APEX Med - masks required; Only Celebrity Excursions in Israel

[ocdb8r]

Just received pre-cruise email for our Apex Med cruise and it indicates masks will be required to be worn onboard indoors AND outdoors at all times, except while actively eating, drinking or in your stateroom.

 

On your own tours permitted in Greece and Cyprus; Celebrity curated tours required for Haifa/Ashdod.

 

Bit miffed that masks will be required OUTDOORS.  Otherwise, about what we expected when booking this cruise.

Edited June 11, 2021 by ocdb8r

[Fredric22]

48 minutes ago, ocdb8r said:

Just received pre-cruise email for our Apex Med cruise and it indicates masks will be required to be worn onboard indoors AND outdoors at all times, except while actively eating, drinking or in your stateroom.

 

On your own tours permitted in Greece and Cyprus; Celebrity curated tours required for Haifa/Ashdod.

 

Bit miffed that masks will be required OUTDOORS.  Otherwise, about what we expected when booking this cruise.

Outdoors? Yea... no thank you!  I'd be asking for a refund ASAP.

[BigAl94]

1 minute ago, Fredric22 said:

Outdoors? Yea... no thank you!  I'd be asking for a refund ASAP.

Enforced wearing of masks outdoors is still very common in most European countries

[Fredric22]

5 minutes ago, BigAl94 said:

Enforced wearing of masks outdoors is still very common in most European countries

How sad and utterly ridiculous.  

[angelsil]

1 hour ago, Fredric22 said:

Outdoors? Yea... no thank you!  I'd be asking for a refund ASAP.

 

Agreed. I'm booked for September on Apex and this wasn't what I had planned at all. I understand that masks are required outdoors in Greece currently (have friends on a land trip there this week) but on the ship? C'mon, the ship is supposed to be 95% vaccinated. I'm not taking a mask to the pool.

[harkinmr]

2 hours ago, Fredric22 said:

How sad and utterly ridiculous.  

Well the amazing thing is we Americans don’t get to call the shots for other countries. We need to respect and comply with their rules or we’re likely to be uninvited. Just saying. 

[CalTexCruiser]

2 hours ago, angelsil said:

 

Agreed. I'm booked for September on Apex and this wasn't what I had planned at all. I understand that masks are required outdoors in Greece currently (have friends on a land trip there this week) but on the ship? C'mon, the ship is supposed to be 95% vaccinated. I'm not taking a mask to the pool.

 

I'm booked on the Apex also in September, and this is a negative development.

 

Guidance may change later in the summer, but I have a decision to make at final payment time in late June to see if I want to cancel.  Outdoor masking on an almost fully vaccinated cruise ship is just unnecessary, but I guess Celebrity has to follow guidelines of the relevant jurisdictions.

[Covepointcruiser]

A Celebrity tour makes sense in Israel considering the current “war” situation.   You will probably have a couple of armed soldiers on board as bodyguards.    COVID is a secondary issue but a high percentage of the Palestinians have not received the shots and can still be found in certain areas.   A number are being forced out of Jerusalem and their homes are torn down.   These folks are very disgruntled and can cause trouble.

[dani negreanu]

3 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

A number are being forced out of Jerusalem and their homes are torn down.

 

"War" situation??????

 

SMH....

[CalTexCruiser]

39 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

A Celebrity tour makes sense in Israel considering the current “war” situation.   You will probably have a couple of armed soldiers on board as bodyguards.    COVID is a secondary issue but a high percentage of the Palestinians have not received the shots and can still be found in certain areas.   A number are being forced out of Jerusalem and their homes are torn down.   These folks are very disgruntled and can cause trouble.

 

So will the passengers on these tours be handed rifles to fight alongside the "couple of armed soldiers" against the intifadah ?

 

LOL 

[angelsil]

1 hour ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

I'm booked on the Apex also in September, and this is a negative development.

 

Guidance may change later in the summer, but I have a decision to make at final payment time in late June to see if I want to cancel.  Outdoor masking on an almost fully vaccinated cruise ship is just unnecessary, but I guess Celebrity has to follow guidelines of the relevant jurisdictions.

 

I just made final payment this week before this new guidance. Luckily I'm under the 'cancel for any reason up to 48 hours prior' guarantee. If it comes to that, I may just cancel the cruise and do a land vacation where I can at least book a private villa and enjoy a pool and/or beaches without a mask. I don't see much advantage to being on a 95% vaccinated cruise if we're still masking up everywhere.

[richts11]

On 6/11/2021 at 11:13 AM, angelsil said:

 

I just made final payment this week before this new guidance. Luckily I'm under the 'cancel for any reason up to 48 hours prior' guarantee. If it comes to that, I may just cancel the cruise and do a land vacation where I can at least book a private villa and enjoy a pool and/or beaches without a mask. I don't see much advantage to being on a 95% vaccinated cruise if we're still masking up everywhere.

Isn’t this cancel guarantee just a future cruise credit, not a refund?

[Germancruiser]

Wearing a mask should make me cancel my long awaited - well not all long - since these Apex cruise opend just in May or there abouts- cruise?

Never , ever- when wearing a mask means I can go on board- well - just take it or leave it - I suppose. I am ready to go- packing starts soon. If everything turns out right I will board Apex next satureday- mask firmly attached to my smiling face- and that smile will reach my eyes.LOL.

Edited June 13, 2021 by Germancruiser

[angelsil]

14 hours ago, richts11 said:

Isn’t this cancel guarantee just a future cruise credit, not a refund?

Yeah. I can easily use the credit on a cruise out of Florida next year when things are hopefully more settled. I'm just not understanding how wearing a mask outdoors on a vaccinated ship makes sense.