RCG sailing from St. Maarten in June

[Ken at the beach]

Celebrity just announced that the Millenium will be sailing from St. Maarten starting in June.

 

Vaccinations required for crew and guests over 18.

 

Under 18 required to show a negative PCR test from within 72 hours.

 

Everyone will need a negative PCR test within 72 hours as a requirement to enter St. Maarten.

 

 

My guess is that Royal will deploy the Grandeur here as well since she has no sailings scheduled until her December debut in Barbados.  Also guessing that this may have been the delayed Wednesday announcement.

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[chawkjewel]

Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

Celebrity just announced that the Millenium will be sailing from St. Maarten starting in June.

 

Vaccinations required for crew and guests over 18.

 

Under 18 required to show a negative PCR test from within 72 hours.

 

Everyone will need a negative PCR test within 72 hours as a requirement to enter St. Maarten.

 

 

My guess is that Royal will deploy the grandeur here as well since she has no sailings scheduled until her december debut in Barbados.

 

 

 

 

I hope they choose a larger ship (or two).  Millennium is the size of a Radiance class, isn't it?

 

[allisonb22]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Celebrity just announced that the Millenium will be sailing from St. Maarten starting in June.

 

Great news!!! 

[Sunshine3601]

Curious to see what the itinerary will be, which islands will welcome cruise ships this summer.

Definitely Great News!

Edited March 19, 2021 by Sunshine3601

[Ken at the beach]

2 minutes ago, chawkjewel said:

 

I hope they choose a larger ship (or two).  Millennium is the size of a Radiance class, isn't it?

 

Yes, Millenium is comparable to a Radiance class ship.

[Milwaukee Eight]

4 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Celebrity just announced that the Millenium will be sailing from St. Maarten starting in June.

 

Vaccinations required for crew and guests over 18.

 

Under 18 required to show a negative PCR test from within 72 hours.

 

Everyone will need a negative PCR test within 72 hours as a requirement to enter St. Maarten.

 

 

My guess is that Royal will deploy the Grandeur here as well since she has no sailings scheduled until her December debut in Barbados.  Also guessing that this may have been the delayed Wednesday announcement.

 

 

 

Thanks 

[Hoopster95]

All we need now is @twangsterto book, and have him ask really really nicely if he can prop his go-pro up in the cockpit of his flight as it lands at Princess Julianna over Maho! 😀

 

This is great news. Thx for posting Ken.

 

I wonder if over time (a couple of years?) RCG and other lines form relationships at these foreign ports/countries and keep home ports there long term. Would be great to have a week on land combined with a week cruise (same with Barbados for example).

[livingonthebeach]

Fantastic news!  I would love to sail on the Millie again!  Have very fond memories of her in Asia. 

Edited March 19, 2021 by livingonthebeach

[Ken at the beach]

4 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

I wonder if over time (a couple of years?) RCG and other lines form relationships at these foreign ports/countries and keep home ports there long term. Would be great to have a week on land combined with a week cruise (same with Barbados for example).

That would certainly provide a viable option for the rest of the Vision class ships and possible the Radiance in the future as they grow the fleet with the larger ships sailing from the mainland ports.

[sandebeach]

I was interested but read that the price is $1,999 per person. That is for a verandah, but I think I will wait. 

[Hoopster95]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

That would certainly provide a viable option for the rest of the Vision class ships and possible the Radiance in the future as they grow the fleet with the larger ships sailing from the mainland ports.

 

Bingo! My thoughts exactly ... plus also they way they've been treated by US government & CDC, I have a feeling we may be seeing a little more of this, and perhaps a few countries maybe thinking about expanding cruise services by building a proper terminal to support embarkation/disembarkation.

[Ken at the beach]

Just now, Hoopster95 said:

 

Bingo! My thoughts exactly ... plus also they way they've been treated by US government & CDC, I have a feeling we may be seeing a little more of this, and perhaps a few countries maybe thinking about expanding cruise services by building a proper terminal to support embarkation/disembarkation.

Not sure they could ever get enough ports or have enough people willing too pay the extra to travel to the islands to make a big impact on the bottom line but this is certainly promising.  I hope that this as well as the Barbados goes well for Royal and that their customer base supports it and it becomes a regular occurrence.

 

I think they still need some of these smaller ships for Europe / Alaska in the summer but it was what to do with them in the winter months that was always the tough call.

[Sunshine3601]

As another RCG cruise is requiring everyone over 18 be vaccinated is another good sign this will be required for US sailings too!  

We get our 2nd shot of pfizer next week.  I'll be ready soon!

[smokeybandit]

2 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

As another RCG cruise is requiring everyone over 18 be vaccinated is another good sign this will be required for US sailings too!  

We get our 2nd shot of pfizer next week.  I'll be ready soon!

 

Is this RCG's requirement or St Maarten's though?

[Ken at the beach]

12 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

Is this RCG's requirement or St Maarten's though?

Yes, everyone over 18.  under 18 to show negative PCR test

 

All crew to be vaccinated as well

 

St. Maartens requirement is all visitors to the island must show a negative PCR test from within the past 72 hours

Edited March 19, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[mo&fran]

Can you imagine the nightmare of loading 2000 passengers and luggage and provisioning the ship. They did it in Bayonne before the new terminal was built.

[little britain]

35 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Curious to see what the itinerary will be, which islands will welcome cruise ships this summer.

Definitely Great News!

Celebrity cruises will feature two multijurisdictional itineraries: one will visit Aruba, Curacao and Barbados, and the other St. Lucia, Barbados and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

Bookings for the cruises will open March 25

[Ken at the beach]

2 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

Can you imagine the nightmare of loading 2000 passengers and luggage and provisioning the ship. They did it in Bayonne before the new terminal was built.

More likely just over 1000 passengers as I am thinking that they will still sail with a reduced capacity.  Still a few logistical challenges though

[Ken at the beach]

1 minute ago, little britain said:

Celebrity cruises will feature two multijurisdictional itineraries: one will visit Aruba, Curacao and Barbados, and the other St. Lucia, Barbados and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

Bookings for the cruises will open March 25

Nice B2B

[Anton]

23 minutes ago, sandebeach said:

I was interested but read that the price is $1,999 per person. That is for a verandah, but I think I will wait. 

It's air/sea pricing.  Passengers must fly using FlightsByCelebrity.

[sandebeach]

1 minute ago, Anton said:

It's air/sea pricing.  Passengers must fly using FlightsByCelebrity.

It is interesting but still a little pricey for me. Was thinking about taking one of our adult kids and his family, but a cruise for 6 is a little too pricey for me.   

[firefly333]

40 minutes ago, sandebeach said:

I was interested but read that the price is $1,999 per person. That is for a verandah, but I think I will wait. 

I'm solo and paying more on oasis, but then I realized you probably mean 4k pp, 1999 x 2. 

 

Sounded ok when I first read it lol. Now not so good.

[twangster]

26 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

Can you imagine the nightmare of loading 2000 passengers and luggage and provisioning the ship. They did it in Bayonne before the new terminal was built.

 

In theory they could reprovision in Barbados and just load passengers in St. Maarten.  

 

Royal must be working on contracts for Grandeur so they can leverage the same warehouses and vendors for Millie. 

[sandebeach]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I'm solo and paying more on oasis, but then I realized you probably mean 4k pp, 1999 x 2. 

 

Sounded ok when I first read it lol. Now not so good.

I was thinking $4,000 for two people is a bit pricy. But a friend of mine just said that if it includes airfare, it is not a bad deal. Sha and her family are just back from an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, they did four days and it was about $2,000 for two, including airfare from Miami. 

[twangster]

1 minute ago, sandebeach said:

I was thinking $4,000 for two people is a bit pricy. But a friend of mine just said that if it includes airfare, it is not a bad deal. Sha and her family are just back from an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, they did four days and it was about $2,000 for two, including airfare from Miami. 

 

It's also "Always Included" so basic drink package, basic wifi, gratuity.