Royal just dropped testing for back to backs…hope Celebrity follows!

[cruisestitch]

 Currently on Explorer OTS but it is happening on other Royal ships as well, no testing for back to back passengers between cruises!

 

 

[Alakegirl]

Its a step forward for sure 

[VitaminSea53]

WOW!

[JFontaine]

28 minutes ago, Alakegirl said:

Its a step forward for sure 

How so?  If people test negative they have nothing to worry about. If they test positive they should either be put off the ship or isolated.  

[cruisestitch]

The uncertainty of the false positive, for one thing

[JFontaine]

11 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

The uncertainty of the false positive, for one thing

Have we heard of Celebrity passengers being isolated or disembarked based on false positives? 

[canderson]

24 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

How so?  If people test negative they have nothing to worry about. If they test positive they should either be put off the ship or isolated.  

Because even if you tested negative, if you were tested due to a 'contact trace', you didn't get to reboard for the next leg of your B2B.  Not nice.  Perhaps that will be changed now as well.

[RichYak]

This is very good news. It's a first step towards the inevitable end of pre-cruise testing.

[Ken the cruiser]

53 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

How so?  If people test negative they have nothing to worry about. If they test positive they should either be put off the ship or isolated.  

Why? Because they’re asymptomatic or have the snivels? Sorry, it’s time to move on.

[Provence55always]

This will take all the anxiety out of B2B cruising……. Obviously if you have symptoms of COVID you should report and be prepared to isolate in your own cabin!! 

[Jim_Iain]

Dollar short and day late for us as I tested positive last 6 days ago on a B2B test.  

 

On the positive side,  we were forced to disembark in Southampton and have had a wonderful staying Southampton .    If we had remained I would probably still be in an Ocean View Room on deck 3.

[gfkcruiser]

We are on Odyssey of the Seas and no test required for our B2B. 

[Alakegirl]

Per post #1, it has already been reported that Royal has eliminated the B2B test.

[cruisestitch]

For those who haven’t followed I recommend Jim_Iain’s wonderful cruise report about what happened after a positive test on a B3B cruise

[WestLakeGirl]

It does feel like a step forward and we hope it comes soon to CelebrityCruises

[SWFL Cruisers]

14 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

It does feel like a step forward and we hope it comes soon to Celebrity Cruises.

We have a B2B on the Infinity in July so I do too!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

16 hours ago, canderson said:

Because even if you tested negative, if you were tested due to a 'contact trace', you didn't get to reboard for the next leg of your B2B.  Not nice.  Perhaps that will be changed now as well.

 

Yikes - didn't know that (definitely "not nice"!)

Tom

[32cute2me]

This is great news!  We're doing a B2B Celebrity to RCL.  I wonder if it will apply?

[cruisestitch]

I am guessing not

 

they are two independent cruises, one after the other, on two different cruise lines. That’s not really back to back.

Edited May 6, 2022 by cruisestitch

[32cute2me]

22 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

I am guessing not

 

they are two independent cruises, one after the other, on two different cruise lines. That’s not really back to back.

Yah, we'll see. The only reason why I thought it might is because as it stands now, Celebrity is arranging (and not requiring payment) for our between cruise testing as Celebrity and RCL are owned by same company.  So their current testing policy does treat it as a B2B. 

[cruise wizard]

I am hoping that our S2S - (side to side) will not require testing. We are currently on the Eclipse (Hawaii to Vancouver) - arrive on 5/15 and walk across the pier to embark on the Serenade for a 7 night Alaska itinerary.

 

I see where Celebrity will be cancelling a couple of Alaska cruises after their 5/15 abbreviated itinerary. I am so glad that we are going on the Serenade (needed to use FCC's) and aren't staying on the Eclipse.

 

Now I wonder if RCCL will do testing on board for those who are flying back to the US???

[BEAV]

On 5/5/2022 at 2:03 AM, cruisestitch said:

 Currently on Explorer OTS but it is happening on other Royal ships as well, no testing for back to back passengers between cruises!

 

 

Disembarked Edge this morning. Ran into Captain Costas at Al Bacio who said that yesterday was the last testing for B2B passengers. 

[Foggy Cruiser]

Onboard Silhouette and B2B test cancelled shortly before the scheduled appointment time.

[mfs2k]

It seems pre-embarkation testing isn’t effective if 100 people can have Covid a few days after sailing. 
Testing 2 days before sailing only catches those with high viral load 2 days before sailing. 
What about those who are getting sicker from -48hours to 0hour?  
Those people are still boarding. 
 

[AbbyCruiser45]

4 hours ago, cruise wizard said:

I am hoping that our S2S - (side to side) will not require testing. We are currently on the Eclipse (Hawaii to Vancouver) - arrive on 5/15 and walk across the pier to embark on the Serenade for a 7 night Alaska itinerary.

 

I see where Celebrity will be cancelling a couple of Alaska cruises after their 5/15 abbreviated itinerary. I am so glad that we are going on the Serenade (needed to use FCC's) and aren't staying on the Eclipse.

 

Now I wonder if RCCL will do testing on board for those who are flying back to the US???

People on the RCL boards were reporting still needing to do S2S testing after the B2B testing was lifted. 

Edited May 6, 2022 by AbbyCruiser45