Has Celebrity heard us? Isolation is not so bad after all……

[VitaminSea53]

9 hours ago, bananavan said:

Just wondering where EXAMPLE #2 comes from. 
Has this happened to your knowledge or is this hearsay? 

This is not first hand knowledge but several different poster here on CC have reported this to be true.  I would be happy if it is not true.  Can anyone attest to this policy or lack thereof?

[SbbquilterUT]

I find this topic of interest as my personal experience on Constellation in January does not match other reports I am reading.  I was placed in a balcony room on deck 7.  The door was not locked so that I could not leave as that would be a huge safety issue.  I was near the front elevator bank and there was a large corridor door that was used by staff to bring our food/linens so I certainly could get help.  Medical team came by each day for health checks.  I was offered Tylenol and cough drops for care.  Yes my food arrived in biodegradable plates but I expected that.  It was unfortunate that we did not hear any announcements as I would have enjoyed hearing what the captain was saying.  My biggest concern was no real written instructions on how to apply for refund for land based expenses and being bored to tears and too tired to do anything about it.

[VitaminSea53]

13 minutes ago, VitaminSea53 said:

This is not first hand knowledge but several different poster here on CC have reported this to be true.  I would be happy if it is not true.  Can anyone attest to this policy or lack thereof?

I found this on the Royal Caribbean website:

 

Contact Tracing: Identification and Mitigation Information. We may also use personal data within Our system to identify those individuals who have been in close contact when we suspect that an individual may have Covid-19. As above, by ‘in close contact’, we mean within 2 metres or six feet of another person for a period of 15 minutes or more. This system uses information about where you have been onboard and when. We capture this information in our onboard systems, when for example, you scan your SeaPass card to purchase a drink at a café, for example, when you visit the Guest Relations desk, and when you dine in a particular restaurant. If someone reports Covid-19 symptoms, the information We hold would then be analyzed to help Us identify all those other individuals with whom they have been in close contact onboard. We are then able to invite individuals who We identify as having been in close contact with that individual to take the appropriate next steps, which may be to monitor their own health, remain in their stateroom for a period of time, and/or come to the medical bay for an examination or test as appropriate.

CCTV Surveillance. We use CCTV onboard our ships for safety and security purposes such as to find missing persons, and we may now also use CCTV for contact tracing purposes. We also use enhanced software to analyse the CCTV footage using facial recognition and tools to identify characteristics such as the colour of a person’s clothing. We also use information from these systems to understand guests’ flows of movement around the ship, which areas on the ship are busiest (where, for example, it might become more difficult for guests to maintain a social distance) and areas where people regularly remove their masks. This allows us to ensure that our healthy sailin

[phoenix_dream]

I think what's particularly frustrating is the unknown.  And in this case I mean the unknown of where they might stick you if you get Covid.  On some ships it's a balcony.  On other ships it's an outside cabin.  I even read a horrendous example of someone put in an inside cabin (TOTALLY unacceptable!!).  I realize that due to their unknowns of the potential number of positives, they cannot guarantee anything.  But I think at an absolute minimum they should be completely upfront on each ship and sailing as to where they would intend to quarantine people.  Being a project manager for 25+ years I know that this kind of planning and communication is not only possible, but essential.  And every good project plan comes with a contingency plan for the unexpected.  They should be communicating that as well.  IMHO that's the least they should be doing, and for US sailings it should be required by the CDC!

[Guppy99]

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

I think what's particularly frustrating is the unknown.  And in this case I mean the unknown of where they might stick you if you get Covid.  On some ships it's a balcony.  On other ships it's an outside cabin.  I even read a horrendous example of someone put in an inside cabin (TOTALLY unacceptable!!).  I realize that due to their unknowns of the potential number of positives, they cannot guarantee anything.  But I think at an absolute minimum they should be completely upfront on each ship and sailing as to where they would intend to quarantine people.  Being a project manager for 25+ years I know that this kind of planning and communication is not only possible, but essential.  And every good project plan comes with a contingency plan for the unexpected.  They should be communicating that as well.  IMHO that's the least they should be doing, and for US sailings it should be required by the CDC!

When and how would you expect them top communicate with people for every singles sailing? How far in advance? Do you then, for instance, allow everyone to cancel within 1 week? There is a full payment required 90 days in advance for a reason. The information you are requesting for your specific sailing is not available that soon.  So how to handle those that want to change later? 

As a project manager you know that each project may serve as a genera model but that key factors which drive specific responses may be different on every project. In this case, you are talking about every ship, on every sailing, being an unique project. Not easy and not likely possible without incurreing a lot of cost.

You know what they say about projects, you can have two of the following: quick, cost effective, or high quality.  But you can never have all three.

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, SbbquilterUT said:

...my personal experience on Constellation in January does not match other reports I am reading.

January was an eternity ago as relates to the devolution of on-board covid protocols.

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

But I think at an absolute minimum they should be completely upfront on each ship and sailing as to where they would intend to quarantine people. 

Suite bookings would plummet if they did this.

[prmssk]

21 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

When and how would you expect them top communicate with people for every singles sailing? How far in advance? Do you then, for instance, allow everyone to cancel within 1 week? There is a full payment required 90 days in advance for a reason. The information you are requesting for your specific sailing is not available that soon.  So how to handle those that want to change later? 

As a project manager you know that each project may serve as a genera model but that key factors which drive specific responses may be different on every project. In this case, you are talking about every ship, on every sailing, being an unique project. Not easy and not likely possible without incurreing a lot of cost.

You know what they say about projects, you can have two of the following: quick, cost effective, or high quality.  But you can never have all three.

Other cruise lines use the same deck/area on every sailing for a specific ship, often even the same area for all ships of the same class.  For example Princess, I knew that if I booked a Grand class ship, quarantine would happen on the Aloha deck (which is balcony cabins with some insides if they ran out of balcony cabins) and if I booked a Royal Class ship, quarantine would happen on the Dolphin deck (again balcony cabins with some inside when they ran out of balcony).  Princess has been consistent in using those decks I believe throughout the entire restart.

 

There are ways to be transparent about this that are not cumbersome on the cruise line.

[Guppy99]

44 minutes ago, prmssk said:

Other cruise lines use the same deck/area on every sailing for a specific ship, often even the same area for all ships of the same class.  For example Princess, I knew that if I booked a Grand class ship, quarantine would happen on the Aloha deck (which is balcony cabins with some insides if they ran out of balcony cabins) and if I booked a Royal Class ship, quarantine would happen on the Dolphin deck (again balcony cabins with some inside when they ran out of balcony).  Princess has been consistent in using those decks I believe throughout the entire restart.

 

There are ways to be transparent about this that are not cumbersome on the cruise line.

i don't believe it is that simple. I don't believe this is a comparison of apples to apples. Perhaps one of those lines would be a better choice for some.

[prmssk]

6 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

i don't believe it is that simple. I don't believe this is a comparison of apples to apples. Perhaps one of those lines would be a better choice for some.

I'm not sure why it isn't that simple.  Of course plans can change as circumstances change but there is some comfort in knowing that on X ship, if I get COVID, I will mostly likely be quarantined in a room in Y location.

 

And I just give this one example about Princess.  Sometimes I wish we could combine the good from multiple lines.  Celebrity has been far more transparent about the number of cases on board which can help people with their risk assessments.  Over at Princess that topic is completely hush hush and even when you ask the response you get is not accurate.  So on Princess you never know whether you need to be taking additional precautions (because of case counts) but at least you know where you will be quarantined, if you test positive.

[critterchick]

2 hours ago, Guppy99 said:

When and how would you expect them top communicate with people for every singles sailing? How far in advance? Do you then, for instance, allow everyone to cancel within 1 week? There is a full payment required 90 days in advance for a reason. The information you are requesting for your specific sailing is not available that soon.  So how to handle those that want to change later? 

As a project manager you know that each project may serve as a genera model but that key factors which drive specific responses may be different on every project. In this case, you are talking about every ship, on every sailing, being an unique project. Not easy and not likely possible without incurreing a lot of cost.

You know what they say about projects, you can have two of the following: quick, cost effective, or high quality.  But you can never have all three.

If they can bombard me with emails for my specific sailing to purchase shore excursions and specialty dining at a “discount,”  they can formulate a mass mailing advising people of complete Covid protocols onboard the ships. It doesn’t have to be any more personalized than the email field. They’ve had two years of thinking that this is going to be over any day now and right night are being caught flat-footed by reality.

 

For sailings through the end of September that were booked by March 31, the Cruise With Confidence program allows people to cancel for a full FCC “refund” up to 48 hours. If one tests positive for Covid, a full refund of cash is available (I think X do that; I know that their sister company Royal Caribbean do).  We are leaning toward cancelling our June 26 cruise on Eclipse because we don’t have the time to stay in isolation in Canada for 10-14 days post-cruise if we test positive for the return flight . We will lose $1000 of an accommodation FCC, but at least it wasn’t money out of our pockets.

 

[critterchick]

1 hour ago, prmssk said:

I'm not sure why it isn't that simple.  Of course plans can change as circumstances change but there is some comfort in knowing that on X ship, if I get COVID, I will mostly likely be quarantined in a room in Y location.

 

And I just give this one example about Princess.  Sometimes I wish we could combine the good from multiple lines.  Celebrity has been far more transparent about the number of cases on board which can help people with their risk assessments.  Over at Princess that topic is completely hush hush and even when you ask the response you get is not accurate.  So on Princess you never know whether you need to be taking additional precautions (because of case counts) but at least you know where you will be quarantined, if you test positive.

 

I do not have first hand knowledge of the incident, but somebody in one of my Princess FB groups mentioned that she was at the guest services desk next to a gentleman who had been moved to another cabin because his original one was in the Dolphin Deck quarantine area. Apparently he wasn’t notified of the change until he was onboard and couldn’t go past the locked and curtained door that led to his cabin. So, although we all know that Princess isolate on Dolphin Deck, apparently some passengers who booked before they (presumably) blocked the cabins as occupied did not and had a nasty surprise.

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

Suite bookings would plummet if they did this.

Maybe not.  We have 8 bookings 6 in suites.  We know we could be a quarantined in a OV, possibly a IV maybe a veranda.  We are not downgrading from our suite bookings nor do we plan to cancel. 

[Guppy99]

41 minutes ago, critterchick said:

If they can bombard me with emails for my specific sailing to purchase shore excursions and specialty dining at a “discount,”  they can formulate a mass mailing advising people of complete Covid protocols onboard the ships. It doesn’t have to be any more personalized than the email field. They’ve had two years of thinking that this is going to be over any day now and right night are being caught flat-footed by reality.

 

For sailings through the end of September that were booked by March 31, the Cruise With Confidence program allows people to cancel for a full FCC “refund” up to 48 hours. If one tests positive for Covid, a full refund of cash is available (I think X do that; I know that their sister company Royal Caribbean do).  We are leaning toward cancelling our June 26 cruise on Eclipse because we don’t have the time to stay in isolation in Canada for 10-14 days post-cruise if we test positive for the return flight . We will lose $1000 of an accommodation FCC, but at least it wasn’t money out of our pockets.

 

ridiculous. Prior poster wants a unique mailing for that specific sailing. Totally different from emails for unique itinerarys

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

Maybe not.  We have 8 bookings 6 in suites.  We know we could be a quarantined in a OV, possibly a IV maybe a veranda.  We are not downgrading from our suite bookings nor do we plan to cancel. 

Not everyone is like us. Most people just book vacations and go. They don't spend time here on CC researching the ramifications of their decision.

 

Since the restart, I've consistently seen sold out Retreat class on otherwise empty ships. I can't think of any other reason for that besides those not in-the-know paying up for better isolation quarters just in case.

[prmssk]

3 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Since the restart, I've consistently seen sold out Retreat class on otherwise empty ships. I can't think of any other reason for that besides those not in-the-know paying up for better isolation quarters just in case.

In cases where ships were sailing at lower capacity this was often because of a lot of MoveUp bids getting accepted.  It was more people taking advantage of being able to stay in a suite (or better suite), at a lower price.  I'm sure Celebrity used MoveUp to get just a little more money out of the small number of passengers sailing.

[RichYak]

54 minutes ago, prmssk said:

In cases where ships were sailing at lower capacity this was often because of a lot of MoveUp bids getting accepted.  It was more people taking advantage of being able to stay in a suite (or better suite), at a lower price.  I'm sure Celebrity used MoveUp to get just a little more money out of the small number of passengers sailing.

No doubt that Celebrity is maximizing revenue with MoveUp bids. But what I was referring to above was looking at bookings far in the future, well before MoveUp bids. Suites appear to be the first cabin class to go. It wasn't like that before the restart. The only other thing I can think of is people using FCCs from multiple cruises and just booking Retreat class on fewer dates.

[mayleeman]

13 hours ago, RichYak said:

It wasn't like that before the restart.

 

I have only booked 5 X cruises, all of which were 2017-19 (some cancelled or shifted) and suites were always sold out before any other category.

[levramosis]

On 5/14/2022 at 1:18 PM, Guppy99 said:

When and how would you expect them top communicate with people for every singles sailing? How far in advance? Do you then, for instance, allow everyone to cancel within 1 week? There is a full payment required 90 days in advance for a reason. The information you are requesting for your specific sailing is not available that soon.  So how to handle those that want to change later?

They have been offering refunds or FCC inside of the 90 days during the rest of the pandemic, there is no reason they can't do it now.

 

A few mouse clicks and they can email all pax for a specific sailing. And if they don't have a quarantine plan for each class ship, then why the hell not? They could send it out at six months ahead, three months ahead, one month ahead. And if it had changed for a given cruise (which, again, would likely be done at least a few weeks ahead of when it would come into effect), send it out to the affected sailing and give them a week to change their plans without penalty.

 

I wonder what percentage use TAs vs booking direct. Because, even if I haven't had a "proper" TA, I assume when I had "Costco TA" they could have cancelled readily enough without spending hours on the phone waiting for CS from X.

 

I fully expect to be notified ahead of time that I might have to quarantine in an OV cabin if I come up positive with the Covids. In fact (drawing from some other recent threads), if they will only have 2/3 of the butlers available and therefore will be unlikely to offer the usual, advertised, and expected level of service, I expect to be notified of that as well so I can decide whether I still want to cruise with slightly lowered expectations, or cancel so that I can later enjoy the value of every dollar I'm dropping.

 

I'm not saying this is automatic, but good service is never automatic - it always takes intentional effort on the part of the organization as well as the people that make it up. Good service is mindful, and looks graceful. There are many ways this could be handled more in line with those ideals.

 

But yes, ideally there would be no crowded embarkations or excursion buses and everyone would submit themselves for testing at the slightest sniffle, or better still test everyone every day like Viking.

[lhsail]

Just want to say “thank you” to those that have posted their experiences. We have a 21-day European cruise with Princess for which final payment is just around the corner. We have decided not to move forward. Although the chances of any of these scenarios is slim, we feel it would not be the same with all this hanging over us. We’ll keep cruising closer to home. To those who are working through this, prayers. For those who are moving forward with their travel plans, I truly wish you nothing but smooth sailing.