Celebrity boarding rules change again for cruises from St Maarten - posted 05/31/2021

[AbbyCruiser45]

To summarize so far---guests on the June 5th, 12th, and 19th (at least) got emails this morning for boarding procedures. However, only guests that are on the June 5 sailing got an email requiring PCR test at port to board. Those sailing June 12th and 19th got an email that only required vaccination in port, no test. Does that sound right? Very confusing all together. 

[Oldsweets]

We leave Sat morning and took our pcr test this morning at 1030 and an email from celebrity with the changes came in after our test.  Appears we will meet the st marten requirement but NOT celebrity’s.  At this point we can only show up and let celebrity sort out the mess created by them.  Disappointing.  No lectures about being an early cruiser and should expect this kind of constant change.  Change I expect but we are the customer and as such we are expected to abide by the rules they set and we should have a reasonable expectation that the rules are workable.  Taking a test under celebrity rules and then being told the rules changed by celebrity is not reasonable. Wish we had canceled this booking back when we changed our flight reservation and eliminated arriving into st marten 2 days before departure.  Too much confusion coming out of celebrity to instill any sort of confidence if the plans they have going forward. 

[snyderc635]

44 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

OK...question to both @slanik and @AbbyCruiser45:  Did you book your cruise directly from Celebrity or through a travel agent?

 

I ask because I have yet to receive any emails about boarding procedures and policies, yet have been getting ones trying to sell me casino packages and upgrades.  Wondering if the booking channel explains why some people get these emails and others don't.  (I booked through my agent)

 

We still have the issue of the official public statement on the website says one thing, and other communication channels say something else.  And if I sound repetitive, well yes.  Because this is NOT how a functional company interacts with their customers - no matter how much the cheerleaders want to make excuses for the Celebrity screw-ups.

I booked directly through Celebrity and still have NOT received an email telling me I need to test for entry onto the ship.

[snyderc635]

7 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

To summarize so far---guests on the June 5th, 12th, and 19th (at least) got emails this morning for boarding procedures. However, only guests that are on the June 5 sailing got an email requiring PCR test at port to board. Those sailing June 12th and 19th got an email that only required vaccination in port, no test. Does that sound right? Very confusing all together. 

I'm a June 5 cruiser who received an email yesterday that did NOT say I had to test for boarding the ship.  I still have NOT received another email.

[AbbyCruiser45]

Just now, snyderc635 said:

I'm a June 5 cruiser who received an email yesterday that did NOT say I had to test for boarding the ship.  I still have NOT received another email.

Of course 😂  really, an absolute mess.

[lhsail]

If anyone is goIng to call Celebrity I would recommend using this number:

• Celebrity Guest Relations Department1-844-418-6824

The website lists it as the number for post cruise concerns, but when I called a few weeks ago I felt I at least got to talk to someone who was knowledgeable and caring. I’m afraid the front line reservations agents are just as confused as the rest of us. 

 

 

 

[AstoriaPreppy]

54 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

To summarize so far---guests on the June 5th, 12th, and 19th (at least) got emails this morning for boarding procedures. However, only guests that are on the June 5 sailing got an email requiring PCR test at port to board. Those sailing June 12th and 19th got an email that only required vaccination in port, no test. Does that sound right? Very confusing all together. 

 

I'm on the 12 June sailing, but my "vaccination policy" and "celebrity boarding requirements" email was received 28 May at 10 am. I have not received an updated email with the new PCR requirements that guests on the 5 June sailing have received. 
 

[LouChamp]

Is it really worth it?   As an avid cruiser...no

[CalTexCruiser]

1 hour ago, tallyho8 said:

 

 

Dear Guest,          We look forward to welcoming you aboard Celebrity Millennium for your 7-Night Aruba, Curacao and Barbados cruise departing June 5th, from Phillipsburg, St. Maarten. Before we board, we have some important health requirement information to share with you.       Celebrity Cruises requirements for boarding: All guests must present a negative RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to arrival at the cruise terminal. The name on the test results must match those on government issued identification. Proof of vaccination in the form of the original vaccination card for all guests 16 and older. No photocopies or photos accepted. Children between the ages of 2-15 who are not vaccinated must complete a RT-PCR test at the terminal prior to boarding.

 

 

Their blurb that unvaccinated children will complete the PCR test at the terminal tells me that Celebrity has PCR tests available at the port on embarkation day.

 

My guess (which is purely speculative but I did book a Holiday Inn Express for an upcoming trip to Chicago) is that whoever shows up without the 72-hr PCR test will be administered one by Celebrity at the port on embarkation day.

[Oldsweets]

We called our TA who said he heard nothing but made a 3 way call into celebrity.  Celebrity Customer Service could only repeat the 72 hour ship boarding rule with no knowledge of history or ongoing adjustments by Celebrity.  In fairness I expected as much and actually felt bad for the Customer Service Agent.  Before we called we relooked at the previous emails before today’s change and saw that as late as 3 days ago and the boarding requirements were simply having the Covid shot and a listing of St Marten’s 120 hour testing rules.  What could we do as they make the rules so I swallowed my frustration and scheduled a 2nd PCR test tO be done within 40 hours of the first pct test (thank goodness they are free here in Ohio).  Not sure that we will get the results back in time.but we did all we could possibly do in order to meet Celebrity’s ever changing rules.  The pharmacy states that results will take 2 to 4 days to return so we will simply hope for the best.  out of one test for St Marten at 120 hours and a second test for Celebrity at 72 hours we will certainly have something.  Strange note that we are currently booked on Windstar at the end of June also out if St Marten and they simply require that you have a Covid shot, that you meet St Marten’s 120 hour entry into the country rule, and that you accept they will administer a antigen test prior to boarding.  Sweet and simply! 

[jg51]

23 hours ago, seatrial said:

This is total BS. Testing vaccinated passengers is anti-science at this point. Even St. Martin is planning to drop the testing requirement for entry in the coming weeks. Celebrity is stupid. I am stupid for considering playing along with this crap; it's just not worth the effort for what is really a crappy cruise with really expensive airfare.

Thank you, Celebrity!!!

.

Thank you, "seatrial," for being the "voice of reason" on this thread.  Your post, above, was post #3 on this thread.  There have been more than fifty subsequent posts, but NONE of them has quoted you or reiterated your terribly important comment: "Testing vaccinated passengers is anti-science at this point."

 

About a week ago, in a "New York Magazine" article -- about the problem involving eight members of the New York Yankees -- it was revealed that some fully vaccinated people -- perfectly healthy and non-contagious people -- do mistakenly test "positive and potentially dangerous/contagious" when a highly sensitive PCR test is used on them!  That is why the use of PCR tests on vaccinated people is WRONG!  Instead, either NO test should be administered to vaccinated people ... OR, at best, they should have the simpler, much quicker antigen tests, administered as close to the "last minute" as possible.  [More about that later.]

 

The Yankees' players were fully vaccinated, and they got what we can call "false positive" results from super-sensitive PCR tests.  Their bodies contained very tiny, harmless amounts of virus (very few parts per billion, if we recall correctly) -- not enough to give them symptoms and not enough to cause them to make other people sick.  If they had been given the less sensitive antigen tests, the results would (correctly) have been "negative" for the virus.

 

But let us suppose that a fully vaccinated person is one of the very unlucky ones (circa 5%) that has become ill anyway [due to a lack of sufficient antibodies or for some other reason.] -- and he/she is now carrying a dangerous amount of the virus, enough to infect someone else.  Well ... THAT danger would be caught by the antigen test, even though it is not as sensitive as the PCR test.  And that is why the antigen test should be administered as "late in the game" as possible -- at the embarkation port, if possible. 

 

Thus, it makes NO sense for vaccinated cruise passengers to be forced to have expensive, slowly-processed, and potentially misleading PCR tests at all.  It also makes NO sense for them to be allowed to have antigen tests a few days before a cruise, because they could become infected aboard a flight to the embarkation port (12 to 72 hours before the cruise).  That is why a vaccinated person should either not be tested at all or should be tested only at the port, immediately before embarkation.

 

We would like to ask well-informed medical personnel (who are reading this post) to confirm or refute it, as we may have "misremembered" something about the Yankees' players case and the comments quoted there (from a Harvard epidemiologist).  Thank you.

 

[Here is a link to the article, which we just re-found after writing the above post: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/05/what-really-happened-with-that-weird-yankees-covid-outbreak.html ]

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Edited June 1, 2021 by jg51

[jg51]

 

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Edited June 1, 2021 by jg51
Deleted duplicate post. Sorry!

[LouChamp]

I wish everyone who has decided to sail all the best. For me it’s not worth the hassle.  My wife and I will wait till the dust settles.  All the cruise lines want  is our money.  I will not give it to the, at this time.  Hopefully soon I will but between all the discussion on these boards, the confusion and the nasty posts, i will wait.  Once again, all the best.

[LGW59]

5 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

I wish everyone who has decided to sail all the best. For me it’s not worth the hassle.  My wife and I will wait till the dust settles.  All the cruise lines want  is our money.  I will not give it to the, at this time.  Hopefully soon I will but between all the discussion on these boards, the confusion and the nasty posts, i will wait.  Once again, all the best.

Covid or pre-Covid, they want and wanted our money.

[jg51]

42 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

I wish everyone who has decided to sail all the best. For me it’s not worth the hassle.  My wife and I will wait till the dust settles.  All the cruise lines want  is our money.  I will not give it to the, at this time.  Hopefully soon I will but between all the discussion on these boards, the confusion and the nasty posts, i will wait.  Once again, all the best.

.

Thanks, "LouChamp."

We feel exactly the same way.

We "will wait."

When normalcy returns, we will see you aboard!

.

[AstoriaPreppy]

3 hours ago, tallyho8 said:

This is the email I received this morning from Celebrity. It was sent 6-1-21 at 10:13 AM.

It says Celebrity requires everyone to get a RT-PCR test within 72 hours of arriving at the cruise terminal.

 

It also changed the part about kids under 15. Now instead of an antigen test at the terminal they have to get an RT-PCR test.

 

This is why I can't figure out what exactly is going on a Celebrity HQ. Doing a rapid antigen test is a relatively easy process: results in 15 minutes or so, a relatively contained machine, etc. From what I knew, a PCR test is an entirely different beast, which is why they are traditionally sent to labs.

A quick search turned up a few options online, including one startup... but does anyone with a testing/medical background know if quick PCR tests at the pier are even possible? Or is this another typo from Celebrity's crack guidelines copy team? 

[No168]

1 hour ago, Oldsweets said:

...  What could we do as they make the rules so I swallowed my frustration and scheduled a 2nd PCR test tO be done within 40 hours of the first pct test (thank goodness they are free here in Ohio).  Not sure that we will get the results back in time.but we did all we could possibly do in order to meet Celebrity’s ever changing rules.  The pharmacy states that results will take 2 to 4 days to return so we will simply hope for the best.  out of one test for St Marten at 120 hours and a second test for Celebrity at 72 hours we will certainly have something. ...

I figured I'd do the same thing... get re-tested tomorrow (got PCR test first thing this morning, before the 72-hour change was announced). But my husband has asked "So what if we don't get the results back in time? Do we lose all the money we invested in the cruise?" And I honestly don't know the correct answer for that (have to do some research now).
We hear the same 2-4 days before results (we're also in Ohio). If the results do not come quickly, we will have missed the 48-hour cruise with confidence window, so now I am second-guessing our plan to get the PCR test tomorrow with hopes of having the results by Saturday afternoon. We may have to take the 'cancel and rebook later' approach, even though I am willing to go get the PCR test tomorrow. Very frustrating not knowing how this could play out at the port.
Have I missed something about refunds or future credit if we show up to the port without our last-minute test results and subsequently cannot board?

[Oldsweets]

Sadly, these are all questions that none of us should even be needing to ask but you are correct that here we are.    It’s a shame that these questions are now a critical consideration from a planning point of view.   I have stated in the past that one thing that I believed was important in addition to the obvious other factors was that Celebrity and other lines needed to get “Customer Confidence” right during its restart.  Clearly they are failing and I can only hope that in the other even more critical safety area’s they do a better job then they have in confidence, planning and communications.  I am now wondering just what else may change?  Will it be the independent Shore Excursions or some else like reinstating masks?  It’s possible that they are simply not ready and should have given themselves more time to develop a better plan.  

[crusin'k]

31 minutes ago, No168 said:

I figured I'd do the same thing... get re-tested tomorrow (got PCR test first thing this morning, before the 72-hour change was announced). But my husband has asked "So what if we don't get the results back in time? Do we lose all the money we invested in the cruise?" And I honestly don't know the correct answer for that (have to do some research now).
We hear the same 2-4 days before results (we're also in Ohio). If the results do not come quickly, we will have missed the 48-hour cruise with confidence window, so now I am second-guessing our plan to get the PCR test tomorrow with hopes of having the results by Saturday afternoon. We may have to take the 'cancel and rebook later' approach, even though I am willing to go get the PCR test tomorrow. Very frustrating not knowing how this could play out at the port.
Have I missed something about refunds or future credit if we show up to the port without our last-minute test results and subsequently cannot board?

It's not only the refunds, who pays for the early trip back home?

[BoundForSea]

To make matters worse, a little birdie told me simply, there are potentially more changes coming today...

 

On the 26th vaccinated guests will leave their home, fly to Port Everglades, show their vaccination record, get on the ship and sail.... No test, no hassle, even the CDC made it simple and thats saying something!! Why the heck are we going through this??? 

 

God help me if after all this they cancel these sailings like Bermuda. 

 

If the DW and I had the flexibility to switch to Edge with our work schedules I would have done it in a heartbeat, and Id bet alot of ppl are at this point. 

 

Im doing a b2b 12/19. My 19 boarding conf came this morning with procedures pre cruise, nothing about getting tested for the cruise line. 

 

My other email day before yesterday for the 12th, nothing about testing for the cruise line. 

Edited June 1, 2021 by BoundForSea

[Oldsweets]

At 4:28pm this evening my wife and I each received another e-mail which said the same as previous email from just before lunch today.  Here is a copy of the most recent Statement in the email about Celebrity Boarding Requirements.  But again I don’t see anything new in this notification.  

 

CELEBRITY BOARDING REQUIREMENTS

• Celebrity Cruises requires all guests age 16 and above to be fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to sail date. As of August 1, 2021, all guests age 12 and older must be fully vaccinated. Proof of vaccination is required in the form of the original vaccination card. No photocopies or photos accepted.

• All guests must present a negative RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to arrival at the terminal. Name on test results must match those on government issued identification.

• Children between the ages of 2-15 who are not vaccinated must complete an RT-PCR test at the terminal prior to boarding.

Guests that do not meet our requirements may be denied boarding.

[BoundForSea]

1 hour ago, Oldsweets said:

At 4:28pm this evening my wife and I each received another e-mail which said the same as previous email from just before lunch today.  Here is a copy of the most recent Statement in the email about Celebrity Boarding Requirements.  But again I don’t see anything new in this notification.  

 

CELEBRITY BOARDING REQUIREMENTS

• Celebrity Cruises requires all guests age 16 and above to be fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to sail date. As of August 1, 2021, all guests age 12 and older must be fully vaccinated. Proof of vaccination is required in the form of the original vaccination card. No photocopies or photos accepted.

• All guests must present a negative RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to arrival at the terminal. Name on test results must match those on government issued identification.

• Children between the ages of 2-15 who are not vaccinated must complete an RT-PCR test at the terminal prior to boarding.

Guests that do not meet our requirements may be denied boarding.

You’re on the 5th sailing right?

[Oldsweets]

33 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

You’re on the 5th sailing right?

 

33 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

You’re on the 5th sailing right?

 

[Oldsweets]

Yes, that is correct.

 

 

[BoundForSea]

2 minutes ago, Oldsweets said:

Yes, that is correct.

 

 

Ok thanks. Trying to keep everyones notifications straight from the various sailings to try and see what they are doing here..