Silhouette around Britain staycruisecations

[upwarduk]

3 hours ago, ighten said:

 

Im hopeful as well for Aug the 6th  TBF Scotland doesnt have to get to lvl 0 it only has to drop the remaining lvl 2s down to 1 which I think may happen mid to late July..

 

Has anyone had issues with some trips showing as available  (rather than ask onboard) and then it wont accept a number of pax and just crashes the system

 

 

Yes, The Scottish  Lochs, had just space, so was available,  but not for 2 passengers   Now it says inquire on board. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by upwarduk

[scorpio123456]

3 hours ago, Mim Lloyd said:

My son applied online for my grandson's renewal and apparently it comes through in 2 weeks or less. And the baby granddaughter does have a passport after all so no need to ring Celebrity now and hang on the line for a hour or so! Thanks for your replies.

 

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

Exactly. It’s stupid along with a number of other things that defy any sort of logic. 6000 untested supporters in a fan zone in Glasgow but won’t allow under a 1000 double vaccinated and tested cruisers, many of whom won’t even leave the ship into the same city.

If you use Twitter use the message facility on there to ask questions, 

replies in couple of hours. 

[38anchor]

Just a thought, (and not sure if anyone else has had experience before on UK / potential poor weather cruises) but with the talk of amount of children being onboard - how strict are Celebrity with the Adults only policy in the Solarium? 

 

Just thinking if the weather is poor, and this being the only under cover pool area, do Celebrity relax the rules or is this still strictly enforced?

[upwarduk]

5 minutes ago, 38anchor said:

with the talk of amount of children being onboard - how strict are Celebrity with the Adults only policy in the Solarium? 

We were on a Baltic cruise in 2015, where the Solarium pool was opened for families for one hour at 5pm.

it was suggested that most adults wouldn’t use it at that time, due to the Elite Happy hour.

[gonecroozin]

We are booked for 21st August, do you think this will be sailing at full capacity?

[38anchor]

41 minutes ago, gonecroozin said:

We are booked for 21st August, do you think this will be sailing at full capacity?

It all depends on the loosening of the Covid restrictions. Currently, the restrictions are 50% capacity or 1,000 (whichever is lowest) but if the restrictions are loosened on July 19th this could be one of the restrictions that are lifted. The first 3 sailings have been withdrawn from sale due to the fact they have reached the capacity of 1,000. Interesting to see those on sale after July 19th are still being sold. 

[Eglesbrech]

5 hours ago, 38anchor said:

Just a thought, (and not sure if anyone else has had experience before on UK / potential poor weather cruises) but with the talk of amount of children being onboard - how strict are Celebrity with the Adults only policy in the Solarium? 

 

Just thinking if the weather is poor, and this being the only under cover pool area, do Celebrity relax the rules or is this still strictly enforced?

Any time I have been onboard it has been (politely) enforced.

 

Given the small numbers sailing there might be a bit more latitude.

 

 

[BigAl94]

59 minutes ago, gonecroozin said:

We are booked for 21st August, do you think this will be sailing at full capacity?

No.

[Mim Lloyd]

On 6/15/2021 at 5:20 PM, scorpio123456 said:

 

If you use Twitter use the message facility on there to ask questions, 

replies in couple of hours. 

Thanks for the tip. I tweeted them earlier and just got a reply back. They say all passengers must have officially issued photo ID which means a passport for children.  Bit mad really as the 3 year old had his passport issued when he was 3 weeks old to go on holiday 3 weeks later. So his photo is of a new born baby and he looks nothing like that now!

Edited June 16, 2021 by Mim Lloyd

[Wichenford Wolf]

1 hour ago, gonecroozin said:

We are booked for 21st August, do you think this will be sailing at full capacity?

I don’t see why not, if there are no restrictions in place at that time. We are booked on the 14th August cruise and it’s being advertised everywhere. 
 

The cruise lines are in it to make money and like most hospitality businesses need to be as close to full capacity as they can.

[Nick&Simon]

14 hours ago, Wichenford Wolf said:

I don’t see why not, if there are no restrictions in place at that time. We are booked on the 14th August cruise and it’s being advertised everywhere. 
 

The cruise lines are in it to make money and like most hospitality businesses need to be as close to full capacity as they can.

 

I don't think they will run at full capacity any time soon. They need isolation areas for both passengers and crew in the event of covid infections. They need to be able to quarantine newly joining crew for 10-14 days. They are still in "shake down" mode.

Many of the ships are deliberately running at less that the government mandated limits.

[ighten]

I suspect once they are told exactly what the new rules for UK cruising are after Jul19th they will make a decision and not before (and there seems to be a 2 week buffer where nothing changes)..   And even then it will be a slow drip feed upwards.. The UK gov site for cruising will be updated on the 19th but it doesn't necessarily have to follow whats happening on land as its a seperate page/roadmap  on its own and could be changed from what it currently says.

 

"Roadmap step 4

It is expected that England will move to Step 4 on 19 July, though the data will be reviewed after 2 weeks in case the risks have reduced.

By step 4, the government hopes to remove all legal limits on social contact. This includes lifting capacity limits for domestic cruises."

 

 

[BigAl94]

MSC Virtuoso is in Belfast today, first cruise ship in 15 months. Just heard it covered on local radio and that it was ship organised tours only which are panoramic coach tours only where all guests would be kept in their bubble with no contact with any locals.

[little britain]

4 hours ago, BigAl94 said:

MSC Virtuoso is in Belfast today, first cruise ship in 15 months. Just heard it covered on local radio and that it was ship organised tours only which are panoramic coach tours only where all guests would be kept in their bubble with no contact with any locals.

Correct. All their tours keep you in the ships bubble.  They did offer one walking tour in Liverpool but you had to keep your masks on.   All Pax had temperature checks daily and a 2nd nasal test halfway through the cruise. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by little britain

[downsmead]

Since the early sailings have been closed, it seems X kept bookings to 1,000 people, unlike P&O who are now cancelling people on their early sailings because of overbooking 🤦‍♀️.

 

[Eglesbrech]

2 minutes ago, downsmead said:

Since the early sailings have been closed, it seems X kept bookings to 1,000 people, unlike P&O who are now cancelling people on their early sailings because of overbooking 🤦‍♀️.

 

I hope so because Royal the X parent company have overbooked as well. Check out the Royal board on here, people are being offered lift and swaps because they have overbooked the early cruises as well.

[laslomas]

I really hope Celebrity have kept to the 1000 passengers. I contacted them via Twitter on 6th June, to ask what their reduced capacity was, and also mentioned that if the Government roadmap is extended would my 3rd July cruise be oversubscribed?

 

They replied with a generic spiel about how their passengers safety was their first consideration. I responded that my question had not be answered. Then they were a bit more upfront especially when I stated it was no longer showing in their schedule, and also mentioned they were giving cabins to another 200 passengers in their Heroes competition, and the limit may have to be 1000 in total..

 

This was their response then: "Our UK staycations sailings are in line with our healthy return to service protocols which have been implemented following government advice and the advice of our healthy sail panel. As you know, we will be sailing at reduced capacity, inline local government restrictions. The fact you cannot see this sailing on our website is nothing to worry about and your booking remains live, we look forward to welcoming you onboard Celebrity Silhouette next month." 

 

Hopefully that will mean they really have been a bit more cautious than the other cruise lines. I am keeping my fingers well and truly crossed.

[ighten]

I think the issue here is that cruise companies (not just celebrity) dont gamble too much on what "Domestic Cruise Roadmap step 4" says and try to go above 1000 pax before they actually know if step 4 will be implemented as currently written..

 

I can see why they would want to try to push further (they need to earn money and thats what the gov have written into the roadmap).

 

Whats less clear is how in contact and informed they are from the govt as to how things will change in detail  come Jul 19th : - taking the aviation industry as an example I would think they are as frustrated as everyone else with the lack of any detail..

 

P&O seemed to get caught out by taking a huge gamble we would be at lvl 4 on Jun the 21st - I would have thought if Celebrity has done the same then the 3rd July people would have heard about it by now. Fingers crossed

Edited June 17, 2021 by ighten

[upwarduk]

A passenger on the 03/07/21 sailing has just posted this:

“I've just received my email from Celebrity with the testing requirements and a link to a free PCR test. They are also allowing you to use your own choice of PCR test and will refund up to £100 per person.”

[CambsCruiser82]

6 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

A passenger on the 03/07/21 sailing has just posted this:

“I've just received my email from Celebrity with the testing requirements and a link to a free PCR test. They are also allowing you to use your own choice of PCR test and will refund up to £100 per person.”

Just to add, I've had my email too! The company they are using is called Eurofins and the site isn't very helpful. Maybe they're very busy but the booking button isn't even working :D.

 

I might just go for the book your own and get a refund option.

[barbette165]

33 minutes ago, CambsCruiser82 said:

Just to add, I've had my email too! The company they are using is called Eurofins and the site isn't very helpful. Maybe they're very busy but the booking button isn't even working :D.

 

I might just go for the book your own and get a refund option.

Eurofins reviews on Trustpilot would suggest booking your own choice and claiming the refund may be the better option.

 

 

 

[Nick&Simon]

43 minutes ago, CambsCruiser82 said:

Just to add, I've had my email too! The company they are using is called Eurofins and the site isn't very helpful. Maybe they're very busy but the booking button isn't even working :D.

 

I might just go for the book your own and get a refund option.

 

Same here I can't get it to work. However, I am quite please as there is an appointment at a hotel I happen to be staying in 72 hours before the cruise. Breakfast and Test 🙂

[CambsCruiser82]

3 minutes ago, Nick&Simon said:

 

Same here I can't get it to work. However, I am quite please as there is an appointment at a hotel I happen to be staying in 72 hours before the cruise. Breakfast and Test 🙂

That's the way to do it 🙂

[Hazeldavies]

On 6/16/2021 at 6:22 PM, gonecroozin said:

We are booked for 21st August, do you think this will be sailing at full capacity?

I doubt it. Do they have enough staff on board to look after a full capacity ship? I would guess not, and therefore Celebrity would need new (vaccinated) crew to join and isolate prior to the full capacity cruise.

[Eglesbrech]

53 minutes ago, CambsCruiser82 said:

Just to add, I've had my email too! The company they are using is called Eurofins and the site isn't very helpful. Maybe they're very busy but the booking button isn't even working :D.

 

I might just go for the book your own and get a refund option

 

Had a quick look at the site and presuming I have the correct company (as I don’t have a link from Celebrity as yet) they have a banner up saying.

 

**We have temporarily suspended sales of our COVID testing kits as we are out of stock. Please try again later.**