid is moving to the rear view mirror.

 

We are traveling with 5 couples and 2 of them are in a similar situation. They called SS and the agent told them that no booster is required. But our TA claims that if more than 270 days passed since the second dose, they do need the booster. 

 

SS says:

 

"So while the booster (or an additional dose) is not necessarily a requirement to sail with us, an up to date vaccination series is."

 

But then they also say:

 

You will need to be fully up to date with your vaccine status (“up to date” means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible), in accordance with each of the countries you plan to visit on your respective itinerary."

 

So what's the definition of up to date vaccination? According to the above, it's based on the definition of the countries you visit.

 

Very confusing. They say they will be sending us updated documents 15 days before sailing, but it will be too late to do the booster by then.

[Randyk47]

54 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

We are traveling with 5 couples and 2 of them are in a similar situation. They called SS and the agent told them that no booster is required. But our TA claims that if more than 270 days passed since the second dose, they do need the booster. 

 

SS says:

 

"So while the booster (or an additional dose) is not necessarily a requirement to sail with us, an up to date vaccination series is."

 

But then they also say:

 

You will need to be fully up to date with your vaccine status (“up to date” means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible), in accordance with each of the countries you plan to visit on your respective itinerary."

 

So what's the definition of up to date vaccination? According to the above, it's based on the definition of the countries you visit.

 

Very confusing. They say they will be sending us updated documents 15 days before sailing, but it will be too late to do the booster by then.

It is as clear as mud.  An old boss used to say “English is a precise language when used precisely” and this isn’t precise.  Luckily we are able and have sufficient time to get what will be our third booster before our cruise so we will meet all the requirements…..as best as I can tell.   

[ak1004]

27 minutes ago, Randyk47 said:

It is as clear as mud.  An old boss used to say “English is a precise language when used precisely” and this isn’t precise.  Luckily we are able and have sufficient time to get what will be our third booster before our cruise so we will meet all the requirements…..as best as I can tell.   

 

What is exactly clear as mud? Is "up to date vaccination" definition based on your home country or the country that you visit?

 

On related note, one of the couples who don't have the booster contacted SS agent directly, and she advised them that they are good to go. They have it in written.

[Lauranne]

My question for the SS agent would be, good to go on the ship or good to enter the countries in which the ship visits?

[ak1004]

24 minutes ago, Lauranne said:

My question for the SS agent would be, good to go on the ship or good to enter the countries in which the ship visits?

 

Well, my logic says good to go on the ship. If they are not good to go on the ship, then obviously they cannot visit the countries. All the countries on this itinerary either don't require vaccinations at all or don't require boosters. So again, my logic says that SS goes by the counties visited. But some members here implied that it's by your home country, hence the confusion.

[crusinbanjo]

21 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

What is exactly clear as mud? Is "up to date vaccination" definition based on your home country or the country that you visit?

 

On related note, one of the couples who don't have the booster contacted SS agent directly, and she advised them that they are good to go. They have it in written.

That is what I did, contact SS directly ad I got the exact same answer. The only stipulation was that we needed to present our Covid card at the pier, even though it was uploaded to SS previously 

[cruiseej]

10 hours ago, crusinbanjo said:

That is what I did, contact SS directly ad I got the exact same answer. The only stipulation was that we needed to present our Covid card at the pier, even though it was uploaded to SS previously 

@crusinbanjo I would contact SS again and try to get them to point you to this information on their website, or request it in writing. As we know, various agents on the phone may have different information, or think they are passing on correct information, but the arbiter will be the representative controlling your embarkation. If you don't have the latest booster before cruising, and your most recent shot was more than 9 months ago, I would be concerned that your explanation — "someone at the home office told me I was okay" — might not pass muster. I would also request your doctor give you a letter stating that due to your heart condition, it is against medical advice for you to receive any additional COVID shots. That might not get you aboard, but it might help. 

[ak1004]

On 11/11/2022 at 11:35 AM, Lauranne said:

My question for the SS agent would be, good to go on the ship or good to enter the countries in which the ship visits?

 

This is the exact quote from SS agent:

 

"you are fine with the 2 doses being considered fully vaccinated for embarkation of our ship".

 

 

Here is the link that confirms it:

 

 https://www.silversea.com/what-vaccines.html?cid_email=em_USA_EM2201124258_OTHER_AGN_DEM_LINK&utm_campaign=USA_EM2201124258&utm_source=USA&utm_medium=Email&cid=94512&mid=242906033 )

 

To embark a Silversea vessel all guests aged 12 and older must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least two weeks before embarking on the vessel. A guest is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after the required number of doses in their vaccine series have been fully administered (e.g. 2 shots of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, etc., or 1 shot of Johnson & Johnson).

 

But another link says otherwise:

 

https://www.silversea.com/lp-silversea-hrts-consumer.html

 

You will need to be fully up to date with your vaccine status. Quite simply, the vaccine will no longer be considered up to date unless an additional dose has been received after a certain time has elapsed from the completion of the primary series. So while the booster (or an additional dose) is not necessarily a requirement to sail with us, an up to date vaccination series is.

 

Clear as mud?

Edited November 13, 2022 by ak1004

[crusinbanjo]

17 hours ago, cruiseej said:

@crusinbanjo I would contact SS again and try to get them to point you to this information on their website, or request it in writing. As we know, various agents on the phone may have different information, or think they are passing on correct information, but the arbiter will be the representative controlling your embarkation. If you don't have the latest booster before cruising, and your most recent shot was more than 9 months ago, I would be concerned that your explanation — "someone at the home office told me I was okay" — might not pass muster. I would also request your doctor give you a letter stating that due to your heart condition, it is against medical advice for you to receive any additional COVID shots. That might not get you aboard, but it might help. 

I did not need either.  The pier embarkation crew viewed our vaccine card and took our temp, all was good.  No further questions asked.

[Lonedaddy]

Travel requirements map (joinsherpa.com)    is helpful for each country