CaribbeanSteve

PRINCESS CRUISE APP: On the Holland America App, as each new day arrives, you can see what is for dinner in the main dining room that evening. In fact, you can also see the menu for breakfast and for all of the dining venues. Does the Princess App have a similar feature. I don’t see a place for it pre-cruise, but wanted to check. Thanks, Steven

PICTURES: Just wanted to see if anyone has already taken (or is willing to take) pictures of daily schedule(s), MDR menu(s), International Cafe consolidated list of daily meal specials, etc. and post them on this board so we can get a sense of what to expect when our Norway journey in mid-June. Thanks/Best, Steven

Charles, Thanks for the info. A few questions on the taxi journey. First, how long is the trip there & back? Second do you remember how much it costs? Lastly, are there taxis close to the pier? We are on an excursion that ends at 4PM and all aboard is 6:30PM (ship departs at 7PM). So want to see if this is doable in the 2.5 hours we have after our excursion. Best, Steven

There is a reason why HAL and other cruise lines cancelled their onboard testing. Per CA cruise policies (see links below), If you test positive while onboard, then the cruiseline is responsible for organizing and paying for your quarantine expenses while in Canada. As soon as you get off the ship, and if you test positive, then you are on your own. COVID-19: Cruise ship travel – Travel.gc.ca Entering or leaving Canada by cruise ship during COVID-19 - Canada.ca

RECENT COVID/RECOVERY CERTIFICATE: So unfortunately one of the people in my party just got COVID. So apparently Canada will allow passengers to embark on a cruise with a Positive PCR Test if taken within 180 days of the trip, and the US will allow air travelers to return to America with a COVID RECOVERY CERTIFICATE/LETTER from a medical source if COVID Positive with 90 days of the flight. However, HAL is more onerous as it does not appear to allow either to board a ship in Canada. It still requires a PCR test or Rapid Antigen test, even though either can result in a false positive result, per the CDC, if taken with 90 days of getting COVID. Our cruise is in 60 days, so this is worrying. Anyone know why HAL is more burdensome then Canada, which could result in denial to board with a false positive result? Hope there is a workaround or relaxation of the testing requirement in the next month or so commensurate with Canada’s rules. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/worry-free-promise/travel-well/frequently-asked-questions/faq-for-cruises-from-usa.html https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/inventory-assets/Health_Sanitation/2022/0504-alaska-canada-health-protocols.pdf Best, Steven

FOREMCO/BROBERTS: Thanks for the info/advice. Have not tried Shipboard Internet. but heard it is often spotty. Do you think the WiFi signal will be strong enough to take the online EMED proctored test (usually takes 20-30 minutes)? We will be on the HAL Neiuw Amsterdam, returning from a Land/Sea Journey, and will be doing the Inside Passage Southbound the day before arrival in Vancouver. Will have to check and see if they offer just a 1-day or 100 minutes internet option for the day prior to disembarkation as I won't need it for anything else. I do have T-Mobile, but I'm not sure if a one-day international pass will have enough bandwidth for a video call. If I understand the US one-day before flight testing requirement, it can be taken anytime the day prior, so hypothetically, as early as 12:01AM on the 30th, if our flight is at 10:30PM on the 31st (almost 46 hours before flight) if playing the clock. Thanks Again!!!

Trying to figure out what this really means if a passenger tests positive on disembarkation day, especially if they've already left their ship. So here is a hypothetical. A passenger arrives early in the AM back in Vancouver (e.g., 7:00AM), then officially disembarks the ship (e.g., 9:00AM), then gets tested as required to catch a flight back to the USA but ends up with a "positive" COVID Test result despite having no symptoms. Technically in this case, the passenger has left their cruise. Would the "operator", the Cruise Line, still be responsible for organizing and paying for the passengers required isolation (quarantine) food/lodging in Vancouver, or would it be up to the passenger at that point having left the ship. I bring this up because there was an article about passengers getting COVID recently on a Carnival Cruise ending in Seattle, and the line said they were not responsible for the quarantine expenses, but did pony up due to the bad press. Of course this was in the US, so maybe its a completely different circumstance given the CA rules quoted above. Also, still trying to decipher what enter your information in ArrivCan "within 72 hours before embarkation of your cruise" (or flight) really means. Does it mean anytime within the 72 hours to 1 hour before your cruise/flight, or is it sometime before the 72 hour clock starts. So 4 or 5 days or more before your cruise/flight? Bottom line, if my cruise departs at 4:30 PM on Wednesday, July 13, what is within 72 hours window to enter the required ArrivCan trip details? Thanks, Steven