Afraid of Quarantaine/Isolation in OV or inside - consider cancelling ?

[Snowey88]

On 4/19/2022 at 3:06 AM, excitedofharpenden said:

I've a friend just back from a Saga cruise and there was an outbreak, she tested positive as others in her group was and she was confined to her cabin for the last six days of a twelve night cruise.  This is what I fear too.  I'm on Azamara in June (smaller 690 guest ship) b2b and have a suite on each leg.  If one is quarantined you are moved to a deck 4 window cabin.  I'm pondering.

 

Phil

Hi Phil!  We sail the inside passage May 6.  Never had Covid.  Dbl boosted.  Now I am worrying.  Just spent 2 weeks in Peru and no covid.  Had to test to get into USA.  We shall see!

 

[Guppy99]

On 4/18/2022 at 7:26 PM, cruise52 said:

I disagree, I think a passenger does in fact have a right to either stay in the cabin they paid for or be fairly compensated for the accommodations in which they paid if the cruise line finds it necessary to move a passenger.  A passenger should receive compensation for the days they are unable to use the room they booked or be provided LKQ - Like, Kind and Quality in accommodations if they are required to move.  There is a risk to cruising, but no one is signing a waiver that if they get Covid they are giving up their rights to receive the product for which they paid and expected.  The cruise line knows the risks as well.  When people booked their cruise has no bearing on this issue.  

Yes, you are. You should read your contract.

[mayleeman]

Seems simple to me. You are going on a cruise in relatively close quarters with a couple thousand people, some of whom may be infected with Covid, and you may be adversely affected in not entirely predictable ways. 

 

If you cannot handle the worst of the scenarios people have described, go ahead and cancel because no one can guarantee you the worst case will not happen.

 

Saying Celebrity should handle it better or more predictably is for customer satisfaction surveys and corporate quality control assessments. It is not a method of making wise booking choices for your situation.

[cruisestitch]

I agree.  If the OP will always be uncomfortable and uneasy, cruising isn’t right for them at this time.

[tinaincc]

On 4/22/2022 at 2:55 PM, Islander500 said:

We were on Edge a few weeks ago.  Got a direct report from a passenger who tried to purchase allergy medicine he had forgotten at home.  Was directed to test; he declined.  Was told he would have to get off the ship the next day.  He therefore agreed to test and tested negative.  Was required to quarantine for 24 hours until retested, and negative again.  Resumed his cruise.  Not judging, just relaying the information.            

This is absurd. Thanks for sharing. I will be sure to bring my medicine cabinet on my next trip.

[tinaincc]

Unfortunately the event of the last few days and Celebrity’s complete lack of transparency, we have cancelled our August 1 APEX cruise (Amsterdam RT).

 

We have already had Covid but with these new, more mild strains, we were concerned that we could test positive and be quarantined outside of our paid cabin and the country. This happened to a friend this Summer so it became something that I could not justify the risk. Especially since we were looking at a 12 day cruise.

im hoping these rediculous rules change soon. We couldn’t risk making our final payment on May 3 with so much ambiguity.

 

safe travels

[Guppy99]

1 hour ago, tinaincc said:

Unfortunately the event of the last few days and Celebrity’s complete lack of transparency, we have cancelled our August 1 APEX cruise (Amsterdam RT).

 

We have already had Covid but with these new, more mild strains, we were concerned that we could test positive and be quarantined outside of our paid cabin and the country. This happened to a friend this Summer so it became something that I could not justify the risk. Especially since we were looking at a 12 day cruise.

im hoping these rediculous rules change soon. We couldn’t risk making our final payment on May 3 with so much ambiguity.

 

safe travels

There is nothing ridiculous about these rules. Do you think anyone is happy with it? No. It's necessary.

[Covepointcruiser]

Wish that those who are canceling would reveal what cabin has now been freed up.    Some of us may want to switch cabins.

[ScubesDad]

I don't  understand why this discussion draws just vitriolic responses  when someone makes a decision based on the information they have access to. Everyone makes a risk analysis based on their own parameters; some of us are risk takers and some of us are risk adverse. Neither position is correct or incorrect, it is what is correct for the decision maker at this point in time.

 

In answer to the question asked, yes it is a concern that I may be quarantined in an OV or worse, or I am be dropped in a foreign country and forced to quarantine at my own expense.  I cancelled our June cruise to Iceland because of the hoops we would have to go through.

 

 

We cruise to travel, not travel to cruise. We tack a week or so on the front and back of a cruise and spend time on our own exploring.

 

I developed a plan B. Learned wecan travel to Iceland and back without the needful testing, as we are fully vaccinated/up to date. Travel involves 2 airports rather than multiple airports, so reduced risk of exposure. We booked an independent tour through a tour company which includes a vehicle and accomodation,  we provide our own meals. We set the time and places we want to stop.

 

We will take tests with us and should we become exposed/infected we can self quarantine as required.  In our assessment significant less risk, greater flexibility, and an added bonus less costly.

 

I just picked a new destination and kicked the cruise ahead by 6 months.

 

There is travel outside of cruising.

[morpheusofthesea]

Guess is that cruise lines operating out of the US, with the CDC monitoring, are not expected to stop covid, but must manage to control the spread on board.

[Joanne G.]

14 minutes ago, ScubesDad said:

I don't  understand why this discussion draws just vitriolic responses  when someone makes a decision based on the information they have access to. Everyone makes a risk analysis based on their own parameters; some of us are risk takers and some of us are risk adverse. Neither position is correct or incorrect, it is what is correct for the decision maker at this point in time.

 

In answer to the question asked, yes it is a concern that I may be quarantined in an OV or worse, or I am be dropped in a foreign country and forced to quarantine at my own expense.  I cancelled our June cruise to Iceland because of the hoops we would have to go through.

 

 

We cruise to travel, not travel to cruise. We tack a week or so on the front and back of a cruise and spend time on our own exploring.

 

I developed a plan B. Learned wecan travel to Iceland and back without the needful testing, as we are fully vaccinated/up to date. Travel involves 2 airports rather than multiple airports, so reduced risk of exposure. We booked an independent tour through a tour company which includes a vehicle and accomodation,  we provide our own meals. We set the time and places we want to stop.

 

We will take tests with us and should we become exposed/infected we can self quarantine as required.  In our assessment significant less risk, greater flexibility, and an added bonus less costly.

 

I just picked a new destination and kicked the cruise ahead by 6 months.

 

There is travel outside of cruising.

 

My thoughts exactly.  For similar reasons, I postponed a British Isles cruise to 2023 and have planned a land vacation in Ireland instead.    Only one country's protocols to be aware of, more control over avoiding crowds, and a hotel reservation I can cancel without penalty up to 3 days prior to arriving if circumstances change.    I also postponed a London-to-Rome cruise to 2023 and will spend a week in London instead.    

 

Like ScubesDad, I am surprised by how harsh some of the responses are to the choices we make for ourselves.   I wish healthy and happy cruises to all who will be onboard this year, and I wish happy travels to those choosing other vacation options.  

[Denny01]

“Are You Thinking About Cancelling Your Cruise”?? Kind of hard for me to do with me spending so much time finding more cruises I want to go on and keep booking!! 

 

So Nope, I think we will never go back to Normal, and we will need to understand the Cruise Line rules and requirements will continue to change because the various countries will continue to change their requirements because COVID continues to change, as will some following challenge. 

 

with that said, I will continue to decide the level of risk I’m willing to to accept just living my daily life, and then deciding to expand risk by cruising. But what I won’t do is if I won’t accept some requirement set by a cruise line, or a govt agency, I won’t figure out a way to get around it because I think I’m smarter then ‘them’, or I just dont want my enjoyment interfered with.

 

Den 

[tinaincc]

13 hours ago, Guppy99 said:

There is nothing ridiculous about these rules. Do you think anyone is happy with it? No. It's necessary.

I disagree.

13 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Wish that those who are canceling would reveal what cabin has now been freed up.    Some of us may want to switch cabins.

Sunset Veranda - Apex, August 1,2022 rt Amsterdam.

[sunlover33]

15 hours ago, Guppy99 said:

There is nothing ridiculous about these rules. Do you think anyone is happy with it? No. It's necessary.

No it’s completely over the top, but clearly you prefer to obey than question. 

[VitaminSea53]

When will the cruise lines accept that Covid 19 is now endemic and should be treated like the annual flu or Noro virus.  No need for draconian measure - like moving people out of their cabins or forcing them to wear masks.  If someone is “really sick”, they could be moved to the hospital just as they would be if dealing with a bad case of the annual Flu.  Time to lighten up and accept the future.  The flu is the flu - contagious-Yes, uncomfortable-Yes, but not a dearth sentence.

[TMLAalum]

Following CDC guidelines for the land, if fully vaxxed and exposed to Covid, mask for 5 days then test and during that interval no need to quarantine. Test sooner if symptoms develop. If positive, quarantine for 5 days, then if symptom/fever free leave quarantine but mask for the next five days. CDC does not suggest staying home until a negative test.

 

Seems that Celebrity is making things very difficult for its guests who contract covid once aboard. With the most recent, mild variant, quarantining cruisers on Deck 3 so they can be close to medical seems pointless. Seriously ill folk would likely need to be even closer to medical!

 

I do get the logistical difficulty of providing room service meals all over the ship if folk were allowed to remain in their cabins. And if I were in an inside, and tested + for covid, moving to an OV would be my choice.  I don't see why Deck 6 forward couldn't be cordoned off for people with covid. At least they would have a veranda!

 

 

 

[Denny01]

1 hour ago, sunlover33 said:

No it’s completely over the top, but clearly you prefer to obey than question. 

Nothing wrong with questioning, the problem is cheating. I may ‘question’ why I got stopped at 3 red red lights driving down a street with more traffic on it than the cross roads, but I ‘obey’; I may question why a policeman stopped me for driving 10MPH over the limit when I was passed like I was standing still by another driver a few minutes ago, but I pull over and ‘obey’; I may ‘question’ why certain medical rules are in place during a pandemic, but since I’m not an MD or an expert in disease control, I’ll follow the directives, especially those that I agreed to via a contract. 

 

Yup, I’ve not ‘obeyed’ some rule/law/directive/etc, but so what. Question all you want, but don’t put others at risk because you don’t want to follow rules you don’t like or put you in ‘discomfort’. 

 

Den

Edited April 27, 2022 by Denny01

[CarrieAP]

1 hour ago, TMLAalum said:

Following CDC guidelines for the land, if fully vaxxed and exposed to Covid, mask for 5 days then test and during that interval no need to quarantine. Test sooner if symptoms develop. If positive, quarantine for 5 days, then if symptom/fever free leave quarantine but mask for the next five days. CDC does not suggest staying home until a negative test.

 

Seems that Celebrity is making things very difficult for its guests who contract covid once aboard. With the most recent, mild variant, quarantining cruisers on Deck 3 so they can be close to medical seems pointless. Seriously ill folk would likely need to be even closer to medical!

 

I do get the logistical difficulty of providing room service meals all over the ship if folk were allowed to remain in their cabins. And if I were in an inside, and tested + for covid, moving to an OV would be my choice.  I don't see why Deck 6 forward couldn't be cordoned off for people with covid. At least they would have a veranda!

 

 

 

Sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong but that seems close to what Celebrity is doing? Per reports those exposed are allowed to move around the ship while wearing a mask. Meals/beverages are consumed in cabin bc requires mask to be removed.

 

A discrepancy is the timeline for a covid positive person to remain in isolation. Agree requiring a neg test differs. Compliance with CDC would allow to roam ship with mask after 5 days, as long as symptoms have resolved, returning to cabin for meals/beverages for the remaining 5 days. 

 

Far from ideal from a vacation perspective. We sail Sat on Apex TA so have skin in this game. Well aware of the risks but have decided to proceed, albeit hesitantly. An improvement over Greece cruise last year however. Then we risked 14 days confinement in a hotel selected by the government. 

[sunlover33]

1 hour ago, Denny01 said:

Nothing wrong with questioning, the problem is cheating.

I’m certainly not advocating cheating, and I wouldn’t condone anyone else cheating. I wear a mask when required, fully vaccinated and will social distance. If I felt unwell on a cruise I would seek medical assistance, even if it means the dreaded OV deck three cabins. I also have 40 years of senior healthcare experience so have some knowledge of disease spread and control.  However I do think some on these rules Celebrity have put in place do need to be questioned or challenged. If only verbally on this site as Celebrity doesn’t seem to read any of these comments.  The excuse that putting Pax on deck three to be near the medical facility makes no sense. How often looking at Jetblues experience did they receive  medical care? If passengers needed to be monitored that closely they would be in hospital. We have been told continuously that good ventilation and air circulation reduces the concentration of covid droplets as it does with other virus’s, so why confine infected passengers in a closed room. There is no logic to some of these decisions except maybe in Celebrity’s  best interests. Sadly these decisions don’t help Celebrity at all to encourage people not to cheat. Maybe we can’t change anything but we can still question to logic of some of the decisions. 

Edited April 27, 2022 by sunlover33

[Denny01]

1 hour ago, sunlover33 said:

I’m certainly not advocating cheating, and I wouldn’t condone anyone else cheating. I wear a mask when required, fully vaccinated and will social distance. If I felt unwell on a cruise I would seek medical assistance, even if it means the dreaded OV deck three cabins. I also have 40 years of senior healthcare experience so have some knowledge of disease spread and control.  However I do think some on these rules Celebrity have put in place do need to be questioned or challenged. If only verbally on this site as Celebrity doesn’t seem to read any of these comments.  The excuse that putting Pax on deck three to be near the medical facility makes no sense. How often looking at Jetblues experience did they receive  medical care? If passengers needed to be monitored that closely they would be in hospital. We have been told continuously that good ventilation and air circulation reduces the concentration of covid droplets as it does with other virus’s, so why confine infected passengers in a closed room. There is no logic to some of these decisions except maybe in Celebrity’s  best interests. Sadly these decisions don’t help Celebrity at all to encourage people not to cheat. Maybe we can’t change anything but we can still question to logic of some of the decisions. 

Great response. 

[ScubesDad]

1 hour ago, sunlover33 said:

 

There is no logic to some of these decisions except maybe in Celebrity’s  best interests.

Therein lies your answer.  The process was developed by the risk management group and vetted by the lawyers to provide a reasonable assurance that they are covered should something go sideways.  As long as people continue to book cruises and passenger volumes increase their actions are being confirmed and validated as reasonable and acceptable.

Currently generating cash flow is their prime concern, and as long as people book Celebrity sees no reason to change.  If new bookings start to decline and people cancel existing bookings Celebrity  will be compelled to investigate and respond.   Complaining is meaningless as it is very unlikely to bring about change, unless it is accompanied by action.

[Hazeleyes101]

Is there a central place to look where one can learn the quarantine space being used on the different Celebrity ships?  I've seen references to deck 3 OV but don't know if that's the case on every ship.  We'll be sailing on Millenium in May.  Will do all in our power to stay safe, but would like to be mentally prepared for worst-case scenario!  

[Denny01]

44 minutes ago, ScubesDad said:

Therein lies your answer.  The process was developed by the risk management group and vetted by the lawyers to provide a reasonable assurance that they are covered should something go sideways.  As long as people continue to book cruises and passenger volumes increase their actions are being confirmed and validated as reasonable and acceptable.

Currently generating cash flow is their prime concern, and as long as people book Celebrity sees no reason to change.  If new bookings start to decline and people cancel existing bookings Celebrity  will be compelled to investigate and respond.   Complaining is meaningless as it is very unlikely to bring about change, unless it is accompanied by action.

Yes, how dare a company look to make money and not respond to a dozen or so CC posters and just quit responding to a pandemic. 

[canderson]

19 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

Yes, how dare a company look to make money and not respond to a dozen or so CC posters and just quit responding to a pandemic. 

To be fairer, perhaps ...

 

There isn't a cruise line out there that isn't struggling to recoup after the COVID shutdown.  They all "look to make money" now, just as they always have, but perhaps with even greater urgency.

 

The various lines have taken more and less customer-friendly approaches to dealing with quarantine.  Some would prefer to sail on lines with protocols on the 'more' side.

[sunlover33]

1 hour ago, ScubesDad said:

Therein lies your answer.  The process was developed by the risk management group and vetted by the lawyers to provide a reasonable assurance that they are covered should something go sideways.  As long as people continue to book cruises and passenger volumes increase their actions are being confirmed and validated as reasonable and acceptable.

Currently generating cash flow is their prime concern, and as long as people book Celebrity sees no reason to change.  If new bookings start to decline and people cancel existing bookings Celebrity  will be compelled to investigate and respond.   Complaining is meaningless as it is very unlikely to bring about change, unless it is accompanied by action.

Unfortunately you have hit the nail completely on the head. There was a time when customer satisfaction and feedback counted for something. Even for the poor unfortunate plague ridden souls ensconced on deck three. Sadly making up lost profit is all that counts now as people are so desperate to sail agin, we are prepared to put up with this nonsense. However maybe 10 days constrained down on deck three may cure many of cruising for some time, or at least look for a company with as a Canderson says ‘more customer friendly approaches’.