Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificates

[BosoxI]

Yes, the shots were required for this trip (Amazon River and Devil's Island).

 

Well, my TA got the call. All they wanted was to have her tell us we needed the ORIGINAL folder, and not the copy. Well, duh ...

 

When will that be?

[AlwaysPlanning]

Nope. You absolutely, positively do not need a Yellow Fever shot/certificate for Cartagena. I was there in January on the reverse of your itinerary.

 

Hi Pam in CA (or anyone else who wants to respond),

 

If I am reading you correctly, you traveled a similar itinerary in January that we are booked on this Fall. We are cruising full transit through the Canal and will be in Costa Rica first, then Colombia and on to Aruba. I read somewhere that Aruba will not allow anyone to come ashore without proof of the vaccine if they were previously at a country on the Yellow Fever list. Have you heard this? Were you on a similar itinerary with Princess?

 

Always Planning

[Essiesmom]

I think the hooker is Devil's Island, who requires the immunization if you have previously visited a country where Yellow Fever is prevalent, such as Brazil/Amazon. We did the Amazon cruise in 1999 on Royal Princess, and did not need YF vaccine. I did Panama Canal transit in 2009, with stop after canal in Cartagena, and did not need YF. EM

[onthelake]

We did Cartegena to Rio in about 1998. DS was 5 or 6. The Yellow Fever shot was not required but there was a sudden outbreak and we arrived at the port to meet several doctors and nurses ready to give us a shot (and the yellow card) before we were allowed to check in and board the ship. DS was not happy after rising before dawn to catch the flight in Miami to fly down to Cartegena. Luckily, no one had a reaction to the shot.

[Colo Cruiser]

No shot required in Aruba.

We have traveled in both directions from/to those ports.

[hobo1937]

We did a full transit back to back in March of this year with the same itinerary..no shots needed in either direction.

[caribill]

I think the hooker is Devil's Island, who requires the immunization if you have previously visited a country where Yellow Fever is prevalent, such as Brazil/Amazon.

 

Actually, it is the opposite.

 

If you visit Devil's Island on the way to Brazil, Brazil will require the immunization.

[caribill]

We did Cartegena to Rio in about 1998. DS was 5 or 6. The Yellow Fever shot was not required but there was a sudden outbreak and we arrived at the port to meet several doctors and nurses ready to give us a shot (and the yellow card) before we were allowed to check in and board the ship.

 

Since it takes 10 days for the immunization to be effective, it was probably not fully protective by the time you reached Brazil.

[jimpod]

Hi Moiragirl - we are doing the FT of the Panama Canal in 4 weeks time (yippee)!!!! We were advised by the Practice Nurse at the doctor's and the Travel Clininc to get the yellow fever shot. We had given them a note of the excursions we have booked and were told that there is definitely yellow fever in one of the locations we are going to. I think it's the trip in Panama that was causing the concern as we will be going to the Soberania National Park. We also got Typhoid, Swine Flu and a Tetanus boosters. This site is very helpful - http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/home.aspx. Enjoy your cruise when it comes.

[Gazelle2]

Nope. You absolutely, positively do not need a Yellow Fever shot/certificate for Cartagena. I was there in January on the reverse of your itinerary.

 

Pam...I need some advice concerning required/recommended immunizations for our Far East cruise next April. I searched the archives before starting a new thread and found this one.

 

I know that you are travelling on the second half of our trip. We are just doing the Bangkok-Beijing portion with some extra days in both Bangkok and Beijing. As you know, our cruise makes stops in Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan and Korea before terminating in Beijing.

 

I have been through the CDC site and it looks like every country we are scheduled to visit has no requirement for yellow fever shots unless you are coming from a country on the WHO Yellow Fever list. None of these countries are on the list. Our yellow fever shots expire a couple of months before our cruise so we are particularly interested in the requirements for that immunization.

 

The other possible shot that we might need to get back up to date on are Hepatitis. The CDC site is not much help here.

 

I have seen several questions in this thread concerning whether PRINCESS itself requires proof of immunization for our particular cruise before boarding. This is where I though you might be of particular assistance.

 

Getting the shots is not a problem for us but, at our age, I prefer not to take any immunizations that are not absolutely required.

 

Thanks in advance, Pam.

 

Gazelle2

[Pam in CA]

No yellow fever shot needed but you should have Hep A and B, and make sure your tetanus is up to date. Bring an all-purpose antibiotic as well. This is what I got/had for my trip to China several years ago. I'll double-check the Immunizations on my vaccination card but I think that's it. A travel clinic will have the latest information of what's required. FYI, Hep A and B are a series of three shots over several weeks so you need to make sure you start them early.

 

Just checked and I also got a typhoid vaccination. Not sure if it's required but if it's not, it's a good idea. Depending on your age, I recommend getting the pneumonia and shingles vaccinations for your general health as they are good preventative vaccines.

[caribill]

Pam...I need some advice concerning required/recommended immunizations for our Far East cruise next April. I searched the archives before starting a new thread and found this one.

 

I know that you are travelling on the second half of our trip. We are just doing the Bangkok-Beijing portion with some extra days in both Bangkok and Beijing. As you know, our cruise makes stops in Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan and Korea before terminating in Beijing.

 

 

I am not Pam, but I have been to all of those countries and have not been required to have any immunizations to enter any of them.

[gooch47]

This was back in 2010 that we got the shots, right?

 

My wuss husband STILL complains that the injection site hurts from time to time. I think what really hurt him was the cost.

[Gazelle2]

Thanks, Pam and caribill.

[Treven]

Are we going to need shots? We're doing a FT PC Cruise (FLL-LA). We get to Costa Rica after Colombia, and according to the chart it looks like we do. Any advise from someone who has done this itinerary? We're planning on walking around Cartegena.

I did a full transit of the canal in 2010, partial itinerary was Cartagena, Panama Canal, Costa Rica. Never was required to have YF shots.

[billcisz]

My wife and I had Yellow Fever as well as bird flu shots on April13th after reading the info on the CDC website and on the recommendation of our local health office.

 

I don't know whether Princess requires the vaccinations but our rationale was why ruin a expensive dream vacation if it can be avoided for a few bucks.

 

We received the email below from Princess on Saturday April 21 concerning VISA's:

 

EGYPT VISA REQUIREMENT :

A "Quick Stamp" visa will be issued upon arrival in Egypt for all passengers*. Therefore, you are not required to obtain a visa in advance of your voyage. There is currently no charge for this service. Visa fees are subject to change

*Iranian and Israeli passport holders must obtain an Egyptian visa prior to sailing.

 

SCHENGEN VISA REQUIREMENT:

During the cruise, you will be visiting countries which are members of the Schengen Agreement. Schengen Agreement countries require passport holders from various countries to obtain a visa in advance. This requirement does not apply to U.S. or Canadian passport holders. A multiple entry visa will be required if a non-Schengen country is visited in between visits to Schengen countries (Example: depart from Italy, visit Turkey, arrive in Spain). Schengen Agreement countries include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

 

Thank you for your attention to this important reminder. We look forward to welcoming you onboard Princess Cruises.

[Pam in CA]

I am not Pam, but I have been to all of those countries and have not been required to have any immunizations to enter any of them.

While not required, some vaccinations are common sense, particularly when traveling in some parts of the world. :)

[RKF]

Since we stop at Devil's Island on our way to the Amazon - both proof of yellow fever shot and Brazil visa needed.

[gooch47]

It is interesting that we were required to get the shots even though we went to Brazil first and then to Devil's Island.