NMTraveller

Hmmm.  They were CDC Level 1, they are now Level 4.

I have a Christmas cruise there.  I hope that things will improve by then.

Are they still holding final payment due at 90 days or are they extending it?  I am thinking that we may not know until October if it is a go or not.

16 minutes ago, laslomas said:

 

I would expect Celebrity to enforce the rules. Personally I would be really disappointed to book a cruise, knowing the requirements, only to find numerous fellow cruisers did not think the rules applied to them.

I sailed on the first Silhouette sailing this year and the rules were being followed and it was no real hardship at all, I was just happy to be cruising again.

As for the Apex, probably many reasons for a low take up.

Yet on the Apex the rules are not being enforced at all...  You can expect but ...

The first time that someone sees that the rules are not being enforced others ask themselves why they should wear the mask and make themselves uncomfortable.  Sometimes the restrictions make a cruise not worth it.

On 8/14/2021 at 8:18 AM, canderson said:

"No WD-40"?  Dates back many years here at CC to a series of events that got half the Night Owls (now Morning Doves group) kicked off CC for a few weeks!  I won't mention the name, but there was a lady who was dis-invited from ever cruising with X again that changed up to WD-40 when legally prohibited from carrying mace. 

 

If anyone remembers the saga, fine, and you can still have a good chuckle at the memories.  If not, oh well - better to leave this one alone!

LOL.  I hear that the WD40 defense works well against people who are rusty. 🙂🙂 🙂  🙂 

Of course.  It is a popular item.

Can you get a glass of wine in the theater?

30 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

Thanks for the information. Reports from folks on the Apex, where there’s a mask requirement, are that it’s not being enforced.  I hope Celebrity does a better job on that score on any ship where there’s a mask requirement.  (Better yet, Celebrity should go the NCL route and require 100% vaccination.) 

You expect Celebrity to enforce the mask requirement?  LOL  The APEX is mostly empty due to the requirement.

On 8/16/2021 at 6:53 AM, TeeRick said:

There are two camps of folks.  Those booking a ship like APEX knowing about the testing, protocols and masks onboard.  And happily cruising anyway.  A second camp is as you describe.  There was a short window in the US where no testing and no masks were required onboard for EDGE out of FLL and Millennium out of Seattle.  In fact Millennium is an all-US cruise.  We booked Millennium thinking it was going to be stress free.  A ship 100% vaccinated.  Now we need to scramble with the testing requirement.  And if masks become required on board, then what kind of vacation is that?  If we go back to testing and masking for the fully vaccinated, then cruise lines are admitting that there is a COVID risk on these ships.  Back to square one.

I agree.

The fact that there is only 300 onboard I would attribute to the mask mandate and other speed bumps put in place.

Some old posts are not showing up under my profile.  

I found this neat site that shows cancellations and delays for any given day.  For yesterday when I flew here are the numbers:

https://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/yesterday

It has American and Southwest at the bottom for US carriers.  This link is yesterday so will change to Monday tomorrow.  They really should normalize by ordering by percentage of cancelled flights but it still gives you an idea if an airline is currently having significant issues.

We were on a great barrier reef snorkel tour.  One or two of the older guys were winded and just could not keep up with the tour leader for an intermediate level snorkel.  They were participating in an activity that they were not fit for.  Others seemed to do just fine.  If there was an easy way to test or certify fitness that would be best.

This week we had to reschedule a Southwest flight that had been changed because the new flight had a couple of hours added to the intinerary and a new stop. We chose Delta for the replacement flight.  So we flew both Delta and Southwest for this trip.

The Delta flight went smooth, absolutely zero flight delays.  It was on time.  On the Delta flight you could also get a glass of wine.  

The Southwest flight had delays on both segments.  Southwest had issues getting luggage loaded and obvious problems at BWI where planes were stacked up on the tarmac waiting to come in for a gate.  They have some serious staffing issues.  I was grateful on my Southwest flight that I was not delayed for multiple hours or multiple days,  but I cannot count on them for a time sensitive flight such as a cruise.  It was also disappointing in that they still have a very limited drink choice/services with no alcohol.

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Mark,

Yes this is the issue.  No local sites for rapid testing if you are staying within the city of Seattle pre-cruise.  I wonder if the cruise lines leaving Seattle for Alaska understand this?

https://www.portseattle.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/DHMD %40 SEA FAQs FINAL.pdf

Will this do it?  A bit pricey, but...

7 hours ago, jlowe420 said:

Also here's a bit more detail:  I was only drinking Cabernets.  These were the Celebrity one and Decoy.  In total I would guess about 7 glasses of bad wine.  I had tipped one of the servers in the casino after complaining to dig me up a bottle of Decoy and he did, and it was bad.  I left the table went up to the retreat, got a fresh glass and came back down and had them smell them.  They admitted it smelled bad.   

What I assume happened is that they turned the AC off in portion of the ship.  Maybe not in dry storage but maybe where wine for the casino bar was stored or something like that.  My best guess is that the wine was just stored above temp for too long.  It doesn't make sense that the bottles would be open too long - in a cruise setting i cannot image a bottle of cabernet making it more than a day at any bar.

 

Celebrity could have given me their red wines for climate controlled storage.  Of course I would have to sample every once in a while to make sure that they are still OK. 🙂

Whites.  Not a fan.  

I have always taken the nicer glasses out of the restaurant.  No one has told I should not.  I have had them ask to repour my wine into a nicer glass.

13 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

You can take this up with Celebrity. I've no issue with Celebrity's decision, so why would I go knocking on CDC's door? And to say what, that Celebrity is being too cautious during the delta surge? 

 

From your post, it's clear that you haven't actually done one of these telehealth monitored self tests and that you are purely guessing at what steps, if any, are taken to verify identification. This is why I was asking for someone to provide actual first-hand experience, not just CC members' guesses.

 

Because you were questioning the efficacy of the testing the CDC had approved.  The CDC outranks Celebrity in my book.

I did not say that Celebrity was being too cautious.  First you have to have a readily available testing.  Every airline I have a flight on tells me exactly where I can get the test I need for my flight.  Celebrity does not.  

What Celebrity is doing is nothing new.  The airlines have been doing it for months successfully.  Yet Celebrity decides to reinvent the wheel vs learning lessons from the airlines.

I have done telehealth before.  There are not the issues you claim to be present with telehealth.  Have I done this specific test with telehealth.  No.  I do not have a need to until December.  Have you done telehealth?  What issues have you had with telehealth?  Teleheath has been around for several years now.

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Exactly my point, and why I think that cruise lines would be reluctant to accept home of any type.

You and GrapicsGuy can take this up with the CDC.  It is approved by them.  Bring up your best arguments for Walensky.  

Personally I would think that a 15 to 30 minute recording, a phone ID, credit card, and a driver's license, perhaps insurance id, would be more than CVS or the in person places were requiring.  Furthermore there is a likelihood of positive people coming in to pick up the test or have one administered at CVS.  Our local CVS stores do not have outdoor testing.

It is a new test approval in the last several weeks so there are not blogger videos up yet.  It is a must have for United.  They scan your app and you are good to go.  Otherwise someone must look at the papers to see if it meets the rules.

I will pick several up coming back into the USA as they are approved by the CDC.

What is the motive behinds someone forging documents and ending up in jail?  Or going on a cruise sick?

If people are going to forge documents and provide false ID they can do it easier at CVS without the video recording.

2 minutes ago, schittenden said:

I have the Abbot BinaxNOW test at home.  You swab the nose, stick it in the card, and read the results after 15 minutes.  No telehealth worker involved.

That is not CDC approved, whereas with a telehealth worker it is for airline flights coming back into the US.

18 minutes ago, schittenden said:

Sure.  There's no way for Celebrity to know who actually took the test in your home.

It requires a telehealth worker to confirm the process and the results and I would presume to verify identity.  It is a contactless version of the CVS test.

Just now, terrydtx said:

No point in arguing  about home testing, Celebrity has made it clear, home tests are NOT acceptable.  If you are going on a cruise prior to Sept 6th, get an acceptable test or cancel the cruise, it is as simple as that. Showing up at the terminal with it was too hard to get a test excuse will not get you on the ship.

I agree.  However the person that I was responding to said that Celebrity was using the CDC flight requirements and they are not.

2 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Yeah...I like the POINTS GUY posts.  Somethings I I like about his posts (like credit card points comparisons).  This is something I wouldn't rely on from him. 

 

The home tests are fraught with issues.  First, they aren't accepted by any of the cruise lines (as far as I know) because the rapid tests are less accurate. I've read a little bit about why that is, but I'm not a Dr.  So, I'll take their word for it.

 

I don't consider going to a pharmacy (where at least where I live, is practically on every other block) difficult.  They use the much more accurate PCR and Antigen tests (vs rapid tests you get from Abbott).

 

Not saying you should or shouldn't do any of this.  That's up to you. It isn't difficult, is the point.   It's up to you whether you want to or not.  Celebrity has communicated their requirements.  If you can't comply, or don't want to comply, regardless of the reason, you can't sail.

 

 But saying it's too difficult really isn't going to net you anything from the cruise lines.

https://www.abbott.com/corpnewsroom/diagnostics-testing/BinaxNOW-NAVICA-and-united-book-your-travel-now.html

United has teamed up with Abbott.  If they are not reliable enough tests then the CDC should stop accepting them.

You should talk to the CDC and tell the CDC that these tests are not reliable enough.

17 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I guess I'm not following.  This is what the CDC says is acceptable for re entry to the U.S., which is the same as Celebrity is requiring, and widely available.

 

The testing providers are very common in the U.S. (Walgreens, CVS, Kroger Pharmacies, etc).  I just did a Google search of Covid Testing centers near the FLL cruise port that took all of 2 seconds and found this.....https://carbonhealth.com/coronavirus/covid-19-testing-centers/Florida/Fort-Lauderdale. Even the hours are listed.

 

In addition, they offer testing at the FLL airport.  I don't know how much easier it could be, aside from taking someone by the hand and leading them to the nearest pharmacy and walking them to the pharmacy window.

 

"The CDC will accept results of molecular PCR tests as well as the less reliable rapid antigen tests"

 

The mere fact that you're here, with the wealth of information that is being posted about this topic should make this simple and informative.  I mean, you need your passport to travel, too.  How did you find information about getting that?  That's a much more difficult, yet you did it.  Right?

 

 

Here is a CDC approved test that I believe Celebrity does not allow?

https://thepointsguy.com/news/abbott-at-home-covid-test/

This is a test that would make it easy.  All you need is a reliable internet connection.  No fuss no muss.

The information that is on this board is helpful.  Unfortunately not everyone reads Cruise Critic.

37 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I thought about this.  I think Celebrity stands fast on their requirements.  For all the reported foibles, (mostly at embarkation, testing, etc) the cruises themselves have gone off without a hitch.

 

In order….

 

1.  If you did not respond to the emails (which there have been multiples of), the phone calls, etc about testing, then you’re purposely ignoring them, in my estimation.  No tests?  No cruise!

2.  If you did get the message, and ignored the message anyway, you don’t cruise.

3.  This is the sticky one.  To me, they’ve asked for a negative COVID test 72 hours (or less) of embarkation (which ordinarily begins at noon).  That’s cut and dry.  Just count backwards from your embarkation date…easy-peezy!  For example, Embarkation is noon on a Saturday, counting back 72 hours, you should get your test on Wednesday, which means you’ll have your results either within an hour or so, all the way up to 24-36 hours before embarkation.  These will be emailed to you, so they’d be accessible on your phone or tablet.

 

The sticky part is which test?  They just say you need an Antigen test, or a PCR test.  My TA (who is excellent by they way) said it doesn’t matter which one, as long as you have the results in the time frame stipulated.  Antigen or PCR….all the rest?  No go.  Mixed vaccine manufacturers?  No go!

 

Hopefully that helps.  I know some are looking for ways around this with exceptions.  But, they’ve posted their requirements everywhere.  They’ve called (at least they called me) more than once with the requirements.  They’ve emailed they requirements (more than once).  It’s not like they haven’t used every source available to them to inform any passenger what’s required.

 

The questions I have with anyone saying they didn’t get the information, how did you get your ticket? How did you get the memo about needing a Passport?  This is the same thing as getting info regarding COVID vaccines/tests.  Why is there confusion?

Lets add to this :

4.  Celebrity did not select the same testing requirements as reentry into the USA.  Most know what those are.

5.  They should team up with providers that have a large footprint in the USA or providers at MIA and FLL to provide these services.  The airlines have done this.  The instructions could be something like go to blah blah at FLL between the hours of such and such.

Sorry if this seems like a half baked last minute set of requirements because it is.

I wonder if Celebrity is really going to enforce this next week.  There is so much confusion.

Here is what I would expect to happen:

1.  There will be a certain percentage of people who come to the pier and did not get the e-mail and the test.

2.  There will be a certain percentage of people who got the e-mail but did not get an approved test.

3.  There will be a certain percentage of people who got the e-mail but got the test outside of the 72 hours due to time zone differences and other lack of specificity.

What could go wrong?

No problem with flying with champagne.  I put the bottle in a bag like Wine Wings.

3 hours ago, SelectSys said:

No, I found some new news suggesting SWA schedules are aspirational in nature:

https://thepointsguy.com/news/dealing-with-airline-flight-schedule-changes/

 

Before Amadeus, Southwest had the ability to make schedule changes — but they were done manually to reaccomodate passengers, said Snyder. “So it didn’t happen much. But now that function is automated, allowing them to do more,” he said.

 

Southwest now has a pattern when it comes to schedule changes. “First, it creates an aspirational schedule. Then a month or two out, it makes cuts or changes with a better sense of reality,” said Snyder. “Then they start adding back to the schedule.”

Yep.  I would agree 100% with this article.  I have received rebookings for every last flight through the end of October, some 3 or 4 times.

I have taken a new tact in booking flights with Southwest.  I book the cheapest flight and then when they change the flight I choose the flight that I really want at the original low fare.

I rebooked my cruise flights with Delta.