ranles

So I fly to South Africa, UAE, or somewhere from USA, spend the night and go to the ship. Mid 70s and vaccinated, but we test positive and out we go? Do you really want me on your cruise?

We had this happen on our cruise Bali to Sydney, but not to us. Others were on the 4 days tours in Bali, then because their flights/travel was thru the wrong airports, they were not allowed on board. This was before/during Covid. They were refunded, and given flights home.

Today, that is why one needs insurance, if one is worried about this. They have the right to make the rules they want on board. It is their reputation and future business.

Trip report Bali, Australia, cruise, covid, fires, red alert - FlyerTalk Forums

Unfortunately, at our age, loosing a cruise is more that inconvenient. It could be our last chance. For many it is. S__t happens.

Badenoch

So your perspective is that all 80 year-olds can damn well stay home or assume the risk because you don't want to be tested and might be somewhat inconvenienced with a quarantine should you test positive. Testing therefore has two benefits. It is another layer of protection for passengers and we won't have to share the boat with the self-absorbed who possess a massive sense of entitlement and have zero regard for the possibility they may pass the virus on to someone more vulnerable.

nbs2

What cruise line is this? I'm taking a quick look at three lines that sail from near me and

• Royal Caribbean - Refund for cruises through 10/31 if you are vaccinated (https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/q...-costs-covered)
• Carnival - Credit (https://www.carnival.com/Legal/covid...o-service-faqs)
• Disney - Date change/refund/credit, your choice (https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/f...%20sail%20date.)

I'm not going to go through every line, but none of those at the terminal within driving distance from me are taking a hard "cannot board and the fare will not be refunded" position (albeit, only as credit in the case of the most budget-y of the three).

Athena53

Timely post. I'm scheduled to take UnCruise from Juneau on Friday (ships are typically 75 passengers, US-flagged vessels so no need to stop at a Canadian port, so very different from the mega-ships). It's been a circus- I was originally going to take them in Belize/Guatemala in October but switched to Alaska because the situation in Belize is dicey. They've been sailing in Alaska since late May. Vaccination and negative PCR test required. I just got my results this morning and I'm negative. Thank heaven.

Insurance- the only kind that would apply is "cancel for any reason" and I've never bought that. Typically you have to buy that type when you book the cruise except that they won't issue a policy more than a year before the trip. I typically book more than a year out so I guess I'd have to wait and then buy the policy one year out. The ones I saw available recently covered COVID only if you caught it and were too sick to travel, so a positive test result wouldn't have been covered.

My next major trips are small group tours with Overseas Adventure Travel, the first in May of next year. Anyone wanna take bets on how things will be then? :-)

honest_abe

If you are saying you won't travel because the ship is being careful but you would if they weren't, then please remind me not to travel when you do.

We've been vaccinated but it's still possible to get Covid, albeit more mild than the stupid ones. However, we consider that not only our children but other children and those who are truly unable to be vaccinated, depend on intelligent, vaccinated people for their possible survival. So we want to be sure that if, on the oft chance, we catch Covid, we don't want to be the cause of harm to the innocent. As to those choosing not to be vaccinated, we prefer to keep away from them as stupidity might be contagious and apparently masks don't help with that issue.

7Continents

The majority of posts seem to agree that the OP should look at the situation from a different point of view and be healthy.
I will add that a reason for flip flopping from policy to policy is the fact that many folks don't want to get vaccinated and have very little issue telling lies. So many folks say they were tested yesterday, or they haven't been to any large gatherings, or haven't traveled, etc.
Does anyone realize this is likely the ONLY point in American history where health care, even if only in the form of a Covid vaccine is FREE to EVERYONE. Why not join the millions of others and either protect yourself, protect others, or both?
I heard a young woman say she didn't want the vaccine because of her asthma. Our questions to her would be: Did you have asthma before Covid? Will you have the same asthma after the vaccine?

Athena53

Yep. I was in a local Hilton overnight with my 2 granddaughters, ages 4 and 7, so too young to be vaccinated. I really want to resume taking them on overnights to Chicago (one-hour flight) but of course that's off the table for now. Business meetings in full force again, signs said that vaccinated employees and customers didn't need masks. About 95% of adults were unmasked. Uh-huh. Sure.

I'm glad the cruise line is asking for proof.

radonc1

My issue is that we now have no end game.

IF one remembers well, back in March 2020, we were told if we got tested and waited for the vaccine that once 70% of the populous was so treated (along with those who did recover from the virus) that we would return to pre-Covid life and all would be normal again. There was the endgame to justify our personal sacrifices.

Now, we hear that even if the nation were fully vaccinated, other Covid related restrictions such as testing, social distancing, masking would not disappear. The original end game has vanished and I do not hear a new one being promulgated any longer.

I suspect this is why we get posts such as the one which started this thread

DJ_Iceman

I agree with you, OP.

ForSpud

Why is "no end game" an issue? We are learning about how this affects our lives as we go along. We have not had a pandemic like this in the modern travel era, why would you expect all the answers to be foreseen and laid out in advance?

Take care of yourself, and most importantly, have empathy and care for others. Things will change but we eventually will adapt to this thing.

Brighton Line

My boss, fully vaccinated was contacted by his home county Department of Health doing a test and trace on a recent pub crawl and he came back with positive antigen and then PCR tests and is asymptomatic.
His wife is negative twice but his unvaccinated son is positive and is starting to have symptoms (an adult that refused to get vaccinated).
So for me, now knowing someone with a break thru infection that might have passed it along, I'm fine if cruise line want to test before a cruise.

Stop passing the infection and we may slow down the virus mutating and finally get rid of it.

Athena53

I agree. This has been a moving target and we've learned as we went along. (I no longer spray down my groceries or quarantine nonperishables in the garage!) It was common knowledge among scientists that viruses mutate but when, and how (more or less dangerous? more or less contagious?) were unknowns. The scientist who developed the rotavirus vaccine said in an interview with Dr. Peter Attia that ordinarily it would have taken us 10-15 years to clear all the legal, regulatory and testing hurdles to get us to this point with aa vaccine.

It's bad news for those of us who love travel but we have to flex.

Lomapaseo

NCL as posted in the WIKI

"guests denied embarkation or reboarding for failure to comply with NCL Covid-19n policies or procedures will not be entitled to a refund or any compensation of any kind".

mahasamatman

There's a major difference between failing a test and failing to comply with policies and procedures.

not2017

From NCL.com:

1 - If one person in our party tests positive, will we all be denied boarding? Will the Company assist with travel arrangements?

If one person in the party tests positive for COVID-19, immediate family members, those traveling in the same cabin as the guest who tested positive and those identified as a close contact will be denied boarding.

If you are denied boarding due to a positive COVID-19 test at embarkation, the cruise line will coordinate and cover costs for travel arrangements, for you and those traveling with you if they are also denied boarding. The cruise line will not be able to assist with travel arrangements if a guest is denied boarding as a result of a violating the cruise line’s health and safety protocols.

2 - If I test positive for COVID-19 during a cruise and have to quarantine, will I receive a full refund?

Guests who test positive for COVID-19 during their cruise and are required to quarantine will receive a pro-rated cash refund or a pro-rated Future Cruise Credit. If a guest followed all of the cruise line’s health and safety protocols, the cruise line will coordinate and cover the cost of necessary onboard COVID-19 related medical treatment, required land-based quarantine and travel arrangements to get the guest safely back to their home.

All refund requests must be made within six months of the date they canceled their voyage or the scheduled embarkation date, whichever is earlier, or they will be entitled to a Future Cruise Credit for the amount specified. To apply for a refund guests should visit https://www.ncl.com/case-submission.

So what you posted and what NCL actually states on their website are not the same. Be fair and post the whole policy, and not what you pick and chose to ignore.