Ronin23

“Tipping to get what you want…” um yeah good luck with that one. 😂

Sold out.

I am on the same sailing in an RS..from my cold dead hands! 😂

Have done a Suite on Beyond and to be honest wouldn’t do it again. Simply too many suites for the space allocated, even with the increased Retreat area.

Personally, I think Celebrity got a bit greedy by allocating so many extra rooms to suites  that it loses a lot of the appeal.

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

Depending upon what ship I may have taken the offer. On a E class no way would I move.  However on S or M class I would have taken the offer.  IMHO the “Retreat experience”

is much better on E class which were designed for the Retreat. 

I think even the E Class ships the Retreat is overrated. Simply too many suites for the space allowed.

On the Beyond in August in the Retreat, they were everywhere. What’s worse, some people were hogging multiple chairs in the sun and shade so they could alternate. Horrible..

6 hours ago, Denny01 said:

So someone who would know they have COVID and not report it, hide it and continue to be in public would be ‘responsible’ and wear a mask….. right. 

 

And yes, you are contagious prior to any COVID symptoms, but you are contagious during and after and That is why the actual Drs and medial experts set 5 days after symptoms. 

 

Enough. We’ve all read the excuses. You’ll either help lower the risk to All or increase the risk to All.  

 

Den

What’s the big deal? Many countries don’t have any restrictions and allow free movement. You can’t hide behind the thin veil of isolation and mandates forever. 

2 hours ago, drarill said:

I don't want to burst your bubble,  but the truth is that a history of a recent COVID infection doesn't mean  you can't catch the virus again.  A friend of mine just tested positive only six weeks after her first COVID infection, and she is double boosted.   Looks like is the new variant;  BA-5 evades immunity from previous infections, including Omicron, and vaccination. Hope you have a wonderful trip.  I believe that those of us that already had the virus, need to be more careful.  I caught it on the Edge and my husband didn't,  we were together all the time, I used a mask all the time, he didn't. Unlike those that say that everyone is going to get it, I believe that some people are never going to get it, do they have an innate immunity against the corona virus? We have tested our antibodies level (quantitative) and he always had better results.  But the truth is that  I have no idea...  I do know that we don't want to get this many times, is still too soon to know all the permanent damage that this virus could do on your body.

To the OP @busymumofthree Thanks for doing the  right thing. IMHO  some of the CDC's guidelines right now don't make too much sense. Still, I understand why many don't want to report their symptoms because they fear being sent to isolation.  What I don't get is why if they are sneezing and coughing is better to think that is allergies. If someone is planning not to inform the cruise line if they get sick, at least, have a plan based on science.  Bring many and I mean, many home tests, bring medicines (including Paxlovid ( if a friendly doctor is willing to give you a prescription), bring medical grade masks (N95, KN95) to use when you move from your room to other areas of the ship.  Get your food at the Oceanview Café and take the food to an outside area, where you can eat with your partner. Etc. Etc....Shouldn't be that hard

Never said I wasn’t at risk of getting COVID again, only highlighting that getting it a few weeks prior would certainly lessen the risk of re infection. It will be 4 weeks between infection and boarding the cruise.

Still never understand why Americans think just because you tip in the US, that you tip in every other country?

Let’s be honest, most people are more fearful of quarantine than they are of actually catching the virus.

I sail in a couple of weeks and had COVID last week, yeah i would prefer not to have had it but then having it just before a cruise was probably the best outcome.

12 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

I’m not sure with BA.5 virus out there this is the best course of action. Article in Fortune two days ago noted this Covid variation as the most transmissible and vaccine evasive one yet. It just went over in the US 50% of cases rather quickly. How does eliminating the 2 day test help limiting on board infections as isolation is still in effect among other ramifications?

Case numbers irrelevant, clearly those that know best realise it’s simply not that dangerous otherwise they would take a different course of action.

This is excellent news, only a short matter of time now before Royal joins them you would imagine. The first mover of the mass market lines was always going to trigger a domino effect.

Reading all these threads on people getting COVID, you could be forgiven for thinking that pretty much everyone on the cruise must have contracted the virus.

The reality is that considering how many people are on each cruise, the likelihood of getting it is still very low. 
 

Take sensible precautions and accept the risk. 

3 hours ago, Fisho said:

Hi everyone 

it happened to my husband and myself,

we first visited my son In London ( from Australia)

As we were boarding the plane from  London to . Barcelona to board  Celebrity beyond ( the 23rd of June sailing )my husband receives the text saying he had tested positive 

Devasted

Stuck in Barcelona with our luggage and no where to go .

Our travel agent managed to change the cruise to the 2 nd of July ( we had to change and cancel all our other bookings)

and at an extra cost of $4000 Australia. dollars 

guess what ?

I have now tested positive for Covid so will miss this cruise too .

We are totally in shock .

and on top of things insurance only covers us for $5000 minus excess ( and it was top cover)

Lucky for us celebrity is giving us full credit 

We are still processing it all

this was our big retirement trip  

So it is a big risk we all take .

We have both decided until they take out the mandatory testing it really isn’t worth the stress .

It has been the most stressful horrible time for us 

Sorry to hear, that is most unfortunate bad luck at play there. You are right, that is the risk we all take at present and you do wonder.if it is worth taking it.

I don’t blame you re mandatory testing…we travel in August on Beyond but if I had my time again would probably have waited until testing was removed. Hopefully we don’t suffer the same fate, only time will tell.

11 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

We don't need this type of behavior on cruise ships.  I'm sure glad the testing and vaccination protocols on board cruise ships are enforced.

This behaviour already happens on cruise ships. People that don’t report symptoms once onboard and risk ruining their holiday.

3 hours ago, 12cruise2 said:

You couldn't fly straight home again; you'd have to isolate for quite a few days in Sydney, then fly home.

You are meant to isolate for 7 days after testing positive in Australia , truth be told that many people either don’t bother getting a test at all or don’t isolate. That’s the reality, which makes the whole test and isolate mandate a joke.

10 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Would it have been better to get on the ship with Covid and have symptoms develop after you have boarded the ship?

Yes it would.

The pre cruise COVID test is without doubt the biggest stress ball. Totally out of your control and yet can blow your holiday up completely.

10 hours ago, WhiteSoxFan said:

This is true, however, the flu has an R0 of 1-2 while BA.2 has a R0>10.  The chances of being infected by someone boarding with the flu are considerably less than Covid.

The fact it spreads more easily doesn’t make it more dangerous. The majority of people will be fully vaccinated anyway, that was the point in order to further reduce serious illness.

Absolutely no way will you feel or look out of place. Quite the opposite.

You get a broad mix of demographics on most cruises…book it I am sure you will love it.

5 hours ago, Peteymil said:

I think your answers are very appropriate. I am a supporter of testing that Celebrity does, but if everyone had your mindset I would be comfortable sailing without a testing requirement.
 The people I worry about are the ones that know they have Covid, don't feel great, and say, what the heck, I paid for this cruise so I'm going anyways and I'm sure I'll feel better once I get on the ship.

But even pre COVID, people would still answer the health questionnaire fraudulently when it asked if you felt unwell due to having the flu, gastro etc. This is nothing new.

People have lost sight of the fact that for a large percentage of the population, COVID is nothing worse than a bad head cold or the flu at worst.

The fact that the cruise line with the most stringent testing regime has done away with all testing says it all. It will go the way of the dodo soon enough.

11 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Ok, let's say we're going to cruise together.  😀  Let's assume I test positive before we board.  Would it be better for you if I am denied boarding?  Is it better for me if I am denied being Covid positive?  Even though I know you will be sad, I'll suggest the answer to both of those questions is yes.  That's why pre-cruise testing continues to be valuable.

As COVID is endemic, I suppose you would like to see pre cruise testing into perpetuity?

Also, how does pre cruise testing help with a passenger that picks it up the very next day on a shore excursion and brings it back on board?

13 hours ago, carolina_yankee said:

In 23 years of ordained ministry, I have buried 10 people who died from COVID (not “with”, but “from”) and 0 people who have died from the Common Cold. It’s not like the common cold.

For the vast majority of the population who are fully vaccinated and not immunodeficient, the virus is simply not that serious and no worse than the flu at most. That’s a fact.

3 hours ago, CNPGOLF said:

This virus is not like the common cold. 

 

People have do what they are comfortable with and not worry about others opinions. 

But influenza is…and that has been around forever. People were not concerned about testing and isolation for that prior to COVID.