Bermuda Cruise Requirements

[Coco0917]

Hey Everyone,

 

We will be on the NCL Breakaway from NYC to Bermuda, sailing September 26 - October 3.  Has anyone cruised to Bermuda recently? I was just wondering what we should expect the requirements to be.  We are going to go for a COVID test Friday before we leave, however, I am not sure if there is anything else we will need to do? We are both fully vaccinated and want to make sure, in regard to COVID, we are all set . Let me know your experiences with cruising to Bermuda and the COVID restrictions.  Sorry if this is posted on the wrong board. 

[njhorseman]

8 hours ago, Coco0917 said:

Hey Everyone,

 

We will be on the NCL Breakaway from NYC to Bermuda, sailing September 26 - October 3.  Has anyone cruised to Bermuda recently? I was just wondering what we should expect the requirements to be.  We are going to go for a COVID test Friday before we leave, however, I am not sure if there is anything else we will need to do? We are both fully vaccinated and want to make sure, in regard to COVID, we are all set . Let me know your experiences with cruising to Bermuda and the COVID restrictions.  Sorry if this is posted on the wrong board. 

There have been no cruises to Bermuda since the start of the pandemic.

 

Viking has run cruises that start and end in Bermuda with some sea days included but passengers (except for some Bermudians who have taken the cruise) fly into Bermuda so the protocols and experience will be slightly different for those cruising to Bermuda.

 

Crystal will be the first to Bermuda with a late August start, followed by NCL in September.

 

There has been considerable discussion of this topic on the Crystal and NCL boards so you should read those threads and post questions there .

 

Here are the current protocols developed by Bermuda for cruise arrivals:

https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

 

In addition the cruise lines have their own protocols which at present include testing at the pier before you board.

[Charles4515]

The requirements could very well change by the time of your sailing. Bermuda's requirements are often modified in light of changes in the situation.

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by Charles4515

[JamieLogical]

On 8/16/2021 at 12:09 AM, Coco0917 said:

Hey Everyone,

 

We will be on the NCL Breakaway from NYC to Bermuda, sailing September 26 - October 3.  Has anyone cruised to Bermuda recently? I was just wondering what we should expect the requirements to be.  We are going to go for a COVID test Friday before we leave, however, I am not sure if there is anything else we will need to do? We are both fully vaccinated and want to make sure, in regard to COVID, we are all set . Let me know your experiences with cruising to Bermuda and the COVID restrictions.  Sorry if this is posted on the wrong board. 

 

According to the Bermuda Travel Authorization protocols, you will need to take a PCR test the Wednesday prior to your sailing. You will need to complete the Travel Authorization application, upload your test results, and upload your proof of vaccination more than 24 hours prior to sailing in order to receive your authorization in time to board.

[njhorseman]

54 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

According to the Bermuda Travel Authorization protocols, you will need to take a PCR test the Wednesday prior to your sailing. You will need to complete the Travel Authorization application, upload your test results, and upload your proof of vaccination more than 24 hours prior to sailing in order to receive your authorization in time to board.

 Bermuda may revise the schedule you see now because it was set with Crystal's  cruise schedule in mind.

Crystal is only spending one full day at sea on the cruise to Bermuda, so its Sunday departures arrive in Bermuda on Tuesday.

NCL spends two days at sea on the cruise to Bermuda, arriving in Bermuda on Wednesday. As a result It appears possible that taking the PCR test on Wednesday may be too early to satisfy Bermuda's protocols.

But...they may decide it's OK because it might be impractical to make NCL cruisers wait until Thursday to get tested. I think that NCL cruisers need to keep an eye on Bermuda's protocols for potential changes to the testing schedule.

 

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

 Bermuda may revise the schedule you see now because it was set with Crystal's  cruise schedule in mind.

Crystal is only spending one full day at sea on the cruise to Bermuda, so its Sunday departures arrive in Bermuda on Tuesday.

NCL spends two days at sea on the cruise to Bermuda, arriving in Bermuda on Wednesday. As a result It appears possible that taking the PCR test on Wednesday may be too early to satisfy Bermuda's protocols.

But...they may decide it's OK because it might be impractical to make NCL cruisers wait until Thursday to get tested. I think that NCL cruisers need to keep an eye on Bermuda's protocols for potential changes to the testing schedule.

 

 

I agree on all counts. A PCR test a full week prior to our arrival in Bermuda does seem like too long a gap, but also, of they change it so we are being tested on Thursday or even Friday before departure, there is no way to guarantee we would be able to get our results in time to have them uploaded to the Travel Authorization application more than 24 hours before sailing. Will definitely be keeping a close eye on it!

[sparks1093]

We'll be keeping an eye on this. We sail out of Baltimore on November 14th on CCL and spend 2 days at sea and arriving on a Wednesday. We'll be driving to Baltimore on Saturday the 13th. Hopefully we will have time before we leave to be tested. Of course being this far out things can change multiple times.

[imacruiser99]

There is an excellent article on BERNEWS web site on the upcoming Bermuda cruising season

 

https://bernews.com/2021/08/current-2021-cruise-schedule-shows-33-calls/

 

[JamieLogical]

40 minutes ago, imacruiser99 said:

There is an excellent article on BERNEWS web site on the upcoming Bermuda cruising season

 

https://bernews.com/2021/08/current-2021-cruise-schedule-shows-33-calls/

 

 

I don't imagine Breakaway is going to have anywhere near 3200 passengers on board. That would be almost 81% capacity. I suspect it will be much closer to 50-60%. Already, on Friday, NCL flagged every category except BA, M4, and H6 as "sold out" on our 9/26 sailing. On Wednesday, there were still at least 789 rooms available. At double-occupancy, that would be ~40% of rooms that were still available. Which indicates to me they cut it off right around 60%.

[sparks1093]

On 8/21/2021 at 6:49 PM, imacruiser99 said:

There is an excellent article on BERNEWS web site on the upcoming Bermuda cruising season

 

https://bernews.com/2021/08/current-2021-cruise-schedule-shows-33-calls/

 

Thank you for sharing that.

[kochleffel]

I also wonder about the requirement for a repeat test upon arrival at Bermuda. That means that the first day in port is probably shot, and I doubt that Bermuda will have the capacity to process thousands of tests within 24 hours, so the second day might be, as well.

[imacruiser99]

Here is the actual website for all the details on cruising passengers.

 

I would expect that NCL may be administering the antigen test on the 2nd sail date, or we will be  staggered off the ship to allow for Bermuda to test.

 

https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, imacruiser99 said:

Here is the actual website for all the details on cruising passengers.

 

I would expect that NCL may be administering the antigen test on the 2nd sail date, or we will be  staggered off the ship to allow for Bermuda to test.

 

https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

I'm not sure what you mean by "antigen test on the 2nd sail date". NCL administers an antigen test at the pier before embarkation. That  is part of NCL's protocol, not Bermuda's . All Bermuda protocol tests are PCR...antigen tests are not permitted. You'll need two...one obtained prior to departure that can be uploaded to be included part of Bermuda's Travel Authorization process and a second PCR test that will be administered by Bermuda on the ship, with a negative result being required prior to your being permitted to disembark.

[imacruiser99]

25 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "antigen test on the 2nd sail date". NCL administers an antigen test at the pier before embarkation. That  is part of NCL's protocol, not Bermuda's . All Bermuda protocol tests are PCR...antigen tests are not permitted. You'll need two...one obtained prior to departure that can be uploaded to be included part of Bermuda's Travel Authorization process and a second PCR test that will be administered by Bermuda on the ship, with a negative result being required prior to your being permitted to disembark.

Bermuda is requiring a test before you can get off the ship, I am not assuming that the one NCL administers prior to boarding will satisfy that requirement

 

per the web site

All cruise passengers must take a COVID-19 PCR test on arrival into Bermuda. Results will be emailed to passengers.

Upon receipt of a negative arrival test result, cruise passengers will be allowed to disembark in Bermuda.

[njhorseman]

2 minutes ago, imacruiser99 said:

Bermuda is requiring a test before you can get off the ship, I am not assuming that the one NCL administers prior to boarding will satisfy that requirement

 

per the web site

All cruise passengers must take a COVID-19 PCR test on arrival into Bermuda. Results will be emailed to passengers.

Upon receipt of a negative arrival test result, cruise passengers will be allowed to disembark in Bermuda.

I know that and I said that in my reply to your post.

 

You either misunderstood my question or you are misunderstanding the procedures or perhaps you're not picking up on the difference between antigen and PCR tests. I was questioning the first phrase of your sentence where you state "I would expect that NCL may be administering the antigen test on the 2nd sail date." followed by the remainder of the sentence , which is" or we will be  staggered off the ship to allow for Bermuda to test". The two tests required by Bermuda are both PCR, the first needed to submit with your Travel Authorization application during the week prior to embarkation and the second upon your arrival in Bermuda. The NCL test taken at embarkation is an antigen test, not PCR and does not satisfy Bermuda's protocols. It's purpose is to satisfy NCL's protocols.

 

[Arcalle]

On 8/21/2021 at 7:35 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

I don't imagine Breakaway is going to have anywhere near 3200 passengers on board. That would be almost 81% capacity. I suspect it will be much closer to 50-60%. Already, on Friday, NCL flagged every category except BA, M4, and H6 as "sold out" on our 9/26 sailing. On Wednesday, there were still at least 789 rooms available. At double-occupancy, that would be ~40% of rooms that were still available. Which indicates to me they cut it off right around 60%.

Hi Jamie!! How can you tell what rooms are still available? Thank you! 

[JamieLogical]

5 minutes ago, Arcalle said:

Hi Jamie!! How can you tell what rooms are still available? Thank you! 

 

I use a Travel Agency site, which I am unable to specifically mention or link here, due to the terms of service. The site I use shows up to 100 available rooms in any given category instead of the 15 you are limited to on the NCL site or most other travel agency sites. I click into each category, put the total number of rooms available in that category into a spreadsheet, and add up the totals.

[Arcalle]

Just now, JamieLogical said:

 

I use a Travel Agency site, which I am unable to specifically mention or link here, due to the terms of service. The site I use shows up to 100 available rooms in any given category instead of the 15 you are limited to on the NCL site or most other travel agency sites. I click into each category, put the total number of rooms available in that category into a spreadsheet, and add up the totals.

So cool! Thanks, Jamie!

[KoooBreeeeze]

Good afternoon I too am going to Bermuda on the 26th. Does anyone know when they are going to update their travel authorization application to where it includes Norwegian over the past eight days it’s been showing crystal cruise lines. every day I’ve called NCL and the only reply I get is they have to do it ( Bermuda Gov.). We have nine days left to get our PCR test, get the results fill out the application which states that you can fill it out one month prior upload your test results that’s if you get them back before showing up at the port from my understanding if you show up without uploading it you may have to turn around and go home. Please help

[JamieLogical]

3 minutes ago, KoooBreeeeze said:

Good afternoon I too am going to Bermuda on the 26th. Does anyone know when they are going to update their travel authorization application to where it includes Norwegian over the past eight days it’s been showing crystal cruise lines. every day I’ve called NCL and the only reply I get is they have to do it ( Bermuda Gov.). We have nine days left to get our PCR test, get the results fill out the application which states that you can fill it out one month prior upload your test results that’s if you get them back before showing up at the port from my understanding if you show up without uploading it you may have to turn around and go home. Please help

 

You can't take your test until the Wednesday before sailing, so the days up until then you wouldn't be able to submit your completed application anyway. But I agree, it would be nice to have access to at least begin the application, pay the $75, upload vaccination records, etc. Late last week, someone reached out to Bermuda and was told the new dates should be available this week. But seeing as how it's already Thursday, I don't know how optimistic I am about that happening. What I do know is that Crystal's next sailing to Bermuda is the 24th, which means THOSE passengers need to take their test on Monday, the 20th. I assume they would have access to the application for their sailing by then, so the application for our sailing on the 26th shouldn't be far behind!

[jstrutton]

One problem is that to get the travel authorization requires another $75.  Don’t care about that but hopefully the cruise line specifically carnival will forward what we need to do.  Otherwise there will be a lot of people on board without TA and not very happy.  
 

When I read about the crystal cruise it was taking care of the COVID test before they arrive but there was no mention of the TA that seems be required. Also the Bermuda website when you try to do the TA asks for sail date but it is grayed out and says come back later

 

pretty confusing. We are also on the 14 November cruise from Baltimore. We will getting our COVID test on Friday before driving up or use the emed kits

 

jay

[JamieLogical]

6 minutes ago, jstrutton said:

One problem is that to get the travel authorization requires another $75.  Don’t care about that but hopefully the cruise line specifically carnival will forward what we need to do.  Otherwise there will be a lot of people on board without TA and not very happy.  
 

When I read about the crystal cruise it was taking care of the COVID test before they arrive but there was no mention of the TA that seems be required. Also the Bermuda website when you try to do the TA asks for sail date but it is grayed out and says come back later

 

pretty confusing. We are also on the 14 November cruise from Baltimore. We will getting our COVID test on Friday before driving up or use the emed kits

 

jay

 

Crystal definitely mentions the TA in their protocols:

https://online.fliphtml5.com/gwsfl/zsni/#p=1

 

The last page of that has most of the info copied from Bermuda's site, but there is also mention of it at the very beginning on Page 4 and elsewhere.

[jstrutton]

25 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Crystal definitely mentions the TA in their protocols:

https://online.fliphtml5.com/gwsfl/zsni/#p=1

 

The last page of that has most of the info copied from Bermuda's site, but there is also mention of it at the very beginning on Page 4 and elsewhere.

 

25 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Crystal definitely mentions the TA in their protocols:

https://online.fliphtml5.com/gwsfl/zsni/#p=1

 

The last page of that has most of the info copied from Bermuda's site, but there is also mention of it at the very beginning on Page 4 and elsewhere.

Agreed, but when you go the Bermuda website you get the below which indicates to come back later. So not sure what the crystal ships are doing about this.  Can’t get the TA for cruise even if I wanted to

 

just odd and confusing.  We’ve cruises a lot but I can’t imagine any new cruise having to deal with this

 

jay

[jstrutton]

Just sent email to the Bermuda website on the page and asked the question asking what is really required. Will post if and when they reply

 

jay

[JamieLogical]

13 minutes ago, jstrutton said:

 

Agreed, but when you go the Bermuda website you get the below which indicates to come back later. So not sure what the crystal ships are doing about this.  Can’t get the TA for cruise even if I wanted to

 

just odd and confusing.  We’ve cruises a lot but I can’t imagine any new cruise having to deal with this

 

jay

 

They were doing it from this page up through this week's sailing, which embarked on Sept. 12. That was the last date that had been previously listed on this page. Their next sailing doesn't embark until the 24th, so I would expect the form to be available Sunday or Monday for that sailing, since Monday is when they will have to take their PCR test.