CELEBRITY CRUISES - HOW DO THEY MANAGE COVID IF YOU GET IT ON BOARD

[trio on the move]

Has anyone recently ( last few months only) had covid on a Celebrity Cruise?

If so, did Celebrity handle it in a professional and safe manner ie, making sure people isolate, providing regular checks, ensuring safe disembarkation  ie., making sure people with covid disembark separately etc. 

[Lena11033]

Two people I know are currently on Beyond with Covid, they have been isolating in their room

[patty1955]

My husband had covid on our May/June cruise. He was isolated to our room with free room service. They refunded us for all of the affected excursions and gave us a FCC for the days he was isolated. They did not provide regular checks but hehad to get checked before we were released from isolation.  He was sick in the middle of our cruise so no special precautions for disembarkation. There was a bit of a mix-up with clearing him after isolation that resulted in issues with going on our next excursion but it was cleared up fairly quickly. 

[fount]

My brother had it in September.  He had to isolate for 5 days.  The medical center called everyday to check on him.  They gave them free room service and premium wifi.  They also gave a total refund on excursions and did not charge him for his medical appointment.  They did charge his wife for her test, which was negative.  Also, to our surprise, they called after the cruise and issued him a refund to their credit card for the 5 days he was isolated.  I felt they were Very well taken care of!  Needless to say, he was thrilled he had booked a balcony!

[trio on the move]

On 1/1/2024 at 5:27 PM, trio on the move said:

Has anyone recently ( last few months only) had covid on a Celebrity Cruise?

If so, did Celebrity handle it in a professional and safe manner ie, making sure people isolate, providing regular checks, ensuring safe disembarkation  ie., making sure people with covid disembark separately etc. 

 

[trio on the move]

On 1/1/2024 at 5:35 PM, Lena11033 said:

Two people I know are currently on Beyond with Covid, they have been isolating in their room

[mdwriter]

was anyone sick enough to require Paxlovid and if so was it available from the ship?

[Carried_Away]

8 hours ago, mdwriter said:

was anyone sick enough to require Paxlovid and if so was it available from the ship?

 

When my friend had covid on the Reflection a year ago, Paxlovid was not available on the ship. The doctor gave her a prescription for it at her request, but the pharmacy we found in Ft. Lauderdale upon disembarkation wouldn't fill the prescription because it didn't include the information the pharmacy required for prescribers (primarily U.S. license numbers, which I assume the ship doctor didn't have).

 

I am just off the Beyond, and midway through the cruise, I got what I believe is a cold. The symptoms I had are also symptoms of covid, though, so I went to the medical center and asked to be tested for covid. The staff in the medical center said that if they tested me for covid and I was negative, I would have to pay $230 for medical services -- even though the only service I wanted was the test so I would know whether I had to isolate to avoid exposing others to covid. I think this policy makes very clear that Celebrity doesn't really want to know if people have covid on the ship. If they wanted to actively prevent the spread of covid, they would provide free testing for anyone with symptoms, just as they provide free evaluation and treatment of gastrointestinal illnesses.

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, mdwriter said:

was anyone sick enough to require Paxlovid and if so was it available from the ship?

Celebrity has never carried Paxlovid.    I would think the cost of approx $1,300 would be one of the reasons, as well as the rebound rate of over 20%

I always carry Covid Tests with me when traveling  and was able to obtain a supply of Paxlovid for use just in case.  

In discussion with Celebrity Staff and some passengers I've know that have tested positive while on-board -   They were quarantined for 5 days and then released with no further testing.    They received Future Cruise Certificates equal to Room Rate for number of days in isolation.

[Poconolady]

It’s always wise to carry a few test kits, some masks and hand sanitizer and enough cough and cold meds to carry you thru 5 days of isolation... Covid is definitely still active, better to be prepared.

[ohiopops4]

1 hour ago, Carried_Away said:

 

When my friend had covid on the Reflection a year ago, Paxlovid was not available on the ship. The doctor gave her a prescription for it at her request, but the pharmacy we found in Ft. Lauderdale upon disembarkation wouldn't fill the prescription because it didn't include the information the pharmacy required for prescribers (primarily U.S. license numbers, which I assume the ship doctor didn't have).

 

I am just off the Beyond, and midway through the cruise, I got what I believe is a cold. The symptoms I had are also symptoms of covid, though, so I went to the medical center and asked to be tested for covid. The staff in the medical center said that if they tested me for covid and I was negative, I would have to pay $230 for medical services -- even though the only service I wanted was the test so I would know whether I had to isolate to avoid exposing others to covid. I think this policy makes very clear that Celebrity doesn't really want to know if people have covid on the ship. If they wanted to actively prevent the spread of covid, they would provide free testing for anyone with symptoms, just as they provide free evaluation and treatment of gastrointestinal illnesses.

I agree, I find this policy by Celebrity very disturbing.  

[cruzfiend]

It's sad that some people are still fearful. It is basically a cold now.  I noticed they don't push the "washy washy" much. Hopefully that won't scare you.

[1Virgo]

8 minutes ago, cruzfiend said:

It's sad that some people are still fearful. It is basically a cold now.  I noticed they don't push the "washy washy" much. Hopefully that won't scare you.

not basically a cold for many.  Our hospitalization numbers are going up.    It does seem either like a cold or very ill.  

[cruzfiend]

I get get that for some who are compromised it can be worse, but so can ANY virus. 

 

[sptrout]

Not really on point with the OP's question but: When we returned home from our 11-day Celebrity Beyond cruise (ending 1/19) both of us tested positive for COVID. Got feeling a little bad at the very end of the cruise, but did not get a chance to test until we got back to the house that evening. My wife had almost no symptoms at all and I had cold-like symptoms sore throat & congestion. I thought it was just a plain cold, my DW did not think that she had anything; we were both wrong. The worse part of this experience was the plane ride home when we descended back into Houston and the change of air pressure was extremely painful. Since we were both "plugged-up" no way to relieve the pressure differences in our ears. We could not hear much of anything for a few days. 

 

We were on Celebrity Beyond last January for a 7-day cruise and once again we both had COVID within a few hours of returning home. Due to timing of symptoms, we had to have caught it on the ship. This time no symptoms for me, but my DW had a bad cough that lasted for days.

 

Has had been previously mentioned, both of us have now had COVID twice and the symptoms were no worse than a cold. Would have not been bad at all if not for the pressure change in the airplane on the 19th,