Celebrity will be restarting cruising out of St. Maarten on June 5th with Millennium

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, lhsail said:

If I have a cabin on hold through the Celebrity website, is it on hold for 24 hours from the time I made the reservation, or is it until the end of business the next day?  Thanks.

Ours was put on a 3 day hold by our Celebrity PVP. But my suggestion would be for you to log onto your X account, go to Already Booked Cruises, then Courtesy Holds, then see what date the hold expires.

[lhsail]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Ours was put on a 3 day hold by our Celebrity PVP. But my suggestion would be for you to log onto your X account, go to Already Booked Cruises, then Courtesy Holds, then see what date the hold expires.

It just says it expires tomorrow.  My TA is off today.  I could certainly work with someone else at the agency, but we've worked closely for a few years now and it would definitely be easier to work with him tomorrow.  

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, lhsail said:

It just says it expires tomorrow.  My TA is off today.  I could certainly work with someone else at the agency, but we've worked closely for a few years now and it would definitely be easier to work with him tomorrow.  

You can always call the Celebrity 1-800 number and ask them that question. That's what I would do if I were in your situation.

[nocl]

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

OTOH if the folks on B2B cruises were tested towards the end of each leg like others who will be departing the ship will be, and they tested positive, then the applicable protocols would be put into play (as would be the case for those only sailing one leg) and their remaining legs would be refunded. But, that's not my call. It's theirs. 

Problem is that if you look at the studies, including the one from John Hopkins, the study showed a very high level of false negatives (as high as 80% prior to development of symptoms) dropping as low as 20% on day 4 after the development of symptoms.  So the only way to make sure that any infections are caught, is to make sure that all passengers disembark.  That still leaves some potential with the crew but they are repeatedly tested, and hopefully fully vaccinated.

 

 

That is why they are making the call the way the are.  Allowing B2B is not worth the risk at this stage of their return.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, nocl said:

Problem is that if you look at the studies, including the one from John Hopkins, the study showed a very high level of false negatives (as high as 80% prior to development of symptoms) dropping as low as 20% on day 4 after the development of symptoms.  So the only way to make sure that any infections are caught, is to make sure that all passengers disembark.  That still leaves some potential with the crew but they are repeatedly tested, and hopefully fully vaccinated.

 

 

That is why they are making the call the way the are.  Allowing B2B is not worth the risk at this stage of their return.

Makes sense. As usual, thanks for your insights! 🙂

[mahdnc]

On 3/19/2021 at 4:16 PM, mahdnc said:

A sample of current ORD-SXM-ORD airfare to catch the 1st sailing--flying in the day before the cruise and flying out on the day the sailing ends.  I wish I could buy options on this.....

 

 

Fares are going up.  Same as above (6/4 outbound and 6/12 return). 

[cruiserchuck]

11 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Fares are going up.  Same as above (6/4 outbound and 6/12 return). 

 

Because demand is increasing due to the cruise.  

[Seany527]

I’m new to Celebrity so I just wanted to confirm a few things. 

 

I thought gratuities were included and yet they are showing as a booking charge. 

 

During the booking process I upgraded to the Elevate package which covered drinks up to $15. It was at a cost of $30 per day and included $300 in credit for sure excursions. How come they on my bill it says $30 total instead of the $210?

 

Does Celebrity usually add additional shore excursions as the cruise gets closer? Right now there are 17 total amongst the 3 ports. 
 

I called Celebrity about my first two questions and the rep gave me a really confusing answer. 😞

[wrk2cruise]

1 hour ago, lhsail said:

It just says it expires tomorrow.  My TA is off today.  I could certainly work with someone else at the agency, but we've worked closely for a few years now and it would definitely be easier to work with him tomorrow.  

 

If it says it expires on 3/26 then it will expire at 11 pm eastern time on that date.  You can always call captains club number and say your TA is unavailable and request the hold to be extended another day or two.  I've never had a problem doing this.

[cruiserchuck]

1 minute ago, Seany527 said:

 

I’m new to Celebrity so I just wanted to confirm a few things. 

 

I thought gratuities were included and yet they are showing as a booking charge. 

 

During the booking process I upgraded to the Elevate package which covered drinks up to $15. It was at a cost of $30 per day and included $300 in credit for sure excursions. How come they on my bill it says $30 total instead of the $210?

 

Does Celebrity usually add additional shore excursions as the cruise gets closer? Right now there are 17 total amongst the 3 ports. 
 

I called Celebrity about my first two questions and the rep gave me a really confusing answer. 😞

 

Celebrity is infamous for their poor IT department.  The fares include gratuities, so there should not be an extra charge for them.  I just did a mock booking, and the system did not try to charge me for gratuities.  With respect to the Elevate package, it correctly charged me for all seven days.  So it looks like it has fixed the problems (for now.)

[lhsail]

5 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

If it says it expires on 3/26 then it will expire at 11 pm eastern time on that date.  You can always call captains club number and say your TA is unavailable and request the hold to be extended another day or two.  I've never had a problem doing this.

Thank you, thank you!

[Seany527]

54 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

Celebrity is infamous for their poor IT department.  The fares include gratuities, so there should not be an extra charge for them.  I just did a mock booking, and the system did not try to charge me for gratuities.  With respect to the Elevate package, it correctly charged me for all seven days.  So it looks like it has fixed the problems (for now.)

Thanks for your help. I booked first thing this morning so I may have to call back tonight before I make the final payment. 

[drakes2]

2 hours ago, lhsail said:

It just says it expires tomorrow.  My TA is off today.  I could certainly work with someone else at the agency, but we've worked closely for a few years now and it would definitely be easier to work with him tomorrow.  

Generally they auto expire within 24 hours but things could have changed with covid 

[MarkWiltonM]

5 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

from reading the Crystal boards, I learned that Crystal is extremely slow in issuing refunds for cruises it has cancelled.

 

Crystal did have serious problems issuing refunds when the pandemic hit. Their owner, Genting HK, which also owns Dream Cruises and Star Cruises, is having a lot of financial trouble. For the Crystal Bahamas itineraries scheduled for July through October, they are putting funds into non-operating trust accounts until earned so that the money is available for refunds if necessary. And they have said they will have refunded 95 percent of all canceled cruises by the end of April. My TA said he feels pretty good about Crystal after a Zoom conference today with senior management. And he is providing trip cancellation insurance that covers bankruptcy/financial default. I hope it works out!

Edited March 25, 2021 by MarkWiltonM
clarity

[rad798]

Has Celebrity stated what capacity Millennium will be at during these cruises?

Sorry, if already posted in thread. I have not had time to read all 19 pages.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, rad798 said:

Has Celebrity stated what capacity Millennium will be at during these cruises?

Sorry, if already posted in thread. I have not had time to read all 19 pages.

From what i read, they are not booking their inside and oceanview cabins which represent just under 50% of their cabin capacity.

[Gracie115]

7 hours ago, rad798 said:

Has Celebrity stated what capacity Millennium will be at during these cruises?

Sorry, if already posted in thread. I have not had time to read all 19 pages.

 

Celebrity said between 40 and 60% capacity.

[D. B.]

I set my Alarm clock for 0 dark 30 (pacific daylight savings time) on Thursday March 25th. to be Ready to book a cruise on Celebrity Millennium sailing from St. Marten as Soon as the bookings Opened.

  We mostly book Inside Cabins because we are only In our cabin for sleep and getting ready to go out.

 I was surprised to see when logging onto the Celebrity site that it showed All Inside and Ocean View cabins were Sold Out !

   I booked a Veranda cabin because I have tons of Future Cruise Credits (6 cruises cancelled) but still wondered how all the inside and ocean view cabins sold out so Fast?

   I called the Captains Club but they had no answer.

   OK I think I figured it out (Maybe) Celebrity is using inside and ocean view cabins to spread out the Crew so they don't have to Share a small crew space cabin? By using the inside and ocean view cabins they can  put One crewmember in a cabin!

   That will also reduce the number of passengers on the ship to help with social distancing.

 

There is still a Lot of things to sort out with these sailings that will be addressed over the next few months.  Like the requirement for a Covid 19 PCR Test 72 hours before the ship sails. If I do that Before leaving Home I will have to Pay a Lot to get results Fast enough to have them with me when I board my flight from SFO to SXM. We Always arrive at Any non US Port at least One day Before the sail date after almost missing a Sailing years ago. Sure Flights By Celebrity guarantees they will get you To the Ship But if you miss the ship sailing they can only get you to the ship at it's next Stop. In our case the next 2 days were Sea Days so we would have missed 3 nights and joined the ship at the next Port. Never taking a chance on That again! Also reading the St. Maarten requirements they require you to buy Their Travel Insurance? 

  After 16 months of not being able to Sail on Celebrity (and 6 cancelled bookings) I'm Ready to Sail in June.

 D. B.

[Ken the cruiser]

14 minutes ago, D. B. said:

  We mostly book Inside Cabins because we are only In our cabin for sleep and getting ready to go out.

 I was surprised to see when logging onto the Celebrity site that it showed All Inside and Ocean View cabins were Sold Out !

 

Celebrity has stated they are only going to run these San Maarten cruises at around 50% capacity, which BTW is pretty close to the number of inside and oceanview cabins on the Millennium. And since they can get more money for verandas and up, my guess is it was a pretty easy decision.

 

14 minutes ago, D. B. said:

There is still a Lot of things to sort out with these sailings that will be addressed over the next few months.  Like the requirement for a Covid 19 PCR Test 72 hours before the ship sails.

 

 

Here is the San Maarten COVID-19 test requirements for when you arrive at the airport. Celebrity requires all adults boarding the ship to be fully vaccinated with minors having a negative PCR test results within 72 hours.

 

1.  For travelers from the USA, US territories and Canada the time frame remains 120 hrs. prior to departure. This will remain in effect as long as the national health authorities of the USA and Canada do not require differently for their traveling citizens.
2. Alternatively, travelers originating from the USA and Canada can do an antigen test for the SARS-COV-2 virus obtained from a naso-pharyngeal swab performed within 48 hours prior to departure to Sint Maarten. All FDA approved antigen tests including those with Emergency Use Authorization only (EUA) are accepted. Tests performed outside of the 48 hours period and home tests will not be accepted.

 

Travel Requirements – Sint Maarten EHAS (stmaartenehas.com)

[abbydancer2003]

They stated that they are not selling inside and ocean views.  I also suspect that there are some other blocked cabins, because when i looked at Sky Suites on Wednesday night (I'm in California) one cabin was sold on all sailings.

 

I drilled through the San Martin requirements.  They require their insurance which is 30.00 per person.  

 

I'm hoping that by the time we sail in late July, the testing requirement may change to account for vaccines.

[Stevanb]

On 3/19/2021 at 2:07 PM, marienbad said:

That is a good question. What if someone develops COVID while on the ship? What will CDC require to return to the US? Too much uncertainty. We will wait to cruise from and back to  US port.

We have a cruise booked  Dec 2022 should be back to normal by then . But on the other hand  we have been to Plays del Carmen last Sept and in Dec over teh holidays in  Punta Cana.  Leave for Cancun in two weeks for two weeks We felt safer there than at home

[BoundForSea]

On 3/25/2021 at 3:50 PM, Seany527 said:

 

I’m new to Celebrity so I just wanted to confirm a few things. 

 

I thought gratuities were included and yet they are showing as a booking charge. 

 

During the booking process I upgraded to the Elevate package which covered drinks up to $15. It was at a cost of $30 per day and included $300 in credit for sure excursions. How come they on my bill it says $30 total instead of the $210?

 

Does Celebrity usually add additional shore excursions as the cruise gets closer? Right now there are 17 total amongst the 3 ports. 
 

I called Celebrity about my first two questions and the rep gave me a really confusing answer. 😞

After a few days of making the fully paid reservation the booking now shows we owe 266$ in gratuities as well (133x2). Did this resolve itself or do I need to call? Initially it was correct and it was added after a few days. 

[wrk2cruise]

Many people have seen this.   I would give it a week or so to work out.  They generally add cost for the AI benefits then add an offsetting amount to cancel it out.  I think it will self correct.

[HMR74]

in case folks have not seen this:

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/CEL_3_21_Celebrity_Rewards_Triple_Rewards.pdf

[jelayne]

Seems to be a incentive program for travel agents.