Celebrity Travel Advisory Important update

[CruiserMickey]

31 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

I think it’s more an issue of do you possibly want to be stranded in another country not being able to return home, as opposed to I’m okay because I’m covered with the cost of the flights. At this stage, we don’t even know if itineraries would be the same if other countries start refusing cruise ships in their ports over this side of the pond. Does the itinerary matter to you is another pertinent question. Could you cancel and then decide nearer the time? Much to consider.

 

The trip is important to us because we have had to cancel and rebook a number of times already. We are hoping to celebrate our 30th anniversary in Italy and have been trying to arrange this since we canceled our 25th anniversary Med cruise to stay home and care for our parents who had cancer. We’ll see how this goes. I don’t want to live my life in fear of what may or may not happen, but neither do I want to make a foolish decision.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Can’t go wrong with a land trip to Italy.  Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento/Amalfi, Tuscany, Pisa, Cinq de Terra, etc.  Enough right there for a month!

 

Tip - Second class on Italy’s high speed trains is fine, just use the restrooms in first...

[az_tchr]

1 hour ago, villauk said:

 

 

Yes, so are they saying that would accept someone from Rome who had possibly sat next to at the airport, or travelled with, someone from one of those regions? How would they know?

Unless you flew into Milan or Venice they would not. The biggie is all it will take is a few cases near Rome and you lose pretty much all Italian cruises.

The CDC said it is likely to go into a pandemic. That would make airline travel very difficult and International travel like cruising pretty much impossible. Not looking good. 

I have 2 cruises scheduled in April and May. If our trip was not all organized would cancel and avoid the worry. Lots of places in the USA and Canada to visit.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, CruiserMickey said:

@Jim_Iain In reading your letter, it says that if you book with Flights by Celebrity they will automatically change your flights. Do you think that means with or without a change fee?

 

We have final payment due next week for our b2b out of Venice and I am struggling with what to do. Cancel and use our NRD on another cruise, or carry on and hope there aren’t too many change fees if we are rerouted?

Really not sure but would believe by my reading they would handle the re-booking.    Really recommend calling Flights by Celebrity to confirm.    I would not think they will charge a change fee but, generally the fees are passed on by the airline not by the TA.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

For our March 15 Cruise in Caribbean just received an e-mail requesting confirmation -

 

 

Dear Guest,

We look forward to welcoming you aboard for your upcoming Celebrity Cruises vacation.  Before you embark on this exciting journey, we would like to provide some new and updated information regarding your upcoming travel plans. 

As we monitor global developments related to the coronavirus, our priority remains the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as providing you an amazing vacation experience. After further consultation with public health authorities and medical experts, we have decided that any guest, or crewmember, who has traveled to, from, or through China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, or the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto within 15 days of departure will be unable to board our ships. As well as coming in to contact with people who reside in these areas – this includes guests who had connecting flights in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, or the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto. The CDC characterizes contact with an individual as coming within six feet (2M) of a person.  Additionally, anyone that feels unwell or demonstrates flu-like symptoms will not be permitted to sail.

As a result, it is imperative that you check your air travel itinerary closely to ensure you do not transit through any gateway in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, or the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto. Guests who have air travel booked through Flights by Celebrity will be re-accommodated on alternate routes and receive new flight information automatically. Guests with independent air travel arrangements need to contact their air carriers directly to make all required adjustments and changes to their air travel.

We have elected to take this precautionary step due to the recent increase in coronavirus cases around the world, to help avoid the spread of the virus and to ensure the continued safety of our guests and crew. While vacations are our passion, our primary responsibility is to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit.

We have also increased secondary health screening requirements. The following guests will need to undergo extra screenings at the cruise terminal:

 

• Any guest who has travelled to, from, or through Japan, Singapore, Thailand or Italy (all regions other than Lombardy and Veneto) in the past 15 days.

• Guests who are uncertain about contact with individuals who have traveled to, from, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand or Italy, in the past 15 days.

Guests presenting with fever or low blood oximetry in the specialized health screenings will be denied boarding.

We’ve also taken numerous proactive steps to maintain high health standards onboard our ships:

 

• Thoroughly sanitizing the cruise ship terminal before and after every sailing.
• Special sanitizing of high traffic areas onboard multiple times a day.

• Adding extra medical staff on each sailing.

• Providing complimentary consultations with medical experts for all guests and crew. 

• Plus, the Captain will make daily announcements during your cruise reminding everyone of how to stay healthy onboard.

 

Finally, you can contribute to a healthy onboard environment by taking a few simple steps that will help prevent colds, flus and stomach viruses – both onboard and on land. 

• Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds after using the restroom and before any meal or snack.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue (or with your upper sleeve) if you happen to sneeze. Avoid sneezing or coughing into your hands or without covering your nose and mouth.

• Use hand sanitizer as often as possible. Rub the gel thoroughly, and in-between your fingers, until your hands are dry.

If you don’t feel well while onboard, it’s imperative that you visit our onboard medical facility immediately for a complimentary checkup. Our onboard doctors and nurses are always available and ready to assist.

If you or someone in your stateroom has traveled to, from, or through, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, or the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto please contact your Travel Advisor immediately or contact us at 1-844-418-6824 in North America or (316) 554-5961 worldwide. You can also visit www.celebritycruises.com/contact-us  for a complete list of global contact information.

We look forward to welcoming you aboard for a truly incredible vacation.

 

Sincerely,

Celebrity Cruises

If we received that notice for a European cruise and could postpone the cruise and flights,  we'd do that.  For the Caribbean...probably not... March 15th is very soon.

Very foreboding  letter!

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Money back. Final payment date is the key, not the date you made the payment.

Unless you have a NRD reservation for the cruise.  In that case unless Celebrity waives it and offers full refund you have to pay $100 to change and have 1 year to use.    

 

In my case my air is fully refundable up until final payment date and $100 cancellation or change after final

[Jim_Iain]

2 minutes ago, hcat said:

If we received that notice for a European cruise and could postpone the cruise and flights,  we'd do that.  For the Caribbean...probably not... March 15th is very soon.

Very foreboding  letter!

We are going -  unless they cancel the cruise.  We have a B2B2B booked so should be interesting.

[Fouremco]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Unless you have a NRD reservation for the cruise.  In that case unless Celebrity waives it and offers full refund you have to pay $100 to change and have 1 year to use.    

 

In my case my air is fully refundable up until final payment date and $100 cancellation or change after final

Yes, true enough. The poster to whom I was responding hadn't raised the question of deposits, so I didn't address that issue. Thanks for adding the information.

[Pushka]

This is ridiculous. In a cruise starting in Venice or Rome, Italian citizens wont be allowed to board.

[cruiserchuck]

12 minutes ago, Pushka said:

This is ridiculous. In a cruise starting in Venice or Rome, Italian citizens wont be allowed to board.

 

As of now, the ban on Italy is only for two regions in the north.  So someone from Rome or other non-banned areas could board.  Venice is in one of the banned areas, so a cruise could not go there now.  I doubt they will keep this partial ban in place for long.  I suspect it will either be dropped, or extended to the whole country.  

Edited February 25, 2020 by cruiserchuck

[Pushka]

3 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

As of now, the ban on Italy is only for two regions in the north.  So someone from Rome or other non-banned areas could board.  I doubt they will keep this partial ban in place for long.  I suspect it will either be dropped, or extended to the whole country.  

And there is no way that Celebrity can determine that. I think it will be the whole country within a couple of days. I wonder how the Italian Government would feel about this. Also, the ship would be reprovisioned in Rome prior to and after. I cant see this is a workable solution. 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Pushka

[Fouremco]

11 minutes ago, Pushka said:

This is ridiculous. In a cruise starting in Venice or Rome, Italian citizens wont be allowed to board.

That's not how I would interpret it. A Rome cruise would be permissible for Italians who haven't been in Lombardy or Veneto within the preceding 15 days. On the other hand, as it is impossible to get to the cruise port in Venice without travelling "to, from or through" Veneto, no one would be allowed to board, including crew.

 

Those are the rules (today), but how enforceable those applicable to a Rome embarkation might be is an other question. 

[Pushka]

7 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

That's not how I would interpret it. A Rome cruise would be permissible for Italians who haven't been in Lombardy or Veneto within the preceding 15 days. On the other hand, as it is impossible to get to the cruise port in Venice without travelling "to, from or through" Veneto, no one would be allowed to board, including crew.

 

Those are the rules (today), but how enforceable those applicable to a Rome embarkation might be is an other question. 

Making it unenforcable then in all practicality. A CYA exercise to be blunt as Celebrity simply cannot enforce that or even have any knowledge of it. We have caught the trains throughout Italy.

[Jim_Iain]

48 minutes ago, Pushka said:

This is ridiculous. In a cruise starting in Venice or Rome, Italian citizens wont be allowed to board.

My understanding is only if from the regions listed in the alert, which are located near Milan and Venice.   I'm sure this could change as things are fluid.   The e-mail doesn't say they will be denied boarding. 

 

The following guests will need to undergo extra screenings at the cruise terminal:

 

• Any guest who has travelled to, from, or through Japan, Singapore, Thailand or Italy (all regions other than Lombardy and Veneto) in the past 15 days.

Edited February 25, 2020 by Jim_Iain

[Silkroad]

2 hours ago, CruiserMickey said:

 

The crazy part is that our cruise has been cancelled so many times already it feels like the universe is conspiring against us (not really, but still...) and really doesn’t want us to go to Italy. First booked a Med cruise for our 25th anniversary and had to cancel because my dad and MIL both got sick with cancer and needed support. Booked now for our 30th anniversary and Celebrity has canceled our cruise twice (charter and redeployment of Apex). Now this. *sigh*

I feel for you! We’re on our second try for the Italy & the Greek Isles (had to cancel our 2018 cruise due to family and work issues). We’re to sail from Civitavecchia in May, and we’re also celebrating our anniversary. We’re past final payment, so all we can do is wait and hope everything calms down within a few weeks. I hope you’ll be able to celebrate your anniversary as planned🌺

[helen haywood]

“As we monitor global developments related to the coronavirus, our priority remains the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as providing you an amazing vacation experience. After further consultation with public health authorities and medical experts, we have decided that any guest, or crewmember, who has traveled to, from, or through China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, or the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto within 15 days ofdeparture will be unable to board our ships.“
 

Jim, this is the first part of the communique.  It says “any guest who has traveled to from or through...Veneto within 15 days of departure will be unable to board our ships.”  If your cruise originates in Venice EVERYONE would be traveling through Veneto!

Edited February 25, 2020 by helen haywood

[Jim_Iain]

2 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

“As we monitor global developments related to the coronavirus, our priority remains the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as providing you an amazing vacation experience. After further consultation with public health authorities and medical experts, we have decided that any guest, or crewmember, who has traveled to, from, or through China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, or the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto within 15 days ofdeparture will be unable to board our ships.“
 

Jim, this is the first part of the communique.  It says “any guest who has traveled to from or through...Veneto within 15 days of departure will be unable to board our ships.”  If your cruise originates in Venice EVERYONE would be traveling through Veneto!

Thanks... Iain just pointed that out to me also .  So much for clarity -  two different rules in the same letter. 

 

You are correct of course.   I was thinking of cruises out of Civitavecchia.     I have no more knowledge that the others here but have a feeling if the corona virus is isolated to that region they might move the departure port.  

 

I'm sure we will know more each day as the situation remains quite fluid.    Wasn't the first case in Italy just reported on Friday or Saturday?

[Silkroad]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm sure we will know more each day as the situation remains quite fluid.    Wasn't the first case in Italy just reported on Friday or Saturday?

No, but they did report a significant case increase sometime between Friday and today. 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Silkroad

[helen haywood]

9 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks... Iain just pointed that out to me also .  So much for clarity -  two different rules in the same letter. 

 

It’s not really two different rules.  Just not written clearly.  The part you were quoting referred to extra screening for people traveling from or through Italy...with the exceptions of people who’d travelled from or through Lombardy or Veneto.  Not that those people were exempt from the extra screening...those people had already been deemed unable to board.

[Jim_Iain]

2 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

It’s not really two different rules.  Just not written clearly.  The part you were quoting referred to extra screening for people traveling from or through Italy...with the exceptions of people who’d travelled from or through Lombardy or Veneto.  Not that those people were exempt from the extra screening...those people had already been deemed unable to board.

Ahh.. thanks for the clarity.   I definitely didn't initially read it that way.

 

Since this communication is Specifically for a Caribbean cruise it may be different for future cruise departing from other locations.  

Edited February 25, 2020 by Jim_Iain

[helen haywood]

That’s interesting.  I’ve seen the letter posted but the posters did not say what cruise they were sailing.  It makes more sense that it is specific to Caribbean cruises because it makes absolutely no sense in reference to cruises originating from Venice.

[Denny01]

I’m on a Silversea cruise out of Rome departing April 2020 and it has the same post as what Celebrity has. I saw the Celebrity statement and went over to Silverseas and found one there, but no emails or anything coming for Silverseas. Went to the Silverseas CC website and it had no reference to it, only one thread talking generally about COVID-19 impacting people’s cruises. So I posted the restrictions there. 

 

I was going to put it on the Sliverseas Roll Call that I started for that cruise, but there have been 5 posts on it.....5! And 3 were mine. Silverseas ships are small so almost like river cruises! Ha! 

 

So as some complain about how Celebrity is handling these day-to-day, no hr-by-hr, changes realize other cruise lines are putting restrictions on also, but not nearly as professionally as Celebrity seems to be doing it letting customers who hare directly impacted know.......unless they haven’t let you know yet!

 

Not posting this non-Celebrity info for just fun, just to let you know other LInes are doing the same, but don’t seem to be letting their customers (and a lot smaller customer base!), so keep that in mind as we think Celebrity should be more proactive. 

 

Den

[cruiserchuck]

4 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

I’m on a Silversea cruise out of Rome departing April 2020 and it has the same post as what Celebrity has. I saw the Celebrity statement and went over to Silverseas and found one there, but no emails or anything coming for Silverseas. Went to the Silverseas CC website and it had no reference to it, only one thread talking generally about COVID-19 impacting people’s cruises. So I posted the restrictions there. 

 

I was going to put it on the Sliverseas Roll Call that I started for that cruise, but there have been 5 posts on it.....5! And 3 were mine. Silverseas ships are small so almost like river cruises! Ha! 

 

So as some complain about how Celebrity is handling these day-to-day, no hr-by-hr, changes realize other cruise lines are putting restrictions on also, but not nearly as professionally as Celebrity seems to be doing it letting customers who hare directly impacted know.......unless they haven’t let you know yet!

 

Not posting this non-Celebrity info for just fun, just to let you know other LInes are doing the same, but don’t seem to be letting their customers (and a lot smaller customer base!), so keep that in mind as we think Celebrity should be more proactive. 

 

Den

 

Royal Caribbean owns two-thirds of the stock and operates Silversea.  As such, I believe the same restrictions apply to Silversea. 

 

[Fouremco]

23 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

That’s interesting.  I’ve seen the letter posted but the posters did not say what cruise they were sailing.  It makes more sense that it is specific to Caribbean cruises because it makes absolutely no sense in reference to cruises originating from Venice.

The same rules are posted on the website and are applicable to all cruises:

 

CORONAVIRUS HEALTH PROTOCOLS

 

Monday, February 24, 2020

 

We are closely monitoring global developments regarding the coronavirus, and we are fully focused on protecting the health and safety of our guests and crew.

 

To comply with guidance from CDC, WHO and other public health authorities around the world, we are implementing several global measures to protect guests and crew. These measures are intentionally conservative and apply to anyone boarding our ships, guests and crew alike. We apologize for the inconvenience created by these precautionary measures. 

 

Until further notice, all ships in the Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd. fleet will adopt these health screening protocols:

 

1. Regardless of nationality, we will deny boarding to:

 

• Any guest who has travelled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, and the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto in the past 15 days.
• Any guest who has come in contact with anyone with 15-day prior travel to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, and the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto. The CDC characterizes contact with an individual as coming within six feet (2M) of a person.
• Guests who report feeling unwell or demonstrate any flu-like symptoms.

 

2. There will be mandatory specialized health screenings performed on:

 

• Any guest who has travelled from, to or through Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Italy (all regions other than Lombardy and Veneto) in the past 15 days.
• Guests who are uncertain about contact with individuals who have traveled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Italy in the past 15 days.

 

Guests presenting with fever or low blood oximetry in the specialized health screenings will be denied boarding.

 

All guests that are denied boarding due to these restrictions will receive full refunds. 

 

We have rigorous medical protocols in place to help passengers and crew members who feel unwell while sailing. Our protocols include professional medical treatment; quarantine of unwell individuals from the general ship population; and intensified ship cleaning, air filtration, and sanitization procedures. 

 

We are assessing developments constantly and will update these measures as needed. Guests with questions may contact Celebrity Cruises at 1-844-418-6824 in North America or (316) 554-5961 worldwide. You may also visit www.celebritycruises.com/contact-us  for a complete list of global contact information.

[zitsky]

There are several dozen cases in the USA.  Are we going to start banning them too?