Will Regent expedite EU Digital COVID Certificates?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I've been following a thread over on the Viking board about entry to Norway by U.S. and Canadian citizens, since we're booked on Splendor, Copenhagen to Stockholm in July 2020, a combo Norwegian/Baltic itinerary.  The following email was sent to passengers on a  Viking January fjords trip. "At this time, Norway requires all visitors–regardless of their country of origin–to have an EU Digital COVID Certificate. Viking has arranged to secure an EU Digital COVID Certificate, on your behalf and at no additional cost to you. "  See details in towards the bottom of post #255 here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2768896-in-search-of-northern-lights-viking-venus-january-12-2022/page/11/#comment-62327796

 

It sure would be nice if Regent stepped up and did the same for various cruises next summer.  What do you think the chances are?

 

[snorkle lover]

Wendy, I am hoping for more information on this topic. We are sailing Stockholm to Stockholm in August

so it would be nice to know.

[mrlevin]

How many shots to get certificate?  What is expiry date?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

33 minutes ago, snorkle lover said:

Wendy, I am hoping for more information on this topic. We are sailing Stockholm to Stockholm in August

so it would be nice to know.

It sure would, wouldn't it? Hoping at least that our final payment date in February will be delayed a month, we'll see.

 

Marc, I haven't looked into what criteria the EU use for the certificates.  You're welcome to find out if it's important to you.  All I know is that we can't currently get into Norway, any North Americans, unless we have this.

Edited December 22, 2021 by Wendy The Wanderer

[mrlevin]

I found out that our Grand Arctic final payment of 8 January will not be extended.  I will research certificate when we get home next month. 
 

thanks

 

marc

[Gilly]

Our UK "certificates" are barcodes which were uploaded automatically to our phones (or printed out) and are unique to each of us as the barcode includes our personal details and vaccination data - more secure than a card which can be "borrowed".  I have a separate barcode for each of my vaccinations (2 + booster) though whilst in Germany recently, only needed to show #3 on entering any restaurant or coffee shop (#3 including evidence that I also have #1 and #2).  Some places simply checked the screen but others scanned the barcode with a reader and checked my name or date of birth, ensuring I was who I claimed to be.  I assume that other European countries have the same kind of app.

 

How will a US citizen obtain such a certificate/barcode?  I have no idea, but perhaps there's the ability to display vaccination data into a similar common format and it's this process that Viking are facilitating?

Edited December 22, 2021 by Gilly

[BBWC]

In France you can take your vaccination card to a local pharmacy and have them issue a “pass sanitaire” (for a fee).

Our California vaccination record is on a QR code saved in Apple Wallet, though I don’t know if that would work in Europe. I know Singapore accepts it.

[Jimmcdaniel]

We were on a Crystal Endeavor cruise that called on France back in October. Crystal required passengers to apply for a EU Covid certificate in order to visit France. Everyone applied. Some got it, some did not. It ended up not being a huge deal and some folks who's certificates didn't arrive in time were able to use their CDC cards if they were asked for. We were fortunate in that our French/EU cards were processed almost instantaneously. It may have been because we are from California and CA has a database that may be shared with the EU. Pax from Texas and Florida did not seem to have the same experience. 

 

We are also on one of the upcoming Viking Northern Lights cruises. Viking is saying that the EU certificates were good for one year. When we got ours, there was no expiration date mentioned. So our one from France will probably be good if the Viking cruise isn't cancelled. Since we got it in September, it may still be good for our Regent Baltic/ Norway cruise that @Wendy The Wanderer(I believe) is also on. The EU certificate is basically an encrypted QR code that has your name, the type of vax you had and the dates of the vax. Since we only had the initial two shots when we applied for ours back in Sept., that is all that is on our QR code. If boosters are required going forward I am guessing we will have to re-apply for a new EU Certificate. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

8 hours ago, Jimmcdaniel said:

The EU certificate is basically an encrypted QR code that has your name, the type of vax you had and the dates of the vax.

Yes.  The issue is that not all QR codes are created equal.  For instance, I have a QR code for my Ontario vaccinations (which doesn't yet include my booster shot that I got here in Florida), but that Canadian vaccine passport is not (yet) accepted internationally, and is in no way equivalent to the EU certificate.  I'm hoping that we'll get some progress over the coming months on this transportability issue.

[BBWC]

Just an FYI - as of this week, the EU requires three vaccine doses if your first dose was more than 9 months ago. So some of you may need a new certificate.

[KBs mum]

19 hours ago, mrlevin said:

How many shots to get certificate?  What is expiry date?

It certifies what you have had, linked back to a database for verification purposes. Countries may have different requirements, eg some may ask that the last jab was within x days, or need/not need a booster. Check before travel. Eg British teenagers can get a UK certificate on 1 jab, as we haven't yet done 2nd in some cases, but this doesn't satisfy French requirements. Fully vaccinated is generally taken to be 2 jabs 3-12 weeks apart, then a booster 3-6 months later Boosters repeated according to individual country requirements. Allow 3 weeks after 2nd jab or a booster to be considered vaccinated. Moderna, Pfizer or Astrazenica OK, as is a combination. 

Expiry is a year. 

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by KBs mum

[Jimmcdaniel]

1 hour ago, BBWC said:

Just an FYI - as of this week, the EU requires three vaccine doses if your first dose was more than 9 months ago. So some of you may need a new certificate.

Yep. I just saw that this morning. Guess I will have to re-apply. Good thing is I can now include my booster.

[jeb_bud]

The last time I checked, a few weeks ago, it appeared to me that Norway was not allowing tourists from North America entry. Six months is approximately infinity in COVID time so I’m sure(hopeful?) entry rules will change before our cruise embarks in July. I just hope we can see some momentum developing before Final Payment is due. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

22 hours ago, jeb_bud said:

The last time I checked, a few weeks ago, it appeared to me that Norway was not allowing tourists from North America entry. Six months is approximately infinity in COVID time so I’m sure(hopeful?) entry rules will change before our cruise embarks in July. I just hope we can see some momentum developing before Final Payment is due. 

Me too, jeb, that's our situation exactly.  Splendor July 8th, Copenhagen to Stockholm.

[Jimmcdaniel]

22 hours ago, jeb_bud said:

The last time I checked, a few weeks ago, it appeared to me that Norway was not allowing tourists from North America entry. Six months is approximately infinity in COVID time so I’m sure(hopeful?) entry rules will change before our cruise embarks in July. I just hope we can see some momentum developing before Final Payment is due. 

This site:

https://www.visitnorway.com/plan-your-trip/coronavirus-and-travelling-to-norway/

 

was updated December 20, 2021. It says Norway is open for vaccinated travelers. We are booked on a Viking Northern Lights cruise to Norway in February. Viking says it is a go. Of course they always say that until it isn’t. I think there is a similar cruise going on January 15. I will let you all know if something happens. I think we will be fine for our Splendor cruise in July. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

4 minutes ago, Jimmcdaniel said:

This site:

https://www.visitnorway.com/plan-your-trip/coronavirus-and-travelling-to-norway/

 

was updated December 20, 2021. It says Norway is open for vaccinated travelers. We are booked on a Viking Northern Lights cruise to Norway in February. Viking says it is a go. Of course they always say that until it isn’t. I think there is a similar cruise going on January 15. I will let you all know if something happens. I think we will be fine for our Splendor cruise in July. 

And that segues back to my original question.  If you need an EU vaccination certification, will the cruise line expedite that process, as Viking seems to be doing?  

[Jimmcdaniel]

3 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

And that segues back to my original question.  If you need an EU vaccination certification, will the cruise line expedite that process, as Viking seems to be doing?  

I am guessing so. Viking sent the folks on the January 15 cruise information on how they were to do it. I think the passengers still have to complete the online form and upload their documents. I will find out how much help Viking provides and report back. 
 

We did this last summer for a Crystal cruise calling on ports in France. I had no problem getting ours but others on the cruise still hadn’t gotten their EU Digital Covid certificates by sailing. I think it may have to do with the relative  ease (or lack thereof) in verifying the vaccination documentation you send them. California has a very thorough online database that might have made our verification easier. I just noticed that people from California seemed to have fewer problems than those from Texas and Florida. That was six months ago. Things may be smoother now. 

[PhD-iva]

On 12/23/2021 at 1:45 AM, Jimmcdaniel said:

We were on a Crystal Endeavor cruise that called on France back in October. Crystal required passengers to apply for a EU Covid certificate in order to visit France. Everyone applied. Some got it, some did not. It ended up not being a huge deal and some folks who's certificates didn't arrive in time were able to use their CDC cards if they were asked for. We were fortunate in that our French/EU cards were processed almost instantaneously. It may have been because we are from California and CA has a database that may be shared with the EU. Pax from Texas and Florida did not seem to have the same experience. 

 

We are also on one of the upcoming Viking Northern Lights cruises. Viking is saying that the EU certificates were good for one year. When we got ours, there was no expiration date mentioned. So our one from France will probably be good if the Viking cruise isn't cancelled. Since we got it in September, it may still be good for our Regent Baltic/ Norway cruise that @Wendy The Wanderer(I believe) is also on. The EU certificate is basically an encrypted QR code that has your name, the type of vax you had and the dates of the vax. Since we only had the initial two shots when we applied for ours back in Sept., that is all that is on our QR code. If boosters are required going forward I am guessing we will have to re-apply for a new EU Certificate. 

I’m in Texas and I had no problems getting my French pass sanitaire processed. Posts on my roll call indicated the best time to submit was midnight CT, when applications were processed during early morning office hours in France.

[jeb_bud]

On 1/1/2022 at 10:15 AM, Jimmcdaniel said:

I am guessing so. Viking sent the folks on the January 15 cruise information on how they were to do it. I think the passengers still have to complete the online form and upload their documents. I will find out how much help Viking provides and report back. 
 

We did this last summer for a Crystal cruise calling on ports in France. I had no problem getting ours but others on the cruise still hadn’t gotten their EU Digital Covid certificates by sailing. I think it may have to do with the relative  ease (or lack thereof) in verifying the vaccination documentation you send them. California has a very thorough online database that might have made our verification easier. I just noticed that people from California seemed to have fewer problems than those from Texas and Florida. That was six months ago. Things may be smoother now. 

Jim, can you share those instructions?  I’ve been clicking links all over Europe and I have not been able to find instructions to apply for an EU Digital Covid certificate. I can usually google my way to whatever I am looking for but this search has been fruitless for some reason. 

[Jimmcdaniel]

6 minutes ago, jeb_bud said:

Jim, can you share those instructions?  I’ve been clicking links all over Europe and I have not been able to find instructions to apply for an EU Digital Covid certificate. I can usually google my way to whatever I am looking for but this search has been fruitless for some reason. 

The instructions Viking sent were pretty specific to Viking and I believe you had to receive their email to execute them. See below. When we were on Crystal, they referred us to a French website which I believe was shut down after our cruise. 

 

Here is what Viking sent their passengers for the Jan 12 cruise:

 

I am guessing Regent will do something similar. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

15 hours ago, Jimmcdaniel said:

I am guessing Regent will do something similar.

We can live in hope!