Federal govt says not to travel internationally for min 4 weeks

[Froufie]

30 minutes ago, DHP1 said:

From Princess website: - FCCs can be used on any sailing made by and sailed by December 31, 2022

Sorry my mistake - was just research Celebrity cancellations and added the wrong info (Celebrity allows the up to 1 yr date.....)

 

[K_e_short]

5 hours ago, lx200gps said:

That pretty much summarizes my understanding as well.  Given that they don't REQUIRE any type of testing, it makes one wonder what percentage of US airlines, bus lines and rail lines are transporting around COVID positive passengers who aren't aware of  the fact that they are a health risk. Given the rates in the US, I'm betting there a lot of COVID + passengers out there.

 

I have posted my car rental plan on another social media  website and someone was very quick to remind me I can fly to Buffalo and then drive across the border.

My response was "well I'd rather not be un ethical.."

 

But yes it is scary to think you can be on public transportation in the U.S. without needing a covid test.

 

I would not want to fly within the U.S. for that exact reason.

 

 

[powderhorn]

1 hour ago, K_e_short said:

 

I have posted my car rental plan on another social media  website and someone was very quick to remind me I can fly to Buffalo and then drive across the border.

My response was "well I'd rather not be un ethical.."

 

But yes it is scary to think you can be on public transportation in the U.S. without needing a covid test.

 

I would not want to fly within the U.S. for that exact reason.

 

 

I believe it is the same here in Canada...no testing needed to fly domestic in Canada.....this off the Air Canada site:

 

No proof of negative pre-departure COVID-19 test results required

Description

Travellers are not required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result when travelling to Ontario from other provinces.

[waiting2retire]

18 minutes ago, powderhorn said:

I believe it is the same here in Canada...no testing needed to fly domestic in Canada.....this off the Air Canada site:

 

No proof of negative pre-departure COVID-19 test results required

Description

Travellers are not required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result when travelling to Ontario from other provinces.

you do need to be vaccinated however. Not sure whether that applies in the US.

 

 

[Fouremco]

12 hours ago, waiting2retire said:

you do need to be vaccinated however. Not sure whether that applies in the US.

 

 

While masks are now mandatory for domestic US flights, there is no federal requirement for passengers to be vaccinated or tested.

[DHP1]

On 12/18/2021 at 4:29 PM, DHP1 said:

Lol. Long story.  One thing about driving to Florida, what happens (worst case scenario) the ship doesn’t return to the same Port (Covid outbreak). Remember what happen almost 2 years ago.  We are planning on worst case scenario and coming up with the best plan. This whole matter is driving us nuts.  We have decide to pay our final payment tomorrow and take the chance. We plan this trip 2 years ago and we have build ourselves up. If we cancel before final payment and it turns out okay to cruise in March, that would rude us. We wouldn’t be able to rebook because currently, the cruise is almost sold out. Secondly, after payment if we need to cancel up to departure at least we get a full refund (PVP) as FCC. The only problem with that, is we have to use our FCC by the end of next year or we will lose $6,500. We are booked in November for Sydney/NewZealand however, we are not getting our hopes high because we are prepared that things could change. We did not expect this current situation. 

We just cancelled. Too risky.  

[Fouremco]

9 minutes ago, DHP1 said:

We just cancelled. Too risky.  

Very unfortunate, but an understandable decision.

[jean163]

On 12/18/2021 at 12:01 PM, Crown Vic said:

Does leave a rather poor taste in one’s mouth. Still, escalating to Robert Binder, CEO, or Frank del Rio, CEO, NCL Holdings may help. Ya never know.

Loyalty should account for something.

Good luck!

No escalation necessary.  Today we received FCCs for the full value of our cruise on Oceania.  They are reacting to evolving situations I think so presumably Canada's Dec. 15th travel advisory was considered sufficient reason to cancel.  They do state that their T&C can be overridden as they are certainly out-of-date compared to SailSafe and this was a new development.  We have until the end of 2022 to book (we already have a cruise under deposit) and 2023 to sail so, hopefully, by then all this will be behind us!  I would still rather be on the cruise now but this does make for a Merrier Christmas!

[WESTEAST]

23 minutes ago, jean163 said:

No escalation necessary.  Today we received FCCs for the full value of our cruise on Oceania.  They are reacting to evolving situations I think so presumably Canada's Dec. 15th travel advisory was considered sufficient reason to cancel.  They do state that their T&C can be overridden as they are certainly out-of-date compared to SailSafe and this was a new development.  We have until the end of 2022 to book (we already have a cruise under deposit) and 2023 to sail so, hopefully, by then all this will be behind us!  I would still rather be on the cruise now but this does make for a Merrier Christmas!

Wonderful news and very happy for you that Oceania took this decision. We have a September booking with Oceania and hope that we will be able to cruise as have cancelled two cruises with O to date.  Have a Merry Christmas.

[Crown Vic]

1 hour ago, jean163 said:

No escalation necessary.  Today we received FCCs for the full value of our cruise on Oceania.  They are reacting to evolving situations...

Good to hear! Well done! Hope this change will cover NCL and Regent as well as Oceania. Have a very happy Christmas. CV...

[travelordie]

5 hours ago, jean163 said:

No escalation necessary.  Today we received FCCs for the full value of our cruise on Oceania.  They are reacting to evolving situations I think so presumably Canada's Dec. 15th travel advisory was considered sufficient reason to cancel.  They do state that their T&C can be overridden as they are certainly out-of-date compared to SailSafe and this was a new development.  We have until the end of 2022 to book (we already have a cruise under deposit) and 2023 to sail so, hopefully, by then all this will be behind us!  I would still rather be on the cruise now but this does make for a Merrier Christmas!

Excellent news and pleased to hear that Oceania finally did the right thing.   We have two upcoming back-to-back Oceania cruises in 2022.  The first two are on the Sirena in March and the second two are Bangkok-to-Lisbon on the Insignia.  

 

We cruised with Viking in Iceland in August 2021 and with Azamara in Greece in October 2021.  Viking did daily PCR tests using saliva rather than blood and we wish other cruise lines did the same.
 

We are currently in Spain and five days from now, we will embark on the Azamara Journey in Gran Canaria for a cruise visiting all of the major Canary Islands.  We’ve noticed that many Spaniards wear masks indoors and outdoors.  More than 80% of them are vaccinated.  We feel as safe here as in Canada.  It should be an interesting cruise as Spain today is planning to introduce legislation making it mandatory to wear masks outdoors.  It remains to be determined whether masks will also be mandatory outdoors on the Azamara Journey  but even if they are,  I’m sure we’ll enjoy this cruise.  I’m in my mid-70s and life is too short now to wait for the pandemic to end.

[golfnut64]

On 12/15/2021 at 4:02 PM, jean163 said:

Would love to hear about refund policies from different cruise lines for travel during the new advisory.  So far it appears that Carnival and Princess will issue a FCC and Oceania is refusing to do anything at all.  If you were set to depart in the next month and have decided to cancel please let me know what your experience is.  Thanks!

 

We have a cruise booked for Feb on Oceania.  We live in Chilliwack and would also like to cancel.  We are sailing on Oceania.  When we booked Omicron wasn’t heard of.  I think Oceania should have more compassion for people and allow them a refund or FCC.  Maybe they will if others are.  I certainly hope so!

 

[golfnut64]

On 12/22/2021 at 7:32 PM, WESTEAST said:

Wonderful news and very happy for you that Oceania took this decision. We have a September booking with Oceania and hope that we will be able to cruise as have cancelled two cruises with O to date.  Have a Merry Christmas.

 

On 12/22/2021 at 7:04 PM, jean163 said:

No escalation necessary.  Today we received FCCs for the full value of our cruise on Oceania.  They are reacting to evolving situations I think so presumably Canada's Dec. 15th travel advisory was considered sufficient reason to cancel.  They do state that their T&C can be overridden as they are certainly out-of-date compared to SailSafe and this was a new development.  We have until the end of 2022 to book (we already have a cruise under deposit) and 2023 to sail so, hopefully, by then all this will be behind us!  I would still rather be on the cruise now but this does make for a Merrier Christmas!

We have a cruise booked for Feb 7.  I wonder if they would do the same for us.  The travel advisory is until Jan 18.  Guess it is worth a try.  Good for you to get a credit.

[Florida_gal_50]

Doesn’t anyone buy cancel for any reason insurance?  I’ve purchased it for many years.  I don’t want to depend on the cruise line to do “the right thing”.  It would be different if they caused covid or omicron.  Don’t we all have some responsibility to protect ourselves or deal with it if we don’t? I don’t enjoy paying for it but I enjoy not losing thousands of dollars.  Our government is making it difficult to travel.  I’m not saying it’s the wrong thing.  Citizens of the USA are traveling with relative ease compared to us.

[bennybear]

I think each situation is different.   The pandemic has changed the rules and invalidated a lot of the coverage. It is on all of us to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of travel at this time and what additional coverage may be needed. 

We have purchased the cancel for any reason in the past when we had a situation that we were concerned about that may not be covered.  But for most cruises and other trips that was unnecessary as we always have travel medical coverage and trip cancellation insurance. 

For us, the health risks are more important than losing money.  We continue to be astounded by those who travel  without considering the Personal and financial risks they may incur.  We cannot expect our country or companies to protect us from these risks. Caveat emptor.  At the beginning of the pandemic our government repatriated our citizens,  I think we are on notice that we’re on our own this time around.  

Edited December 27, 2021 by bennybear

[Florida_gal_50]

3 minutes ago, bennybear said:

I think each situation is different.   The pandemic has changed the rules and invalidated a lot of the coverage. It is on all of us to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of travel at this time and what additional coverage may be needed. 

We have purchased the cancel for any reason in the past when we had a situation that we were concerned about that may not be covered.  But for most cruises and other trips that was unnecessary as we always have travel medical coverage and trip cancellation insurance. 

For us, the health risks are more important than losing money.  We continue to be astounded by those who travel  without considering the Personal and financial risks they may incur.  We cannot expect our country or companies to protect us from these risks. Caveat emptor. 

I do buy the cancel for any reason because it could be a hassle if you get regular insurance.  While I had money back on my credit card in mar 2020 within around 10 days, people were fighting with their regular insurance companies.  I don’t want to deal with that.  I absolutely don’t use it for medical because it’s pretty much worthless for that.  I buy another policy for medical.  Even if a person is young (not me 😛) you just don’t know what might happen.

[14Canadian]

 We canceled our two cruises with NCL for January sailings.  So far NCL  is not recognizing Canadian travel advisory and is not willing to compensate the guests in any way. It’s a bad business decision.  For us Canadians it’s a mess out there now.  Look at the chaos at the airports and we have no guarantee that we can fly back home as the risk of testing positive.

Even some of the ports are refusing to let the ships dock in theirports now.

it’s wise for all the companies to let some people sail in future if wising to do so. As opposed to holding them hostages to sail under present conditions.

[Florida_gal_50]

15 minutes ago, 14Canadian said:

 We canceled our two cruises with NCL for January sailings.  So far NCL  is not recognizing Canadian travel advisory and is not willing to compensate the guests in any way. It’s a bad business decision.  For us Canadians it’s a mess out there now.  Look at the chaos at the airports and we have no guarantee that we can fly back home as the risk of testing positive.

Even some of the ports are refusing to let the ships dock in theirports now.

it’s wise for all the companies to let some people sail in future if wising to do so. As opposed to holding them hostages to sail under present conditions.

They really aren’t under any obligation to recognize a Canadian travel advisory.  I can’t see the cruise lines shutting down again but maybe I’m wrong.  There is no doubt that airports are a mess for us now.  I went back and forth on my November 2021 cruise.  Should I go, should I not go.  Can I get health insurance etc.  Not for one second did I think Holland america should be bailing me out.  I have another cruise booked for March.  I made final payment of my own free will towards the end of November.  Omicron was already on the horizon at that point.  Again, I bought hal cancel for any reason.  Why should the cruise line let me cruise at a later date? Can you imagine what an administrative nightmare that would be?  As a shareholder of ccl stock I’m good with them not providing a line to those that decide not to insure.    

[14Canadian]

A lot of people booked based on the policy that BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE

if you read NCL cancelation policy. 

[Prismanet]

18 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

They really aren’t under any obligation to recognize a Canadian travel advisory.  I can’t see the cruise lines shutting down again but maybe I’m wrong.  There is no doubt that airports are a mess for us now.  I went back and forth on my November 2021 cruise.  Should I go, should I not go.  Can I get health insurance etc.  Not for one second did I think Holland america should be bailing me out.  I have another cruise booked for March.  I made final payment of my own free will towards the end of November.  Omicron was already on the horizon at that point.  Again, I bought hal cancel for any reason.  Why should the cruise line let me cruise at a later date? Can you imagine what an administrative nightmare that would be?  As a shareholder of ccl stock I’m good with them not providing a line to those that decide not to insure.    

I agree with 14Canadian. In my case, we did purchase the Norwegian Standard Insurance plan as we thought that this insurance plus the Book with Confidence would be enough in case the rules to travel would change in Canada but it looks like NCL does not see it the same way. They are just saying that as the Travel Advisory in Canada never changed for cruises and cruises are still leaving US that their Book with Confidence should not apply.

However, when you read more details, they do say that if quarantine rules for your return home do change that their Book with Confidence would apply. GoC did change the rules on Dec 15th where international travelers would need to quarantine while waiting for their COVID testing results (if they indeed get tested at the airport). We hadn't planned for being quarantined 24-72 hours on our return from the cruise; i.e. revenue lost. We took insurance in case we would be positive but not for waiting on results.

Still waiting from our travel agent. Hopefully, we'll be able to get to an arrangement.

[Florida_gal_50]

32 minutes ago, 14Canadian said:

A lot of people booked based on the policy that BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE

if you read NCL cancelation policy. 

Hal has a similar policy up until 30 days I believe.  That isn’t sufficient to put my mind at rest.  You should be good if you felt that was sufficient.  If not, then isn’t that your responsibility?  

Edited December 27, 2021 by Florida_gal_50

[Florida_gal_50]

5 minutes ago, Prismanet said:

I agree with 14Canadian. In my case, we did purchase the Norwegian Standard Insurance plan as we thought that this insurance plus the Book with Confidence would be enough in case the rules to travel would change in Canada but it looks like NCL does not see it the same way. They are just saying that as the Travel Advisory in Canada never changed for cruises and cruises are still leaving US that their Book with Confidence should not apply.

However, when you read more details, they do say that if quarantine rules for your return home do change that their Book with Confidence would apply. GoC did change the rules on Dec 15th where international travelers would need to quarantine while waiting for their COVID testing results (if they indeed get tested at the airport). We hadn't planned for being quarantined 24-72 hours on our return from the cruise; i.e. revenue lost. We took insurance in case we would be positive but not for waiting on results.

Still waiting from our travel agent. Hopefully, we'll be able to get to an arrangement.

My insurance allows me to cancel for ANY reason right up to the day of departure.  It’s platinum insurance and is more expensive than their standard insurance.  If I want to cancel because I lost an eyelash I can do that.  You have to understand what the criteria is that is important and will cover for what you need.  There has been a travel advisory for cruises since mar 2020.  I’d rather cover for what I need and not pray the cruise line will bail me out.  I will still loose my insurance and 10 percent of the rest should I cancel because I’m feeling uneasy for any reason.  I will not be complaining to Holland america to bail me out.  They’d be within their rights to tell me to pound sand.  The cruise lines are in business to make money.  Only you can protect yourself.  Sadly no one else will care.

[ljtinney]

We have made the decision last yesterday to cancel our HAL cruise for this coming weekend. I had purchased platinum cruise line insurance and was able to get the 90% refund. I did discuss an FCC with them and it was offered but decided to take the refund and put the $ somewhere else. In all our years of cruising this was the first time we took the cruise line insurance and glad we did. 

 

AC flight cancelled with a future credit which I am quite happy with as we will most certainly use it at some point.

 

We will see how the travel situation is in a few weeks and for now I am looking at a land based vacation for us instead. 

[Fouremco]

8 minutes ago, ljtinney said:

We have made the decision last yesterday to cancel our HAL cruise for this coming weekend. I had purchased platinum cruise line insurance and was able to get the 90% refund. I did discuss an FCC with them and it was offered but decided to take the refund and put the $ somewhere else. In all our years of cruising this was the first time we took the cruise line insurance and glad we did. 

 

AC flight cancelled with a future credit which I am quite happy with as we will most certainly use it at some point.

 

We will see how the travel situation is in a few weeks and for now I am looking at a land based vacation for us instead. 

Unfortunate, but very understandable. Our decision has to be made by Thursday.

[Prismanet]

9 minutes ago, ljtinney said:

In all our years of cruising this was the first time we took the cruise line insurance and glad we did. 

Same here as this was the first time we purchased insurance from the cruise line + the COVID-19 medical insurance as we were going on a cruise where none of our existing insurance would apply.