protocols for Harmony out of Barcelona?

[meghan74]

Hi everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has heard anything about the protocols for Harmony out of Barcelona. Maybe the folks on the August cruises? I hope they've received some information because I imagine people traveling from the U.S. need to have flights booked.

 

I'm not scheduled to sail until October 10 and I know things will likely change 100 times before then, but I'm trying to make some guesses about what to expect. We're supposed to fly direct from the U.S. to Paris and spend a few days there before flying to Barcelona and after the cruise we're supposed to fly to Venice and stay there a few days before flying back to the U.S. I'm concerned that trying to bounce around three countries will cause problems. Fortunately, all the flights were booked with miles and can be cancelled. 

[Preziosa]

We are booked for Harmony the 15. Th of August 2021.

We have nothing heard. We are from Denmark. We have booked flight tickets.

Harmony is now close to Cypres, Maybe for taken up Crew members.

[FionaMG]

We are booked for 26th September. The only thing I know, and this is because it shows up on the website when you do a mock booking, is that all passengers who are eligible for vaccination must be vaccinated in order to sail. Oddly though, this information doesn't show up for the Rome departures so I don't know if that means anything or if they've just forgotten to add to those departures.

[Pandamonia]

1 hour ago, Preziosa said:

We are booked for Harmony the 15. Th of August 2021.

We have nothing heard. We are from Denmark. We have booked flight tickets.

Harmony is now close to Cypres, Maybe for taken up Crew members.

 

Harmony is cancelled isnt it till September? We were booked and Lift and shifted to next year

[Bracarense]

22 minutes ago, Pandamonia said:

 

Harmony is cancelled isnt it till September? We were booked and Lift and shifted to next year

Cancelled until the end of July... Starting sailings in August...

[Pandamonia]

2 minutes ago, Bracarense said:

Cancelled until the end of July... Starting sailings in August...

Dear Guest,

 

We’ve been diligently working on our Royal Comeback - and it’s starting to shape up. It’s taken months of planning and coordinating and we’re still finalizing new homeports and communicating with local governments and authorities to ensure our new protocols maintain your safety and wellbeing.

As we continue down this path, we’ve decided to extend our suspension of some sailings through August 31, 2021. As a result, your sailing will unfortunately be cancelled.

[Jimbo]

43 minutes ago, Pandamonia said:

 

Harmony is cancelled isnt it till September? We were booked and Lift and shifted to next year

What was your sailing date?

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Pandamonia said:

 

Harmony is cancelled isnt it till September? We were booked and Lift and shifted to next year

This is an interporting itinerary, i.e. it has two embarkation ports, Barcelona and Rome.The Barcelona departures are scheduled to begin on 15th August. But the Rome departures were cancelled through the end of August. The first departure from Rome is now scheduled to be 2nd September.

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

This is an interporting itinerary, i.e. it has two embarkation ports, Barcelona and Rome.The Barcelona departures are scheduled to begin on 15th August. But the Rome departures were cancelled through the end of August. The first departure from Rome is now scheduled to be 2nd September.

or so we think................Not alot of talk as to what Harmony is up to.

Edited June 28, 2021 by Jimbo

[poocher]

Well I hope she’s back here by March 13!!!

[FionaMG]

9 hours ago, Jimbo said:

or so we think................Not alot of talk as to what Harmony is up to.

 

Yes, that's true, but then with all eyes currently on the restart of cruises from North America nobody is really paying much attention to Europe. We're not really hearing anything about Anthem other than the ongoing thread here on CC, and even less about Jewel, both of which are due to start up in early July, so with a mid-August start date I'm not too surprised that Harmony is off the radar at the moment.

 

And I wonder how many on here know that cruising has now restarted from Barcelona? MSC's Grandiosa sailed this past Saturday (26 June) on a one-week cruise calling at several Italian ports and Malta.

 

For those interested, here is the link to the Port of Barcelona's press release about the restart:

 

https://contentv5.portdebarcelona.cat/cntmng/gd/d/workspace/SpacesStore/587d1daa-12f8-42ad-a505-077c9ff951dc/210626_Represa_Creuers_EN.pdf

 

Paragraph two mentions the next cruises due to operate, including Harmony.

[Jimbo]

I'm just glad we don't have to worry about it any longer but I do hope it goes well for those that are still booked on upcoming cruises from Barcelona and  Civitavecchia(Rome)

[Jimbo]

4 hours ago, FionaMG said:

 

Yes, that's true, but then with all eyes currently on the restart of cruises from North America nobody is really paying much attention to Europe. We're not really hearing anything about Anthem other than the ongoing thread here on CC, and even less about Jewel, both of which are due to start up in early July, so with a mid-August start date I'm not too surprised that Harmony is off the radar at the moment.

 

And I wonder how many on here know that cruising has now restarted from Barcelona? MSC's Grandiosa sailed this past Saturday (26 June) on a one-week cruise calling at several Italian ports and Malta.

 

For those interested, here is the link to the Port of Barcelona's press release about the restart:

 

https://contentv5.portdebarcelona.cat/cntmng/gd/d/workspace/SpacesStore/587d1daa-12f8-42ad-a505-077c9ff951dc/210626_Represa_Creuers_EN.pdf

 

Paragraph two mentions the next cruises due to operate, including Harmony.

In that link you posted I see the talk about having added Covid insurance, this is probably where Royal Caribbean got the idea to add it to the cruises from Florida, It reads like this:

 

"Shipping companies are also required to have insurance for passengers and crew to cover all accommodation, maintenance and medical care costs for asymptomatic patients not requiring hospitalisation. This is also the case for close contacts who have to quarantine, and hospital admissions for positive cases, where necessary. This cover includes all transport needs, including air medical transfers and repatriation if necessary, and guarantees to keep the public health system from being overloaded, in the words of Fernando Pacheco, General Manager of MSC Cruises in Spain, who also pointed out that the MSC Grandiosa “is one of the most modern and environmentally advanced ships in our fleet.” Pacheco explained that the MSC Seashore is scheduled to leave the shipyards at the end of next July and that this ship, the most technologically advanced of the shipping company, will be positioned in Barcelona to travel around the Mediterranean at the beginning of August. Terminals also have their own health measures for passengers as well as protocols for disinfecting luggage and facilities once each operation has been completed. Ventilation, disinfection and proper distribution of passenger flows will be key to the process.

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

25 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

In that link you posted I see the talk about having added Covid insurance, this is probably where Royal Caribbean got the idea to add it to the cruises from Florida,

 

Proof of coverage for Covid treatments and the ability to pay for quarantines that might be required have become a staple of pandemic international travel.  I doubt Royal followed this particular example before they included it for Florida cruises. 

 

My annual travel policy began including language around such requirements as early as last fall. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by Steeler Nation At Sea

[meghan74]

I've been somewhat optimistic about our cruise in October, but I find it quite strange that there has been almost no news about the August 15 restart, especially when you consider that a lot of passengers could be coming from outside the EU. 

 

We've booked a hotel in Rome that we can cancel without penalty in case the cruise is canceled, but we can still get to Europe. I'm growing more concerned that the itinerary will be significantly changed if Harmony really does restart in August.

[Preziosa]

Pandamonia, which day were your sailing....and was it from Rome

[FionaMG]

2 hours ago, meghan74 said:

I've been somewhat optimistic about our cruise in October, but I find it quite strange that there has been almost no news about the August 15 restart, especially when you consider that a lot of passengers could be coming from outside the EU. 

 

We've booked a hotel in Rome that we can cancel without penalty in case the cruise is canceled, but we can still get to Europe. I'm growing more concerned that the itinerary will be significantly changed if Harmony really does restart in August.

I honestly think it is just because the cruise lines are taking things one day at a time and that Harmony is simply on a back burner for the moment since her first sailing is still some six weeks away.

I guess itinerary changes are a possibility but the three Italian ports have been operating since August of last year so hopefully there is a good chance that there will be no change to those. I haven't been able to track down any information about either Palma de Mallorca or Marseille, though.

[little britain]

@FionaMG From July 4, MSC Seaside will make its maiden call at Marseille and will sail at 70% capacity to comply with social distancing.

 

Costa Smeralda is scheduled to sail seven-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean until autumn, departing Marseille and calling Barcelona, Palma, Palermo, Civitavecchia and Savona, starting July 4 too.

[meghan74]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

I guess itinerary changes are a possibility but the three Italian ports have been operating since August of last year so hopefully there is a good chance that there will be no change to those. I haven't been able to track down any information about either Palma de Mallorca or Marseille, though.

I would be okay with missing Palma de Mallorca or Marseille because I prefer the Italian ports. I didn't know the Italian ports have been open - that's good news!

[Pandamonia]

5 hours ago, Preziosa said:

Pandamonia, which day were your sailing....and was it from Rome

 

First 2 weeks of August and Barca. 

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, meghan74 said:

I would be okay with missing Palma de Mallorca or Marseille because I prefer the Italian ports. I didn't know the Italian ports have been open - that's good news!

 

Yes, the first line to start up was MSC with one ship calling at Italian ports and Valletta, Malta, back in August 2020. There was a 2-3 week hiatus over Christmas and New Year because of the Italian government's restrictions on any travel during the festive season, but they started back up again after that.

[steamboats]

MSC started out last year with Italian cruises (including Malta). AIDA and Costa had a rough start and had to stop again (plus their IT problems). But the Costa Smeralda is up and running for weeks on all Italian itineraries. I just returned from Costa Smeralda two weeks ago. They start with the regular itinerary by July 4th (including Barcelona, Marseille and Palma). MSC Seaside is also running in the Western Med. More ships are up and running in the Eastern Med including two MSC ships and one Costa out of Venice. TUI Cruises and AIDA are up an running in Greece and now out of Palma (first cruises are Spanish ports only). Not to mention the cruises out of Kiel and Warnemünde. MSC Seaview is on her way to Kiel for the July 3rd start there.

 

So there´s a lot of crusing going on here in Europe (not to mention the UK only cruises). And we started over here last year already. Costa Smeralda was my 7th cruise since the pandemic shut everything down.

 

As for the protocols... Still nothing published for Harmony of the Seas but they won´t be much different from those of the Jewel of the Seas. As seen in the online booking process they do require a full vaccination for Harmony.

 

steamboats 

[Pandamonia]

Im still trying to work out how ANYONE is still booked to sail on Harmony in August lol

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

3 hours ago, steamboats said:

As seen in the online booking process they do require a full vaccination for Harmony.

 

steamboats 

 

Unless you embark in Rome as pointed out above. 

[steamboats]

2 hours ago, Steeler Nation At Sea said:

 

Unless you embark in Rome as pointed out above. 

 

Which is pretty likely just another example for "Royal IT". I doubt that they let you onboard not being vaccinated in Civitavecchia.

 

steamboats