Vision of the Seas sailing from Bermuda starting June 2021

[DCGuy64]

7 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

Hmm. Maybe the cruise is not selling well. 

Hmm, no, just did a couple of mock bookings and they're already sold out of forward and aft cabins.

 

[twangster]

I think the testing requirements and/or country entry requirements are playing a role in selling these cruises.

 

When Bahamas lifted the entry test requirement for vaccinated tourists that was a significant change.

[Sunshine3601]

On 3/29/2021 at 5:28 PM, Tapi said:

Did not. Thanks for pointing that out. I’m guessing that Royal blocked a bunch of seats, creating the significant price difference in airfare between yesterday and today. 

huge price drop in airfare to Bermuda yesterday.    2 weeks ago the price was $349 - today it is $149 pp RT.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

huge price drop in airfare to Bermuda yesterday.    2 weeks ago the price was $349 - today it is $149 pp RT.

 

In my case it depends on departure city.

 

An airport 3 hours from me is $149.  (direct)

An airport 70 minutes from me is $480.  (connecting)

An airport 20 minutes from me is $589.   (connecting)

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

In my case it depends on departure city.

 

An airport 3 hours from me is $149.  (direct)

An airport 70 minutes from me is $480.  (connecting)

An airport 20 minutes from me is $589.   (connecting)

Yes that is a big difference.    For me PHL is about an hr away and we usually take the train to the airport or uber depending on time of our departing flight and train schedule.    I hate connecting flights when cruising is involved.    Always fear my luggage and will be lost and won't be able to catch up with me if I am on a cruise ship so I always try to flight direct when a cruise is involved in our trip.    So in your case I would probably go with the non-stop flight for $149 even though it is a 3 hr drive.    Is a train ride an option in your area?

[Secretlyfi]

Cases have spiked significantly in Bermuda in just the most recent weeks.  Higher than they've been since the beginning of the pandemic.  CDC has Bermuda at level 4 "very high" and "Travelers should avoid all travel to Bermuda".  I'm sure that's helping drop the airfare prices.

[Secretlyfi]

Also, the government of Bermuda issued new Outbreak Restrictions on Tuesday of this week, which include travel rules for immunized people.  It requires applying for Travel Authorization 1-3 days before going there, upload of a negative pre-arrival test result, an arrival PCR test and quarantining upon arrival until receiving negative results of the arrival PCR test.  Sounds like a complicated pre-cruise experience.  Their Outbreak Restrictions also include a curfew, alphabetized shopping schedules and restaurant take out or delivery only.

[Charles4515]

49 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Yes that is a big difference.    For me PHL is about an hr away and we usually take the train to the airport or uber depending on time of our departing flight and train schedule.    I hate connecting flights when cruising is involved.    Always fear my luggage and will be lost and won't be able to catch up with me if I am on a cruise ship so I always try to flight direct when a cruise is involved in our trip.    So in your case I would probably go with the non-stop flight for $149 even though it is a 3 hr drive.    Is a train ride an option in your area?

 

I live in the DC area and have flown out of PHL several times to save $500 or to fly nonstop as I also hate connecting flights. I take Amtrak PHL and then Septa to the airport. About 2 hours, not bad. 

[billslowsky]

10 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I live in the DC area and have flown out of PHL several times to save $500 or to fly nonstop as I also hate connecting flights. I take Amtrak PHL and then Septa to the airport. About 2 hours, not bad. 

If you fly international it's worth the extra hour on the train to go up to EWR.

[Charles4515]

2 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

If you fly international it's worth the extra hour on the train to go up to EWR.

 

I have done that too. I also took the train to Manhatten once, then the Long Island RR and Airtran JFK to fly nonstop and saved a lot on airfare. Figuring in the connecting flight times I actually saved total time for the trip. 

[billslowsky]

37 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I have done that too. I also took the train to Manhatten once, then the Long Island RR and Airtran JFK to fly nonstop and saved a lot on airfare. Figuring in the connecting flight times I actually saved total time for the trip. 

Getting to JFK is more complicated but certainly a great way to get reasonable fares for direct flights.  You have to do some homework on the quality of the international airlines too!

[twangster]

36 minutes ago, Secretlyfi said:

Also, the government of Bermuda issued new Outbreak Restrictions on Tuesday of this week, which include travel rules for immunized people.  It requires applying for Travel Authorization 1-3 days before going there, upload of a negative pre-arrival test result, an arrival PCR test and quarantining upon arrival until receiving negative results of the arrival PCR test.  Sounds like a complicated pre-cruise experience.  Their Outbreak Restrictions also include a curfew, alphabetized shopping schedules and restaurant take out or delivery only.

 

I called and spoke with the Ministry of Health COVD-19 Helpline this afternoon (April 22).

 

The Travel Authorization is $75 and should be submitted 5 days before.  This is in contrast to the website that says 1-3 days.  It sounds like they are backed up right now so it's taking longer.  

 

The $75 includes the airport arrival PCR test as well as the other tests required on day 4, day 8 and day 14.  This is premised on travelers staying on the island.   

 

She told me they haven't been given any instructions for cruise departure guests.  Absent of those I was told of the current process for all immunised travelers involves the tests upon arrival, day 4, day 8 and day 14.  Until they are informed differently this is the process.

 

As an immunised traveler you are expected to go immediately to your hotel and begin quarantine until the airport arrival PCR test results come back.  Assuming the results are negative you are then free to move about following all COVID-19 protocols and curfews that all residents abide by.   On day 4 you test again and remain free to move about following all protocols unless the test comes back positive.  On day 8 you test again and remain free to move about following all protocols unless the test comes back positive and so on.

 

What happens if you don't test on day 4 because you are on a cruise?  She didn't know telling me again the process for cruise ship guests hasn't been created yet.  

 

In retrospect I should have asked where does one go for the day 4, 8 & 14 tests but wasn't thinking about it because I was thinking of being on a ship and not being there to get tested.

 

Immunised travelers from the UK face other restrictions.

 

The phone number for the COVID-19 Helpline is on the website:

 

https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-covid-19-information-immunised-travellers

 

If anyone else calls I'd be interested in hearing what they tell you.  

 

The call cost me $0.49 and lasted 13 minutes with 9 minutes of wait time.  If your calling plan includes Bermuda you should be good. 

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, billslowsky said:

If you fly international it's worth the extra hour on the train to go up to EWR.

Yes, I sometimes take amtrak from phl to ewr.  Sometimes jfk for int'l too.

That's what I'm doing for my flight to barbados next feb for grandeur b2b.

The flights to bermuda on aa are cheaper out of Phl than ewr.

[dswallow]

32 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

I called and spoke with the Ministry of Health COVD-19 Helpline this afternoon (April 22).

 

The Travel Authorization is $75 and should be submitted 5 days before.  This is in contrast to the website that says 1-3 days.  It sounds like they are backed up right now so it's taking longer.  

 

The $75 includes the airport arrival PCR test as well as the other tests required on day 4, day 8 and day 14.  This is premised on travelers staying on the island.   

 

She told me they haven't been given any instructions for cruise departure guests.  Absent of those I was told of the current process for all immunised travelers involves the tests upon arrival, day 4, day 8 and day 14.  Until they are informed differently this is the process.

 

As an immunised traveler you are expected to go immediately to your hotel and begin quarantine until the airport arrival PCR test results come back.  Assuming the results are negative you are then free to move about following all COVID-19 protocols and curfews that all residents abide by.   On day 4 you test again and remain free to move about following all protocols unless the test comes back positive.  On day 8 you test again and remain free to move about following all protocols unless the test comes back positive and so on.

 

What happens if you don't test on day 4 because you are on a cruise?  She didn't know telling me again the process for cruise ship guests hasn't been created yet.  

 

In retrospect I should have asked where does one go for the day 4, 8 & 14 tests but wasn't thinking about it because I was thinking of being on a ship and not being there to get tested.

 

Immunised travelers from the UK face other restrictions.

 

The phone number for the COVID-19 Helpline is on the website:

 

https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-covid-19-information-immunised-travellers

 

If anyone else calls I'd be interested in hearing what they tell you.  

 

The call cost me $0.49 and lasted 13 minutes with 9 minutes of wait time.  If your calling plan includes Bermuda you should be good. 

 

 

 

I basically just did what you did, but online instead of on the phone, including looking at the application and payments and requirements. Pretty much everything you said matches up. Good to know it's consistent. And nowhere did I encounter any information yet about how things might be handled for cruise departures or combo cruise/island stays, yet.

The only thing I encountered along the way was some place erroneously saying the fee was $300/person, which actually is for something else -- that's the cost for a returning Bermuda resident who failed to get PCR testing first and covers a quarantine monitoring bracelet.

But later it was always presented as $75 (or $30/child 9 & under). Though it wasn't clear about costs for additional testing since every one of those post-arrival tests is supposed to be a RT-PCR test, not an Antigen test, but if you go through a bit on the actual scheduling web site it does appear to show the cost as $0.00, at least 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information for Immunised Travellers | Government of Bermuda (www.gov.bm)
 

You can see the application process starting here, and for whatever reason, you can only choose three options: tomorrow, the day after or the day after that for your arrival date to Bermuda.

https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-travellers-visitors

 

So after reading all that, I was really happy to have chosen to cruise multiple sailings out of The Bahamas, instead of Bermuda. 🙂 Though I'm sure the requirements on cruise passengers who are vaccinated will probably vary from that, I'd still be a bit nervous seeing all that.

This is where you make the appointment for testing (there's 3 locations, one of which is devoted to symptomatic folks), though this may be just for outbound travelers since that's the only option one can select in the form on that subject; maybe that changes under some circumstance.
https://bdagovcovid.resqwest.com/web/

 

OK, on
https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-get-tested

It's mentioned that the Perot Post Office site is to be used for the inbound travelers for their day 4, 8 and 14 tests, and that appointments are emailed to them, so that's a fourth location, I guess.

NOTE: As of 29th July 2020, if you are a traveller (resident or visitor), your appointed dates, times and locations have been booked for you. You will receive a reminder email 24 hours before the test day. DO NOT BOOK AN APPOINTMENT.


So maybe there's more to explore online, but that was enough for me. 🙂

Edited April 22, 2021 by dswallow

[twangster]

I'd love to go on Vision from Bermuda but I'm not going to lie, the unknowns concern me.  The worst case is doing another CWC days before sailing which isn't the end of the world but for now I'm tapping the brakes.

 

Once Bermuda has an established process for cruise guests I'll re-evaluate.  Until then my feet are awfully cold.  

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

I'd love to go on Vision from Bermuda but I'm not going to lie, the unknowns concern me.  The worst case is doing another CWC days before sailing which isn't the end of the world but for now I'm tapping the brakes.

 

Once Bermuda has an established process for cruise guests I'll re-evaluate.  Until then my feet are awfully cold.  

 By July we will have a new hot tub at our new house in Virginia. Doesn't look so cold from where my Wife and I will be sitting!

Edited April 23, 2021 by Jimbo

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, dswallow said:

 

I basically just did what you did, but online instead of on the phone, including looking at the application and payments and requirements. Pretty much everything you said matches up. Good to know it's consistent. And nowhere did I encounter any information yet about how things might be handled for cruise departures or combo cruise/island stays, yet.

The only thing I encountered along the way was some place erroneously saying the fee was $300/person, which actually is for something else -- that's the cost for a returning Bermuda resident who failed to get PCR testing first and covers a quarantine monitoring bracelet.

But later it was always presented as $75 (or $30/child 9 & under). Though it wasn't clear about costs for additional testing since every one of those post-arrival tests is supposed to be a RT-PCR test, not an Antigen test, but if you go through a bit on the actual scheduling web site it does appear to show the cost as $0.00, at least 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information for Immunised Travellers | Government of Bermuda (www.gov.bm)
 

You can see the application process starting here, and for whatever reason, you can only choose three options: tomorrow, the day after or the day after that for your arrival date to Bermuda.

https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-travellers-visitors

 

So after reading all that, I was really happy to have chosen to cruise multiple sailings out of The Bahamas, instead of Bermuda. 🙂 Though I'm sure the requirements on cruise passengers who are vaccinated will probably vary from that, I'd still be a bit nervous seeing all that.

This is where you make the appointment for testing (there's 3 locations, one of which is devoted to symptomatic folks), though this may be just for outbound travelers since that's the only option one can select in the form on that subject; maybe that changes under some circumstance.
https://bdagovcovid.resqwest.com/web/

 

OK, on
https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-get-tested

It's mentioned that the Perot Post Office site is to be used for the inbound travelers for their day 4, 8 and 14 tests, and that appointments are emailed to them, so that's a fourth location, I guess.

NOTE: As of 29th July 2020, if you are a traveller (resident or visitor), your appointed dates, times and locations have been booked for you. You will receive a reminder email 24 hours before the test day. DO NOT BOOK AN APPOINTMENT.


So maybe there's more to explore online, but that was enough for me. 🙂

Several weeks ago I read the bermuda gov site you mention and what is being said today sounds like what I read several weeks ago.

They have been saying pcr test prior to arrival to bermuda, complete travel authorisation online, like bahamas, aruba and some other places are doing.  I recall reading about testing days 4, 8 and 14.  Just dont recall reading about test upon arrival too.  

I do read their $75 fee for travel authorisation does cover testing.

  I guess royal can test everyone while at sea on day 6 for our return to bermuda on day 7 for full day/overnight.   

And here I was all prepared to book one of these sailings this week for august as I suspect my b2b on freedom to Bermuda will be cancelled.   

I guess I, too, will put the brakes on that till royal and bermuda release protocol for cruise passengers.

Maybe all cruise passengers will be required to fly in same day and fly out day of disembarkment.

[Vera/Lee]

11 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Several weeks ago I read the bermuda gov site you mention and what is being said today sounds like what I read several weeks ago.

They have been saying pcr test prior to arrival to bermuda, complete travel authorisation online, like bahamas, aruba and some other places are doing.  I recall reading about testing days 4, 8 and 14.  Just dont recall reading about test upon arrival too.  

I do read their $75 fee for travel authorisation does cover testing.

  I guess royal can test everyone while at sea on day 6 for our return to bermuda on day 7 for full day/overnight.   

And here I was all prepared to book one of these sailings this week for august as I suspect my b2b on freedom to Bermuda will be cancelled.   

I guess I, too, will put the brakes on that till royal and bermuda release protocol for cruise passengers.

Maybe all cruise passengers will be required to fly in same day and fly out day of disembarkment.

I wonder what would happen if you tested positive after arriving in Bermuda. 

[twangster]

16 minutes ago, Vera/Lee said:

I wonder what would happen if you tested positive after arriving in Bermuda. 

 

Additionally, a traveller should:

• Acquire health insurance covering illness and injury outside of your home jurisdiction, including those related to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis while in Bermuda. If this is not obtained, a visitor will be responsible for all health and accommodation costs should they require treatment and/or quarantine, including costs related to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis in Bermuda

[Charles4515]

27 minutes ago, Vera/Lee said:

I wonder what would happen if you tested positive after arriving in Bermuda. 

Quarantine. Tourists have tested positive after arriving and that is what happens. 

[Charles4515]

43 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Several weeks ago I read the bermuda gov site you mention and what is being said today sounds like what I read several weeks ago.

They have been saying pcr test prior to arrival to bermuda, complete travel authorisation online, like bahamas, aruba and some other places are doing.  I recall reading about testing days 4, 8 and 14.  Just dont recall reading about test upon arrival too.  

I do read their $75 fee for travel authorisation does cover testing.

  I guess royal can test everyone while at sea on day 6 for our return to bermuda on day 7 for full day/overnight.   

And here I was all prepared to book one of these sailings this week for august as I suspect my b2b on freedom to Bermuda will be cancelled.   

I guess I, too, will put the brakes on that till royal and bermuda release protocol for cruise passengers.

Maybe all cruise passengers will be required to fly in same day and fly out day of disembarkment.

I love visiting Bermuda, been many times, was there twice in 2019, and considered flying in this year but I decided months ago that it was too complicated. 
 

For a while they got their cases under control but unfortunately it has gotten bad there. Lot of hospitalizations.Deaths every day. They had a good start vaccinating but there is a significant faction of anti vaccination resistance based on kook theories. 
 

[dsvd79]

$99 roundtrip from EWR to Bermuda on United.  This is the August 28 sailing.  I am very tempted.

[Sunshine3601]

11 hours ago, Vera/Lee said:

I wonder what would happen if you tested positive after arriving in Bermuda. 

Let's hope that any of us vaccinated travelers do not test positive.  It's possible but very slim chance from what I have heard so far.

We will definitely purchase travel insurance that will cover anything covid related.

[DCGuy64]

10 hours ago, dsvd79 said:

$99 roundtrip from EWR to Bermuda on United.  This is the August 28 sailing.  I am very tempted.

So much for "it'll be too expensive." 🤣

[Sunshine3601]

10 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I love visiting Bermuda, been many times, was there twice in 2019, and considered flying in this year but I decided months ago that it was too complicated. 
 

For a while they got their cases under control but unfortunately it has gotten bad there. Lot of hospitalizations.Deaths every day. They had a good start vaccinating but there is a significant faction of anti vaccination resistance based on kook theories. 
 

I'm seeing their total positive cases under 2300.  Right now they are having a surge with 35 new positive cases yesterday.   I suspect a lot of that has to do with travel to the island being allowed again.  

So far I feel safe with being vaccinated.  My DH who is a transplant recipient that has to take anti suppressant meds every day is scheduled to get tested by his transplant team this coming week to see if pfizer vaccine is providing him with protection.