kearney

I do believe that was there for our Dec 3 sailing. I think some people have said that their app now says masking is required indoors... which would be a big change. So far the only masking reference for onboard says that is not required for vaccinated.  Now I suspect that this mask request I have heard about.. is being done for cruises in the immediate future. My next cruise is in mid Feb... so I am hopeful that this will not be necessary by then. Some 'experts' suspect that this Omicron should peak within the next few weeks.. so fingers crossed

9 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

That is great to hear!  It is definitely a great idea to have one contact line (with back-ups as needed) for people under quarantine.  I spent much of my career as a project manager and manager of junior project managers, and I can tell you without a doubt that project planning is definitely a skill, and far fewer people possess it than you would think.  Celebrity needs a few good project managers to help them plan this out better!  The number of cases onboard this ship were not at all so extreme that the handling should have been such a mess.  

I had the same thought. I was thinking that if you could find the right passenger who is in quarantine with nothing to do...perhaps a group could be ombudsmen dividing up areas...one could handle contact with other quarantined passengers for food service needs..another for plans on exiting the ship.. that sort of thing. That way one person could call into room service making for fewer calls ... and help organize information flow. I would suggest a crew member but if they too are sick.. I was thinking that someone who is in isolation but not ill...might be a good person.. the problem is identifying those who would be good at doing this. Equinox seems to have been overwhelmed and any plan they had did not factor in either large numbers or perhaps ill crew into their calculations. I understand passenger frustration...particularly if impacted early in the cruise...but I am also sympathetic to a likely overworked and stretched crew.  I was a product manager... involved in managing projects for my brand... and these things are tough to do on the fly. 

I am on Feb 11 Equinox... the health App still says it is not required. So I suspect this is a temporary step to help get a hold of the crisis...or at least appear to. The masks most people wear are not really effective and the cloth ones apparently are only 11% effective.. I assume that would include the ones in the cabins. It will be interesting to see if late Jan cruises have this added to their apps as well. Still deciding what to do in Feb. I canceled an August cruise over this, but that was because we were flying to Nassau to avoid masking... no point in doing that... but in that case Royal allowed full refund. vs FCC

Are you kidding me..is this a serious question. I just hope they can survive the last two weeks.

I don't believe the 'available' cabin numbers. I suspect that they are holding back cabins to keep capacity under control and to allow for quarantining. We sail on Feb 11 and it shows the ship virtually filled.. I don't believe that for a moment. We sailed in early Dec in a ship with 47% capacity... and after these last two weeks I do not believe they would have as many ..let alone more booked cabins.

I wonder if people have travel insurance...couldn't they assist in locating hotel?

It might be a good idea to establish a point person for contact with impacted passengers..but what do you do when that point person is infected themselves. Perhaps this is an odd idea.. but identify a quarantined passenger or passengers to act as an ombudsman... they have nothing else to do... they could help funnel calls rather than have hundreds call... (have someone gather up questions and then get back to the passenger..unless it is something requiring ..say medical input).. that might take some of the pressure off. One person could say gather up room service requests, another protocol requests..that kind of thing.. Anyway it is an idea.

If all they symptoms are like OPs... would they be doing this if the illness was called..the flu? Sounds like vaccination keeps illness mild.. so I am wondering if on an essentially all vaccinated cruise, this is all an over reaction... we won't know until later when we look back. Are people generally quarantined during flu season? I honestly don't know... I know they do for norovirus.. but that is generally 2 days..as I recall.

I wonder if people have travel insurance...couldn't they assist in locating hotel?

2 hours ago, sunseeker551 said:

Thank you to all those reporting their experience being quarantined. I'm a little disappointed to hear how you're being treated.  Aren't these ships sailing at reduced capacity?  I would have thought they'd have the manpower to do more for you (and without long waits) but I'm guessing maybe there are a lot more people in quarantine than we realize.  

 

We're due to sail in 2 weeks and after reading this thread and those on Facebook's Celebrity Captains Club, I think we're going to have to cancel.

 

I hope you all have a speedy recovery and a safe trip home.

reduced capacity AND importantly reduced staffing.

5 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

It matters because I am sailing in two weeks in a Sky Suite on 6 and don't want to be notified last minute that I am being moved to a balcony cabin so they can quarantine on deck 6. If they are using deck 6 on Connie I would cancel and change to a later sailing 

I understand...we have a deck 6 cabin near the midship elevators... for a reason... we can easily park a scooter outside the cabin without impacting the width of the hallway and bed is by the window and in a pinch DH can navigate one flight of stairs.. slowly..but he can do it. So I am not crazy about being moved at the last minute to some less accommodating location

I suspect that as the numbers grow their ability to service the quarantined becomes more challenging. So while they might have had a departure plan when they had a few dozen... as the number grow..planning or that I am sure has become more complicated......who has to quarantine, who can just go home... etc. How many hazmat suites do they have to escort many off the ship... must be a logistical nightmare. I hope everyone ends up with mild illnesses and can someday say with humor ...do you remember the time when...  I wish all the sick and their families a safe journey home. There were risks sailing during a pandemic and unfortunately you drew the short straw. I lucked out in Mar '20 and in my Dec '21 sailing... managing to get through the trip just before all hell broke loose...which is why I am wondering about Feb...do I really want to risk it yet again. If we do...I will be bringing lots of books... too bad no one will want them after I finish..should I get it.

40 minutes ago, Softball20 said:

Best wishes for a speedy recovery and thanks for all the great info.  We were supposed to be on the Equinox tomorrow but postponed the cruise until late February - and I'm hoping that's enough time for things to settle down a bit. 

 

Safe travels home!

Yeah... we are on the Feb 11th sailing... we have moved this cruise twice already. My plan is to wait until early Feb to see if the peak is over and if the disease continues to be as mild as it has been for vaccinated. We are driving so most of the risk is going to be at hotels/restaurant along the way and in the terminal. OPs thread does make me pause however. We were quarantined once with Noro virus..made me really appreciate a balcony cabin...won't sail without one now.  In addition to being more concerned about being locked up because of a positive test.. than I am getting it... I am wondering if they will move us out of our deck 6 cabin... a look at the ship for our sailing...appears to be very full...which I don't believe ..so I suspect they are doing their own capacity control as well as blocking out cabins for quarantine purposes. So we will see what happens. Remember the old days when the biggest concerns were flight delays and just how early you could get on the ship and then off at the end of the cruise... ah good times.

15 minutes ago, emory2001 said:

They text you a link, and you can access it through your CVS My Chart account. The printout looks best if you do it on a desktop computer. It has the CVS logo and a big NEGATIVE at the top.

We were on the road when we got our results... I logged onto the app and emailed the pdf of the results and at the pier I just showed them my phone. That was okay

If you are trying to cruise right now and require air travel to get to port... it really seems you have to have the patience of Job and the luck of the Irish (except in the Fiesta Bowl..but I digress). OPs trip is a cautionary tale on how messed up things can get... with everything that can go wrong just getting an actual test within the timeframe, airline cancelations due to covid or weather or other staffing issues, the need to have negative test results for everyone in an environment where Omicron is running wild. I would say the odds of everything going smoothly are against you.   We are scheduled for one in Feb and while we had luck in Dec... we drove and are close enough that we could get tested and get results before getting out of state... but back then tests were plentiful and no lines...now... well... my plan is to see if Omicron begins to fade by Feb 1... if news is relatively positive I will make an appointment and reevaluate based on ease of securing one.. if there are still lines.. I will order the home kit... assuming it is available. if things are still nuts..we will reschedule...    I really feel for OP... we lucked out and there is a part of me that doesn't want to push my luck.. but I would love to go..

8 hours ago, chemmo said:

Have cruised on both since their refit. 
 

The biggest differences are for suite guests, Silhouette winning for a much better sun deck. However, if you use the basket ball court at all Equinox still has one…

 

Dining, we really enjoyed the extra dining venues on Silhouette. Both Lawn Grill and the Porch offer relaxing dining venues. If you are spending a lot of time on the ship they can be great alternatives for a leisurely lunch as well as evening option (additional cost, obviously). 
 

Rooms, we believe on the Silhouette all rooms had a makeover whereas on Equinox I think suites only had soft furnishings changed, perhaps Aqua also had rooms refreshed? I think other rooms remained the same. Perhaps, someone can confirm. Certainly our suite on Silhouette had had much more of a makeover than our suite on Equinox.

 

We did not use the MDR on either ship. The buffets seemed very similar as did most of the bars other than the Sunset bar where the additional seating areas on Silhouette made a big positive difference.

 

Entertainment. We find the strength of entertainment on Celebrity are the individual and small groups of artists that play in the lounges and atrium area. I would say our experience on both ships is similar. It is important to check your Today so that you don’t miss things.

 

Activities. I would not see this as a strength of any Celebrity ship where most guests seem happy to focus on rest and relaxation. Again, you need to check your Today as there are no announcements after the 10am one. Far more activities on other lines like RC. Cannot really offer a comparison between ships as our Equinox cruise was pre covid and our Silhouette one was a few months ago when more restrictions were in place. However, having cruised all S class ships, some multiple times, we have noticed very little difference in offerings.

 

So in summary…The rooms may be a bit fresher on Silhouette, also she has more dining options. For suite guests she has a better sun deck too. If none of these were important to me I would judge on pricing and itinerary…

 

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a fantastic cruise!

I am wondering when you sailed Equinox?... we did so just after the 'refresh' and only the curtains and pillows had been updated. I assumed that over the months the carpets and other items would have been refreshed. We are sailing in Feb...we hope... and in a cabin close to one we had last time..so I guess we will learn then if those changes were made. We just got off silhouette... I was glad to see that the Sky lounge still had its broad view forward...the upgraded decor in the cabins was nice and the gray tone look better than the Equinox's mix of gray and beige/rust. However.. the bathroom tile still goes better with the older color scheme.

To OP... We didn't even go to the shows when we were recently on Silhouette..so I can't comment. We did stop at all ports of call..but we had no known covid cases. It appears that most of the ports that have closed have done so because of an outbreak onboard the visiting ship. It there is an outbreak.. entertainment might be modified as well... I seem to have come across that. So your onboard experience may vary depending upon the health of the ship. We lucked out in early Dec..hope we will do so again in mid Feb...but only time will tell.  

From the website:https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/faqs 

16 hours ago, eroller said:

My understanding is that Deck 6 is being used as a quarantine deck which might explain why you were moved.  That is what has been reported anyway.  

 

Mind you I'm in a Deck 6 cabin and sail this Monday on APEX and my cabin has not been changed, so I'm not sure how consistent or reliable the info is.  Maybe it depends on the sailing, or maybe mine will be moved during embarkation which many people have reported.  

It might depend upon when there is a crew turnover. On Silhouette Dec 3 sailing, I noticed deck 6 was closed off. Our steward and one of the bar tenders each told me that they were leaving the ship the same day we were and that their replacements were in quarantine...part of the Celebrity process. So it may be less a ship issue than when the replacement crew is to start.

Read the Celebrity info on testing https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/accepted-covid-tests;

Some options:

1) rapid antigen test... results in hours vs days... you can look for test sites that make appointments..eg CVS.

2) you can do the home test that you can order via a relationship Celebrity has with a supplier of home tests that are proctored by a medical person over the internet https://store.optum.com/celebrity-cruises/

What my process was for early Dec cruise (before Omicron craziness)... knowing that I was taking two days to drive to port. 1) I made an appointment with CVS for the earliest I could get.. I got up early about two weeks before to secure early appointment..back before lines were around the block..so this could be an issue 2) I developed a backup list of places were I could walk in for a rapid test..in case something went wrong with CVS appointment

3) I considered the home test, but heard of missing parts and some issues that I decided to gamble and not order one... you might want to view come youtube videos of testing to decide. here is an example of one such video

Result..CVS test happened on schedule...we began or drive to port..about an hour into our drive got a text that results were in...pulled over... I had already downloaded the app for CVS minuteclinic... and we got our results.

We are going on another cruise in mid Feb. For that cruise... I will try to make an appointment and may also order the home kit if we still are in a situation where people are standing in lines to get tested... I will wait and see. This also depends on whether or not we still plan on going

14 hours ago, Terre said:

Let me be clear...all of the staff/crew wore masks and wore them correctly, except when I took their pics.  As far as I could see, tables were spaced out for social distancing; not sure where you read that, but not in my review.  This was the first time the Beef Wellington had that stuff on the pastry.  Normally all of the Beef Wellingtons I've gotten on Celebrity have been good.

The stuff on the pastry is part of a traditional Beef Wellington... I had to google it since my sister makes this..not me...queen of the processed foods.... it is called "Duxelles"..it is a mixture of mushrooms, shallots, garlic and parsley... probably other stuff involved. I suspect yours had too much of this and that might have made the pastry a bit mushy... 

We didn't notice a spacing issue...but that might have been because DH has trouble walking and we were seated by the railing near the hostess station with no one near. I had no issues with the food... frankly anything someone else prepares is always at least a few stars...:)  I must have been oblivious to the various protocol violations I keep reading about. I just can't imagine being on the crew stuck on a ship for months at a time forced to wear masks morning to night and not being able to get off at any port. Sounds like hell to me.  If you want to talk about social distancing.. I hear comments about vans and dining rooms..but did anyone notice how packed in everyone was when we got off the ship..and the pushing and shoving.. no 6' there for sure...but if the ship had tried to force it.. I don't believe that passengers would have complied.

1 minute ago, toddmanka said:

I second Park n Go. The BEST

I agree... we have had great luck there...especially during these reduced capacity sailings... we were the only one on the shuttle to the ship...and there were two waiting when we got off. 

4 hours ago, zdad59 said:

Could be but unlikely.     This is a sailing they Blue Chip Club.    I got a Sky Suite at a stupid good rate.   No sale would beat that, but maybe the additional OBCs from a sale got added.  
 

Interesting to see that this happened to others too.   Makes me feel like maybe they won’t take it back.  

Wonder if this has something to do with the Casino... ??

Earlier in the year there was a sale that had OBC as part of it... could this be OBC from that sale.. I know I reached out to the company and got a slight reprice but some OBC.

I too am sorry to have strayed off OPs topic. I just had seen a story about passengers upset on one of the covid cruise ships... and vented in the wrong place.

Right now, if you are concerned about covid...I would not sail... period. The ships are at least 95% vaccinated.. you run into more risk at the hotel, restaurant, gas station restroom airport and cab/uber ride..where you have not idea if someone is vaccinated or not. I am hoping that the latest variant burns through quickly and is as mild as reports suggest. Keep in mind vaccinated and boosted people have still gotten covid... 

We sailed in early December out of Ft Lauderdale and as soon as we got off the park n Go shuttle one of the porters went and got us someone with a wheelchair. With reduced capacity the port seemed to have plenty of help.

Now in the past we have had an issue getting a chair. As I recall I had DH sit on a bench..there was one where the shuttles drop people off...and then I went out in search of someone with a chair. 

My suggestion is tell the porter you need a chair... most are helpful, so they will likely call out to someone for you. These people all seem to know each other. 

This has always been the weakest link in the boarding chain if you need assistance.

Why not try to call to see if you can do some of this over the phone? not sure this would work... but worth a try...to shorten your effort at the port. Also not sure what you do when you don't have a check in time.  good luck.. but they will want you on board..