lexmiller

I have updated news, from the CURRENT Eclipse cruise, which started Dec 9th. ALL B2Bers, who were on the prior cruise who remained on board for the Dec 9th voyage, were tested by the crew - monitored testing. One of the passengers told me (this is from a roll call on another social site, a very active roll call) that he believes that the B2B testing had to occur because of Australian authorities, that these are the current rules - and also possibly, is based upon the number of cases currently on board. Eclipse is currently a Tier 2 vessel. I just asked on their roll call, about an hour ago, and 5 passengers so far have replied saying that yes, for their cruise, all B2Bers were tested - one of the passengers who replied, was asymptomatic, feels great, but tested positive. He is isolated in his cabin, his wife was moved to a different veranda cabin and has to test every morning. She is testing negative, but every morning she must retest and is not allowed to leave her cabin until she is negative. Wow. And you are looking at 140 nights on board.......if B2B testing is still occurring, ouch, very likely indeed that you'll get it.....we are looking hard at cancelling......

This is my understanding from reading the current roll calls - but I welcome any updated information, as with the rise in cases in Australia, the Eclipse and the few other ships that are sailing in those waters have experienced a commensurate rise in cases. Testing requirements can change on the drop of a dime. You saw the totally false news report just a few days ago, the link has been mentioned several times in the Eclipse roll calls, that the Eclipse was docking in Sydney on Dec 9 with 1500 covid positive passengers - truth was approx 100 but journalists blew it horribly out of proportion. Our big fear is the same as yours - traveling half way across the world, only to get caught in a covid mandatory monitored testing dragnet, when all we have is a cold or no symptoms at all, and just like that, holiday up in smoke. A land tour looks far superior if mandatory monitored testing occurs - we are looking hard at cancelling our Eclipse spring cruises before final payment is due.

I agree wholeheartedly with you - the ship does not want to know. Self-reporting now is essentially the only way to incur any "covid jail" penalties. I applaud your decision for your husband to self-treat, distance, mask. COVID IS EVERYWHERE on land, so it follows that it is everywhere in the air and on the sea. And guess what, IT IS NEVER GOING AWAY. If people have a problem with that, then they need to never leave their houses for any reason whatsoever. As far as Celebrity's current cruise testing policy, Australian/NZ cruises require covid tests to board, but they are not required to be monitored - you do a self-test in the privacy of your home/hotel and show a photo of the negative test strip at check-in; and in fact, several folks reported on the recent Eclipse cruises down under, that they only had to SAY that they'd taken a test and it was negative, no proof whatsoever required. And currently, at least on the Eclipse, B2B cruisers are not required to test for their follow-up cruises - no B2B testing is occurring at all. This is all excellent news, as MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, the cruise industry is beginning to catch up with the rest of the entire travel industry - no tests needed to fly, no tests needed for land tours, hotels, etc.

Yup, me too, I went directly to google with the reference of only "43", assumed it was liquor and bingo, "43 liquor" offers up a plethora of info 😂, a Spanish liqueur, vanilla flavored, made in Cartagena, Spain. Apparently it is made with 43 "herbs and botanicals" and thus it's name.

Hi, there, without looking at the deck plans - you're referring in your title to a "port hole balcony" but you write about a "sunrise veranda".......first off, I've never heard of a sunrise veranda on Celebrity - I am very familiar with sunset verandas, so I guess I have something to learn or maybe you actually meant sunset veranda.......? The other thing is that a sunset veranda is NOT the same thing as a port hole balcony. OR, are you saying that you are booked in a port hole balcony room already, and you're thinking of moving up to a sunset veranda? Sorry, just wanted to clarify! I can say that on the Edge class ships, we have been in several sunset verandas, several on lower floors, and have never had a problem at all with noises from Eden (whilst on a lower floor sunset veranda) nor the Oceanview, (whilst on a higher floor sunset veranda).

Hi, there, I have no idea at all what gpod is, nor pozza - you might want to edit the title of your thread in order to correct it. I can only guess that you mean pizza for pozza and not sure at all what you meant by gpod. Personally, I enjoy their pizza fleet wide - thin crust though not as crispy as I'd personally like it. I do like that they have a shaker of hot pepper flakes for you to add to your taste. Pizza like so much in life, is subjective. Only you can judge.

Le Petit Chef is an ingenious concept, across all of the ships in the Celebrity fleet. Silk Harvest is long long gone. Q-Sine replaced it and then, Le Petit Chef replaced Q-Sine. We have eaten at Le Petit Chef at least 5 times. There are different "stories" which are animated and projected from the ceiling down directly onto your plate and table - amazing talent went into the animations. Your meal is essentially prepared by the little chef - when the animation is done, the actual dish is presented to your table by your flesh and blood server - it's a brilliant mix of whimsy and outstanding cuisine. The whole restaurant is on the same schedule, meaning, there is a fixed time for you to arrive so that all of the people in the restaurant are eating at the same time, experiencing the magic of the little chef together! It's absolutely fantastic, the food has been routinely without exception, outstanding.

Thanks for the info, "mom"! Just to clarify, the preboarding test - self administered, correct? No longer are the monitored/proctored tests required? We are sailing this itinerary in a few months, several back to backs scheduled, so we are very keen to know the current testing procedures, understanding of course that things can change. So what I understand is this as of this moment in time - self-test before boarding, present the results. 3 days into the cruise, self-test again, present results to your steward. If you are a back to back guest, no testing required at all to continue on the next cruise though will need to self-test 3 days into the voyage. Please correct me if I am wrong. Thank you!

Wow, thank you and everyone else for the details......as marie asked above, how is this actually done? The first test before boarding, is it monitored - ie, you have to go to CVS or use the Binax now telehealth test, etc, or is a self-test ok - and then for the next test 3 days later while on board, is it administered by the ship - them swabbing you - or are you allowed to do a self-test in your cabin and produce the results?

HI, just for my own clarification, are you saying that during the cruise which started Nov 9 from your thread title, while it was 6 days underway, that all of the passengers were forced to be tested? Based on the title of your thread, is this a single 28 day cruise (I don't think so) or a multi-back to back totaling 28 days (more likely). I'm just trying to understand what exactly happened - ie, perhaps you're referring to testing the back to back cruisers? Thank you for clarification!

Very well put, thank you for writing this, 100% agree.

Yes for sure...... @Suzi66 was told, no back to back testing one day, then the next, ooops yup, too bad so sad, we are testing you. Others on the boards also have reported they were told often and definitely, no b2b testing then the number of self-reports rise high enough that whatever threshold it is (not sure how that's determined......? By Celebrity, by countries being visited or the country where the first cruise ends?) is reached and b2b testing is mandated. Really nerve wracking, the anxiety of cruise 1, not sure at all if you'll be allowed to continue on cruise 2. Not the time to do b2b cruises.

For sure, but in her case, it is undeniable that Celebrity really dropped the ball - to me, highlights that Celebrity wants testing over with as much as we do - onerous for all, anxiety producing and a big financial drain on the company for all of the cash reimbursements that have to be made to those testing positive in the mandated tests, not to mention the personnel that have to be taken off their normal jobs to work on covid related problems - when the crew is notoriously understaffed to begin with.

Celebrity had no record of @Suzi66 husband even testing positive - Celebrity was the one that forced him to test, that forced him off the ship, and yet, Celebrity had no record of even having done so! I think her story is enlightening and troubling for all of us. Suzi and her husband were taking the ship HOME - they live in Australia. They flew to Vancouver for their Alaskan cruise on Eclipse then they were continuing on the Eclipse as consecutive cruisers sailing home on the Eclipse. Celebrity threw them off, gave them no direction about rejoining the voyage on Oct 3, a series of problems. Hers is a cautionary tale for B2Bers......wow, there were 200 or so B2Bers that all tested positive in the testing dragnet! @Suzi66 thank you so much for your report. Very informative and definitely highlights how very risky B2B sailing is, if testing is required.

I don't think honestly that this is a point any longer - this is not 2020 - we have vaccinations, boosters, and now targeted boosters. There is no need to think that you are immoral or unethical by wanting to move on with your life. The virus of today has been documented as less virulent - that is in fact how viruses work over time, as we all have been reading over the years, educating ourselves about the science rather than buying into the prevailing paranoia and hysteria - the science is on our side. People must take responsibility for their own health. We now have the tools to do that - to take all of the precautions necessary. And if your health is fragile, if your health is precarious - it is on you to take care of yourself. I'll say it again - this is not 2020. The entire world has moved on - all except the cruising community, still stuck in the dark times of 3 years ago. It's way past time to move on.

All opinions respected always, but I do believe that all testing must stop - cruise industry will continue to suffer until it stops, until the cruise industry catches up with the rest of the world. And testing against what? Covid if vaxxed and boosted is just not what it used to be - thank heavens!

Testing has got to stop. The cruise world is such a weird subsection of society - nowhere else, for any reason whatsoever, is testing occurring. Land based vacations are becoming more and more appealing as testing to cruise oddly persists. We all need to be fully vaxxed and boosted to protect ourselves, to take responsibility for our own health. Those that are immunocompromised need to do the same-take responsibility for your own health, know the risks, act accordingly- it’s your life, know how to protect yourself. I honestly don’t understand why testing to cruise and to do back to backs, is still occurring. There is no doubt in my mind that Celebrity does not want to test, and it definitely does not want you to self report - self report your cold symptoms, your sore throat? The cruise lines are suffering financially because of it, having to reimburse cruise fares, not to mention the drain on the already super strapped understaffed crews. As @mfs2k posted just now, it’s so wonderful to hear about all of the mild cases of covid. The covid of today is not the covid of 3 years ago. The strains themselves are milder plus being vaxxed and boosted, you are going to experience mild symptoms, if any at all. And thus, the rest of the world has moved on - all except the cruise community. Fear persists, not sure why. Media hype? Even that has lessened. Back to back cruising has absolutely become something to avoid - the newer strains of covid are so mild you can have them and not even know it and yet, be caught up in the b2b testing dragnet - the anxiety that the b2b testing produces makes it such that you can’t enjoy the first cruise - I’ve seen people on the boards reporting that they are cancelling their consecutive cruise plans because of the anxiety of testing, as there is a fair chance you can test positive and yet feel great, and have your holiday plans dashed. Back to back testing is a huge crap shoot and should be avoided as long as testing persists.

@Suzi66 are you out there? Your input would be very valuable and interesting to hear on this thread. For those that missed her informative posts, she was sailing from Alaska all the way home to her native Australia on the Eclipse but her husband got caught in the b2b testing dragnet. I am going to copy/paste one of her original posts on the topic, but for the life of me, I cannot find the post where she explained how Celebrity had no record of her husband actually testing positive - they left the ship in Vancouver as they had apparently been instructed to do but when then following up with Celebrity, Celebrity said they had no record of his test being positive and it was all a bit of a mess. I do apologize for not being able to find that post in my search, I tried - so I am really hoping that you see this post, @Suzi66 and let us know more of the details. I am certain that Celebrity doesn't want to test us, they don't want us to self-report, they want this all to be over - the amount of money/resources it's costing them is outsized compared to this virus which simply is NOT THE BLACK PLAGUE. No other social enterprise on earth is testing in order for a person to participate. The anxiety ESPECIALLY for back to back cruising this is causing is outsized compared to the virus itself. If you don't want to catch it, don't leave your house as you can catch it anywhere - testing to cruise has to stop. Here is what @Suzi66 posted on the Eclipse 9/22 roll call. I do hope she can weigh in with an update - thank you! I can tell you that we were doing a B2B2B and are now no longer doing that as my husband was one of the ones that tested positive. It meant that at short notice we had to find 10 days accommodation in Vancouver for his isolation (us not Celebrity) and we have been waiting for our TA to hear from Celebrity if we can get back on the ship in Honolulu for the leg home. I can tell you that being 13,000km from home and what was supposed to be your transport back to Australia has sailed off without you is very stressful, when you have been given no other information other than you have to leave the ship in 12 hours and then radio silence for days on end. Our TA has been working on a few different plans for us once quarantine finishes on Saturday, but I doubt we will have heard from Celebrity in the next 24 hours as they haven't bothered in the last 8 days.

Hey there, I believe I commented on one of your comments a while back, because we are also doing a multi B2B on Eclipse in the spring - and I am TERRIFIED of mandatory back to back testing, absolutely terrified - very seriously will cancel as we are not prepared to fly half way across the world and get caught in the b2b mandatory testing dragnet. I can only imagine for instance having to miss going ashore in Tahiti because I am asymptomatic or have super mild symptoms but yet tested positive - I think I'd explode. No amount of masking or distancing can prevent you from catching this super contagious yet super mild virus - mild if you are taking care of yourself by vaxxing and boosting. My husband had it, had a minor sore throat, I never caught it and withholding the details, but we were as close as you can get for a few weeks. Personally, I feel strongly that all testing must end, and I am pretty sure that the cruise lines feel the same way - since testing is mandatory, refunds are mandatory, lots of money lost. And nowhere else is testing happening - land vacations are looking more and more appealing to us, as until testing stops for consecutive cruising, back to back cruising is incredibly risky.

But in fact, Celebrity is losing money by doing mandatory back to back testing, because the passengers get a cash refund for their time in isolation. Someone must have done a cost benefit analysis on this - allow the spread of the virus by being at full capacity but yet, force people to test and have to refund their isolation in cash.......testing really has to stop. Passengers, the cruise line, can't have it both ways. Until back to back testing ends, back to back cruising is fraught with anxiety - a high percentage of people on the Eclipse are back to back passengers as you don't fly half way around the world for a short period of time, and a fair number of those are caught in the back to back testing dragnet. Their cruise fares, the time in isolation has to be refunded by the cruise ship yet the line says that masks are "urged" but not mandatory......even masking for the crew at least on some of the ships, has become no longer mandatory. So restrictions are being dropped but hey, we are going to make you test and if you are positive, we have to lock you up. It's all just out of hand at this point, considering the way the rest of the world is handling this thing - get vaxxed, boosted, take care of your health, know the risks if you are immunocompromised - and let's get on with it.

Yes, precisely - thus my more detailed post above. Back to back cruises are a crap shoot, if mandatory back to back testing occurs. The anxiety you have on the first cruise of testing positive on the back to back test is awful. Super easy to contract covid and not even know you have it - then, because of the outsized fear of covid which is rampant in the cruising world, test positive in the back to back testing dragnet and your dream holiday is over. As I said earlier, if a person is afraid of covid then they shouldn't leave their house as it is everywhere. And don't take a back to back cruise if you have to test for the second cruise - there is a fair chance that you'll be positive and be tossed in covid jail even though you feel great or only mildly under the weather.

I believe strongly that all testing has got to stop - including back to back testing. The cruise industry has got to "get with the program" that the rest of the world is following. I've said this before - the covid of today is not the covid of 3 years ago - the strains are weaker period, plus people are vaxxed and boosted preventing serious illness - and if you are immunocompromised then it is on you - you need to take responsibility for your own personal health. The specter of covid on the ships is outsized - holidays are being ruined by folks with no or mild symptoms being caught in the back to back testing dragnet - the cruise line is losing lots of money having to reimburse cruise fares - this is not good for anyone. If you are afraid of covid then don't leave your house - because it is absolutely everywhere. So, NCL has abolished all testing, even back to back?? Even that won't get me to sail on NCL, staunch Celebrity fan here, but hopefully, this is a sign that Celebrity will follow - or we are going to be cancelling 5 cruises on Eclipse next spring. 😭

I follow her and Bug on Instagram - I have avoided downloading TikTok, sticking with Instagram, for now anyway! So whoever wants to follow her, if you don't want to get into TikTok, Instagram has been great.

Haha, you got me there! 😝😜😂 Good one!

Was there mandatory back to back testing? Curious, since the second cruise did not require passengers to be tested to board - following that logic, then the back to back passengers should not have had to test since the new passengers didn't have to test...... Thank you for your insights!