Pre-cruise testing extended until March 31, 2022

[PTC DAWG]

On 2/17/2022 at 5:39 AM, Ommadawn said:

 

Some people, like my wife, reacted very poorly to the vaccine. If you have such a negative reaction and you don't have to booster up, then I can understand not wanting to do it, especially as the virus seems to be winding down to the level of a bad cold.

I understand, the 2nd Moderna dose hit me pretty hard, I felt much worse than the Covid I had over the Holidays, most like Omicron..99% of those cases were. 

[Jim_Iain]

22 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

You can only get opinions,,,,,until Celebrity spells out their requirements for European cruises nobody knows.

Celebrity cruises last summer from UK and Athens never followed US protocols.

 

Another question is,,when will Celebrity get back to full occupancy they can’t survive another year with low passenger numbers,,,and for personal reasons I would rather have a full ship…more atmosphere.

 

All I can say is that we are on the April 8th Silhouette TA to Southampton and the next two cruises.   While no protocol has been posted or received.   I received last week and again yesterday an e-mail asking to verify our Vaccination Status and if we are willing to submit proof of vaccination for the TA Cruise but nothing for the others yet.     Probably the same protocol currently in place is posting the e-mail.

 

I'll report back if we receive anything.  

[Jim_Iain]

3 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I understand, the 2nd Moderna dose hit me pretty hard, I felt much worse than the Covid I had over the Holidays, most like Omicron..99% of those cases were. 

 

We only had mild symptoms from the Pfizer 1st and 2nd but both had a day of really bad lethargy from the booster.

[MamaChach]

can anyone tell me how to know what service is "accredited" and accepted by Celebrity?  We have several place that we can walk in for free and get rapid and PCR tests with results emailed.

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, MamaChach said:

I don't have time to read through all of those posts:)  Was hoping for a quick answer here!

 

Read this -- 

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/health-and-safety  

This is the Celebrity site with all their information on COVID .. 

 

 

 

[terrydtx]

20 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We only had mild symptoms from the Pfizer 1st and 2nd but both had a day of really bad lethargy from the booster.

We had more reaction from the 2nd dose of Pfizer than the booster last month which basically had no reaction. My brother in law was down with a severe reaction from the booster for 2 days.

[phoenix_dream]

Just read on a FB page that the CDC is extending recommended testing to three days prior for fully vaccinated cruisers.  But it is up to the cruise lines to decide if they want to stick to 2 days.  Wonder what Celebrity will do.  Three days is much easier to schedule when flying in a couple days before - for one thing, you can get that negative test before you get on the plane and risk being stuck in a hotel room in Florida for a week+.

[RichYak]

10 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Just read on a FB page that the CDC is extending recommended testing to three days prior for fully vaccinated cruisers.  But it is up to the cruise lines to decide if they want to stick to 2 days.  Wonder what Celebrity will do.  Three days is much easier to schedule when flying in a couple days before - for one thing, you can get that negative test before you get on the plane and risk being stuck in a hotel room in Florida for a week+.

It's still 2 days for fully vaccinated cruisers. The change to 3 days is for Up-to-date cruisers, which means boosted if eligible.

Edited February 19, 2022 by RichYak

[MamaChach]

16 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

Read this -- 

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/health-and-safety  

This is the Celebrity site with all their information on COVID .. 

 

 

 

I have read this...that is why I ask what is acceptable.  Thank you though

[canderson]

22 hours ago, MamaChach said:

can anyone tell me how to know what service is "accredited" and accepted by Celebrity?  We have several place that we can walk in for free and get rapid and PCR tests with results emailed.

Any pharmacy, doctor's office, governmental testing site would qualify.  They need to provide you with a document (electronic or printed) regarding who they are, what test was performed, timestamp for the test, you full name, etc.  We've not heard of anyone having issues with test results from sites like this.

 

Where do you propose to go???

[phoenix_dream]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

It's still 2 days for fully vaccinated cruisers. The change to 3 days is for Up-to-date cruisers, which means boosted if eligible.

But I am boosted.  Would be nice if Celebrity would change the requirement to 3 days for me then.  I don't see anywhere that Celebrity has done that or am I missing something?

[PTC DAWG]

On 2/18/2022 at 11:12 AM, Jim_Iain said:

 

We only had mild symptoms from the Pfizer 1st and 2nd but both had a day of really bad lethargy from the booster.

I sincerely did not mean to offend the other day.  

 

My Bride and I are getting the booster next week, I’m thinking it may eventually be required for cruising later this year..we have cruises booked in March, May and September. 

Edited February 19, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[Jordanyaya1]

It makes a huge difference in the 2 day, 3 day testing for international cruises. We are booked on Apex sailing from Amsterdam on June 7. We are flying from US to Amsterdam on Sunday evening June 5. If Celebrity holds with the 2 day protocol we would have to test here in the US on Sunday morning since the Netherlands requires us to test before plane departure on Sunday. We are fully vaxed and boosted. Hope Celebrity does the same as Carnival and changes back to the 3 day prior protocol. 

[RichYak]

59 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

But I am boosted.  Would be nice if Celebrity would change the requirement to 3 days for me then.  I don't see anywhere that Celebrity has done that or am I missing something?

Since you are boosted, then you are up-to-date and you can test 3 days prior per the new CDC guidelines. I suspect Celebrity will update their language accordingly over the coming days/weeks.

 

The 2 day requirement remains for those who are eligible for their booster shot, but have not received it.

[RichYak]

27 minutes ago, Jordanyaya1 said:

It makes a huge difference in the 2 day, 3 day testing for international cruises.

Everything discussed here is only tangentially related to international cruises. In your case, a cruise from Amsterdam will need to follow their guidelines, not those of the CDC.

[canderson]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

Everything discussed here is only tangentially related to international cruises. In your case, a cruise from Amsterdam will need to follow their guidelines, not those of the CDC.

Could make a huge difference for international travelers TO the US, though, given the extra travel time.

[RichYak]

4 minutes ago, canderson said:

Could make a huge difference for international travelers TO the US, though, given the extra travel time.

Yes, obviously they will benefit the most. I just wanted to make clear to the the person I responded to that the changes being discussed are only for cruises departing from the US, and may or may not extend to international cruises.

[Virginia100]

Of course if your going  to Europe, specifically Italy, you better have that booster shot. If you have only the two shots they consider them expired in 6 months and if that’s the case your not getting in. The booster had NO expiration date. Your good all summer.

[DaKahuna]

I am going to wait until Celebrity announces something rather than planning based on speculation.  We have 5 weeks to go so plenty of time for things to change. 

 

[Oceansaway17]

5 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Just read on a FB page that the CDC is extending recommended testing to three days prior for fully vaccinated cruisers.  But it is up to the cruise lines to decide if they want to stick to 2 days.  Wonder what Celebrity will do.  Three days is much easier to schedule when flying in a couple days before - for one thing, you can get that negative test before you get on the plane and risk being stuck in a hotel room in Florida for a week+.

I bet the cruiselines will change to agree with CDC.  three days helps with those who want to come in a day or 2 early.    I also hope the testing goes away by June 1st. One can only hope.

Then we have the fall to look forward to again to see what develops.  

[davekathy]

15 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

I am going to wait until Celebrity announces something rather than planning based on speculation.  We have 5 weeks to go so plenty of time for things to change. 

 

Exactly. 

[suzyluvs2cruise]

We're booked on APEX for the April 30 TA to Amsterdam. At this time it's now known what the return to the US protocols will be but I'm hoping that if a Negative test is required Celebrity will test us on the ship. Our return flight is the day we get off the ship at 11:15 am.....which doesn't leave a lot of time to get tested/results. We do have proctored EMed tests we could use but it sure would be nice to know our options IF testing to return to the US is still required. 

[drakes2]

On 2/16/2022 at 12:48 PM, RichYak said:

People live and work in apartment complexes and enclosed office buildings, commute to to their jobs on trains and buses, go out with friends/co-workers at the end of the work day, and frequently eat out in restaurants. Everything you describe, minus some of the fun, is absolutely everyday life.

 

The only difference is that on cruise ships, everyone else is vaccinated, so there should be even less of a concern of infecting someone.

Just returned from the Edge sailing with 670 passengers onboard felt like a private ship.  No issues but we didn't mingle with other passengers either just crew members during dinner. 

[TeeRick]

18 hours ago, RichYak said:

Since you are boosted, then you are up-to-date and you can test 3 days prior per the new CDC guidelines. I suspect Celebrity will update their language accordingly over the coming days/weeks.

 

The 2 day requirement remains for those who are eligible for their booster shot, but have not received it.

I suspect you are right.  Maybe a switch next week since they (RCG cruise lines) just announced that they joined the CDC voluntary program a few days ago.  The UP to Date guideline makes a whole lot more sense going forward for everything.  So I am hopeful that the Up To Date passengers can be less restricted, and can switch to 3-day pre-testing.  This actually allows us to use RT-PCR in advance with a 24 hour testing turn-around time.  We are cruising out of Southampton end of August and we need to make flight arrangements.  Waiting for all this testing stuff to sort out.

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

The UP to Date guideline makes a whole lot more sense going forward for everything. 

The problem is that the "up to date" definition using the words "boosted when eligible" seems straightforward, but isn't. Booster eligibility varies by time since initial vaccine dose, age, country of residence, and even which initial vaccine you got. Check-in agents are going to have their hands with those that are considered up to date but not boosted yet.