NBliving

Happy Birthday! Sounds like you are off to a wonderful start celebrating 🍹🍷🥂

@GenerationX I finally finished your review!  I had to pause for a trip to Colorado 🙂  I really love all of your menu item tips, I've made note of them for future cruises.  One thing I didn't see is where did you get your fabulous pink evening chic dress?  Love it!!

@Jim_IainI may have missed you posting about this (or maybe it hasn't happened yet), but would you comment when you receive any compensation from Celebrity?  I imagine it will take a while, but would like to have an idea.  My DH is waiting on it from our May 6th Equinox cruise and he doesn't usually deal with our travel arrangements so he is wondering why it's taking so long to hear back...

On 5/20/2022 at 5:19 PM, RWilbourn said:

I was on the May 6-15, 2022 Celebrity Equinox cruise.  This was my fourth cruise since March 2020 but the only time I have ever contracted Covid.  I felt like I had a bad case of the flu with a lot of coughing. 

 

I think Celebrity’s Covid strategy is to identify infected passengers and isolate them.  Other than receiving a bottle of generic Nyquil Cold liquid, I noticed no treatment effort. 

 

I don’t know how I got Covid but my cabin attendant was replaced (with no explanation) on the same day I noticed Covid symptoms.  Also, when I ate in the main dining room that night, the waiter who had previously served me was not working despite his name still being on the table card.  So two Celebrity people I had come in regular contact with both disappeared at the same time.  Also, I was in the medical facility and it appeared to me to be full of Covid cases.  Despite being assigned an appointment time and escorted to the facility, it was so crowded I was placed in an examination room with another Covid patient.  I was then moved to what appeared to be the operating room.  Yet, I didn’t hear any more Covid updates from Captain Matt. 

 

Getting complete and accurate information was difficult.  The room service number I was given connected me to standard room service.  No one with Celebrity told me I could order off the main dining room menu which is much better than the standard room service menu.  I discovered that option from a cruise social media website.  In addition to the Covid passenger disembarkation information, I was given all the regular disembarkation information – most of which did not seem to apply to Covid passengers.  I was told I would be moved to a new cabin.  Thankfully, no one ever moved me.  I was not believed when I truthfully said I was the only occupant in my cabin.  Celebrity’s records showed two other people assigned to my cabin with me.  I discovered this error early in the cruise and asked Guest Relations (GR) to fix it.  I was assured by GR that it would.  Apparently, it never did.  I still wonder who Joni and Kolleen are.  

 

On departure day, as directed I waited in my cabin for someone to come get me.  After two hours I called GR and was promised someone would be there within 15 minutes.  No one came.  I tried GR again and after a long wait on hold, someone picked up, and then the line immediately went dead.  After three hours of waiting, I just left my cabin dragging my two large suitcases – one with clothes and the other with my scuba diving gear.  Thank goodness that I did.  While I was flagged by the computer and not allowed to disembark through the regular exit, I was told to go to deck 2. 

 

To disembark from the ship a person coming from Celebrity imposed quarantine must prove he a) has his own car, b) a rental car reserved to drive himself home, or c) a local hotel room reserved in which to quarantine.  I had made a rental car reservation.  To leave the ship, I presented my reservation confirmation showing on my phone.

 

Except where the Covid passenger has his own car, he must allow Celebrity to transport him to a car rental place or his quarantine hotel.  I was transported in a very nice vehicle to Budget rental car at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport.  Note, the driver of the Celebrity provided car did nothing to confirm I entered Budget.  I could have easily gone into the airport terminal and tried to board my flight.  Instead, I rented the car and canceled my flight. 

 

I believe many people would rather not report they are ill than go through what I went through.  Covid for most otherwise healthy people is somewhere between a non-event and the flu.  Those who don’t need to move away from uninfected companions will be tempted to keep their Covid symptoms secret.  As noted, I didn't receive treatment and I was treated like a nuisance by the medical staff. 

 

Additionally, the information I received was incomplete or contradictory.  In fact, the only time I had a real conversation with a doctor was when she called me to investigate my claim that I had no companions in my cabin.  Also, I got boring food (until I learned from the internet that I could order off the main dining room menu), had to quarantine, and since I couldn’t honestly fly home, I had to drive 900 miles.  Additionally, most Covid passengers are moved to another cabin and some report they receive an inferior cabin. 

 

The government recently sent me several Covid tests and I wish I had brought them.  If I had, I would have used them first.  Note, Celebrity’s initial Covid test of me was NEGATIVE.  But they always test you a second time.  Moreover, once they know you have symptoms, they can keep testing you as much as they want to.  By contrast, once you get a positive result, they stop testing you.  My request for a third test was refused.  One positive test result by Celebrity's medical personnel and your pleasure cruise is over.

 

Even if I had tested positive using a self-test, knowing what I know now I would have just self-quarantined until the cruise ended or five days elapsed.  Is there a difference between self-quarantining and Celebrity quarantining?  Yes.  A lot!  The Celebrity documents I received say:

 

“The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines provide for a minimum of five days of isolation.  On days five and six, we will administer an antigen test.  If either of these test results are positive, you must isolate for 10 days onboard.”

 

According to a doctor I know who manages Covid treatment for a large hospital, a positive antigen test does not mean a person is still infectious.  Unless they have fever, he says that after five days they are no longer infectious.  However, in most instances, they will continue to test positive for Covid. 

 

If my doctor friend is correct, that means most Celebrity Covid passengers will end up being unnecessarily quarantined on board for ten days.  Note that Celebrity indirectly confirms what my doctor friend told me.  In the documents Celebrity gave me Celebrity states, “If your sailing ends more than five days after your initial positive test, you do not need to continue isolating after you disembark, and you may continue your travel home.”  (emphasis in original)  In other words, if you got a positive Covid test on day 5 you must quarantine onboard through day 10.  But as soon as you walk off the ship, even if before day 10 you suddenly no longer need to quarantine.  In that instance, Celebrity thinks it’s perfectly okay for you to hop on a crowded airplane and fly anywhere in the world. 

 

Also, not reporting mild symptoms and self-quarantining may be easier for Celebrity since Celebrity avoids having to be the CDC's enforcer and doesn’t have to report there was another Covid case.  My experience makes me wonder whether the cruise lines really want you to report mild to moderate Covid symptoms. 

 

Another thing I might have done differently is to consider keeping my flight.  I was by myself.  That made the 900-mile drive home especially difficult – a drive that necessarily resulted in me coming into contact with many people including drive-through servers at fast-food restaurants, people in and around public restrooms, and the front desk staff at the hotel where I overnighted.  Additionally, someone had to clean my hotel room and my rental car.  Even assuming I was still contagious, would it have been safer overall for me to fly two hours home with a mask on - thus getting away from everyone quickly - instead of driving 900 miles over two days across three states?  I wonder.

 

One potential advantage of reporting Covid symptoms is Celebrity says it will reimburse some of my travel expenses.  Specifically, the paperwork I was provided states that for those who drive home in a rental car, “The costs associated with the car rental can be reimbursed, up to $150 per day.”  Of course, it cost me well over $300 to rent a car, stay one night in a Hampton Inn, and pay for modest meals during my drive home.  Also, despite submitting a request to be reimbursed along with copies of my receipts, Celebrity has not acknowledged my submission.

 

 

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Your experience sounds similar to my husband’s. I had read enough CC posts to know that he would have access to the full Dining Room menu we were assigned to. And learned a few more things as the cruise went on from the social media cruise group I was part of. If my husband had been alone, he wouldn’t have known these things. We were both very surprised that X wasn’t prepared better for disembarkation.   My husband also never received a copy of his CoVid test results which now he is finding out he needed. Hopefully the women he spoke with is successful getting it from the ship’s  medical center.  Very frustrating. Hopefully everyone gets reimbursed without having to go through too many hoops. 
 

1 hour ago, runningtide said:

Oh well...add me to the Covid positive list....🤪

Got up this morning with a slightly sore throat and very mild headache. Ive tested twice since Sunday negative, but figured Id try it agin today before going out. Linda tested negative yesterday and no symptoms. 

Considering the five days since I left  the ship, must have picked it up on last sail at sea, or during disembarking. Ofcourse no real way to know. Im dual vaxed and boosted, and had original Covid 19, treated at home. Hope my symptoms remain mild. No regrets about the cruise, but no more in the future until some major changes in quarantine protocols and infection rate disclosure occurs. 

 

All  the best my friends....See you on the next tack !

Sorry to hear this. Hope you recover quickly. 

On 5/19/2022 at 12:06 AM, daddyslittle girl said:

I was on this cruise,had a very nice cruise.,I am sorry so many cases on board,my husband and I are fine,hopefully remain this way,our stateroom attendant was not around last two days,suspect he became ill.,food was good,most of Entertainment  was great,celebrit orchestra was amazing,

I think we did the Woodwind snorkeling with you two. I’m glad you both are doing well! 

On 5/16/2022 at 8:54 PM, romet said:

Great comments on this thread for planning for an onboard Covid experience.  We enjoyed the cruise, but got hit with the sniffles on last night, and tested positive when we got home.

We didn’t hear the captain’s announcement about Covid.  We heard from other passengers about the  200 cases.  That is roughly 10% of the guests which should be enough to warrant a written advisory to every cabin to alert everyone about the situation.

Silent disco and martini bar were great fun, but probably where we met our fate.  The Equinox and Celebrity theatres were likely spreader events, so we avoided those.

We offer our sincere apologies to anyone we infected on the way home.  We did wear our masks at all times on the planes, so hopefully no casualties.

There is very little online information regarding the Covid incident rate on this ship.

 

I hope you both are feeling ok.  I'm sure you weren't the only ones to not hear the Captain's CoVid announcement.  He probably should have repeated it in the morning's announcements from there on out.  Or at the least, put a sign on the theater about wearing masks - maybe there was one?  I heard the Equinox is about 50% full on the current sailing.  I think that helps also but I know Celebrity needs to make money to stay in business.  

On 5/16/2022 at 4:11 PM, grest said:

My husband and I were also aboard the Equinox last week....both negative so far.   We wore masks all the time, except when eating, and were greatly disappointed at the vast majority who chose not to, even after the captain advised us of covid aboard.   So we limited our contact with folks, and still enjoyed this beautiful ship.   With the exception of chaotic first and second night of any time dining that tried to function with very limited staff  (noting some frustrated passengers who behaved like two year olds with abusive language and threats to staff), things worked more smoothly than I thought they would.   We all know covid is here....plan for it.

I agree about some of the passengers acting like 2 year olds.  At breakfast the first morning, we chose to wait for a 2 top table and one of our fellow guests berated the hostess for not being prepared. When they sat us in a newly opened area we didn't have the quick service we are accustomed to by the coffee server, danish server, etc and he made it known he was very unhappy.  Sitting next to him was worse than slow service.  I felt bad for the staff.

Glad that you both are negative!  I hope my post helps people prepare before their cruise.

On 5/16/2022 at 12:31 PM, PatC said:

I was also on this cruise with 3 friends.  Day 7 1 tested positive and then his mom in the same cabin.  Lo and behold my friend with me also tested positive.  I DID NOT!   We don't know why but they figured it was either Aruba (where I didn't get off) or the theater show (which I did not attend).  My son and daughter-in-law were with us in another cabin and I spent the time with them.  None of us have tested positive

Those black cars you saw were hired by Celebrity to take those who had tested to their respective cars, airport or hotels.  They treated us wonderfully, even having our breakfast delivered to the cabins that morning.

I agree, Celebrity better get back to "Celebrity" business or they will sink into the depths of mediocre ships.  I have sailed over 30 years with them and have never seen such garbage going on.  This CEO has taken the crew she picks to her "babies" the E class ships and has allowed the best of Celebrity, the M and S class to suffer.  My son spoke to the bartender at the Sunset Bar who had become a friend and he told him that they finally had 450 crew from India on the way to help.  That won't to the job if they are not trained the way crews of the past were.  

I will not give up on them just yet.  My cabin steward was wonderful to me.  I fell ( those damn speakers of the DJ by the Passport Bar right in the middle of the floor on a crowded day) and the medical crew and Guest Relations were wonderful.  Very attentive.  Our cabin steward made sure I had what I needed.

Yes, I agree, more deck parties.  I miss those wonderful days when we could party in the open.  

I also wish Celebrity would stop giving away specialty restaurant reservations to the suites and whoever and leaving those of us in the lower decks with no way to utilize them.  I have NEVER seen those restaurants sold out completely before the cruises.  

Again, I do not and have never liked LLP.  When I first cruised Michael Bailey was the CEO who transitioned from Chandris to Celebrity and he was wonderful.  He took the brand and made it great.

Just my opinion but we need him back.

I pray all who are ill from this trip recover quickly and don't give up the ship just yet.

I'm glad you received excellent treatment after your fall.  My DH had great service from the medical staff (I have heard others did not.  Fortunately he didn't need a lot of attention)  It just surprises me after several periods of CoVid spikes that Celebrity still doesn't have their act together on what to do.  Maybe it was because this cruise was fuller than the Equinox has had since pre CoVid?    Our next cruise is January 2023 and we are thankful we don't have to make a go/no-go decision before that. Still a Celebrity fan!!

On 5/16/2022 at 11:45 AM, vettegal99 said:

Just heard from friends who got off Equinox yesterday.  Both tested positive this morning.  Cold symptoms

Hope they don't have any further symptoms.  We won't ever know how many will test positive post cruise unfortunately.

On 5/15/2022 at 7:03 PM, kdawg954 said:

Was on this cruise and tested positive when I got home and many others did as well on the FB group.  So that number is significantly higher.

 

Only tested due to having typical wake up sniffles and was gonna go around family today and wanted to make sure I was good after hearing about the high rate.

 

They definitely could do more outside night activities for a Caribbean cruise.

 

Service lacked but crew generally was a good group.  Lost our room attendant midweek, who knows if that's how I contracted it.  Celebrity does a poor job disclosing info and doesn't do enough to encourage safe measures.

 

No regrets though, hopefully this stays mild and can serve as my second booster.

Hope you are feeling better by now.  DH retested today after the 5 days of isolation and is still positive but is feeling a lot better.  

55 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

My understanding is you were not restricted from moving about the ship.   Would you be allowed to go to Oceanview and fix a plate to take back to your room to eat or were you required to use room service?

 

We have started taking 2 phone chargers and 2 tablets.  I think it is wise to separate so there is someone on the "outside" to advocate if necessary.

 

Now I also ask for business card of any concierge, guest relations manager, hotel director I may meet.  That way I have their direct number if needed.

I could move about the ship. I stayed masked unless I was outside sitting and tried to find seats away from others. I got food from Oceanview and Spa Cafe, but was glad I could get room service from the MDR too. We were in a regular veranda - not Aqua or a Suite. 

51 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for posting.   I'm sure it will really help other to plan in advance if the unexpected  happens.   I'm glad we also had prepared and had lots of TheraFlu, throat lozenger etc with us.   We always also pack Quart and Gallon Size bags and almost always end up using them

Yes! Thanks to you I packed Theraflu which DH said really helped. I also packed Advil, throat lozenges, a thermometer and CoVid tests. When he noticed symptoms (after captain made an announcement about CoVid cases and needing to wear masks in theater) we each took a test before calling medical. 

I learned so much from the recent postings from those who tested positive onboard various X ships. I wanted to share a few things we learned as I wait to disembark and be reunited with my DH. 
 

Definitely talk ahead of time about what to do if one in your party tests positive and the other negative - if the negative person will isolate also or not. My DH tasted positive day 7 of a 9 day cruise and we were given the option of staying in our stateroom or he could move to a deck 6 isolation cabin. We decided he would move in hopes I would stay negative.  He expressed his tendency to get seasick which is why we book midship and they gave him a room number and location before he agreed what to do. He did get a balcony room. 
 

We always share toothpaste and hairbrush. Doesn’t work well if one of you goes into isolation! Luckily I had brought a round brush for blow drying my hair and I put some toothpaste in the lid of a glass then put that in a baggie! (Bring baggies! They really come in handy!) 

I’m very glad I didn’t go into isolation so I could help my husband with some issues. His calls to room service kept getting disconnected after being on hold for long periods of time so I could call for him and place his order. I had to eat meals in my room since I was his traveling partner so I would order both of our meals at the same time. 
 

If anyone has any questions I’ll try to answer. 
 

Still had a great cruise! 
 

Jim and Iain,

Really sorry to hear you have both tested positive. I too hope that your symptoms remain mild and you test negative in time to travel to Scotland for the visit with family.  I really love your outlook!  We've had a few vacations where we've had to adapt to the Plan B we did not plan for!  Looking forward to reading about the rest of your stay.  We leave Friday on our first ABC cruise - assuming we test negative on Wednesday!  

Take care!

53 minutes ago, groryjm said:

For those who remember some of my previous posts I do have a thing for cocktails and most certainly a few drinks pictures will appear here too. In fact over the last few days I have been posting a count down on our roll call. You now the sort of thing. A picture of thunderbird five 5 nights before sailing Thunderbird Four 4 nights before and so on . A few years ago I did my traditional countdown with posed Pillow chocolates. Well during the long lockdown of 2020 I made and posted a pic of a different cocktail every night. I got to over a 100 too.

 

So my count down this year was a different cocktail for each of 7 nights using spirits and liqueurs available on board. I won’t bore you all with the nights you’ve missed but tonight is the night before we cruise and as the cats are in now prison and it is 5 O’clock …….

 

For the Night before we board I will make me a Bijou

 

 

30ml gin, 30ml Sweet Vermouth, 30ml Green Chartreuse and a couple of dashes of orange bitters. Stir with ice and strain into a chilled Nick and Nora. Ideally if done properly the glass should be rimed with the expressed zest of a lemon and garnished with a Maraschino cherry

 

This drink recipe is adapted from Harry Johnson's 1900 Bartender's Manual 😎

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed my little count down but please don’t pester the bar staff too much the work very hard and do an amazing job.

The one bar I would recommend where they can make decent cocktails is the World Class bar and probably one of the few bars that will actually have fresh lemon or lime rather than the ubiquitous sours mix.

Most important I would recommend you try something you’ve not had before. If you don’t like it you can always order something else… Isn’t that what the premium Beverage package is for? 😎

This will be fun!  Thanks for picking up the baton from @Jim_Iain and live posting.  I want to do a baltic cruise for our 40th anniversary in a few years, so will enjoy a preview.  We agree with your philosophy to try something new since we have a drink package! And my husband loves the World Class Bar.  He likes Manhattens and on the Reflection in November the bartender used him as a guinea pig to try out new versions he was creating!!

Bon voyage!

13 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Jim,

 

I am surprised that you did not order something from room service.  On our cruise Hilario, our Personal Retreat Host, delivered us some delicious turkey club sandwiches and fries.  They were so good we asked for them a second time two days later on another in port day. 

Of course we had to enjoy them from our balcony since we did not have the luxury of a dining room, but our balcony was comfortable. 
 

 

My DH loves the Turkey club from room service! He has to order it at least once whenever we are cruising. 

David, thanks again for posting details of your quarantine. It’s a shame CoVid passengers are last to depart after all you’ve been through! I hope you are in fact able to leave at one of those times given and not detained any further. Please let us know what happens next. If you have to quarantine further or can fly home. 
Best Wishes for your return home!

OK, you two are looking way too relaxed!  Enjoy the rest of your voyage!!

1 hour ago, jetblue said:

Day 2 update, seems my symptoms have gotten a bit worse. 102 degree fever this morning. Doctor dropped off some ibuprofen to help with that and explained it will get worse before it gets better. Breakfast from luminae included a yogurt parfait and a blueberry smoothie, trying to load up on antioxidants. Also, received a little cake to remind me I turn year older today.

I’m sure not the birthday celebration you had planned 🙁 Hope your symptoms subside soon and you test negative when the 5 days is up! AND hope your husband continues to test negative!! Thank you for sharing your experience. 

5 hours ago, jetblue said:

 

Yes I received a letter about that, you receive a prorated refund of the cruise fare for the number of days in isolation.

With the prices of cruises increasing all the time, I wish X would give you the prorated refund of the category of stateroom you have for future use.  I know this will never happen, too hard to calculate, but would be nice to know you would't be outpriced of a higher category you might have just booked for a special cruise.  

13 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Phew! Packing is done along with a whole bunch of other tasks around the house. I have used the "bundle packing" method for all of my trips, since discovering it. So, I think that's 5-6 trips so far. And still, every single time, I look at everything that needs to go in my suitcase and think to myself "there is NO WAY" this is all going to fit and then at the end, I have a huge sense of satisfaction and pride as my suitcase zips shut. Is this what it feels like to give birth to a beautiful, healthy baby?

When you have time, can you tell us what bundle packing is? Always interested in a new way to pack!

18 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

So I'm still confused, do I have to play one machine or is there a card that it stays on?  We played recently on Princess and with the medallion  we could move machines just hit cash out but it went back to the account.  

You use your room key card. The cashier gives you a code to log on when you put it into the slot machine. 

I'm so glad to hear Woodwind is up and running and some of you CCers have snorkeled with them!

We have never done their excursion - our May 2020 and 2021 ABC cruises were cancelled and therefore my Woodwind excursions 😞  BUT! We have one this May and I am confirmed on the Woodwind!!  I was a little worried because their responses were so short if they were really back.  We can't wait!

On 3/3/2022 at 7:05 PM, GenerationX said:

Gen X and Gen Z ready for dinner at Tuscan Grille! What can I say? She does a way better sassy face than me.

 

 

Love the matching dresses! I’m sad I’ve probably missed the boat on getting my 26 year old daughter to wear matching dresses if we get a chance to cruise together 😂