colliercruiser

We have refunds coming for our B2B cruises… October 3 and October 15. Did you do anything to get them going or did it happen automatically?

When was the sailing that you received the refund?

My wife tested positive on a recent (Oct 3) Summit sailing, and when I said we would stay in our existing suite, they said I could continue to go outside the room… throughout the ship… as long as I wore a mask. (I had tested negative at this point.) They said that change in policy was only a few days old.

On our current B2B, we had a situation where a couple in a suite on cruise #1 could only book an Aqua cabin on cruise #2. They were looking to stay in a suite for the second cruise, and I think Celebrity reached out to some booked suite passengers to see if they were interested in the downgrade offer. Again, just an offer, not a demand.. some might like the offer... some not.

An update to my previous post above... I received the following clarifications from our ship's COVID Concierge, based on her contact with the home office. The isolation refund calculation is based on number of isolation nights, not days. Therefore, our B2B case is covered... with the last night on cruise #1 part of the first sailing's refund and the first night of the second sailing is covered by cruise #2. Additionally, when multiple passengers are in isolation (such as my wife & myself), the calculation is based on each individual and not as a couple. This makes sense since my wife was in isolation for fewer nights (tested negative on Day 5) versus me (just ending my isolation on Day 10... tomorrow!). And we each started our Day "0" (positive test day) on different dates.

In our situation (described previously), my wife tested positive first and I tested negative. We stayed in the same suite… not separated… and I was told I was free to leave at anytime if I wore a mask. I inquired further (a bit surprised) and was told the rules changes a few days prior. I did come down with symptoms the next day and did one of the home tests I brought. It was positive so I went to Medical who confirmed it.

Thanks for sharing. As I have posted elsewhere, my wife & I recently experienced (and continue to experience) COVID isolation… on the Summit. A few comments along with yours: The Summit also has a COVID Concierge… and she has been excellent at keeping us informed, answering questions, helping with our requests, etc. We are in a suite, and that staff (butler, Retreat manager, Retreat concierge, etc) have enhanced the experience even more. We are on a B2B. We tested positive during the first sailing, and since our (minimal) isolation period would continue into the second sailing (both sailings are 12 nights), we had the option of disembarking after the first sailing (with full refund for the second cruise) or continuing on the B2B to complete our isolation. The one “catch” was due to the second sailing’s stop in Bermuda, they had to get the Bermuda authorities ok… which they did. We have continued on the B2B. My wife tested negative on her Day 5 (first day to be tested) and was able to get off in Bermuda. I tested positive on my Day 5 and Day 6 (today). The protocol says that the daily testing will continue until I get a negative test OR I reach Day 10 (at which point the isolation automatically ends). So far, Celebrity Summit has been excellent with their care, and I’m looking forward to a significant refund for the days in isolation. (I’ve asked the COVID Concierge for details on how that is calculated… particularly given the B2B overlap… and she is checking with the head office.)

FYI, this sailing’s passenger count is 1523.

Has anyone had a prorated cruise fare refund when the isolation days included the transition day of a B2B… specifically the day the first sailing disembarked and the second sailing embarked? We’re currently in that situation, now on the second sailing. We had 4 days of isolation on the first sailing, then the transition day, and now on the 2nd day of isolation on the second sailing. I assume the transition day will be part of the refund, but wonder which sailing’s cruise fare is used in the calculation.

We arrived for our Oct 3 sailing a bit earlier than planned... local friends we stayed with and dropping us at the port said there was an unexpectedly easy commute that day... no traffic where expected... so we arrived at 10 AM instead of our intended 11 AM. What surprised me was no sign signifying the Summit's drop-off area. (There were two other ships in port also embarking that day.) I noticed a small Retreat luggage drop-off sign so we pulled up near that. The first check was for the COVID test results... a chaotic grouping of passengers around a person who was giving out green dots for your jacket. When she looked at the results picture I had on my iPhone, she asked where the "date" was... and I showed her the pic's date/time stamp... and she said ok as we were "awarded" our green dots. I didn't bother to explain to her that the date/time is only when the picture was taken, not when the test was done. 🙄 Instead of doing the check-in downstairs, we went up the escalator for Retreat check-in and the waiting area. All of that went smoothly, with boarding beginning closer to 11:30.

We experienced an even "easier" B2B process on the same sailing... didn't even leave our suite!! The catch is that we were still in our COVID isolation and were able to continue on for our Oct 15 sailing. (Bermuda gave the ok.) The documentation officer collected our passports and that was it. Not the way we planned it, but so far it's working ok well.

My wife & I are two of the very few passengers on this sailing to be "COVID positive" but allowed on this cruise... but specifically since we were booked for a B2B (the Oct 3 sailing and this one). I've posted more details on this sailing's roll call, but in brief, we are able to continue our isolation on this sailing. Bermuda authorities approved it, and we can only get off in Bermuda if we test negative. My wife tested negative today (her Day 5 in isolation) and I'll be tested on my Day 5 tomorrow. I understand that one other B2B couple is in the same boat (pun intended). We did watch many folks disembark in Boston yesterday from the COVID patient exit. We had the option to disembark in Boston and cancel this sailing... with a full refund... but opted to continue on. And getting a prorated refund of the cruise fare while in isolation helps... along with the great attention we're getting from the Summit staff.

On our Summit sailing, there is a staff member with the enviable title “COVID Concierge” who is readily available to answer questions and help resolve issues.

Good question. My guess is that this is an “honor system” transition to dropping testing requirements altogether. When we checked in for our October 3 sailing which only required one of these “non-proctored” tests, I showed the picture of the results to the staff person. She said “where is the date?”, so I showed her the date stamp on the iPhone picture. She was good with that… but, of course, that is only the date the picture was taken and not necessarily the date of the test. 🙄

You can take a picture of the results and show that if asked.

Depends on when the cruise is... This is from the Celebrity website: Covid-19 Assistance Book any Celebrity Cruise that’s sailing between now and April 30, 2023, and you’ll have the following reassurance at no extra charge: 100% cruise fare refund for you, and your Traveling Party, if any of you tests positive for COVID-19 within 10 days prior to the cruise or at the boarding terminal.** **To qualify for a refund, if your COVID-19 test was administered by a provider other than one retained by Celebrity, you must present your verified positive test result in a form acceptable to Celebrity.

And it still indicates the need to complete & submit the ArriveCan app. I think the Celebrity website just hasn't caught up with the latest requirements.

The difference is that Canada (& therefore Celebrity) required a "proctored" COVID test, but the new Celebrity requirements for this length cruise allows a self test done at home (or wherever) and just bring a picture of the results... no proctored test needed.

I've posted this question on a current Summit roll call but thought I'd ask it more broadly here. What brand of non-alcoholic beer is "normally" available on Celebrity ships... in particular, Summit, if you know that. Long ago it was O'Doul's (which is my least favorite N/A beer... and just won't drink it), but more recently I thought Heineken 0.0 was available. Or perhaps others? Anyone know from experience?

Supervised tests still needed for Canada and Bermuda.

We're on the Oct 3 Summit sailing, and we depart on a Monday and arrive at Portland, our first port, on Wednesday. Sure doesn't look to be very far from Boston to Portland so I assume the intervening sea day on Tuesday will be a very slow ride.

For those who have used OnPoint for proctored virtual testing (using one's own home tests), does the appointment have to be scheduled many days in advance? Can it be made the day before or even the same day?

@cruisestitch Yes, we are on these two Summit sailings and I believe the answers scrapcreator provided above are right on... from what I know so far. I did confirm with the onshore concierge that Celebrity will provide a COVID test on the first cruise (last day before first cruise disembarkation) at their expense and for the Bermuda testing requirement. We're still researching how we will get our proctored COVID tests for the first sailing. We fly to Boston on Saturday PM (Oct 1) and expect to get tested on Saturday morning (so in case we have a positive test we are still at home and not already in Boston). I'm checking with our usual local sources (CVS, Walgreens) and am also looking at a virtual proctoring service (OnPoint) to use some of our home self tests.

I would assume the immigration & customs officials can't get on the ship until the ship arrives at 10 AM.

If you get the opportunity after you disembark, let everyone know if it goes quicker than usual. Our next Summit cruise is Oct 3, and the prior one before us also stops in Portland before disembarking in Boston.