New boarding requirements

[CruiserFromMaine]

We used the Emed test and it was quick and easy. There are You Tube videos that show you how they work. You get your results in 15 minutes and then send by email and in their app. 

[machotspur]

On 4/7/2022 at 4:40 PM, wren2 said:

I cannot get an antigen test at any pharmacy in my town, hence the PCR Test. The 24 hour time limit is impossible.  Having sailed with Silversea for 26 years, age tells and I am not that clued in with technology. Pier side testing is the way to go for me and probably for other people, as well.

 

This account of us embarking Silver Dawn on 1st April is a little lengthy but hopefully adds useful factual information to this thread. 

 

We live in a very rural area of the UK, midway between two small towns with a population of around 10,000 people. We were flying out to Lisbon from LHR on the morning of embarkation so booked an appointment for the Antigen test at a local Lloyds pharmacy - at a time 23 hours before the anticipated embarkation time. We had this test as we were advised that it would expedite embarkation versus those that were utilising the port testing. It was no fuss at all and we are very glad we did ! 

 

On arrival at Lisbon we were ultimately taken to the port at 14:30. We were shocked by what we saw before us - a huge queue of perhaps 200 or more people snaking round the front of the terminal building. We were told to take our luggage from the coach and join the end of the queue. We initially obeyed this instruction. Certain things immediately became evident :-

 

- there was no sign of any Silversea employee anywhere - just local Portugese land agents.

- there was only one queue - no evidence of a queue for those with prior testing. 

- some less able people were clearly in some distress at this whole situation, with no assistance being offered at all.    

 

I was most concerned with what I saw, so I decided to go walkabout to see what was going on. I found a lovely young woman belonging to the port agent team, with whom I was able to ascertain some information. In short - only one medical person to supervise all the tests, and a large number of guests arriving way before the embarkation time of 2pm. Consequently - and in poor judgement  IMHO -   they made the decision to scrap the priority queue for those who already had the test.

 

Needless to say, having invested the time and money to have the test done before leaving home I was far from happy with the  decision that had been taken. I asked to see a Silversea manager, who in fairness arrived quite quickly. After a fairly robust conversation between us the manager immediately began a separate queue for those that already had the test - with my wife and I at the head of this 😉

I beaconed a few people that I knew were already tested to join us. 

 

We were were onboard in <20 minutes - reports suggest that those relying on dockside testing were waiting for >2 hours.

 

So - based on this one experience, if at all possible - and I know it isn't practical for some - do get this test done away from the port if possible and don't let Silversea shove you into a queue with the 'untested'.

Of course this may be a one off and things may improve, but in the meantime I would expect the worse. However I believe that Silversea are still saying that the testing at the ship will only remain in place until the end of April. 

        

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[markham]

This sounds awful. You would expect Silversea to know how ship embarkation works in these times of stressful protocols and what local staff are doing with those protocols. Two hours for a queue? Not acceptable.

 

We have a Silversea cruise in a few months. I would just hate for some staff negligence on its first hours to make it something anxiety-causing!

 

Does Barbara Muckermann, the CCO and apparent go-to for complaints by Silversea Facebook friends, know what a poor impression this lackadaisical performance gives? There can be no excuses.
 

We should all try to improve matters especially when they have caused distress to passengers. I am extremely grateful that you, machotspur, had that “robust conversation”. It certainly made a difference to many others.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[dawntrdr]

There was no "priority line" for pre-tested people on the Spirit check-in on March 31 (the day before) either.  There also was a huge line, with those arriving from the SS hotel on the transfer at the end, pushing their luggage along the ground for 1-2 hours.   At most, the time savings for pre-testing was 20 minutes as they let us skip the pier-side test line once we got through the initial check-in.  Pre-testing is clearly in SS's interest and passengers should be encouraged to do. This is an easy fix.

Edited April 10, 2022 by dawntrdr

[alc13]

Are these 2-hour waits in well-ventilated spaces, or do they put people at risk for catching covid while they are stalled in the queue?

[dawntrdr]

1 minute ago, alc13 said:

Are these 2-hour waits in well-ventilated spaces, or do they put people at risk for catching covid while they are stalled in the queue?

At least  as to LIsbon, they are ventilated in that they are entirely outside with no cover (and it was raining on an off). 

[machotspur]

13 minutes ago, dawntrdr said:

There was no "priority line" for pre-tested people on the Spirit check-in on March 31 (the day before) either.  There also was a huge line, with those arriving from the SS hotel on the transfer at the end, pushing their luggage along the ground for 1-2 hours.   At most, the time savings for pre-testing was 20 minutes as they let us skip the pier-side test line once we got through the initial check-in.  Pre-testing is clearly in SS's interest and passengers should be encouraged to do. This is an easy fix.

 

Maybe the reason for our time saving of at least 1.5 hrs may have been that the 'ad hoc' process that we 'encouraged' Silversea to adopt appears to be different to yours on the previous day. Having had our pre test validated, and completed a medical declaration (5 minutes total) we went straight upstairs to the entirely empty check in desks. 5 minutes there and we were walking onto the ship. 

 

As things stand Silversea are stating that they will only be continuing with the dock side testing until the end of April - after that everyone will need to arrange for pretesting to take place before they get to the port. It remains to see if this holds.      

[machotspur]

23 minutes ago, alc13 said:

Are these 2-hour waits in well-ventilated spaces, or do they put people at risk for catching covid while they are stalled in the queue?

 

I've just reviewed again the video recording I have of the entire snake like line in Lisbon on 1st April. Whilst the line was almost entirely outside there was absolutely no attempt at creating social distancing, and at times when other bus loads of guests arrived the line effectively became a 'crowd' in places.   

 

[alc13]

19 minutes ago, machotspur said:

 

I've just reviewed again the video recording I have of the entire snake like line in Lisbon on 1st April. Whilst the line was almost entirely outside there was absolutely no attempt at creating social distancing, and at times when other bus loads of guests arrived the line effectively became a 'crowd' in places.   

 

Kind of funny, in a grim way, given that the purpose of the line was to limit risks on board.  

 

We have a cruise in May (our first on Silversea!).  Happy to hear that dockside testing might be eliminated by then.

[machotspur]

53 minutes ago, alc13 said:

Kind of funny, in a grim way, given that the purpose of the line was to limit risks on board.  

 

We have a cruise in May (our first on Silversea!).  Happy to hear that dockside testing might be eliminated by then.

 

Yes - I absolutely agree with the points you make alc13.

 

What I will add is that IMHO the behaviour of the vast majority of guests onboard was far more reassuring, with masks being worn by many/most when walking around inside (and outside in places) and certainly in confined places such as the lounges, excursion coaches etc. Having said this I felt that the caution declined as the (seven day) cruise progressed.    

[les37b]

2 hours ago, alc13 said:

Kind of funny, in a grim way, given that the purpose of the line was to limit risks on board.  

 

The irony of this I suspect is completely lost on those implementing our well being.

 

What were the queues like at Lisbon Airport like Machotspur? I'm there in exactly 2 months and saw mention somewhere of 2 hour passport control waits.

 

PS Top 4 looks pretty good now! 

[machotspur]

1 minute ago, les37b said:

 

The irony of this I suspect is completely lost on those implementing our well being.

 

What were the queues like at Lisbon Airport like Machotspur? I'm there in exactly 2 months and saw mention somewhere of 2 hour passport control waits.

 

PS Top 4 looks pretty good now! 

 

Hi Les - yes your reports of the situation at Lisbon airport are pretty close. Our experience was probably about 45 minutes but in fairness people in the queue were keeping reasonable distances from each other and many were wearing masks.

 

And yes - whilst conscious of 'there's many a slip twix cup and lip' I can't help but chuckle at the apparent demise of the other part of N.London's attempt to reach the top 4 ! (Oh dear - i've blown it now haven't I !).           

[Silver Spectre]

It’s really sad to hear that SS and the Lisbon port authorities seemed to have learnt nothing from our disgraceful experience in embarking the Moon in November, and that was with ship only about 1/3 full. Really sorry to hear that guests are still being treated like cattle.

[machotspur]

21 minutes ago, Silver Spectre said:

It’s really sad to hear that SS and the Lisbon port authorities seemed to have learnt nothing from our disgraceful experience in embarking the Moon in November, and that was with ship only about 1/3 full. Really sorry to hear that guests are still being treated like cattle.

 

Yes indeed Mr Spectre  ! 

I met with the Hotel Manager later that day to voice my concerns over the 'cattle herding' that was taking place alongside the 'maiden voyage' Silver Dawn. IMHO he is a very decent guy however I didn't detect much concern or contrition regarding the whole situation. On the contrary - those guests I spoke with onboard had been told that it was the Portugese authorities that were at fault, not Silversea. This is a shameful abdication of duty of care for their guests methinks.

 

Despite this we liked the ship very much and had a mostly excellent exprience.            

[NeilP57]

We are boarding Spirit in Venice in June. Received the letter from Silversea yesterday regarding location of check in following the changes on-going in Venice. The letter reproduced below suggests pier side testing is to be continued into June. That is assuming the Silversea left hand knows what the Silversea right hand is doing! 
 

 

Dear Esteemed Guest,

 

We hope this letter finds you well. We are writing today with an important update to your 7-day Mediterranean voyage departing from Venice on June 17th 2022 aboard Silver Spirit. 

 

Although the ship will be docked at the Fusina pier, guests must first arrive to the Venice Cruise Terminal* in order to drop off their luggage, undergo a rapid antigen test, and check-in for their voyage.

They will then be transferred via motor coach to the Fusina pier (25 min drive) in order to board the ship.

*Guests arriving via water taxi will need to dock at Marittima pier, where a complimentary shuttle will drive them to the entrance of the Venice Cruise Terminal.

 

Thank you for your kind attention. We look forward to welcoming you aboard for a voyage full of the enriching experiences and authentic discovery unique to Silversea.

Best personal regards,

 

Barbara Muckermann

Chief Commercial Officer

[svein]

Just an FYI if you are staying or going near the Rome termini (train station) You can get a Covid test at the pharmacy on the corner Farmacia Jucci. They are also open Easter Sunday.  

[wren2]

To give passengers peace of mind, Silversea should issue a statement saying that while Covid is prevalent, they will always offer pier side tests, even if there is a nominal charge. This would allay the fears of passengers having to look for antigen tests in foreign ports. I am currently on the Dawn and we do have Covid.  The captain made the announcement yesterday evening. No figures were given.

[machotspur]

5 minutes ago, wren2 said:

To give passengers peace of mind, Silversea should issue a statement saying that while Covid is prevalent, they will always offer pier side tests, even if there is a nominal charge. This would allay the fears of passengers having to look for antigen tests in foreign ports. I am currently on the Dawn and we do have Covid.  The captain made the announcement yesterday evening. No figures were given.

 

Yes I agree that Silversea should take ownership of this issue wren2 - although if they do continue with the testing they need to do it in a way that their guests do not have to wait in a 2hr queue for that test !

 

Interesting that the announcement has been made re: the presence of COVID on Silver Dawn. As previously stated I was on Dawn from 1st - 8th April. There were a lot of whispers then that some crew had caught COVID, but no announcements were made. 

Do please keep us posted if any more details emerge whilst you are onboard.