Caribbean excursions

[L and M UK]

We’re on the Meraviglia mid February - are independent excursions allowed or is it MSC Group Shore Excursions only? We are fully vaccinated (and boosted). Thanks in advance 

[JT1962]

As of now, you can take independent excursions, but they “Highly Recommend” booking through the ship. I am booked independently at Costa Maya and Cozumel on my cruise leaving tomorrow on the Meraviglia.

 

This is from the US website. Requirements could be different for those not from the US. 
 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/health-and-safety-measures/caribbean-cruises

 

- Shore Excursions

• We highly recommend to guests that are fully vaccinated and who wish to go ashore to purchase an MSC Cruises shore excursion to ensure the same high standards of health & safety ashore, as on board.
• If you are traveling with children under 12 years of age who are not fully vaccinated, you must purchase an MSC shore excursion if you wish to go ashore (excluding Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, our exclusive private island). This is to help ensure everyone is following the same health & safety protocol.

Edited January 22, 2022 by JT1962

[L and M UK]

Many thanks. If you do opt for an independent excursions do you need to retest to reembark? Enjoy your cruise 👍👍

[JT1962]

1 hour ago, L and M UK said:

Many thanks. If you do opt for an independent excursions do you need to retest to reembark? Enjoy your cruise 👍👍

I have not seen anything requiring a test to re-board at ports. If they add that requirement on my cruise, I will follow up with the details.

[Motegi]

Depends a great deal on the rules for each country.   
 

In November we were not allowed to leave the port area in Jamaica unless we were on either an MSC excursion or one of a limited number of government authorized bubble tours sold by certified tour operators at the port.   It is part of their tourist “Resilient Corridor” pandemic safety program.  We had elaborate plans to explore on our own but were not allowed and we were not notified until we physically tried to walk out of the port.  As it was too late to book an MSC excursion by then we ended up paying even more for one of the local bubble tours.  It ended up being a glorified van ride around town where we weren’t even allowed to leave the vehicle for photos.  This was even before Omicron.  I can’t imagine what things are like there now. 
 

Rules are changing constantly,  What may be allowed this week may not be by next week.  
 

Check the official government websites for each of your ports of call to see what the current rules are.  MSC doesn’t have control over what is or isn’t allowed right now. 

[Fogfog]

@Motegi

Did yall go to Coz ?  Wondering if the Mexican ports restrict just walking alone etc

We usually have a couple of stops we like to make 

[Markanddonna]

The way I see it is that, for the near future, cruises will experience "port instability." We were to go on the Jan 16th Divina cruise and two ports were canceled two ports were substituted,  and the rest all had their dates changed. The changes were not announced until after the sailing was underway. So, if you booked an independent excursion, you would be scrambling to contact the tour company to cancel and then reschedule. For the time being, it might be more practice to just suck it up and take the ship excursions with fifty or so of your best friends on a big tour bus.

Edited January 22, 2022 by Markanddonna

[Motegi]

6 hours ago, Fogfog said:

@Motegi

Did yall go to Coz ?  Wondering if the Mexican ports restrict just walking alone etc

We usually have a couple of stops we like to make 

The Mexican Federal government has lifted most of the restrictions for cruise tourism.  Their only rule is that COVID positive passengers must remain quarantined onboard.  Other than that they do not have any threshold of onboard positivity that would prevent a ship from being accepted at a Mexican port of call unlike most other destinations in the Caribbean.  

 

Along those lines we had zero restrictions in Cozumel or Costa Maya on our visits.  We were able to explore on our own and hire taxis that would take us anywhere we wanted.  

 

Most businesses were open and operating.  Masking indoors/outdoors was not enforced.    

[Motegi]

5 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

The way I see it is that, for the near future, cruises will experience "port instability." We were to go on the Jan 16th Divina cruise and two ports were canceled two ports were substituted,  and the rest all had their dates changed. The changes were not announced until after the sailing was underway. So, if you booked an independent excursion, you would be scrambling to contact the tour company to cancel and then reschedule. For the time being, it might be more practice to just suck it up and take the ship excursions with fifty or so of your best friends on a big tour bus.

 

Most of the itinerary changes were due to onboard positivity numbers exceeding the thresholds set by the governmental authorities at the ports of call.  

 

Hopefully the additional layer of testing being reintroduced prior to check in will screen out more positive passengers prior to boarding and thus keep the overall positivity onboard below those thresholds.  

 

Also the Omicron surge peaked nationally earlier this month and is quickly waning.