Loosening of restrictions

[floralscent]

Hello! Can anyone provide an update on the cruises in Japan as it relates to the May  2023 loosening of restrictions?

 

Are ships able to complete this itinerary even if some are ill onboard? I think I read (maybe was a rumor though) that if 10% (crew and passengers) were ill then ships would not be able to continue the itinerary. 
 

How does testing pre cruise work? 
 

Just wondering what is happening in real life for those that have sailed Japan recently. We are sailing in October.
 

Thank you

[Hlitner]

The easy answer is that there are no Covid-related restrictions!  The last restrictions have been eliminated (I think the last vestiges ended in early May).  

 

As to the 10% "rule,"  we do not know (not sure anyone knows).  Japan, just like every other country, reserves the right to refuse entry to any ship for just about any reason.  Prior to the beginning of this 2023 cruise season, the authorities said they might not allow docking of ships that had more than a 10% (souls onboard) Covid infection rate.  But now that Japan has ended their "Covid emergency" one can only guess what would happen if a ship had a large number of COVID cases.

 

We were in Japan from mid-march until late April, and during that time there were no restrictions on shore, although masking is still very common in Japan (it is not required or mandated).  We did have a loosely enforced onboard masking policy (which HAL blamed on the Japanese authorities) and I do not know if any cruise line is still playing the mask wearing game.   DW and I spent a lot of time ashore (including 12 days in March) and seldom wore masks.  But a large majority of Japanese still practice some degree of mask wearing (nothing new in their culture) which I suspect will continue for a long time.

 

Hank