RCI European Sailing Protocols

[FionaMG]

29 minutes ago, SummerXU said:

 

Hey, Empehi! I believe we’re on the same cruise.  

 

Sounds like you are both getting on as I'm getting off. Odyssey, right? I'll try and look after her for you. 😉

[lovesthebeach2]

2 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

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.

We’re staying at that hotel too. Can you let me know what the 242 means in your post.  Is that the address of the Pharmacy?

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

 

 

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. 

 

It's not so much the testing hoops, it's the possibility of testing positive while in Copenhagen.

 

And FWIW, that scenario is possible even if Royal is testing at the pier. Personally, I want to test a day or two early so we can retest if it comes up positive. Testing pre flight is not an option since we need to arrive a few days early.  Flying overseas the day of is way more stressful

[Welly9]

9 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

It's not so much the testing hoops, it's the possibility of testing positive while in Copenhagen.

 

And FWIW, that scenario is possible even if Royal is testing at the pier. Personally, I want to test a day or two early so we can retest if it comes up positive. Testing pre flight is not an option since we need to arrive a few days early.  Flying overseas the day of is way more stressful

John  La La, have a Q which isnt related to this topic, you are from Cocoa beach?

We are there in june, fam cruise on mariner, have a fave seafood fun place?, near the water or in land water system?

[John&LaLa]

5 minutes ago, Welly9 said:

John  La La, have a Q which isnt related to this topic, you are from Cocoa beach?

We are there in june, fam cruise on mariner, have a fave seafood fun place?, near the water or in land water system?

 

Grills at the port

Squid Lips on the river, farthest from port

Florida Fresh for the best food

Pier might be fun, haven't been since Westgate took it over

Sand Bar for fish tacos, but it's primarily a bar with food

 

Where are you staying

[exm]

26 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

It's not so much the testing hoops, it's the possibility of testing positive while in Copenhagen.

 

And FWIW, that scenario is possible even if Royal is testing at the pier. Personally, I want to test a day or two early so we can retest if it comes up positive. Testing pre flight is not an option since we need to arrive a few days early.  Flying overseas the day of is way more stressful

 

Take a few OTC self-tests with you, at least you for your own peace of mind. And I'm planning to bring the eMed tests with me so I don't have to rely on European pharmacies.

[John&LaLa]

1 minute ago, exm said:

 

Take a few OTC self-tests with you, at least you for your own peace of mind. And I'm planning to bring the eMed tests with me so I don't have to rely on European pharmacies.

 

As of now, there is a testing site at the Copenhagen airport, but backups are a great idea

[lovesthebeach2]

34 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

It's not so much the testing hoops, it's the possibility of testing positive while in Copenhagen.

 

And FWIW, that scenario is possible even if Royal is testing at the pier. Personally, I want to test a day or two early so we can retest if it comes up positive. Testing pre flight is not an option since we need to arrive a few days early.  Flying overseas the day of is way more stressful

 

Were cruising to Italy and spending 2 weeks there after the cruise, so our stress is to stay healthy for the test that we need to get home.
 

 

6 minutes ago, exm said:

 

Take a few OTC self-tests with you, at least you for your own peace of mind. And I'm planning to bring the eMed tests with me so I don't have to rely on European pharmacies.

alone with the Emed tests, we’re taking a few of the self test ones to test a couple of days ahead of our return flights.

[lovesthebeach2]

37 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

It's not so much the testing hoops, it's the possibility of testing positive while in Copenhagen.

 

And FWIW, that scenario is possible even if Royal is testing at the pier. Personally, I want to test a day or two early so we can retest if it comes up positive. Testing pre flight is not an option since we need to arrive a few days early.  Flying overseas the day of is way more stressful

We’re cruising from Copenhagen on Voyager in September back to Boston, I’m SO hoping this testing stress is over with by then.

[Levi is good]

5 hours 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 

LittleBritain, the concern you and others have raised about the specific language of getting off in port must be clarified by RCI.  Not just for boostered passengers but those unboostered whose initial shots fall outside 270 days.  My cruise heads to Santorini, has a stop in Turkey, then to Mykonos.  Will it be $55 for Santorini and Mykonos together, or will it be a separate $55 each?  

 

 

[little britain]

1 hour ago, Levi is good said:

LittleBritain, the concern you and others have raised about the specific language of getting off in port must be clarified by RCI.  Not just for boostered passengers but those unboostered whose initial shots fall outside 270 days.  My cruise heads to Santorini, has a stop in Turkey, then to Mykonos.  Will it be $55 for Santorini and Mykonos together, or will it be a separate $55 each?  

 

 

Exactly..  we have Santorini, Mykonos, Turkey then Athens… is that $55  or $165 ? 

[steamboats]

7 hours ago, little britain said:

How do others interpret this rule; if your booster is older than 270 days old….

 

Once again, there is no expiration date for the booster in the EU otherwise I won´t be regarded as fully vaccinated by the end of May. And I´m not eligable for second booster here in Germany (70+, certain medical conditions, health care staff).

 

steamboats

[little britain]

33 minutes ago, steamboats said:

 

Once again, there is no expiration date for the booster in the EU otherwise I won´t be regarded as fully vaccinated by the end of May. And I´m not eligable for second booster here in Germany (70+, certain medical conditions, health care staff).

 

steamboats

I know the booster doesn’t expire;

you know the booster doesn’t expire… but someone seems to have failed to tell RCI this…..and I for one wouldn’t risk turning up for a cruise if I was “out of date”! 

 

According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), being up to date means you have had the second dose of your original vaccine series, or a booster dose, within the past 270 days – 

Edited April 13, 2022 by little britain

[GandS317]

Does anyone know what would happen, if one were to test positive prior to getting embarkation? Obviously we wouldn't be allowed to board, but curious what would be happen beyond that. For example, would royal notify local authorities or would they just trust that we find a hotel to quarantine in? Im American and this will be first international trip since pandemic started. So just trying to get an idea of what would mostly likely happen we were to test positive. This question doesn't just apply to cruising but also to flying home since we need a negative test to fly home. We are set to sail on May 30th out of Athens on the Rhapsody. 

[Levi is good]

18 minutes ago, little britain said:

I know the booster doesn’t expire;

you know the booster doesn’t expire… but someone seems to have failed to tell RCI this…..and I for one wouldn’t risk turning up for a cruise if I was “out of date”! 

 

According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), being up to date means you have had the second dose of your original vaccine series, or a booster dose, within the past 270 days – 

Agreed.  I'm trying to look at everything and the way it reads to me is that the booster has to be in the past 270 days to exit into European ports, but not to get onto the ship itself.  Which makes zero sense at all.  

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Levi is good

[CaroleC]

8 minutes ago, little britain said:

According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), being up to date means you have had the second dose of your original vaccine series, or a booster dose, within the past 270 days – 

I actually read this last night so while at work today (NHS hospital) I enquired if staff could have a second booster yet.  We’re sailing from Barcelona in July and my original booster will be outside of the 270 days when we sail. NHS workers are usually amongst the first to be offered vaccinations for obvious reasons, however, the answer was negative with no indication when this may change. 

[dorts]

As someone did above, if you look at the app and pick for example, Wonder of Seas, the vaccination rules read differently are are more in line with what we are all thinking....if primary course is 270+ days out then you will need the booster to be classed as "up to date" 

[Biker19]

44 minutes ago, GandS317 said:

For example, would royal notify local authorities or would they just trust that we find a hotel to quarantine in?

Doubtful RCI would report anyone - they don't even know where you are when you call to get your refund for testing positive (assuming you are not testing at the pier).

[FionaMG]

5 minutes ago, dorts said:

As someone did above, if you look at the app and pick for example, Wonder of Seas, the vaccination rules read differently are are more in line with what we are all thinking....if primary course is 270+ days out then you will need the booster to be classed as "up to date" 

 

Mine says the same for sailing on Odyssey out of Civi.

[bradg]

50 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

 

Mine says the same for sailing on Odyssey out of Civi.

This is so puzzling.  They also say being up to date is strongly recommended, and if you aren't up to date, then you have to pay $55 for onboard tests.  So I am assuming, which can be dangerous sometimes I've learned, that it's not required to be up to date per the EU...?  Ay yi yi...

 

Ok, just got off the phone with RCI and the agent says that boosters are required for all sailings out of Italy.  I don't think that's accurate.  I'm going to give this a few days to shake out and try back.

Edited April 13, 2022 by bradg

[yogini06]

1 minute ago, bradg said:

This is so puzzling.  They also say being up to date is strongly recommended, and if you aren't up to date, then you have to pay $55 for onboard tests.  So I am assuming, which can be dangerous sometimes I've learned, that it's not required to be up to date per the EU...?  Ay yi yi...

You are correct it is not required to be up to date.  If you are not "up to date" then a test is required for entry.  

[bradg]

Just now, yogini06 said:

You are correct it is not required to be up to date.  If you are not "up to date" then a test is required for entry.  

This is craziness.  I had this agent repeat it multiple times as clear as day that they are requiring boosters for Italy regardless of anything else, because I could not believe what I was hearing.

This tells me that calls to RCI are worthless right now.  Unless someone can get a different agent than I did, I suppose.  THank you yoginin06.

[FionaMG]

40 minutes ago, bradg said:

This is so puzzling.  They also say being up to date is strongly recommended, and if you aren't up to date, then you have to pay $55 for onboard tests.  So I am assuming, which can be dangerous sometimes I've learned, that it's not required to be up to date per the EU...?  Ay yi yi...

 

Ok, just got off the phone with RCI and the agent says that boosters are required for all sailings out of Italy.  I don't think that's accurate.  I'm going to give this a few days to shake out and try back.

 

It's basically all a huge mess. Unfortunately, there's absolutely no consistency anywhere in the EU, which only adds to the confusion.

 

As far as entering Italy is concerned, you can check the requirements by using this helpfully simple Italian government form: https://infocovid.viaggiaresicuri.it/returningtoitaly.html

 

Note, however, that the specific legislation governing this is set to expire on 30th April, so there may very well be more changes coming in the near future.

 

The big question is whether Royal are adding extra conditions of their own to allow you on their ships.

Edited April 13, 2022 by FionaMG
Added more info.

[yogini06]

14 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

 

It's basically all a huge mess. Unfortunately, there's absolutely no consistency anywhere in the EU, which only adds to the confusion.

 

As far as entering Italy is concerned, you can check the requirements by using this helpfully simple Italian government form: https://infocovid.viaggiaresicuri.it/returningtoitaly.html

 

The big question is whether Royal are adding extra conditions of their own to allow you on their ships.

They are also using this "EU Healthy Gateways" for cruise ship protocols in the EU in addition to each countries' requirements

https://www.healthygateways.eu/Portals/0/plcdocs/EUHG_Operational_guidelines_CoV_April2022.pdf?ver=2022-04-06-152525-527

[CruiseMelissa]

12 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.

 

Have you gotten any confirmation that this will work?  This would be our plan when we do Voyager our of Copenhagen in August but I worry that there will be rules about accessing the site from abroad.  I have zero reasons why I'm worried, I just know it sounds like too easy of a plan... you sound confident so I'm hoping you know someone that has done this or have talked to Royal 😃