lexmiller

Trying to figure this out (not sure if I mentioned that we have 4 Eclipse cruises booked for the spring so the specter of B2B testing has us VERY concerned), as to why Celebrity's (thus, RCCL) testing for B2B is so different from Princess, as per @traveldayzfirst person account above......to wit, that Celebrity's B2B testing is MONITORED by crew, but Princess isn't testing at all - or, and this was mentioned earlier, that Princess passed out self-tests to the appropriate cabins and the cabin stewards returned later to collect the results - and thus, NOT monitored. So how is this being driven, who is making the rules and what are they based on, as you mentioned, international vs domestic perhaps......not sure I am grasping this.........?? Thank you for any more light you can shed!

Thanks for your reply! Interesting what you're saying, because for the Dec 20 Eclipse cruise, the B2Bers were tested on Dec 20!!!, and had already settled into their new cabins (for those that had to switch cabins for their next cruise, often happens that you can't book the same cabin for both cruises), so were given the option to leave for a FCC or could stay onboard......so as such, if what you're saying is the case about local protocols, if not tested until after they'd reboarded onto the next cruise, then they could in fact stay on........very interesting!

I have been following the roll calls for the Celebrity Eclipse very closely, and have corresponded with several of the passengers who are on board now (via another social site). It has been for a fact confirmed, that for the B2B passengers for the Dec 9 cruise, that B2B MONITORED mandatory testing, was conducted by the crew. Same exact thing for the B2B passengers staying onboard for the Dec 20 cruise on Eclipse - MONITORED mandatory testing done by the ship's crew. If positive - you are given two choices - get off and receive a FCC for the next cruise, OR, go into forced isolation for 5 days on board - meaning, you are not forced to get off, you are allowed to stay on board and continue on with your next leg. It has been reported very specifically, that a cash refund for those 5 days onboard in forced isolation will be given. I think it's not fair that to get on the ship in the first place, that only a self-test is required, not MONITORED - but, if you are B2B, for the next leg, you must submit to monitored testing.

Wanted to update what I'd written regarding the mandatory monitored B2B testing occurring on the Eclipse - indeed, several (I have no idea how many, but several have posted on the Dec 20 social roll call) B2B passengers tested positive for covid and are in forced isolation. But good news is that the Eclipse is still not registering as any Tier level on the Australian cruise tiered danger list. Passengers have reported that they were given the opportunity to disembark on Dec 20 and receive a FCC for the cruise, or to stay on board and isolate for 5 days in their own cabin and receive an actual cash refund for those 5 days. I don't know if after 5 days they have to retest, or if they're allowed their freedom no matter what. Imagine being in isolation over Christmas? https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/travel/cruising-rules

Agree with this absolutely - we've sailed 7 times this year, out of several different embarkation ports, and never ever once did anyone at the port care about assigned arrival times. You arrive, you enter the terminal. The arrival times are "suggestions", assigned with the thought that congestion might be alleviated if enough people follow the suggestion.

Hi, @coldcdn- I wanted to get back to you, and to others following this topic. I can state that for a fact, MONITORED MANDATORY B2B testing is occurring on the Eclipse. It has been reported that B2B passengers who test positive during the monitored mandatory B2B test, are not disembarked - they are allowed to remain on board but are forced to isolate in their cabins, not allowed to leave their cabins. To board the Eclipse, only a home self-test is required - it's been reported that the test to board is basically a "box ticking", an attestation that you are negative - test is not required to be monitored. Passengers take photos of their results on their phones, as that is a time stamp - but they are not necessarily required to show them. However, it's a totally different story for B2B passengers on the Eclipse, as that is a monitored mandatory test administered by the crew. So, yes, for the larger topic of this thread, covid is still "a thing" on Celebrity - testing, forced isolation - definitely still happening. HOWEVER, I don't know how widespread this is across the fleet, if B2B monitored testing is only happening on the Australian/New Zealand itineraries - because of their government regulations??? Would be interesting to hear from other B2B passengers who are cruising RIGHT NOW - not a month ago, but currently, as things change, ebb and flow, quickly - monitored B2B testing makes cruising a very risky business, and for sure, makes cruising in Australia/NZ very concerning as traveling halfway across the world to miss ports, is not something that sounds at all attractive. https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/travel/cruising-rules Currently, based upon the above Australian cruise danger level list, the Eclipse has no cases of covid onboard - the Dec 9 cruise ended on Dec 20. I wonder if we can make the assumption then, that no one tested positive on the mandatory monitored B2B testing? If so, then the only way the Tier level of Eclipse will increase is if passengers go on their own to Medical and self-report.

I think that perhaps, they're referring to the stunningly beautiful and unique chairs in Eden - not the chairs on the verandas? Even the chairs in the Oceanview are beautiful. Challenge yourself to count the variety of chairs throughout the ship in the various venues. One of the Celebrity Live Activities on our TA on Edge was in fact a treasure hunt regarding the chairs, to seek and find the various designs. I am a huge fan, one of the details that sets Celebrity apart from other lines.

Yes, the chairs on the SVs are high backed, and the footstools are not a sure thing, we've had them and we haven't had them. I do totally understand the mobility issue, and that's something else altogether - those needs for you take precedence, of course! We have a daughter with a physical disability and when we cruise with her, have to book eons in advance in order to get an accessible cabin - no last minute cruising possible as those always go quickly and overall, there are not enough of them.

Yes, that's precisely correct, you have it exactly right.

YES, I think it's definitely worth noting that when booked in a Sky Suite on the Edge Class ships, same thing happens with the AirCon that folks have mentioned about the infinite verandas - if balcony door is open, nearly instantly, the AirCon turns off. We were very disappointed about that.......loved our suite, loved the Retreat, loved our "real" balcony but were unable to leave the balcony door open if we also wanted the AirCon on. I'm one of those sleepers that absolutely loves to leave the balcony open a smidge at night to hear the waves - so lulling! - but just can't do it on Edge Class in an IV or suite.

We agree with you, but don't give up on Edge class - if you book early, you can snag a Sunset Veranda, which is what someone posted here as being "awesomer" - we love the Sunset Verandas on Edge Class - well, on all classes, but especially on Edge Class because the IV is not something that is for us as we like you, make very active use of a "real" balcony.

There is a fee for F45, I'm going through my Beyond daily planners from this Oct-November.....we were on the Oct26-Nov 4 cruise......and honestly, I can't speak to if that is included with your Aqua Class fare......first sea day, was offered at 9:30am. At 8:30am, RYDE Indoor Cycling is offered, for a fee. In Bermuda, again 8:30am RYDE and F45 was at 4pm. Power Flow Yoga also offered, for a fee. Seems like the port day schedule is 8:30am RYDE cycling, 4pm, F45.....(can you tell I'm going through the daily programs one by one here, lol!). Sometimes on the port days, 8:30am RYDE always, but the 4pm F45 alternates with yoga - Power Flow sometimes, Slow Flow other times, oh and here's yet another sort of yoga on another of the sea days at 4pm - Rest and Restore Yoga (all classes I am telling you are the for fee classes). I hope that helped!

OH, that's interesting, because we were on Edge, Apex and Beyond this year, 2022, and we did NOT sail Aqua Class - and we did use the showers, so I don't know what to say to that! But, I always respect your posts, when I see your photo, I know you are going to have measured comments - maybe we just got lucky??

Yes and Yes! Same as on all ships in the fleet - no charge for the gym or the showers. There are many free classes also, and some for which there is a fee. Any more questions, feel free to ask, I spend a lot of time in the gym.

Oh yes, absolutely! It depends upon the itinerary! The Australia/NZ itineraries now have to test to board - and currently, as I just posted as an up to the minute update, B2Bers on these itineraries must have a supervised test. Eclipse is the only Celebrity ship down under. And I can't speak to any other itineraries, but Aussie/NZ cruises are definitely still stuck in "that nonsense" - and I do agree with your description!

I have updated news, from the CURRENT Eclipse cruise, which started Dec 9th. ALL B2Bers, who were on the prior cruise who remained on board for the Dec 9th voyage, were tested by the crew - monitored testing. One of the passengers told me (this is from a roll call on another social site, a very active roll call) that he believes that the B2B testing had to occur because of Australian authorities, that these are the current rules - and also possibly, is based upon the number of cases currently on board. Eclipse is currently a Tier 2 vessel. I just asked on their roll call, about an hour ago, and 5 passengers so far have replied saying that yes, for their cruise, all B2Bers were tested - one of the passengers who replied, was asymptomatic, feels great, but tested positive. He is isolated in his cabin, his wife was moved to a different veranda cabin and has to test every morning. She is testing negative, but every morning she must retest and is not allowed to leave her cabin until she is negative. Wow. And you are looking at 140 nights on board.......if B2B testing is still occurring, ouch, very likely indeed that you'll get it.....we are looking hard at cancelling......

This is my understanding from reading the current roll calls - but I welcome any updated information, as with the rise in cases in Australia, the Eclipse and the few other ships that are sailing in those waters have experienced a commensurate rise in cases. Testing requirements can change on the drop of a dime. You saw the totally false news report just a few days ago, the link has been mentioned several times in the Eclipse roll calls, that the Eclipse was docking in Sydney on Dec 9 with 1500 covid positive passengers - truth was approx 100 but journalists blew it horribly out of proportion. Our big fear is the same as yours - traveling half way across the world, only to get caught in a covid mandatory monitored testing dragnet, when all we have is a cold or no symptoms at all, and just like that, holiday up in smoke. A land tour looks far superior if mandatory monitored testing occurs - we are looking hard at cancelling our Eclipse spring cruises before final payment is due.

I agree wholeheartedly with you - the ship does not want to know. Self-reporting now is essentially the only way to incur any "covid jail" penalties. I applaud your decision for your husband to self-treat, distance, mask. COVID IS EVERYWHERE on land, so it follows that it is everywhere in the air and on the sea. And guess what, IT IS NEVER GOING AWAY. If people have a problem with that, then they need to never leave their houses for any reason whatsoever. As far as Celebrity's current cruise testing policy, Australian/NZ cruises require covid tests to board, but they are not required to be monitored - you do a self-test in the privacy of your home/hotel and show a photo of the negative test strip at check-in; and in fact, several folks reported on the recent Eclipse cruises down under, that they only had to SAY that they'd taken a test and it was negative, no proof whatsoever required. And currently, at least on the Eclipse, B2B cruisers are not required to test for their follow-up cruises - no B2B testing is occurring at all. This is all excellent news, as MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, the cruise industry is beginning to catch up with the rest of the entire travel industry - no tests needed to fly, no tests needed for land tours, hotels, etc.

Yup, me too, I went directly to google with the reference of only "43", assumed it was liquor and bingo, "43 liquor" offers up a plethora of info 😂, a Spanish liqueur, vanilla flavored, made in Cartagena, Spain. Apparently it is made with 43 "herbs and botanicals" and thus it's name.

Hi, there, without looking at the deck plans - you're referring in your title to a "port hole balcony" but you write about a "sunrise veranda".......first off, I've never heard of a sunrise veranda on Celebrity - I am very familiar with sunset verandas, so I guess I have something to learn or maybe you actually meant sunset veranda.......? The other thing is that a sunset veranda is NOT the same thing as a port hole balcony. OR, are you saying that you are booked in a port hole balcony room already, and you're thinking of moving up to a sunset veranda? Sorry, just wanted to clarify! I can say that on the Edge class ships, we have been in several sunset verandas, several on lower floors, and have never had a problem at all with noises from Eden (whilst on a lower floor sunset veranda) nor the Oceanview, (whilst on a higher floor sunset veranda).

Hi, there, I have no idea at all what gpod is, nor pozza - you might want to edit the title of your thread in order to correct it. I can only guess that you mean pizza for pozza and not sure at all what you meant by gpod. Personally, I enjoy their pizza fleet wide - thin crust though not as crispy as I'd personally like it. I do like that they have a shaker of hot pepper flakes for you to add to your taste. Pizza like so much in life, is subjective. Only you can judge.

Le Petit Chef is an ingenious concept, across all of the ships in the Celebrity fleet. Silk Harvest is long long gone. Q-Sine replaced it and then, Le Petit Chef replaced Q-Sine. We have eaten at Le Petit Chef at least 5 times. There are different "stories" which are animated and projected from the ceiling down directly onto your plate and table - amazing talent went into the animations. Your meal is essentially prepared by the little chef - when the animation is done, the actual dish is presented to your table by your flesh and blood server - it's a brilliant mix of whimsy and outstanding cuisine. The whole restaurant is on the same schedule, meaning, there is a fixed time for you to arrive so that all of the people in the restaurant are eating at the same time, experiencing the magic of the little chef together! It's absolutely fantastic, the food has been routinely without exception, outstanding.

Thanks for the info, "mom"! Just to clarify, the preboarding test - self administered, correct? No longer are the monitored/proctored tests required? We are sailing this itinerary in a few months, several back to backs scheduled, so we are very keen to know the current testing procedures, understanding of course that things can change. So what I understand is this as of this moment in time - self-test before boarding, present the results. 3 days into the cruise, self-test again, present results to your steward. If you are a back to back guest, no testing required at all to continue on the next cruise though will need to self-test 3 days into the voyage. Please correct me if I am wrong. Thank you!

Wow, thank you and everyone else for the details......as marie asked above, how is this actually done? The first test before boarding, is it monitored - ie, you have to go to CVS or use the Binax now telehealth test, etc, or is a self-test ok - and then for the next test 3 days later while on board, is it administered by the ship - them swabbing you - or are you allowed to do a self-test in your cabin and produce the results?

HI, just for my own clarification, are you saying that during the cruise which started Nov 9 from your thread title, while it was 6 days underway, that all of the passengers were forced to be tested? Based on the title of your thread, is this a single 28 day cruise (I don't think so) or a multi-back to back totaling 28 days (more likely). I'm just trying to understand what exactly happened - ie, perhaps you're referring to testing the back to back cruisers? Thank you for clarification!