CruiserFromSC

4 minutes ago, padgman1 said:

Jamie, are you OK ??? No report in over a day...

Jaime disembarked yesterday because of her husband’s shingles.  She said it would be a day or two before she posted her last day’s activities.  

Thank you.  Enjoyed following along!

5 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

It just "feels" like vacation!  🙂

 

I was enjoying "vacation" so much one time that I thought if one margarita was good, two would be BETTER. From that point on, I make a point to stop at one. Yes, I'm a lightweight!

 

Tom

Funny you say that, Tom, because I thought the same thing on our 8th trip (over the years) in November to Pancho’s.  I’m definitely a light weight but thought that, since it was thanksgiving 😊, I would have two.  Well, after two for each of us and the two complimentary shots of tequila for our many visits, we barely made it back to the ship and I did not make it to thanksgiving dinner that evening.  When we went back in January, I think I had a little PTSD 😂, because I couldn’t get down just one.  But they are so delicious!!

On 1/29/2022 at 11:14 PM, jelayne said:

I haven’t seen much posted that indicated that those quarantined had much more than mild symptoms.  
If  many cruisers were being disembarked at ports  in hazmat suits and taken to hospitals that would be very concerning.

 
We board next weekend we plan to do our best to avoid crowded place (Martini bar, Silent Disco and bus tours) and if one of us tests positive ( if we don’t feel well we will get tested) we have a plan for quarantine both on and if necessary off the ship. 
When people test positive within 12-72 hours of boarding it is unlikely they got infected on the ship, more likely in transit on a plane, shuttle, hotel, bar  etc.  Derp cleaning of the ship won’t solve that.  We have determined that it is likely we will get Covid at some point.  We are vaxed & boosted so hopefully  a mild case and 🤞it’s not on a cruise, but we are going on with life and hopefully the cruises will continue to sail.
 

 

 

 

We did the same...or so we thought.  We boarded the Edge on Jan 16th and managed to stay clear of just about everyone.  So on day 6 in Roatan, my husband and two friends took a snorkeling excursion while I stayed on the boat.  As I watched from our balcony, I saw them load the passengers on the bus for the 10 minute bus ride.  Unfortunately, someone made the unfortunate decision to make all the passengers sit on the bus for approximately 20-25 minutes waiting for the stragglers.  We did file a complaint with the excursion's manager and she seemed to shrug it off.  Fast forward to 1 day post cruise and 3 days post excursion and both my husband and one of our friends tested positive.  It took another 5 days for me to test positive.  While I cannot conclusively say that is where they were exposed, it seems the most likely scenario.  Roatan only allowed Celebrity excursions.

On 1/24/2022 at 1:09 PM, fsdorado said:

 

We are scheduled to board Edge on 6Feb22 and will be in SS 10159.  We won't know our neighbors (yet).  Was there an aforementioned pole on the balcony?  Anything we would need to know about?  We're getting very excited!!  Thanks!!

 

 

Frederick

Sorry, Frederick, just saw your question.  Both my husband and I tested positive for Covid once we got home.  On the plus side, at least we didn't have to quarantine or isolate on the ship!  As has been answered, we did not have a pole.  I researched the deck plan beforehand and we chose these cabins just for that reason.  Unfortunately, I did not do this research before I booked the Beyond for a B2B in Sep/Oct and we do have a pole.  Princess problems, I know!

On 1/28/2022 at 2:11 PM, ILgirl said:

Unfortunately, instead of meeting you on the Edge as planned, I will have to  settle for living the cruise vicariously though your great posts.  I tested positive for COVID this am.  I am fortunate with only mild symptoms, congestion, a bit achy, that’s it.  I guess it was not meant for me to cruise on Sunday.  I hope you have a BLAST and I will definitely be along for the ride.😃

Hope you feel better soon.  At least you are home isolating and quarantining and not on the ship!

On 1/28/2022 at 12:46 PM, GenerationX said:

Thank you for this recommendation! The food looks really good!  Do I need to make a reservation in advance or can I just show up?  Also, is it pretty easy to get a taxi back to port from there at the end of the day?

 So happy to see you cruising again.  Very much enjoyed your "Live From" in November.  We just got off of the Edge on Jan 23 (and my husband tested positive the next day and I tested positive this past Saturday 🤧) and though we haven't been to jaimesatthebluereef, we did go to Maya Chan for the day.  Mark, the owner, and his family run the resort and opened in 16 years ago after a cruise stop in Costa Maya.  Mark arranges transportation to and from the resort and there are no hassles.  The food and drinks were very good and we thoroughly enjoyed the day.  Just another option.  

5 hours ago, Lily'sMum said:

MiamiNative - Do you recall if your balcony had a connecting door to your neighboring suites?  We have 2 neighboring suites on Edge (Deck 9) coming up and curious if there a way to connect the balconies/cabins.  Thanks!

4 hours ago, cangelmd said:

I’m interested in this as well, we have connecting suites on Apex TA next fall, and connecting would be awesome for us… we just assumed they would be.

I just got off of Edge today (SS 10159) and the balcony doors can be opened.  It was lovely to sit out in the afternoon with snacks and be able to chat and see our friends. 

We are currently on Edge and were just going to drop our carry on items but when we got to the room, the steward and the Retreat Host indicated that the room was ready and we could unpack before lunch.  We got on at around 11:30.  

23 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Well, I watched the video and I would be in tears dealing with switching back and forth between the app and test proctor and having the camera issues.

 

There is also the issue that we have every year at this time of year of our internet being overloaded because of the higher demand from temporary residents coming back to clutter up the state.  

 

If we can't make appointments within a sixty mile radius to have the tests done, we might be canceling the cruise.

 

Just a side note as a microbiologist: A big deal is made about cleaning and sanitizing hands and then the user promptly touches and manipulates non sanitized surfaces and items during the test set up and procedure.  I mentally see my professors rolling in their graves....

The test is much easier if you have a laptop!  I just tested my camera and set-up first using a “Zoom” test so that I could see what the proctor was seeing.  Then I positioned the laptop so I could see the test on a flat surface.  When I posted the you tube video I forgot that they used their phones.  There are several others that show using a laptop.  No need for tears 😊.  It really was quite simple even for technology challenged people like me!

 I would definitely recommend watching a you tube video on the process.  It was very helpful and took away some of the stress.  

13 minutes ago, mauimary said:

Yes still on website. Just thought it was a bit strange that it changed. Our other cruises are all listed on the app!! 

Interesting...mine says the same thing.  It did say before that our reservation is on a ship not supported by the app but it always listed the ship as Beyond.  Now TBA.  Really weird, IMO.  Thanks for the heads-up!

Are they still having shows in the evenings?  Has anything else been impacted by positive crew cases besides the casino?  Thanks so much!!

10 minutes ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

Excursions are being sold for all destinations and there have been no announcements in respect to cancellations. I'll walk around by myself a little bit after leaving the ship.

Thank you so much!

Hey Fly and Sail, thanks so much for reporting what is going on as you sail. So, you said that you were just in Costa Maya with Cozumel next...are you able to go on excursions other than those sponsored by Celebrity?  We’re on the same itinerary in 10 days and have other than Celebrity excursions planned.  Just wondered what your situation has been.  Also, are they still doing nightly shows in the theater or have they been cancelled? Thanks so much!!

Also, when you order, it will tell you when they will expire.  

7 minutes ago, kidz_rn said:

So as I understand it, some X ships are individually invoking masking requirements for that sailing based on exceeding the 1% guideline on the previous sailing, but the X website has not been updated to reflect this.

 

It's pretty rotten to arrive at the pier thinking masking isn't required, only to learn after boarding that now it is.

I agree!  The Celebrity App just updated the mask requirement for our upcoming cruise on 1-16-22 on Edge.  At least they didn’t wait til we got to port.  

I’ve never known Celebrity to give upgrades once on board...usually just bid up opportunities.  But who knows.  With everything that is going on, I guess anything is possible.  Good luck!!

So, it seems that you have the option of leaving the ship or staying in the “red zone” until you are deemed Covid free.  I’ve read of several people that have been removed at the next port and are provided free private transportation home.  Here is Celebrity’s policy at the bottom of this link.  Hope this helps.  

https://www.celebritycruises.com/health-and-safety

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

No. The ship might have gotten a blanket one for the whole ship since we’re all fully vaccinated and had to produce a negative COVID test before boarding. But we were not required to show anything other that a photo ID and our ship card. 

Thank you.  I’m very much enjoying your “live from.”  Enjoy the rest of your cruise. 

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We had a good time on the Harbor Tour, but they were able to fix their catamaran, so no ferry substitution. However, the free rum punches are now a thing of the past with cruising starting to get back into full swing. Instead, we got one complimentary fruit punch with ice. But if you wanted it with rum, it was an addition $7. But, the hour boat ride was still worth it I believe.

 

 

Ken, did you have to have a health visa to get off in the Bahamas?   I did a chat session the other day with someone from the Bahamian govt and they said even cruisers needed the health visa.  Has that been your experience?

On 12/8/2021 at 8:15 AM, terrydtx said:

Just a suggestion from personal experience. You should go to the BA website and make sure your seats requested by the CA rep are actually there. CA requests seats but not all airlines accept the requests. When we booked our flights to Barcelona the CA rep told us that seat requests may not be accepted by the airline and that we should follow up with each airline booked. We had an excellent $2200pp RT business class fare.  We had a BA flight from Dallas to Heathrow and then to Barcelona. Our return flights were on Delta.  The CA rep was correct when I checked the BA website our business class seats were not accepted, and BA required a $150pp fee to prebook seats. When the cruise was canceled by Celebrity in May along with our air, BA refused to refund our $300. This why I refuse to ever fly with BA. All our seat requests on the return Delta flights were accepted by Delta.

Thank you for the suggestion.  I did check with BA and our seats are there. We actually just got a flight modification notice and they were listed there as well, but thanks for the tip.  I will continue to monitor to ensure they don’t fall off at a later date.  

On 11/27/2021 at 4:36 PM, magnus1977 said:

Do you think I will enjoy it as a solo traveler?

I do.  There was actually a solo traveler the night we were there and she was invited to join some others that she had met earlier in the cruise.  

36 minutes ago, canderson said:

Starting from what city?

Newark. 

On 9/17/2021 at 11:46 AM, zamgwar said:

Traveling at this time certainly not for everyone.  For us, however, the time on board the ship was the best of our 20 plus cruises. It was as good as it gets. Having private shore excursions was much more enjoyable (to us) than traveling in large groups on buses. 
 

Everyone we met at poolside or at the bars seem to feel the same way about the experience on this ship.

 

Was it a pain to have all the proper forms and tests to get aboard?  Yes . Was it riskier to travel? Yes. Was 2020 the worst year ever, yes.

 
Did celebrity do everything possible to keep passengers and crew safe? I believe so.

 

Do we wish everything would go back to like it was pre-pandemic? Who wouldn’t???

 

Would everyone in my group (all mid 60s-70) do it again for another experience like this? In a heartbeat. I was a bright spot in what has been some bleak years. We are already booked again.

 

One of the performers on the ship was actually a former student of mine and ate with us three times. The crew is allowed off everywhere but Mykonos. They all 100% vaxed and tested weekly.

 

The week we were on the ship, there was even crew private excursion to the beach on Rhodes and once a week spa night for different portions of crew, depending on ship capacity.

 

I have to again stress there are many who wouldn’t and shouldn’t cruise at this time. For those who do however, (in my opinion) the on board cruise experience will never be matched again.

 
John

office of Next Cruise Already Booked

The Zamgwar Institute 

I know that this post was several months ago, but I was wondering if you could expand on the requirements to be tested prior to re-entry to US.  Did you get tested on Celebrity before debarkation?  We’re  not scheduled until next September but was just wondering the procedures to fly back to US with the understanding that many things can’t change by then.  Thanks!