Just received this from Royal Caribbean for our March 2023 Cruise - should we be concerned?

[TwoWestAussies]

Just received the COVID-19 Supplementary Terms and Conditions from Royal Caribbean – I am afraid that cruising from Australia is going to be completely different to what people have experienced in the USA and UK, due to our strict COVID rules, based on these T&C's nothing is certain and anything can be changed at any time.  Such as

 

• High chance of wearing face masks for 9 days  (no thanks, not in the heat!)

 

• On-board bar and lounge facilities and the sale of alcohol on-board - may be temporarily or permanently restricted or suspended at any stage (no mention of what happens if you have paid for drinks package?)

 

• regular screening, and/or testing for COVID-19 either by blood sample and/or a swab of the nose and/or throat, contact tracing, may include a requirement that you wear a wearable device at all times during your cruise with use of CCTV and wearables to monitor passengers movements

 

• Anticipate a number of cruises will have no ports of call, or when you can disembark it may be restricted to only passengers who have booked an excursion through Royal Caribbean! (everyone else will need to remain on the ship!)

 

• Restricted of cancelled ports of call may result in changes to the duration of your cruise (in this event they will only refund excursions not used as long as they are booked through Royal Caribbean, not the portion of cruise that is lost)

 

•  Some or all of our on-board facilities and/or venues may be closed or restricted or subject to additional procedural requirements, such as on-board shopping or retail facilities, dining venues (potentially limited dining options, restricted operating times!)

 

• May not be able to provide you with preferred stateroom (does not say anything about what happens if you paid extra to choose your own room, or if you are moved from a balcony to an internal room - no compensation!)

• For disembarkation, luggage will be electrostatically sprayed you must wear any disposable gloves and any protective clothing if this is provided to you for

use during the disembarkation process?

 

• No special requests for early or delayed disembarkation can be accommodated (What is you need to catch a flight?)

 

Thankfully we booked a refundable fare, but will wait until passengers from the first cruise out of Sydney give their feedback, hoping I am over thinking this and everyone has a wonderful time and we can proceed with our booking.

Have attached full document for anyone who wants to read...

COVID_19_Supplementary_Terms_and_Conditions.pdf

[NSWP]

No cruising for me under those rigid conditions. Having to pay all that money out and be constrained and miserable. A lot of conditions there, perhaps some are just a proviso or warning, so you know the policies when you board.

Edited August 29, 2022 by NSWP

[MMDown Under]

35 minutes ago, TwoWestAussies said:

Just received the COVID-19 Supplementary Terms and Conditions from Royal Caribbean – I am afraid that cruising from Australia is going to be completely different to what people have experienced in the USA and UK, due to our strict COVID rules, based on these T&C's nothing is certain and anything can be changed at any time.  Such as

 

• High chance of wearing face masks for 9 days  (no thanks, not in the heat!)

 

• On-board bar and lounge facilities and the sale of alcohol on-board - may be temporarily or permanently restricted or suspended at any stage (no mention of what happens if you have paid for drinks package?)

 

• regular screening, and/or testing for COVID-19 either by blood sample and/or a swab of the nose and/or throat, contact tracing, may include a requirement that you wear a wearable device at all times during your cruise with use of CCTV and wearables to monitor passengers movements

 

• Anticipate a number of cruises will have no ports of call, or when you can disembark it may be restricted to only passengers who have booked an excursion through Royal Caribbean! (everyone else will need to remain on the ship!)

 

• Restricted of cancelled ports of call may result in changes to the duration of your cruise (in this event they will only refund excursions not used as long as they are booked through Royal Caribbean, not the portion of cruise that is lost)

 

•  Some or all of our on-board facilities and/or venues may be closed or restricted or subject to additional procedural requirements, such as on-board shopping or retail facilities, dining venues (potentially limited dining options, restricted operating times!)

 

• May not be able to provide you with preferred stateroom (does not say anything about what happens if you paid extra to choose your own room, or if you are moved from a balcony to an internal room - no compensation!)

 

• For disembarkation, luggage will be electrostatically sprayed you must wear any disposable gloves and any protective clothing if this is provided to you for

use during the disembarkation process?

 

• No special requests for early or delayed disembarkation can be accommodated (What is you need to catch a flight?)

 

Thankfully we booked a refundable fare, but will wait until passengers from the first cruise out of Sydney give their feedback, hoping I am over thinking this and everyone has a wonderful time and we can proceed with our booking.

 

Have attached full document for anyone who wants to read...

COVID_19_Supplementary_Terms_and_Conditions.pdfUnavailable

 

Attachment wouldn't open.  

[TwoWestAussies]

Try again 🙂 

COVID_19_Supplementary_Terms_and_Conditions.pdf

[Chiliburn]

25 minutes ago, NSWP said:

No cruising for me under those rigid conditions. Having to pay all that money out and be constrained and miserable. A lot of conditions there, perhaps some are just a proviso or warning, so you know the policies when you board.

I wouldn’t like to be trapped on a ship like that with no way to escape those cougars. 
 

 

[Auscruisefam]

I can’t open the attachment however I think that is worse case event. Can you imagine the mayhem on board if they tried to implement that. Either way I would not be happy cruising under those conditions. Even in summer good luck enforcing masks in 30 plus degree heat during say a carnival or royal cruise packed with families heading to the islands.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 minutes ago, Auscruisefam said:

I can’t open the attachment however I think that is worse case event. Can you imagine the mayhem on board if they tried to implement that. Either way I would not be happy cruising under those conditions. Even in summer good luck enforcing masks in 30 plus degree heat during say a carnival or royal cruise packed with families heading to the islands.

 

But surely mask wearing would only be required when moving through the interior of the ship which is air-conditioned. Mask requirements are already in place on Coral Princess and it's no big deal.

[Cruisers47]

Hi

 

i think that probably is a worst case scenario as has been said.

 

probably based on Oz previous lockdown measures.

 

we have been on RCL in the UK (I know they said this is only for OZ) and had no trouble,     We flew into Paris and went by train to Amsterdam.  We read that in the EU we had to fill out an online form stating where we were arriving and staying.   Nobody asked for that and we had our Covid jab information on our phones and in paper but nobody asked for that either, except when we went on the ship.

 

if things are that bad that they have to end up following those rules, I would think that the cruise would be cancelled.

 

we have a short 5 day cruise from Sydney in Feb 2023 on RCL but have not receive anything like that but will advise CC if we do!
 

be positive…all will be well👵
 

Eileen

[resordanis]

I have 4 cruises on Royal before Xmas and haven’t received this information as yet. The only thing we have received is a health document for one cruise and it wasn’t for the first cruise either!

[arxcards]

Under the current protocols, all of those are possible if elevated levels of covid (above 3% of passengers/crew) are detected on a cruise. Many of them are highly unlikely though. While these have Royal's name on them, it is aligning with government protocols.

 

It will depend on whether current protocols are relaxed between now & then. Masks are currently required in many indoor public areas of the ship, during embarkation, in tenders. These will most certainly still be in place for the early Sydney departures for Royal, and maybe not an indication for what will be in place next March - 6 months away.

 

Your room choice can be taken away if they determine they still need to keep a block of quarantine cabins aside. In most cases, it would be a like for like cabin in a different location. But yes, it is a caveat to allow them to do this.

 

I thought anyone in WA would be all over this stuff. Passengers on P&O and Princess have been dealing with this for up to 3 months now. It has mostly worked out fine, excepting a couple of cruises with a large number of infections aboard. The less covid on land, the less risk and restrictions there will be on ships. Covid numbers are coming down quicker than ScoMo's popularity rate.

 

We have had a couple of fun cruises since the resumption, and for both we just had to suck and see. Glad we did them, and will be back for another couple in October, with pre-cruise testing & face masks all part of the deal.

[TwoWestAussies]

It does concern me that no-one who has sailed on RC since resumption has received these COVID T&Cs, so they are clearly aimed at the cruises departing Australia.

 

• I have no objection to pre-cruise testing - but I do to wearing trackers and regular testing throughout cruise and being monitored on CCTV.

 

• I have no objection to face masks during embarkation and disembarkation - but not while I am supposed to be on relaxing holiday to the South Pacific

 

Such a shame as we were really looking forward to our first cruise of what we hoped would be many - but if one or any of these conditions are implemented during our cruise, it will then become our first and last cruise and a huge waste of thousands of dollars. 😔

 

Fortunately we booked a refundable fare, so will continue to watch and listen to what happens on the first couple of cruises that depart Australia and pray that the rules are relaxed - if not will cancel and try again for the end of the year or 2024.  🤞
 

[MMDown Under]

4 hours ago, TwoWestAussies said:

Try again 🙂 

COVID_19_Supplementary_Terms_and_Conditions.pdfUnavailable

Thanks but it didn't open again. 

Reading your summary cruising under those conditions didn't appeal.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, TwoWestAussies said:

It does concern me that no-one who has sailed on RC since resumption has received these COVID T&Cs, so they are clearly aimed at the cruises departing Australia.

 

• I have no objection to pre-cruise testing - but I do to wearing trackers and regular testing throughout cruise and being monitored on CCTV.

 

• I have no objection to face masks during embarkation and disembarkation - but not while I am supposed to be on relaxing holiday to the South Pacific

 

Such a shame as we were really looking forward to our first cruise of what we hoped would be many - but if one or any of these conditions are implemented during our cruise, it will then become our first and last cruise and a huge waste of thousands of dollars. 😔

 

Fortunately we booked a refundable fare, so will continue to watch and listen to what happens on the first couple of cruises that depart Australia and pray that the rules are relaxed - if not will cancel and try again for the end of the year or 2024.  🤞
 

*** Trackers and regular testing - cruise ships will avoid regular testing, but they will test if the port they arriving into requires it. That will only happen if elevated levels are present. The tracker is a chip in a watch band. I think they are highly unlikely, as it is only cabin mates and your travel group/family that is considered to be a contact. Australia doesn't require contact tracing on ships beyond that. The trackers are an alternate version of your cruise card, usually used to order drinks etc. Tracking isn't their intended purpose.

 

*** The only place I would consider a mask uncomfortable is in a tender. Cases are still present on pretty much every cruise, so they are still deemed as necessary. Generally, they are comfortable enough for making your way around an air conditioned ship, and usually when you find a place to sit to eat or drink, they are not required. 

 

If you have booked since April, this is what was already in play when you booked, so it is disappointing that Royal didn't keep their future passengers in the loop along the way. They can't predict the future, so I believe they were hoping for some of these barriers to come down before they arrived in Oz. Unless another variant pops-up and makes a run, I can see a lot of these current restrictions being lifted around Christmas time, but I am also only guessing the future. One difference is we already know we love cruising, and were prepared to jump aboard ASAP, even knowing there would be several restrictions in place. Thinking back to our first cruise, I think I would also be a reluctant starter in the current climate.

 

Fingers crossed for you, and everyone else here with cruises booked over the summer. I keep watching the weekly infection numbers coming down, and am more buoyant about reduced restrictions every day. 

[Hogbay]

On 8/29/2022 at 11:37 AM, TwoWestAussies said:

Just received the COVID-19 Supplementary Terms and Conditions from Royal Caribbean – I am afraid that cruising from Australia is going to be completely different to what people have experienced in the USA and UK, due to our strict COVID rules, based on these T&C's nothing is certain and anything can be changed at any time.  Such as

 

• High chance of wearing face masks for 9 days  (no thanks, not in the heat!)

 

• On-board bar and lounge facilities and the sale of alcohol on-board - may be temporarily or permanently restricted or suspended at any stage (no mention of what happens if you have paid for drinks package?)

 

• regular screening, and/or testing for COVID-19 either by blood sample and/or a swab of the nose and/or throat, contact tracing, may include a requirement that you wear a wearable device at all times during your cruise with use of CCTV and wearables to monitor passengers movements

 

• Anticipate a number of cruises will have no ports of call, or when you can disembark it may be restricted to only passengers who have booked an excursion through Royal Caribbean! (everyone else will need to remain on the ship!)

 

• Restricted of cancelled ports of call may result in changes to the duration of your cruise (in this event they will only refund excursions not used as long as they are booked through Royal Caribbean, not the portion of cruise that is lost)

 

•  Some or all of our on-board facilities and/or venues may be closed or restricted or subject to additional procedural requirements, such as on-board shopping or retail facilities, dining venues (potentially limited dining options, restricted operating times!)

 

• May not be able to provide you with preferred stateroom (does not say anything about what happens if you paid extra to choose your own room, or if you are moved from a balcony to an internal room - no compensation!)

 

• For disembarkation, luggage will be electrostatically sprayed you must wear any disposable gloves and any protective clothing if this is provided to you for

use during the disembarkation process?

 

• No special requests for early or delayed disembarkation can be accommodated (What is you need to catch a flight?)

 

Thankfully we booked a refundable fare, but will wait until passengers from the first cruise out of Sydney give their feedback, hoping I am over thinking this and everyone has a wonderful time and we can proceed with our booking.

 

Have attached full document for anyone who wants to read...

COVID_19_Supplementary_Terms_and_Conditions.pdfUnavailable

You should not be concerned about these terms and conditions they are written from a legal worst case scenario . They are used to Americans and litigation . Your first cruise is  March 2023  i have completed 10 , transfer to carnival next month then first Royal on 16 Nov 2022 . Cruise lines have been watching pac s for along time on cctv and the card or medallion have chips and your phone ..... nothing new here . If you were affected you get compensation for that time . 

[TwoWestAussies]

7 hours ago, Hogbay said:

You should not be concerned about these terms and conditions they are written from a legal worst case scenario . They are used to Americans and litigation . Your first cruise is  March 2023  i have completed 10 , transfer to carnival next month then first Royal on 16 Nov 2022 . Cruise lines have been watching pac s for along time on cctv and the card or medallion have chips and your phone ..... nothing new here . If you were affected you get compensation for that time . 

I will be definitely be cancelling if they have sip and cover... could not think of anything more annoying and frustrating - especially after spending over $2,000 on drinks package 😞 

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, TwoWestAussies said:

I will be definitely be cancelling if they have sip and cover... could not think of anything more annoying and frustrating - especially after spending over $2,000 on drinks package 😞 

I think Princess and P&O operating from Australia are sip and cover, will find out soon. Got one of these on order, lol.

[Hogbay]

2 hours ago, TwoWestAussies said:

I will be definitely be cancelling if they have sip and cover... could not think of anything more annoying and frustrating - especially after spending over $2,000 on drinks package 😞 

Okye dokie ,  wish you well , just reporting on current protocols . 

[arxcards]

51 minutes ago, NSWP said:

I think Princess and P&O operating from Australia are sip and cover, will find out soon. Got one of these on order, lol.

Yes, but only in areas that are deemed to be a bit more densely populated. If the current protocols are still in play when the summer ships arrive, the same will apply for them as well. Theatre and some bar areas are sip and cover. The dining areas are like they were here during the land restrictions - just wear till seated, and you can dine mask free.

 

Just grow yourself a big bushy beard and make out that it is part of your cultural/religious beliefs and just ignore the mask requests. It worked for a group of passengers on Coral a couple of weeks back, and the staff gave up on asking.

 

Just need to be careful with hand pumps in your hand luggage, you might get some sideways looks from security screening. 😉

[NSWP]

54 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Yes, but only in areas that are deemed to be a bit more densely populated. If the current protocols are still in play when the summer ships arrive, the same will apply for them as well. Theatre and some bar areas are sip and cover. The dining areas are like they were here during the land restrictions - just wear till seated, and you can dine mask free.

 

Just grow yourself a big bushy beard and make out that it is part of your cultural/religious beliefs and just ignore the mask requests. It worked for a group of passengers on Coral a couple of weeks back, and the staff gave up on asking.

 

Just need to be careful with hand pumps in your hand luggage, you might get some sideways looks from security screening. 😉

Many Americans doing the Transpacifics are staying on board to do Aust/NZ, they will not be happy with our protocols. Most of which no longer exist for cruising in the USA/Caribbean etc.

[Chiliburn]

4 hours ago, TwoWestAussies said:

I will be definitely be cancelling if they have sip and cover... could not think of anything more annoying and frustrating - especially after spending over $2,000 on drinks package 😞 

I think you are over reacting , don’t listen to these Princess Prima Donna’s .

Book the cruise and if you’re still not confident, book it with a refundable deposit.

 

 

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

I think you are over reacting , don’t listen to these Princess Prima Donna’s .

Book the cruise and if you’re still not confident, book it with a refundable deposit.

 

 

Remember plenty of cougars too on RCI, not permitted on Princess, I do not wish them to suddenly emerge from the 3 spare bunks in my cabin on Coral Princess, lol.

 

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, NSWP said:

Many Americans doing the Transpacifics are staying on board to do Aust/NZ, they will not be happy with our protocols. Most of which no longer exist for cruising in the USA/Caribbean etc.

They have really short memories, but at least they have been back cruising more than 6 months ahead of us. Those restrictions in the main still exist, with US based cruises relaxing the protocols from 6th September. Masks are a non-issue with them compared to vaxx rules that can prevent them from boarding a cruise they booked a year or more ago, officially notified after shelling out final payment.

[arxcards]

4 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

I think you are over reacting , don’t listen to these Princess Prima Donna’s .

Book the cruise and if you’re still not confident, book it with a refundable deposit.

 

 

Prima Donna's that don't like paying more than $40 per day for a drink package. 😂

 

Seems that those extra restrictions around tracking via Royal's watch come courtesy of the WA government that has tighter protocols on contact tracing than for the eastern states, so for cruises arriving to or departing from Fremantle ....

https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/Corp/Documents/Health-for/Infectious-disease/COVID19/COVID19-Guidelines-for-cruising-in-WA.pdf

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Prima Donna's that don't like paying more than $40 per day for a drink package. 😂

 

Seems that those extra restrictions around tracking via Royal's watch come courtesy of the WA government that has tighter protocols on contact tracing than for the eastern states, so for cruises arriving to or departing from Fremantle ....

https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/Corp/Documents/Health-for/Infectious-disease/COVID19/COVID19-Guidelines-for-cruising-in-WA.pdf

I suppose coming from Western Australia they may have a different outlook on Covid and the restrictions, they where pretty over the top .
 

 

[Chiliburn]

6 hours ago, NSWP said:

Remember plenty of cougars too on RCI, not permitted on Princess, I do not wish them to suddenly emerge from the 3 spare bunks in my cabin on Coral Princess, lol.

 

 

before you throw that medallion in the water uncle Les. I found a medallion holder for you.

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by Chiliburn