Harmony of the seas 15th Aug updates

[FionaMG]

@Wulber I totally agree with you that this information should have been displayed much more prominently on the email. Imagine if you had not been here on the boards; your sister could have turned up at the port ready to cruise and none the wiser! I am sorry she has had this disappointment but in light of the uncertainty I think she has taken the right course of action. At least she has been able to salvage something of her holiday. I really hope she will have a wonderful time in Barcelona. It's a great city to visit.

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, dorts said:

Yeah no UK cruisers allowed onboard in August. Poorly handled I feel to alert something this important so close to sail date for many. Strange that they won't let UK cruisers onboard, offer some incentive, and just not let them off in Italy. Many would probably opt for this option I think. I have added headache that I live in NI but will have over 14 days in Ireland/Spain before cruise and also have Irish passport and ID. RCCL and my TA are not sure how it works for me and if I can still go if rules are not relaxed between Italy and UK end of August. Good luck everyone

 

In these strange times things change so fast that sometimes it's hard to keep up but that's no excuse for burying such an important piece of information at the bottom of an email where it can easily be overlooked.

 

I'm not sure the Italian authorities would allow Royal to let people sail and just not get off the ship, so that may well not be an option.

 

However in your case, it seems to me that you are not affected by the Italian regulations. Have you gone through the questionnaire that Royal link to in the email? As far as I can see, what matters to the Italian authorities is where you have been in the 14 days prior to boarding and if you have proof (e.g. flight tickets, supermarket till receipts, restaurants bills, anything and everything) that you have only been in Ireland and Spain (and not in NI at all) during that period then you should be good to go. That said, you just never know when Royal are going to take their oft-used "abundance of caution" approach. Fingers crossed for you.

[Kbonner]

Ireland presently is no good - it is not part of Schengen and treated by Italy like the UK (NI) as there is a soft/green border  between Ireland and UK

[CalTexCruiser]

What a s--tshow.

 

We were on the Aug 8 Harmony from Barcelona so missed all this fun by one week.

 

[dorts]

10 minutes ago, Kbonner said:

Ireland presently is no good - it is not part of Schengen and treated by Italy like the UK (NI) as there is a soft/green border  between Ireland and UK

Actually travel between Ireland and Italy is fine with the EU Covid Cert. No quarantine or testing. I have an Irish passport and EU passcard too, and plan on spending 14 days before cruise in Ireland (south) and Spain so according to the Itlaian government questionnaire and embassy, I am free to visit but my booking is with UK TA and they are just saying RC told them to cancel all UK bookings for August and I am trying to explain my unique position but don't think they fully understand. Plan B may be needed 😅

[Kbonner]

19 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

What a s--tshow.

 

We were on the Aug 8 Harmony from Barcelona so missed all this fun by one week.

 

Sorry but the Harmony only starts revenue service Aug 15. You must have been a blind passenger Aug 8

[wulber]

FionaMG thats exactly what would have happened.

I don't think she believed me at first and I thought they would have offered the Harmony at a later date as well as the Anthem and Jewel as an option.

They must be desperate for passengers for these cruises  protecting your  cabin category price,  offering help with your flight change or cancellation and obc.🤔

[CalTexCruiser]

1 hour ago, Kbonner said:

Sorry but the Harmony only starts revenue service Aug 15. You must have been a blind passenger Aug 8

 

I booked Aug 8 back in 2020 when Harmony was available starting in May or Jun 2021.  

 

I cancelled earlier this year and Royal moved me to May 2022 on Allure in Star class for about the same price as 2-bdrm Grand Suite, so I can't complain too much.

[Travelbugs2.2]

3 hours ago, Kbonner said:

Ireland presently is no good - it is not part of Schengen and treated by Italy like the UK (NI) as there is a soft/green border  between Ireland and UK

Ireland is fine.   Whilst not part of the Schengen, it is part of the EU so covered with the EU digital covid cert.

UK & NI are different

[steamboats]

On 8/8/2021 at 10:35 PM, German Mermaid said:

 

I guess you know I´m not a native english speaker so maybe my message was a bit misleading. I understand that Royal was talking about France's protocols for cruise ships, but I meant that there might be new protocols of the cruise lines because of new covid rules in the ports, high risk areas etc. I guess you already heard about the "TousAntiCovid-Pass" in France which is a requirement for restaurants, different activities and also for cruise ships. Maybe this is one of the reasons why Royal is going to skip France.

 

The TousAntiCovidPass is the same as our digital covid vaccination pass. Our´s is valid in France.

 

I haven´t heard of any special cruise ship protocols in France. MSC or Costa are visiting Marseilles too (and they don´t travel with fully vaccinated adults). Haven´t checked AIDA or TUI Cruises but at least they plan to go to France too (must not be Marseilles but could be Cannes).

 

steamboats