Princess reinstating covid protocols?

[Sprocket]

2 hours ago, prmssk said:

Princess has had an exemption process from the beginning of the restart and never claimed to have 100% vaccination rates.  They don’t grant many exemptions. And they were transparent when they started allowing young children who couldn’t be vaccinated.

 

I agree there has been an issue with transparency in other areas but not vaccination rates. 

Exactly our cruise on the Majestic in August 2021 had people who had an exemption and I knew that before we sailed.  People need to read the Princess FAQ’s lol.

[dog]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For us we’re hoping for two things to happen before we fly to our Med cruise in July.
 

First, Princess stops testing on transition day for those passengers that have booked a 21 day cruise that just happens to have embarkation ports along the way if the cruise is made up of short 7 day cruises.

 

Second, we’re hoping the US eliminates the requirement for fully vaccinated and boosted US citizens from having to take a C19 test prior to flying back to the US from Europe.

 

As far as staying safe while on a cruise, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s pretty much up to my DW and I to protect ourselves as there are quite a few folks cruising on our ship right now that have no issues not wearing a mask while in a tour bus or eating at sharing tables in the MDR. But, that’s cool. That’s their choice.

I would want the testing to be done.

[Ombud]

39 minutes ago, dog said:

I would want the testing to be done.

It is .... multiple times for those with an exemption according to the FAQs

[dog]

2 minutes ago, Ombud said:

It is .... multiple times for those with an exemption according to the FAQs

I am responding to Ken’s post wanting testing to be eliminated.

[Ombud]

I think it is at an appropriate level. Test early, test often is IMHO a viable option to permitting those who cannot vax onboard. 

[Paula_MacFan]

1 hour ago, nini said:

 AND..... Wait for it..... you MUST sit down somewhere to order anything from a bar... The bad part is there are no menus on the tables and you need to flag someone down. You may NOT stand at the bar, Coffee Bar, or Vines to order... Oh, Vines is closed...So is Sabatinis.

That doesn't sound like much fun to me!  Just thinking of how little seating there is around certain venues and that sounds like a gigantic hassle.  Thanks for reporting about your current on-board experience!

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, dog said:

I would want the testing to be done.

Which part or both? Testing at every port people are embarking the ship at when you have booked a 21 day continuous cruise or flying back to the US if you are a fully vaccinated and boosted US citizen?

[PrincessLuver]

3 hours ago, prmssk said:

I since the restart, it has always been 5% of passengers or less. Do you need an exact number?  And why would they tell you specifically who had been granted an exemption?

 

Princess has changed a lot of things since resuming cruising and also what they say they do to prevent Covid and what they actually do.  On our recent cruise the staff we know said it was more than 5%, which can add up to several hundred passengers on a ship.  

 

The staff is nervous about catching Covid and Princess needs to require all to be vaccinated and tested or none.  Obviously something is not working now because since they dropped their strict Covid protocols their quaratine cabins are full and over flowing on some ships.

 

If Princess is saying cruising is safe when it is not, than the customer needs to know how their cruise can turn into a nightmare. 

Edited May 13, 2022 by PrincessLuver

[sfaaa]

Got off Majestic last week. Buffet was back to crew-serve (thank god), washy washy police was stationed at all buffet entrances and N95 masks were available to passengers who wanted one. I did not get COVID.

[Shelly97060]

Princess updated their Health Protocols  FAQ to indicate 90% of passengers must be vaccinated  instead of 95%.

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

[dog]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Which part or both? Testing at every port people are embarking the ship at when you have booked a 21 day continuous cruise or flying back to the US if you are a fully vaccinated and boosted US citizen?

Not every port- to embark,. To remain on a b2b

[MixerDave]

6 hours ago, riffatsea said:

We used our masks on our 2 cruises 

We don't care what the protocols are as we think using them is what has kept us healthy!

We stayed away from crowded bars and other activities where many folks sat next to each other without masks

What type of masks did you use?

 

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, mrobinson said:

There were 2 hotels they used for quarantined people- IBIS and Radison Blu. Luckily people got the Radison

Just to be clear, if you had Covid in April in the UK (and the same applies today) there was no need to go to a quarantine hotel. Indeed, there are no such things as quarantine hotels.

The only reason is that the US requires a negative test before you can fly, and therefore those with covid had to be accomodated somewhere until they tested negative.

Interestingly, I can test positive for Covid, but can travel  anywhere in Europe with no restrictions, as I am fully vaccinated and have had a booster.  About time the US did the same. 

[Ken the cruiser]

23 minutes ago, dog said:

Not every port- to embark,. To remain on a b2b

I guess my issue is that we booked a 21 day cruise, not three 7 day cruises. We are fully vaccinated and boosted and are not showing any symptoms. We are cruising with fully vaccinated and mostly boosted fellow passengers the entire cruise. We tested negative, as well as everyone else onboard, prior to boarding the ship at our initial embarkation port. In this case Barcelona. Now I get it if I’m showing symptoms, I should report to the medical staff. But why should we have to stress prior to the end of every leg we might get dumped from the ship if we test positive, even if we are asymptomatic. Sorry, but IMHO it’s time to move on. 

[Steelers36]

I am so far past "Covid Protocols", that it will be difficult to deal with them in October - if they are back or stay.  That is a long way off and I am hopeful and expecting a good summer season into early Fall.  Things are relaxing everywhere month by month, so not sweating it too much.  I very much hope it is simply personal choice then. 

 

ETA:  Forgot to say we will be going anyway.  There has been to much effort into getting this voyage going replacing cancelled 2020 & 2021 and the prices in both cruise fare and flights just are not going to be seen again I figure.  So, it's off to Europe (Italy) and expect to have a grand time of it.

Edited May 13, 2022 by Steelers36

[PrincessLuver]

7 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I am so far past "Covid Protocols", that it will be difficult to deal with them in October - if they are back or stay.  That is a long way off and I am hopeful and expecting a good summer season into early Fall.  Things are relaxing everywhere month by month, so not sweating it too much.  I very much hope it is simply personal choice then. 

 

ETA:  Forgot to say we will be going anyway.  There has been to much effort into getting this voyage going replacing cancelled 2020 & 2021 and the prices in both cruise fare and flights just are not going to be seen again I figure.  So, it's off to Europe (Italy) and expect to have a grand time of it.

 

That's what we thought a year ago and now we are booked on 2 relatively long cruises and 2 10 day cruises before fall.  Protocols have gone away but unfortunately Covid can still create havoc for our cruises if we catch Covid on a ship even though we are fully vaccinated and boosted.   It just seems like Princess has relaxed things a little too much for us but we are not staying home either so that is on us.

[riffatsea]

38 minutes ago, MixerDave said:

What type of masks did you use?

 

We brought good masks from home but Princess also had 2 k95 masks waiting for us on our nightstands

We used them every day!

[AE_Collector]

On Royal Princess 12 day Vancouver Alaska round trip. I have to say I am overall impressed with most passengers for wearing masks in the public areas. I have done numerous tally’s and repeatedly land in the 60-70% range. I don’t count people sitting where eating or drinking is happening but do count people as they arrive at these locations. But of course there are those who I have never seen wear a mask in any location. To me the relaxation of rules isn’t an indication that all is clear now but is a return to people being given the discretion to use their own common sense and there are a few who don’t have any to use. Everyone knows the risks are higher on cruise ships and no one wants the cruise scrubbed half way through. Crew are 100% wearing N95 always. 

[riffatsea]

N95.i get mixed up with all these numbers and letters. Hehe 

[beg3yrs]

1 hour ago, AE_Collector said:

To me the relaxation of rules isn’t an indication that all is clear now but is a return to people being given the discretion to use their own common sense and there are a few who don’t have any to use.

I see. Everyone has the discretion to use their own common sense but if their common sense doesn't match up with yours, they really don't have any. Hmm ...

[insidecabin]

3 hours ago, riffatsea said:

N95.i get mixed up with all these numbers and letters. Hehe 

Three broadly equivalent standards(different testing).

KN95(China)

N95(US).

FFP2(Europe)

 

US ships tend to provide KN95 probably cheaper.

 

Italy requirements have been FFP2

 

[Ronnieslady]

14 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Not on the Caribbean Princess. We’ve only had 2 reported passenger cases since we set sail and this is our last full day on our 18 day PC cruise.

Someone’s not telling the truth. Either the CDC or the cruise ships namely Caribbean Princess. According  to their ( Caribbean Princess)  reports of cases  to the CDC they have been & still are in the ORANGE as of 5/12/2022 the latest report.  Check the report from the CDC yourself.     

Edited May 14, 2022 by Ronnieslady

[AE_Collector]

5 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

I see. Everyone has the discretion to use their own common sense but if their common sense doesn't match up with yours, they really don't have any. Hmm ...

Well where would common sense to wear a mask kick in then? Checkin for customs at Vancouver was a solid 1 hour lineup up of bumper to bumper people zig zagging back and forth through the building. Large TV screens showing Masks Required as this isn’t under the control of Princess. Yet there was probably ~3% of people without masks on or they were wearing them under their chin. Sure, maybe someone medically can’t wear a mask but do these people search each other out and get married because they were always a couple or a group of 4 people together except in one instance I saw.

[caribill]

14 hours ago, prmssk said:

since the restart, it has always been 5% of passengers or less.

 

Not anymore:

 

o  Highly vaccinated threshold is now 90%, not 95%

 

o Children under 5 years of age (not eligible to be vaccinated) are not subject to this limit of 10% not vaccinated.

[cr8tiv1]

5 hours ago, insidecabin said:

Three broadly equivalent standards(different testing).

KN95(China)

N95(US).

FFP2(Europe)

 

US ships tend to provide KN95 probably cheaper.

 

Italy requirements have been FFP2

 

add KF94:  Manufactured in Korea.  1% less effective than x95s.  High quality, comfortable to wear for long periods of time.