8/12/22 PRINCESS CRUISES REMOVES VACCINE REQUIREMENT FOR MOST VOYAGES, ELMINATES PRE-CRUISE TESTING FOR VACCINATED GUESTS

[Tedferg]

16 hours ago, SiliconCruiser said:

Actually Canada offers an exemption from testing to fully vaccinated passengers.

"Pre-entry tests are not required for fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada by land, air or water. You must still use ArriveCAN within 72 hours before your arrival to Canada."

from https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada#pre-entry

Another poster provided a link that is specific to Cruising that says you need to be tested. Hope they sort out the confusion.

[Steelers36]

On Greece... I got an actual Princess rep in USA and not off-shore.  She was running it by a supervisor, so it least it got escalated, but then my call dropped or somehow missed her coming back.

 

[Tedferg]

30 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

On Greece... I got an actual Princess rep in USA and not off-shore.  She was running it by a supervisor, so it least it got escalated, but then my call dropped or somehow missed her coming back.

 

I had a Chat with a long hold while she went off to check - came back and said testing only needed for embarkation. Next day another rep went off and said testing needed to dock in Canada.

[SiliconCruiser]

6 hours ago, Daniel A said:

If I remember correctly, Canada treated arriving on a cruise ship as a separate category, and when they say here arriving by land, air or water, they meant arriving by a privately owned yacht or a ferry, not a cruise ship.  Canada has a different web page for cruise ships : 

 

COVID-19: Cruise ship travel requirements – Travel.gc.ca

 

 

Thank you!  I didn't see that portion.  I guess we may have to cancel the last leg, since it is the last leg of a b2b2b that ends in Vancouver, or find someplace to do an antigen test in Seattle.

[SiliconCruiser]

8 hours ago, Tedferg said:

I had a Chat with a long hold while she went off to check - came back and said testing only needed for embarkation. Next day another rep went off and said testing needed to dock in Canada.

I used the online chat to find out if I had to test before the first cruise portion of our three bookings or if I had to find a place to test before our last segment that would end in Vancouver.   While I tend to take any communication from Princess with a grain of salt for veracity, the person that I contacted said that we would receive a complimentary test on board the ship either towards the end of the second segment or at the beginning of the segment going to Vancouver.  Of course, there is the potential that all this could change before next April.

[cr8tiv1]

@SiliconCruiserPrincess will provide any necessary covid tests on a b2b,; if required by the country you are entering.  The policy may change now with no testing required for some cruises.  

 

When this occurs seems to differ per ship/medical staff.  Some are administered before the end of your cruise, day of transit, or at the beginning of your new cruise.  If I were you, I would take some home tests and take one before the end of each segment.  That might give you the option to get off the ship verses being quarantined on the ship if you should test positive.  Covid surprises are no fun.

[SiliconCruiser]

47 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

@SiliconCruiserPrincess will provide any necessary covid tests on a b2b,; if required by the country you are entering.  The policy may change now with no testing required for some cruises.  

 

When this occurs seems to differ per ship/medical staff.  Some are administered before the end of your cruise, day of transit, or at the beginning of your new cruise.  If I were you, I would take some home tests and take one before the end of each segment.  That might give you the option to get off the ship verses being quarantined on the ship if you should test positive.  Covid surprises are no fun.

I don't trust anything from Princess.  Seems that if you don't like their answer just check again until you get the answer you want.  But when you get to the port, some Cruise Metro employee will authoritatively tell you something else (bear in mind that they are usually seniors working a part-time on-call job with minimal information, so that have to make it up on their own.)

 

[clueless2]

So...Did Princess drop the testing requirement for voyages longer than 15 days?  Unless I'm just missing it I don't see it on the testing requirements page.

 

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/vaccine-testing-requirements/

[Daniel A]

13 minutes ago, clueless2 said:

So...Did Princess drop the testing requirement for voyages longer than 15 days?  Unless I'm just missing it I don't see it on the testing requirements page.

 

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/vaccine-testing-requirements/

Hmmm.... Very interesting!  It's not there anymore.

[PacnGoNow]

36 minutes ago, clueless2 said:

So...Did Princess drop the testing requirement for voyages longer than 15 days?  Unless I'm just missing it I don't see it on the testing requirements page.

 

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/vaccine-testing-requirements/

Looks like they dropped the 15 days rule and tried to simplify it.  

Another update.  😳

[teacherplus]

So do I have to test for my 16 day cruise September 11? Totally confused 

[Daniel A]

6 minutes ago, teacherplus said:

So do I have to test for my 16 day cruise September 11? Totally confused 

That is a very good question.  You still have time to get the correct answer.  To be safe, make plans to get tested anyway.

[Musky Ike]

22 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

On Greece... I got an actual Princess rep in USA and not off-shore.  She was running it by a supervisor, so it least it got escalated, but then my call dropped or somehow missed her coming back.

 

Waiting to hear what you find out. As of Tuesday it looks like tests prior tp boarding still required. Hoping for a change soon.

Voyages Departing, Arriving or Visiting Greece

Updated: August 16, 2022

Vaccination Status	Definition by Country's Health Authority	Pre-Travel Test Type & When to Take Test Before Boarding
		Age: 5 to 17	Age: 18 and Up
Fully Vaccinated 18 and above	At least 14 days past completion of a primary vaccine series and no more than 270 days (9 months) from the date of disembarkation since receiving the last dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine. A booster dose is required for guests 18 and older if the last COVID-19 vaccine dose in series is older than 9 months (270 days) from the date of disembarkation.		Antigen within 2 days OR PCR within 3 days
Fully Vaccinated 5 to 17	Received primary series of COVID-19 vaccines with final dose at least 14 days before embarkation.	Antigen within 2 days OR PCR within 3 days
Not Fully Vaccinated*	Either not up to date or has not received a complete COVID-19 vaccine series. Please contact us to request a vaccination exemption to be presented upon embarkation.	Antigen within 2 days OR PCR within 3 days	Antigen within 2 days OR PCR within 3 days

*Kids 4 years of age and under are welcome to cruise and have no vaccination or test requirements. Minimum age to sail is 6 months or 12 months based on cruise itinerary, review Passage Contract for details.

Tests must be conducted in-person by medical personnel and guests will need a physical letter with the negative results. Test results proctored by video are not accepted.

[PacnGoNow]

52 minutes ago, teacherplus said:

So do I have to test for my 16 day cruise September 11? Totally confused 

That’s a broad question. Sailing from?

Itinerary?

[Steelers36]

59 minutes ago, teacherplus said:

So do I have to test for my 16 day cruise September 11? Totally confused 

If it is a single 16-night voyage, then yes.  That at least is pretty clear in the new protocols.

[PacnGoNow]

4 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

If it is a single 16-night voyage, then yes.  That at least is pretty clear in the new protocols.

Did you see the new updates? 

[ceilidh1]

4 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Did you see the new updates? 

Would the sailings longer than 16 days be under the "enhanced guidelines" cruises? I would assume those longer sailings are Transatlantic/Transpacific/Panama Canal/Special Voyages...

[PacnGoNow]

7 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

If it is a single 16-night voyage, then yes.  That at least is pretty clear in the new protocols.

UpdateAug 16

Testing not required from US UK EU

No mention of 16 days in testing requirements page.  Just testing for Enhanced voyages…

On the general page update on Aug 15

it mentions the 16 day rule, maybe it was not updated yet?

 

exceptions: 

 

^Enhanced Guidelines Voyages include full Panama Canal transits, Trans-Ocean crossings, special voyages, Greek guidelines (voyages departing, arriving or visiting Greece), Canadian guidelines (voyages, arriving or visiting Canada).

* Note all Alaska voyages include Canada and must follow Canadian guidelines. For voyages departing, arriving or visiting Canada, please refer to the Canada table for Vaccination and Testing Requirements.

**The Greek government has their own testing requirements. For voyages departing, arriving or visiting Greece, please refer to the Greece table for Vaccination and Testing Requirements.

 

That’s why I asked for details of the Sep 11 questions.  I don’t think it is clear again, after the update of Aug. 16.  

[dog]

8 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Did you see the new updates? 

Thanks for the heads up on new update: Aug 16/22!! 

[Bwana Tom]

Just now, ceilidh1 said:

Would the sailings longer than 16 days be under the "enhanced guidelines" cruises? I would assume those longer sailings are Transatlantic/Transpacific/Panama Canal/Special Voyages...

Not necessarily. We are booked on a 16 day Hawaii cruise in January with a b2b 7 day Mexico cruise following that one and trying to figure out what Princess' rules are today. For me I have a lot of time ahead of me and expect many vague changes and confusion to follow. 

[PacnGoNow]

7 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Would the sailings longer than 16 days be under the "enhanced guidelines" cruises? I would assume those longer sailings are Transatlantic/Transpacific/Panama Canal/Special Voyages...

I think they updated the testing requirements and did not update

the general information page. Hence, different dates of updates.

 

They should have grouped it with the exceptions on the enhanced voyages then.

 

Again, confusing.

Edited August 18, 2022 by PacnGoNow

[KeepCalmBearOn]

5 minutes ago, Bwana Tom said:

Not necessarily. We are booked on a 16 day Hawaii cruise in January with a b2b 7 day Mexico cruise following that one and trying to figure out what Princess' rules are today. For me I have a lot of time ahead of me and expect many vague changes and confusion to follow. 

 

Are the two cruises on the same ship? Is the Hawaii cruise leaving out of LA?

 

On B2B in LA you've always had to get off the ship, go through arrival procedures before reboarding, so I'd say those are two separate cruises, even if your luggage stays onboard.

[PacnGoNow]

3 minutes ago, Bwana Tom said:

Not necessarily. We are booked on a 16 day Hawaii cruise in January with a b2b 7 day Mexico cruise following that one and trying to figure out what Princess' rules are today. For me I have a lot of time ahead of me and expect many vague changes and confusion to follow. 

Exactly, and some Hawaii cruises are 15 day cruises.

 

They did clarify Panama Canal now as FULL transit and added Trans Ocean CROSSINGS to the exceptions. 

 

Just clarify or update these for those sailings in the next 2 weeks.

Is the 16 day rule still in effect or are they just going to update the page?  This is not unusual at all for PCL.  They update one area and not every related page gets updated.  You see this throughout the website.

 

 

 

[Bwana Tom]

2 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

Are the two cruises on the same ship? Is the Hawaii cruise leaving out of LA?

 

On B2B in LA you've always had to get off the ship, go through arrival procedures before reboarding, so I'd say those are two separate cruises, even if your luggage stays onboard.

Out of San Diego both on the Diamond. 

[Steelers36]

28 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Did you see the new updates? 

Yes, but I do realize that they have multiple pages!!  (Why can't they just summarize everything in one place simply, like some other cruise lines).  

 

This page (linked from top of Princess.com home page):  https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/eu-cruises/

 

does indicate the 16-night situation, along with other special voyages such as trans-ocean.  It was last changed (in some manner) on August 15.

 

In the top paragraph on that page, there is the link to this page: 

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/vaccine-testing-requirements/

 

This one was last changed on August 16 - which seems primarily to be the Greece wording.  I glommed onto that odd section and have not thought about the 16-night situation.  The section on this page for >= Sep 6 date, is silent on voyage length and doesn't mention the 16+-nights as an exception case.  Was this an omission error, or was it deliberate?  YGIAGAM.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Steelers36