Curated Tours Only In Mexico

[bajathree]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

I have no plans to revisit Mexico in the next year or two. I was simply providing information about the current situation, not advice as to whether or not to go.

I wasn't talking about you going to Mexico....lol 

I don't know why Celebrity would even bother using Mexico as a port stop right now if they are that worried.

[SECdawg]

Has anyone heard if this is affecting other cruises besides the June 26th Edge sailing?

[sanger727]

16 hours ago, Fredric22 said:

I think you may be a bit confused.  The guests were all tested as part of a requirement from St. Martin and to get back into the US.  The CDC is not requiring fully vaccinated guests to be tested upon return to the US.  Celebrity is not requiring bubble excursions because they want people to be grouped together to identify close contacts. 

 

 

16 hours ago, Fredric22 said:

Sorry but what you are saying makes no sense. They are not doing this for the reasons you just suggested. The cruise is fully vaccinated. 

 

Not sure if you are disagreeing with the factual information posted or the logic of "curated shore excursions". But, the factual information about the millennium is true. It was a fully vaccinated sailing that had two people onboard who got a positive test result mid cruise and they isolated and re-tested everyone on their shore excursions. It doesn't have to make sense to you. That did occur.

 

Now is that WHY they are doing shore excursions? To intentionally create a group of close contacts to isolate in the case of a positive test? No, of course not. You will have many more close contacts on the ship than the people on your shore excursion. But that may be why Mexico is requiring this of cruisers. First fully vaccinated cruise happened in North American and STILL had people positive for COVID. They may want to control and reduce the interaction between cruisers and their citizens. 

[gerelmx]

The authorities of Mexico handle the epidemiological traffic light, Red, Orange, Yellow and Green, Cancun, Cozumel, Costa Maya, etc are in Orange status.

[charliesdad63]

14 minutes ago, SECdawg said:

Has anyone heard if this is affecting other cruises besides the June 26th Edge sailing?

 

John Heald from Carnival mentioned it this morning in his coffee talk. He implied that some upcoming itineraries MIGHT need to change if Cozumel is included in a sailing. So, yes, there must definitely be something going on that we are not aware of in Cozumel.

[jackson2348]

28 minutes ago, SECdawg said:

Has anyone heard if this is affecting other cruises besides the June 26th Edge sailing?

We’re on July 10 Edge. I got an email this morning with the following (of course, with everything, subject to change any time)

 

WHILE ASHORE

• On-Your-Own tours permitted in Aruba, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Curacao, Nassau, St. Croix, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. Celebrity curated tours are required in Barbados, Roatan, St. Johns, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Tortola.

[jelayne]

I got that email about 10 days ago.  Our cruise isn’t until October. 

[c-leg5]

5 hours ago, bajathree said:

I agree....if Mexico is of such concern to them....why do we have 2 out of 3 ports stops there?!?!?!

 

 

5 hours ago, bajathree said:

Like said above....then don't even go to Mexico.

Or any of the other ports or islands  where curated tours are required?

 

I think anyone wanting to cruise at the moment has to accept that the situation is very fluid. You may/may not go where you think you are going. You may/may not be allowed off, or allowed to tour on your own. This week Mexico, next week ?. This is precisely why we have no future cruises booked at present.

 

[Crazy planning mom]

20 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Sorry you don't understand.  They tested everyone near the end of the cruise.  It doesn't matter if you were vaccinated.  Someone tested positive and a lot of people needed to take an additional test and they were quarantined until the results were back.

So, would you stay on the ships on those port where you have to take a ship's excursion?

[nocl]

19 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Private taxi to an outdoor location seems like the safer option to me - but they didn't ask my opinion 🤐

 

We're vaccinated but I also think it makes more sense to have the unvaccinated 5% co-mingled with the 95% vaccinated onboard rather than segregated in certain venues, but again, no one asked me! 

Unless part of the reasoning is to discourage the unvaccinated from booking at all.

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

 

Or any of the other ports or islands  where curated tours are required?

 

I think anyone wanting to cruise at the moment has to accept that the situation is very fluid. You may/may not go where you think you are going. You may/may not be allowed off, or allowed to tour on your own. This week Mexico, next week ?. This is precisely why we have no future cruises booked at present.

 

 

This is it, in a nutshell. Requirements are going to keep changing for a while. The St. Martin cruises originally were not going to require a test if vaccinated. That changed. Barbados then also required a test within a certain period before arrival -- itineraries were re-shuffled.  Some of the requirements on the Greek cruises have also changed, including the unpopular requirement of wearing masks onboard where social distancing isn't possible. But as the season wears on, that might also change.

 

Early travelers have to understand that different countries are going to have different reactions to changes in COVID rates, new variants, etc. It's going to require some flexibility and understanding on all sides. 

Edited June 25, 2021 by cruisemom42

[gerelmx]

7 hours ago, jackson2348 said:

We’re on July 10 Edge. I got an email this morning with the following (of course, with everything, subject to change any time)

 

WHILE ASHORE

• On-Your-Own tours permitted in Aruba, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Curacao, Nassau, St. Croix, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. Celebrity curated tours are required in Barbados, Roatan, St. Johns, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Tortola.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/us-travel-requirements

While Ashore

In an abundance of caution to keep our guests and crew healthy at sea, we will require curated tours in Mexico for our June 26 sailing on Celebrity Edge. Based on the most recent travel advisory and vaccination rates in Mexico, we have reevaluated On Your Own Tours and instead will require Celebrity curated tours. Curated tours can be booked through Cruise Planner or the Celebrity Cruises app.  We will continuously evaluate these requirements and provide updates as they evolve. We look forward to welcoming you on board soon.  

Shore excursion guidance listed by itinerary below. 
Southern Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in Aruba and Curacao
Celebrity curated tours are required in Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis, Tortola and St. Lucia 

Eastern Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau
Celebrity curated tours are required in Tortola 

Western Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in Nassau 
Celebrity curated tours are required in Costa Maya*, Cozumel* and Roatan

*Celebrity Edge 6/26 only.  We will continue to monitor and evaluate. 

[nocl]

45 minutes ago, gerelmx said:

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/us-travel-requirements

While Ashore

In an abundance of caution to keep our guests and crew healthy at sea, we will require curated tours in Mexico for our June 26 sailing on Celebrity Edge. Based on the most recent travel advisory and vaccination rates in Mexico, we have reevaluated On Your Own Tours and instead will require Celebrity curated tours. Curated tours can be booked through Cruise Planner or the Celebrity Cruises app.  We will continuously evaluate these requirements and provide updates as they evolve. We look forward to welcoming you on board soon.  

Shore excursion guidance listed by itinerary below. 
Southern Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in Aruba and Curacao
Celebrity curated tours are required in Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis, Tortola and St. Lucia 

Eastern Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau
Celebrity curated tours are required in Tortola 

Western Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in Nassau 
Celebrity curated tours are required in Costa Maya*, Cozumel* and Roatan

*Celebrity Edge 6/26 only.  We will continue to monitor and evaluate. 

That makes it pretty clear that depending upon the situation in each port curated tours might be required, vaccinated or not.

[bimmerboy]

Schedule to be on the Adventure tomorrow out of Nassau. Received the below about an hour ago. Don't want to hear about how things are fluid and can change, but this materially changes our expectations of how our cruise will be, and we are in the middle of packing for tomorrow's sailing. On the phone w/ Royal now. Now we are not able to go into Freeport or Cozumel on our own even if our son stays on the ship w/ my MIL or my wife and MIL want to go into port for shopping (or whatever) while our son stays onboard w/ me.  Heads up to anyone else sailing tomorrow or soon in the same situation. Beyond frustrated.

 

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS

Dear Guest, We’ve been preparing for your sailing and now that we have had a couple of Adventure of the Seas sailings, we have an updated requirement to share with you. In abundance of caution, when visiting ports other than Perfect Day at CocoCay, parties that include unvaccinated guests, including parents traveling with unvaccinated children, are required to participate in shore excursions offered by local tour operators approved by Royal Caribbean. These tours meet our health and safety requirements for unvaccinated guests. Entirely vaccinated traveling parties may visit the port freely. All guests are subject to restrictions and requirements as defined by local authorities in the ports we visit. Additional details will be provided onboard. We are sorry for the last-minute change for unvaccinated guests and those traveling with them. The decision was made to protect you and the communities we visit. To help offset this change, on this sailing, shore excursions will be offered at a discounted rate for guests under 16. Once onboard, please visit the shore excursions desk on Deck 5 and our amazing team will help find the perfect excursion that will give you that adventure you’ve been looking for or the laidback vacation you’ve been dreaming about for over a year. If you have questions or concerns, please contact us at 954-628-9290 or 1-800-256-6649. We will gladly answer your questions and work with you to reschedule or refund your cruise. Click here if you would like to revisit all health requirements for your sailing. We look forward to having you onboard for our Royal Comeback! Sincerely,

[ipeeinthepool]

5 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

So, would you stay on the ships on those port where you have to take a ship's excursion?

 

Yep

[Mike45LC]

I certainly hope that in a month or two, things will settle down and we can get advanced notice of the requirements.  I have private tours planned, and have not decided on whether we would proceed if we can take only bubble tours.  But that is why I am not planning any cruise before December, to let things settle down!

[Cruising89143]

1 hour ago, nocl said:

That makes it pretty clear that depending upon the situation in each port curated tours might be required, vaccinated or not.

Not surprised by this move in the least. Again anyone cruising right now has to be ready for anything like it or not. It may not be what was expected but having to quarantine on a ship or be removed would not be fun either. I think ship sponsored shore excursions are going to be around for a while. 

[jackson2348]

2 hours ago, gerelmx said:

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/us-travel-requirements

While Ashore

In an abundance of caution to keep our guests and crew healthy at sea, we will require curated tours in Mexico for our June 26 sailing on Celebrity Edge. Based on the most recent travel advisory and vaccination rates in Mexico, we have reevaluated On Your Own Tours and instead will require Celebrity curated tours. Curated tours can be booked through Cruise Planner or the Celebrity Cruises app.  We will continuously evaluate these requirements and provide updates as they evolve. We look forward to welcoming you on board soon.  

Shore excursion guidance listed by itinerary below. 
Southern Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in Aruba and Curacao
Celebrity curated tours are required in Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis, Tortola and St. Lucia 

Eastern Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Nassau
Celebrity curated tours are required in Tortola 

Western Caribbean
On your own tours are permitted in Nassau 
Celebrity curated tours are required in Costa Maya*, Cozumel* and Roatan

*Celebrity Edge 6/26 only.  We will continue to monitor and evaluate. 

Yes, as I said, we’re on 7/10, and I was sharing what had been communicated to me for our sailing. This clearly says that as of now, it’s applicable to 6/26 only. 
 

the situation is changing on a daily basis. Im hopeful that we’ll have a great cruise, and be able to keep up with all the different regulations and requirements!!!