Harmony of the seas 15th Aug updates

[Sirap]

@kimmy_bos From the protocols they sent us, They said Royal will provide us with a free test prior to the end of the cruise which can be provided to your home country.

[piperarrow]

and so it begins,

 

We're reaching out to you with important changes and information for our August 15, 2021 Harmony of the Seas sailing. Please see the breakdown of these updates below.

Itinerary Change

After reviewing France's protocols for guests travelling via cruise ship, we've decided to remove our stop in Provence (Marseilles), France and replace it with a cruising day. To help offset some of the time lost, we've added 4 extra hours to our stop in Palma De Mallorca, Spain so we can watch the sunset at this truly unique destination. We understand a lot of effort goes into planning your cruise with us and we are truly sorry for any disappointment this change has caused. Please see our revised itinerary below.

[mrpie90]

1 hour ago, piperarrow said:

and so it begins,

 

We're reaching out to you with important changes and information for our August 15, 2021 Harmony of the Seas sailing. Please see the breakdown of these updates below.

Itinerary Change

After reviewing France's protocols for guests travelling via cruise ship, we've decided to remove our stop in Provence (Marseilles), France and replace it with a cruising day. To help offset some of the time lost, we've added 4 extra hours to our stop in Palma De Mallorca, Spain so we can watch the sunset at this truly unique destination. We understand a lot of effort goes into planning your cruise with us and we are truly sorry for any disappointment this change has caused. Please see our revised itinerary below.

 

 

Hi.

We have had the same e-mail for our September18th cruise.

just have to see how we go. 

[FionaMG]

I haven't received anything yet for the 26 September sailing but I checked the cruise planner and it's gone. That's a pity but at this stage of the game I'll be happy just to sail around the Med without touching land for a week. I hope this change doesn't mess up people's pkans, though. 😞

[Jimbo]

5 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I haven't received anything yet for the 26 September sailing but I checked the cruise planner and it's gone. That's a pity but at this stage of the game I'll be happy just to sail around the Med without touching land for a week. I hope this change doesn't mess up people's pkans, though. 😞

Sorry for the loss 😞

Edited August 6, 2021 by Jimbo

[FamilyCruiserUK]

16 hours ago, kimmy_bos said:

Any brits on this thread? What are you doing about the test to enter back into the uk? Do you know if harmony has facilities to complete PCR tests if the UK makes it mandatory (rather than advised) for pre departure tests. I am not on harmony till October so the rules will have probably changed 10x by then but wanted to hear your thoughts. 
Thank

Kim 

 

We were due on the 29rh but with the uncertainty we moved to anthem. Smaller ship nad poss rubbish wearher but next year was silly money and no time off as already booked to go away

[Sirap]

16 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

We were due on the 29rh but with the uncertainty we moved to anthem. Smaller ship nad poss rubbish wearher but next year was silly money and no time off as already booked to go away

I guess it doesn't not matter anymore. This was also in the email we received today. UK folks can't even sail for the first few sailings.

 

Travel Restrictions

Royal Caribbean continues to monitor government travel restrictions around the world, evaluating our itineraries and protocols accordingly. At this time, guests that have transited, travelled to, or reside in the following countries are not permitted to visit Italy without quarantining for several days: Brazil, Mexico, Kuwait, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. For this reason, guests travelling from these countries are unable to sail on Harmony's first few sailings. Additionally, guests that have transited, travelled to, or reside in some countries are prohibited from entering Italy due to travel restrictions. To understand if this applies to you, please go through the questionnaire here. Please note, if your flight plans include a layover in the UK, you will remain eligible to sail with as long as you do not exit the airport during that layover period. If you are impacted by this travel restriction, we have some options for you to select from.

[FionaMG]

52 minutes ago, Sirap said:

I guess it doesn't not matter anymore. This was also in the email we received today. UK folks can't even sail for the first few sailings.

 

Oh wow, there are going to be some really disappointed people.  

Are you affected by this @Sirap?

[Sirap]

No I am coming from the United States.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

I feel for all those from the uk who just checked in and paid for flights, now have to get money back. Poor decisions by rcl on this one

[FionaMG]

A further snippet on the email, which my TA (who is in the States) has just forwarded to me, is that Royal shore excursions are mandatory, even for the fully-vaccinated, if you want to go ashore in Italy. And guess what? Suddenly a fair number of the cheaper excursions that were on the cruise planner yesterday have vanished from it today. 

[Preziosa]

I Think that s new that you Can t  Go ashore by your self. I Think I Read that you could Go

[Preziosa]

Fiona MG Can copi in here what you have Got from your TÁ...

[FionaMG]

3 minutes ago, Preziosa said:

I Think that s new that you Can t  Go ashore by your self. I Think I Read that you could Go

 

Yes, it's new. It's in the same email as the one informing that Marseille has been cancelled.

 

At the moment it applies to Italy, so that affects the ports of La Spezia, Civitavecchia and Naples. You can still go ashore by yourself in Palma de Mallorca.

[FionaMG]

1 minute ago, Preziosa said:

Fiona MG Can copi in here what you have Got from your TÁ...

Yes, of course. See below.

 

"Dear Guest,

We're reaching out to you with important changes and information for our Harmony of the Seas sailing. Please see the breakdown of these updates below.

 

Itinerary Change

After reviewing France's protocols for guests travelling via cruise ship, we've decided to remove our stop in Provence (Marseilles), France and replace it with a cruising day. To help offset some of the time lost, we've added 4 extra hours to our stop in Palma De Mallorca, Spain so we can watch the sunset at this truly unique destination. We understand a lot of effort goes into planning your cruise with us and we are truly sorry for any disappointment this change has caused. Please see our revised itinerary below.

Day	Port of Call	Arrive	Depart
Sun	Barcelona, Spain		6:00 PM
Mon	Palma De Mallorca, Spain	8:00 AM	8:00 PM
Tue	Cruising
Wed	Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Italy	8:30 AM	8:30 PM
Thu	Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy	7:00 AM	8:00 PM
Fri	Naples / Capri, Italy	7:00 AM	7:00 PM
Sat	Cruising
Sun	Barcelona, Spain	5:00 AM

Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions booked for Provence (Marseilles), France will automatically be refunded to your original form of payment. In the next few days, your updated tour information will be e-mailed to you.

 

Shore Excursion Requirement

Recently, we've been advised that all guests joining us on our sailing onboard Harmony of the Seas that wish to visit explore our Italian destinations on our itinerary, regardless of vaccination status, will need to purchase a Royal Caribbean shore excursion. Feel free to browse our selection of tours that meet these requirements in Cruise Planner.

 

Travel Restrictions

Royal Caribbean continues to monitor government travel restrictions around the world, evaluating our itineraries and protocols accordingly. At this time, guests that have transited, travelled to, or reside in the following countries are not permitted to visit Italy without quarantining for several days: Brazil, Mexico, Kuwait, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. For this reason, guests travelling from these countries are unable to sail on Harmony's first few sailings. Additionally, guests that have transited, travelled to, or reside in some countries are prohibited from entering Italy due to travel restrictions. To understand if this applies to you, please go through the questionnaire here. Please note, if your flight plans include a layover in the UK, you will remain eligible to sail with as long as you do not exit the airport during that layover period.

 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. We look forward to welcoming you onboard Harmony of the Seas!

 

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International"

[Sirap]

@Preziosa

Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions booked for Provence (Marseilles), France will automatically be refunded to your original form of payment. In the next few days, your updated tour information will be e-mailed to you.

Shore Excursion Requirement

Recently, we've been advised that all guests joining us on our sailing onboard Harmony of the Seas that wish to visit explore our Italian destinations on our itinerary, regardless of vaccination status, will need to purchase a Royal Caribbean shore excursion. To help assist you with booking your tour, we will be providing you with a 20% discount on select tours for our Italian destinations. To receive the discount, please reserve your tours once onboard.

[Sirap]

It is odd how the wording in your Shore Excursion Requirements is different than mine. Mine says I get a 20% discount if I book onboard.

[FionaMG]

1 minute ago, Sirap said:

It is odd how the wording in your Shore Excursion Requirements is different than mine. Mine says I get a 20% discount if I book onboard.

 

 

Yes, I actually did a double take there when I saw yours. I'm guessing it may be because your sailing is much closer than mine. Things will possibly change again between now and the end of September. We'll wait and see. 

 

[steamboats]

What a "big surprise" that you need a shore excursion for Italy. Actually that´s been the rule for all cruise lines which are up and running already in the Western (or Eastern) Med (MSC, Costa, TUI Cruises, AIDA).

 

As the numbers in Italy are currently going up again they have announced quite a few restrictions. You need proof of your vaccination (usually digital) for restaurants, museums and all other indoor places.

 

steamboats

[Preziosa]

1 month a Go I had an E mail from RC that Said We could Go ashore by Our self in Italy. I know things change everyday, but is is just today They tell os We Can t Go ashore by Our self in Italy

[Sirap]

@steamboatsIt is a surprise as this was the rule when we got our protocol email a month ago. I know things can and usually do change, as stated in the second sentence below. It really does not effect me as I already had book my excursions through Royal anyways.

 

 

Shore Excursions

• Travel parties with unvaccinated guests that wish to go ashore must purchase a local tour through Royal Caribbean, including parents traveling with unvaccinated children. Entirely vaccinated traveling parties may visit the port freely. This policy is subject to change as we continue to evaluate circumstances around the globe. 

[Acruisingperson]

We have the same rules for our October Harmony cruise. Anyone know if we can get a cash refund because of the new protocols? I’m thinking it might be better to travel independently this year. 

[steamboats]

@Sirap I know what they said before but there was always a disclaimer referring to the local laws and policies. And so far Italy has not allowed individual shore tours for any of the cruise lines. If so I´m pretty sure that TUI Cruises would have announced a "vaccinated only cruise" (or as they call it "Große Freiheit" = big freedom). They did that for Greece when the Greek allowed individual shore tours and they did it for Mein Schiff 1 which calls Swedish ports. But Mein Schiff 4 which departs from Genova with all Italian ports is still not for fully vaccinated passengers only.

 

So for me it would have been a bigger surprise to keep the promise of individual shore tours.

 

steamboats

[Skimble1973]

I guess RCCL is not that unhappy with the new rules.

I've never booked those overprized excursions through the ships and I won't do it on my September cruise on Harmony.

I'd never thought I would ever say that, but I wish I hadn't booked the cruise 2 weeks ago!

[Pencruise]

On 8/6/2021 at 11:39 AM, mrpie90 said:

 

 

Hi.

We have had the same e-mail for our September18th cruise.

just have to see how we go. 

We are on the 18th too and haven’t received any notifications at all !