Back 2 Back and Covid Testing

[CulverCityCruisers]

Have an upcoming sailing in February that is a B2B.  How is Celebrity handling this?  Would we be tested the night before arriving back in Ft Lauderdale and if negative follow the usual procedure?  What if someone test positive?  Do they confine you to your room that night and then have you pack your things to be disembarked in the morning?  If you are disembarked, do you have to quarantine somewhere and then find a flight home?  So many possible things to think about!!

 

Also would insurance consider this trip interruption and then you could get reimbursed for expenses?

 

Have reached out to Celebrity but have yet to hear back from them after almost 3 weeks.  Thanks for any incite you may have from your own travel experiences.

[Northern Aurora]

We just left the Millennium this morning after a B2B.  I cannot answer all your questions as all of the B2B passengers tested negative.  
 

We were asked to attend the B2B meeting.  Following the meeting, which was held the day before the turnaround day, the documentation officer took us down to a conference room which is being used for weekly crew testing.  At Celebrity’s expense we were all tested.

[steveweese]

Following 

[Jim_Iain]

We just completed a B2B on Equinox -

 

B2B's are tested the day prior to disembarkation.    It is quick and easy and only the shallow nasal swab test.    If you don't hear back from them you have negative but they eventually gave us an official test result the turn around date.

 

The protocol for B2B is that if you are identified as in close contact to a person that tested positive you are confined to your cabin until you pass 2 covid tests over 2 days.  You are then required to weara a mask anytime outside your cabin even if tested negative.   You are also not permitted to continue on to the B2B even if you tested negative.   Good reason to keep your distance from others on the first cruise and possibly avoid ships tours. 

 

You will have to call your insurance agent for information on trip interruption coverage.

[canderson]

16 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

You will have to call your insurance agent for information on trip interruption coverage.

Have been wondering about that item.  Since you are denied boarding at the pier for your cruise due to COVID, understanding that the second half of a B2B is for all purposes treated as a separate cruise, wouldn't denial of boarding (even due to contact trace by Celebrity) be sufficient to handle trip interruption (at least the cost of the cruise part) through Celebrity?  I know that's not exactly covered under the current (through 31 December) Celebrity COVID Assistance policy wording of denial of boarding since it's a bit of an 'edge case', but ...

 

 

Edited October 1, 2021 by canderson

[cruiztime]

19 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

The protocol for B2B is that if you are identified as in close contact to a person that tested positive you are confined to your cabin until you pass 2 covid tests over 2 days.  You are then required to weara a mask anytime outside your cabin even if tested negative.   You are also not permitted to continue on to the B2B even if you tested negative.   Good reason to keep your distance from others on the first cruise and possibly avoid ships tours. 

 

 

Do you know of any instances where this actually happened? It seems extreme that the passenger would be prevented from the the next cruise after testing negative a number of times.

[canderson]

11 minutes ago, cruiztime said:

Do you know of any instances where this actually happened? It seems extreme that the passenger would be prevented from the the next cruise after testing negative a number of times.

Yes.  Reported by someone who had this unhappy result, here a few weeks back.  It's how most of us became aware of the policy to begin with.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2021 by canderson

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, cruiztime said:

Do you know of any instances where this actually happened? It seems extreme that the passenger would be prevented from the the next cruise after testing negative a number of times.

 

Yes I know a dear friend that was contract traced the last day of a cruise on Summit about a month ago and she was denied to continue on the B2B.     She was with us on our last B2B cruise and was masked up and keeping social distanced on the first cruise for sure. 

 

Speaking to the Retreat Hosts they said it has happened on   each of the cruises and there was nothing they could do as it was the protocol  that was agreed upon with CDC to resume cruising.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

23 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

We just left the Millennium this morning after a B2B.  I cannot answer all your questions as all of the B2B passengers tested negative.  
 

We were asked to attend the B2B meeting.  Following the meeting, which was held the day before the turnaround day, the documentation officer took us down to a conference room which is being used for weekly crew testing.  At Celebrity’s expense we were all tested.

 

Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise.    On Equinox they did not hold any B2B meetings.    They just sent Transit Passes and instructions to our room.   They did the testing same as you and took about 5 minutes. 

 

By the way--- any information on staff member are and possibly who the hosts are in Retreat.  

 

We will be doing a B2B out of San Diego boarding on 10/11

[Northern Aurora]

6 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise.    On Equinox they did not hold any B2B meetings.    They just sent Transit Passes and instructions to our room.   They did the testing same as you and took about 5 minutes. 

 

By the way--- any information on staff member are and possibly who the hosts are in Retreat.  

 

We will be doing a B2B out of San Diego boarding on 10/11

 

I dislike B2B meetings as they frequently go on and on and on as folks ask the same question.  But the documentation officer kept it on point and short.  
 

The retreat concierges are Alexandra and Toni.  Leon is the Luminae maitre’d.  While we did have a change in cruise directors many of the crew expect to be on until November.  

[cruiztime]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Yes I know a dear friend that was contract traced the last day of a cruise on Summit about a month ago and she was denied to continue on the B2B.     She was with us on our last B2B cruise and was masked up and keeping social distanced on the first cruise for sure. 

 

 

 

 

Well, I think we are going to cancel the first of our b2b. I don’t want to have to worry about not making our suite cruise. Too much stress.

[Jim_Iain]

42 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

I dislike B2B meetings as they frequently go on and on and on as folks ask the same question.  But the documentation officer kept it on point and short.  
 

The retreat concierges are Alexandra and Toni.  Leon is the Luminae maitre’d.  While we did have a change in cruise directors many of the crew expect to be on until November.  

Thanks so much.    

 

We had a B2B meeting we attended on Millennium a couple years back. They had a raffle and gave away specialty dining certs, bags of laundry and bottles of wine.  Still lots of stupid questions.

 

[CulverCityCruisers]

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks so much.    

 

We had a B2B meeting we attended on Millennium a couple years back. They had a raffle and gave away specialty dining certs, bags of laundry and bottles of wine.  Still lots of stupid questions.

 

The QUESTIONS are things that could be used in a comedy show !!

 

I like the idea about just being a bit extra cautious on the first leg to be good for the second.  Being in Southern California wearing a mask is not much different than wearing shoes

[Northern Aurora]

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks so much.    

 

We had a B2B meeting we attended on Millennium a couple years back. They had a raffle and gave away specialty dining certs, bags of laundry and bottles of wine.  Still lots of stupid questions.

 

 

There were just six B2B passengers, and four were Zeniths.  The documentation officer must have felt very lucky indeed.  It was clear that all of us had done this before.  Absolutely no silly questions.

[Jim_Iain]

2 minutes ago, CulverCityCruisers said:

The QUESTIONS are things that could be used in a comedy show !!

 

I like the idea about just being a bit extra cautious on the first leg to be good for the second.  Being in Southern California wearing a mask is not much different than wearing shoes

Same here in Northern  California.    I wear a mask every day and it's required to enter any indoor location.

[Jim_Iain]

1 minute ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

There were just six B2B passengers, and four were Zeniths.  The documentation officer must have felt very lucky indeed.  It was clear that all of us had done this before.  Absolutely no silly questions.

 

That's good to hear.   Some of the questions I have heard in the past are really funny.   Our last we had different rooms but was just moving next door and our room attendant let us know when the previous guest left their room so we could move our items from safe to the new room.    I also dropped off my laptop and backpack. 

[jg51]

On 10/1/2021 at 6:50 PM, CulverCityCruisers said:

Have an upcoming sailing in February that is a B2B.  How is Celebrity handling this?  Would we be tested the night before arriving back in Ft Lauderdale and if negative follow the usual procedure?  What if someone test positive?  Do they confine you to your room that night and then have you pack your things to be disembarked in the morning?  If you are disembarked, do you have to quarantine somewhere and then find a flight home?  So many possible things to think about!!  Also would insurance consider this trip interruption and then you could get reimbursed for expenses? ...

.

Hello, "CulverCityCruisers."

 

Sorry that we cannot answer the questions that are of greatest concern to you, but we will say a few words about the procedure used for consecutive cruisers on Equinox in September, 2021, for you and others who may read this thread.

 

On the second-last full day of the first cruise, all "back-to-backers" [roughly fifty] received a note telling us to report to "Celebrity Central" (the small theater) on deck 4-forward-starboard at about 9:15 AM the following morning (i.e., the final full day of the first cruise).

 

Outside the theater, each person's temperature was checked, and a few questions were asked.  Fortunately, the meeting (a bit too crowded) itself was over very quickly.  We were told that we would be led to the testing site and that, if we did not hear bad news from the crew by 6:00 PM, we could assume that we had tested negative.

 

Everyone then walked, single file, across the ship to the Quasar Lounge -- deck 4-forward-port, where the slightly slow, but not unpleasant process of testing was accomplished.  There were two nurses (or technicians) wearing masks and shields who very thoroughly, but gently, swabbed both nostrils of each passenger.  That was all, and it was probably finished by about 10:00 AM. 

 

There was a rumor going around -- although we never heard it confirmed -- that one of the many consecurive cruisers had tested positive.

 

[As we had noticed on the previous two days, the crew was tested in one of the conference rooms on deck-14-forward-port [beside the Sky Lounge].  Crew members with names starting with A to L were tested on the first day, and those with M to Z on the second day.]

 

On turnaround day, all consecutive cruisers had to meet in the Ensemble Lounge (deck-5-midships) at about 9:00 AM.  Each passenger was questioned about his/her health by a member of the crew.  Each received a small, official piece of paper showing the result of the previous morning's test.  Ours showed that the swabs used at about 10:00 AM had been analyzed at 12 noon.  They also revealed what kind of test had been done.  Here is what the vendor's Internet site says about the test:

 

"The LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 Ag Test is a microfluidic immunofluorescence assay for the direct and qualitative detection of nucleocapsid protein antigen in nasal swab specimens collected from individuals suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider within the first twelve days of symptom onset. Used with the LumiraDx Platform the test delivers rapid results at the point of care."

 

There was a delay (perhaps half an hour) in allowing all of us to leave the Ensemble Lounge -- to exit the ship and go through Customs.  The reason for the delay was announced [possibly the removal of the person that had tested positive?], but we could not hear it clearly.  Then, after disembarkation, there was another delay (perhaps ten minutes) as all sat on chairs in the terminal before re-embarkation took place.  We had no complaints about Celebrity's procedure.

 

That's all we can remember.

.

[Oceangoer2]

Another situation has been on my mind.  So....we're tested day before, results next AM, move to disembarkation/customs, sit and wait until allowed back on board.  Hypothetically, IF...a B2B cruiser  wanted to leave the ship for the day after customs/re-boarding, then return to start the next leg of the cruise, would the testing start all over again?  I would stay on board and not chance whatever would be required, but suppose someone did have a tour or shopping, etc?  Are they allowed to disembark and embark again?

[jg51]

On 10/4/2021 at 3:11 PM, Oceangoer2 said:

Another situation has been on my mind.  So....we're tested day before, results next AM, move to disembarkation/customs, sit and wait until allowed back on board.  Hypothetically, IF...a B2B cruiser  wanted to leave the ship for the day after customs/re-boarding, then return to start the next leg of the cruise, would the testing start all over again?  I would stay on board and not chance whatever would be required, but suppose someone did have a tour or shopping, etc?  Are they allowed to disembark and embark again?

.

Hello, "Oceangoer2." 

 

While writing our previous message, we forgot to mention that all of the dozens of consecutive cruisers were told -- in writing -- that they were permitted to leave the ship AND the terminal (to tour/shop in Fort Lauderdale) ... and that they would be allowed to re-board the ship, upon return, without a delay.  The on-board test of the previous morning would become sufficient to prove that anyone was virus-free.

 

You wrote, "So....we're tested day before, results next AM, move to disembarkation/customs [etc.]".

 

In reality, one receives implied (good) or actual (bad) "results" the "day [evening] before" disembarkation ... but one gets official (printed) results on the morning of "turnaround" day.

.

[Oceangoer2]

43 minutes ago, jg51 said:

.

Hello, "Oceangoer2." 

 

While writing our previous message, we forgot to mention that all of the dozens of consecutive cruisers were told -- in writing -- that they were permitted to leave the ship AND the terminal (to tour/shop in Fort Lauderdale) ... and that they would be allowed to re-board the ship, upon return, without a delay.  The on-board test of the previous morning would become sufficient to prove that anyone was virus-free.

 

You wrote, "So....we're tested day before, results next AM, move to disembarkation/customs [etc.]".

 

In reality, one receives implied (good) or actual (bad) "results" the "day [evening] before" disembarkation ... but one gets official (printed) results on the morning of "turnaround" day. 

.

That's good to hear...thank you.  We probably won't leave the ship, but it's a nice option.  In this instance it will be Civitavecchia so maybe we could roam around a bit. 

Edited October 5, 2021 by Oceangoer2
....just saw the pun....wouldn't roam as far as Rome...LOL.

[Northern Aurora]

On 10/4/2021 at 11:11 AM, Oceangoer2 said:

Another situation has been on my mind.  So....we're tested day before, results next AM, move to disembarkation/customs, sit and wait until allowed back on board.  Hypothetically, IF...a B2B cruiser  wanted to leave the ship for the day after customs/re-boarding, then return to start the next leg of the cruise, would the testing start all over again?  I would stay on board and not chance whatever would be required, but suppose someone did have a tour or shopping, etc?  Are they allowed to disembark and embark again?

 

I wonder if our OP is over-thinking the B2B process.  We are  just off a B2B on the Millennium, and our turnaround day was in Seattle.  There are always provisions for a B2B passenger to leave the ship.  That is why Transit Cards are issued -- so the B2B passengers can bypass the hub-up in the cruise terminal.  Those passengers who decide to leave the ship most likely will receive their new Seapass cards at a different location (ie, at the Pier Coordinator's desk in the cruise terminal) than those who elect to stay onboard.  But our instructions were clear that those who left the ship for the day were not going to be re-tested again.

[Nolanoel]

On 10/2/2021 at 7:11 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

That's good to hear.   Some of the questions I have heard in the past are really funny.   Our last we had different rooms but was just moving next door and our room attendant let us know when the previous guest left their room so we could move our items from safe to the new room.    I also dropped off my laptop and backpack. 

First time on Celebrity.  First time on a b2b.  Going to ask my funny questions here so I don't entertain/irritate seasoned Celebrity cruisers.  LOL   I figured that I would just follow directions - the only question I really have is regarding luggage.  Does it still go out the night b4?  Sounds like you had a hard move on your last cruise!  😁

[canderson]

27 minutes ago, Nolanoel said:

First time on Celebrity.  First time on a b2b.  Going to ask my funny questions here so I don't entertain/irritate seasoned Celebrity cruisers.  LOL   I figured that I would just follow directions - the only question I really have is regarding luggage.  Does it still go out the night b4?  Sounds like you had a hard move on your last cruise!  😁

No!  If you travel B2B, unless you should have a positive test result (or been caught in a contact trace) and will be disembarking for good at the end of leg 1, no luggage!  If you are changing cabins, you'll want to pack your miscellaneous into it for the journey to your new cabin.  The cabin stewards will help you with your move.  Otherwise, you need do nothing.  Just get off, smile at the C&I man, and turn around and reboard (or take a tour of the port city).

[Nolanoel]

12 minutes ago, canderson said:

No!  If you travel B2B, unless you should have a positive test result (or been caught in a contact trace) and will be disembarking for good at the end of leg 1, no luggage!  If you are changing cabins, you'll want to pack your miscellaneous into it for the journey to your new cabin.  The cabin stewards will help you with your move.  Otherwise, you need do nothing.  Just get off, smile at the C&I man, and turn around and reboard (or take a tour of the port city).

Thanks!  I knew I could manage to ask a stupid question.  I am switching cabins and wanted to kind of keep that in mind as I pack and plan.  Don't like finding out how it all works at the last minute.  

[canderson]

34 minutes ago, Nolanoel said:

Thanks!  I knew I could manage to ask a stupid question.  I am switching cabins and wanted to kind of keep that in mind as I pack and plan.  Don't like finding out how it all works at the last minute.  

The stewards will rack all of your hanging items and tote the rest in your suitcases, but you're on your own to have them packed with the rest of your stuff, leaving them IN your cabin for morning transport.