CalTexCruiser

21 minutes ago, chawkjewel said:

 

 

It has been a wonderful cruise.  It is very sad that it ends tomorrow 😞

Glad to hear you enjoyed yourselves.  Was occupancy also low like the first cruise?  Was it easy to dine when you want and where you want?

Have not heard much about this sailing.  I assume everyone is enjoying themselves and not bothering with reporting back to us on CC.

And the debarkation COVID tests would have already been administered, so I assume no COVID positives on this sailing?

1 hour ago, harkinmr said:

Hopefully refundable?

Yes with $ 200 penalty pp after final payment, which for me is June 27--I'll be watching the first two Apex cruises with interest to decide whether or not I want to make final payment.

1 hour ago, Bruin Steve said:

 

 

 

And these are not the only changes we are seeing.  We are also now being required to use Celebrity Shorexes only in some ports...and there are constant late changes to some of the shore excursions themselves...and never for the better.  This week we received a notification that our "Best of Mykonos" shorex would no longer have the "Folkloric Show".  I can understand that if the outfit providing the show is not performing due to Covid, but there is also no replacement activity announced and no change of price.  Even so, I am willing to accept it, it's not a major change.  However today, we were informed that our Pyrgos Village, Mezes and Wine excursion in Santorini will no longer include the cable car.  No explanation of how we get back to the ship--whether we are somehow required to just get back on a bus and be returned to the ship and day in Santorini over at 11:30...or do we get back to the ship somehow on our own?  Someone on our Roll Call actually found that the cable car IS actually operating.  But Celebrity told us it was Covid related???  There is really no excuse for not providing us with complete information...

 

Well, this sucks.  Things are becoming more restrictive as we get closer.

And I just bought business class seats at a great price yesterday too.  Oh well.

23 hours ago, kangforpres said:

The cruise is leaving on Monday, 09-27 and returning Friday Morning, on 10-01-21. So Hurricane weather is more of a worry than fog. Looking to fly in on Saturday so I can explore Galveston for a full day on Sunday and then we always fly home post cruise ASAP since that "Vacation is Over" feeling takes over.

 

-Paul

 

 

Typically, hurricane activity on the SE Texas coast dies down starting in October of each season, due to cold fronts making it far enough south to direct any tropical storms away from SE Texas.

That is not to say that it is impossible for a tropical storm to hit Galveston end of Sep.

For example, the monster Hurricane Rita hit SE Texas near the end of Sep. back in 2005, which caused extensive damage to the Beaumont area (it was supposed to directly hit Galveston but a cold front sped up to bend it to Beaumont).  I'm sure many will recall all Houston freeways were filled up with cars, with some people spending over 20 hours stuck on the freeways due to mass evacuations.

I have Chase Sapphire Reserve with its $ 2,500 medical coverage.

Let's say I need to visit the cruise ship's medical facilities (non-COVID health issue), and was charged $ 2,000.

Would CSR cover that?

I'm thinking about investing in the following for my Apex cruise to continuously satisfy the "while drinking" exception--anyone not think it'll work?

The "seated, eating or drinking" language I believe is from the MSC mask rules according to Little Britain.

The Celebrity Apex rule is: 

• Required on board indoors and outdoors except while eating, drinking or in your stateroom. 

So the "seated" exception is not relevant to the Apex sailings.  

Celebrity can choose to be as liberal or as strict as they want to be on what constitutes "while eating, drinking"

I'll be closely monitoring the first couple of Apex cruises to see how zealous the mask enforcement is.  I understand that if people are wandering around the ship, likely mask will be enforced.  However, if I'm sitting by the pool or a lounge or anywhere else (not moving) with a drink or food in front of me, are they going to force me to pull my mask up unless I'm actively drinking/eating at that specific moment in time?  

If "unless drinking or eating" is loosely interpreted, then I'll be good.  If I have to pull up my mask between sips and bites, then that'll be a no go for me.

11 hours ago, hnm2234 said:

We are booked on the Apex for 7/17 and didn't hear anything about this change from Celebrity directly. I'm hoping it's because they think it may change before we sail, but if not, that's pretty disappointing since it's a pretty major change to what was understood when we booked. 

Celebrity updated their website on June 9 to reflect the new mask policy (both indoors and outdoors).  So that mask policy will apply to all Apex sailings from Greece until changed.  Highly likely that masks will be required on your cruise, because I read in a news article that Greece may plan to change their mask mandate at the end of September, basically after the Apex Greece season.

Also does anyone know if the crew has predominantly taken J&J?

Would that mean they may be more susceptible to the Delta variant than Pfizer/Moderna vaccinated passengers?  Or is the fact that > 95% vaccinated means there is herd immunity on the ship so that any infection would be very limited (as happened on the first Millennium cruise)?

Former FDA commissioner Dr Gottlieb recently said that studies show the AZ/J&J vaccines are 60% effective against the Delta variant (originally from India and now the dominant variant in the UK), and the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines are 88% effective against the Delta variant.

I wonder if the current spike in the UK is in the non-vaccinated and AZ-vaccinated populations?

Although not a medical expert, I think a lot of folks are suffering from PTSD.

They have been programmed to be so fearful of this virus that they can't let go of their fears.

2 minutes ago, broberts said:

 

Nor do I think those with concerns are cowards, scared of their own shadows.

Although I have a cousin, fully vaccinated for quite some time now, who continues to wash with soap eggs she purchases from the grocery store.  And don't ask me what she does with fruits, 'cos I don't want to know.

I believe she falls under the "scared of their own shadows" category.  🙂

I suspect this a Greek requirement, since Greece still requires face masks in all public spaces

i read a news article that they may consider relaxing the mask mandate by end of Sep

i also find this development unwelcome and may consider canceling my Sep Apex cruise depending on reviews from the first couple of Apex cruises

2 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Nice try, but I doubt facts will change the mind of some people.   There are people that are determined to stay in a lockdown mode forever.  Some of these people even think they are following the science.

And anyone who plans to stay in lockdown mode until COVID is eradicated will probably have to wait a long, long, long time .

Experts have said COVID will become endemic, i.e., it will return every year for the rest of our lives.

5 hours ago, Seany527 said:

The contact tracing was effective and ranged from people who took shore excursions with the two positive guests, down to people who sat immediately next to them at the bar and had physical contact. 

 

Thank you for taking time away from your vacation to share with us.

Maybe I missed it, but how does Celebrity perform contact tracing?  

I don't recall people having to wear contact tracing bracelets like on the Singapore Quantum sailings.

Take a deep breath folks.

The Millenium will not be a Diamond Princess.  They will be OK.

Has anyone seen some of the Dallas Mavericks NBA playoff games from 2 weeks ago--full house, no masks.  If that did not produce a huge spike in COVID cases, then that proves COVID vaccines work.

39 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

A Celebrity tour makes sense in Israel considering the current “war” situation.   You will probably have a couple of armed soldiers on board as bodyguards.    COVID is a secondary issue but a high percentage of the Palestinians have not received the shots and can still be found in certain areas.   A number are being forced out of Jerusalem and their homes are torn down.   These folks are very disgruntled and can cause trouble.

So will the passengers on these tours be handed rifles to fight alongside the "couple of armed soldiers" against the intifadah ?

LOL 

2 hours ago, angelsil said:

 

Agreed. I'm booked for September on Apex and this wasn't what I had planned at all. I understand that masks are required outdoors in Greece currently (have friends on a land trip there this week) but on the ship? C'mon, the ship is supposed to be 95% vaccinated. I'm not taking a mask to the pool.

I'm booked on the Apex also in September, and this is a negative development.

Guidance may change later in the summer, but I have a decision to make at final payment time in late June to see if I want to cancel.  Outdoor masking on an almost fully vaccinated cruise ship is just unnecessary, but I guess Celebrity has to follow guidelines of the relevant jurisdictions.

So what about the cabin these two are staying in?  Will it be taken out of service for a week?

Anyone on the 6-12 sailing whose cabin is reassigned last minute may now speculate why.

10 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

Pre registering is in direct contradiction to DiSantis' law.  I agree it would seem the best way to go, but.....

During pre-registration, the following prompt can be provided:

"To avoid a COVID test at the pier at your expense (estimated to be $ 250 per person), please upload a copy of your COVID vaccination card, which we will verify when you embark."

This does not violate the Florida law, which states:

"A business entity ... may not require patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the business operations in this state"

3 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

She is emphatic they will control capacity accordingly. I assume they will work a question into check-in and reserve the right to deny boarding at the pier if that 5% threshold is met and you are unwilling to provide proof. I'm positive the testing will be very expensive also. They also will have to wear masks except when eating/drinking or in the cabin.

Clever I guess.  Fain said their surveys show a vast majority wanted to go on vaccinated cruises so they must be confident that the folks they are basically telling to stay away would make up an insignificant portion of their customer base.

15 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

They are full steam ahead with vaccination requirement for US cruises....

 

More details coming.

 

Florida cruises - providing proof is optional. Unvaccinated cruisers must pay for their own tests. Still sticking to the 95% number though.

If providing proof is optional, how do they establish that 95% of passengers are vaccinated?

And what happens on day of departure they realize they are under the 95% threshold?

4 minutes ago, bajathree said:

Come Nov the CSO expires and I don't think any of these vaccine mandates are going to matter. Thats not far away...so if you really want to sail vaccine only you may want to sail sooner than latter.

1 minute ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

I'd lean towards agreeing with you there. I can't see this lasting long. We don't cruise again until February and barring anything catastrophic happening, I don't foresee it being required by then. Cruise lines hate regulation and the quicker they can get out from under this, they will. But I haven't see a thing pointing to what the long term COVID oversight may be. 

Dr Gottlieb (former FDA commissioner) said on CNBC that booster shots may be required in the fall, because he fears that cases may go up again after the summer.

I think he's been the voice of reason throughout the pandemic when others have either been too cautious (Fauci) or too dismissive (the anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers).

So for those of us with sailings in early 2022, the CSO may be extended well into 2022 if COVID cases start going up again when the weather cools again.