Celebrity will be restarting cruising out of St. Maarten on June 5th with Millennium

[Sam.Seattle]

Just a few random comments after skimming 7+ pages....

 

* Good job Celebrity for finding a way to operate your business, restore jobs and provide cruises.

* What's the big deal about Kids sailing? Un-vaccinated teachers are allowed to teach in closed rooms       with kids right now.  And, now CDC says 3-feet separation is all that needs to be followed.

* Bummer for the Floridian's  that watching their jobs move to St. Maarten.

* So glad to see we are beginning to have choices.... Sail or stay home.  It is you choice.

 

Cheers!

🍹

[PTC DAWG]

14 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I am very disappointed in their allowing children under 18 to board unvaccinated.  Getting a test 72 hours before cruising proves next to nothing.  In those 72 hours people will be on airplanes, in taxis, in hotels, in restaurants and on and on.  There is little doubt that at least some of the little kiddos will bring some virus onboard.

 

So then what actually happens if someone tests positive?  Are you dumped in the nearest port and left to somehow recover and then fly home on your own??  Putting aside the serious concern about the perhaps less sophisticated medical care for a minute, what are the logistics going to be?  You could conceivably be out tens of thousands of dollars in travel costs, even if you are lucky enough to be asymptomatic.  And while onboard, if a few people test positive, does everyone in contact with them then need to quarantine, even if vaccinated?  And how many people onboard testing positive would result in the entire ship potentially being quarantined?  

 

These are all serious questions that need to be addressed in detail.  I am very much looking forward to cruising again, but I need satisfactory answers to these questions before I board.  It is interesting that so many people seem to focus on whether they need to wear a mask, or whether they need to take ship sponsored excursions, but don't seem to be concerned about these much, more more serious potential issues.

You probably shouldn’t sail just yet...no concerns then..

[upwarduk]

11 hours ago, SunsetPoint said:

passed new laws that you couldn't just buy a beer in a brewery, you also had to buy something to eat... due to Covid.  It seems that if I order a beer, I might catch Covid, but if I eat some potato chips with that beer I won't.

Same in UK when our pubs were open, before the most recent Lockdown.

The idea is that customers won’t mingle if sitting at a table eating a meal, rather than standing at a bar.

[TeeRick]

17 minutes ago, cwtravel said:

Yes this is the exact language on the Celebrity email. 

Yes and on the Celebrity website.

[K.T.B.]

1 hour ago, paulh84 said:

 

They do know, you just focused on one line of an article and ignored the context. No offense, but this mentality is what is going to be incredibly hard for CDC and cruise lines to manage as the COVID situation changes, both good and bad. People need such a black and white, yes or no, never-changing set of policies that are impossible right now.

 

If you know your group is 100% vaccinated, fine, do these things:

- gather indoors with no masks

- gather with unvaccinated people as they are from one household as long as they are not high risk individuals

 

What you still need to take precautions if:

-you are in public (you have no idea who is vaccinated and who is not)

-gathering with unvaccinated people from multiple households 

-visiting a high risk person

-avoid medium/large gatherings (again...back to you having no idea who is vaccinated)

-avoid high risk activities 

 

It's the classic 'give them an inch, they will take a mile'. Use common sense, don't do high risk activities and don't expose high risk people while more data about transmission evolves. 

 

 

Someone gets it.  😷

[K.T.B.]

42 minutes ago, Sam.Seattle said:

Just a few random comments after skimming 7+ pages....

 

* Good job Celebrity for finding a way to operate your business, restore jobs and provide cruises.

* What's the big deal about Kids sailing? Un-vaccinated teachers are allowed to teach in closed rooms       with kids right now.  And, now CDC says 3-feet separation is all that needs to be followed.

* Bummer for the Floridian's  that watching their jobs move to St. Maarten.

* So glad to see we are beginning to have choices.... Sail or stay home.  It is you choice.

 

Cheers!

🍹

 

Teachers in classrooms with 20-30 kids and able to maintain the distancing vs being on a ship with 2 to 3 thousand people pushing forward in an effort to first off the ship at a port.  

 

Yep, noooooo problem there!

[PTC DAWG]

49 minutes ago, Sam.Seattle said:

Just a few random comments after skimming 7+ pages....

 

* Good job Celebrity for finding a way to operate your business, restore jobs and provide cruises.

* What's the big deal about Kids sailing? Un-vaccinated teachers are allowed to teach in closed rooms       with kids right now.  And, now CDC says 3-feet separation is all that needs to be followed.

* Bummer for the Floridian's  that watching their jobs move to St. Maarten.

* So glad to see we are beginning to have choices.... Sail or stay home.  It is you choice.

 

Cheers!

🍹

Well said..

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

6 minutes ago, K.T.B. said:

 

Teachers in classrooms with 20-30 kids and able to maintain the distancing vs being on a ship with 2 to 3 thousand people pushing forward in an effort to first off the ship at a port.  

 

Yep, noooooo problem there!

Sure, a cruise ship is the same size as a classroom....

[lostchild]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

To your question and points- Here is the fine print from Royal Caribbean in their marketing email yesterday on Adventure of the Seas sailing in June from the Bahamas.  I would bet that Celebrity Millennium has the same fine print.

 

NOTICE: Prior to booking, please consult all applicable U.S. Centers for Disease Control travel advisories, warnings, or recommendations relating to cruise travel, at cdc.gov/travel/notices. If a certain threshold level of COVID-19 is detected onboard the ship during your voyage, the voyage will end immediately, the ship will return to the port of embarkation, and your subsequent travel, including your return home, may be restricted or delayed.

Interesting.  If you go to the Celebrity travel alert site you get a "For US cruises and guests" in front of that and the Millennium cruise is not exactly a US cruise right?   You would think it would belong to "For cruises and guests worldwide".   I guess for this cruise, they are following the US cruise guideline even though it is not an US cruise.

 

For U.S. cruises and guests: Prior to booking, please consult all applicable U.S. Centers for Disease Control travel advisories, warnings, or recommendations relating to cruise travel, available at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/notices. If a certain threshold level of COVID-19 is detected onboard your cruise ship during your voyage, your voyage will be ended immediately and the ship will return to the port of embarkation, and your subsequent travel, including your return home, may be restricted or delayed. 

For cruises and guests worldwide: Health and safety protocols, guest conduct rules, as well as regional travel restrictions and clearance to visit ports of call, are subject to change without notice based on ongoing evaluation, public health standards, and government requirements. Onboard and destination experiences, features, itineraries and guest conduct rules vary by ship and destination and are subject to change without notice.

[rsail203]

A question about Celebrity Air. I've seen 2 opposite posts about whether passengers will be able to fly to St. Maartin on their own. I would prefer to fly there using my points. If I don't use Celebrity Air will the cruise price be lower?

[Mystictraveler]

Delete

Edited March 20, 2021 by Mystictraveler
quote not included.

[drakes2]

28 minutes ago, K.T.B. said:

 

Teachers in classrooms with 20-30 kids and able to maintain the distancing vs being on a ship with 2 to 3 thousand people pushing forward in an effort to first off the ship at a port.  

 

Yep, noooooo problem there!

As I type this a young elementary school teacher is in hospital with covid 19 fighting for her life. This is in my area. 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

To your question and points- Here is the fine print from Royal Caribbean in their marketing email yesterday on Adventure of the Seas sailing in June from the Bahamas.  I would bet that Celebrity Millennium has the same fine print.

 

NOTICE: Prior to booking, please consult all applicable U.S. Centers for Disease Control travel advisories, warnings, or recommendations relating to cruise travel, at cdc.gov/travel/notices. If a certain threshold level of COVID-19 is detected onboard the ship during your voyage, the voyage will end immediately, the ship will return to the port of embarkation, and your subsequent travel, including your return home, may be restricted or delayed.

Good to know, but I hope that they'll provide a bit more detail on the threshold level. Does it mean the cruise is cancelled and heads back if COVID-19 is detected in a single crew member? Three passengers? Variable based on circumstances? I think that a lot of potential passengers are looking for details so that they can make an informed decision in keeping with their personal levels of risk tolerance. 

[AstoriaPreppy]

17 minutes ago, rsail203 said:

A question about Celebrity Air. I've seen 2 opposite posts about whether passengers will be able to fly to St. Maartin on their own. I would prefer to fly there using my points. If I don't use Celebrity Air will the cruise price be lower?

It's vaguely worded, but from the way I'm reading things, I think it's going to be mandatory to purchase flights from Celebrity, which will be bundled into the cost of the voyage.

From a COVID-operational standpoint, this makes a lot of sense: long story short, Celebrity gets to control how and when you get to the ship. It's much easier to track any sort of issue if Celebrity is coordinating everything, and it also helps pad their bottom line. 

[TeeRick]

6 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Good to know, but I hope that they'll provide a bit more detail on the threshold level. Does it mean the cruise is cancelled and heads back if COVID-19 is detected in a single crew member? Three passengers? Variable based on circumstances? I think that a lot of potential passengers are looking for details so that they can make an informed decision in keeping with their personal levels of risk tolerance. 

Yes that is the additional detail that we need to make an informed decision.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

Do you really believe that Celebrity cares about those concerns you expressed?  Those who don't want to cruise under Celebrity's conditions won't. However at 40-60% capacity of their smallest class,  Celebrity probably believes they'll be able to fill that regardless. It's about getting back to revenue.

You missed the point of my post. I was simply stating that providing details of Celebrity's protocols just before sailing, as first reported, is far too late. Fortunately, additional information has now been posted stating that the information will release the information just before bookings open up.

[TeeRick]

2 minutes ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

It's vaguely worded, but from the way I'm reading things, I think it's going to be mandatory to purchase flights from Celebrity, which will be bundled into the cost of the voyage.

From a COVID-operational standpoint, this makes a lot of sense: long story short, Celebrity gets to control how and when you get to the ship. It's much easier to track any sort of issue if Celebrity is coordinating everything, and it also helps pad their bottom line. 

I read somewhere here that this question was asked to somebody at Celebrity.  The answer was that you need to use Flights By Celebrity if you want the special promotional price.  Otherwise no.

[TeeRick]

31 minutes ago, lostchild said:

Interesting.  If you go to the Celebrity travel alert site you get a "For US cruises and guests" in front of that and the Millennium cruise is not exactly a US cruise right?   You would think it would belong to "For cruises and guests worldwide".   I guess for this cruise, they are following the US cruise guideline even though it is not an US cruise.

 

For U.S. cruises and guests: Prior to booking, please consult all applicable U.S. Centers for Disease Control travel advisories, warnings, or recommendations relating to cruise travel, available at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/notices. If a certain threshold level of COVID-19 is detected onboard your cruise ship during your voyage, your voyage will be ended immediately and the ship will return to the port of embarkation, and your subsequent travel, including your return home, may be restricted or delayed. 

For cruises and guests worldwide: Health and safety protocols, guest conduct rules, as well as regional travel restrictions and clearance to visit ports of call, are subject to change without notice based on ongoing evaluation, public health standards, and government requirements. Onboard and destination experiences, features, itineraries and guest conduct rules vary by ship and destination and are subject to change without notice.

If you go to the Celebrity website and then to the announcement about the Millennium cruises out of St Martin, scroll all the way to the bottom.  The COVID  threshold fine print is there.

[AstoriaPreppy]

5 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I read somewhere here that this question was asked to somebody at Celebrity.  The answer was that you need to use Flights By Celebrity if you want the special promotional price.  Otherwise no.

 

The more I'm reading it seems that the pricing will only be available with airfare. From CC news: 
The cruises open for sale March 25. Sailings start at $1,999 per person for a veranda stateroom. The offer applies to new bookings, and flights must be booked through the line (prices include airfare and taxes).

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5968/

[baldilocks]

34 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

As I type this a young elementary school teacher is in hospital with covid 19 fighting for her life. This is in my area. 

The problem with your statement is that it does not say where the teacher got infected. At home? At the grocery store? etc. Who knows? Implying that the teacher was infected in a classroom is misleading.

[Orator]

I won't be booking these cruises, but Celebrity couldn"t care less. All they really need is a small percentage of cruisers book and given the booking experience of Crystal they will certainly reach their booking goals. Some will pay any price to just experience cruising . Hope the cruises go off without problems and those who book have a great time.

.

[K.T.B.]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

Sure, a cruise ship is the same size as a classroom....

 

Saying it's ok in classrooms, so it'll be fine on a ship is not exactly accurate.

[DAllenTCY]

Celebrity goes on to say that you can choose your airline and accumulate reward points.

 

David

 

[kiterp]

So screw the CDC. Anyways, what do they know about COVID and safety protocols. 

So Celebrity will just reassign a homeport for a ship,  avoid any US ports and be able to avoid CDC guidelines just to make a buck!

[tlund]

1 hour ago, rsail203 said:

A question about Celebrity Air. I've seen 2 opposite posts about whether passengers will be able to fly to St. Maartin on their own. I would prefer to fly there using my points. If I don't use Celebrity Air will the cruise price be lower?

You can fly on your own.  They will be offering pricing with or without air.