Process Details for the Celebrity Millennium Sint Maarten Sailings

[KmomChicago]

On 6/11/2021 at 5:46 AM, FlyerTalker said:

 

Well, if they didn't have a passport, they surely didn't arrive in St Maarten in the first place.

Unless they sailed there in their yacht.

[Blackduck59]

19 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Unless they sailed there in their yacht.

 

Still need a passport and clear customs, countries are sticky about that. Even the crew need passports, and it doesn't matter how big the boat is.

[Seany527]

Hello everyone. 
 

Sorry for the lack of updates. Cruise Critic was basically not usable unless we were in port. 
 

To close the loop, it ended up being just the two people who tested positive. They were moved to another stateroom on deck 2. So keep that in mind...if you book a “nice” cabin and test positive, you will be moved to another location of the ship. I had the mind set that “if I test positive, at least I’ll have a huge balcony” but that is not the case. 

 

There were about 20 other people who were placed on precautionary quarantine for about 12 hours pending the results of the PCR test. Celebrity gave those people, specialty dinners, free movies and streaming internet. They remained in their cabins. 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. 
 

For the two people that did test positive, they remained on the ship on deck two where the ship was fitted with its own air circulation system. A plane was chartered for them to bring them back to the USA. 

 

This morning disembarkation was extremely easy and efficient. SXM will not let you into the airport until it’s closer to your departure time. The line outside was endless, with minimal seats, so I highly recommend waiting on the ship. I wish I had. 
 

Our boarding time is 12:15 and they allowed us to enter at 10:15.  
 

Overall, it was a great cruise. Initially I thought Celebrity could have done a few things differently to keep up with social distancing and disinfecting. But in the end, it didn't matter.  With over 1,000 guests and crew onboard, only 2 people tested positive and who knows where they contracted it. A job well done. 
 

I’ll get to answering the remaining questions shortly. 

 

[luv4cruises]

1 hour ago, Seany527 said:

Hello everyone. 
 

Sorry for the lack of updates. Cruise Critic was basically not usable unless we were in port. 
 

To close the loop, it ended up being just the two people who tested positive. They were moved to another stateroom on deck 2. So keep that in mind...if you book a “nice” cabin and test positive, you will be moved to another location of the ship. I had the mind set that “if I test positive, at least I’ll have a huge balcony” but that is not the case. 

 

There were about 20 other people who were placed on precautionary quarantine for about 12 hours pending the results of the PCR test. Celebrity gave those people, specialty dinners, free movies and streaming internet. They remained in their cabins. 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. 
 

For the two people that did test positive, they remained on the ship on deck two where the ship was fitted with its own air circulation system. A plane was chartered for them to bring them back to the USA. 

 

This morning disembarkation was extremely easy and efficient. SXM will not let you into the airport until it’s closer to your departure time. The line outside was endless, with minimal seats, so I highly recommend waiting on the ship. I wish I had. 
 

Our boarding time is 12:15 and they allowed us to enter at 10:15.  
 

Overall, it was a great cruise. Initially I thought Celebrity could have done a few things differently to keep up with social distancing and disinfecting. But in the end, it didn't matter.  With over 1,000 guests and crew onboard, only 2 people tested positive and who knows where they contracted it. A job well done. 
 

I’ll get to answering the remaining questions shortly. 

 

Thank you for the update!  Safe travels.

[jtwind]

Interesting that they could fly back to the US after testing positive.  Is it a MedJet kind of situation?

[disneylover89]

The 20 other people who were quarantined were very lucky it was the end of the cruise and they were only quarantined for the 12 hours and then they got off the ship.  If it was earlier in the cruise, their vacation would be ruined.  Another reason for me to wait until next year to cruise.

[mom says]

4 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

The 20 other people who were quarantined were very lucky it was the end of the cruise and they were only quarantined for the 12 hours and then they got off the ship.  If it was earlier in the cruise, their vacation would be ruined.  Another reason for me to wait until next year to cruise.

From what I've read and heard the close contacts only had to quarantine until their negative test result.

[MrsBBuffalo]

1 hour ago, Seany527 said:

This morning disembarkation was extremely easy and efficient. SXM will not let you into the airport until it’s closer to your departure time. The line outside was endless, with minimal seats, so I highly recommend waiting on the ship. I wish I had. 
 

Our boarding time is 12:15 and they allowed us to enter at 10:15.  

Wow!  We don't leave until almost 3 pm.  How long would they have let you remain on the ship??  We certainly don't want to stand outside for  4-5 hours!

 

I wonder if we will have any extra leniency re disembarking on the June 26 sailing since no pax will be boarding that day?  They will be getting on the Summit.

[KKB]

8 minutes ago, MrsBBuffalo said:

Wow!  We don't leave until almost 3 pm.  How long would they have let you remain on the ship??  We certainly don't want to stand outside for  4-5 hours!

 

I wonder if we will have any extra leniency re disembarking on the June 26 sailing since no pax will be boarding that day?  They will be getting on the Summit.

I would recommend heading to a restaurant for a few hours to have some drinks & lunch! 

Preferably shaded outdoors if it's me!

[Cruising89143]

41 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

The 20 other people who were quarantined were very lucky it was the end of the cruise and they were only quarantined for the 12 hours and then they got off the ship.  If it was earlier in the cruise, their vacation would be ruined.  Another reason for me to wait until next year to cruise.

Why? They only had to remain in their stateroom until the test came back showing the results. They were not quarantined for the remainder of the cruise. There has been a person doing a live blog during this cruise and was one of the twenty who had to quarantine. The test was very late in the day after returning from a day ashore. She received her test results about two hours after receiving the nose swab. It was negative but she was asked to remain in her cabin overnight until the ship received the results of the other nineteen. 

[SeaHunt]

1 hour ago, Seany527 said:

They were moved to another stateroom on deck 2. So keep that in mind...if you book a “nice” cabin and test positive, you will be moved to another location of the ship. I had the mind set that “if I test positive, at least I’ll have a huge balcony” but that is not the case.

 

Interesting - thank you for pointing that out (and for all the great information passed along, it is much appreciated!) 😊

[Sykes]

2 hours ago, Seany527 said:

To close the loop, it ended up being just the two people who tested positive. They were moved to another stateroom on deck 2. So keep that in mind...if you book a “nice” cabin and test positive, you will be moved to another location of the ship. I had the mind set that “if I test positive, at least I’ll have a huge balcony” but that is not the case. 

That's super useful information, although I think that your strategy is still relevant for those 20 close contacts that were stuck in their room for 12 hours.

[disneylover89]

1 hour ago, mom says said:

From what I've read and heard the close contacts only had to quarantine until their negative test result.

According to this blog they were quarantined until the next morning after all tests results came back. 

I'm in quarantine on a cruise ship even though I'm vaccinated. Here's why. (thepointsguy.com)

[disneylover89]

1 hour ago, cruisingator2 said:

Why? They only had to remain in their stateroom until the test came back showing the results. They were not quarantined for the remainder of the cruise. There has been a person doing a live blog during this cruise and was one of the twenty who had to quarantine. The test was very late in the day after returning from a day ashore. She received her test results about two hours after receiving the nose swab. It was negative but she was asked to remain in her cabin overnight until the ship received the results of the other nineteen. 

They missed a whole night of dining, shows, gambling and what ever else they like to do and had to sit in their cabins even after coming back negative. 

[jg51]

13 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

They missed a whole night of dining, shows, gambling and what ever else they like to do and had to sit in their cabins even after coming back negative. 

.

Those who have read about the actual experience of one of the quarantined people know that ...

(1) she was not the least bit angry, but instead was understanding and full of compliments,

(2) she did not "miss a whole night of dining," because an excellent meal was brought to her, along with chocolates, champagne, etc., and ...

(3) she was probably further compensated for the inconvenience she suffered.

.

Our opinion is that, immediately after she had tested "negative," she should have been released (which is what may happen in future cases), but Celebrity used an (over)abundance of caution and asked her to stay in her cabin until all the other contacts had been tested.

.

[LGW59]

28 minutes ago, disneylover89 said:

They missed a whole night of dining, shows, gambling and what ever else they like to do and had to sit in their cabins even after coming back negative. 

cry me a river

[cachouonacruise]

Thank-you very much Seany527 for the detailed information you provided us.

 

I found very interesting to see that despite the pandemic, it was possible for. group of people to travel, to explore and for the most part, to enjoy their cruise.

 

Ideally, I’m sure, you would all have preferred to experience the cruise without any positive results.

 

I found very interesting, the list of measures taken by Celebrity to ensure that positive tests results would not translate in a situation similar to what was experienced on the Diamond Princess at the beginning of the pandemic, and to minimize to all possible extents, the negative impacts on passengers and crew.

 

From what I have read, measures were taken to ensure the safety, health and safe return home of the two involved passengers.

 

I am glad to see that Celebrity contact tracing has worked. That precautions were taken to promptly test and provide results to « persons in contact » while treating them as nicely as possible to minimize their inconvenience.

 

In short, the positive element resulting from the unfortunate test results on your cruise, seems to demonstrate that the Celebrity Covid Contingency Plan worked as designed and was successful in avoiding a serious outbreak on the ship.

 

I know, some members were questioning the reasoning behind the crew requirement to wear masks. I believe this experience is the answer. The crew was not infected and remains ready to welcome a new group of passengers. ( Of note, my wife works in a daycare where Covid outbreaks occurred. The staff, however, thanks to wearing masks and frequent hand washing was not affected). 

 

In conclusion, the information you provided us Seany527 was really helpful to keep my hopes and interest up to enjoy our planned cruise in 2022.

[mahdnc]

4 hours ago, Seany527 said:

Hello everyone. 
 

Sorry for the lack of updates. Cruise Critic was basically not usable unless we were in port. 
 

To close the loop, it ended up being just the two people who tested positive. They were moved to another stateroom on deck 2. So keep that in mind...if you book a “nice” cabin and test positive, you will be moved to another location of the ship. I had the mind set that “if I test positive, at least I’ll have a huge balcony” but that is not the case. 

 

There were about 20 other people who were placed on precautionary quarantine for about 12 hours pending the results of the PCR test. Celebrity gave those people, specialty dinners, free movies and streaming internet. They remained in their cabins. 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. 
 

For the two people that did test positive, they remained on the ship on deck two where the ship was fitted with its own air circulation system. A plane was chartered for them to bring them back to the USA. 

 

This morning disembarkation was extremely easy and efficient. SXM will not let you into the airport until it’s closer to your departure time. The line outside was endless, with minimal seats, so I highly recommend waiting on the ship. I wish I had. 
 

Our boarding time is 12:15 and they allowed us to enter at 10:15.  
 

Overall, it was a great cruise. Initially I thought Celebrity could have done a few things differently to keep up with social distancing and disinfecting. But in the end, it didn't matter.  With over 1,000 guests and crew onboard, only 2 people tested positive and who knows where they contracted it. A job well done. 
 

I’ll get to answering the remaining questions shortly. 

 

 

You did an excellent job in relaying information to us throughout the sailing.  Thank you and I am glad you enjoyed your cruise.  Have a safe trip home.

[syesmar]

5 hours ago, Seany527 said:

Hello everyone. 

Sorry for the lack of updates. Cruise Critic was basically not usable unless we were in port. 

To close the loop, it ended up being just the two people who tested positive. They were moved to another stateroom on deck 2....

Seany527,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! All of you passengers have been in our prayers. So glad Celebrity handled this situation with the utmost efficiency. It really sounds like they were prepared.

I have some questions:
-If the next day after finding out about the positive tests was not a sea day, would passengers have been allowed off the ship as planned?
-Did the ship ask passengers to report any symptoms to them over the next few weeks?
-I know CDC doesn’t recommend that vaccinated people get tested after exposure unless symptomatic, but did the ship give any advice whether or not they recommended close contacts get tested again in a few days?
-I know Celebrity is flying the passengers home, are they quarantining in a hotel first?
-Do you know if the 2 room mates traveled together, i.e., had been together prior to the sailing?

 

Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise! As normal life begins to resume, I’ve often wondered how a case onboard would be handled in the real world, and seeing how Celebrity has handled it gives that insight.

 

Thanks again and best wishes!

[CalTexCruiser]

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.

[Fouremco]

In the various threads on the Millennium's initial cruise using its Sint Maarten homeport, I've missed any posts that might give any idea of how many passengers are from the US or other countries. I imagine that it was predominantly US residents aboard, but I don't know about others. Just curious.

[Cruising89143]

2 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

They missed a whole night of dining, shows, gambling and what ever else they like to do and had to sit in their cabins even after coming back negative. 

Then it may be best to wait until this virus has been wiped from the face of the earth which may be never. There’s no guarantee that this can’t or won’t happen in the future. Even next year when it will probably still be around.

[EatonDoolittle]

2 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

They missed a whole night of dining, shows, gambling and what ever else they like to do and had to sit in their cabins even after coming back negative. 

 

To put things in perspective, lets recall the good old days, just for a moment. 

Raise your hand if you ever had a bout (or 2, in my case) of Noro....

Remember, you thought you were going to die for 24 hours???

 

Noro was a not so pretty part of cruising, but did not stop us from going. Heck, many never even bothered with simple prevention like hand washing. 

 

12 hours in the cabin, pampered with food and beverage, doesn't sound so bad now, does it. 

 

 

 

[sofietucker]

15 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

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.

From Ashley (a quarantined blogger), they were on the same catamaran in Barbados (where, ironically the capt. wouldn't let them swim ashore because they'd then have to quarantine for 2 weeks...). 

[sofietucker]

1 minute ago, EatonDoolittle said:

 

To put things in perspective, lets recall the good old days, just for a moment. 

Raise your hand if you ever had a bout (or 2, in my case) of Noro....

Remember, you thought you were going to die for 24 hours???

 

Noro was a not so pretty part of cruising, but did not stop us from going. Heck, many never even bothered with simple prevention like hand washing. 

 

12 hours in the cabin, pampered with food and beverage, doesn't sound so bad now, does it. 

 

 

 

2 of us raising our hands here---both came down with it the day we flew home once. Memba when they had to delay a cruise from San Juan? Yep. That was the cruise behind ours. And although we always religiously wipe our cabin down with chlorox wipes (even the ice bucket tongs), put the remote in a baggie, don't touch banisters, we still got it!

Then there was the time he got it at the airport (San Juan, again) and the flights were all delayed for about 6 hours; he spent a bunch of time in the men's room... I was fine until Christmas eve--we were supposed to  host dinner the next day. Yikes.

Still, I bet there will be no more noro on the high seas, lol. Even though you can't really die from it, for a couple of hours we sure wished we would...