Silhouette around Britain staycruisecations

[vino123]

Just had some clarification from Celebrity regarding the timing of the PCR tests for our 3rd July cruise:

 

Hi Lisa

 

We have finally had confirmation back in regards to when your test needs to be done.

 

Silhouette 3^rd July sailing

Rt-PCR tests can be done anytime on June 30^th and July 1^st

The 2^nd July should not be booked to do a test as the guest needs to allow time to get back their test result.

 

[dalesmouse]

2 minutes ago, 38anchor said:

 

No, it should be anyone who is staying in the Retreat. If sailing from the US there is a number to reach out to if you want to contact them specifically but everyone in the retreat should be sent a preference email eg pillow types etc. As we are not in the US I was. told at time of booking that ALL Retreat guests will be reached out to at 30 days sailing.

That's what I was told when I booked too

 

[delondin]

2 minutes ago, 38anchor said:

 

No, it should be anyone who is staying in the Retreat. If sailing from the US there is a number to reach out to if you want to contact them specifically but everyone in the retreat should be sent a preference email eg pillow types etc. As we are not in the US I was. told at time of booking that ALL Retreat guests will be reached out to at 30 days sailing.

That’s interesting. We have never had an email when staying in a sky suite. However, when we sail Royal Caribbean in any suite we get the email. 

[38anchor]

To be honest, its not the end of the world not to get this Retreat email or Concierge reach out but I am getting a little fed up with Celebrity atm what with all the PCR testing issues and price guarantee promises that can't be delivered upon (since they have taken the cruises off sale and therefore early bookers have missed out on free parking, cabin upgrades and CC discounts). 

 

Celebrity are not one of the cheaper cruise lines and should be treating their customers with a little more respect since we are the ones who are giving them our hard earned cash and entrusting them with our holiday. And to be fair ANY company should give their customer the respect irrespective of how much or little they have paid. They have had plenty of time to get everything in place BEFORE taking our money for these first cruises and I just get the impression they are making it up as they go along.

 

I appreciate things may not be as 'normal' as previous cruises, but at least manage the customers expectations on what to expect. Part of booking in the retreat is the 'pre-cruise' personalisation aspect and if they can't deliver due to Covid challenges then that is understood, but at least make the customer aware of that. 

 

I am just hoping that all these niggles are pre-cruise only and they have ironed things out before we get on board but little by little, I am starting to loose faith 🙄 Normally the pre cruise run up is what we get excited about, knowing that it won't be long until we have having a fabulous time onboard but all this is really making me fed up ☹️

[ighten]

If Sturgeon is now saying 19th July for level 0 and cruises only need lvl 1  - why have so many cruises been pulled from Scotland that are  post Jul 19th July..  Presumably lvl 1 will be reached sooner than July 19th for lvl 0 rules?

 

[bluwes]

1 hour ago, steve ch said:

I just had an interesting email from Manchester Airport to say that they now offer quick turnaround RT PCR tests. It might be of interest to people travelling from the north of the UK. Reasonable prices too.

Same here. Looks like that will be the most convenient for us as we intended setting off mid morning on Thursday before our sailing

[djmutters69]

Does anyone know the turn around for PCR tests I have mine booked for the 7th for the 9th Cruise (It was the only date offered to me for my location) 

[38anchor]

So, having been sent our email and Eurofins code from Celebrity (noting that there are still discrepancies in the email and documentation between SAILING and BOARDING times even though they have supposed to have sorted this) we thought we would log in to see if there was anywhere local to us (even though we have made provisional alternative arrangements).

 

Surprisingly there was somewhere around the corner and we could book any time on the Wednesday before our Saturday sailing.

 

This is where it gets a bit weird – the place is a travel company but basically a residential house. Now I am not sure I want to be going into someone's 'house' to take a test, as it looks like its just a business run from a home. How do I know this person is qualified to stick something up my nose and down my throat. Also, how are the tests going from this address to Eurofins? Courier or Post? And finally, nowhere on the site does it tell you where the turnaround time is.

 

So, I tried to call Eurofins and they were very nice but basically said its nothing to do with them!!!!! They are only the lab who processes the tests. I did ask what criteria the testing locations was chosen on and again, they said nothing to do with them - it was all done by Celebrity and I need to speak to them. I even asked how they were receiving the tests, was it by post or courier and again they had no idea.

 

They did give me a number to call Celebrity and guess what - it goes through to a travel agent who has nothing to do with this and they have been inundated with calls!!!!!

 

I have tried to contact celebrity direct for the past hour but I either get cut off or the US office answers who have no idea about this. Although they did give me the 'helpful' advice that if I wasn't happy with the testing arrangements that celebrity have given me I could do my own. Its now after 6pm and therefore I can't get through to anyone.

 

To say I am throughly fed up with all this is an understatement. Happy to sort my own out but again, they haven't bothered to update the letter that gives you the information and this still states 72 hours before SAIL date

     

When do I have to take the rt-PCR test for COVID-19?
The rt-PCR test must be conducted and results returned within 72 hours of sail date and departure time. For this reason we do not recommend postal testing services. Tests conducted outside of 72 hour prior to the cruise departure will not be accepted.

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by 38anchor

[downsmead]

44 minutes ago, djmutters69 said:

Does anyone know the turn around for PCR tests I have mine booked for the 7th for the 9th Cruise (It was the only date offered to me for my location) 

According to a post above, tests taken on the 3rd or 2nd day before the cruise are ok if booked through Eurofins. Other centres it will depend on their turn around time.

[downsmead]

I noted that nowhere on the Eurofins site does it say what the turnaround time is for their test, but since they are listing times on the Wednesday and Thursday before the sailing date (17th), now would expect (hope🤞) that tests taken on these slots will return a result in time for the sailing.

I booked one first thing Thursday as I had not seen the post that 3 days prior was acceptable and they are not saying 72 prior to sail time.

[CAT58]

I have booked through Boots.  Their helpline said it was a rt-PCR test and that would be on the certificate.  They say their results should be within 48 hours. A bit of a faff booking but plenty of convenient places to get it done.

[delondin]

Tried to book on the app for Eurofins but it thinks I’m in Singapore so only offered me Raffles. No way of changing it. You couldn’t make any of this up!

[Mim Lloyd]

My email for the Eurofins testing came through today for our sailing on 17th July. Luckily they have bookings in one of the city centre hotels in Liverpool, so that's handy for us. Dates and times came up for 14th and 15th and I booked for the 14th without any problem. I tweeted Celebrity for clarification on the 72hr rule and they have confirmed that the test only has to be done 3 or 2 days before the cruise day, not tied particularly to boarding or sailing time. They also confirmed that Celebrity have an agreement with Eurofins to guarantee that the result for a test done for Celebrity with definitely be received before the cruise departs. I'm keeping these answers just to be on the safe side in case of any problems at the pier in the Southampton!

[Spike11]

1 hour ago, delondin said:

Tried to book on the app for Eurofins but it thinks I’m in Singapore so only offered me Raffles. No way of changing it. You couldn’t make any of this up!

Got the same problem. I can’t understand why some people are able to book a local site, but others are only given Singapore?? Celebrity say that it is a known problem - well that might be fine, but where does that leave us??

[TC38]

OK……so I have a possible future scenario. Passenger A turns up at Southampton on boarding day with their 16 year old in tow. Unfortunately Passenger A hasn’t had the results back from their rt-PCR test that they booked through the approved Celebrity provider. Passenger A (vaccinated) is then denied boarding but their 16 year old (unvaccinated) is o.k. to board as they can undertake an Antigen test at the terminal. Hmmmmmmmm…………..🤔

[Spike11]

16 minutes ago, TC38 said:

OK……so I have a possible future scenario. Passenger A turns up at Southampton on boarding day with their 16 year old in tow. Unfortunately Passenger A hasn’t had the results back from their rt-PCR test that they booked through the approved Celebrity provider. Passenger A (vaccinated) is then denied boarding but their 16 year old (unvaccinated) is o.k. to board as they can undertake an Antigen test at the terminal. Hmmmmmmmm…………..🤔

And the 16 year old is much more likely to have COVID than the (probably) much older Passenger A - according to the most recent figures. And the antigen test is less likely to pick up the COVID than the PCR test.

Edited June 22, 2021 by Spike11
Added

[dalesmouse]

1 hour ago, Mim Lloyd said:

My email for the Eurofins testing came through today for our sailing on 17th July. Luckily they have bookings in one of the city centre hotels in Liverpool, so that's handy for us. Dates and times came up for 14th and 15th and I booked for the 14th without any problem. I tweeted Celebrity for clarification on the 72hr rule and they have confirmed that the test only has to be done 3 or 2 days before the cruise day, not tied particularly to boarding or sailing time. They also confirmed that Celebrity have an agreement with Eurofins to guarantee that the result for a test done for Celebrity with definitely be received before the cruise departs. I'm keeping these answers just to be on the safe side in case of any problems at the pier in the Southampton!

We will all be keeping you close for a copy of the tweet incase ours don't come back on time.We have booked ours in Preston on 14th as the available  timings elsewhere weren't great for being at work.Im loathe to lose a days leave to spend most of it on the Strand trying to get into town😂.I have also booked an appointment with Boots as it just seems strange having a medical test in a back street travel agent.Im going to ring the travel agent tomorrow to check they are actually expecting a stream of  Celebrity customers.Stranger things have happened.Will cancel one or the other. Did you notice that on the booking in site there was mention of booking a debarkation test ?

[Spike11]

38 minutes ago, TC38 said:

OK……so I have a possible future scenario. Passenger A turns up at Southampton on boarding day with their 16 year old in tow. Unfortunately Passenger A hasn’t had the results back from their rt-PCR test that they booked through the approved Celebrity provider. Passenger A (vaccinated) is then denied boarding but their 16 year old (unvaccinated) is o.k. to board as they can undertake an Antigen test at the terminal. Hmmmmmmmm…………..🤔

Just seen a post on another forum outlining the health policy for P&O cruises i.e. an antigen test at the port for the vaccinated over 18s, and a PRC test and antigen test for the under 18s (who can’t currently be vaccinated of course). You can see the logic in this and it seems to be the policy adopted by most if not all other cruise lines running round UK cruises. I also read that for  Celebrity Apex out of Athens only antigen tests at the port are required for vaccinated adults. So why are Celebrity adopting this strange policy in the UK - something just doesn’t add up. Has some deal been done behind the scenes - though I can’t for life of me understand what the purpose of such a deal might be.

[38anchor]

39 minutes ago, dalesmouse said:

We will all be keeping you close for a copy of the tweet incase ours don't come back on time.We have booked ours in Preston on 14th as the available  timings elsewhere weren't great for being at work.Im loathe to lose a days leave to spend most of it on the Strand trying to get into town😂.I have also booked an appointment with Boots as it just seems strange having a medical test in a back street travel agent.Im going to ring the travel agent tomorrow to check they are actually expecting a stream of  Celebrity customers.Stranger things have happened.Will cancel one or the other. Did you notice that on the booking in site there was mention of booking a debarkation test ?

 

dalesmouse - think you must be near us - we are Lytham St Annes. We have also booked a contingency PCR test - have you heard about https://longridgetravelhealthclinic.com. Gets really good reviews and more importantly for us, do late night testing if needed. A bit more expensive at £149 but next day service (depending on what time you test). Just with you saying you were getting a test in Preston I thought I would mention.

[dalesmouse]

7 minutes ago, 38anchor said:

 

dalesmouse - think you must be near us - we are Lytham St Annes. We have also booked a contingency PCR test - have you heard about https://longridgetravelhealthclinic.com. Gets really good reviews and more importantly for us, do late night testing if needed. A bit more expensive at £149 but next day service (depending on what time you test). Just with you saying you were getting a test in Preston I thought I would mention.

Thanks for the recommendation,I will have a look .We are in Southport and hubby works in  Preston so it is fairly handy .Good to know they do late appointments and if things go really pear shaped super quick tests even if expensive.

 

 

 

 

[Spike11]

15 hours ago, 38anchor said:

So, having been sent our email and Eurofins code from Celebrity (noting that there are still discrepancies in the email and documentation between SAILING and BOARDING times even though they have supposed to have sorted this) we thought we would log in to see if there was anywhere local to us (even though we have made provisional alternative arrangements).

 

Surprisingly there was somewhere around the corner and we could book any time on the Wednesday before our Saturday sailing.

 

This is where it gets a bit weird – the place is a travel company but basically a residential house. Now I am not sure I want to be going into someone's 'house' to take a test, as it looks like its just a business run from a home. How do I know this person is qualified to stick something up my nose and down my throat. Also, how are the tests going from this address to Eurofins? Courier or Post? And finally, nowhere on the site does it tell you where the turnaround time is.

 

So, I tried to call Eurofins and they were very nice but basically said its nothing to do with them!!!!! They are only the lab who processes the tests. I did ask what criteria the testing locations was chosen on and again, they said nothing to do with them - it was all done by Celebrity and I need to speak to them. I even asked how they were receiving the tests, was it by post or courier and again they had no idea.

 

They did give me a number to call Celebrity and guess what - it goes through to a travel agent who has nothing to do with this and they have been inundated with calls!!!!!

 

I have tried to contact celebrity direct for the past hour but I either get cut off or the US office answers who have no idea about this. Although they did give me the 'helpful' advice that if I wasn't happy with the testing arrangements that celebrity have given me I could do my own. Its now after 6pm and therefore I can't get through to anyone.

 

To say I am throughly fed up with all this is an understatement. Happy to sort my own out but again, they haven't bothered to update the letter that gives you the information and this still states 72 hours before SAIL date

     

When do I have to take the rt-PCR test for COVID-19?
The rt-PCR test must be conducted and results returned within 72 hours of sail date and departure time. For this reason we do not recommend postal testing services. Tests conducted outside of 72 hour prior to the cruise departure will not be accepted.

 

Eurofins are still directing calls to ROL reader offers - bizzare. So Celebrity says the PCR booking problems are nothing to do with them( even though they set the system up for us to use) and to contact Eurofins. When you contact Eurofins, they say it is nothing to do with them and give a number that they say is celebrity but which is in fact ROL Reader Offers who not surprisingly can’t help either. I feel I only have two options - unless I want to spend the rest of my life in this parallel PCR test universe that Celebrity have created. Either I cancel ( though I suspect they won’t let you have your money back) or make my own arrangements for PCR testing and hope we get the results in time. However, the big question still remains unanswered  i.e. why are vaccinated adults being made to get a PRC test  when non vaccinated under 18s only have to have an antigen test at the port ( which would be much more convenient).

[TC38]

12 hours ago, TC38 said:

OK……so I have a possible future scenario. Passenger A turns up at Southampton on boarding day with their 16 year old in tow. Unfortunately Passenger A hasn’t had the results back from their rt-PCR test that they booked through the approved Celebrity provider. Passenger A (vaccinated) is then denied boarding but their 16 year old (unvaccinated) is o.k. to board as they can undertake an Antigen test at the terminal. Hmmmmmmmm…………..🤔

Spike11 - exactly…..going back to my Passenger A scenario……..picture the scene…….2 people stood in front of the Check in agent…….neither have had a PCR test……one is vaccinated and the other isn’t……..the vaccinated passenger can’t board, but the non vaccinated passenger can………bonkers! 

[Spike11]

11 minutes ago, TC38 said:

Spike11 - exactly…..going back to my Passenger A scenario……..picture the scene…….2 people stood in front of the Check in agent…….neither have had a PCR test……one is vaccinated and the other isn’t……..the vaccinated passenger can’t board, but the non vaccinated passenger can………bonkers! 

Excellent point and wouldn’t that be age discrimination? I though that was against the law?

[teabear]

17 minutes ago, Spike11 said:

Eurofins are still directing calls to ROL reader offers - bizzare. So Celebrity says the PCR booking problems are nothing to do with them( even though they set the system up for us to use) and to contact Eurofins. When you contact Eurofins, they say it is nothing to do with them and give a number that they say is celebrity but which is in fact ROL Reader Offers who not surprisingly can’t help either. I feel I only have two options - unless I want to spend the rest of my life in this parallel PCR test universe that Celebrity have created. Either I cancel ( though I suspect they won’t let you have your money back) or make my own arrangements for PCR testing and hope we get the results in time. However, the big question still remains unanswered  i.e. why are vaccinated adults being made to get a PRC test  when non vaccinated under 18s only have to have an antigen test at the port ( which would be much more convenient).

All this complete and utter nonsense with testing requirements and useless testing providers (I had managed after pretty much 8 hours of trying over 3 days to get an appointment with Eurofins that I could actually get too, given up on them and arranged a booking at Southampton airport which meant me having to travel down 2 days earlier than usual and having that cancelled) has made me get in touch with Celebrity and demand they allow me to change my July 3rd booking to August -  I insisted on speaking to a manager - got their name etc and pointed out - maybe a bit stridently - that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (as amended) takes precedence over their T's and C's and requires anyone trading in England to set such terms within the fairness (s62) and transparency (s68) (bleated on about other legal stuff such as the "last shot doctrine" - wont bore you further) and that Celebrity had singularly failed in this regard .  Got transferred to a more senior guy in the States - he was less than happy but after me rabbiting on about reputational harm and encouraging aggrieved passengers to take action - agreed to switch me over without any penalties etc - transferred me back to the UK (I think) and all done and dusted.   Not sure if this will help anyone else stuck in the testing maelstrom, its possible they just did this to get rid of me!

[dalesmouse]

12 hours ago, 38anchor said:

 

dalesmouse - think you must be near us - we are Lytham St Annes. We have also booked a contingency PCR test - have you heard about https://longridgetravelhealthclinic.com. Gets really good reviews and more importantly for us, do late night testing if needed. A bit more expensive at £149 but next day service (depending on what time you test). Just with you saying you were getting a test in Preston I thought I would mention.

Might be using your suggestion...been trying to get hold of Travel Agent whose premises we are supposed to attend for Eurofins PCR test .... permanent answerphone message 🤷 Wouldn't like to turn up on 14th and find it closed.Still awaiting reply from Celebrity to confirm whether Boots PCR tests are considered to be acceptable.Im actually now too weary to get excited.If the trip wasn't for a celebration I'd definitely consider cancellation