CalTexCruiser

I vote that  Anyone caught faking vaccination  be forced to walk the plank immediately 

2 hours ago, Glendakayself said:

😉Put your vaccine card in a lanyard, and wear it around your neck for all to see.

 

Sorry, I couldn't resist. 

Or better yet, order T-shirts with an enlarged copy of your CDC card printed on the front. 

No need to risk losing/damaging the CDC card pulling it in/out of your wallet/purse.

The 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict lasted about 7 weeks.

Assuming the same length on the present conflict, that would mean this could last into July, uncomfortably close to the first July 31 Apex sailing that includes Israel ports.

I'm on the Sep 25 Apex sailing.

I wonder if Celebrity decides to cancel Israel ports for the Jul 31 sailing, whether they would do the same for the remaining Apex sailings that include Israel?

Someone just posted a link on the RC site that Odyssey has cancelled the Israel cruises and is going to Florida: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25011-royal-caribbean-expected-to-cancel-odyssey-s-israel-season-ship-to-move-to-u-s.html

I wonder what that means for the Apex cruises from Athens that visit Israel ports?

4 minutes ago, markeb said:

I know I can look it up, but is this a cruise that originates and/or terminates in Israel?  That could obviously complicate things. But it’s also May, and you’re talking September. Things change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. 

Originates from Athens.  I suspect they would swap the Israel ports for ports in Greece and Cyprus if it comes to that.

27 minutes ago, Orator said:

Several very nice ports, but many passengers are very passionate about Israel and any substitution is not appreciated. Israel for many is "home" not simply a destination.

 

Israel for me is a "like to see" not "must see"--I'd rather visit a port without rocket missiles raining from above, although for some I suppose that may add a level of intrigue

I've lived through my share of war-torn regions (Saigon during the Vietnam war, Tehran during the revolution and Iran-Iraqi war) and do not need to experience that again

2 hours ago, Orator said:

 One time the stop in Israel was cancelled two days prior the scheduled visit when unexploded missiles were found at the port in Haifa. The tour companies told Celebrity that they wouldn't be available for touring and that it was unsafe for Celebrity to visit at that time. 

Did celebrity swap out another port, or did it become a sea day?

our sep Apex cruise has three days in Israel ports and I’d hate to spend three extra days at sea

5 hours ago, SingBill said:

May I ask how much it cost to upgrade from Surf to Stream?

It's about $ 16 per day ($ 129 for 8-night cruise) to upgrade, after the Classic tier (Captain's Club) 10% discount.

My booking was through the Blue Chip Club, so I called them.  They applied the 10% discount based on my Classic Captain's Club tier.

I guess who you call would depend on who you booked with--a TA or Celebrity.  I've not tried the Cruise Planner as Celebrity's website is generally not user-friendly and I don't trust it to apply the correct discounts and/or to recognize that I only want to upgrade one passenger, not both.

For my upcoming booking I was able to upgrade from AI surf Internet to stream Internet for about $ 16 per day, for one device only (the second device stays at surf Internet).

8 minutes ago, Podie said:

I live on Oahu and have traveled to the Big Island and Maui in the last month. Believe me, everything is pretty much back to normal except that masks must be worn indoors. A few places (such as climbing Diamond Head) still require masks.

And my hope is that Greece will also rapidly approach normal with an increase in vaccinations.

Just look at California.  In early January, it was an unmitigated disaster, and I was afraid to even venture into a grocery store except early in the morning or late in the evening.

In my county, over 60% of residents are now vaccinated in a matter of a few months after a VERY slow start in California.  Both LA and SF have transitioned to the least restrictive yellow COVID tier.

So just as things tended to turn ugly quickly before vaccinations, it appears that things can turn positive quickly with vaccinations.

I'll hope for the best but plan for the worst; i.e., everything is refundable (airfare + hotels) or creditable (my cruise).

The fact that the cruise ship as well as the ports are likely to be at very low occupancy is what attracted us to this cruise.  Normally Santorini and the other Mediterranean ports are overrun with tourists, which would detract from the enjoyment.

We are monitoring the situation closely.  The cruise we are on visits Greece and Israel.  Israel's Covid situation is pretty much under control, with close to 60% of their population fully vaccinated and the 7-day average number of cases at 60 per day.

Greece is currently at 2 million (out of 10 million) that have received their first dose, and their vaccination rate is accelerating.  By Sept, Greece will likely be in Israel's situation.

We are taking a calculated risk that the situation in Greece and Israel will be under control by late summer, in large part because of the vaccination progress.

Then we hope to visit with sparse crowds and lots of open spaces on the cruise ship.

Reminded me of when we first took a flight back in early April 2020--it was scary before we actually got on the plane and we had entire rows to ourselves, and the flight was quite enjoyable.

But I totally understand those that do not want to take the risk.

Unless I'm missing something here, the latest technical instructions from the CDC apply only to TEST or SIMULATED cruises, which the cruiselines can skip if they satisfy the 95%/98% passenger/crew vaccination requirement.

Does anyone know if the onerous requirements for the TEST/SIMULATED cruises will apply to normal cruises on which 95%/98% vaccination is satisfied?

Sounds like your upgrade option is to pay the full fare difference between IV and Aqua.

When I first tried upgrading from Apex comped balcony to Aqua on my Western Caribbean cruise, they said no availability; but they said to try back later as upgrade cabins are released to BCC continually.  I was successful on the second try and paid the $ 140 nominal upgrade fee.

You might want to try back later and see if you have better luck.

When we sailed on the Royal suite in 2019 before the pandemic shutdown, our butler serviced multiple suites, including lower level suites (so even for a higher level suite there is no 1:1 butler assignment).

Our butler delivered afternoon snacks, delivered breakfast room service, prepared a graduation gift for our daughter, made sure our room was free of room service clutter throughout the day, attended to our laundry service on multiple days, restocked our mini-fridge with beer/soda/water (note that free laundry service and mini-fridge restocking are Royal suite and above perks).

You can also ask your butler to unpack your bags (not something we're comfortable with).

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience.

So I spoke to a nice lady at BCC this morning about my BCC bookings, and here is the summary:

1) Athens Apex Sky Suite S2 Discounted Casino Rate:  Classic Beverage Package, Surf Internet (NOT Stream Internet), Gratuities; however, NO OBC or port excursion credit.  I upgraded Surf Internet for my wife to Stream Internet for $ 86, and upgraded my drink package to Premium Bev for $ 129 (8 night cruise)

2) Sydney Eclipse Royal Suite Discounted Casino Rate:  Premium Beverage Package, Stream Internet, Gratuities, $ 800 OBC.

3) Western Caribbean Comped balcony: NO perks, but I was able to upgrade to Aqua A2 for $ 140 total.

So in short, others who have posted on this board that perks depend on specific sailing and BCC status is correct...don't assume that because you've booked a suite that you will get the suite AI amenities (i.e., the Indulge package).

Within the same week I also booked through the BCC a Feb 2023 Sailing on the Eclpse from Sydney, in a Royal Suite.

For that sailing, we received a $ 800 OBC.

I just assumed when I booked that we would also get the remaining Retreat perks, such as Premium Drink Package and Stream Internet.  Guess I should call to confirm ...

it's a bit annoying that the BCC booking receipt does not list the perks included

In looking at the available cabins on our Sep 25 Apex cruise, it appears there are a lot of cabins available, so it may well be below 50% capacity.

The only question is will Celebrity cancel if bookings are less than a threshold on any given sailing, i.e., will a particular sailing proceed if let's say only 25% booked?

I booked the Apex Athens sailing for Sep 2021 a few days ago, in a Sky suite (S2), at a casino (Blue Chip Club) discount.

The agent told me my perks are Classic Drink Package, Surf Internet, and Gratuities (no OBC and no port excursion credit).

If I would have booked this regularly (i.e., not through BCC), then I would have received Premium Drink Package, Stream Internet, Gratuities, OBC, and Port excursion credit (i.e., the Indulge package).

Still worth it as the discount was amazing.

Long time reader/first time poster.

Just booked a Sky suite on the Sep 25 8 day cruise.  The Greece/Israel itinerary is very interesting to us, particulary since I've not seen this itinerary with the large cruise lines before.  Used my FCC from our cancelledd Aug 2020 Apex cruise so no out of pocket expense.

I understand that things can go south quickly with the COVID situation (see India), but we are willing to roll the dice since we are fully vaccinated and the cruise is likely to be almost fully vaccinated.

What I am looking forward to is that the ship will be at half capacity and the ports (especially Santorini) are likely to be  much less crowded than normal, so we hope to have a more enjoyable time with sparse crowds, assuming the cruise is a go.

If not, we'll just apply the cruise cost to 2022.