P&O and Princess release health protocols
With the resumption of local cruising only weeks away, many avid cruise fans have been eagerly awaiting the health protocols and requirements and they’re finally here.
Both cruise lines require all guests over the age of 12 to be fully vaccinated. For the purpose of cruising, fully vaccinated means that a person has had both a first and second dose of an approved vaccine - boosters are not required. Both doses have to be administered at least 14 days before departure.
Guests that are unable to be vaccinated for health reasons, as well as guests under 12, don’t need to be vaccinated - however, at minimum 95% of all guests onboard must be vaccinated so those over the age of 12 who can’t be vaccinated and those under the age of 12 who aren’t vaccinated need to report this at the time of booking, to ensure that the number of unvaccinated guests doesn’t exceed 5%.
In the case of both cruise lines, proof of vaccination is required in order to board. Princess will require that each guest completes their health declaration using the Princess Medallion app, confirming hat they are fully vaccinated. At the terminal, proof of vaccination will need to be shown at check in - for domestic voyages this can be a digital certificate, or for international voyages this will need to be an Australian International Vaccination Certificate which you can generate online through the Medicare app.
A COVID test will need to be taken before departure, with obviously, a negative result required in order to board. In the case of both cruise lines, a self-administered Rapid Antigen Test taken within 24 hours of boarding will be sufficient, or alternatively a PCR test administered within 72 hours of boarding. Princess Cruises will depend on its Medallion app, where all guests will be required to confirm that they have received a negative covid test as part of the check in process. Guests sailing with Princess who’ve arranged for a vaccination exemption will require a negative PCR test taken within 3 days of boarding with proof of the negative test result to be shown at check in.
P&O will be utilising the services of a third party app, called VeriFly. The app will need to be downloaded and each adult guests will need to complete the declaration as part of their check in process. Guests will need to declare that they have received a negative test result, as well as provide proof of vaccination. Once the documents have been verified, the app will present a green tick which will need to be presented at the terminal along with your P&O boarding pass. Guests sailing with P&O who’ve arranged for a vaccination exemption will not need to use the VeriFly app, they will instead need to declare their negative COVID-19 test result at the cruise terminal, and have completed their pre-cruise health declaration in Cruise Control online.
Unlike many of the ports in the US, there will be no testing offered at the cruise terminal. All testing will need to be completed in the lead up to the date of departure as required.
The big question of course is - what if you test positive before the cruise? In the case of both cruise lines, anyone who tests positive including family members and close contacts travelling together will not be permitted to board. In the case of Princess, anyone unable to travel due to a positive test result, or those unable to travel due to being a close contacts will be entitled to a 100% future cruise credit. Additionally, change fees and reasonable expenses related to shoreside medical care for COVID-19, shoreside quarantine and travel home for you and your immediate travel party will be covered by Princess if it isn’t reimbursable from your travel insurance policy.
P&O haven’t exactly covered this information in the same level of detail. In fact, their policy indicates that if you test positive prior within 10 days of departure, you and any other guests from the same household won’t be permitted to travel. There is no specific mention of a refund or future cruise credit being provided in this instance, though I do believe that a future cruise credit will be offered as is the case with Princess. No other information about ancillary costs is available.
Both cruise lines will allow guests to book and travel on back to back cruises. Between both voyages, guests will need to disembark and receive a complimentary COVID 19 test. In the event that a guest tests positive, they will be denied boarding on the second cruise and both cruise lines will offer a 100% future cruise credit in this instance.
Once onboard, each cruise line will require all guests over the age of 12 to wear a mask indoors when physical distancing can’t be observed, as well as on the ship’s tenders. Guests can eat or drink without wearing a mask, and of course masks aren’t required when in your stateroom.
In the event that a guest becomes sick whilst onboard and tests positive for the virus but doesn’t require shoreside medical care, Princess Cruises protocols states that the guest will be isolated, most likely within a different cabin. If you or a family member, travelling companion or other close contact tests positive during the cruise and is required to isolate, you will be entitled to a 100% future cruise credit pro rated for missed cruise days, including time spent in shipboard isolation.
I think on the whole that the protocols presented by both cruise lines are generally as expected - there aren’t really any surprises. I did think there might have been a requirement to have a supervised rapid antigen test, but it looks like the cruise lines will be instead relying on the declaration of each individual instead. Compared to P&O, Princess have provided more detail about certain circumstances that might be encountered, such as onboard isolation requirements and potential reimbursement for expenses related to contracting covid onboard. I would say this is due to the fact that Princess have been operating in other parts of the world for some time now - I hope that P&O will further clarify some of these points as we get closer to departure, which is now only 5 weeks away.
Let me know in the comments below what you think about the protocols and requirements. Was there anything in there that’s surprised you?
Read more on the cruise line’s website here:
P&O - https://www.pocruises.com.au/plan/know-before-you-go/healthy-cruising
Princess - https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/au-cruises/