Update on Facts Related to Celebrity's Return to Service

[Projunior]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Actually, there have been numerous posts on this question, but the general consensus appears to be that Celebrity is working with the islands to establish a workable solution.

And whose general consensus might that be? That of the people speculating and theorizing on CC on the basis on no known facts?

 

What might be the reaction of airline passengers to Aruba's easing restrictions only on cruise ship passengers but enforcing more stringent requirements on people flying in? Forcing airline passengers to have a rt-PCR test within 72 hours of arrival and to upload test results and to obtain an ED card and to pay the COVID insurance, but allowing cruise ship passengers to slide. Hard to imagine airline visitors happy about that. So unless the islands change their policies, universally, between now and the start of sailing, I will remain skeptical. 

 

I am booked for July 17. As long as I can cancel, I don't have a problem. But my sanguinity is will be placed on hold until I hear something from Celebrity. 

[RoamingRetirees]

7 minutes ago, Projunior said:

And whose general consensus might that be? That of the people speculating and theorizing on CC on the basis on no known facts?

 

What might be the reaction of airline passengers to Aruba's easing restrictions only on cruise ship passengers but enforcing more stringent requirements on people flying in? Forcing airline passengers to have a rt-PCR test within 72 hours of arrival and to upload test results and to obtain an ED card and to pay the COVID insurance, but allowing cruise ship passengers to slide. Hard to imagine airline visitors happy about that. So unless the islands change their policies, universally, between now and the start of sailing, I will remain skeptical. 

 

I am booked for July 17. As long as I can cancel, I don't have a problem. But my sanguinity is will be placed on hold until I hear something from Celebrity. 

I can't disagree with what you said. On the other hand, as a cruise passenger I'm not happy that people can fly from the US to all these places and we can't cruise there from the US. No one seems to care about that.

[Fouremco]

7 minutes ago, Projunior said:

And whose general consensus might that be? That of the people speculating and theorizing on CC on the basis on no known facts?

 

What might be the reaction of airline passengers to Aruba's easing restrictions only on cruise ship passengers but enforcing more stringent requirements on people flying in? Forcing airline passengers to have a rt-PCR test within 72 hours of arrival and to upload test results and to obtain an ED card and to pay the COVID insurance, but allowing cruise ship passengers to slide. Hard to imagine airline visitors happy about that. So unless the islands change their policies, universally, between now and the start of sailing, I will remain skeptical. 

 

I am booked for July 17. As long as I can cancel, I don't have a problem. But my sanguinity is will be placed on hold until I hear something from Celebrity. 

If you don't want an answer based on information available here, I suggest that you deal directly with Celebrity. Best of luck and happy sailing.

[NAGooner]

43 minutes ago, Projunior said:

And whose general consensus might that be? That of the people speculating and theorizing on CC on the basis on no known facts?

 

What might be the reaction of airline passengers to Aruba's easing restrictions only on cruise ship passengers but enforcing more stringent requirements on people flying in? Forcing airline passengers to have a rt-PCR test within 72 hours of arrival and to upload test results and to obtain an ED card and to pay the COVID insurance, but allowing cruise ship passengers to slide. Hard to imagine airline visitors happy about that. So unless the islands change their policies, universally, between now and the start of sailing, I will remain skeptical. 

 

I am booked for July 17. As long as I can cancel, I don't have a problem. But my sanguinity is will be placed on hold until I hear something from Celebrity. 

 Whose general consensus might that be - well for one it is the Government of St. Lucia.

 

Government Information Services press release dated March 23, 2021 (partial), courtesy of St. Lucia Times. Press Release:– Saint Lucia is gearing up to welcome its first international cruise ship since closure to the sector amid the global Covid-19 pandemic. "Following considerable dialogue with local authorities, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has signaled the return of the cruise industry to Saint Lucia after more than a year, naming Her as a port-of-call on a mid-July itinerary, that will see Celebrity Millennium make its first voyage of the season to the destination, as well as to sister islands and homeports of St. Marten and Barbados on its Southern Caribbean route."

 

And St. Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association, courtesy of St. Lucia Times March 31, 2021 (partial) "Service Providers anticipate Cruise Tourism Returne - Last week, tourism authorities announced preparations for the possible reintroduction of cruise ships to Port Castries, this summer".

 

And St. Lucia Tourism Minister, Dominic Fedee, courtesy of Loop News March 22, 2021. “We are enthusiastic that with the advent of science and technology amid this pandemic, we can prepare for a silver lining,” said Tourism Minister Dominic Fedee. “The impact of the cruise sector has been noted the world over and its absence has left an impression on our island’s people. We are therefore looking forward to working within strict protocol to see the successful resumption of the sector,” Fedee added.

 

Discussions are ongoing between Royal Caribbean and the government appointed oversight committee.

 

NAGooner

[Purplsmurf]

4 hours ago, Projunior said:

And whose general consensus might that be? That of the people speculating and theorizing on CC on the basis on no known facts?

 

What might be the reaction of airline passengers to Aruba's easing restrictions only on cruise ship passengers but enforcing more stringent requirements on people flying in? Forcing airline passengers to have a rt-PCR test within 72 hours of arrival and to upload test results and to obtain an ED card and to pay the COVID insurance, but allowing cruise ship passengers to slide. Hard to imagine airline visitors happy about that. So unless the islands change their policies, universally, between now and the start of sailing, I will remain skeptical. 

 

I am booked for July 17. As long as I can cancel, I don't have a problem. But my sanguinity is will be placed on hold until I hear something from Celebrity. 

Not only is Aruba requiring a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arriving, but Curaçao is as well. (Not sure of the other islands) Celebrity will have to have PCR Tests on board as well. There will be LOTS of testing on board! Also, Aruba is currently having an uptick of positive cases and has some strict rules. Yes, it’s still 2 months until the sailings begin, but a lot will have to change before Aruba will allow cruises again. 

[Knolmom]

I discovered an interesting post about the return of cruise ships to the BVI, Island of Tortola. I cannot post the exact quote here so I must paraphrase it here, but the information is exactly the same as I am posting. 
The Prime mInister of the BVI announced that he is excited to open the islands seaports on April 15 and that Tortola will be welcoming the Celebrity Cruise Ship Millenium to the port of Tortola every other week beginning in early June., He assured the legislators and the citizens of Tortola that the passengers and crew will be fully vaccinated, that they WILL BE WEARING MASKS and when they leave the ship they will be under the supervision of Celebrity and THEY WILL NOT MINGLE WITH THE LOCAL CITIZENS. 

 Somebody, either the Cruise Line or the Government, is being less than Frank here. I hope it is ironed out before the cruising begins. Maybe each port will have its’ own  R & R about excursions?

Edited April 2, 2021 by Knolmom
Sp

[Fouremco]

13 hours ago, Knolmom said:

I discovered an interesting post about the return of cruise ships to the BVI, Island of Tortola. I cannot post the exact quote here so I must paraphrase it here, but the information is exactly the same as I am posting. 
The Prime mInister of the BVI announced that he is excited to open the islands seaports on April 15 and that Tortola will be welcoming the Celebrity Cruise Ship Millenium to the port of Tortola every other week beginning in early June., He assured the legislators and the citizens of Tortola that the passengers and crew will be fully vaccinated, that they WILL BE WEARING MASKS and when they leave the ship they will be under the supervision of Celebrity and THEY WILL NOT MINGLE WITH THE LOCAL CITIZENS. 

 Somebody, either the Cruise Line or the Government, is being less than Frank here. I hope it is ironed out before the cruising begins. Maybe each port will have its’ own  R & R about excursions?

Wow, I don't know who is trying to fool whom, but less than frank is a real understatement. Other  BVI reports, for example https://www.loopnewscaribbean.com/content/bvi-accept-fully-vaccinated-cruiseship-tourists-june, indicate that only fully vaccinated passengers will be accepted. So do the U18 unvaccinated kids stay aboard while parents enjoy a day ashore, with or without masks, roaming free or supervised and kept away from locals? 

[silkismom]

Hopefully, they will leave the kids with grandma.

[Projunior]

19 hours ago, Purplsmurf said:

Celebrity will have to have PCR Tests on board as well. There will be LOTS of testing on board! 

rt-PCR tests have to be sent to a lab and unless Celebrity has plans to send tests taken on the ship to a land-based testing facility, these will not happen on board. Antigen tests can be done on site. Celebrity will using antigen testing and the results of antigen tests are not acceptable in Aruba. 

Edited April 2, 2021 by Projunior

[Fouremco]

21 hours ago, Purplsmurf said:

Not only is Aruba requiring a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arriving, but Curaçao is as well. (Not sure of the other islands) Celebrity will have to have PCR Tests on board as well. There will be LOTS of testing on board! Also, Aruba is currently having an uptick of positive cases and has some strict rules. Yes, it’s still 2 months until the sailings begin, but a lot will have to change before Aruba will allow cruises again. 

St. Maarten has different COVID test requirements depending on your country of origin. It's quite feasible that various Caribbean islands will adopt different test requirements for cruise ships than they have for other travellers arriving by other modes of transport.

[Miaminice]

11 hours ago, Projunior said:

rt-PCR tests have to be sent to a lab and unless Celebrity has plans to send tests taken on the ship to a land-based testing facility, these will not happen on board. Antigen tests can be done on site. Celebrity will using antigen testing and the results of antigen tests are not acceptable in Aruba. 

FYI: PCR test machines processing 2 to 4 samples within about 45 minutes are available. Some of the cruise lines already sailing equipped their ships with them. 
 

TUI Cruises has had them on board from the beginning of their cruises summer last year. They came in handy when they had suspected cases on a cruise we were also on. It went through all the media. The lab in Greece screwed up and reported 12 positive tests after we already set sail. 
 

All persons were retested on board and the PCR came back negative. After repeatedly testing the authorities gave us clearance to continue the cruise as planned.

Edited April 3, 2021 by Miaminice

[wesport]

I started reading the ehas form you have to fill out. If you are flying in one day before, and getting on the ship the next day, do you put you will be staying for one night, or do you put your exit date as the last day of the cruise, which would be 8 days. But, you won’t be in St Maarten during the cruise. Just curious. I guess you have to have your test results before you fill out the form as you need to put in your test results in the form. 

[Purplsmurf]

On 4/2/2021 at 4:38 PM, Projunior said:

rt-PCR tests have to be sent to a lab and unless Celebrity has plans to send tests taken on the ship to a land-based testing facility, these will not happen on board. Antigen tests can be done on site. Celebrity will using antigen testing and the results of antigen tests are not acceptable in Aruba. 

Exactly! That’s why I said they will need PCR tests because antigen aren’t accepted for Aruba. Aruba does accept the Abbott ID Now test so maybe they can use that one?