OH SHIP! Celebrity Millennium – Two passengers on first fully vaccinated cruise in North America test POSITIVE for Covi

[Onkel_Ken]

TWO passengers onboard the first fully-vaccinated cruise ship in North America have tested positive for coronavirus.

The passengers, who shared a room on the Celebrity Millennium, tested positive during the end-of-cruise testing which is completed three days before returning to the US.

 

In a statement released today, Celebrity said: "Two guests sharing a stateroom onboard Celebrity Millennium tested positive for Covid-19 while conducting the required end of cruise testing.

"The individuals are asymptomatic and currently in isolation and being monitored by our medical team.

"We are conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all those close contacts, and closely monitoring the situation."

All passengers were required to show proof of vaccination along with a negative Covid-19 test within 72-hours before the ship departed.

 

The cruise departed the Caribbean island of St. Maarten on Saturday.

The Celebrity Millennium is now docked in Curaço with the passengers who tested positive remaining in isolation.

 

The ship will return to St. Maarten this Saturday to disembark.

The Celebrity Millennium became the first ship to sail with guests from North America in more than a year.

 

Just under 600 guests were welcomed onboard on Saturday.

 

Celebrity Millennium - Two passengers on first fully vaccinated cruise in North America test POSITIVE for Covid (the-sun.com)

Niamh Cavanagh

19:02 ET, Jun 10 2021

Updated: 20:30 ET, Jun 10 2021

Edited June 11, 2021 by Onkel_Ken
added detail

[pingpong1]

I think a lot of details still have to come out about this before we can really "know" how to accurately judge this ourselves.  I'm keeping in mind that they were reportedly "asymptomatic".  That's significant.  Also they had reportedly been previously vaccinated.  How, exactly, had that been verified by the cruise line before they boarded?  They presumably had been tested within 72 hours before boarding...by who?  By Celebrity at shipside or by "someone else" beforehand.

 

Were they tested immediately at dockside before boarding and while checking in, or "reportedly" a day or so before they boarded (within 72 hours of boarding).  And by who?  Did they go off the ship in any ports during the cruise and/or come in contact with anyone on shore...or on any excursions? In any bars/restaurants/shops, etc.?  And were they the only two on the ship who wound/wind up with a "positive test result", 3-2-1 day before disembarkation?  If everyone else on the ship is vaccinated, will anyone else test "positive"? 

 

Finally, will they remain "asymptomatic" after leaving the ship, i.e., "test positive but never actually "get sick", and how was/will everyone else on the ship be "handled" when the ship disembarks?  Will there be any other "positive tests" among the passengers and crew in the next few days?  Will there be any other quarantines imposed, once the cruise ends?

 

I wouldn't be too quick to assume anything from this initial reports.  Remember, it's not as if the Press "ever gets it wrong"!  Regards.

[Dolebludger]

Yeah, right. The vaccines do not prevent invasion of Corona virus in one’s body.. They just prevent them from attaching in to cells in your body, and effectively prevent one from passing them to others, especially if others are vaccinated. There should only be proof of vaccination to board, proof of it to disembark, and proof of vaccination to fly back to the USA.  Until this is all that is required, our cruising days are on hold.  If we were to cruise again, we have CDC issued documents showing our vaccine dates and the type of vaccine used.  After showing these, the matter should be concluded as to embarkation, ports, disembarkation, and return to the USA by air. Until this is accepted at all points in a cruise, we simply will not go. 
 

False positives in tests are not uncommon. As a fully vaccinated couple, we don’t want to be subject to repeated “tests” which are known to be inaccurate. 
 

I don’t know why the USA is so hesitant to issue vaccinated passports for us. It might solve a lot of problems.  But until this matter is resolved along clear medical findings, we will find things to do other than cruising. And living in Colorado, those alternative things are not hard to find.

[cruiseluv]

If this is going to be the protocol for every cruise, you're going to get this repeated many times over. 

[ronrick1943]

Only two, sounds like an pretty good report.  Sounds like all the protocol worked, and you really do need to wait until they give a full report.

[rallydave]

16 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

 If we were to cruise again, we have CDC issued documents showing our vaccine dates and the type of vaccine used.  After showing these, the matter should be concluded as to embarkation, ports, disembarkation, and return to the USA by air. Until this is accepted at all points in a cruise, we simply will not go. 

Sorry Rich but, don't believe you have anything issued by the CDC.  Assume you are like everyone else who have a small cardboard card with the CDC logo that is easily forged and available for sale all over the internet.  Doubt anyone can discern if the card is actually valid as it is completed in many different format. My DW and I have 3 cards, she forgot her original card when getting second shot so they gave her a second card with just the second injection on it.   All three cards were filled out very differently even her two cards where she was injected at the exact same location.

 

Completely agree we need a single US Government Vaccine Passport like many of the world's governments are currently doing that while not impossible to duplicate will be many times over better than silly little pieces of cardboard with millions of different ways to fill out.  There is no way fake cards will be consistently validated even by medical specialists.

Edited June 12, 2021 by rallydave

[Got2Cruise]

I do not believe these two are a case of “false positive”. Maybe one,  I’d say ok. But two pax, sharing one cabin, obviously they both caught it from same person, or one got it and passed it on. 
 

 

[pingpong1]

Okay - I've got a medical question??  If you've gotten the full dose of vaccines and have waited the requisite 2 weeks...and then at a later time, you test "Positive" on a shipboard test....and you're completely "asymptomatic"....have you actually "caught Covid"??  Or to change the terminology a bit...have you been "infected by Covid"??  Just wondering about the terms that are being thrown around in the news.

[CruiserFromMaine]

On 6/12/2021 at 12:08 AM, ronrick1943 said:

Only two, sounds like an pretty good report.  Sounds like all the protocol worked, and you really do need to wait until they give a full report.

I agree completely. This is not an outbreak by any means. Norovirus has spread worse than this on many cruises. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

10 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

Okay - I've got a medical question??  If you've gotten the full dose of vaccines and have waited the requisite 2 weeks...and then at a later time, you test "Positive" on a shipboard test....and you're completely "asymptomatic"....have you actually "caught Covid"??  Or to change the terminology a bit...have you been "infected by Covid"??  Just wondering about the terms that are being thrown around in the news.

Good question!

[Dolebludger]

I’d like to know the same things. News reports on what exactly the vaccine does — and doesn’t do — have been confusing to us. One consistent report has been that the risk of Covid infection for a vaccinated person is near nil. And the same for that person passing the disease to others. Our state’s health officials seem to believe this, as exactly one month ago mask requirements were dropped fo the vaccinated except in airports, airlines, medical facilities, and establishments that privately require masks. Most vaccinated people use common sense, and wear masks in crowded indoor places, like grocery stores. During the past month, the rates of Covid infections, hospitalizations, and deaths have continued to decline.

It has also been reported that the tests are riddled with false positives and false negatives — especially those that yield quick results. So the periodic testing protocol on ships, and the testing requirements to get back in the US have caused us to avoid even consideration of a cruise until these requirements are no more.

 

[ChutChut]

23 hours ago, rallydave said:

Sorry Rich but, don't believe you have anything issued by the CDC.  Assume you are like everyone else who have a small cardboard card with the CDC logo that is easily forged and available for sale all over the internet.  Doubt anyone can discern if the card is actually valid as it is completed in many different format. My DW and I have 3 cards, she forgot her original card when getting second shot so they gave her a second card with just the second injection on it.   All three cards were filled out very differently even her two cards where she was injected at the exact same location.

 

Completely agree we need a single US Government Vaccine Passport like many of the world's governments are currently doing that while not impossible to duplicate will be many times over better than silly little pieces of cardboard with millions of different ways to fill out.  There is no way fake cards will be consistently validated even by medical specialists.

 

Edited June 13, 2021 by ChutChut

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

We are both vaccinated and look forward to our August sailing. We choose to get on a vaccinated cruise and will not worry. We are on our 80’s and have a limited time to enjoy life….

[Pam]

They keep saying "a cruise out of North America", is St. Maarten considered America?  

 

Anyway, I ordered some plastic sleeves for the vaccine cards.  Know what came in the same envelope?  A dozen or so of the "official vaccine cards", no need to forge them, people will just send them to you.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

16 minutes ago, Pam said:

They keep saying "a cruise out of North America", is St. Maarten considered America?  

...

Yes, the Caribbean is part of North America.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Wendy The Wanderer

[Pam]

Thanks, Wendy!  Honestly, I either didn't know it or old age caused me to forget it.

 

[Floridiana]

We have these white handwritten vaccine cards  and wonder whether we should ask our health department to add the information to our international yellow vaccine passports where our yellow fever and other vaccines are registered.  Did anybody here who lives in Florida try to do this?  If yes, did your health department help you? I am not expecting our governor to issue tamper proof vaccine cards. 

[mrlevin]

9 minutes ago, Floridiana said:

We have these white handwritten vaccine cards  and wonder whether we should ask our health department to add the information to our international yellow vaccine passports where our yellow fever and other vaccines are registered.  Did anybody here who lives in Florida try to do this?  If yes, did your health department help you? I am not expecting our governor to issue tamper proof vaccine cards. 

CDC-731 (or PHS-731 for us old-timers) is hand written too; there is no database in the sky.

[Got2Cruise]

From what I’ve been reading, the risk of Covid infection after vax is not nil. What is nil is severe illness, hospitalization and death. Which is good enough for me. Almost every Covid hospitalization now is those who are not vaccinated. 
 

 

[pingpong1]

6 hours ago, mrlevin said:

CDC-731 (or PHS-731 for us old-timers) is hand written too; there is no database in the sky.

Mr Levin - I was asking myself exactly the same question....What's the difference between a yellow handwritten card and a white handwritten card?  Simply referring to the yellow card as a "passport" and the white card as.....just a "card"......does not make them different.  I had one of those "old yeller cards" in 1953 (I was 6 years old) and was accompanying my Dad (a Navy LCDR) and the rest of my family (Mom & Sister) on a military assignment to Japan.  All 4 of us had those "Old Yeller Cards", and they seemed to "work" just fine back then.  I guess nothing is considered "official" anymore, unless it's sitting on some online database out in "the cloud" somewhere.  What a shame.  ((I still have that original "Old Yeller Card" of mine in a scrapbook somewhere)).  And when I was in the Navy ('67 - '92), I also had one of those Yellow Vaccination Cards that I carried (for myself) on all overseas assignments.  They served as our "official shot record" and no one ever questioned their "Officialism".

Edited June 20, 2021 by pingpong1

[Got2Cruise]

Was the final outcome ever published? Were the pax allowed to fly home? If not where did they remain? And how much did it cost? 

[BBWC]

From what I read on the Celebrity board, Celebrity chartered a private medical jet to fly them home the day after the cruise. I am not totally sure, but I think it was on Celebrity’s dime. I think it was a small price to pay compared to someone potentially posting on social media how they were stuck on an island for two weeks, the cruise line abandoning them, etc.

[Dolebludger]

I hope what you think is true. I like Celebrity (suites) and hope it did the fight thing — even though the tests could have been false positives.

[ysolde]

On 6/20/2021 at 4:33 PM, pingpong1 said:

Mr Levin - I was asking myself exactly the same question....What's the difference between a yellow handwritten card and a white handwritten card?  Simply referring to the yellow card as a "passport" and the white card as.....just a "card"......does not make them different.  I had one of those "old yeller cards" in 1953 (I was 6 years old) and was accompanying my Dad (a Navy LCDR) and the rest of my family (Mom & Sister) on a military assignment to Japan.  All 4 of us had those "Old Yeller Cards", and they seemed to "work" just fine back then.  I guess nothing is considered "official" anymore, unless it's sitting on some online database out in "the cloud" somewhere.  What a shame.  ((I still have that original "Old Yeller Card" of mine in a scrapbook somewhere)).  And when I was in the Navy ('67 - '92), I also had one of those Yellow Vaccination Cards that I carried (for myself) on all overseas assignments.  They served as our "official shot record" and no one ever questioned their "Officialism".

I remember, as a kid, my mom having a card that she took to the pediatrician's office each year.  In it, the pediatrician recorded my vaccinations and booster shots.  My mom would then take that card to school with her at the beginning of the school year, because without proof of vaccination (this was back in the 70s and 80s) the school would not let you in.  

 

But, yes, that handwritten card was the official vaccination record.  No need for anything in "The Cloud," no need for QR codes.  Just a handwritten card, kept in a file cabinet at home, and carried in mom's purse when needed.  Imagine that!

Edited July 25, 2021 by ysolde