Will there be any safe Caribbean ports left this winter?

[Silkroad]

2 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

I'm curious how others are making their decisions whether to cruise or not this winter?

Forgot to say that regardless of port changes, we still intend to sail on our 10 December cruise on Equinox. Overall, I’ve been impressed with the way Celebrity has handled their return to cruising, and I hope they continue to ramp up passenger numbers slowly. We’ve only had one prior Caribbean cruise (though we also have a 7 day cruise on Edge in 3 weeks) so many ports are still new to us. We’d be disappointed to miss some interesting ports and shore activities, but after 20 long months, we’ll be quite happy to be at sea on a beautiful ship. 

[Cruise a holic]

2 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

We're booked on the Equinox in February, 2022 for a 12 day cruise.  Yesterday, the CDC added Barbados to its list of Level 4 - Do Not Travel advisories.  This means now that all 7 ports on our itinerary are on the Do Not Travel list. I received an email from Celebrity last week about the upcoming cruise, assuring me they are working with all these various governments to determine safety protocols and a "clear path" for cruising.  What does that even mean?

 

I get that cruise lines are in a difficult spot, trying to plan for the usually busy winter Caribbean season and not knowing what the status of Covid will be on any of the islands.  However, even cruise sponsored excursions don't appear to be that rigorous in their safety standards according to several recent reviews posted here.  All of this doesn't make it easy for passengers to plan on whether to sail or not.  I didn't wait two years since my last cruise to go on a vacation where we just float around at sea for 12 days with nothing to do. I'm curious how others are making their decisions whether to cruise or not this winter?

We are looking forward to a b/2/b cruise in January on the Oasis.  We will get off the ship at cococay.  IMO the ship is our destination- not concerned about the islands.  Have enjoyed them in the past as can enjoy and relax on the ship

[TheHawk1]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

Well I can tell you what my decision making process was for a cruise we took a few weeks ago. Since this was our first post Covid cruise, I wanted to play it as safe as possible and selected a short itinerary that only visited one port (the cruise line’s private island). From the moment I booked it, I got myself in the state of mind that there would provably be changes, not only in the itinerary, but also in the health and safety protocols (and there were MANY changes), and that rolling with the punches was the price to pay at this point in the pandemic if I wanted to cruise. 

 

Long story short, we had a fabulous time. Sailing at less than half capacity was wonderful. And to be as honest as possible, sailing with fellow cruisers who were 100% vaccinated, who had taken Covid tests, who were required to take daily temperature checks, who were required to wear masks indoors, and who had to abide by a litany of protocols, made me feel safer than I’ve felt during the last year dealing with the pandemic. 
 

Hope you have a fantastic Cruise! 

 

 

Thanks for that perspective.  I agree that traveling on a fully vaccinated ship would be far less stressful than going to any restaurant or bar back home.  I think that part of cruising will be great.  I'm just a little concerned about all the unknowns if/when you get off the ship.  Probably something people need to grapple with mentally after so many months of having anything but normal experiences.

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

The status of these ports seems to change very rapidly. It is impossible to know what the status of a particular port may be several months from now. However, Celebrity seems to be flexible and make changes to itineraries when necessary.

 

I cruised aboard the Celebrity Summit on the sailing that departed from St. Maarten on July 10, 2021. The original itinerary was Barbados, St. Kitts and Tortola. Upon boarding the ship, we learned that St. Kitts was being replaced with St. Lucia. During the cruise, Tortola was replaced with Curacao (which required the ship to sail further and use more fuel). I'm sure that these itinerary changes necessitated a lot of work for the cruise line (refunding shore excursions for the canceled ports, scheduling shore excursions in the new ports, etc.)  

 

The cruise was excellent and Celebrity made every effort to provide us with the best cruise and itinerary possible. I had a wonderful time and have several future cruises planned. 

 

Chuck

Edited October 5, 2021 by seacruise9

[Covepointcruiser]

If the OP is concerned about the Level 4 do not travel ports, they should cancel and enjoy the Canadian winter.   As long as the virus is still around all travel will be uncertain and will not be as carefree as before the pandemic.    We have seen most of the Caribbean ports and would not mind staying on the ship.   

[Hlitner]

I think the OP needs to accept that there is nowhere in the world, where you can travel, that is completely "safe."    The various lists that are used by various governments are as much political as not and in many cases do not even reflect reality.  Many governments determine the danger of a place based on the COVID testing published in that particular place.  But the reality is that using testing is just a reflection of how much testing is done and how much of it finds its way into statistics.  Just consider Mexico (which has quite a few cruise ship ports) where the government traditionally publishes test results only derived from government laboratories.  But many of the medical labs in Mexico are private (just like in the USA) and their results are generally not included in statistics.  There are other places in the Caribbean that simply do not do a lot of testing of healthy folks so a country that primarily tests only those who present with symptoms will have a much higher positivity rate then a country that has more widespread testing of healthy folks.  

 

So, we have never stopped traveling and go to places where we are welcomed :).  So in July-August we had a delightful 3 weeks in Greece including a 2 week cruise (fantastic).   Tomorrow we will be in Barbados where we will enjoy some time at a resort before taking another 2 week cruise :).  We simply accept that COVID is reality, is likely here to stay for the foreseeable future, and we simply have moved on with our lives.  That is not to criticize those who have made other decisions (such as staying home) but for us our risk tolerance makes it relatively easy to travel.  These are ultimately about personal choices (unless you have a government that makes those choices for you).   We do our best to minimize our risk by following the vaccine guidelines and wearing good (N95 or KN95) masks where necessary and appropriate.  

 

The bottom line is that folks can find support (if they need this) for just about any decision be it locking down in one's basement to traveling over much of the world.

 

Hank

[deliver42]

I have 2 Caribbean cruises booked for 2022. One on March, and one in May. One Eastern and one Western. I'm vaccinated, and will take any necessary precautions, but will not continue to be scared of living life.

[TheHawk1]

3 hours ago, deliver42 said:

I have 2 Caribbean cruises booked for 2022. One on March, and one in May. One Eastern and one Western. I'm vaccinated, and will take any necessary precautions, but will not continue to be scared of living life.

Yes, being vaccinated means you don't have to worry about getting sick.  But there are considerations other than just illness.  On a 12 day cruise, there's a chance I could be exposed early on in the trip, test positive mid-cruise and be thrown off the ship.  Or I could make it through the cruise and then test positive before my international flight home, which means I won't be able to board the plane. There is also running the gauntlet through the whole Florida Covid swamp before you even get on the ship.

 

I agree no one should be scared of living their life because of what ifs.  But that doesn't mean you should be cavalier either about the potential risks, particularly when you're spending thousands of dollars on a vacation.

[colliercruiser]

19 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

There is also running the gauntlet through the whole Florida Covid swamp before you even get on the ship.

Priceless! 😎

[susiesan]

I have been taking advantage of the very low numbers of  people not traveling for the last 18 months. Since Jan. 2020 I have been on a cruise, a road trip in Arizona, a trip to Costa Rica, a trip to Namibia, and a road trip in Colorado.  On all of these trips we had the hotels, lodges, Tours to our selves as very few people were there. I have 3 more cruises booked over the next 10 months. This is a great time to travel. 

 

Who listens to anything the CDC says anymore? Let's go!

[Cruise a holic]

11 hours ago, colliercruiser said:

Priceless! 😎

 

15 hours ago, deliver42 said:

I have 2 Caribbean cruises booked for 2022. One on March, and one in May. One Eastern and one Western. I'm vaccinated, and will take any necessary precautions, but will not continue to be scared of living life.

Agree.  However be cautious.  I know some people who were fully vaccinated, over 60 and got covid.  It didn't put them in the hospital, but they were pretty sick.  So do not keep your guard down!  Take sensible precautions so as not to get infected, or infect others.  Wear your mask, and as they say on the ships "washy, washy"  

[jgmorgan]

13 hours ago, susiesan said:

Who listens to anything the CDC says anymore? Let's go!

There were 81 people and their families in Tennessee yesterday who probably wish they had listened to the CDC.

[If only]

On 10/5/2021 at 10:48 AM, TheHawk1 said:

 I'm curious how others are making their decisions whether to cruise or not this winter?

Well we decided to book a cruise on the Millennium in Nov,.  We think it’s probably safer than trying to go to the Eaton Centre or Yorkdale shopping.  Plus right now we can cancel up to 48 hrs if things get worse & take an FCC.   We are both vaccinated & will certainly take all precautions.  We haven’t done anything in 18  months so it’s 

Time to get back to living.  Also right now till the end of the year Celebrity’s website states that if we do come down with Covid they will fly us home on private jet but only until Dec 31.  We also have a cruise booked for Feb on the Millennium & we now have up to 60 days to pay final pay.  Also Blue Cross will cover Covid if vaccinated.  Wish us luck!

 

[Denny01]

For the OP, there have already been a number of cruises to the same ports and none have been kept from docking so the Lines aren't being kept out. Its up to each of us to decide if we should go ashore, but being fully vaccinated, plus the booster now!, and wearing a mask should suffice but......risk is there, as it is here. I think CDC would designate most US states as Level 4 also. 

 

On my cruise this Nov, two of the three ports are only allowing ship-only or private tours and no wandering on our own. And two of the ship tours I signed up for have been canceled and only a few are left. So I'll go on a few sightseeing types then stay aboard. 

 

Risk? Yup. in Nov the risk is there. In Feb, the risk is ??? - hopefully lower. 

 

den

[Turtles06]

3 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

I think CDC would designate most US states as Level 4 also. 

 

For sure.

[susiesan]

12 minutes ago, Dwight1 said:

 Will need my mask again for the airlines if the mask rule is renewed after January 1. 

You can count on that. It is likely to become permanent.

[jgmorgan]

As others have said, once on a ship of fully vaccinated and tested passengers over 12 years old and 100% of crew, we feel very safe compared to many venues closer to home.  (We live in Tennessee where the "Volunteer" spirit has seriously diminished it seems.  Sacrifice on behalf of others used to be something we were proud of but...I digress.)  The most vulnerable time is getting from home to the port and back again.  We try to practice masking and distancing to the extent possible and feel pretty good about our experiences so far in airports we have been through.  So in our view, our cruise last August and the ones coming up later this month and January can be enjoyed with relative comfort.  Of course anything can happen, but we believe the risk/reward is balanced in our favor.

[LGW59]

36 minutes ago, jgmorgan said:

As others have said, once on a ship of fully vaccinated and tested passengers over 12 years old and 100% of crew, we feel very safe compared to many venues closer to home.  (We live in Tennessee where the "Volunteer" spirit has seriously diminished it seems.  Sacrifice on behalf of others used to be something we were proud of but...I digress.)  The most vulnerable time is getting from home to the port and back again.  We try to practice masking and distancing to the extent possible and feel pretty good about our experiences so far in airports we have been through.  So in our view, our cruise last August and the ones coming up later this month and January can be enjoyed with relative comfort.  Of course anything can happen, but we believe the risk/reward is balanced in our favor.

And your own Queen and our national treasure, Dolly Parton, donated one million dollars to the Moderna research.  Can lead em to water but can’t make ‘em drink!  

[susiesan]

Just got this from Celebrity for Nov. 29 Millennium sailing. Dominican Republic is now gone.

 

We look forward to welcoming you aboard Celebrity Millennium®, for your Caribbean cruise. Before we depart, we have some important information to share regarding your itinerary. Celebrity Cruises has been working closely with health and government authorities, in each country we sail from, to outline a clear path for cruising with new health and safety measures. As we return to service, we are evaluating all current itineraries and the status of travel conditions around the world. This means some of our sailings will need to be modified.

Specific to your future sailing, Celebrity Cruises has recently been advised that the new Taino Bay Cruise Port in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic will not be ready for guests until the end of the year. We have therefore revised our itinerary to replace our originally planned call to Puerto Plata with Nassau, Bahamas. Additionally, our sail away time on embarkation day has been adjusted to 4:30 PM. For your convenience, we’ve included your revised itinerary below.

[iancal]

Covid is still very much with us and will be for quite some time.

 

Not really certain how anyone could predict what the situation will be like in various Caribbean ports-even a few months our.  

 

 Let alone what restrictions, if any, the cruise lines will have in place.

[oooitsaj]

I just booked my first pandemic cruise for December and looking forward to it very much. I have to say: life is full of risks and how you deal with it determines how satisfying and enjoyable your life will be. And since Covid is not going away so why not, YOLO?

 

Since October 2020, I have travelled to 17 new countries and flew 140k miles/70 flight segments. I have taken 39 PCR tests and 2 antibody tests- all have been negative so far. Knock on wood for my next test on Wednesday!

 

[canderson]

56 minutes ago, oooitsaj said:

I have taken 39 PCR tests and 2 antibody tests- all have been negative so far. Knock on wood for my next test on Wednesday!

 

Do you mean 2 antigen tests?  You want the antibody tests to be 'positive' (high counts!).

 

[oooitsaj]

18 minutes ago, canderson said:

Do you mean 2 antigen tests?  You want the antibody tests to be 'positive' (high counts!).

 

 

no, i took 2 antibody tests. they were before the vaccines came out though. i donated blood twice and both times, the blood center screen my blood for antibodies.

[canderson]

8 hours ago, oooitsaj said:

 

no, i took 2 antibody tests. they were before the vaccines came out though. i donated blood twice and both times, the blood center screen my blood for antibodies.

Way back, then!  Guess since you were donating back then, there was some question as to whether a positive result was a good or bad thing!  

[miched]

Were any ports really safe before the pandemic?   Some ports were so bad that we were warned not to go beyond the secured area.

 

We normally get off the ship and walk around the dock area and  if at St Maarten into the town.  
 

On our cruises in Nov and Dec we aren’t planning on leaving the ship.  We don’t want to be denied getting back on and don’t care about the islands.  We have been to them many times.   We are tired of being stuck on land and are looking forward to being on a ship.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited October 9, 2021 by miched