garyg2000

I’m confused 

you are getting off Sillouette Friday and boarding Reflection Saturday 

Don’t you have to get another Covid test before boarding Saturday 

My last comments about this cruise

weather perfect—-rained for 10 minutes one day, sun came out, 9 days of sun in the 80s

plenty of chairs on sea days like today

enclosed solarium area empty even on sea days with just a few in the pool and whirlpool 

this would have been one of my favorite cruises if they had all entertainment on board

The food has exceeded all previous ones.  Quality has definitely gotten better 

today for lunch they were carving fresh roasted Turkey and prime rib

yes——PRIME RIB——not roast beef——-really top quality and delicious 

also carving pork loin

They also had a section for shrimp cocktail——-same shrimp on menu for dinner——FYY——shrimp previously frozen and no flavor.  They should do away with their shrimp. same on all Celebrity ships

Recommend Costco fresh shrimp

.

14 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

Don’t you mean drinks and beer?

 

 

The beef is very good also, but yes--beer

25 minutes ago, piched said:

Well, we decided to go for it...we board the Silhouette this Friday for 21 days back to back. We have the option to cancel the second leg while on board. I will check this blog daily stating Saturday and  answer any questions anyone has. We are OK if some shows cancelled and ports called off. As long as the food is good and the beer flows, we are ok. 

Well, then you will have a great time.  The food has been really good 

main dining room menu has great selections.  We did three specialty restaurants and as good or better than Ruth Chris, Capital Grille, and Morton’s.  Drinks and beef selections with basic classic package excellent 

Would you take the cruise on this ship next week..??????
Here’s my honest reply

wait a month and rebook

Too many entertainers, artists, acts, quarantine some with covid

Previous XMAS cruise had 150 kids not vaccinated 

some got Covid even with Celebrity protocols 

Five ports docked all required face masks worn inside and outside and original vaccination card

only 2 kids on this shiP which is good and one vomited in the main pool today and pool is closed until tomorrow 

Ship is empty and service is great and easy to social distance, but I would wait a month or two before getting back on ANY cruise ship now 

Captain just made announcement that over 1% on ship have Covid with no to mild symptoms 

Update—-Breaking News from Cruise Director

Cardinals done——one of the guys was with drummer who tested positive 

Orchestra done——drummer tested positive 

No house band or Orchestra 

Cruise director doing a great job bringing in last minute replacements 

There are still some live music on the ship

I’ll reply to some questions since I’m on this Jan. 4 cruise 

masks are required in the gym and all indoor venues unless eating and drinking

you need to wear mask in buffet while getting your food

some not wearing mask at shows and not drinking.

No social distancing in theater but it’s really empty and no one sitting near you.  We avoid getting on elevator with other people but not an issue since most are understanding.  An empty elevator usually there in a minute 

No live orchestra except for one night.  Some pieces were missing but still good.  This is day 7 and possibility that some orchestra will be back

Entertainment has been excellent.  However, comedian was not our cup of tea.  House band, The Cardinals, is great and our favorite.  We have probably done a dozen Celebrity cruises in last five years and Cardinals are top on our list,

Basic internet package fine for emails , WhatsApp, web browsing .  No FaceTime or U Tube unless spend $$$$for streaming

2 hours ago, harkinmr said:

There were plenty of Celebrity guests there who experienced what was going on, but they didn’t “lie” (your word, not mine or anyone else’s) about health issues to get into the terminal.  I’m not entirely sure why you are surprised by anyone’s reaction to your post. Now, we should all be done. 

I just noticed that you have 2186 post on this forum and a member since 2007.  I just have 22, most of them about this June 6, cruise only.  Honestly, I thought the purpose of this forum was to  share our experiences about our cruise, not to be put down and attacked for our actions.  I just don't think it's fair to treat someone this way when you were not there to evaluate the situation and see what was going on.  It's hurtful reading negative comments when we're just trying to help others planning this cruise and take actions before getting to the airport.

21 hours ago, harkinmr said:

 

 

 

 

 

Selfishness is the name of the game in this “me, me, me” society within which we live. It has been growing in strength over the last couple of decades, but has been no more ‘in your face’ since this pandemic began. Pathetic is the word. 

I said I would not comment again on this thread, but my threat to the agent was that I was going to notify the media, local papers, and post this airport mess anywhere on line to warn people about flying into St. Maarten.  I certainly was not implying bodily harm to the agent from my post.

You really had to be there to see and understand what was going on. 

Thank God I'm healthy with just Pre-Diabetes (type 2).  However, my wife has severe stomach issues and was sick on the plane and still in bed today.  She got herself worked up, it affects her stomach, and usually takes a few days to recover.  Now---I'm done with this thread and attacks on me.

I'm going to reply to the negative comments just once and not continue reading any more of these posts. 

I have no idea how long the people in line had to wait in the heat, what time their flight was taking off, and how many hours they would have to stand outside.  All I know is that my flight was at 4:15 and I wasn't going to stand there for 4+ hours to get in and miss my flight.  If you read my post you would see that the agents were clueless about when to let passengers enter the terminal.  

End of story-----Anyone with a later flight flight would have been standing out in the heat for longer.

My wife and I paid $96 for the 3 hour bus tour around St. Maarten just to kill 3 + hours since our flight was after 4.15pm.  We've been to St. Maarten many times and didn't need a tour.  Bus was supposed to leave ship around 9am.  It left at 9:30 and dropped us off at the airport at 11:00 sharp.  Great!!!!!!

(5 hours to kill)  It started to get very hot standing in the mile long line after about thirty minutes and nobody seemed to know what was going on.  A couple people came back to their place in line after talking with airport agents and said we just have to wait outside.  I told my wife to stay in line and I went up to talk with an agent.  This idiot told me I could go in at 3pm.  I said my flight is at 4:15 and I'll miss the plane.  I completely lost it and demanded to see her boss.  I won't go into detail what I said and threatened, but did say that my wife has a medical condition (lie) and I also have a medical condition (90 degree heat and humidity makes me thirsty)

The supervisor told me to get my wife, bags, and cool off inside.  I said thank you and entered the pearly gates.  It only took us about 20 minutes in line to get to the front counter to check in and get our boarding tickets.  WE didn't know about the form that should have been filled out, but it took a minute to complete.  Now, it looked like they were having problems with the boarding tickets.  After waiting another 5 minutes and 3 AA agents working on our tickets (I started feeling like a drug criminal) they said the flight was delayed an hour.  OK, no problem, at least I'm in a cool place now.

I will say that the three working on the tickets were very nice and no issues with them.  

We NEVER CHECK OUR BAGS, BUT HERE'S A WARNING TO THOSE WHO ARE OVER 35, DON'T LIFT WEIGHTS, AND NOT IN GOOD PHYSICAL SHAPE.  YOU HAVE TO CARRY YOUR LUGGAGE OFF THE PLANE YOURSELF DOWN ALL THE STEPS THAT ARE SMALL AND NARROW WHEN YOU ARRIVE IN ST.MAARTEN.  WE EACH HAD OUR LUGGAGE AND CARRY ON.  WERE BOTH LUCKY THAT WE MADE IT DOWN THOSE STEPS.  

WE CHECKED OUR BAGS GOING HOME ($30 A BAG) WASN'T GOING TO ATTEMPT TO LUG THOSE BAGS UP THE STEPS.  

OK----back to the check in----once we got through security there were plenty of seats available and the place was a madhouse.  I swear, if there is a major outbreak of Covid again, it probably came from the waiting area of the airport.  It was a zoo inside.  Social distance was about an inch from the person in front of you waiting to board planes.  

WE only had 5 hours to kill and looked around for food.  They must have really good burgers since the burger joint changs $17 for any burger on the menu.

My wife just got herself worked up from this whole disaster, and her stomach was messed yesterday and today.  She said that she will never fly to St. Maarten again----It just wasn't worth it.

NEW E-MAIL JUST RECEIVED--BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

*****??????NO MENTION IN THE LATEST E-MAIL 5 MINUTES AGO ABOUT 72 HOUR COVID TESTING REQUIREMENT.  IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE????????????

AGAIN *****/ IS CELEBRITY DOING

2 hours ago, taxiang said:

Could you not print them off as a .pdf with either Adobe or another free pdf printer?

lol---haha

tried that, been there-----NO No NO---still denied!!!!!!!!

1 hour ago, BoundForSea said:

Anyone get a CVS Rapid Antigen test and submit to SXM for approval? 

 

Im looking at going that route on Wed next week at 9AM for the country entry and then doing our PCR at another site for our dear friends at Celebrity at 1215. Just curious if the Govt liked the CVS report. 

This reply is important to anyone taking the test at CVS----

We took the test Saturday, 5/29 and got the results the next day.  CVS sends you an e-mail to sign up to CVS-My Health site to view the results.  We signed up and got the test results.  You can print them.

However, there is absolutely no way to download the test results in the format that St. Maarten requires.  Our forms were denied numerous times and finally had to take test at an Urgent Care place that uses Labcorp.  We got approved immediately from St. Maarten with Labcorp.

This morning I decided to install the My Quest site on my desktop.  It gave me the same information as CVS-My Health, except it allowed me to download the file PDF to my desktop.  St. Maarten requires PDF download.  Botttom line----Don't sign up for CVS-My Health----you'll never get approved

Instead, sign up for My Quest and you'll be good to go.

I even called Quest this morning to vent my anger and frustration with CVS, and the rep. was aware of the issue and said it's good that I signed up directly with My Quest.

13 minutes ago, wesport said:

I was just on that page, and there was an option for a screen shot to download. Are you saying that wont work?

I only recall the option to upload the results----Don't remember asking for a screenshot.

On 5/23/2021 at 9:07 AM, rsail203 said:

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.

 

 

I feel like an expert on this since we spent most of Saturday filling out the form, uploading the test, and getting denied from St. Maarten.  Honestly, lost count on the number of denied forms sent in.

Finally got approved but can give you some tips.

It depends on where you took the test and the lab used.  CVS uses Questdiagnostics.  WE got the e-mail to view the test results.  However, there is nowhere on the page to download the results.  My wife and I are good with computers.  I'm an accountant and work with Quickbooks, Quicken and help most of my neighbors troubleshooting PC issues.  Believe me when I say there is no place on the page to download the results.

I had to copy and paste the results to Microsoft Word, save to desktop, and then upload the form.

This was rejected several times because of the format.  Two times it was rejected saying it was the wrong test---Really???? that was ****----It was the correct test!!!!!

Fortunately, we did test the next day at an Urgent care facility and they use Labcorp.  We got an e-mail the following day with the results.  Labcorp was easy--peasy----One page results with a download symbol on the top of the page.  Downloaded to the desktop, uploaded, and accepted by St. Maarten.  You're going to have real problems if you end up with QuestDiagnostics.  

Bottom line-------Make sure you know the lab that is doing the test------Otherwise you will have major problems.

6 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Honest question, at this point do you feel that it is worth it?

 

Reply-----Yes----WE just need to get away, tired of being stuck in the house for a year and a half, and just hope we have no problem boarding.

5 hours ago, foggyphils said:

I called and asked what happens if we DON'T get our results in time from our PCR test. (I've got an appt tomorrow) and they said we would be denied boarding and get a FCC. We would be on our own to get back home. 

I spent most of the day yesterday calling Celebrity support people and everyone had different answers.  They are really clueless.  However, the last one got her supervisor involved, spent over an hour on the phone with me, and assured me that a full refund would be made if denied boarding along with Celebrity paying for the flight back home.  Her supervisor said it's the Celebrity staff at the dock that will make the final call and they won't want to have to refund the $$$$$$$ back and pay for airfare.

19 minutes ago, Seany527 said:

You are correct. I should have said “at most”. I don’t think Celebrity really expects everyone to be tested at exactly the 72 hour mark. 

I may end up getting tested in St. Maarten on Friday, the day before the cruise, at the hotel we're staying at.  They said they will have the results back the same day.  Cost is $80 a person.

Ummmm---We got tested Sat, Sunday, Tomorrow, and probably this Friday if we don't get the Wednesday results back in time.

This is really ff----up

On 5/26/2021 at 9:25 PM, Seany527 said:

Do you have a smartphone? If so, take a screen shot of your test results and save it as a photo. Upload it as a photo when you apply on their website. Hopefully the site takes that file format. 
 

If you don’t have a smartphone, look at your test results on the computer. Along the top or bottom of the screen there should be a floppy disk icon which means “save.”  Save the file to your desktop on the computer and then when applying, search for the file you just saved to your desktop. 
 

If all else fails, hopefully you have someone who can help you near your home. Good luck!
 

I tried the smartphone on Sunday when I got my results.  Uploaded the test and vaccine for wife and me and St. Maarten denied form.

You second recommendation worked and no problem  We did take photos of the vaccine card , emailed the photo to desktop, and uploaded to the form.

On 5/26/2021 at 11:57 PM, FlyerTalker said:

 

Much simpler way to do this.

 

If the results are emailed to you, just save the email with the results.  Then just upload that file.  No need for screenshots or multiple steps.

This is new to me----never heard of e-mailing test results-----Have always been instructed to go to CVS or Urgent Care website, create account, log in and view results.

9 hours ago, Seany527 said:

This was the email I got from Celebrity at 11am Eastern, June 1.  For those sailing on June 5, we do require a test at least 72 hours prior to boarding. 

YOU ARE READING THIS WRONG

IT DOES NOT SAY AT LEAST

It's 72 hours prior to boarding

 

 

 

 

Dear Guest,    

    

We look forward to welcoming you aboard Celebrity Millennium for your 7-NightAruba, Curacao and Barbados cruise departing June 5^th, from Phillipsburg, St. Maarten. Before we board, we have some important health requirement information to share with you.    

     

Celebrity Cruises has been working closely with health and government authorities, in each country we sail from, to outline a clear path for cruising with new health and safety protocols.  At this time, we have been advised of new testing requirements which will require your attention. 

  

St. Maarten Health Requirements: 

 

• St. Maarten’s RT-PCR testing requirements for travel have been updated. The requirements for entry into St. Maarten, for US and Canadian visitors, will include a negative naso-pharyngeal RT-PCR test result taken within 120 hours prior to departure, or an antigen test taken 48 hours prior to departure. This requirement differs from Celebrity boarding requirements which you will find below.
• All other visitors must present negative naso-pharyngeal RT-PCR test results taken within 72 hours prior to departure. 
• Your proof of negative RT-PCR test and the EHAS pre-approval form are required at the airport. 
• The name on your test results must match those on government issued identification.

Celebrity Cruises requirements for boarding: 

• All guests must present a negative RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to arrival at the cruise terminal. The name on the test results must match those on government issued identification.
• Proof of vaccination in the form of the original vaccination card for all guests 16 and older. No photocopies or photos accepted.
• Children between the ages of 2-15 who are not vaccinated must complete a RT-PCR test at the terminal prior to boarding.  

Guests who do not present all required healthy sailing documentation are at risk of being denied boarding. If you have any other questions, please contact our Customer Service team at 1 (844) 418-6824 in North America or 1 (316) 554-5961 worldwide. 

 

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we make our return to service and we look forward to welcoming you aboard for an unforgettable vacation. 

     

Sincerely,    

Celebrity Cruises 

Celebrity changed the game plan this morning with the new Covid Test update on 5/31/2021.  I knew something was wrong when they requested to click on message to show you got it.

Prior to yesterday, only vaccine was required for Celebrity.  My wife and I got tested on Saturday, 120 hours prior to departure, uploaded the test and vaccine to St. Maarten and got our approval confirmation.  We also had to each pay $30 for insurance since we're flying into St. Maarten on Thursday, 2 days before the cruise.  

Now Celebrity requires a Covid test 72 hours before you get to the Terminal--Really??????*****?????

We're going to get tested tomorrow but results won't be back for 2-3 days according to the CVS website.  We'll be on a plane on Thursday morning.  Maybe if we're lucky the results will be available before we board.  I'm just hoping that I have no trouble getting on line with Xfinity Mobile in St. Maarten.  I called Xfinity and signed up for International calling and data usage.  They told me turn Roaming on my cell phone, turn off the phone and restart.

I spent half the day calling and speaking with Celebrity agents and their supervisors.  They were all very nice and understanding but all said that in the end it's really up to the Celebrity staff at the dock whether they let you board if you don't meet the new time requirements.

This was a last minute chance from Celebrity, and there will be many many people that won't even realize that they changed this one line in the e-mail.  They have sent out over a dozen of the same e-mails over the past week before the change yesterday, and most will just probably disregard it.

Honestly, the agents I spoke with and supervisors felt bad and realized that this was not acceptable, but could not offer any other suggestions.  However, one of the agents did say that they don't think that Celebrity would want to have to refund the cruise and also pay for the Airline flight home.  They would be required to refund both and just don't think that would happen.

A very stressful day and just completely pissed off with this entire experience.