I was on the May 6-15, 2022 Celebrity Equinox cruise. This was my fourth cruise since March 2020 but the only time I have ever contracted Covid. I felt like I had a bad case of the flu with a lot of coughing.
I think Celebrity’s Covid strategy is to identify infected passengers and isolate them. Other than receiving a bottle of generic Nyquil Cold liquid, I noticed no treatment effort.
I don’t know how I got Covid but my cabin attendant was replaced (with no explanation) on the same day I noticed Covid symptoms. Also, when I ate in the main dining room that night, the waiter who had previously served me was not working despite his name still being on the table card. So two Celebrity people I had come in regular contact with both disappeared at the same time. Also, I was in the medical facility and it appeared to me to be full of Covid cases. Despite being assigned an appointment time and escorted to the facility, it was so crowded I was placed in an examination room with another Covid patient. I was then moved to what appeared to be the operating room. Yet, I didn’t hear any more Covid updates from Captain Matt.
Getting complete and accurate information was difficult. The room service number I was given connected me to standard room service. No one with Celebrity told me I could order off the main dining room menu which is much better than the standard room service menu. I discovered that option from a cruise social media website. In addition to the Covid passenger disembarkation information, I was given all the regular disembarkation information – most of which did not seem to apply to Covid passengers. I was told I would be moved to a new cabin. Thankfully, no one ever moved me. I was not believed when I truthfully said I was the only occupant in my cabin. Celebrity’s records showed two other people assigned to my cabin with me. I discovered this error early in the cruise and asked Guest Relations (GR) to fix it. I was assured by GR that it would. Apparently, it never did. I still wonder who Joni and Kolleen are.
On departure day, as directed I waited in my cabin for someone to come get me. After two hours I called GR and was promised someone would be there within 15 minutes. No one came. I tried GR again and after a long wait on hold, someone picked up, and then the line immediately went dead. After three hours of waiting, I just left my cabin dragging my two large suitcases – one with clothes and the other with my scuba diving gear. Thank goodness that I did. While I was flagged by the computer and not allowed to disembark through the regular exit, I was told to go to deck 2.
To disembark from the ship a person coming from Celebrity imposed quarantine must prove he a) has his own car, b) a rental car reserved to drive himself home, or c) a local hotel room reserved in which to quarantine. I had made a rental car reservation. To leave the ship, I presented my reservation confirmation showing on my phone.
Except where the Covid passenger has his own car, he must allow Celebrity to transport him to a car rental place or his quarantine hotel. I was transported in a very nice vehicle to Budget rental car at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Note, the driver of the Celebrity provided car did nothing to confirm I entered Budget. I could have easily gone into the airport terminal and tried to board my flight. Instead, I rented the car and canceled my flight.
I believe many people would rather not report they are ill than go through what I went through. Covid for most otherwise healthy people is somewhere between a non-event and the flu. Those who don’t need to move away from uninfected companions will be tempted to keep their Covid symptoms secret. As noted, I didn't receive treatment and I was treated like a nuisance by the medical staff. Additionally, the information I received was incomplete or contradictory. In fact, the only time I had a real conversation with a doctor was when she called me to investigate my claim that I had no companions in my cabin. Also, I got boring food (until I learned from the internet that I could order off the main dining room menu), had to quarantine, and since I couldn’t honestly fly home, I had to drive 900 miles. Additionally, most Covid passengers are moved to another cabin and some report they receive an inferior cabin.
The government recently sent me several Covid tests and I wish I had brought them. If I had, I would have used them first. Note, Celebrity’s initial Covid test of me was NEGATIVE. But they always test you a second time. Moreover, once they know you have symptoms, they can keep testing you as much as they want to. By contrast, once you get a positive result, they stop testing you. My request for a third test was refused. One positive test result by Celebrity's medical personnel and your pleasure cruise is over.
Even if I had tested positive using a self-test, knowing what I know now I would have just self-quarantined until the cruise ended or five days elapsed. Is there a difference between self-quarantining and Celebrity quarantining? Yes. A lot! The Celebrity documents I received say:
“The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines provide for a minimum of five days of isolation. On days five and six, we will administer an antigen test. If either of these test results are positive, you must isolate for 10 days onboard.”
According to a doctor I know who manages Covid treatment for a large hospital, a positive antigen test does not mean a person is still infectious. Unless they have fever, he says that after five days they are no longer infectious. However, in most instances, they will continue to test positive for Covid.
If my doctor friend is correct, that means most Celebrity Covid passengers will end up being unnecessarily quarantined on board for ten days. Note that Celebrity indirectly confirms what my doctor friend told me. In the documents Celebrity gave me Celebrity states, “If your sailing ends more than five days after your initial positive test, you do not need to continue isolating after you disembark, and you may continue your travel home.” (emphasis in original) In other words, if you got a positive Covid test on day 5 you must quarantine onboard through day 10. But as soon as you walk off the ship, even if before day 10 you suddenly no longer need to quarantine. In that instance, Celebrity thinks it’s perfectly okay for you to hop on a crowded airplane and fly home.
Also, not reporting mild symptoms and self-quarantining may be easier for Celebrity since Celebrity avoids having to be the CDC's enforcer and doesn’t have to report there was another Covid case. My experience makes me wonder whether the cruise lines really want you to report mild to moderate Covid symptoms.
Another thing I might have done differently is to consider keeping my flight. I was by myself. That made the 900-mile drive home especially difficult – a drive that necessarily resulted in me coming into contact with many people including drive-through servers at fast-food restaurants, people in and around public restrooms, and the front desk staff at the hotel where I overnighted. Additionally, someone had to clean my hotel room and my rental car. Even assuming I was still contagious, would it have been safer overall for me to fly two hours home with a mask on - thus getting away from everyone quickly - instead of driving 900 miles over two days across three states? I wonder.
One potential advantage of reporting Covid symptoms is Celebrity says it will reimburse some of my travel expenses. Specifically, the paperwork I was provided states that for those who drive home in a rental car, “The costs associated with the car rental can be reimbursed, up to $150 per day.” Of course, it cost me well over $300 to rent a car, stay one night in a Hampton Inn, and pay for modest meals during my drive home. Also, despite submitting a request to be
