Process Details for the Celebrity Millennium Sint Maarten Sailings

[cruiserchuck]

41 minutes ago, SkierRobUMN said:

And omg the price to upgrade to the streaming internet is insane! I can’t imagine anyone who would spend that much. 

 

I believe the price shown is the price with no package, so if you have an internet package included, your upgrade cost will be less.  Plus, I assume most passengers would only upgrade one device.

[Blackduck59]

14 hours ago, TeeRick said:

If the border is open I will come there and meet you in a pub for a beer!

 

I would like that. When in September is your cruise? We have decided to do a land tour from here to central Saskatchewan and back starting 28 Aug and will be gone almost 3 weeks. If your cruise comes after that we will make it happen (assuming the border is open).

Edited June 8, 2021 by Blackduck59

[kezza]

Thankyou for a wonderful detailed review.  Glad I found it through my email that Celebrity was starting up cruising again last week.  

Not sure why everyone is worried about the dining room...everyone has been tested and has had both shots of the vaccine which is awesome.  I love that you don't have to wear a mask on board either...what's the point of the vaccine if we can't live a little bit of normal.

Can't wait until cruising starts up down under and if we do it this way, I'll be very happy with that.

Looking forward to the rest of your review :)

[Miaminice]

10 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Honestly, with those issues, and your extra cautiousness, why book a cruise right from the get go?  Not knowing protocols, etc..you can't expect them to cater to you, or maybe you do.  

well, maybe because spacing and distancing is something that everyone who consciously lived the past months takes for granted as basic actions 🤔

On the cruise we sailed during the pandemic only every second or third table was used. And that’s how it should be since the space is available. It doesn’t hurt and it is always better to be safe than sorry.

[FastandFurious]

We showed up right a 6 in the main dining room and we’re rewarded with a 2 top table right next to the window. Folks showing up later were seated by twos several inches from us. Just like pre C19. I did not have a problem with it and we conversed with a couple from Arizona and Florida. IF you are sensitive about social distancing at dinner I would tell them so they can accommodate your preferences. I’m pretty confident they would. In the casino every other machine has a sticker on the seat and machine but if there is nobody in the vicinity I was told you could move those over to the adjacent machine. Did not go to the theater but I imagine they may be a similar arrangement. I tried to instinctively grab a plate at lunch. That’s a NONO. After receiving your requested servings you must carry the individual dishes to your table. They hand you the utensils. Otherwise it’s pretty much like the good old days.

[grandgeezer]

According to a couple of posts, there is only 600-800 passengers on the ship. I thought they were talking 50% or about 1100. Did they change the number of passengers allowed or the number they have is all the demand they had?

[verizon]

2 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

According to a couple of posts, there is only 600-800 passengers on the ship. I thought they were talking 50% or about 1100. Did they change the number of passengers allowed or the number they have is all the demand they had?

I believe the occupancy is low because most people are not interested to sail from Saint Marteen. The AI may be part of the low taker.

I just checked the Celebrity ship Apex is only about 20 % full for June sailing.

Edited June 8, 2021 by verizon

[GA Dave]

2 hours ago, verizon said:

I believe the occupancy is low because most people are not interested to sail from Saint Marteen. The AI may be part of the low taker.

I just checked the Celebrity ship Apex is only about 20 % full for June sailing.

This, and I also believe many people are like me, in that they will not spend any more money with the cruise lines until they see consistent sailings with no interruptions or issues.  Europe restarted cruises last summer and they ended up cancelling a bunch of planned cruises after only a few weeks.  With the necessary costs of investing in airline tickets, pre-cruise hotels, etc., I will wait until they all have a few months under their belts.

[ocdb8r]

3 hours ago, verizon said:

I believe the occupancy is low because most people are not interested to sail from Saint Marteen. The AI may be part of the low taker.

I just checked the Celebrity ship Apex is only about 20 % full for June sailing.

How did you calculate this for Apex?  I knew bookings were light...but not THAT light!

[TeeRick]

9 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

I would like that. When in September is your cruise? We have decided to do a land tour from here to central Saskatchewan and back starting 28 Aug and will be gone almost 3 weeks. If your cruise comes after that we will make it happen (assuming the border is open).

We go out of Seattle September 24th.

[Blackduck59]

2 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

We go out of Seattle September 24th.

 

We will be home, maybe the border will be open.

[DallasGuy75219]

6 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

According to a couple of posts, there is only 600-800 passengers on the ship. I thought they were talking 50% or about 1100. Did they change the number of passengers allowed or the number they have is all the demand they had?

I suspect there were also last minute cancellations from people who invoked CWC because they were hacked off about Celebrity's bungled messaging of testing requirements, especially the last minute changes that some people probably couldn't meet, as well a small number of people with positive COVID tests, who didn't have the correct documentation to fly to or board the ship in SXM, or who missed the ship due to trying to fly in on debarkation day when SXM has limited flight options and Celebrity is not allowing downline boarding. 

[Seany527]

14 hours ago, kathynorth said:

Seany, is the coffee from Al Baccio included with your cruisefare? I thought it was part of the AI package but another blogger said this wasn't the case. 

Yes it’s part of AI. I get 4 or 5 cappuccinos a day. If it’s not included, I’m going to have a big bill at the end.  Lol. 
 

 

 

[Seany527]

10 hours ago, SkierRobUMN said:

She states in the post that she didn’t pay anything for the cruise and that it was covered by Celebrity as part of a media group. So they must not have given them the standard perks. 
 

And omg the price to upgrade to the streaming internet is insane! I can’t imagine anyone who would spend that much. 

I have the internet plan that is included in the AI package. It is so painfully slow, I can’t stand it. Sometimes it doesn’t even allow me to post on cruise critic. 
Last night they had a mid cruise special to upgrade to streaming. It was $147 (or about that). 
Prior to the cruise people have spoke very

highly of the internet speed, but it seems with everyone having it, speeds have slowed.

 

8 hours ago, FastandFurious said:

We showed up right a 6 in the main dining room and we’re rewarded with a 2 top table right next to the window. Folks showing up later were seated by twos several inches from us. Just like pre C19. I did not have a problem with it and we conversed with a couple from Arizona and Florida. IF you are sensitive about social distancing at dinner I would tell them so they can accommodate your preferences. I’m pretty confident they would. In the casino every other machine has a sticker on the seat and machine but if there is nobody in the vicinity I was told you could move those over to the adjacent machine. Did not go to the theater but I imagine they may be a similar arrangement. I tried to instinctively grab a plate at lunch. That’s a NONO. After receiving your requested servings you must carry the individual dishes to your table. They hand you the utensils. Otherwise it’s pretty much like the good old days.

Everything you said is accurate. With the exception of the buffet, crew wearing masks and a few COVID jokes, it’s just like it’s always been. 

[verizon]

1 hour ago, ocdb8r said:

How did you calculate this for Apex?  I knew bookings were light...but not THAT light!

t

That is a web site that you can see all the unoccupied cabins on every category.

[gmjc2]

10 minutes ago, Seany527 said:

Yes it’s part of AI. I get 4 or 5 cappuccinos a day. If it’s not included, I’m going to have a big bill at the end.  Lol. 
 

 

 

Wow! I hope those are de-caffeinated!!! If not you won't even stand still long enough to read the bill!!!    LOL!!

[AbbyCruiser45]

1 minute ago, verizon said:

t

That is a web site that you can see all the unoccupied cabins on every category.

Can you share the name of the website? The only one I know of i no longer working.

[imtired1959]

44 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

I suspect there were also last minute cancellations from people who invoked CWC because they were hacked off about Celebrity's bungled messaging of testing requirements, especially the last minute changes that some people probably couldn't meet, as well a small number of people with positive COVID tests, who didn't have the correct documentation to fly to or board the ship in SXM, or who missed the ship due to trying to fly in on debarkation day when SXM has limited flight options and Celebrity is not allowing downline boarding. 

I am nearing the threshold of canceling DallasGuy.  Emails to Celebrity go unanswered. 

 

We will need to get the RT-PCR tests twice: once to get the EHAS requirements and again (at our cost) as soon as we get to St. Maarten to be allowed on board. 

 

It is this second test that even if the plane lands on time, we will have a 24 hour window for a result.  We will also miss the CWC window.  

 

Speaking of which, I also bought the Celebrity insurance.   Would I be able to recover the insurance premium cost if I bailed?

[Seany527]

Here are so more updates about the dining room. 
 

As I said, for the 2nd night, we were seated right on top of other people.  This is picture is not from dinner, but it shows how close the

tables are. 
 

 

For dinner on the 3rd night I asked if I could be seated at a table along the back window so we could watch the sail away from Barbados. It was no problem and we had this portion of the dining room to ourselves for about 30 mins.
 

 

By 7:30, this is what it looked like. People were much more spaced apart, well over 6 feet. So if you ask for a more private area they will certainly accommodate that. 

 

[FastandFurious]

Right in the terminal (port) they have a crew of 5ish medical personnel. I asked about the test. They told me antigen and free. I did not ask if the complimentary tests would be available for future cruises. I think they will still be there but do not want to speculate on cost. In the SXM airport I think it was $120ish.

[gmjc2]

19 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Honestly, with those issues, and your extra cautiousness, why book a cruise right from the get go?  Not knowing protocols, etc..you can't expect them to cater to you, or maybe you do.  

I am not going to let my medical conditions stop me from cruising. It just requires some caution and consideration from others. I don't think asking for a distanced table is too much to expect. After all they are supposed to "cater to our needs" as part of the cruise experience!

[gmjc2]

31 minutes ago, Seany527 said:

Here are so more updates about the dining room. 
 

As I said, for the 2nd night, we were seated right on top of other people.  This is picture is not from dinner, but it shows how close the

tables are. 
 

 

For dinner on the 3rd night I asked if I could be seated at a table along the back window so we could watch the sail away from Barbados. It was no problem and we had this portion of the dining room to ourselves for about 30 mins.
 

 

By 7:30, this is what it looked like. People were much more spaced apart, well over 6 feet. So if you ask for a more private area they will certainly accommodate that. 

 

Good to know. Thanks.

[KKB]

14 hours ago, kathynorth said:

 

Nevermind...my comment was a duplicate to an earlier comment

Edited June 8, 2021 by KKB

[gmjc2]

Just now, KKB said:

She also mentioned she isn't much of a drinker...perhaps she booked a cruise only fare?

Everyone gets the basic drinks package these days so no cruise only fares any more. We only drink soda and tonic water but do like one cocktail per cruise. Also I might have a hot chocolate once in a while.

[cruisestitch]

 It is not accurate to say that everyone gets the “always included” packages. Some of the blue-chip members who get a free or discounted cruise do not get the “always included” package. On this particular cruise there were others who did not, including some of the reporting staff from the media.

 

Eventually, there will be people who book last minute who will not get the “ always included”. package

 

And I speculate that when crewmembers are allowed to bring family members on board, they will not be getting the “always included” package either.