Aug 7th W-E-W Caribbean Edge Cruise - B3B

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Several people in our RC for our Equinox cruise next Friday are reporting that they are being told we only have about 800 passengers booked. Several have said they got their move up offers for SS and CS category suites for very low pricing, which tells me we have a lot of empty Sky suites too. I believe the new  pre boarding Covid testing and rise of the Delta variant has caused a lot of people to cancel bookings.  Last month when my TA checked with Celebrity she was told we had between 1550 and 1600 people booked on our cruise.  I will enjoy the low passenger luxury feel of our cruise at 800 pax.

It’s too bad because we feel quite safe on the cruise ship, especially with the latest protocol Celebrity has put into place regarding negative PCR/Antigen testing prior to boarding.

 

Just to add we talked with a couple of crew members in Luminae this morning and the entire crew got their antigen tests yesterday evening with no issues. But, then, they are not allowed to leave the ship while in port. So the only way they could feasibly catch it is if a passenger brought it onboard. And trust me when I say, they are quite happy all passengers are now required to provide a negative COVID test prior to boarding.

 

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

It’s too bad because we feel quite safe on the cruise ship, especially with the latest protocol Celebrity has put into place regarding negative PCR/Antigen testing prior to boarding.

 

Just to add we talked with a couple of crew members in Luminae this morning and the entire crew got their antigen tests yesterday evening with no issues. But, then, they are not allowed to leave the ship while in port. So the only way they could feasibly catch it is if a passenger brought it onboard. And trust me when I say, they are quite happy all passengers are now required to provide a negative COVID test prior to boarding.

 

I agree with the pre boarding Covid testing too, It is so non evasive and just makes sense.  But I read every day on our RC and FB page for our cruise, about how some people getting so stressed out about the testing and results in time to board. I have also read where several have decided the protocols are all too complicated and they cancel. I also believe since the testing has begun we are seeing less reports of Covid positivity on the X cruises.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I agree with the pre boarding Covid testing too, It is so non evasive and just makes sense.  But I read every day on our RC and FB page for our cruise, about how some people getting so stressed out about the testing and results in time to board. I have also read where several have decided the protocols are all too complicated and they cancel. I also believe since the testing has begun we are seeing less reports of Covid positivity on the X cruises.

Knock on wood, but the last Edge cruise as well as this one we’re currently on, both of which required the negative tests to board, have had zero cases reported. Hopefully that streak continues. 😎

 

[RichYak]

26 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Knock on wood, but the last Edge cruise as well as this one we’re currently on, both of which required the negative tests to board, have had zero cases reported. Hopefully that streak continues. 😎

 

Edge is CDC Yellow, so it's likely more than zero in the last 7 days.

[RICCruisers]

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

More trivial information. Just found out from our steward, as we were heading downstairs to get our antigen test to go on the next cruise, that there are only 850 passengers booked (29% of capacity) on the next cruise. That kind of fits as there were 53 vacant sky suites when I counted yesterday when I did a fake booking. Our steward had 8 cabins last cruise (20 vacant SS), 11 cabins this cruise (all SS booked) and only 3 cabins next cruise (53 vacant SS).

 

Should be another relaxing cruise with plenty of space to roam! 😎

 

Ken - Those numbers are surprising. When I mentioned it to my DW she asked if we should drive down to board tomorrow. When I checked the website the 8/21 cruise was not available so I checked the 8/28 and there were only 11 SS available. Quite a difference. 
 

Thanks for your excellent commentary on the past 2 cruises and have great 3rd. 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Edge is CDC Yellow, so it's likely more than zero in the last 7 days.

All I know is that there have be NO cases of COVID that I’m aware of on either leg that have been publicly identified by the Captain or anyone else on the ship whereas was the case on earlier Edge cruises where isolated cases we identified and handled appropriately. But, I could be wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time. 😎

 

So if another passenger on one of these two cruises has some knowledge of something different, please feel free to speak up.

 

As far as the color codes go, if the Edge was Orange, then I would agree with you. However, Yellow is a little more sketchy, to include that 3rd option of COVID being discovered up to 5 days after disembarkation. But I’ll also note it doesn’t say how long the Yellow status will remain in effect after the initial CDC infection notification. It could still be in effect from infections reported to CDC on earlier sailings prior to the pre-cruise PCR/Antigen testing requirement being implemented.  

• Green status means the ship has no reports of cases of COVID-19 or COVID-19-like illness.
• Orange status means the ship has reported cases of COVID-19 but is below the threshold for CDC investigation.
• Yellow status means the ship has met the threshold for CDC investigation, which includes one of the following criteria:
  • at or above the investigation threshold for crew COVID-19 cases,
  • at or above the investigation threshold for passenger COVID-19 cases; or
  • state or local health department notified CDC of passenger COVID-19 cases occurring within 5 days of disembarkation.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, RICCruisers said:

Ken - Those numbers are surprising. When I mentioned it to my DW she asked if we should drive down to board tomorrow. When I checked the website the 8/21 cruise was not available so I checked the 8/28 and there were only 11 SS available. Quite a difference. 
 

Thanks for your excellent commentary on the past 2 cruises and have great 3rd. 

Actually I’ve been monitoring the 3 cruises we’re booked on for a few months now and the Aug 21 sailing as always had 50 or more SS cabins available. Not sure why, but it sure helped us cash in on the Best Price Offer promotion to get some extra OBC when they kept lowering the price. As far as booking the cruise for tomorrow if you can still get a negative antigen test, you may want to call Celebrity directly if you’re really interested. They may be able to work a last minute deal for you. You never know! 😎

 

[RICCruisers]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Actually I’ve been monitoring the 3 cruises we’re booked on for a few months now and the Aug 21 sailing as always had 50 or more SS cabins available. Not sure why, but it sure helped us cash in on the Best Price Offer promotion to get some extra OBC when they kept lowering the price. As far as booking the cruise for tomorrow if you can still get a negative antigen test, you may want to call Celebrity directly if you’re really interested. They may be able to work a last minute deal for you. You never know! 😎

 

We’ve got a CVS about a mile away that does the test. It’s tempting but it’s still a 14 hour drive. Tempting and they might have a real good price. The 8/21 SS is $2800 pp. Good but not a steal. I’ll check flights. 

[jcpc]

I'm looking forward to reading all your posts from your next cruise.  Thanks for all the postings for all of us to enjoy.  I cannot wait until September 4th.  Right now September 4th looks pretty "empty" too.....there are about 50 Sky Suites available for booking.

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

All I know is that there have be NO cases of COVID that I’m aware of on either leg that have been publicly identified by the Captain or anyone else on the ship whereas was the case on earlier Edge cruises where isolated cases we identified and handled appropriately. But, I could be wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time. 😎

 

So if another passenger on one of these two cruises has some knowledge of something different, please feel free to speak up.

 

As far as the color codes go, if the Edge was Orange, then I would agree with you. However, Yellow is a little more sketchy, to include that 3rd option of COVID being discovered up to 5 days after disembarkation. But I’ll also note it doesn’t say how long the Yellow status will remain in effect after the initial CDC infection notification. It could still be in effect from infections reported to CDC on earlier sailings prior to the pre-cruise PCR/Antigen testing requirement being implemented.  

• Green status means the ship has no reports of cases of COVID-19 or COVID-19-like illness.
• Orange status means the ship has reported cases of COVID-19 but is below the threshold for CDC investigation.
• Yellow status means the ship has met the threshold for CDC investigation, which includes one of the following criteria:
  • at or above the investigation threshold for crew COVID-19 cases,
  • at or above the investigation threshold for passenger COVID-19 cases; or
  • state or local health department notified CDC of passenger COVID-19 cases occurring within 5 days of disembarkation.

 

 

My point is that zero cases reported is not the same as zero cases. I would argue that unless the captain explicitly announced that there were no positive cases on board, I would assume there was at least 1. If I were running Celebrity, that would be my mandate to the captains. I've made no secret of that opinion.

 

As far as the CDC color chart, depending Edge's passenger count, it could be impossible for her to have Orange status. 1 positive crew member or as few as 1 positive passenger could bypass Orange and go straight to Yellow.

 

Enjoy the remainder of your voyage(s)!

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, RichYak said:

My point is that zero cases reported is not the same as zero cases. I would argue that unless the captain explicitly announced that there were no positive cases on board, I would assume there was at least 1. If I were running Celebrity, that would be my mandate to the captains. I've made no secret of that opinion.

 

As far as the CDC color chart, depending Edge's passenger count, it could be impossible for her to have Orange status. 1 positive crew member or as few as 1 positive passenger could bypass Orange and go straight to Yellow.

 

Enjoy the remainder of your voyage(s)!

Sounds good.

[LGW59]

28 minutes ago, RichYak said:

My point is that zero cases reported is not the same as zero cases. I would argue that unless the captain explicitly announced that there were no positive cases on board, I would assume there was at least 1. If I were running Celebrity, that would be my mandate to the captains. I've made no secret of that opinion.

 

As far as the CDC color chart, depending Edge's passenger count, it could be impossible for her to have Orange status. 1 positive crew member or as few as 1 positive passenger could bypass Orange and go straight to Yellow.

 

Enjoy the remainder of your voyage(s)!

Yea, I was at Stop & Shop today, suddenly the store manager came over the speakers to announce a sudden code yellow in aisle 5.  I desperately "needed" Pringles, I begged and pleaded to allow me, masked up of course, to dash down the aisle, alas I was refused.  Def need to find a new supermarket.   

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, RichYak said:

My point is that zero cases reported is not the same as zero cases. I would argue that unless the captain explicitly announced that there were no positive cases on board, I would assume there was at least 1. If I were running Celebrity, that would be my mandate to the captains. I've made no secret of that opinion.

 

As far as the CDC color chart, depending Edge's passenger count, it could be impossible for her to have Orange status. 1 positive crew member or as few as 1 positive passenger could bypass Orange and go straight to Yellow.

 

Enjoy the remainder of your voyage(s)!

Perhaps the days of reporting positive tests to everybody on board from the Captain are now over.  If Celebrity is trying to return us to a relaxed cruising experience, then why overly concern passengers with a positive test or two reported on the ship broadly.  The new normal really.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just a heads up. Here’s some trivial information you seasoned longer itinerary cruisers may remember from past cruises whose “symptoms” usually start to appear mysteriously around day 5 or 6 of a cruise. Any idea what that might be, especially since no one is required to where a mask while on the ship? Cough cough … 

 

Yup. Take it from someone that has enjoyed not getting bronchitis on a cruise for many years now, it still pays to frequently wash your hands while on a cruise. Even though we’re all fully vaccinated and tested negative for COVID, those “other” shipboard illnesses are still alive and well! 😎

 

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just a heads up. Here’s some trivial information you seasoned longer itinerary cruisers may remember from past cruises whose “symptoms” usually start to appear mysteriously around day 5 or 6 of a cruise. Any idea what that might be, especially since no one is required to where a mask while on the ship? Cough cough … 

 

Yup. Take it from someone that has enjoyed not getting bronchitis on a cruise for many years now, it still pays to frequently wash your hands while on a cruise. Even though we’re all fully vaccinated and tested negative for COVID, those “other” shipboard illnesses are still alive and well! 😎

 

Every time we have traveled to Europe either by cruise or land we have come home with the dreaded crud. Nothing like a 10 hour flight home with a fever and hacking up a lung. After our last trip in 2018 my doctor gave a me prescription for a Z-Pac antibiotic to take with me when we travel, just in case. I looked at it yesterday for our cruise this week and found it expired 2 years ago.

[RichYak]

25 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Perhaps the days of reporting positive tests to everybody on board from the Captain are now over.  If Celebrity is trying to return us to a relaxed cruising experience, then why overly concern passengers with a positive test or two reported on the ship broadly.  The new normal really.

From your lips to God's ears. For all the adoration that Captain Kate gets on CC, the posts here of her repeated positive test case announcements--WITH audio--left me shaking my head. Those were poor decisions.

[TeeRick]

18 minutes ago, RichYak said:

From your lips to God's ears. For all the adoration that Captain Kate gets on CC, the posts here of her repeated positive test case announcements--WITH audio--left me shaking my head. Those were poor decisions.

We really cannot blame Captain Kate specifically.  Who made the decision to report and announce?  Celebrity or the Captain? There are only a few Celebrity captains that are sailing.  And Millennium was the first to report positive cases in its first sailing out of St. Maarten.  So maybe Celebrity asked these captains on these early cruises to give COVID test status updates.  Maybe that has now changed.  

[LGW59]

34 minutes ago, RichYak said:

From your lips to God's ears. For all the adoration that Captain Kate gets on CC, the posts here of her repeated positive test case announcements--WITH audio--left me shaking my head. Those were poor decisions.

Perhaps Captain Kate and the other captains as well, were doing this to let the guests know they are taking it seriously and try to provide reassurance to passengers that they are on top of it?  Obviously, IDK, but makes me wonder and I am guess in the coming weeks this will lessen as passengers begin to be more comfortable.  Just my two cents.

[J0Y0US]

I can't seem to find any videos anywhere any this was really the only thread I saw so sorry for a rather generic question about your cruise.

 

Did it feel empty/spaced out? Like when you went to dinner or the pool area (either Retreat or main) did it seem more normal or did it seem like things were changed and spaced out more than normal?

 

I have never been on a Celebrity cruise but might be cancelling/switching our cruise for Sept to Edge.

[wrk2cruise]

I for one think the cruise lines should be transparent with the numbers of positive tests as well as close contacts reporting positive/negative.  They have a history of sweeping things under the rug.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

Those were poor decisions.

Your opinion only, of course. Many of us prefer transparency when it come to COVID cases aboard.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

From your lips to God's ears. For all the adoration that Captain Kate gets on CC, the posts here of her repeated positive test case announcements--WITH audio--left me shaking my head. Those were poor decisions.

It’s funny. Since making the move to actually GO on a cruise rather than continuing to sit in the peanut gallery like I did for 17 months and continually pontificating on the pros and cons, we have found the environment Celebrity has prepared for us in conjunction with the CDC guidelines on the Edge to be quite safe. Sure, we still keep our distance from people and twitch when we hear someone cough, but that's pretty much the rule when we’re cruising anyway as I really don’t like coming home after a cruise with bronchitis.
 

But, more importantly, we’re moving on and putting the last 17 months in our rearview mirror. Because let me tell you, it’s FUN getting spoiled and going to shows again as well as visiting distant shores even though they’re only Caribbean islands and Mexico right now!!

[RichYak]

51 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Your opinion only, of course. Many of us prefer transparency when it come to COVID cases aboard.

I believe in transparency as well. Celebrity has extensive "healthy at sea" protocols which I've read repeatedly. That's transparency. Ships that sail from the US report positive cases to the CDC on a daily basis. Again, transparency. I would imagine it's the same for other homeport governments. If I'm a close contact, I trust that the crew will find me and make sure I'm quarantined and tested, per the protocols.

 

Making a shipwide announcement each time those protocols are implemented is not transparency, it's redundant. The protocols are working. Cases are contained. There have been no large outbreaks. No ship has gone Red per the CDC. I think that should be celebrated.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, J0Y0US said:

I can't seem to find any videos anywhere any this was really the only thread I saw so sorry for a rather generic question about your cruise.

 

Did it feel empty/spaced out? Like when you went to dinner or the pool area (either Retreat or main) did it seem more normal or did it seem like things were changed and spaced out more than normal?

 

I have never been on a Celebrity cruise but might be cancelling/switching our cruise for Sept to Edge.

As this was our first time on the Edge, but have sailed a few times on our Celebrity S class ships, we were simply wowed. This is one cool ship that cost over $1 billion to build! Our 2 cruise legs so far have been filled at around 42% capacity with the third one leaving today estimated at only 29%.
 

So far there have been a lot of younger 30-40 year olds on the past 2 cruises rather than older people like us in our late 60s, probably because they’re more adventurous.
 

It definitely isn’t crowded and you will have no issues social distancing if you choose to do so. But, Celebrity does not mark chairs or tables to enforce it. It’s just pretty much up to you to use common sense. But since everyone has been tested as well as vaccinated along with having to wear a mask at all ports of call, we’re feeling pretty safe.

 

But to answer your question, if the price was right we would not hesitate to book a cruise on the Edge. Did I mention they have 6 assistant cruise directors to keep everyone entertained! 😎

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[CruisinBanka]

Ken, curious what the procedure was for your customs today, as we will be on B2B next week. Where and what time did you meet and did they take you off into the terminal I imagine? Thanks!