Yikes! Over age 70 passengers need doctor’s note (Merged threads)

[markeb]

Just now, twentyknots said:

If that's their objective then they should have had this kind of medical certification in place for years?  Those of us who cruise a lot have seen many passengers over the years who we thought might not make it for the duration.  And some don't.  Their serious illness or even death while sailing had nothing to with a virus.  Many were just old with serious medical conditions.

 

Can’t disagree, but the statistics here are pretty dramatic. Children have a near zero case fatality, and it goes up dramatically with age. And so far we only partially understand why. 
 

Older travelers always had a greater risk, but frankly that was usually going to be acute conditions and people would either die (heart attack) or be offloaded in port. Some of these people will need a lot of intensive care, and no one knows how hard it will be to offload them into another healthcare system. 

[cscurlock]

16 minutes ago, twentyknots said:

I’m not quite sure what they’re trying to accomplish with this certification.   Is a passenger over 70 with serious medical conditions more likely to contract the virus if it’s somewhere on the ship and therefore spread it around?  Are they more likely to be an asymptomatic carrier?  Are they trying to minimize risk to someone who falls into the more vulnerable group, i.e., reduce the risk of that person from having a more serious reaction or even death if he/she should contract the virus while on board? 

Helps them protect against liability.  Someone dies, takes them to court and they can point to the doctors note saying you were in good health when apparently you weren't, doctor is to blame.  Much easier case with that kind of buffer. 

[Pushka]

This won’t stop the virus on the ship. It’s just a protective thing because people over the age of 70 may suffer more complications. Younger people will still get the virus. 

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

 

Not a very well thought out form.

Note no space for printed name and address of doctor, medical registration number, etc.

What’s to stop anyone from scribbling a signature and adding M.D. after it??

Agreed, The NCL form at least requires a doctors registration number and a stamp. Easy enough to get around, but the Celebrity form almost begs to be abused.

[67Miner]

The "Physician Fit to Sail Form" looks meaningless to me.  Only thing required from the physician is a signature.  Think prescriptions -- how would you even read a signature?  Printed name is not required,  Address is not required.  Seems to me that you could just scribble anything on the signature line and turn it in upon embarkation.  How would Celebrity know its authenticity?  This whole thing seems amateurish at best and totally useless.

[Ontario Cruiser]

UnbelievableI just received the same welcome aboard I received last week. No mention of providing g a form signed by our doctor. What next? Ontario Cruiser

[luv2cruisemore]

We cancelled our March 20 cruise last Saturday for a FCC. We’re 70 and 71, both with conditions that would prevent us from cruising. Viking made their refund plan retroactive. I’m wondering if anyone know if Celebrity’s plan is the same? I’d much rather have a credit card refund.

[Husky61]

17 minutes ago, RoxyDoxy said:

Surely by implementing these new protocols, Celebrity are changing the terms of the contract? Would this not then require them to issue a refund and not a FCC?

 

If you fall into this category and to avoid arriving at the port to be denied boarding, you cancel in advance, are you then in the position of having cancelled therefore expect a FCC? Alternatively, if you arrive at the terminal and Celebrity deny you boarding, they are actually cancelling and you should be entitled to a full refund.

 

Does this make sense?

I think an attorney is more qualified to answer your question than cruise ship cruisers.☺️

[airato]

Celebrity are discriminating against those of us who are over 70 re boarding procedures.  Anyone can contract and spread the virus.  We are due to start a cruise next week and we should be offered the option of a full cash refund rather than just a future cruise credit.

Viking will halt river and ocean cruises from Thursday until April 30. Passengers can get a refund.  Those who prefer to postpone their cruise will receive a cruise voucher worth 125 per cent of the amount they paid. Passengers will have 24 months to use the voucher for any river, ocean or expedition trip. If you don't, you'll get an automatic refund.

Princess Cruises will halt sailing of its 18 ships from Thursday through May 10 and is offering a refund to passengers.  It also will give passengers a future cruise plus extra on-board credit if they postpone their journey. It's good for sailings through May 1, 2022. 

Celebrity needs to match what these other cruise lines are doing and stop penalising the over 70s.  We might not be alive to use the cruise credit!

[Water babies]

49 minutes ago, davekathy said:

  These safety precautions will remain in place for a projected period of 30 days and will be reviewed daily. 

Today, it is apparent that COVID-19 presents the most serious health risks to older individuals, the immunocompromised, and those with serious, underlying medical conditions.  Therefore, effective Monday, March 16^th, boarding will be denied to any person age 70 or older, at the time of embarkation, unless the guest provides written verification from a qualified treating physician that certifies the person has no severe, chronic medical condition and is fit to travel.  You may utilize the fit to travel letter on the Travel Advisory page of our website for presentation to your physician.  https://www.celebritycruises.com/travel-alert

Boarding will be denied to any person with a severe, chronic medical condition, including those specified by the CDC. Guests of all ages will be screened prior to boarding, regarding underlying health issues that may prevent them from sailing.

Additionally, mandatory, temperature screenings using digital, non-touch scanners will be conducted with guests, crewmembers, and visitors on embarkation day prior to boarding any vessel. If temperature registers about 100.4°F (38°C), the person and his/her travel companions will be referred to a secondary health screening. 

As a result, it is imperative that you review your air travel itinerary closely to ensure you do not transit through any gateway in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Europe, Iran, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, or Taiwan.  

We have also increased secondary health screening requirements

 

Sincerely,

Celebrity Cruises

 

 

For those of you wondering about sailings in May, June and July—-Please note the first sentence in the edit from the letter. 

 

 

 

[Fouremco]

50 minutes ago, embpat said:

if I am a  type II diabetic that is healthy and only  take oral medication will I be denied boarding for my cruise?

You now require a doctor's note saying that you have no pre-existing medical condition that would preclude cruising. That would include Type 2 diabetes.

 

Here's a post by @hcat that is worth reading:

 

 

[airato]

1 hour ago, Pentlands said:

In the UK passengers would probably have invalidated their insurance by travelling against Government Advice not to cruise if over 70

 

Most insurance policies don't cover pandemics!

[Oville]

33 minutes ago, twentyknots said:

I’m not quite sure what they’re trying to accomplish with this certification.   Is a passenger over 70 with serious medical conditions more likely to contract the virus if it’s somewhere on the ship and therefore spread it around?  Are they more likely to be an asymptomatic carrier?  Are they trying to minimize risk to someone who falls into the more vulnerable group, i.e., reduce the risk of that person from having a more serious reaction or even death if he/she should contract the virus while on board? 

I believe they have done this to appease the US Coronavirus Task Force so that cruising will not be shut out of the US market.  To me it is silly as anyone could contract the virus not just those over 70.  Maybe it’s a way to keep the death rate count down.

Edited March 13, 2020 by Oville

[az_tchr]

This protocol is actually not from Celebrity. The protocol appears to be from CLIA. Thoughts?

[Oville]

1 minute ago, az_tchr said:

This protocol is actually not from Celebrity. The protocol appears to be from CLIA. Thoughts?

See my post above, #45

Edited March 13, 2020 by Oville

[katrina915]

Can captain's club help with refund vs. FCC?

[MightyMike]

Who in Celebrity's elderly-skewing demographic *doesn't* have some type of chronic condition? I'm sure there are some, but Celebrity won't be able to get the boats half full anymore if that's the new criteria. 

[az_tchr]

20 minutes ago, Husky61 said:

I think an attorney is more qualified to answer your question than cruise ship cruisers.☺️

Hope someone gets an attorney involved.

Cancer is an exclusion. DW had surgery and treatments last year. Our doctor said to verify no cancer it would require an MRI. Really.

Also has have mild asthma. Controlled.

Ok. Will give up sailing for now but want a bloody refund.

Looks like if you ever had cancer your doc would not sign. Same for any respiratory condition whether you take medicine or now. 

Assinine. That is the nicest comment I can make.

[neeko]

1 hour ago, embpat said:

Boarding will be denied to any person with a severe, chronic medical condition, including those specified by the CDC. Guests of all ages will be screened prior to boarding, regarding underlying health issues that may prevent them from sailing.  My question is  if I am a  type II diabetic that is healthy and only  take oral medication will I be denied boarding for my cruise? I don't want to show up and  be asked if I'm diabetic and be denied  boarding. There are many diabetics who exercise, don't smoke and control their sugar levels and are healthier than non-diabetics.

I too have type 2 and controlled by diet and exercise. No drugs . The protocol is for 30 days and will be reviewed at that time. I am wondering if a doctor  writes a note stating that you are healthy enough to take this trip will suffice

 

[Roselima]

DH and I are scheduled to depart on March 28, to date we’ve had family members request we not go and they would reimburse us our full cost. It’s a shame that a cruise ship company would decide to continue  trips in the midst of an Pandemic Crisis as per W.H.O.   At this time, I’m unwilling to cancel due to to 5 reasons.

1. Trip booked through Costco Travel and they are not answering calls, they request you leave a message and then you (may) get documented cancellation later.  No mention of their  promised $260 Costco gift card, which was promised when we originally booked to cruise.

2. FCC has a time limit and if we fail to book or another crisis occurs, we loose our entire  cruise cost.

3. All future cruises  are almost double what we initially paid.

4. Regardless of the amount we have in FCC, they want us to pay an additional deposit for booking.

5. Celebrity cruise,  Royal Caribbean Cruise stock has lost 54% of its value over the last year (it paid out way too much in dividends), which could possibly  result in the Bankruptcy.

 

So our final conclusion/opinion, We are going,  we are young enough and do not have any medical issues, we are not willing to pay another dollar and we don’t trust the worth of any FCC. Truly, we wish Celebrity would value the health of their customers and employees; cancel all cruises for the next  30 days.   Fully refund all fares, all customers are dealing with financial unknown and a cruise with possible quarantine could lead to major financial hardship. Even Disneyland and Disneyworld know when to stop.

[Orator]

DW doesn't have a Dr as do many. Guess she can 't  go.

Edited March 13, 2020 by Orator

[davekathy]

14 minutes ago, katrina915 said:

Can captain's club help with refund vs. FCC?

Refunds, FCC, cancellations, etc. isn't a function of the Captains Club. 

[Scottygirl1]

My sister is currently sailing on a B2B cruise.  Does this mean that when the ship gets to Sydney for the start of the second leg of her B2B she will be denied re-embarkation?  She is over 70 and suffers from advanced diabetes.

[Orator]

I know that all this is being done for the safety of passengers, but if they are now requiring some passengers based on age to provide proof that they are fit, shouldn't the ships be required to display in a prominant place their health and safety inspections? 

I feel that this requirement is not designed for passenger safety, but as a legal safeguard  to protect the cruise lines in case there is a problem. 

Edited March 13, 2020 by Orator

[doneall50]

25 minutes ago, MightyMike said:

Who in Celebrity's elderly-skewing demographic *doesn't* have some type of chronic condition? I'm sure there are some, but Celebrity won't be able to get the boats half full anymore if that's the new criteria. 

That criteria would have eliminated 3/4 of the passengers the last time we were on Reflection! And good luck finding a doctor to sign a note like that considering the possible liability if you did come down with something!