bengaltiger1

This is the link to the advice from the British Government. 
 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cruise-ship-travel

Guidance

Cruise ship travel

Guidance for British people about cruise ship holidays, with specific advice for people aged 70 and over and people with health conditions.

Published 12 March 2020

From:

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office advises British nationals aged 70 and over and those with pre-existing health conditions against cruise ship travel at this time.

This is based on the government Chief Medical Officer’s advice. It follows a number of cruise ships around the world being locked down due to coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks on board.

If you are aged 70 and over, or if you have underlying health conditions, an outbreak on board could put you at a higher risk of severe disease. This could lead to hospitalisation in another country, and potential disruption to medical care for any underlying conditions.

Underlying health conditions include, but are not limited to:

chronic respiratory disease, including asthma

chronic heart disease

chronic renal disease

chronic liver disease

chronic neurological disease

diabetes requiring insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs

weakened immune system due to drug treatment or disease

current or recent chemotherapy

This list is not exhaustive. If you are in any doubt and you have a chronic health condition, you should speak to your doctor.

Plan ahead

All cruise ship passengers or those planning to go on a cruise should be aware a COVID-19 outbreak on board is possible, and your travel may be disrupted.

If you already have cruise travel plans, you should speak to your travel operator or the travel company you booked with for further advice.

If you’re already on a cruise ship, you should follow the advice of the ship’s authorities. This includes complying with any precautionary health measures or quarantine procedures that may be put in place.

For further information on preparing to travel abroad and helping reduce the spread of the virus, see the NHS guidance and the TravelHealthPro guidance.

Published 12 March 2020

This is an article referring to NRD and what may constitute an unfair contract in the U.K. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47949915
 

I got price drops on both my cruises. One booked on the ship and transferred to Celebrity UK and one booked directly through them. Plus, some OBC. So it can happen in the UK depending on who you deal with. 

12 hours ago, slewis7 said:

My wife and I have cruised many times on Celebrity and other lines, but never in a Suite.  We are planning on making a 2022 booking for the Solstice within a few days and are strongly considering a Sky Suite cabin.  We are looking for recommendations on which deck and cabins to choose.  Thanks in advance for any advice!

We were in S1 9374 on Solstice for the Sydney to Honolulu cruise nearly three years ago. We loved it.  

Just now, george35 said:

We have the classic drink pkg. can we use that in the MDR or will we have to bring a drink in with us???

 

george35

You can use it in the MDR. 

The cost onboard the first of our B2B cruises was $332 for stream/ one device. $188 for surf/one device. I don’t recall seeing reductions, but I don’t have all the flyers. That was our eleven nights cruise. They then put an offer out for two days unlimited $95 for the last two days of the cruise. I think it was similar pricing on the 13 nights cruise we are on now. The same offer for $95 came out yesterday. 

2 hours ago, sakigemcam said:

Thank you - do you know if WhatsApp would work with the Surf package? I'd think so?

Yes it does work with WhatsApp. Could not make calls over the WiFi or load Instagram, but I could post photos to Facebook. It was slow though. 

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

That's weird! Did the current cruise originate in Sydney? If so I wonder why they are making you go through a passport inspection when you go ashore? 

The current cruise starts and ends in Sydney, but the second cruise goes to NZ. Returning to Sydney. No idea why, but the last time we left Sydney In 2017 to go to Honolulu we had to go through immigration before check in. I expected that, but not this at end of first cruise and then again at the start. If the process changes I will try to remember to come back and update the information. 

Hello we are on Solstice currently and will be on the next cruise. The current cruise is the GBR and only has Australian ports. The next cruise goes to New Zealand and then back to Sydney. Below is the information we have received ready for change over day:

We have received an invitation to a meeting to explain the disembarkation process. It takes place two days before the end of the cruise. 

A transit pass 
 

A B2B letter detailing breakfast and lunch times and details of what to do on changeover day:

you need to disembark the vessel at anytime between 7:00 and 9:00 using your current sea pass card

your new sea pass card will be given to you at the gangway.
once in the terminal building have your passport, transit pass & arrival card ready for inspection. 
please not your will not be able to come back onboard before 11:30 approx. 
to re enter the terminal, please present your transit pass and original passport to security. 
you will not go through the check in process. Proceed to level 2 to take a new picture and then to level 3 where you will be seen by immigration. 
 

Due to Australian Border Force regulations, once you board the ship you will not be able to exit the ship again that day. 

some information if you are changing stateroom etc 

26 minutes ago, Beachlover1989 said:

We are sailing in AQ class for the first time on an Antarctica cruise on the Silhouette in January 2021.  We got a cabin towards Aft where the AQ cabins are below all the Sky Suites on Deck 12 because we don't like to be underneath public areas.  Are these cabins good?  I'm just wondering why the AQ class cabins on Deck 11 that are underneath the pool deck are considered A1 and the ones in our location are A2?  TIA!

 I am not sure about that either, but we have sailed in Aqua several times and one time we were under the gym. We got a wake up call early in the morning from the noise above. Others have commented about the cabins under the pool and the noise from chairs being dragged in to position. After our experience we booked cabins towards to back of the ship as you have done.  Maybe it’s down to the longer walk to the lifts?

8 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

An aside, but does the UK site still list available cabins??  When I go to the uk site and do a search for a cruise, it seems to take me to the US results page format..... ??

  
yes, you can see. Select the type of cabin. Ie Veranda. Then it will come up with two options, you choose and we choose. Select you choose and it will take you to another screen. If you click on the deck number it will show you the deck plan and which cabins are available. You can choose deck view or list view. We started to be directed to the .com site after Celebrity brought in the separate perks in the U.K.  

Just now, oceangoer2 said:

 

thanks so much for the pic...I can visualize now....like other cabins the smaller bedside table can be switched with the larger and go in between the beds...at least that's my theory.  Did you like the 'different' room shape or was it awkward?

We liked it. The pole wasn’t an issue and we didn’t bump in to it at all. We loved being aft and enjoying the views. S1 on Silhouette and a S1 on Solstice. That photo is from Solstice on the Starboard side,  but it’s the same set up.  The second pole was by the sofa. The second photo is taken from the direction of the cabin door. Excuse all the decorations. It was my husband’s special birthday and Celebrity did us proud. 

Just now, oceangoer2 said:

 

Is there room to push them into 2 twins or only 2 together into a Queen??

There is room to have them separated, but I think the gap between the two may not be huge.  They can move the bedside table further over I think. 

28 minutes ago, oceangoer2 said:

Judging by the picture of the cabin with a 'pole by the bed' it seems there can only be a Queen size rather than 2 Twins.  If you've been in this cabin setup can you let me know which is the case?  Thanks for your help. 

We have been in aft S1 twice with the pole by the bed and we had two twin beds pushed together. 

12 minutes ago, chemmo said:

 

Thanks, if we do see prices drop for our cruises I may do some pushing! 

 

I think the snag for us is that we tend to book RS or PH and rather than drop the prices of those they are left high and then others simply bid to upgrade...

The two cruises are the first that we haven’t been in a suite or aqua. Though prices on aqua and a Sky Suite did drop. The GBR cruise did not sell very well at first and there was a PH available on either that one or the NZ one last week. Yes, you are  in the fortunate position of being in a RS or PH with the unfortunate position of not seeing any price drops.  We have friends who have cruised in both and they are fabulous, but out of our budget. We can dream though 😄 come on ERNIE you know you want me to win the million pounds prize.  
The MDR will be a new experience for us and there seems to be very mixed reviews. We have quite a lot of OBC, so do have the option of speciality dining or even the OV which seems to get quite good comments for the evening choices. We have never gone there in an evening either. 
we have had the same agent for our Celebrity cruises for the last six years. During one conversation I commented on the fact that we didn’t get price drops in the U.K. and I couldn’t see why they wouldn’t do for us what they do in other countries. That was about a month before I asked for the first price drop.  As I have got older I am more inclined to be upfront and ask for things or comment on things that I wouldn’t have done ten years ago. 

25 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

Is this an official policy?  If so, where have you seen it written down? Thanks.

2 minutes ago, chemmo said:

 

I am also very interested in this. I am not aware of any change either and I recently asked our Celebrity agent and he said they weren’t...

 

They have usually allowed upgrades but not price drops...unless it was on a specific offer and for a limited time period...

My personal experience is this:

On previous cruises the cost of my cruise prior to final payment has never dropped lower than the amount I paid. Except for 2012, when I booked a cruise and the next day Costa Concordia ran aground and the bottom dropped out of cruise prices. On that occasion, we had to cancel, lose our deposit and rebook. 
 

I have a B2B booked. One cruise was booked August 18 ( that was the month I changed the cruise from one originally booked In the April). The next one was booked onboard in November 18. We book booked the original cruise through Celebrity UK. I have only used a TA once back in 2012. 
 

The price dropped on both cruises in May 19.  After reading other social media that Celebrity UK were honouring price drops, I thought I would ask. I wasn’t expecting a yes.  I got the price drop on both cruises. The offers were still the same and remained the same. They both dropped again and this time they gave me some OBC to reflect the price drop.  Then the offer changed and the price dropped again.  I had to accept the new offer, which replaced WiFi with OBC. It was still worth it to us.  All in all on both cruises I have saved £1904 and gained $400 OBC. That does not take in to account the OBC given as part of the offer. Of course, the UK has switched to the US model now with perks and prices have gone up to reflect that.  
 

I have not seen it reflected in written policy, but others from the UK have reported obtaining price drops from Celebrity UK when their booking has been directly with them.  I am not allowed to mention other social media platforms. 

4 hours ago, downsmead said:

In the UK, for the cruise you mention, the cruise only price is dearer than your $1789pp for a (non-obstructed) veranda cabin. 
If you add a perk and $150 OBC, the price is then over £1990pp. In past years we had paid this for two people for a Caribbean cruise. In addition, although HostAnne suggests price watching and re-pricing if a better price becomes available, we are generally unable to do this in the UK unless we forfeit our deposit. Occasionally it has been worth doing this if it means we get a better deal (cheaper price / better deal even after losing the £300 deposit).

Celebrity U.K. have started to honour price drops before final payment.  

Out of interest I have looked at a cruise that I have booked and on which Celebrity UK had already honoured price drops. ( now past final payment date)  I had the CDP and $300 OBC included as an offer in the U.K.   Today that same cruise has the exact same cruise fare that I got in a price drop. However, on a dummy booking if I add the two perks of CDP and the OBC it costs £600 more than I paid. Strange. The no frills is £70 cheaper than I paid. 
It also details a refundable deposit, but when you click through and then check the cancellation policy it clearly states £150 pp if cancelled in a stated timeframe.

2 hours ago, zeberdee said:

Hi,
I just wanted to know if any Brits needed to take their passports with them when visiting Bonaire & also if you needed to have a minimum of 6 months left on it?
 

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

 The most up to date and reliable information is on the gov.uk site. Here is the link for advice on Bonaire:

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/bonaire-st-eustatius-saba/entry-requirements

On 11/6/2019 at 10:03 AM, paphoslady said:

I live in the UK but booked my next cruise on Eclipse whilst on board some 18 months ago. Typically in the UK if the price goes down there is nothing that we can do apart from cancel and re-book. Does anyone know if it's different if you have booked on board?

 I am in the U.K. and booked directly with Celebrity UK for one cruise and then booked the second cruise to create a b2b cruise while onboard. That cruise was transferred to the Celebrity agent in the UK. 
We have saved £1904 In total in price drops, upgraded our cabin and received some OBC too on both cruises. We are not past final payment date yet.  
I would ask. 
 

1 minute ago, mickey89 said:

Our non refundable rate are significantly lower than the US non refundable rate.

They pay up to $1000 more to gain the benefit of refundable rate.

Would you pay £800 more for those benefits ?

 I am not quite sure why you feel the need to keep digging at me. I simply posted that Celebrity UK had given me price drops and that we have little flexibility in the UK. Both are facts. I was surprised to get the price drops, but figured if you don’t ask, you don’t get. We don’t have a choice in the U.K. on holiday deposits as I am sure you know. It’s not just Celebrity. No one can predict how Celebrity’s T&C would alter in the event of a change to their deposit policy in the U.K. . 

Just now, mickey89 said:

 

Would you pay up to $1000 more for that flexibility.  Thats the difference between their Non Refundable and Refundable option.

We don’t have a choice. The deposit is non refundable in the U.K. 

Just now, mrsgoggins said:

 

Congratulations!  I have also had good service from the agent I use at Celebrity, specific  details of which I don’t post because I am certain he goes above and beyond on my behalf.  The fact that this year alone I’ve taken 5 Celebrity cruises also might be a factor - I just don’t know.  What is indisputable is that UK terms and conditions generally allow next to no flexibility.

 Yes, we have very little flexibility  in the U.K. I am hoping that they are starting to show a little now! 

4 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

Beware!  If you booked via Celebrity UK then your cruise, and fare price would be fixed with no opportunity to cancel or re-fare should the price drop without losing your deposit.  An exception is if you book on board and then you have the ability to move your deposit to another sailing.

 

US terms allow a lot more flexibility.

I have asked for and got price drops on a B2B cruise for 2020 I booked with Celebrity UK. First part was booked onboard and transferred to the agent we always use at Celebrity UK. . Second was booked through the Celebrity agent.  I had to accept the new offers on both cruises, but the price drops were well worth it. So far I have saved £1904 in total and moved from a 1A balcony to a Sunset Balcony. 
The only time we have had a price drop previously was in 2012. We booked a cruise on 12th January and on the 13th January the Costa Concordia tragedy occurred. Prices dropped dramatically. However, we had to cancel and rebook. We lost the £300 deposit, but still saved £1700.  
 

5 hours ago, mickey89 said:

Celebrity UK confirmed today that the charge will apply to the UK as well.

Their literature will need to change as this side of the pond FREE means free.

 

That’s interesting, because on other social media,  people have posted that Celebrity has confirmed that it does not apply to the UK. As we have no choice in what’s bundled in to the cruise package, the only way I can see this happening is if they have decided to change to the US model of business. The current offer ends on 18/11. 

Only one device at a time can be signed in to the account. So if your partner wants to use it, you will need to sign out.