rsail203

I booked an independant tour in Barbados from the Millenium 6/5 cruise and the company cancelled it and returned my payment without a reason.

Seany527-Thank you. I appreciate the info. We get our pcr test Saturday and fly to St. Maarten Thursday. I'll definitely use your advice when I get the results.

When I call a test site, they tell me that the tests are the same. I wonder if they even know. I e-mailed St. Maarten to ask them if the pcr test is acceptable and they haven't replied as of yet.

St.Maarten requires an rt-pcr test. The only local test I can find is a pcr test. The rt stands for reverse transcription. Is a pcr test okay for St. Maarten?

No idea about capacity.

We're on the first Millennium cruise from St. Maartin in 2 weeks. So Tuscan is only one available.

Thank you everyone for your answers.

In the past we've eaten at traditional dining because we like to meet new people. On our next cruise we're dining at the Tuscan Grill several times. Does the price include gratuities or is that extrea?

We're not very knowledgeable about computers. Does any one know how to provide emailed negative pcr results when you fill out the St. Maarten EHAS form online.

My TA just got this back from her Celebrity rep:

Our protocols are  a work in progress as we have stated since beginning our return to service.

Please advise your client to stay connected with our consumer FAQs provided on the website.

Protocols will continue to be updated as we continue to work with the CDC to return to service.

Healthy at Sea  - St. Maarten – consumer site.

Since our cruise has nothing to do with the USA. I wonder why they're mentioning the CDC.

My TA sent me the latest protocols from Celebrity. They still stated 3 days for the pcr test and no mention of the St. Maarten 48 hour antigen test.

3 days before would probably keep us from getting St. Maarten permission for a Thursday flight.

3 minutes ago, rsail203 said:

 

The above is from the Vacation Timeline which states "test from up to 5 days prior to boarding"

Just now, rsail203 said:

<5 DAYS ARRIVAL SXM* or ❤️ DAYS ARRIVAL GREECE** PRIOR TO TRAVEL TO SHIP 1 MILLENNIUM & APEX VACATION TIMELINE Guests 18+ obtain vaccine at least 14 days prior to sailing. Download Celebrity App for important updates. All guests obtain negative PCR test. Ships accept test from up to 5 days prior to boarding. All guests receive antigen test. Enjoy your Celebrity cruise! All guests receive antigen test to re-enter USA. Disembark, guests journey home.

<5 DAYS ARRIVAL SXM* or ❤️ DAYS ARRIVAL GREECE** PRIOR TO TRAVEL TO SHIP 1 MILLENNIUM & APEX VACATION TIMELINE Guests 18+ obtain vaccine at least 14 days prior to sailing. Download Celebrity App for important updates. All guests obtain negative PCR test. Ships accept test from up to 5 days prior to boarding. All guests receive antigen test. Enjoy your Celebrity cruise! All guests receive antigen test to re-enter USA. Disembark, guests journey home.

The problem isn't with the St. Maarten tests. It's with Celebrity. They only give you 3 days for a pcr test before embarkation, If you're flying in the same day no problem, but if you're coming in 2 or 3 days before the cruise, you need 2 different tests to satisfy St. Maarten, then embark on the cruise.

We got an answer from a Celebrity rep through my TA:

"Guests must show a negative pcr test within 5 days of boarding

I asked this question on the St. Maarten forum, but there has been no response. Can anyone help me?

We're thinking of renting a car from Avis in St. Maarten for 2 days prior to our cruise. Has anyone done this? How did it go? Are the roads easy to get around? Does the car rental GPS work okay? Is Avis rental at the airport or would we need a taxi to get to Avis?

I asked this question on the St. Maarten forum, but there has been no response. Can anyone help me?

We're thinking of renting a car from Avis in St. Maarten for 2 days prior to our cruise. Has anyone done this? How did it go? Are the roads easy to get around? Does the car rental GPS work okay? Is Avis rental at the airport or would we need a taxi to get to Avis?

We're thinking of renting a car from Avis in St. Maarten for 2 days prior to our cruise. Has anyone done this? How did it go? Are the roads easy to get around? Does the car rental GPS work okay? Is Avis rental at the airport or would we need a taxi to get to Avis?

Yes and yes.

27 minutes ago, funatseascott said:

We spent 2 weeks in St Maarten in March.  The detailed summary of getting to and leaving from a previous person was spot on.  We had our Covid test done Thursday afternoon for a Sunday morning departure.  We uploaded our results Friday morning and had pre-approval within an hour.  We brought printed copies of the Covid test and pre-approval paperwork.  They checked out paperwork at the airport checking in.  They also checked it before boarding the flight to St Maarten (had a connecting flight).  The time to check our Covid test paperwork, get thru immigration, get our luggage and get out to lots of waiting taxis took about 45 minutes.  Easy and probably same amount of time as before, as previous trips had far more people coming in, just without the Covid report checking.  Our resort in Maho had Covid test arranged for Friday when we left on Sunday.  The tests were in our mailbox the next morning at our timeshare.  At the airport, they looked at our printed Covid results while checking in.  Nothing looked at when we got to the US.  We ran into numerous people not wearing their masks properly over mouth AND nose, but since we had been vaccinated before, we didn't feel too bad being around these people.  We had no issues getting in or leaving.

 

We are on the June 5th cruise, but coming in the Sunday before and leaving the day after the cruise.  I do not know if we will have to pay the $30 insurance for the extra day in St Maarten, but we are planning like we will, bonus if we don't.  From what we are being told, the Covid test on the ship will be done Friday, which allows you to stay in St Maarten to Monday morning.  If your flight home is Monday afternoon, the Covid test on the ship will be past the 3 days from test.  This is why we are flying home Sunday afternoon.  We expect that we will have to get a Covid test to fly to St Maarten, another Covid test before getting on the ship, a Covid test when getting to the cruise terminal and a Covid test to get off the ship to fly home.

 

Somebody asked about what to do in St Maarten before going to the airport.  I think that is partially dependent on the number of suitcases or what you are travelling with.  You could shop Front and Back Street by the cruise terminal (about half the businesses have closed), but who wants to drag their luggage around.  You could take a taxi to the Simpson Bay area to have breakfast/lunch at Zees Best (we love this place and visit multiple times every trip to St. Maarten) or other restaurants, as dragging the luggage isn't as bad from the street to a restaurant.  You would then just take another taxi to the airport when you are ready.  We have always stayed in our timeshare lobby after checking out, so have never run into this issue.  The airport does have plenty of seating, a few food places and a few shops.  We normally try to get to the airport around 12:30 for our 3:00 flight and don't find the wait that bad.

 

I hope the above helps.

Scott-great info. I asked about what to do before my flight, but Celebrity solved that as they added a St. Maarten sightseeing excursion that ends up at the airport at noon. Perfect timing.

Thank you all for your replies. We will probably do brunch and possibly at Chesterfields.

On another board it was suggested that I go to brunch near the terminal. Brunch is a great idea. Anyone have suggestions for a nice restaurant near the terminal? Keep in mind that there has to be a place with room for our luggage.

Thanks, brunch is a great idea. Anyone have suggestions for a nice restaurant near the terminal? Keep in mind that there has to be a place with room for our luggage.