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

[Ken the cruiser]

We just heard back from our X PVP today regarding our B2B2B cruise and "the powers that be" did not budge over the weekend on their "NO B2B policy" on cruises out of St Maarten this summer and, as such, we will be letting our 3 holds on our mid/late July cruises expire this evening.

[Fouremco]

3 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Seems to be a incentive program for travel agents.

Exactly. Celebrity Rewards is a travel agent loyalty program.

[Seany527]

56 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

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. 

I called and they said I have to wait 7 to 10 days from the date of my booking and then I will be refunded the money. 

[Ken the cruiser]

So the TA gets the points rather than the client actually booking the cruise? OK ...

Edited March 30, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[Barb1403]

Disappointed that B2B from St. Maarten is not allowed.  I did not read that anywhere regarding these cruises.  Booked online with no problem and spoke with a rep about getting the same room for both cruises as the room we wanted for both legs became available after I booked.  Again, no mention of no B2B!  Transferred my bookings to our TA and he could not transfer them as a B2B.  Cancelled the 2nd leg and expressed my displeasure at the lack of information!

Edited March 30, 2021 by Barb1403

[LGW59]

41 minutes ago, Barb1403 said:

Disappointed that B2B from St. Maarten is not allowed.  I did not read that anywhere regarding these cruises.  Booked online with no problem and spoke with a rep about getting the same room for both cruises as the room we wanted for both legs became available after I booked.  Again, no mention of no B2B!  Transferred my bookings to our TA and he could not transfer them as a B2B.  Cancelled the 2nd leg and expressed my displeasure at the lack of information!

Well at least you get to go on a cruise.

[Texed]

43 minutes ago, Barb1403 said:

Disappointed that B2B from St. Maarten is not allowed.  

 

According to the Celebrity webinar, the B2Bs will not be allowed until after the first five sailings.   🙂

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, Texed said:

 

According to the Celebrity webinar, the B2Bs will not be allowed until after the first five sailings.   🙂

Our B2B2B was comprised of the cruises from St Maarten that sailed July 17, 24 and 31. The 5th cruise sails on July 3. So whatever policy was mentioned on the webinar has unfortunately changed. No official reason why, but some have speculated that it was a condition of some of the ports being visited, to possibly include St Maarten. But, again, this is only speculation. After all, why would Celebrity turn down booking B2Bs without being pressured to do so?

[C-Dragons]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

So the TA gets the points rather than the client actually booking the cruise? OK ...

Yes.
And you get Captain's Club points for taking the cruise. 😉

[wrk2cruise]

Celebrity Rewards program is a way for TA's to earn extra money by booking more cruises with Celebrity.   They accumulate points that can be redeemed for cash at certain points.   kinda like your credit card rewards systems.

[Ken the cruiser]

32 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

Yes.
And you get Captain's Club points for taking the cruise. 😉

Yes, double Captain's Club points!

[C-Dragons]

Just now, Ken the cruiser said:

Yes, double Captain's Club points!

👍🏻

[bEwAbG]

The Healthy Sail Panel recommendations say to limit trip lengths to less than 10 nights during the initial startup phase.  I would guess that is the reason for the B2B prohibition.  

[BoundForSea]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

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.

Thanks much!!

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

The Healthy Sail Panel recommendations say to limit trip lengths to less than 10 nights during the initial startup phase.  I would guess that is the reason for the B2B prohibition.  

I'm assuming you're referring to this RCG/NCL document and more specifically this paragraph:

 

Recommendation 58: Cruise operators should initially return to service with shorter length trips. As mentioned above, during the initial return to service phase, simplicity and reduction of risk factors is advisable. Therefore, the Panel recommends trip lengths of no more than ten days at first. Cruises longer than that usually entail stops at several ports, and introducing this level of risk early in the return to service phase would be inadvisable.

 

Healthy Sail Panel Full Recommendations (royalcaribbean.com)

[bEwAbG]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I'm assuming you're referring to this RCG/NCL document and more specifically this paragraph:

 

Yes.  Celebrity is relying on the same document.  Link below takes you to a page about it, and there is a link to the report on that page.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/panel

[gerelmx]

Millennium is at Pananama ANCH ready to cross to the Atlantic

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

 

Yes.  Celebrity is relying on the same document.  Link below takes you to a page about it, and there is a link to the report on that page.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/panel

Makes sense. It will be interesting to see if they allow B2Bs on the new Athens-based 7-8 day cruises if this is what they're basing their B2B decision on.

[Texed]

16 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Our B2B2B was comprised of the cruises from St Maarten that sailed July 17, 24 and 31. The 5th cruise sails on July 3. So whatever policy was mentioned on the webinar has unfortunately changed. wn booking B2Bs without being pressured to do so?

 

You might try again, if you want.  The five cruise ban on B2Bs was not stated until yesterday.

[Ken the cruiser]

27 minutes ago, Texed said:

 

You might try again, if you want.  The five cruise ban on B2Bs was not stated until yesterday.

Thanks, but since our PVP rechecked with Celebrity management yesterday and was told no, we've moved on to focus on the options we might have with our originally scheduled 3 Edge cruises out of Ft Lauderdale in July. Those sailings of course depend on whether or not the CDC and RCG come to an agreement by May to restart limited sailing from there.

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks, but since our PVP rechecked with Celebrity management yesterday and was told no, we've moved on to focus on the options we might have with our originally scheduled 3 Edge cruises out of Ft Lauderdale in July. Those sailings of course depend on whether or not the CDC and RCG come to an agreement by May to restart limited sailing from there.

I'm still on the fence about the cruise out of St. Maarten, although I would love to go. If I do it would be on the last sailing August 21st. I just got my first vaccine dose on Monday. 

[Fouremco]

49 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I'm still on the fence about the cruise out of St. Maarten, although I would love to go. If I do it would be on the last sailing August 21st. I just got my first vaccine dose on Monday. 

There are currently no non-stop flights from YYZ to SXM. If you don't mind early morning flights there are three departing prior to 6:15AM that take about 7h 30m, but anything later in the day will take a minimum of 10h 25m. The shortest return flight, again with a stop, is 7h 32m. Seems like a lot of travel time for a 7-day cruise, and I won't mention the prices! But consider yourself lucky, as the shortest flight from Ottawa is 18h 25m!

[drakes2]

21 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

There are currently no non-stop flights from YYZ to SXM. If you don't mind early morning flights there are three departing prior to 6:15AM that take about 7h 30m, but anything later in the day will take a minimum of 10h 25m. The shortest return flight, again with a stop, is 7h 32m. Seems like a lot of travel time for a 7-day cruise, and I won't mention the prices! But consider yourself lucky, as the shortest flight from Ottawa is 18h 25m!

@Fouremco. Yes I saw those flights and noted the times. Also a seven day cruise with an overnight stay would cost in excess of $5000 CAD which is absurd, however, anything can change by August. At least I will be fully vaccinated. 

[loge23]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks, but since our PVP rechecked with Celebrity management yesterday and was told no, we've moved on to focus on the options we might have with our originally scheduled 3 Edge cruises out of Ft Lauderdale in July. Those sailings of course depend on whether or not the CDC and RCG come to an agreement by May to restart limited sailing from there.

Hi Ken, condolences on the Tide's exit from the Big Dance (or are you an Auburn fan?!)

Hate to keep rehashing the b2b saga but we're still holding our two for July 10 & 17. It's a big Anniversary for us and we really would like to go.  

Must tie it all up by April 6, so we keep going back-and-forth on the planning. One day it's on and the next it's off. Today, we planned our beach days. 

We have spoken with a couple of Celebrity agents on the phone and still - we're being told it's no problem. Frankly, I don't know what to think at this point. Out TA is very nice and efficient but in the same fog regarding b2b's as we are.

I do wish Celebrity would clearly state the policy before we commit as we would rather not sit on FCCs when we have 2022 already accounted for cruise-wise.

Hope your Edge sailings are a go! We're booked for December out of Lauderdale on a 14 day Princess and I'm getting skeptical of that sailing now too.

Some times we're living through these days. 

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, loge23 said:

Frankly, I don't know what to think at this point. Out TA is very nice and efficient but in the same fog regarding b2b's as we are.

I do wish Celebrity would clearly state the policy before we commit as we would rather not sit on FCCs when we have 2022 already accounted for cruise-wise.

 

 

Unfortunately this is your answer. It was published on Monday the 29th.

 

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

 

#7: Will you allow back to back sailings for guests that would like to take a longer cruise?

A: Unfortunately at this time we will not be allowing back to back sailings, please continue to check in with us for updates.