GRBlizz

My husband also uses a power chair full time. We always take a folding wheelchair in case of emergency or in case we feel he can handle a transfer to a cab in port. My VERY STRONG recommendation is that you keep the manual wheelchair with you as you board! It is a great luggage cart, and can easily keep your carryon items safe and portable while you are waiting to get on board and then to the cabin. I have been happy to have it while grabbing lunch in Oceanview on that first day. And at the end of the cruise, you may even be able to use it to carry all your luggage so you can walk off if you want. However, if you decide to check it, yes, that will be fine and it will be in your cabin waiting for you.

For what you are describing, why not just bring along a manual (foldable) wheelchair? They can easily fit in any cabin, and can go in a cab if you decide to take one. If you are traveling with someone, they can push you. Or you can move the wheels yourself. I recommend bringing one instead of renting, because it will come in handy in the cruise terminal and in the airport if you are flying. Also, you can buy a used one locally for a fraction of the cost of renting.

I am enjoying everyone's comments. We haven't sailed in a suite since Luminae was introduced, so not exactly sure what to expect on our upcoming TA. Looking at the menus on the app, DH thinks the menus might be a tad fancy for him. I think they look awesome!

There are six affected cruises. I have shared this with mine (Sillhouette 20 October)

OK, I slightly freaked when I saw this, as we will be leaving the US three days before the cruise. But a quick Google search showed several rapid-result antigen test sites near the port in Southampton. I'm sure other major departure port cities have the same entrepreneurs set up around them. Clearly we want to self test at home before leaving the US, but getting a facility test will not be a problem.

This may not be of interest, but there are five cruises next summer going to Iceland and Ireland from Amsterdam, two on Silhouette and three on Apex. All the ones I just checked have decent availability of balconies and up. We were booked on the August NJ->Iceland cruise this year but had to cancel when I broke my wrist. No availability on the same cruise next summer, so I booked us on the August 9 Apex. Different itinerary, but I've wanted to try Apex anyway.

We use an electronic lift we got years ago, but this seems to be the current version of it: https://www.spinlife.com/Bestcare-Lifts-Genesis-400-Electric-Power-Patient-Lift/spec.cfm?productID=80238 My husband does not really have to assist at all with the transfer. Email me and we can talk about how I do it if you want. I would love to help. Also, we can discuss meds. Hubby has had no progression in about 12 years since going on the newer infusion meds. He was already in a wheelchair, but at least he's otherwise holding his own.

We have not been able to master the transfer board, I think because of the impact of the MS on my husband's core balance and weaker arm function on one side. We used to do an assisted pivot transfer, but I am getting a bit too old to do this safely, so we use the hoyer at home all the time. I guess everyone's experience is different, but I have always (11 years) been able to manage it by myself. I do appreciate your mentioning it. I wish we could master the sliding board, and we will try working on it again before the cruise. I have learned that Special Needs at Sea does rent them, by the way.

I hope that is right. It will be a lot easier to get a facility test before we leave the US on the 17th than in Tenerife!

Yes, but see this. Their definition of "embarkation" seems to be "embarkation from the last port before arriving in Bermuda." We definitely need clarification, and X needs to provide it. https://www.gov.bm/covid-19-tests-accepted-bermuda If taking a PCR, LAMP or TMA test, the date of the test must be no more than 4 days before the arrival date if arriving by air, or 4 days before the date of departure from the last port if arriving by sea If taking a supervised antigen test, the date of the test must be no more than 2 days before the arrival date if arriving by air, or 2 days before the date of departure from the last port if arriving by sea.

Guys, the Bermuda travel site doesn't say that the facility test is required prior to starting the cruise. It says the test must be taken within four days (for vaxxed passengers) of leaving the last port before Bermuda. Since the Silhouette TA's last port before Bermuda is Day 5 of the cruise, there is no way to have a test in Southampton count. If a remote supervised test isn't acceptable, we may be looking for testing places in Tenerife!

A valid pre-arrival test result must meet the following standards: The COVID-19 test type must be indicated on the test result: RT-PCR, Rapid PCR, RT-LAMP, Antigen, The test must be performed by an accredited laboratory, healthcare provider or pharmacy If this accreditation includes EMed, then great. Additional complication - the rules say that the test must be performed no more than four days before departure from the prior port, not the start of the cruise. Of course we will be at sea for most of those four days before leaving Tenerife. So now we have to find a way to get tested on a port day, or else clarify that the EMed supervision counts for Vaxed passsengers. Yuck.

I might have missed it before, but I see the pre-cruise testing requirement now specifies that the test be done at a facility, not just "supervised." As we will be spending most of the days prior to the cruise travelling to England from the US, I had been planning to use one of the telemed supervised tests. This wrinkle complicates things! I guess we have to find a testing place in Southampton, ugh. Hubby has been to Bermuda a few times (I have not), and he is definitely not inclined to go through all these hoops....

Ooh, tell us everything! We have it booked for next year. Highlights, don't miss, don't bother, anything!

Yes, and that has been the state of things for several months. So unless the change to allowing unvaxxed passengers to also disembark messes up Celebrity's processes, we have to assume they have planned for this testing all along. I think it is more likely than not that we do stop in Bermuda.

OK, this ^^^ is a game-changer! I confess I never really miss candy when on a cruise because there is food everywhere, but this girl does enjoy a bit of chocolate sometimes. I have already used the "DIY milkshake" trick at the ice cream counter. Now I know I can just walk up and ask for a dish of toppings if the craving hits? Genius!

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09JKVTP5Q?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 This is what I bought after reading all these threads. No cord, so no violation, and it will charge my Macbook and also our USB A and C devices, which should cover us. I appreciate all the advice on here, as I had something with a cord (no surge protector, allegedly) in my cart, which could have been confiscated.

Really! I haven't heard back from the cancellation of my August 7 cruise (done over a month earlier) due to my having broken my wrist. I'll need to follow up!

OK, so for those of us on a TA from Europe, the requirement for all passengers to be tested within two days of landing has not changed. Bermuda has just opened up to unvaccinated passengers with restrictions (compared to previously being closed to unvaxed passengers.) Do I have that right? We are on the Silhouette TA out of Southampton which has an overnight stop in Bermuda. Celebrity has known since at least May that our cruise would require them to perform supervised tests of all passengers two days before arrival in Bermuda. That is still the case. So this latest change should not cause Celebrity to cancel this port. Am I missing something?

No news on Silhouette October 20, 2022 TA, which plans to overnight in Bermuda.

It is so interesting to see the amounts people are reporting that they tip! We've only ever had one cruise with a cabin steward who disappointed us, and even then we felt bad giving him only half of our normal extra amount. Here's a question - when you do select dining, how do you handle extra tips for the waitstaff? When we have done select dining in the MDR, we seriously get a different person/team each night. Actually, it's one of the main drawbacks to Select in my opinion. But what do people do?

You guys lost me a long time ago. But I did remove the corded hub (marked as cruise ship friendly, no surge protector) from my Amazon cart, and instead purchased a plain old outlet extender. So while I don't follow the technical details, I am comfortable that I will be able to charge my laptop, phones, and watch safely with no risk of confiscation. Appreciate the advice.

We're on it too, but it's the Apex 😄

About the advice to call to book - here's why: if you call, you get a dedicated agent (Celebrity Vacation Planner or CVP) who can help you with any issues that come up and answer questions. Best of all, they will give you an email address so you can get most issues handled without a call. And if you need a call, you can schedule a time for them to call you - and they do! No more waiting on hold. It may be annoying to have to wait on hold to make the original booking, but I promise it's worth it. And then you can use the same person for any future bookings, so that's the last "on hold" time you will likely experience.

Thank you for all of this info. We are in 2134, an accessible sky suite. Hubby uses a wheelchair full time due to advanced Multiple Sclerosis. I am so excited to try out the Retreat experience. Our last suite was on the Century (!) in 2008, and although the cabin and our butler Jude were amazing, the rest of the shipboard experience was nothing special. For many cruises after that, we chose Blu because it seemed a more special experience than we had in our Sky Suites. We look forward to experiencing the Retreat offering!