Big news! All protocols have been lifted for most voyages

[caribill]

3 hours ago, Loveh2ofl said:

On the website today:

 

Ready To Welcome You On Board

Updated October 17, 2022

It’s easier than ever to prepare for your cruise. All guests are welcome – regardless of vaccination status – and starting October 21st vaccination and testing requirements have been lifted on most voyages!

This applies to itineraries to all destinations except where government regulations may vary like Australia and on a few Enhanced Guidelines voyages that have their own vaccination and testing requirements.

Visit our Vaccination & Testing Requirements page for requirements regarding your voyage.

View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

 

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

 

The links Princess provided are not yet updated for the October 21 changes.

 

To some extent, I am not happy about these changes.

 

We have not cruised since cruise lines resumed voyages last year. Even with all the testing and protocols in place, Covid was still spreading on many voyages and not just on Princess sailings.

 

But a few months ago we booked a cruise on Princess for late December, confident that the requirements in place at the time we made the booking would be the best practices for limiting opportunities for contracting the virus on our cruise.

 

Covid has not disappeared and the best medical predictions show a concern for a resurgence later this year for a variety of reasons (new varieties, lack of mask wearing when appropriate, people spending more time indoors in the northern hemisphere, schools resuming in-person classes, many people not fully vaccinated and/or without booster shots, etc.).

 

So the cruise we signed up for with the assurance that at least 90% of passengers would be fully vaccinated (completed initial series of injections), interacting crew would be masked, all passengers would be tested within three days of the start of the cruise,etc. is now a cruise with an unlimited number of unvaccinated and untested people and no masking requirements at all for passengers or the crew they encounter.

[ShakeDaddy]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

The links Princess provided are not yet updated for the October 21 changes.

 

To some extent, I am not happy about these changes.

 

We have not cruised since cruise lines resumed voyages last year. Even with all the testing and protocols in place, Covid was still spreading on many voyages and not just on Princess sailings.

 

But a few months ago we booked a cruise on Princess for late December, confident that the requirements in place at the time we made the booking would be the best practices for limiting opportunities for contracting the virus on our cruise.

 

Covid has not disappeared and the best medical predictions show a concern for a resurgence later this year for a variety of reasons (new varieties, lack of mask wearing when appropriate, people spending more time indoors in the northern hemisphere, schools resuming in-person classes, many people not fully vaccinated and/or without booster shots, etc.).

 

So the cruise we signed up for with the assurance that at least 90% of passengers would be fully vaccinated (completed initial series of injections), interacting crew would be masked, all passengers would be tested within three days of the start of the cruise,etc. is now a cruise with an unlimited number of unvaccinated and untested people and no masking requirements at all for passengers or the crew they encounter.

 

You waited way to long and now see what happens?  Should have got after it 14 months ago.

[leck57]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

The links Princess provided are not yet updated for the October 21 changes.

 

To some extent, I am not happy about these changes.

 

We have not cruised since cruise lines resumed voyages last year. Even with all the testing and protocols in place, Covid was still spreading on many voyages and not just on Princess sailings.

 

But a few months ago we booked a cruise on Princess for late December, confident that the requirements in place at the time we made the booking would be the best practices for limiting opportunities for contracting the virus on our cruise.

 

Covid has not disappeared and the best medical predictions show a concern for a resurgence later this year for a variety of reasons (new varieties, lack of mask wearing when appropriate, people spending more time indoors in the northern hemisphere, schools resuming in-person classes, many people not fully vaccinated and/or without booster shots, etc.).

 

So the cruise we signed up for with the assurance that at least 90% of passengers would be fully vaccinated (completed initial series of injections), interacting crew would be masked, all passengers would be tested within three days of the start of the cruise,etc. is now a cruise with an unlimited number of unvaccinated and untested people and no masking requirements at all for passengers or the crew they encounter.

 

As said time and time again. Despite the changes, if this your concern, booking a cruise was risky in the extreme.

[SargassoPirate]

16 hours ago, antsp said:

Princess mentions government restrictions like Australia, they forget to mention you cannot travel to the usa unless your vaccinated 

Sure you can.  Millions are doing it.

Edited October 19, 2022 by SargassoPirate

[geocruiser]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The links Princess provided are not yet updated for the October 21 changes.

 

To some extent, I am not happy about these changes.

 

We have not cruised since cruise lines resumed voyages last year. Even with all the testing and protocols in place, Covid was still spreading on many voyages and not just on Princess sailings.

 

But a few months ago we booked a cruise on Princess for late December, confident that the requirements in place at the time we made the booking would be the best practices for limiting opportunities for contracting the virus on our cruise.

 

Covid has not disappeared and the best medical predictions show a concern for a resurgence later this year for a variety of reasons (new varieties, lack of mask wearing when appropriate, people spending more time indoors in the northern hemisphere, schools resuming in-person classes, many people not fully vaccinated and/or without booster shots, etc.).

 

So the cruise we signed up for with the assurance that at least 90% of passengers would be fully vaccinated (completed initial series of injections), interacting crew would be masked, all passengers would be tested within three days of the start of the cruise,etc. is now a cruise with an unlimited number of unvaccinated and untested people and no masking requirements at all for passengers or the crew they encounter.

Are you still going to take the cruise?  Can you get your money back?  Is it worth the risk to go?  We have not started cruising again because of covid.  I just don't feel like taking the chance of getting sick on a ship.  While I don't know the positivity rate on board a cruise ship I know what is in my country (my county 7.5%). Right now cruising is too risky for me.

The scary thing about pre-existing conditions is that a lot of time people don't know that they have one until something happens to then.  I found that out!

[ebeluga]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The links Princess provided are not yet updated for the October 21 changes.

 

To some extent, I am not happy about these changes.

 

We have not cruised since cruise lines resumed voyages last year. Even with all the testing and protocols in place, Covid was still spreading on many voyages and not just on Princess sailings.

 

But a few months ago we booked a cruise on Princess for late December, confident that the requirements in place at the time we made the booking would be the best practices for limiting opportunities for contracting the virus on our cruise.

 

Covid has not disappeared and the best medical predictions show a concern for a resurgence later this year for a variety of reasons (new varieties, lack of mask wearing when appropriate, people spending more time indoors in the northern hemisphere, schools resuming in-person classes, many people not fully vaccinated and/or without booster shots, etc.).

 

So the cruise we signed up for with the assurance that at least 90% of passengers would be fully vaccinated (completed initial series of injections), interacting crew would be masked, all passengers would be tested within three days of the start of the cruise,etc. is now a cruise with an unlimited number of unvaccinated and untested people and no masking requirements at all for passengers or the crew they encounter.

Crew is mostly unmasked on Discovery effective 10/15/2022, recommended but not required indoor.  Human nature, when they sneeze, they sneeze into their hands, just witnessed it the other day w/o masks. You know how that goes.

[caribill]

47 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

Are you still going to take the cruise?  Can you get your money back?  Is it worth the risk to go? 

 

Past final payment, so cannot get money back. Also, payment included funds from cancelled cruises that hd to be used by end-of-year.

[caribill]

6 minutes ago, ebeluga said:

Crew is mostly unmasked on Discovery effective 10/15/2022, recommended but not required indoor.  Human nature, when they sneeze, they sneeze into their hands, just witnessed it the other day w/o masks. You know how that goes.

 

I think to a large extent it will be the crew that is most at risk without the mask mandate.

 

In recent months, a number of passengers have reported how they tested positive when they got home from a cruise.

 

Use of masks by the crew helped keep them from becoming infected but with no mask mandate, they are more at risk at getting infected near the end of a cruise by passengers who are contagious but do not know it.

 

 

[Princessfan20]

55 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

Are you still going to take the cruise?  Can you get your money back?  Is it worth the risk to go?  We have not started cruising again because of covid.  I just don't feel like taking the chance of getting sick on a ship.  While I don't know the positivity rate on board a cruise ship I know what is in my country (my county 7.5%). Right now cruising is too risky for me.

The scary thing about pre-existing conditions is that a lot of time people don't know that they have one until something happens to then.  I found that out!

 

Our experience is that Covid is really only problematic on cruises longer than 10 days.  Those are the cruises where when Covid breaks out people are put into quarantine rooms.  Cruises less than 10 days passengers have reported developing the symptoms of Covid after disembarkation and arriving home.

 

Non the less it will be interesting to see how the winter cruises go for Princess with projections of a Covid and flu surge in the US.  I am sure there will be lots of crew missing from service because they live in such close quarters and will infect each other.  It seems chair hogs may be the big concern of some passengers and not a life threatening virus now.  Dress code arguments soon to follow.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Princessfan20

[san diego sue]

6 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Past final payment, so cannot get money back. Also, payment included funds from cancelled cruises that hd to be used by end-of-year.

Did you buy Insurance? With your concerns , should have done so.We also worried before our first cruise back (Oct 2021). Once on board, we just enjoyed ourselves and glad we cruised. We have since cruised 5 cruises. Yes we are concerned, yes my husband came home sick after one of the cruises but that could happen even before the pandemic. Lots of germs always circulating on board ships.

[caribill]

7 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

Our experience is that Covid is really only problematic on cruises longer than 10 days.  ...  Cruises less than 10 days passengers have reported developing the symptoms of Covid after disembarkation and arriving home.

 

 

 

For the crew, the voyage is always longer than 10 days.

[geocruiser]

19 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

Our experience is that Covid is really only problematic on cruises longer than 10 days.  Those are the cruises where when Covid breaks out people are put into quarantine rooms.  Cruises less than 10 days passengers have reported developing the symptoms of Covid after disembarkation and arriving home.

 

Non the less it will be interesting to see how the winter cruises go for Princess with projections of a Covid and flu surge in the US.  I am sure there will be lots of crew missing from service because they live in such close quarters and will infect each other.  It seems chair hogs may be the big concern of some passengers and not a life threatening virus now.  Dress code arguments soon to follow.

I understand what you are saying about longer cruises and quarantine.  But the other part of my concern is getting covid on a shorter cruise and coming home with it.

I do hope that the crew and all on board stay healthy.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Between Sept 17 and Oct 16 I spent 26 days sailing. 7 days on Ruby and 19 on Royal. I had my bivalent booster about 10 days before boarding making it 5 Covid vaccine shots for me. I have never had Covid so I’m in that small group. 
 

The sailings were 90%, 42% and 75% ( roughly) full. I went maskless the entire time.  The outdoor crew did not mask. On Oct 15 the indoor crew no longer had to mask and very few chose to. 
 

I have tested negative twice so far and will test one more time before saying I came home Covid free. I did not have any symptoms the entire time onboard. I only saw one table outside a cabin for room service.  And did not notice a quarantine deck.  I also didn’t go looking for one. I was all the way forward so used those stairs and elevators for the most part. 
 

The crew were ecstatic about taking off the masks. I did enjoy seeing their smiling faces again!  I get on the Sapphire Nov 2 and am looking forward to another great experience.  

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’m happy at the continued progress toward normalcy. Am I nervous? Yes. I think there will be some bumps in the sea, but I think once we get past those, things will be better. 

[ldubs]

19 hours ago, jaredhamburg said:

Thank you @cruisecrazy82!

 

 

 

 

X2 - THANKS!  

[NownZen]

9 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The links Princess provided are not yet updated for the October 21 changes.

 

To some extent, I am not happy about these changes.

 

We have not cruised since cruise lines resumed voyages last year. Even with all the testing and protocols in place, Covid was still spreading on many voyages and not just on Princess sailings.

 

But a few months ago we booked a cruise on Princess for late December, confident that the requirements in place at the time we made the booking would be the best practices for limiting opportunities for contracting the virus on our cruise.

 

Covid has not disappeared and the best medical predictions show a concern for a resurgence later this year for a variety of reasons (new varieties, lack of mask wearing when appropriate, people spending more time indoors in the northern hemisphere, schools resuming in-person classes, many people not fully vaccinated and/or without booster shots, etc.).

 

So the cruise we signed up for with the assurance that at least 90% of passengers would be fully vaccinated (completed initial series of injections), interacting crew would be masked, all passengers would be tested within three days of the start of the cruise,etc. is now a cruise with an unlimited number of unvaccinated and untested people and no masking requirements at all for passengers or the crew they encounter.

You made an assumption that all the restrictions in place at that time would remain. That was not an obligation on the part of Princess to oblige you.

[Ombud]

10 hours ago, caribill said:

Covid has not disappeared

 

1 hour ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

I’m happy at the continued progress toward normalcy. Am I nervous? Yes. I think there will be some bumps in the sea, but I think once we get past those, things will be better. 

+100%

 

It will never disappear much like colds, flu, norovirus. Therefore JMHO it is up to each of us to venture out when comfortable 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by Ombud

[Steelers36]

10 hours ago, caribill said:

So the cruise we signed up for with the assurance that at least 90% of passengers would be fully vaccinated (completed initial series of injections), interacting crew would be masked, all passengers would be tested within three days of the start of the cruise,etc. is now a cruise with an unlimited number of unvaccinated and untested people and no masking requirements at all for passengers or the crew they encounter.

I should think most voyages in the near term are going to closely match the vaccination levels stipulated since most guests will already be booked and paid and voyages are well sold it seems. 

 

I never would have expected mask wearing to be required by this date - and that is exactly the case now.  Not in the air, not in airports here, not in cruise terminal, not on the ship (now for crew as well), not on shore in towns and cities, not at tourist sites, not in restaurants, etc. 

 

I imagine most pax will will be vaccinated to some level into 2023 as well.

 

Hope it works out for you.

[jaredhamburg]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

I should think most voyages in the near term are going to closely match the vaccination levels stipulated since most guests will already be booked and paid and voyages are well sold it seems. 

 

I never would have expected mask wearing to be required by this date - and that is exactly the case now.  Not in the air, not in airports here, not in cruise terminal, not on the ship (now for crew as well), not on shore in towns and cities, not at tourist sites, not in restaurants, etc. 

 

I imagine most pax will will be vaccinated to some level into 2023 as well.

 

Hope it works out for you.

 

I agree with you.  Booking any travel lately means you have to be able to stomach a lot of change and moving rules.  I hope that Princess can deal with this well and make as many cruisers happy as possible.  I personally am thrilled to see things returning to "normal."

 

Happy cruising to everyone!

 

[leck57]

5 hours ago, san diego sue said:

Did you buy Insurance? With your concerns , should have done so.

Interesting question about insurance, however what would be the reason for cancellation? Down here, at least, you would not be able to claim on the basis that you cancelled because you were worried about catching Covid. Any company here that offered Cancel for Any Reason policies have stopped offering it, for now anyway.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, leck57 said:

Interesting question about insurance, however what would be the reason for cancellation? Down here, at least, you would not be able to claim on the basis that you cancelled because you were worried about catching Covid. Any company here that offered Cancel for Any Reason policies have stopped offering it, for now anyway.

 

Doesn't princess still offer it?

[leck57]

51 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Doesn't princess still offer it?

 

Not sure. I have never considered Princess insurance and I don't think many in Australia do. In my case, and I expect most others here, we often travel overseas for cruises and include land stays before/after the cruise and I'm not sure whether Princess covers the entire trip, or just the cruise component (and I assume EZ air if you use that option). Certainly it has never been offered as an option by my TA and I've never met someone here that has had Princess insurance. I don't see the point of taking it it if it doesn't cover my entire trip. If I am mistaken, I'd love to know and would check it out in the future.

[Loveh2ofl]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

Doesn't princess still offer it?

Yes - https://www.princess.com/plan/princess-vacation-protection/

 

[leck57]

7 minutes ago, Loveh2ofl said:

Yes - https://www.princess.com/plan/princess-vacation-protection/

 

 

Not offered in Australia according to the page when opening that link.

[NownZen]

17 minutes ago, Loveh2ofl said:

Yes - https://www.princess.com/plan/princess-vacation-protection/

 

I enjoy the use of english here: "If you need to cancel for any reason not listed in the plan, under the “Any Reason” Cancellation Enhancement feature..."  Interesting to redefine Any Reason in the two halves of the sentence. Or maybe the quotes means to not take it seriously.