TeeRick

See post #92 above or whatever number it is. It is from Jim_Iain. The numbering seems to be messed up right now.

Did anybody of you actually read @Jim_Iain 's answer in post #92? That is how I remember it too. Nothing to worry about.

Honor system.

OK pretty bad that Celebrity has different rules on different websites by country. No matter your national origin, I would go by the H&S protocols on the US website if sailing from a US port until all of this gets cleared up.

I thought you were talking about your spouse😀.

Yes Ken. On Silhouette out of Southampton to Iceland and back. End of the month.

In general the term side-to-side usually refers to walking off one ship and getting on a different one, same day, same port. Back-to-back is the same ship. Your situation is a good one, no matter what it is called!😀 But cannot easily answer your testing question. Maybe you will need to ask Guest Services when on board the first ship. And the answer might very well change by the time you take these cruises anyway.

Thanks Ken. Great photos!

Probably some NFL games are in the casino. Usually. But Ravens/Jets? Who knows.

I agree that the on ship procedures for a positive test make many people apprehensive about cruising (including my DW) vs. land vacations. Much more so than dealing with some level of illness or fear of COVID. I do not see Celebrity abandoning the on-board isolation policy for cruisers testing positive any time soon. That is why many choose not to report symptoms. Neither you or I can control this. If I want to cruise now I just have to accept this - or choose another type of vacation.

No. Find a later flight or stay another day at a hotel (perhaps near the airport).

For cruises under the US CDC, cruise lines were under a No Sail Order, then constant scrutiny under a "voluntary" sail program that only just recently was rescinded. Now they are making changes but need to do so cautiously as their customer base has very mixed (but ingrained) opinions about vaccinations and testing requirements. And of course governments outside the US have their own rules for their ports too. The same protocols from even a month ago are actually not in place and changes have continued to be made.

Good I hate taking the stairs!😀

From the updated 8/11/2022 CDC guidance - more updates to come soon on travel (and cruising?). "This updated guidance is intended to apply to community settings. In the coming weeks CDC will work to align stand-alone guidance documents, such as those for healthcare settings, congregate settings at higher risk of transmission, and travel, with today’s update"

Even the CDC is easing up now. Finally getting closer to a post-pandemic state. https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/11/health/cdc-covid-guidance-update/index.html

Pretty simple for me. I will just keep Up To Date on vaccines. I plan to get the Omicron-specific booster some time this fall before peak COVID season (Thanksgiving through January). Although I personally would prefer the vaccination requirements to stay in place on cruise ships, that is not the case in most places and businesses. So be it. We now just live with this virus for the remainder of our lives, as normal as possible, taking our own precautions. I will just look out for myself and family. All I can do. I will not cruise or fly in the aforementioned peak COVID period as one precaution.

Suggest you go back and do your research on this subject and bivalent boosters. https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-a-bivalent-vaccine-6385845

Yes there are people who will ignore their symptoms on board or "cheat" as you say and just go about their day. It happens absolutely everywhere, not just on ships. That is the reality of COVID at this point. There will be many others who self-isolate, test themselves, do the right thing for themselves. Again at home or on ships. Let's just accept that, be done with it, and focus on our lives and what we can do and control. COVID viruses will be with us for the rest of our lives.

Or use them when the next variant comes around.

Check out the new testing rules for your particular sailing. You might not even need a monitored self test.

We sailed in CS 12104. Highest deck and most forward CS. We really did not feel any unusual motion at all.

Time to short the stock in the proctored self test companies!😀

My position is that it would be a mistake right now to eliminate BOTH pre-cruise testing and vaccination requirements as RCG and its cruise lines like Celebrity might announce on Aug 14th. We shall see. Or maybe that will happen in the future. In fact it probably will. But if it is an either/or choice, then I would stick with some form of vaccination requirements over pre-cruise testing. I agree with @GaNavy that vaccinations - particularly Up To Date- will reduce (but not eliminate) the number of infections. In fact, with Omicron boosters coming, we can hope that will be a good trend to watch for. Vaccines were never expected to eliminate all infections -with this type of mutating virus. As I said in previous responses, if I have to take the hybrid model (like kids tested but not vaccinated), so be it. There are not a lot of kids on Celebrity ships anyway. And I just will not travel (cruise or fly) in peak holiday periods like after Thanksgiving through end of January. That has been the most risky period for exposure.

Yes clearly the case. Agree. Definitely it is not like even a year ago before Omicron variants spread like wild fire. But even so, the unvaccinated are still the majority of COVID-related serious hospitalizations and deaths even to this day. Fortunately there are also anti-viral drugs and other medical strategies.

I am honestly OK with that model if it is the only choice. I still prefer everybody vaccinated on the ship. In fact I would like to see everybody Up To Date on the ship. Testing is a precaution and a very short window in time that might be missed. It is not keeping Omicron off the ship. But Vaccination is prevention - the key step to prevent serious illness for most of us. If the vaccine requirement is eliminated, you will again see ships with very ill passengers. This would be bad for the cruise industry overall. Even if I am protected because I chose to be vaccinated.