Torfamm

4 hours ago, t&atravel said:

What you have is called a “real id” DL.  It is different from an “enhanced DL” which is only issued in some states (Canadian border states? Others?). 

We have them in Michigan as well.

I am so sorry that you are both Covid positive but very glad to know that you are in such a lovely spot. Hope that you continue to have minimal symptoms!

I've been asked on my post cruise surveys what I thought about the character.  I'd be curious to know what sort of response they are getting.

On 4/29/2022 at 2:43 PM, skynight said:

Always best to carry your passport. No guessing then

I think it's a useful form of ID and I use it as my required "government issued identification" when I am off the ship. I prefer to leave my actual passport in the safe in my cabin.

I am getting concerned about the risk of having trips shortened and interrupted. We are doing a land tour before an Alaska cruise. The time spent in trains and busses seems like a real risk for ending up unable to board the cruise. 
 

We’ve cruised quite a bit since the restart but not starting or ending in foreign ports, especially on B2B itineraries. Our 2023 Southeast Asia B2B were just cancelled for us so we didn’t have to make a decision.

6 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Quite easy for you to say. You must not be addicted.

You make an interesting point. Maybe smokers should consider the risk of being quarantined more seriously than non-smokers when booking a cruise. The same should probably be true for those with claustrophobia or any other condition that would make quarantine a struggle.

4 hours ago, PhotoFlo said:

We have not used the medallion either and will on our August cruise.  I thought that the actual medallion was what we used to order drinks, etc throughout the ship and not an app on our phone?

The medallion is a coin sized device used to charge drinks to your shipboard account in the same way that you might use a key card when ordering at a bar or from a waiter. If you want to place an order for food or drinks to be delivered to you, you need to use the app or tv screen,

55 minutes ago, Juno1956 said:

Thanks for the info. Is this just with Celebrity or other cruise lines as well?

I know that Princess and Royal Caribbean have also cancelled some Asia cruises.

2 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

Same actress also plays the pirate queen.

Tons of actresses  auditioned for the role, since it’s a 7 month gig with room & board.

Each ship is supposed to have one. 

 

We had one on the Emerald in January and February.  We still look at each other occasionally, wave our hands and say "Luck, luck, luck, luck, luck" when we are on the golf course.  It does not help.

In January I watched a man become irate when a passenger turned to his wife and said "you forgot your mask"  when she sat down in the middle machine in a bank of three slot tables in the casino during the period when masks were required at all times.  He started screaming, name calling, and cursing and yelling that people what wanted others to wear masks should leave. He threatened to shove the passenger's mask up her a**  before his wife was able to drag him away.

It took about a minute for a manager to appear and call for a technician to pull the man's contact information from the slot machine. The manager later returned and reported that they'd found the couple and that the problem was taken care of. I never saw them in the casino again or anywhere on the ship for that matter.  There were about 1100 passengers on the Emerald for that sailing.

4 hours ago, TeeRick said:

No we will not cancel.  The Covid concern will be with us for many years to come.  You are either comfortable cruising with it around or not.  Next year will not make a difference.  It will be around.  Ships will have cases.  There is no waiting for pre-pandemic normalcy.  Just keep Up To Date with vaccines or don't cruise if you are concerned.  All we can do.

I do think that protocols may change by next year.  The risk of not being able to fly home is significant to me as long as the US requires testing to enter the country

5 hours ago, florence11 said:

Hi,

Thanks for the info, so basically I can book private trips in any port except the ones listed at the moment. I know things do change but what happens if I book a trip privately and suddenly the rules change?

If you are going to the Caribbean from North America, that is true as if today.  If you book privately and the country rules change for your port of call, you will have to work it out with the tour provider.  I'd ask questions about their cancellation policy before I booked.  It's always been important to ask what their policy is if the ship doesn't dock or the itinerary changes for any other reason.

15 minutes ago, florence11 said:

Hi,

We are group going on Emerald Princess (yeah 1st cruise in 3 years) in March 2023. We do like to do our thing and book things privately are we allowed to do this now or do we have to book tours with ship?

 

 

Thanks😎

You can see information for cruises from various countries at https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/

Current details for cruises from North America to the Caribbean are in the screenshot but it can change frequently 

19 hours ago, mikewomb said:

I would really enjoy reading some positive posts how most of you went on a cruise, and DID NOT get covid. It is getting depressing.

 

We have not cruised since Jan 2020. We did go to Hawaii for a week in November. Had a great time, they had very strong requirements on covid, and felt safe, and enjoyed ourselves. 
 

Now we are going on the Solstice Seattle to Seattle, and would love to hear how other cruisers have managed their cruise experience, and stayed safe. We are vaxed and double boosted, plan to wear masks. Fortunately our move up offer for a Celebrity suite was accepted, so spending more time in a cabin will mean more space and great views. 
 

‘’feedback is appreciated. 

There is no magic formula to keep from getting COVID-19 on a cruise. We all know that the best strategies are social distancing, masks, avoiding crowded spaces, staying outdoors when possible etc. We are pretty careful, but even with all precautions, it can still happen.
 

On a positive note though - many more do not get it than do. We’ve cruised 5 times since the restart and have not gotten COVID. Hopefully our luck will hold but it is a risk for everyone who cruises

On 4/20/2022 at 11:16 AM, amajaa said:

On 4/19/2022 at 7:57 PM, VibeGuy said:

The MDR open for luncheon will have a lunch menu listed.  It’s usually the MDR on 6 midships. 

How soon before will that come up on the app, do you have to wait until you board? 

On the two cruises I’ve been on this year menus were only available at the beginning of each day. You may have to check once onboard and connected to the ship’s Wi-Fi 

I could be mistaken but one poster, I believe it was @CineGraphic, said servers had trouble locating him because he used a picture of an actor as his profile picture.  They were looking for that face since it was what they were seeing on their screen. 

One thing many don't know is that there is a button, it's on the upper right of the screen when you order if I remember correctly, that will make your screen glow purple. You can hold your phone up so that servers can see where you are easily.

2 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Again, tours are country specific.  It's NOT the policy of the cruise line. You seem to indicate that you think being tested is a major likelihood when in reality it is not unless the country you're going to requires it.  We are sailing from Montreal to Southampton next month.  I only have to get an antigen test for boarding.  Then an antigen test to get back to the U.S, from the U.K.  And that may be gone soon.    Other than that it is very unlikely that I'll be tested as none of the countries we will be visiting requires a test.  VERY UNLIKELY we'll be given any other test after boarding except as required for entrance to the U,S.   

But yup, it's a risk that everyone has to consider.  

I will reply one more time to say that I am only answering the question you asked - "Why would someone ever be tested if they are asymptomatic".  I have not said a word about testing frequency or likelihood.  I'm stepping out of this thread.

5 hours ago, docBarb said:

We have used Blue Water Divers many times.  I think they do a great job.

Thanks for the suggestion @docBarb!

We are booked on a cruise that stops in Tortola later this year. It’s a new port for us. Wondering if anyone has been there recently and has a recommendation for a dive operator?

You can look up the port schedules online to see once it gets a bit closer https://pevvesseltraffic.broward.org/webx/

16 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Where in the app?  Does one have to scroll up and down and left to right in the activities for each day to find this information?

The Journey View Activities Timeline will show either "Casual Fun Portraits" or "Formal Portraits" as an event each evening.

13 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

The links you provide are strictly country based.  The testing is NOT Celebrity's policy, it's country policies. This entire discussion is about contact tracing.  Everyone acknowledges that international travel has various Covid testing requirements.  That was NEVER the subject of the conversation. 😏

Okay.  I can tell you though that the tour provider kept a seating chart of where everyone was on our Celebrity excursion last month. You asked why anyone would ever be tested if they are asymptomatic.  The answer is that there are a number or reasons why someone who is asymptomatic could be tested for COVID and wind up quarantined onboard or unable to return to their home after the cruise. It is a risk that everyone has to consider.

1 hour ago, papaflamingo said:

What was the reason given?  And this is certainly not the norm.  One can always find an exception to the rule.  This is not policy fleet wide, may have been due to destination port.  Our cruise in Dec. cancelled San Juan because they changed the rules that a negative test within 3 days had to be performed and we'd be more than 3 days since we had our pre-cruise testing.  So rather than testing the whole ship, the port was cancelled.

Again, this is a fluid situation highly impacted by local rules. Not the normal rules of the cruise line. 

 The best thing to do is check the Celebrity website for details on testing requirements for various destinations.  There are many variables. I simply answered your question about why someone who is asymptomatic would ever be tested. 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/travel

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/transatlantic-travel-requirements.pdf

9 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Can you give me some examples? I have not seen that anywhere.  Also we did a cruise on Reflection in Dec.  There were about 150 positive cases throughout the 7 night cruise and we saw absolutely no evidence other than it was announced.  No mass testing, no mandatory masking, no cancellations of anything.  So I can only speak from personal experience and what I have personally read. 

There are many threads here about testing during cruises of 15 days or more and for entry to certain ports. Hawaii is one example. I seem to recall some in Europe as well. Here is one recent one. I believe the same poster shared about their experience with testing during a Panama Canal cruise around the holidays

Not sure what your confirmation says but many report that the option to buy drink packages appears for them even if they have the AI pricing.  Have you checked your booking confirmation yet?