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Nightmare today at Port Everglades for people waiting to board the Edge because of new Covid testing

terrydtx

By terrydtx,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Reijo

Reijo

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, terrydtx said:

My sister and BIL are at the FLL terminal waiting to board their Villa Suite.  She just sent me this text about the nightmare there this morning. This was sent at 12:50 EDT time. They were not informed about the mandatory new testing until this morning.

 

"We are here in line with 2000 people. Last minute Covid test for all. We got here at 11:30 as told to do and have been in line since. They will not even start testing until 1:30. Does not matter what class you are in, there are hundreds of people in front of us. No place to sit in the sun. My back already hurts, this sucks"

 

She then sent another text:

"Now we are being told there are some passengers that are refusing to leave the ship. The police have been called to remove them. Nothing happening until the a*******s are removed"

 

What a mess, why didn't Celebrity wait a week to implement this new policy?  I am sure this will still be a problem tomorrow for people getting on the Equinox.

Some of the people on board are waiting for their COVID results that apparently have been lost.  They are not supposed to leave the ship until they have the results.  Some already have missed flights.  As of a couple of hours ago....they STILL had not received the results.

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Cruising89143

Cruising89143

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Captain apologized on her evening announcement and stated the delay was

not on Celebrity. On board credit will be applied to our accounts. Letters will be placed in the cabins.

 

Excellent service thus far in Fine Cut.


Bon Voyage. Now that you’re on the ship. Relax and enjoy. From the looks of your photos from Fine Cut, you’re off to a great start.

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BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, FLCruiser97 said:

I'm watching you on the PE webcam. They haven't even dropped ropes yet.

Me too, watched Odyssey leave and was waiting for Edge, had no idea what has happened...boohiss.  So sorry for all of them.

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mjb1683

mjb1683

Posted
Posted

Let’s be clear about a couple of things:

 

We are on the ship, so we have first hand knowledge.

 

Testing was abandoned with over HALF OF THE PASSENGERS NOT BE TESTED (sorry, the all caps was needed for emphasis).  This was a classic example of lack of planning and leadership. 
 

We witnessed three people being taken to ambulances.  
 

Celebrity staff did hand out water, iced towels and cookies after people had been in line for hours.  It was like draining the ocean with a tea spoon. 
 

Captain Kate did make an announcement apologizing.  She said that Celebrity does not control land based operations.  This is complete BS as they are on the ones who ordered the testing. 
 

Captain Kate did say that we would be getting on board credit (but failed to mention an amount). We should wait for a letter detailing the plans.  I will try to update.  
 

I know that there are some Captain Kate fans I think this board. I am not trying to burst their bubble or be mean (to Kate or others), but her leadership was not great today (it failed).  I do not need jokes, I need someone to own what happened and explain why testing was started and then abandoned.  
 

I will try to update. Stay tuned. 

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zitsky

zitsky

Posted
Posted
38 minutes ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Captain apologized on her evening announcement and stated the delay was

not on Celebrity. On board credit will be applied to our accounts. Letters will be placed in the cabins.

 

Excellent service thus far in Fine Cut.

 

So the port decides if and how to test people?  Sounds like passing the buck.

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KmomChicago "Live from...." Rare

KmomChicago

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, mjb1683 said:

Let’s be clear about a couple of things:

 

We are on the ship, so we have first hand knowledge.

 

I know that there are some Captain Kate fans I think this board. I am not trying to burst their bubble or be mean (to Kate or others), but her leadership was not great today (it failed).  I do not need jokes, I need someone to own what happened and explain why testing was started and then abandoned.  
 

I will try to update. Stay tuned. 

Thanks for the first hand report.  I hope the rest of the cruise is much better than this initial fiasco.

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terrydtx Great Review Rare

terrydtx

Posted
  • Author
Posted
3 minutes ago, mjb1683 said:

Let’s be clear about a couple of things:

 

We are on the ship, so we have first hand knowledge.

 

Testing was abandoned with over HALF OF THE PASSENGERS NOT BE TESTED (sorry, the all caps was needed for emphasis).  This was a classic example of lack of planning and leadership. 
 

We witnessed three people being taken to ambulances.  
 

Celebrity staff did hand out water, iced towels and cookies after people had been in line for hours.  It was like draining the ocean with a tea spoon. 
 

Captain Kate did make an announcement apologizing.  She said that Celebrity does not control land based operations.  This is complete BS as they are on the ones who ordered the testing. 
 

Captain Kate did say that we would be getting on board credit (but failed to mention an amount). We should wait for a letter detailing the plans.  I will try to update.  
 

I know that there are some Captain Kate fans I think this board. I am not trying to burst their bubble or be mean (to Kate or others), but her leadership was not great today (it failed).  I do not need jokes, I need someone to own what happened and explain why testing was started and then abandoned.  
 

I will try to update. Stay tuned. 

This is 100% on Celebrity for not being prepared and can't believe the captain is passing the buck to shore operations. 

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Bellaggio Cruisers

Bellaggio Cruisers

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, mjb1683 said:

Let’s be clear about a couple of things:

 

We are on the ship, so we have first hand knowledge.

 

Testing was abandoned with over HALF OF THE PASSENGERS NOT BE TESTED (sorry, the all caps was needed for emphasis).  This was a classic example of lack of planning and leadership. 
 

We witnessed three people being taken to ambulances.  
 

Celebrity staff did hand out water, iced towels and cookies after people had been in line for hours.  It was like draining the ocean with a tea spoon. 
 

Captain Kate did make an announcement apologizing.  She said that Celebrity does not control land based operations.  This is complete BS as they are on the ones who ordered the testing. 
 

Captain Kate did say that we would be getting on board credit (but failed to mention an amount). We should wait for a letter detailing the plans.  I will try to update.  
 

I know that there are some Captain Kate fans I think this board. I am not trying to burst their bubble or be mean (to Kate or others), but her leadership was not great today (it failed).  I do not need jokes, I need someone to own what happened and explain why testing was started and then abandoned.  
 

I will try to update. Stay tuned. 

Thank you for your honest report. You sound like a truthful and logical person. Please keep us updated. 
sheila

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Cruising89143

Cruising89143

Posted
Posted
Just now, BecciBoo said:

Wow how many horn blasts are they going to do, I would think she was in trouble????


That is typical for this ship. Was surprised at how little the Odyssey used their horn today. Would have never known it was finally their first paid inaugural sailing. 

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cltnccruisers

cltnccruisers

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, mjb1683 said:

Let’s be clear about a couple of things:

 

We are on the ship, so we have first hand knowledge.

 

Testing was abandoned with over HALF OF THE PASSENGERS NOT BE TESTED (sorry, the all caps was needed for emphasis).  This was a classic example of lack of planning and leadership. 
 

We witnessed three people being taken to ambulances.  
 

Celebrity staff did hand out water, iced towels and cookies after people had been in line for hours.  It was like draining the ocean with a tea spoon. 
 

Captain Kate did make an announcement apologizing.  She said that Celebrity does not control land based operations.  This is complete BS as they are on the ones who ordered the testing. 
 

Captain Kate did say that we would be getting on board credit (but failed to mention an amount). We should wait for a letter detailing the plans.  I will try to update.  
 

I know that there are some Captain Kate fans I think this board. I am not trying to burst their bubble or be mean (to Kate or others), but her leadership was not great today (it failed).  I do not need jokes, I need someone to own what happened and explain why testing was started and then abandoned.  
 

I will try to update. Stay tuned. 

This is what I find the most interesting in this whole episode.

Testing was abandoned with over HALF OF THE PASSENGERS NOT BE TESTED 

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