Margarita Jane

Just my experience….we did a b2b on Equinox, 8/1 and 8/8. We could not get the same stateroom for both sailings. On 8/1, we had a SV. It was great! On 8/8, we booked a balcony, and bid to move up to Aqua. We are Elite, but had never sailed in Aqua. Unfortunately, the stateroom we were assigned (1512) was under exercise equipment. Every morning at 6:00am, we were awakened by the pounding of people exercising…and we are not early risers.
 

Moral - with move up bids, you are getting a guarantee and have no choice of location. I knew that, but with ships sailing at or below 50%, I didn’t think I’d get the worse Aqua available (😳).

Probably won’t risk move up in the future….

We are doing a b2b - last week we had the surf package…and about all I could do was send and receive email.  I upgraded to stream this week, and I am much happier. With my elite discount it was $98 for the week.

29 minutes ago, SWFL Cruisers said:

They will test you at no charge for Sunday's cruise. Everyone is panicking about this for no reason. The ship is the safest place you can be. Relax and enjoy your cruise!

I’m doing a b2b, and wondering how I get a COVID test for 8/8 sailing. I did not get the same email as you did for the 8/1 sailing, but saw several posts that Celebrity would be doing the test for the 8/1 cruise.

@Justprettynpink Did Celebrity give you a test to get off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale? 
 

Celebrity is now requiring a Covid test to board! 

Thank you for all the information and the pictures! It is great info for our upcoming cruise.

I received this encouraging email from GOV.UK email today:

Entering England during coronavirus

Red, amber and green list rules for entering England

Page summary:
Countries rated as red, amber or green for Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the rules you must follow to enter England. 

Change made:
From 2 August, people who have been fully vaccinated in many European countries or the USA will not need to quarantine on arrival in England or take a day 8 test. 

Time updated:
2:44pm, 28 July 2021

This UK document has changed …. Previously it read that you could transit to another border control. What if you fly into Heathrow and fly out of Gatwick?
 

Still does not specifically say you have to pass through border control at the same place:

• ‘landside’ - you do pass through UK border control, but come back through it and leave the UK within a short amount of time (usually 24 hours)

The UK has rules for “transiting”. I am assuming we can “transit” from border Control at Heathrow, to border control at the port in Southampton. Not sure if we can enter the UK one day in advance which is what we’d like to do for our November 3 sailing. Always a crap shoot to fly in on the day of the cruise. Or, am I interpreting this “transit “ rule incorrectly?
 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-air-travel-guidance-for-passengers#transiting-through-england

6 minutes ago, keesar said:

The Key West saga continues.  Now it may be up to the Port Authority  (Commision) to deal with the issue. But for me, where will I get the key lime pie???

Publix!

I live is Sarasota County, FL and got my vaccinations from the health department. On a routine visit to my MD, I took my CDC card so he could enter into my medical records that I had been vaccinated. I was surprised when he said no need for the card, it was already in my medical record. There is a website for MD’s (and other health professionals?) called “Florida shots” which contained my vaccination info. When I got my vaccination, I had to list my MD info, so apparently the info was loaded onto my medical record via Florida Shots. Apparently why Martin County had the information for @flyhi120???

On 4/10/2021 at 1:50 AM, NSWP said:

We were on the last cruise of old Regal, out of LA to Sydney in September 2007. Great ship, we got hit by 12 metre (40 foot) seas off bottom of NZ, but she got us through it with a great Master, Capt Andrew Froude.

We were on that last cruise with you! Those 40ft seas were very interesting! Some table mates in a balcony cabin had water coming in under their balcony door. It was an interesting cruise!

1 minute ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Who is Mayor Daniella, what does she represent as to the possibility of cruise start up?  I'm assuming this is a Florida mayor?

Yes, she is the mayor of Miami.

I have not seen this link elsewhere on CC, so:

https://cruising.org/en/clia-action-center

@Thrak Thank you! And thanks to your wife, too!

Thanks for the response skylight. I had seen those pictures on “cruisedeckplans”, but a TA said they were full length windows - so I thought I’d ask someone who stayed in one of the window minis to get the real answer!

On 9/4/2020 at 5:30 PM, Thrak said:

 

We sailed on Island Princess in one of the forward "window mini suites" which also exist on Coral (Baja and Caribe). They are the size of a regular mini including balcony but the balcony area is part of the cabin and there's a window instead. The only issue was that the forward viewing decks (which as you note are right there) don't have any furniture. Great viewing decks for canal day though. Loved watching from there and that is where the info is broadcast from during the crossing.

 

I guess I do have to agree with others regarding the advisability of a balcony given the uncertainty involved these days. I love that aft OV cabin but wouldn't want to be confined to it with fresh air only a few steps away but not accessible.

@Thrak - We are thinking of booking a “window mini suite” on the Coral. How big is the window? Is it like the ocean view windows or larger?

3 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I am glad for you that you got your vaccine - based on what I have read on the news about Florida you were very lucky indeed.  I wish our state would prioritize those 65 and older as well, but we are following CDC recommendations which puts us in the third phase😔 (as we are not 75+).. 

 

But doesn't it concern you that residency is not required?  I believe states get allocated vaccines based on population.  I am presuming the snow birds do not get counted as population?  If that is true, then there is a huge disparity.  The northern states where they live will have a surplus, and the actual residents of Florida will have to wait even longer.  Doesn't seem fair to me, unless my assumptions are incorrect.

@phoenix_dreamI think there is a love-hate relationship with snowbirds in Florida and probably other southern states as well ( have you heard the song “If It’s Snowbird Season, Why Can’t We Shoot Them” by Brent Burns?). But, this is how I feel....Snowbirds are going to the same stores, the same churches, the same restaurants, the same beaches, etc. that I go to. Therefore to prevent community spread, let’s vaccinate everyone we can, and everyone that wants a vaccine. If a snowbird gets seriously ill from COVID-19, they are taking up a bed in our local hospital. So, while I kinda freaked out when I first heard it, I decided it makes sense to vaccinate everybody that is spending time in my ‘hood 😁.
 

I live in Florida and had a better experience than Ride-the -Waves. I was very happy our governor approved the vaccine for those over 65 in the first wave. DH and I were able to get appointments and got our first shot. First time in my life that I was glad to be over 65! While the whole process took 1.5 hours, I felt like they moved us along, and we were able to sit most of the time, so the wait did not seem too bad.

I also find it interesting that residency is not a requirement - so snowbirds can get their vaccinations here in Florida. We have international snowbirds, just not as many this year as other years. So maybe crew could get vaccinated in Florida. I wouldn’t think they would fall into the first categories - health care workers and over 65, so it may not be available to them until later in the year.

You guys always have great info before I see it anywhere else. Are there any test cruises actually happening now? 

Thank you so much for sharing! It is so wonderful to know that someone is back on the water! Enjoy your trip!

So very happy to say after 103 days, we have received all our refunds and corrected FCC’s for March 15 Eclipse. 

@moveebuff I am still waiting for refunds for bev pkg, WiFi and shore excursions for 3/15/20 Eclipse which Celebrity cancelled on 3/14/20 while we ready to board in Santiago, Chile. We just received FCC emails from Celebrity today (!) and DH and I received different amounts - mine was about 65% of what it should have been and his was about 40% of what it should have been. So we are at 101 days, too, and about the end of my patience with Celebrity. 

Thank you for your responses. On one of my recent calls to X, “Eric“ told me the FCC would come from my TA, so I wanted to know from fellow CC’ers what their experience was (he also said he would call me back....ha!). I have elevated my calls to the executive desk and they seem to be very helpful. Fingers crossed!