Come July 17th, I will be officially in my happy place; on the open ocean setting sail for a new adventure. Now that cruising is back (well sort of), my family and I could not wait to get back on board. While this may not be the make up Europe cruise, we had planned for 2020, I am just thankful to be taking my first full week vacation since 2019! It is long over do.
I know many of you must be thinking “wow she is crazy to be going on a cruise”, and yes it is a valid thought considering cruises were painted in an extremely negative light at the start of the pandemic and have been shut down from sailing from US ports for over 15 months. But with a lot of research and great healthy and safety guidelines laid out by Celebrity Cruises we feel comfortable being the 4th sailing to leave a US port this year.
Currently, the Celebrity Edge is the only cruise officially sailing from a US port. While others are doing test sailing and preparing to take passengers over the next couple months, the Edge was the first ship to officially get the green light for their first sailing on June 26th.
So what is going to be different about this post pandemic cruise?
Well not much really. From my research and following other bloggers who have been lucky enough to be on the Edge since its rerelease they say not much is different beside not being able to serve yourself in the buffet, which doesn’t bother me a bit. Other bloggers have mentioned a limited capacity which makes the cruise much more enjoyable, something I am really looking forward to. The staff to guest ratio is greatly reduced as they ease back into sailing.
Speaking of staff, on the Celebrity Edge their entire crew is 100% vaccinated! And they ensure guests will be at a 95% vaccination rate. It is not at 100% to allow for children and those who are medically unable to get the vaccine to sail as well. (Restrictions do not apply to these groups)
But the big question you probably have, is how are they ensuing such a high vaccination rate? Well this is where it gets tricky. Ever since the Florida Governor passed a law saying you are not allowed to ask for proof of vaccination otherwise it is a $5,000 per ask fine, Celebrity had to get creative.
Celebrity will voluntarily ask you for proof of vaccination at boarding and if you refuse you will be treated as a non-vaccinated guest. As an unvaccinated guest you will be required to take a COVID test before boarding, at your own expense, as well as prior to each stop, and disembarkation back in Florida. Additionally, you will be required to eat in a separate area of the dining room, theater, and other areas around the ship. And finally, you will be required to wear a mask.
From what I can tell Celebrity is identifying vaccinated vs non-vaccinated guests by their sea card as well as a wristband for vaccinated passengers. It is my opinion that Celebrity is trying to inconvenience the non-vaccinated and make it harder to sail, ensuring they keep the ship and the islands they visit as COVID free as possible.
Whether you agree or not with Celebrity’s approach to sailing there will be different rules for each cruise line as the industry slowly comes back and hopefully there will be an option for everyone. But as we have all found in the last year, it is important and vital for us to not only keep ourselves safe and healthy but others as well. We just have to keep going with the flow!
I’ll see you all in a week and update you all on what is like to travel on a post pandemic cruise.
Bon Voyage!