The unexpected coronavirus outbreak in 2020 suspended the cruise for 15 months. During this time, cruise companies worked with experts to create key health and safety protocols that should be implemented after the cruise began. You have also worked diligently with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (aka CDC).

Now cruise companies have been working on their restart. Celebrity Cruises’ restart began on June 5th with the Celebrity Millennium. She successfully sailed on her first Caribbean cruise from Philipsburg, St. Maarten and has continued on other voyages.

Celebrity Cruises’ logs

Celebrity Cruises has taken various measures to ensure the safety of its passengers and crew. The cleaning and hygiene protocols have been improved, the medical centers have been upgraded. All crew members were vaccinated. Further measures include proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 PCR test for passengers. Celebrity has also reduced the number of guests on board. His trip on June 5th was 30% full.

Metropolitan restaurant

With the restart of the Celebrity Millennium, at least 95% of passengers had to present a proper vaccination card. A vaccination is required for all passengers aged 16 and over. (For departures on or after August 1, this vaccination requirement applies to all passengers 12 years and older.) Cruise passengers must also demonstrate a negative COVID-19 PCR test that was carried out less than 72 hours before arrival and the entry permit via the Obtain this country’s electronic health authorization system, also known as EHAS.

The boarding of cruise passengers included staggered arrivals by appointment, as well as contactless transactions. The passengers are tempered at the gangway ramp and then guided onto the ship, where their IDs are scanned.

Celebrity’s digitally advanced mobile app has accelerated the boarding process. Guests can have an eMuster experience that they can enjoy on their mobile device or on the in-room interactive TV.

During the check-in and check-out process at the terminal, all passengers aged 2 years and over must wear appropriate face covering. Face-covering is not required on board the ship as per CDC guidelines, although local governments may have their own regulations.

Celebrity Millennium Sailing in the Caribbean

The Celebrity Millennium’s seven-day crossing from Philipsburg, St. Maarten began on June 5th. This first crossing only had 600 passengers on board. (With double occupancy, the ship offers space for around 2,100 passengers.)

Celebrity Summit TheRetreatSunDeck

Celebrity Summit The Retreat Sun Deck

The cruise included stops in Barbados, Curacao, and Aruba. Celebrity Cruises’ “safety bubble” included compliance with the requirements of each island for cruise passengers to disembark and visit. In Barbados, passengers had to take a Celebrity Cruises shore excursion to disembark the ship. Aruba and Curacao allowed disembarking passengers to visit them on their own; no pre-booked shore excursion through Celebrity was required.

Overall, the June 5th cruise went very well. One of the requirements was that all passengers had to have a negative COVID-19 test (as well as proof of vaccination) carried out within 72 hours before disembarkation in St. Maarten on June 12th. Two cruise passengers tested positive but were asymptomatic; they were immediately isolated and monitored. According to celebrity spokeswoman Susan Lomax, the two people flew home by private plane.

Celebrity Summit restart and Celebrity Millennium repositioned to Alaska

The Celebrity Millennium continues its voyages from St. Maarten to the Caribbean. She will be relocated to Seattle in late July, where she will embark on seven-day cruises to Alaska on July 23rd. The Celebrity Summit will end the South Caribbean cruises from St. Maarten through August and then a series of four- and five-night cruises from Fort Lauderdale through October.

Celebrity SummitML19 Ocean View Cafe

Celebrity Summit Oceanview Cafe

Details about the Celebrity Millennium and Celebrity Summit

After the successful debut of the Celebrity Edge in 2018, Celebrity Cruises launched a new initiative in 2019, Celebrity Revolution, which included the complete modernization of the line’s entire fleet. The $ 500 million investment includes new design and technology features.

Both the Celebrity Millennium and the Celebrity Summit have been revolutionized. It includes new, exclusive areas for suite guests – the Retreat Lounge, the Retreat Sundeck and a private restaurant. There are new dining and entertainment partnerships, and the main restaurants have been modernized along with the Rendezvous Lounge, Sunset Bar and Oceanview Cafe.

The gradual restart of other Celebrity Cruises ships

Celebrity Cruises’ plan to resume cruising is a gradual restart, and the line is doing so with eight of its 14 ships. The newest ship, the Celebrity Apex, left Athens, Greece on June 19 for her maiden voyage in the Aegean Sea. Their original launch in March 2020 was delayed due to COVID-19 and the cruise break.

The Celebrity Edge will embark on seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale in July, and the Celebrity Silhouette will sail from the UK in July. And more updates will follow.

Some positive takeaways

With the cruise restarting gradually, Celebrity Cruises is implementing its protocols for the Healthy Sail Panel as well as those established by the CDC.

Celebrity Cruises implements all of its health and safety protocols and continues to create a “safety bubble” so that cruise passengers can feel comfortable and safe while enjoying their time on board and in the ports.

Now is a good time to start thinking about planning your next group cruise.

Cindy Bertram has over 15 years of cruise industry experience in marketing, content creation, sales and training, and social media. Her MBA from Loyola University Chicago complements her high creative lead and her BA in humanities. She can be reached at cindy@ptmgroups.com.