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

[cricketts]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Not sure when we will be boarding, but at least they will be starting the check-in process. If nothing else it will definitely be interesting to see how all of this will unfold. 

 

Please let us know how it unfolds!!

[bigbeergut]

6 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Not sure when we will be boarding, but at least they will be starting the check-in process. If nothing else it will definitely be interesting to see how all of this will unfold. 

 

Can you tell us if they have collected any information on your Covid test?  Was that in the health questionnaire on a separate document?  Curious to see how the check for the Covid test is implemented.

[hcat]

What hotel did you stay in at W Palm?

Did u enjoy it?

Good luck with boarding..have a  safe and happy cruise!

[countess5]

Looking forward to your comments. We will be boarding on the 28th in a Sky suite and have read other threads with the experience of being in a suite on Edge. 

 

Just FYI for those reading about “72 hours” prior to sailing. Other threads have covered this and my experienced TA has confirmed, that the test must be done 3 days prior to sailing. You do not include the sail date in the calculation. If you sail on Saturday the test must be completed Wednesday through Friday, no matter the time. 

 

Cheers! 

[terrydtx]

Ken, looks like with the delay of the Edge today your boarding may be another fun Saturday in FLL. I saw something about your cruise is not departing FLL until 2 am tomorrow.  At least you have a long B3B to enjoy. 

[graphicguy]

On 8/5/2021 at 1:03 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Packing our bags today, driving tomorrow and staying in a Florida hotel, and then checking into our Sky Suite between 12-12:30 pm on Saturday with our antigen test results and CDC card in hand. At least that's our current strategy. Hopefully all will go smooth and we'll be on the ship by 1pm. One can hope anyway! 😎

 

Ken…have a good time.  Please post here and let us know how it’s going.

[graphicguy]

3 hours ago, bigbeergut said:

 

Can you tell us if they have collected any information on your Covid test?  Was that in the health questionnaire on a separate document?  Curious to see how the check for the Covid test is implemented.

Not Ken, but when I embarked 3 weeks ago, my TA forwarded my vaccine status to Celebrity when I booked.  I did on line check in a few weeks before, where they asked for my passport/ID, credit card info, etc.  Then, Celebrity called me a few days before sailing to confirm my vaccination status.  The health questionnaire was part of my xPress  checkin packet, which was allowed  the day before embarkation where they again ask about vaccines.  Upon check in at embarkation,  the Celebrity agent asked for my passport, ticket (which was on my xPress pass on the app I had on my phone) and any other documentation.   I gave her my ticket, my passport and my COVID vaccine card.  She scanned all of them and took my picture on a tablet device.  Easy-Peezy!

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, bigbeergut said:

 

Can you tell us if they have collected any information on your Covid test?  Was that in the health questionnaire on a separate document?  Curious to see how the check for the Covid test is implemented.

They did not collect any information about our COVID test yet. Our understanding is that they will check for it at the terminal as part of the final check-in process.

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, hcat said:

What hotel did you stay in at W Palm?

Did u enjoy it?

Good luck with boarding..have a  safe and happy cruise!

We stayed at the Hyatt as it was definitely cheaper at booking time than the one in FTL. It was good, but don't expect much variety at the breakfast bar with the only hot dish being a egg and cheese sandwich, which you could only have one. Also encountered a variety of folks, about 50%, that didn't want to wear a mask in the elevator. So it took us a few extra minutes to get down to the lobby for breakfast. 

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We stayed at the Hyatt as it was definitely cheaper at booking time than the one in FTL. It was good, but don't expect much variety at the breakfast bar with the only hot dish being a egg and cheese sandwich, which you could only have one. Also encountered a variety of folks, about 50%, that didn't want to wear a mask in the elevator. So it took us a few extra minutes to get down to the lobby for breakfast. 

What updated time is X telling you for check in today?

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, countess5 said:

Looking forward to your comments. We will be boarding on the 28th in a Sky suite and have read other threads with the experience of being in a suite on Edge. 

 

Just FYI for those reading about “72 hours” prior to sailing. Other threads have covered this and my experienced TA has confirmed, that the test must be done 3 days prior to sailing. You do not include the sail date in the calculation. If you sail on Saturday the test must be completed Wednesday through Friday, no matter the time. 

 

Cheers! 

Sincerely hope that's the case when your Aug 28th cruise boards. That's definitely not what we were told by our X PVP or read on the X website prior to yesterday evening, until they modified their written policy last night because of the delay in docking the Edge. Again, I sure hope this is permanent policy change.

[hcat]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We stayed at the Hyatt as it was definitely cheaper at booking time than the one in FTL. It was good, but don't expect much variety at the breakfast bar with the only hot dish being a egg and cheese sandwich, which you could only have one. Also encountered a variety of folks, about 50%, that didn't want to wear a mask in the elevator. So it took us a few extra minutes to get down to the lobby for breakfast. 

We usually stay at the Hilton in FLL..it is pricey and aging.. but has a great breakfast buffet and a nice pool.   We are thinking of driving from west Coast Fl a day ahead and staying  in Naples at a travel type motel and meeting friends for dinner,...then just go across Alligator Alley and down  to the port

 Hard to plan b/c we wont know our boarding time  wgen we book the hotel or motel.  We will be wearing our masks!

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, hcat said:

We usually stay at the Hilton in FLL..it is pricey and aging.. but has a great breakfast buffet and a nice pool.   We are thinking of driving from west Coast Fl a day ahead and staying  in Naples at a travel type motel and meeting friends for dinner,...then just go across Alligator Alley and down  to the port

 Hard to plan b/c we wont know our boarding time  wgen we book the hotel or motel.  We will be wearing our masks!

When we lived in Birmingham AL we drove to FLL for a couple of cruises, it was a very enjoyable drive. We drove down the day before and stayed on the beach north of FLL and then drove home in one day.

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

What updated time is X telling you for check in today?

You can check out post #15 for all the new times. For us as we are in a SS, our new check-in time is 5-5:30 pm with hopefully everyone onboard by 8 pm.

[cricketts]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Ken, looks like with the delay of the Edge today your boarding may be another fun Saturday in FLL. I saw something about your cruise is not departing FLL until 2 am tomorrow.  At least you have a long B3B to enjoy. 

 

I'm curious why they switched to terminal 18.  Even with a 2am departure, I would think Edge would be gone before Equinox comes in.

[Locobill49]

3 hours ago, countess5 said:

Just FYI for those reading about “72 hours” prior to sailing. Other threads have covered this and my experienced TA has confirmed, that the test must be done 3 days prior to sailing. You do not include the sail date in the calculation. If you sail on Saturday the test must be completed Wednesday through Friday, no matter the time. 

 

Cheers! 

This info is good to hear. Now if only Celebrity would post it on their website to make it official….

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, cricketts said:

 

I'm curious why they switched to terminal 18.  Even with a 2am departure, I would think Edge would be gone before Equinox comes in.

It could have to do with the re provisioning of the ship for the next cruise.

[countess5]

26 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Sincerely hope that's the case when your Aug 28th cruise boards. That's definitely not what we were told by our X PVP or read on the X website prior to yesterday evening, until they modified their written policy last night because of the delay in docking the Edge. Again, I sure hope this is permanent policy change.

 

Amazing how many different answers you get on this subject.

 

 

Hello,

 

Thank you for your response to my email I have updated your information. 

 

At this time testing is required prior to arrival for all guests over the age of two. Unfortunately we don’t have a testing facility at the pier you will have to make arrangements pre sailing. We are allowing PCR OR Antigen testing. While most PCR tests do require 24-48 hours, antigen tests are usually given results same day often within 15 minutes. 

 

The information they have given us states the test must be taken within 72 hours of embarkation. We have been advised that as long as it was done the 3 days before it will be accepted at the pier. I would suggest maybe doing your test as late in the day as possible if it would make you more comfortable. 

 

If you don’t have your test results prior to boarding unfortunately you may be denied boarding. 

 

Thank you,

 

Rachel Nye

Celebrity Cruises Reservation Representative

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, countess5 said:

 

 

Amazing how many different answers you get on this subject.

 

 

Hello,

 

Thank you for your response to my email I have updated your information. 

 

At this time testing is required prior to arrival for all guests over the age of two. Unfortunately we don’t have a testing facility at the pier you will have to make arrangements pre sailing. We are allowing PCR OR Antigen testing. While most PCR tests do require 24-48 hours, antigen tests are usually given results same day often within 15 minutes. 

 

The information they have given us states the test must be taken within 72 hours of embarkation. We have been advised that as long as it was done the 3 days before it will be accepted at the pier. I would suggest maybe doing your test as late in the day as possible if it would make you more comfortable. 

 

If you don’t have your test results prior to boarding unfortunately you may be denied boarding. 

 

Thank you,

 

Rachel Nye

Celebrity Cruises Reservation Representative

Yup, kind of confusing. Hopefully, X will update their written guidelines soon so everyone will be "advised" on what is or is not accepted at the pier.

[graphicguy]

15 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Good question. Unfortunately, the folks at the clinic did not tell us.  To be quite honest, we also have Tricare for Life as a supplemental plan.  So it was either Medicare Part B or our Tricare for Life or a combination of both that paid for the test.  We won’t know until we see the claim(s).  So just to be sure you should ask your clinic how it will be paid for before they give you the test.

Mine was Medicare, Part B.  They said I could get tested every day and they'd cover it.

[wrk2cruise]

From my understanding the CARES act requires all insurance companies to cover Covid tests.  However I believe providers can charge other administrative fees like an office visit which aren't covered.  As this article says it's best to ask the provider prior to the test.

 

https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/covid-19-test-charged-free-get-your-money-back/275-eb100087-c1cd-44e8-971f-32b4ea4e36cf

[Turtles06]

17 hours ago, jg51 said:

If you happen to know ... were your tests covered by Medicare Part A or by Medicare Part B (or something else)?

Not Medicare Part A 

 

https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare-covers/what-part-a-covers

 

 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

My guess is they switched to T18 because it is bigger, build for RC mega ships, and they can process more passengers at the same time. We sailed out of there on an S class ship with delayed boarding and it seemed like the terminal could hold 75% of the passengers after check in.

[terrydtx]

18 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

From my understanding the CARES act requires all insurance companies to cover Covid tests.  However I believe providers can charge other administrative fees like an office visit which aren't covered.  As this article says it's best to ask the provider prior to the test.

 

https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/covid-19-test-charged-free-get-your-money-back/275-eb100087-c1cd-44e8-971f-32b4ea4e36cf

That is correct but some testing providers like many local urgent care facilities will not take insurance so in those cases you have to pay out of pocket. One local provider here advertises walk in testing but you will pay $185 for the test because they do not accept any insurance.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

They did not collect any information about our COVID test yet. Our understanding is that they will check for it at the terminal as part of the final check-in process.

Other threads indicated  the checkin agents also take a photo  of the Vac Certificate and Covid Test using a Tablet.