Will Celebrity follow NCL soon???

[Virginia100]

NCL sailings after September 2 if vaccinated will not require pre cruise testing to board. Only unvaccinated need to take pre cruise testing. Now will others now follow and eliminate this testing soon?

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

NCL sailings after September 2 if vaccinated will not require pre cruise testing to board. Only unvaccinated need to take pre cruise testing. Now will others now follow and eliminate this testing soon?

I don't deal in conjecture, all I can say is that time will tell.

[lv2cruisgrl]

My crystal ball says yes of course they will!  However it is not always correct.  

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, Virginia100 said:

NCL sailings after September 2 if vaccinated will not require pre cruise testing to board. Only unvaccinated need to take pre cruise testing. Now will others now follow and eliminate this testing soon?

RCL Group has made it pretty clear that it's only a matter of time (days or maybe a few short weeks) that testing is dropped further--perhaps completely. So, yes, Celebrity will follow in some shape or form.

[bama4cruisin]

Much will depend on ports visited.  As long as any port on the itinerary still requires testing, for example Bermuda, for the passengers on that cruise testing will be required. Past that, who knows.

[Arizona Wildcat]

3 minutes ago, bama4cruisin said:

Much will depend on ports visited.  As long as any port on the itinerary still requires testing, for example Bermuda, for the passengers on that cruise testing will be required. Past that, who knows.

Or Canada.

[TeeRick]

Aug 14 will have a testing announcement for the RCG cruise lines.

[Cruising7in2017]

Crossing my fingers that our 8/20 cruise out of Barcelona won't require any testing!

[hrhdhd]

34 minutes ago, Cruising7in2017 said:

Crossing my fingers that our 8/20 cruise out of Barcelona won't require any testing!

Ditto for 8/26 out of Rome! 

[canderson]

1 hour ago, bama4cruisin said:

As long as any port on the itinerary still requires testing, for example Bermuda, for the passengers on that cruise testing will be required.

Our westbound Reflection TA still shows a stop on Bermuda.  Am guessing that X really doesn't want or plan to retest the entire ship within 2 days of our scheduled arrival there, and Bermuda ain't lowering the bar until Spring 2023.  Would be nice to know now so we don't waste time and $40 each to fill out Betmuda's forms.

[wrk2cruise]

The Oct Summit Repo is only docked in Bermuda from 11am - 5pm which really doesn't give enough time to do anything outside the dockyard.  Many of us on the Roll Call wish they would just skip the stop to avoid the Bermuda requirements including the $40 pp even if you don't step foot off the ship.

 

[Denny01]

Since Celebrity hasn’t ‘followed’ NCL in pretty much any manner of doing business, doubt it will ‘follow’ NCL in anything.  But X will sooner or later step out and make bigger changes. Obviously with removing pre-tests for short cruises….No Thanks….they are making plans.

 

I threw my crystal ball away after it predicted that X would lower the price of All Retreat Suites by 85% for those who have never booked Suites to get us ‘hooked’. I thought my crystal ball had a great idea, but apparently no one in Corporate X did. And I got laughed at when I asked….oh well. 

 

den

[Virginia100]

Oceania just now announced the same policy as NCL effective September 3. Of course NCL owns Oceania. By September it will happen,

Edited August 8, 2022 by Virginia100

[RichYak]

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Aug 14 will have a testing announcement for the RCG cruise lines.

Is there some significance to Aug 14, or did they just say they were going to have more info on that day?

[canderson]

17 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Is there some significance to Aug 14, or did they just say they were going to have more info on that day?

A week or so ago, my TA also said additional updates were anticipated (no specifics), middle of August.  So rumors are going around in that part of the community as well.

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

Who has the Majic 8-Ball? 

[Jeremiah1212]

37 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Is there some significance to Aug 14, or did they just say they were going to have more info on that day?

 

Some of Royal's updated protocols are effective as of 8/8 through 8/14. For those cruising from the US after 8/14, they are advised to wait for updated guidance. Because of that, people are assuming there are additional changes coming by 8/14. 

[LGW59]

21 minutes ago, canderson said:

A week or so ago, my TA also said additional updates were anticipated (no specifics), middle of August.  So rumors are going around in that part of the community as well.

 

Mine told me the same, expect an announcement by 8/18

 

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

Is there some significance to Aug 14, or did they just say they were going to have more info on that day?

It came from the RCCL board (copied below).  Also I think there was a statement in the Q&A from Michael Bayley in the Q2 RCL earnings call which covers all RCG cruise lines.

 

So there was an update announced through Aug 14th only and then a comment about waiting for guidance for people cruising after Aug 14.  It might relate to testing.  Or vaccinations.  Or maybe nothing significant.  But there is a buzz about it.

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

 

Michael Bayley put out a statement on social media.  The date for further changes is not a rumor, it's August 14th. If you read what I highlighted at the end of the blurb it sure does sound to me like RCL is going to follow NCL in allowing Unvaccinated to sail.

 

 

[deliver42]

After NCL came up with no testing for vaxxed passengers, I think everyone else will have to follow to be competitive. I know if I have a choice between a cruise with testing and one without, I'll go on the one without.

[NMTraveller]

Is Celebrity sailing their ships at 100% and making a profit.  If not, I would expect to see them start relaxing the restrictions.

 

Too many hoops to jump through for testing and I am not a fan of their Covid quarantine prison.  For USA land vacations there are zero restrictions.  Hmm...  Not a difficult decision on which one to choose for now.

[Ipeeinthepools]

Does Covid quarantine still exists if they eliminate pre-cruise testing?

[canderson]

6 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Does Covid quarantine still exists if they eliminate pre-cruise testing?

Those seem to me to be unrelated.  

[njhorseman]

5 hours ago, Denny01 said:

Since Celebrity hasn’t ‘followed’ NCL in pretty much any manner of doing business, doubt it will ‘follow’ NCL in anything.

I've sailed many, many times on NCL and Celebrity over the past 35 years or so and switched back and forth between the two as changes in the product made me feel more comfortable on one versus the other.

NCLH and the Royal Caribbean Group, the parent corporations of NCL and Celebrity among others, were equal partners in the original Healthy Sail Panel that developed the industry's most comprehensive set of protocols for the restart of cruising in 2021. 

So in fact NCL and Celebrity, as well as the other subsidiary cruise lines of both corporations have moved in very close formation from that time on, and their current protocols are still very similar. Given the need to fill ships, if one cruise group does something that another group perceives as creating a competitive advantage you can bet your bottom dollar that something will be done to mitigate that competitive advantage. 

By the way Celebrity and other lines have copied many things introduced by NCL over the years. from open seating dining to the NCL Haven "ship within a ship" concept.