Testing Positive for Covid onboard Silhouette transatlantic

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Thanks for the report, Jet Blue.  For sure, I will be canceling my longer cruises.  Not sure about the repo I have booked this fall.  Fingers crossed I don't test positive tomorrow morning (B2B testing) and get thrown out of my PH.

[Covepointcruiser]

I would guess each Captain, regardless of the line, is still responsible for the safety of his/her ship and everyone onboard.    Corporate won’t change this.

[jetblue]

49 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Thank you. May I ask who from Corporate gave you this information as it contradicts that given to me by Zoe in the same office who said that there was a standard policy of using OV cabins on Deck 3 as they were the nearest to the medical facilities. Also that all ships should give accurate figures on the actual number of passengers and crew with Covid. 

 

Someone named Mathana from the Executive office. I did specifically ask about a corporate policy and she reiterated twice to me that it was up to each ship to decide, I was quite surprised by that response. She also never addressed my comments on the captain not giving accurate counts of covid cases onboard and just said all my comments and concerns were shared with the ship.

Edited May 2, 2022 by jetblue

[asnaleah]

Thanks for the update David. I hope you and Steven are feeling well. I’m glad you are getting a refund. Any FCC probably doesn’t look too good these days!

[canderson]

3 hours ago, jetblue said:

When questioned if they would consider changing this policy company wide, I was informed once again, it was up to the individual ship.

And that is ONLY because they have ceded that decision to the ships.

 

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

As you suggest it sure would be easier if Celebrity had a Corporate Policy, buy as you know without a corporate policy the Captain is the ultimate authority of his/her vessel, whether an airplane or ship. 

A great reason that Celebrity needs to re-think whether there needs to be some corporate guidance on this subject, and need to be sure that if at all possible, corporate guidance is followed (recalling a certain hair curler confiscation incident).

 

As someone has already suggested, it would be interesting for someone to keep up a matrix of ship areas being used for isolation on a ship by ship basis.  In lieu of a clear policy, rather than having their guests sort it out and post it in a forum like this, Miami should be posting the primary isolation areas for each ship on their own web site.  As others have often said, pax have a right to an informed decision in matters as important to them as this, and to be informed, they need accurate and timely data straight from the horse.

 

[bunzini]

I like the idea of a thread that indicates the quarantine areas.  But I too wonder how that changes with each captain.  

[bunzini]

3 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Thanks for the report, Jet Blue.  For sure, I will be canceling my longer cruises.  Not sure about the repo I have booked this fall.  Fingers crossed I don't test positive tomorrow morning (B2B testing) and get thrown out of my PH.

Happy Cruiser, I believe you are on the Summit now.  Where is there quarantine area?

[RichYak]

5 hours ago, jetblue said:

When questioned if they would consider changing this policy company wide, I was informed once again, it was up to the individual ship.

And if you ask a captain, they'd probably tell you it's corporate policy. Deflection is a frustrating but effective corporate communication policy.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

36 minutes ago, bunzini said:

Happy Cruiser, I believe you are on the Summit now.  Where is there quarantine area?

 

According to what I've seen and heard, people are being quarantined in their cabins.  I'm on deck 6 port side and we saw a table and trash outside a door.  I have friends, also on deck 6 but starboard side who witnessed the same thing.  She complained to the Retreat Concierge and the food tray and the trash were removed.  But the tables remain.  No mention has been made by the captain about covid positives on board.  All of us B2Bers get tested tomorrow.  I would assume that, with only one day left in the cruise, that anyone who tests positive tomorrow will be allowed to remain in place before being summarily tossed off the ship on May 4.  Stay tuned.

[hooskydo]

5 hours ago, jetblue said:

Alright so wanted to bring this to a close. As many of you suggested, we sent in a very detailed account of our experience onboard the Silhouette to Lisa's email address. We received a phone call today from someone in the executive office to address our concerns, here's what we found out...

 

Firstly, corporate does not set the quarantine policy, they just ask the ships to make sure the passengers are safe. Each individual ship in the fleet makes it's own policy on where to quarantine passengers who test positive for covid. For Silhouette specifically, the policy is deck 3, port side Oceanview rooms. Once all of those rooms fill up, they then move to deck 6 balcony rooms. If all those fill up, they then revert to quarantine in your room which is what @Jim_Iain was fortunate enough to experience.  This also explains why passengers on Apex might report being quarantined to an infinite verandah room while passengers on Millennium report being quarantined to a deck 2 cabin. It's all up to the management of each ship.

 

When questioned if they would consider changing this policy company wide, I was informed once again, it was up to the individual ship.

 

Second, compensation. They are offering me not a penny more than what was promised on their website despite all the issues I encountered in quarantine and the fact that I was lied to by the ship.  They also deactivated the FCC I received on the ship. The FCC was only for $2,500 so I thought it was just goodwill. The refund I'm receiving is much higher than this and I had my choice of keeping the FCC or receiving the higher refund, obviously I chose the refund but am disappointed they automatically thought they could get away with issuing me a lower FCC.

 

So that's that. For us, we have two future cruises on Celebrity we are currently mulling over cancelling. Not a fan of the way corporate seems to be so hands off and not willing to step in and address the ship concerns. We all know without a doubt what Silhouette's quarantine policy is so I have effectively banned myself from ever stepping foot on that ship again for sure.

 

We will be researching other cruise lines to see what their quarantine policies are and see if we can find a way to move forward to comfortably enjoy cruising again.

I'm just waiting for someone to respond t my email. Is it possible to get the info for who you contacted?

[RichYak]

6 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

According to what I've seen and heard, people are being quarantined in their cabins.

Quarantine in your own cabin is typical. Positive cases requiring isolation are the ones who get moved.

[JFontaine]

A few months ago a Celebrity passenger tested positive and was told to move to  a window cabin. She refused.  I don't remember if they moved her to another balcony cabin, or allowed her to stay in her cabin. She said her mental health couldn't tolerate the move. And I will do the same. What this thread has taught me is that there is no policy, there's the discretion of individuals. They will have to drag me out of the cabin, literally kicking and screaming. Maybe that's how humane policies get put in effect. 

[MarkusToe]

What I'm reading here,  Looks like we are on the happy side to be testet positive 1day upfront the cruise on Millennium. 

Surprisingly only 4 of 6 got it, traveling a week in a bus together. 

Well See how the reimbursement works as we used a big amount of FFC to pay this cruise.... 

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, jetblue said:

 

Someone named Mathana from the Executive office. I did specifically ask about a corporate policy and she reiterated twice to me that it was up to each ship to decide, I was quite surprised by that response. She also never addressed my comments on the captain not giving accurate counts of covid cases onboard and just said all my comments and concerns were shared with the ship.

Thanks.

I will contact Zoe and ask why Mathana's information completely contradicts that which she supplied to me.

If Mathana's information is correct I don't see how the Sales Department knows which cabins it can sell as it will change from ship to ship, date by date and captain to captain.

 As the Chief Executive will be on Beyond soon perhaps a passenger on that will ask her and post her response.

[bunzini]

22 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

According to what I've seen and heard, people are being quarantined in their cabins.  I'm on deck 6 port side and we saw a table and trash outside a door.  I have friends, also on deck 6 but starboard side who witnessed the same thing.  She complained to the Retreat Concierge and the food tray and the trash were removed.  But the tables remain.  No mention has been made by the captain about covid positives on board.  All of us B2Bers get tested tomorrow.  I would assume that, with only one day left in the cruise, that anyone who tests positive tomorrow will be allowed to remain in place before being summarily tossed off the ship on May 4.  Stay tuned.

Thanks for your response.  Good luck on your testing.  Let us know how you fare!