RCI European Sailing Protocols

[sgmn]

2 hours ago, little britain said:

My hotel in Civ has already responded that they will check out pharmacies for us! Suspect we are not the only ones to ask! 

Are you still taking your own test from Lloyds Pharmacy? Our cruise leaves on a Monday. Our flight from LHR on the Sunday is too early to get it done in UK and I'm not sure if Pharmacy is Civitavecchia are open on a Sunday. 

[FionaMG]

14 minutes ago, dorts said:

They say "According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA)" who currently do not have a limit for boosters, only your primary dose/s. I think this is just poor English by RCCL. I read it as "According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), being up to date means you have had the second dose of your original vaccine series within the past 270 days, OR a booster dose."

 

I agree.

This is from the official EU website:

 

 

And this is from Italy's travellers' questionnaire for entry to the country, where you can see that you can have either a vaccine certificate issued in the last 9 months or a vaccine certificate + booster (no mention of time-restricted validity):

 

 

So, I don't know if Royal are making up their own rules, misinterpreting the actual rules or simply expressing themselves poorly.

[kwokpot]

19 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

So, I don't know if Royal are making up their own rules, misinterpreting the actual rules or simply expressing themselves poorly.

Third choice, expressing themselves poorly. 

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, Billy Baltic said:

And everything crossed that it’s negative. 

 

That has the wife slightly worried 😟 

[Garden_Girl]

Just opened the Royal app and under Health this info came up which seems to have better wording on the 270 days issue

[dorts]

3 minutes ago, Garden_Girl said:

Just opened the Royal app and under Health this info came up which seems to have better wording on the 270 days issue

This makes more sense! Thank you

[FionaMG]

18 minutes ago, Garden_Girl said:

Just opened the Royal app and under Health this info came up which seems to have better wording on the 270 days issue

Much clearer. I didn't even think to look there.

[mikegrip]

Has anyone heard what, if any, requirements for testing there are for back2back cruisers in Europe?

[MaryZ]

7 hours ago, Empehi said:

Sail on May 16th out of Civ (a Monday). Pharmacies are closed on Sundays. We are staying in CIV.

It looks like RCL screwed us. Anybody have any ideas.

We get into Rome Sunday morning.  So the Airport tests are open.  It appears anyway.  I'm trying to figure it out by making appointments and pushing back my driver. 
I'm just seriously thinking about canceling at this point.  We've traveled all over the past 2 years.  I think Royal's rules for this are totally insane.  They should just do what NCL was doing, test every passenger at the port before boarding.
I don't even think my second part  of our b2b  is going to go to Israel.   They don't address how they are going to deal with tests for that either.   aaarggghhhh....
I have 3 days for my final payment for the first part.  It appears in their rules they won't accept tests the day of, so honestly I have no idea what to do.  I don't speak Italian fluently enough to get thru this.  I should have spent more time studying my language skills.

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, MaryZ said:

.  It appears in their rules they won't accept tests the day of, so honestly I have no idea what to do.

Whose rules? Where is that stated?

[little britain]

6 hours ago, mikegrip said:

Has anyone heard what, if any, requirements for testing there are for back2back cruisers in Europe?

I assume they’ll test you on board ( as they did in b2b in Barbados last month). I’ll let you know next week if no one has answered this! I’m b2b in Copenhagen on 2/24

[little britain]

8 hours ago, sgmn said:

Are you still taking your own test from Lloyds Pharmacy? Our cruise leaves on a Monday. Our flight from LHR on the Sunday is too early to get it done in UK and I'm not sure if Pharmacy is Civitavecchia are open on a Sunday. 

I’ve got one with me as backup. We fly to Rome on Saturday so hopefully will find something open that afternoon - ship sails Sunday.

[sgmn]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

I’ve got one with me as backup. We fly to Rome on Saturday so hopefully will find something open that afternoon - ship sails Sunday.

Our ship sails Monday, so we're going to have to try and source a test on a Sunday afternoon. Thinking Rome airport might be an idea

[ladychater]

Bring an  eMed home test with you and do it in your hotel using the wifi.  That's what I'm doing.

[Billy Baltic]

I read elsewhere that the protocols published yesterday are valid for sailings up to end of May. I don’t see it on the RC site. Can anyone confirm this?

[little britain]

Help needed please!!

 

How do others interpret this rule; if your booster is older than 270 days old…. You need to test before being allowed ashore…. If you visit multiple ports in Greece- do you think this is a $55 test before each Greek port or one $55 test will cover all Greek ports???

 

Guests age 12 and up (or 6 and up in select countries as indicated below) who are not up to date will need to complete additional testing onboard prior to going ashore in the ports listed below. For guests age 12 and up, the cost of the test is at their own expense, conducted onboard by a licensed third-party testing provider for $55 USD per test. Royal Caribbean does not retain any part of the testing costs. Any required testing for kids age 6 to 11 is complimentary: 

• Belgium 
• Cyprus 
• Denmark 
• Estonia 
• France  
• Germany 
• Greece (for guests 6 and up) 
• Ireland 
• Italy (for guests 6 and up) 
• Latvia 
• Montenegro 
• The Netherlands 
• Portugal 

Edited April 13, 2022 by little britain

[Marga.Anders]

It doesn't seem to state very cleary if you need a PCR test or an Antigen test. Does anybody know where I can find more info on this? 

[Trixie21]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

Help needed please!!

 

How do others interpret this rule; if your booster is older than 270 days old…. You need to test before being allowed ashore…. If you visit multiple ports in Greece- do you think this is a $55 test before each Greek port or one $55 test will cover all Greek ports???

 

Guests age 12 and up (or 6 and up in select countries as indicated below) who are not up to date will need to complete additional testing onboard prior to going ashore in the ports listed below. For guests age 12 and up, the cost of the test is at their own expense, conducted onboard by a licensed third-party testing provider for $55 USD per test. Royal Caribbean does not retain any part of the testing costs. Any required testing for kids age 6 to 11 is complimentary: 

• Belgium 
• Cyprus 
• Denmark 
• Estonia 
• France  
• Germany 
• Greece (for guests 6 and up) 
• Ireland 
• Italy (for guests 6 and up) 
• Latvia 
• Montenegro 
• The Netherlands 
• Portugal 

I think the part about boosters being older than 270 days is incorrectly stated by Royal.

As far as I am aware boosters do not currently have an end date.

I think the 270 days only applies to the 2nd dose and after that a booster is required.

But this will need confirmed.

[dorts]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

Help needed please!!

 

How do others interpret this rule; if your booster is older than 270 days old…. You need to test before being allowed ashore…. If you visit multiple ports in Greece- do you think this is a $55 test before each Greek port or one $55 test will cover all Greek ports???

 

Guests age 12 and up (or 6 and up in select countries as indicated below) who are not up to date will need to complete additional testing onboard prior to going ashore in the ports listed below. For guests age 12 and up, the cost of the test is at their own expense, conducted onboard by a licensed third-party testing provider for $55 USD per test. Royal Caribbean does not retain any part of the testing costs. Any required testing for kids age 6 to 11 is complimentary: 

• Belgium 
• Cyprus 
• Denmark 
• Estonia 
• France  
• Germany 
• Greece (for guests 6 and up) 
• Ireland 
• Italy (for guests 6 and up) 
• Latvia 
• Montenegro 
• The Netherlands 
• Portugal 

If you look at some of the previous posts above this has come up already. It's definitely not clear at all and the app states something more in line with the official EMA rules in Europe. Hoping RCCL have just worded this wrong, which wouldn't surprise me from experience!

[Trixie21]

Our cruise on odyssey is at the end of August so testing requirements etc could have changed by then.

But I emailed out hotel in Rome (Albergo del Senato) to ask for their help in locating somewhere we could get an antigen test.

They same straight back with a pharmacy on the Via del Corso (242) which does the tests and gives you the results within 30 mins.

This may be of some help to somebody.

[Empehi]

9 hours ago, MaryZ said:

We get into Rome Sunday morning.  So the Airport tests are open.  It appears anyway.  I'm trying to figure it out by making appointments and pushing back my driver. 
I'm just seriously thinking about canceling at this point.  We've traveled all over the past 2 years.  I think Royal's rules for this are totally insane.  They should just do what NCL was doing, test every passenger at the port before boarding.
I don't even think my second part  of our b2b  is going to go to Israel.   They don't address how they are going to deal with tests for that either.   aaarggghhhh....
I have 3 days for my final payment for the first part.  It appears in their rules they won't accept tests the day of, so honestly I have no idea what to do.  I don't speak Italian fluently enough to get thru this.  I should have spent more time studying my language skills.

I totally agree .... RCL is way over the top with these protocols. First, why one day for Italy but the rest of Europe is two days.  I was all set to take the test the morning of our flight and if positive, I would have cancelled the cruise ..... now I can't do that .... right there it is almost a deal breaker for me.  Holidays are suppose to be relaxing, this trip appears to be anything but.

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, Empehi said:

I totally agree .... RCL is way over the top with these protocols. First, why one day for Italy but the rest of Europe is two days.  I was all set to take the test the morning of our flight and if positive, I would have cancelled the cruise ..... now I can't do that .... right there it is almost a deal breaker for me.  Holidays are suppose to be relaxing, this trip appears to be anything but.

+1

[lovesthebeach2]

16 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Abbott (from eMed or Optum) proctored tests.

 

13 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

That has the wife slightly worried 😟 

 

4 hours ago, ladychater said:

Bring an  eMed home test with you and do it in your hotel using the wifi.  That's what I'm doing.

we’re bringing the Abbott tests as a backup if we can’t get a test in Rome. 
I agree with your wife John, it definitely adds to the stress, especially when the rules seem to change so often. 

[FionaMG]

29 minutes ago, Empehi said:

I totally agree .... RCL is way over the top with these protocols. First, why one day for Italy but the rest of Europe is two days.  I was all set to take the test the morning of our flight and if positive, I would have cancelled the cruise ..... now I can't do that .... right there it is almost a deal breaker for me.  Holidays are suppose to be relaxing, this trip appears to be anything but.

 

I suppose it's possible that the one-day thing is being imposed by the Italian government but it would be hugely helpful if Royal offered terminal testing for everyone, even if there were a charge for those who don't qualify for a free test.

 

In your case, since you're coming from across the pond, I would definitely recommend you do a test for your own peace of mind before you leave home. Even though it won't be usable for boarding, it would be far better for you to do that than to fly all the way to Rome without testing and then test positive on arrival.

[SummerXU]

56 minutes ago, Empehi said:

I totally agree .... RCL is way over the top with these protocols. First, why one day for Italy but the rest of Europe is two days.  I was all set to take the test the morning of our flight and if positive, I would have cancelled the cruise ..... now I can't do that .... right there it is almost a deal breaker for me.  Holidays are suppose to be relaxing, this trip appears to be anything but.

 

21 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

 

I suppose it's possible that the one-day thing is being imposed by the Italian government but it would be hugely helpful if Royal offered terminal testing for everyone, even if there were a charge for those who don't qualify for a free test.

 

In your case, since you're coming from across the pond, I would definitely recommend you do a test for your own peace of mind before you leave home. Even though it won't be usable for boarding, it would be far better for you to do that than to fly all the way to Rome without testing and then test positive on arrival.

Hey, Empehi! I believe we’re on the same cruise. I totally agree with Fiona. I was really hoping for a 3 day test period so we could test before leaving home. Even 2 days would’ve been better than 1! Our plan now is to do an at-home test the morning of our flight (the 14th) and then do our official test in the Rome airport when we land Sunday morning. We’re also going to take some of the Abbott/eMed tests with us as a backup. 
 

Just because Royal won’t accept the test you take 2-3 days beforehand, it’s definitely a good idea for peace of mind.