Cruising with under 5 year olds

[tutumomickey]

Has anyone cruised with a child under 5 ? Did they really charge $150.00 for the Covid test at the terminal? Also, were they required to be on a Princess excursion to leave the ship ? We were so excited to have our granddaughters join us on our Alaska cruise but now it seems like all the extra charges are really adding up.

[skynight]

Have you reviewed these FAQ's?

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/us-cruises/

All passengers require testing 3 days before boarding. Princess strongly recommends you have the test before you leave home. There is some information about testing at the pier. But why would you want to travel all the way to the pier and then test positive? Since you are sailing to Alaska you will be making a port call in Canada. You have to keep a sharp eye out for Canadian requirements which are not yet available. They may be different than U.S. & Princess requirements. 

[nini]

The testing fee sponsored for Princess for the UK is $60.00

So, it depends on which port.

I am unaware of any requirements to only go ashore with Princess only excursions.

That was very common in 2021.

[tutumomickey]

the testing and excursion information I got was from the website. I confirmed it with live chat on the Princess website but I felt he was reading it from the same place I found it. I was hoping to hear from someone with first hand experience. It seems outdated to me.

[skynight]

Princess does not sail to Alaska until May. Therefore, there will be no current 1st hand information regarding Alaska itineraries which includes Canada. Keep an eye out and understand the Canada requirements for cruise ships stopping at ports in Canada. Requirements are fluid. Princess has not posted the requirements which may effect your booking. From the Princess FAQ's.

"Sailings that include Canadian ports of call are resuming and we are working closely with Canadian health authorities to firm up details. We’ll advise booked guests once that information becomes available."

[WAvoyager]

As a father of a just turned 5 yrs old daughter, I would really caution against cruising right now.  We’re starting to see elevated cases onboard ships.  Where 2-3 months ago the onboard infection rates were well below community averages, the opposite now is true.  60% of the current sailings are in yellow or orange status, which represents a huge negative trend.

 

While vaccination requirements onboard are giving many people comfort, thinking it’s less likely people are infected, and if they do, the impact is likely minimal.  The recent Omnichron variants are making that a false sense of security - many people carrying it are unaware that they are.  Fully vaccinated may get little or no symptoms.  That’s great if you’re vaccinated, but not any help for the little ones.

 

As the numbers shift, it’s completely unknown what will happen for sailing requirements.  We were scheduled on a cruise for last September.  Everything seemed to fall into place when Princess announced they were sailing, with 100% eligible passenger vaccination requirements.  Then, at the last minute (4 weeks before sailing), they blocked sailings for anyone under 5.  Canada could change their current requirements if the new variant impacts the numbers.  Or Alaskas ports.  Or Princess.
 

 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

@WAvoyagerexcellent post. 

[capriccio]

We had a family Caribbean cruise originally planned for July 2020.  We all know what happened to that.  I didn't even bother with transferring it to July 2021; instead I booked July 2022.  By December 2021 all the adults were vaccinated and boosted, our 7 year old granddaughter was fully vaccinated, and it looked like the vaccine for under 5s was imminent.  No such luck.  Final payment is due this week and we made a unanimous (8 people) decision to postpone until July 2023.  Here's hoping that the 3rd time is a charm!

[Host Kat]

Howdy everyone! 

 

The OP has asked for the thread to be locked. They feel they have all of the relevant responses and do not want to appear rude by just ignoring future posts.

 

Happy sails to all,

 

Host Kat