JeffB

I think you are asking two separate questions and I assume you are vaccinated: (1) What should we do if a person in a group traveling/sailing together tests positive before we leave home (outside the 2 or 3 day testing window)? (2) If I had contact with that person who tested positive in the period before we left home, what is the risk that I will test positive at some point on the cruise? Let's deal with question (2 ) first: Contact means inside of 3 meters (6 feet) for a prolonged period (around 15 minutes). If you don't meet those requirements, risk of exposure that results in a COVID infection occurring after you board and producing symptoms prompting a trip to medical where you might test positive and face COVID protocols on board your ship are very low - and I should emphasize if symptoms develop while sailing, be honest and go get tested. Can you spread SARS2 if you actually develop an asymptomatic infection yourself while on board? Theoretically yes but the risk is low and actually spreading virions sufficient to cause an infection in others through respirations is also low. If you're concerned about this, don a mask when you can't maintain social distancing (e.g., in an elevator). If you can wait until after 3d from contact with your traveling partner to get your pre boarding test and it's negative, I'd go ahead and board. Assessing your risk of exposure from contact with this person is key in your own personal risk assessment of developing an infection later and while on board. Back to question (1): If the positive test result for the person in question was from an antigen test, get a confirmatory PCR test in the 3d pre-boarding window if possible (depending on availability in the area you are getting tested in, 1d PCR results are available and usually covered - not always - by your health insurance); if it's negative that person should proceed with traveling/boarding- this isn't CDC guidelines but cruising is a different ball game. Use your head. If the PCR test produces a positive result, that person is definitely out. They'll get a full refund if they cancel before boarding. It get's trickier if the person, family members in the same household or traveling companions in the same stateroom tests negative on the confirmatory pre-boarding PCR test but has pre-boarding COVID symptoms (sore throat, cough, runny nose, fever or diarrhea). This is a worst case scenario. Everyone in your party should truthfully answer the yes/no questions on the health screening from. You'll be subject to additional screening measures (probably an antigen test in the terminal) or may be denied boarding - you'll get a full refund for being honest. Think about this from a safety and public health viewpoint. It's good for you and good for other guests on board.

The CDC's apparent plan is to let the CSO become a recommendation after January 15th, 2022. I say this because Fain commented on this when he was asked what was RCL going to do with COVID protocols after the 15th if the CSO expires? His response amounted to, "nothing," reflecting the view that RCL, along with most of the cruise lines, have adopted the health and safety protocols contained in CLIA's Healthy Sail Plan and will continue these. The question came specifically in the context of questions for vaccination requirements to board for kids 5-11. His response was non-specific and my read on them was that kids older than 5 will at some point have to be vaccinated to board but it's going to be a while. Current protocols will continue for unvaxed kids. We've sailed 6 times since July and will have completed a 7th before the end of the year- a good 45d aboard. We've been aware of 5-8 guests testing positive on just one of those sailings (see below). We've complied with all health and safety protocols including a short masking requirement inside aboard a west bound Atlantic crossing on Apex from Barcelona. After we left our last port call in Teneriffe and all crew and guests testing negative, the indoor mask requirement was ended. We've felt COVID safer on cruise ships than any other venue were people might congregate indoors and outdoors. The masking requirement indoors on our Apex sailing was apparently precipitated by a small outbreak aboard Apex repositioning from Athens to Rome to Barcelona right before the crossing. We heard 5 guests tested positive after boarding in Rome - all EU citizens who were negative on boarding, developed symptoms, reported to medical and were subsequently tested positive. They were isolated and removed from the ship in Barcelona. Somewhere around 60 contacts, 2/3 crew, were quarantined, tested 2X in 10d and released. None of them tested positive. Apparently no one got seriously ill requiring hospitalization. IOW, my small sample size sailings are consistent with CDC numbers of some 450 COVID cases reported onboard cruise ships.... and, of course out of context and entirely misleading. By my count, during the the sailings I made over a 5 month period and among around 6000 other guests we experienced 5 positives none of which developed serious illness. That's a 0.00125 occurrence rate. I would imagine that rate is below any similar venues where people gathering there catch a cold (coronavirus). The point is that public health officials need to start recognizing the cost of significant restrictions and other precautions involving limiting mobility and social contact are not justified in environments where viral prevalence/infection rate, including breakthrough infections in the vaccinated population, is low (about 3%). I support vaccination requirements and, at this point, I believe they should only be mandated in indoor congregate gatherings for specific high risk age cohorts and/or people with certain medical conditions (epidemiologist now know at what age risks of serious COVID symptoms increases and what medical conditions predispose people to higher morbidity and mortality from exposure to SARS2). I also support wide spread surveillance testing to determine local prevalence rates and the need to implement or strike local mitigation measures and health protocols. We're entering a post pandemic phase of limited and controllable/manageable epidemic SARS2 infections. The need to shut things down or overly restrict access, mobility and social contact on a widespread basis should end (end the PHE at the national and state level) and citizens should be encouraged to return to normal activities while public health officials offer guidance on how to keep from getting sick from SARS2. Nothing new here but public reassurance and awareness will go a long way to reestablishing the public's confidence to return to normal activities of daily living.

Last sea day on Millennium and for Cruisellama a review of Tuscan Specialty restaurant for lunch. First, there are twoTuscan lunch services on sea days. One is a compacted regular dinner menu at $25pp. Second is the sea food special that features Lobster Thermadore and Cococonut Shrimp. Branzino and a red snapper are on the menu too. That one is $40pp. I would call the specialty dining up-charge worth it for the Tuscan Sea Food special. We had the coconut shrimp and lobster thermadore - dishes prepared as we would not get them in local restaurants ashore. Started with bread basket with fresh basil and olive oil, baked scallops, very nice, and a watermelon and feta cheese salad - a Celebrity fave of mine. The main courses were shrimp and lobster prepared in a heavy sauce with lots of cream and butter. You cannot go wrong with those ingredients appropriately seasoned. The coconut shrimp had a distinct yet subtle coconut flavor. The lobster, more of a subtle mushroom flavored sauce. Both excellent. I paired my lobster thermadore with a Pinot Noir (Cherry Pie). My wife likes reds and is not particular; she had a cab with her coconut shrimp - Conundrum and if you're not familiar it is really good and a pretty good copy of the much more expensive Caymus wines. There were two sides served with the mains - au gratin potatoes and a baked cauliflower also in a cheese sauce. Dessert was an English Trifle (a cake/custard sort of thing) one banana one strawberry. Table service was attentive as is the case in the specialty restaurants where the guest to wait staff ratio is much better than in the mains. Never a dirty plate or empty glass. The food, service and presentation were of very high quality and worth the up-charge of $40. Now specifically to Cruisellema's observation. You are correct there are some Tuscan improvements/upgrades but these are not as extensive as elsewhere. Here they cut some corners. The area of the ship the Tuscan is in was formerly the Olympia. That was before all the classic cruise liner themed restaurants on the Century and Millennium class ships were eliminated in 2016 and replaced with Tuscan Grill. Not a popular change at all. The old area that contained the Olympia area was cut in half so the Tuscan is smaller and a bit more intimate. The ceiling of the Olympia remains. That's about all that's left of some of the beautifully displayed artifacts of this cruise ship of the golden age. So, the furniture is getting a bit worn ("tired") as Cruisellama noted. The entrance is upgraded and the Tuscan area has a much different design. It's fine and doesn't distract from the excellent dining experience for the Seafood themed Tuscan lunch. Can't speak for the dinner or other sea day Tuscan lunch experiences. I think in general, the Tuscan has not been particularly popular but no question Celebrity has tried. The seafood menu is an example and it is good.

I did find the F&B manager and his assistant outside the entrance to the theater. When I asked (careful not to complain) about circulating bar staff I did not get the line, "we are trending to self service." In fact, they were very forthright about working out staffing issues as Celebrity gets back up to hosting ship's at capacity. There is no intention to not have circulating bar servers. In the interim wait staff are being instructed to ask if the guest would like a beverage from the bar. It seems that message may not be getting through to wait staff. Was told, "we will fix this" ..... and I got a bottle of Champagne in my room thanking us for letting them know. Classic Celebrity.

We will eat lunch in Tuscan tomorrow. I'll report back after that. I'll try to track down the Food and Beverage manager and ask about the lack of circulating bar staff. In the Ocean View Cafe, there is a walk up wine and beer service. There were two bar staff (in sommelier uniforms). For other alcoholic beverages to be consumed in the Ocean View the Sunset bar was it. Except for that first day right after boarding, it was easy to get a beverage in either of those two bars.

It's was and remains a beautiful ship. It sails from terminal 25 (at least it did for this sailing). If it continues to do so for your sailing, parking at the Palm Garage right across the street is a good value if you're on a 4d sailing. $15 per day amounts to $60 which is what Uber/Lyft cost from Coconut Creek area where we live. Drop your bags off first then U-Turn and head back to the Palm Garage on your right, get a ticket and find a place to park. There's construction going on within level 1 and it is closed off. We found a place on level 2. Palm Garage looked looked pretty full. Celebrity and Port Everglades have this check in thing down. I hope the scheduled arrival times continues. It really eases the crowds - we rarely book Concierge but did this time we did because it was cheaper than a balcony. We also booked a GTY cabin on the advice of my TA. Part of my CC was $50 pp incentive to do that. The cabin assignment was fine because the COVID era and health and safety protocols limit guests making plenty of cabins available. I did not know this but you get priority boarding by virtue of giving you the option of an 11:30 -12:00 arrival time (you also get priority departure - a QR code in your cabin scanned with your phone will take you to a web page to detail your departure preferences. 7:30 am was available - bags delivered to and picked up in terminal. Cabins aren't ready and Millennium doesn't have the same system as the Edge Class ships use where you can go straight to your cabin even if you board early. Sea Pass cards though are in an envelope on your cabin door. The check-in thing at a counter has been eliminated. It's all done with hand-held tablets as you go through the check-in process. Cabins were announced ready a little before 1pm. Concierge also gets you baggage priority. Our luggage was at our cabin when we got to it at 1pm. Your documents get checked several times. Check-in with the Celebrity App then print your boarding pass and test results. For us, it's easier to have paper copies even though they are also in digital form on our phones. I've found it frustrating to get your phone powered up after it shuts off automatically and locate the digital copies on your phone. YMMV. When you see other guests unprepared to present their boarding pass, passport and test results, fiddling around in their carry-on stuff or their phones, when you're prepared, you just walk right by them get through immigration and security checks and head to the gangway. Took us about 10 minutes from walking into the terminal to heading up the gangway. I think what made me think there were more guests aboard than there actually were was that the Ocean View Cafe and Sunset bar area, both all the way aft, were busy when we went there immediately after boarding. Not such that you couldn't get what you wanted to eat and drink easily, just a lot of people milling around with bags. My advice is to check everything with the porters curb side. Something else worth mentioning, short cruises over the weekends attract younger guests. Seems to me guests like the Everything Included packages. So, drinking starts right away and goes on all day every day. The pool bars (including Mast) are packed during the day. The Martini Bar is also mobbed from about 5pm until well after 9p. That there are less than 1000 guests makes me wonder how available service at a bar will be when Millennium class ships are full. We found two bars that were relatively calm and quiet - Rendevouz on deck 5 aft and the Sky Lounge on deck 11 all the way forward. Cellar Masters bar is the old Martini Bar, replaced with an Ice Bar, is adjacent to Sushi on 5. It's small so fills up fast. Also of note there is no bar servers right now wandering about and taking drink orders in the Ocean View Cafe or the Metropolitan. I suspect that's a staffing issue as have always seen them prior to COVID and they were plentiful on both Edge and Apex as well as Equinox all of which we've sailed aboard since July. There are some in the pool area I believe but we don't frequent the pool. Hope this stuff is helpful for those of you sailing on the Millennium the remainder of this year.

From Millennium again....... correction on one point: there are 962 passengers all US passport holders. I way over estimated how many guests were aboard. Will see more European and Canadian guests now that US boarders are open. Also the fitness center and spa were redone too as part of the 2019 refurb. Well done as I recall the original fitness area on Millennium was a bit tight. There seems to be quite a bit more space. There are 3 operational Peleton bikes and 2 not plugged in. Didn't see anyone using them. Big spin studio.

Reporting from Celebrity Millennium today. We're on Day 2 of a 4n Fort Lauderdale to Cozumel and back with sea days on either side of that port visit. Most of you Celebrity enthusiasts know that Millennium is the oldest ship in the Celebrity inventory. Her keel was laid in 1999 and she sailed her first revenue itinerary in July 2001 from Amsterdam to Baltic ports. Underwent a major refurb in 2019 and that's what I want to focus on. We sailed Millennium out of Singapore on an 14d Asian ports itinerary in 2016. At that time the ship was still ship-shape and didn't seem tired or worn at all. The refurb was quite extensive adding cabins, more suites and Celebrity's "Retreat" and upgrading existing ones with new design and appointments. The shops on deck 5, and the Rendezvous bar were redone and quite beautifully. An Ice Bar was added (smaller than the Solstice Class ships), Sushi on 5 was remolded and is adjacent to Celler Masters. The Ocean view Cafe was also modernized with new furniture. Big update that, IMO, really turned out well. The ship is sailing with about 2/3 capacity - around 1600 passengers or so. It's a popular cruise that attracted younger working folks. The age median is probably around 35-40. A few kids but not many. Few older looking folks but they're here. The price was right with incentives to book Concierge class and the "elevate" package. The price for a veranda with everything included was right around $650 pp and a $275 total cabin credit (booked through Delta Skymiles cruises). As you can see, the price was under $170 per day, per person. Pretty remarkable which is why we squeezed it in right before the holidays and another 12n S Caribbean itinerary out of Fort Lauderdale on Equinox,, December 10th. Typically high quality food in every included dinning area. We don't do too many specialty venues and this ship doesn't offer Murano - our fave. We did book lunch at Tuscan on the last sea day. That's reasonable and I've got to find a way to spend $275 CC in 72 hours. I will. no problem. Have heard positive comments on Sushi on 5 but walking by any of these, they look underutilized. This ship is sailing the winter from Fort Lauderdale into the Caribbean on all types of itineraries. Looking at the skyrocketing prices of cruises, this one is a bargain and does not sacrifice one bit any of the high quality service, friendly, engaging staff, great food and entertainment. I recommend this ship and the winter itineraries it is sailing out of easy to access Fort Lauderdale.

If you are over 70 (age restriction may vary) be very careful with selecting annual policies. For example, you're emergency evacuation coverage may be significantly less than what you might see on an auto-internet quote. That's just a start. The variables in coverage for cruiser over 70 are considerable. Lets say you have $100K emergency medical coverage on the policy disclosure. The fine print may state that benefit amount is for the entire period of the policy. If you have an event on your first cruise that costs $100K (not unusual for a serious medical condition that you need care for), you just used your entire benefit for the annual period. You're naked in that coverage for the remaining cruise in that year you might take Policies for over 70 cruisers are still a good value. Just make sure you speak with a representative or agent of the company you are considering purchasing an annual policy from and make sure you understand the usually considerable coverage limitations that will be placed on such policies. Also understand what primary and secondary payee means in the policy you are looking at. This can get complicated when you make a claim.

Apex arrived in Fort Lauderdale this morning and I'm back home. Couple of post cruise observations: Celebrity introduced a new cast and a new show called Crystalize on our last day before Fort Lauderdale. I had mentioned that I didn't like the "in the round " stage in the main theater. Well, that was stupidly wrong. Saw two current (Tree of Life and Rockumentary) and one brand new (Crystalize) shows that optimize the stage and take full advantage of the lighting and backgrounds that are very high tech. The visual presentation is very high quality and engaging. Also regarding Apex entertainment, it took a step up from the unpopular Edge entertainment in Eden (production cast members dressed up and floating around you while you ate in the Eden restaurant or sat at the adjoining bar. They are now doing a series of 30 minute short shows with specific dancers and vocalists that do these productions in Eden and The Club. The theme of the show in Eden was an Alice in Wonderland short called Night of Dreams. If you sit at the edge of the performance area you are right on top of the show and have a close-up clear view of the dancers, acrobats and aerialists that are performing it. Stunning costumes, dance, aerial routines and vocals. The short in The Club is called Caravan and features more acrobatics and aerialists. Very cool. Debarking somewhere in the neighborhood of 1300 guests should be easy. It was. The crew also had to pass through immigration. This was done starting at 5am and finished up by 7am with everyone returning to the ship. Guests could debark at 7:30 if they carried their own luggage off. After that, it was by luggage tag number. We were off the ship by 8:20 and at home by 9:05. We live in Coconut Creek just a shade north of Fort Lauderdale and Port Everglades. It's a 20 minute Uber ride. The terminal at the port uses facial recognition technology to clear you through immigration. You show your passport, get a photo and you're done. Remember long lines to clear C&I? Gone. Of course there was one ship - us - with few guests. I suspect it may be a little harder as cruising ramps back up. Cruising now is the best! Overall, the crossing on Apex was most excellent. We like the shows and food so our cruising days are filled with these. We don't gamble so no casinos for us although they are busy in the evenings. We eat breakfast and lunch in the Ocean View Cafe (buffet style). The food choices there are astonishingly varied and too numerous to go through them but you will find something new that you like, every day. Presentation is very appealing and the chefs take a lot of pride in that. No specialty dining this cruise. We think the main dining room and Ocean View food is so good and it's good enough for us. We dined in the evenings after cocktails at the Eden bar in the Cosmopolitan. We sought out our waiter from a previous Apex cruise and found him (Joel from Peru). He's an eight year veteran and knows his way around a formal dining table. New menu each night of signature dishes specific to each of the four main dining rooms. The rest are called classics and these are the same in each restaurant. We ate in Normandy, one of the complimentary main restaurants, once. The waiter offered us a dish that was not on the menu - a bone in filet of beef. I have no doubt the kitchen had extra cuts of this high quality beef that would normally be offered and served at Fine Cuts on Five - a specialty steakhouse restaurant. Fabulous. The ship grew on me as time passed. Not an Edge fan after our intial sailing on that new ship a year or so ago. I carried that attitude to Apex. It was undeserved. I grumbled in a post above on day 6 of this 14n sailing. Over the following 8d, there were just too many things that we fell into a routine with - exercise in the morning, alternating a light breakfast and heavier late lunch with a full breakfast and a light lunch, cocktails at Eden, a show, then dinner. Never worrying about keeping your house clean, making beds, doing laundry, preparing meals. I napped when I felt like it. Watched a lot of good movies in our cabin. It's a great life! I could have easily kept going on Apex with this routine.

I have no doubt that part of what is playing here is that Caribbean ports - the ones that are ostensibly open to cruise ships - are limiting how many ships they will host. Part of that is country or locally specific mitigation measures to reduce cruise passenger overload in the surrounding city. As RCL sets out to ramp up sailings, they're finding that operationally berthing space is limited and port agents may be finding local authorities reluctant to have 6000 or more cruise passengers descend on their city. There's still a lot of COVID fear and apprehension. I know berthing space was a factor on our recent Apex sailing that was to port in Lisbon Portugal. That port call got cancelled and replaced with a sea day. This weekend there was an article in the Economist about Asia reopening to tourism. The most striking finding involving this process was that the Asian countries that most depended on tourism as a staple of their economies were the one's opening up much slower to tourists, being selective about which citizens can visit for a holiday and were likely to have more restrictive COVID mitgation measures in place. One factor dictating slow openings according to the various Asian travel ministers interviewed for the article was concern about overwhelming hotels, bars and restaurants that had been closed for nearly 2y. One has to acknowledge, restarting travel and leisure dependent economies is not a whole lot different than restarting a cruise ship, just on a much larger scale.

I just returned from a 14n west bound transatlantic crossing on Celebrity Apex. Up until a day before boarding, Apex had a no-mask policy outdoors and indoors. I received an email from Celebrity the day before the sail date announcing masks would be required, regardless of vax status, both indoors and outdoors except when dining or drinking. I learned 2nd hand that the reason for this change was that on the sailing just before ours - 7n transit from Piraeus (Athens) via a few Greek Isle stops to Barcelona - there were 7 positive COVID tests among both passengers and crew. There were 56 close contacts identified and quarantined. First, cruise ships most likely have unpublished protocols that determine what mitigation measures are required aboard based on certain metrics or the COVID policies of nations they are calling on (BTW, Spain requires masking on all commercial conveyances and this may have been playing a part as well). In this case some number of positive tests among guests and crew may have triggered the indoor masking mitigation measure. Alternatively, mitigation measures within the EU suffer from a dizzying number of options. We had just sailed from Piraeus on Apex in August. Despite Greece formally requiring masks in doors in restaurants, bars, ferryrs and so forth, They weren't required in doors on Apex for that sailing. See the helpful link below to sort through these. The reason I'm posting here is to relate one crew members take on the positives - all Europeans - on the cruise just prior to mine. I rarely if ever hear a Celebrity Crew member say anything disparaging about other passengers or crew policies. So, I was surprised to hear a server in Al Bacio (Celebrity's version of Starbucks) go off about how irresponsible and disrespectful of other passengers and crew that those passengers who had somehow contracted COVID were. The sentiment was that clearly those passengers didn't take adequate precautions to avoid getting sick. That may or may not be true. I also think this crew member was aware of other specifics, she did not disclose to me .... antimaskers?), about how these 7 got infected such specifics casting doubts about how safety conscious they had been before boarding. The point is that this crew member - sample size of one but they talk among each other so I'm assuming this is a wide spread sentiment - are very aware of the risks of passengers who either unknowingly or knowingly take risks that increases their potential to get COVID. Why is that? Well, this server was one of the 56 contacts. She was quarantined for 10 days and tested twice before getting released back to work. Crew hate quarantine. They did it on joining ship's staff for 2 weeks, hate it, and hate being sent back into it because of some passenger who she believes - maybe for good reason - behaved in risky ways and got infected. So, yes, crew are watching the behaviors of passengers and fellow crew members. They care deeply about their jobs and hate missing work and the potential of getting sent home if they become infected. It behooves us to respect those fears and do what we can to keep ourselves from being exposed and potentially infecting them and the consequences they will suffer because of that. https://reopen.europa.eu/en

I know lots of cruise enthusiasts need to be connected to the internet for work and social purposes. So this won't apply: I'm not going to book a cruise ship on the basis of their internet service. We all need to be disconnected for a time. It's like working out. It's good for you.

On your first question, No. The weather has been fine. Second question, no it's not a bandwidth issue per se'. The main problem, I'm told, is that the Satellite that the ship tunes to for it's internet connection is low on the horizon. That induces noise and a less than clean internet connection. There's not much the tech staff can do about it. It's a problem on all the cruise ships and is affected by where a ship is located. Third question, I don't know. I'm not an Apple user so I'm not paying attention.

Left Tenerife on Sunday, 10/16 for the crossing. First thing that went down that evening is an announcement of no more masks inside. That was the ongoing measure I described up thread and probably the result of 7 positives and 56 contacts (crew + guests, quarantined, all negative x2 and released in 5d) on the Greek Isles itinerary out of Piraeus ending in Barcelona immediately prior to the Apex Translant from there. Masks inside is also a typical requirement for dining inside in some EU countries. Those are easing. Ports in Southern Spain are very nice and accessible from where cruise ships port. We experienced lots of port and date changes. In the end we visited Alicante, Cartegena and Cadiz. The Cadiz port call required Celebrity curated tours only. They were inexpensive and pulled off pretty well. No complaints except you could not leave the tour group to dine or shop. Both these tours had a restroom, coffee and snack stop. The venues where we stopped in for around 30 minutes each were nice. One drink and a snack were included. Both port calls in the Canary Islands - Santa Cruz and Tenerife - specified curated tours. Again, they were pulled off nicely. Tenerife, the largest Island in the Canary islands, is stunningly beautiful. Both of these islands are off the NW African coast. You have to hunt for itineraries from the major cruise lines that visit them. They are European country destination vacation spots. Just starting to reemerge from the pandemic that was tough on these places as their economies are about 90% tourism based. Visiting them is totally worth it. It's just too bad the COVID restrictions limited shopping and dining. Hopefully, these will be coming to an end going forward. No one on Apex staff that I have inquired about this is the question of what happens to sailings on Apex from US ports after the CSO expires on 10/31, assuming it's not renewed. It might be but I'd say it's a 70/30 proposition it won't be renewed. This sailing is not involved as it ends on 10/24 in Fort Lauderdale. The next sailing is a 4d media event promoting the porting of Apex in Fort Lauderdale. You can book it but that's what will be going on. After that it's 7 or 9d Caribbean itineraries. Something of note on this west bound translant is the presence of a persistent swell from north to south, typical this time of year. We're sailing on a course of 277 degrees. The swell hits the forward starboard side of Apex. It makes the ride a bit uncomfortable with a combined, but gentle, pitch and roll motion. The weather though has been nice with clear skies, low winds and temps in the mid 70s. Food has been of high quality and presentation. Service very good with only 1280 something guests. I like the 4 main restaurants with different themes thing. Each has a signature entr'e and desert but they essentially all have the same menu. There are other specialty restaurants that we booked a dining package for on our last Apex sailing out of Piraeus, not this one though. Worth a visit but not 2x. The food in the mains is really good. Edge class ships feature the "Magic Carpet." This is a platform the moves up and down from the middle of the ship. It's a bar and restaurant and also a debarkation platform on port days. On offer was a 5 course meal with wine service on Saturday evening while in the port of Tenerife. It was $125pp. A tidy sum, indeed. We didn't partake but comments from those that did thought it was worth it. Each to his own. It is a neat feature but it's windy at sea, not in port or just leaving port like it was scheduled in Tenerife. The internet is not good. A combination of satellite position and something affecting the network aboard has produced poor service and several outages. Adjust your expectations. There are naturally occurring limits to satellite based internet that cruise ships can't completely eliminate. The iLounge staff aboard Apex has been very accommodating in either refunding the cost of internet packages or restoring minutes. Classic Celebrity ..... if something is wrong, they'll try to make it right. Entertainment is unique to Edge class ships. Full production shows are in the main theater that is an almost in the round venue. The stage is round, seating is unchanged but it changes the sight lines. All of them are fine. There are also limited production shows in what is called the Club (a small venue with limited sight lines. OK if you are sitting right on the center stage but poor everywhere else). But the shows are quite good featuring more dancing and acrobatics than in the main theater. Eden also features limited production shows. In all three venues, even with a less than 100% guest load, you need to be in the venue at least 30m before show time if you want a good seat with good sight lines. Overall, this is a beautifully appointed and technologically very modern cruise ship with excellent food and a level service in all areas across all departments that is pretty high. Pricing has gone through the roof in the last year with the appearance that this company is shooting for cruisers that want exclusivity (the Retreat) and have a lot of money to spend. Among building in two story suites and private pools that go for $20K on a 7d itinerary on Edge class ships, Celebrity also moved to an "everything included" concept that covers gratuities, classic beverages, and unlimited internet. For us, I've done the math and the everything included options saves money compared to buying the base fare and adding the extras. If your on a strict cruise budget you can save without any of the typical bar or internet costs. If you are Elite, Elite Plus or Zenith on Celebrity, one can manage the base fare and taking advantage of the bar perk which is classic drinks in any bar from 5 - 7pm and the internet perk that is 120, 240 or unlimited depending on status. We're Elite Plus and doing that on this sailing. We also booked a Deluxe inside cabin (they're bigger) when this sailing was first booked in the spring of 2019 as cabin fares were high on this ships planned inaugural season that got COVID'ed. Maybe should have had the TA that booked this pursue an upgrade to a balcony but by the time it seemed certain this cruise would go, bookings and pricing had increased. But instead of a 7d cruise in a balcony cabin for 2 costing around $1200pp (not including your bar tab, internet or specialty dining), the new Celebrity fare concept now cost a shade over $1500pp. That's $170/person/day with the old fare structure compared to $215/person/day with the new one. Just a slick method by Celebrity to get more money out of your pocket up front. I'm fine with that, others may not be. Inflation is a fact of life if you want to continue cruising.

Apex Translant Sailing Update removed and reposted as a new topic in this thread.

I didn't see any children but am not aware of specific rule preventing it. No European passport holders because they can't enter the US (until 11/8/21) probably drove no kids aboard. IOW, it's not a no kids rule. It's hard to get into and travel in Europe as US passport holding adults. Traveling with US kids in Europe is hard hard and expensive giving testing requirement.

I'm aboard this sailing. We're currently ported in Gran Canaria, having started in Barcelona and porting in Alicante, Cartegena and Cadiz. This is day 6, we have one more port call in Tenerife on day 7 (tomorrow) then a 7d transatlantic crossing ending up in Fort Lauderdale when Apex will cruise this winter in the Caribbean . There are around 1300 guests - US passport holders only. European pass port holders can't get into the US so, can't sail on this crossing. I am told that the last three Apex sailings from Piraeus all had less than 1000 passengers due to poor sales. I originally booked this cruise in 2019. It was L&S'ed from '20 to 2021. I've lost count of how many times the dates and itineraries were changed on this sailing.... .something like 6 or 7X. Required patience and flexibility. Had tours scheduled with local vendors (Tours by Locals) in Seville (Cadiz) Gran Canaria and Tenerife that I had to cancel after we had already boarded. Celebrity mandated only ship's tours in all but Alicante and Cartegena. The reason for that as closely as I can determine was based on the cruise immediately preceding this one and sailing from Piraeus to the Greek Isles. This sailing experienced 5 positive COVID cases early on in the cruise -those infected - all Europeans - most likely became so while traveling to Athens. Celebrity sent all five home and identified 56 contacts among passengers and crew. These were quarantined and tested (2X, 4d apart) and none of them were positive on either test. It's likely this experience prompted Celebrity to impose additional COVID mitigation measures on this Apex sailing. Masks were required indoors except when eating or drinking or in your cabin. Tours were restricted...... you had to stay with the group, no shopping or dining. We took a ship's tour in Cadiz that included a Flamenco performance. Strangely, two tour bus loads of guests (around 60 guests) were crammed into a very small venue with poor ventilation and masks not required. That process was a serious compromise of the mitigation measures that Celebrity imposed on Apex for this sailing. Frustrating...... and these are company, ship specific imposed measures. They aren't coming from local or national health authorities. Also, and I posted about this up thread, he local or national health authorities. The Flamenco performance made all of these inconveniences worth it all risks considered. I'm not sure Celebrity condoned the large number of guests in a small venue but will ask this question of the Shore Excursion manager. The indoor mask requirement and the tour restrictions stand out as major inconveniences but understandable given Celebrity's pursuit of a zero COVID outbreaks goal. One can argue that none of these restrictions were sensible given Spain's low viral prevalence and high vax rates. I'm not allowing myself to get worked up about it. We're cruising on Apex. I'm not a big Edge class fan. The Apex build tried to overcome some of the Edge issues. Most of these were behind the scenes stuff that involved placement of serving stations and storage. Apex also changed some of the seating in Eden. The Club - a small performance venue - is functionally inadequate. Sight lines are poor unless you are seated right next to the small stage area. I don't like the "in the round" set-up in the main theater but that's my problem. I think my wife would disagree but I've heard some grumbling from crew - at least the ones in contact with guests. I rarely hear this from Celebrity crew and never from officers. The first one I heard was the quarantining of crew from the incident I mentioned above that lasted 10d and during which 2 AG tests were conducted before they were released back to work. Other general complaints include being on the ship for 5.5 months without being allowed to get off the ship (there are exceptions). Compared to our recent Apex sailing out of Piraeus in early August, the crew friendliness and willingness to engage with guests, truly genuine, we experienced on that sailing, there seems to be less of that on this sailing 2.5 months later. Crew not as happy and buoyant. I get that. These are minor nits but nonetheless make me think less of Edge class ships compared to Millennium and Solstice class ships. Given the option to sail from Fort Lauderdale between Apex and Equinox, both home ported there this winter, I'll chose Equinox every time. Price would also dictate my choice. Apex doesn't sell well and discounted fares are common. I'd book Apex for the right discounted fare. Also, and I mentioned this up thread, travel in Europe during COVID is tricky. You need to do a lot of pre-cruise work and planning to make sure you are in compliance with the COVID regulations for the airline you travel to Eruope on and the countries you visit for anything other than transit. The EU has recommended to member states is to not accept the CDC record of vaccination as proof of it. Too many forgeries. You'll need a digital COVID certificate with a valid QR code to move freely within the Schengen region. I applied for an received a Swiss COVID Certificate. If you don't have a digital COVID Certificate with a QR code, you can still travel in Europe, you just have to get tested every 2-5d depending on the country's COVID rules. Any questions on this sailing just ask.

Here's some good news about that: The G7 met a week ago to discuss a full recovery of the global travel and leisure. The recognized that the mess that are variable entry requirements between countries and no uniform way to verify vaccination status to travel and pledged to work to obtain these core principals: These seven core principles are: — Future-proofing the transportation sector against future health threats — Ensuring the fair treatment and safety of essential transport personnel —Respecting privacy and data protection in implementing vaccination certification solutions —Reaffirming the pre-eminence of scientific evidence in planning international travel policy —Ensuring fairness and equity in respective national responses —Maintaining regular international and multilateral engagement —Delivering a safe, sustainable and resilient recovery It's political theater at its best but that's what comes out of these meetings. The real work is behind the scenes with lower level officials representing the interests of their particular countries and hammering out details. I don't think there is any doubt that PH officials around the world believe, and the science supports that belief, that vaccination against SARS2 is the way to prevent it from being transmitted in conveyances and venues that typically are a part of the travel and leisure economies. The cruise lines certainly know that, other conveyances will undoubtedly follow suit despite the revenue deficits actions that require vaccination to board an airplane, train, ferry, etc. might produce. What follows then is, like a passport, a mechanism to create a forgery proof vehicle to certify a travelers vaccination status. There are plenty of these already out there. All that's needed is interoperability and in these times, that is not hard to achieve.

Yes, this definitely applies. The problem that I have with FAQs is that the question asked (formulated by RCL) either is too narrow and doesn't cover all the intricacies that you might find in an appropriate algorithm or doesn't answer the question thoroughly ....... those two points account for most of the questions asked in this thread. A perfect example of that is that it appeared that some posters were unaware that a monitored AG test via telemed will provide either an email or, if you're using the NAVICA app, an entry into your profile certifying the result matching your name. That's rather important to understand when one walks into a retail pharmacy to buy a "self test" or wonders which "self test" is going to be accepted by the cruise line to board. Another thing that might be unclear is how the country within which the port you are sailing from may have different entry protocols although I'll grant this is usually made pretty clear in emails from every one of the last 4 sailings I've made from both foreign and US ports with Celebrity.

This may be entirely clear to those reading this thread but I'll reiterate it here. There is a difference between organizations or groups that use "home self tests" (e.g., BinaxNow) to screen for COVID positives and the cruise industry doing that who are seeking an as close to zero probability of having a COVID outbreak onboard ship as they can get. Let's just stick with the cruise industries use of "home self tests." I'm only familiar with the Abbott product BinaxNow, there are others out there. BinaxNow comes in two versions: A self test that is not proctored or monitored by a person trained in administering it and evaluating the result and one that is. The self test without monitoring has two tests per box, the monitored version has one. The self test without monitoring has two tests to lower the probability that the test produces a false negative. You are instructed to do the 2nd test at least 36h after the first. There's a booklet in the kit containing instructions on how to do the test. If you're using the associated NAVICA Phone App, instructions on how to do the test and a process to record the result are on the App. After you do that there is a permanent record of each test you take. These tests are all "uncertified." My view is that these tests are great for family or small group gatherings where attendees want to insure everyone is COVID free. Not perfect for doing that but a step up from nothing. The monitored self test follows the same process as the unmonitored. The difference is that with the monitored test a trained test administrator, via a telehealth visit, walks you through the testing process and will read the result card, then certify the results in your NAVICA App. At the result tab in the App there will be a "Certified" designation as well as all the required information about the test. That designation is not in the unmonitored self test. Ok, now that we have that cleared up, here's RCL's position on "self tests:" For fully vaccinated guests only, we accept self-administered COVID-19 tests taken under live video supervision (or per recent change, RCL will administer the test for you at the terminal). Telehealth self-tests taken at home must meet these requirements: Per U.S. CDC guidance, only vaccinated guests may present self-administered telehealth COVID-19 test results at the terminal to satisfy the pre-cruise testing requirement. The test must have Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. FDA. The self-test process must happen under live supervision on a video call with a telehealth representative. The telehealth provider must issue you a result document that includes all the necessary information. If you're fully vaccinated, you'll get an antigen test from RCL in the terminal prior to boarding depending on the cruise port you're sailing from. If the cruise port your sailing from does that, there is no need to obtain "self tests." If you aren't vaxed, you can't use any kind of "self test." The AG test has to be administered and resulted in a clinic and by a health care professional. The result is good for 48h. Plan accordingly. The reason for these protocols is that it's easy to forge your test result using the unmoniotred self test, less so with the monitored one but most agencies aren't accepting either of these self tests as proof of being COVID free if you are unvaxed. The EU membership does not accept any self tests for vaxed or unvaxed passengers and the cruise ships operating from EU ports will follow that rule. In this case only clinic administered AG tests are accepted. For vaxed passengers that can use a clinic based AG test, this can get tricky planning when to get these. I'd recommend only the Rapid PCR (molecular) tests available in 24h or less with a 72h life if you are cruising from a a European port. See my post (link below) on traveling within or embarking or debarking from a European port. Also note that in the case of cruises from Athens (Piraeus) and Barcelona, if you have proof of vaccination (the CDC Card will work for now) you do not need to get a pre-boarding antigen test. The line will test you at their cost (takes about 20-30m in my experience) at the terminal. This protocol may differ from the port's country protocols. Make sure you are in compliance with those when arriving by air and before boarding at the terminal. NB: RCL has recently announced that in the case of a required antigen test to board, they will test you only if vaxed ..... for $99..... at (outside) the terminal. Results in "an hour." Getting an antigen test on your own is usually less expensive and if your insurance covers them for travel purposes, they are free. See the home page for more details with pros and cons from Matt. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/25542-traveling-to-and-within-europe-to-begin-or-disembark-from-a-cruise-in-the-covid-era/ Matt, please correct or validate any of this at your leisure.

I made a post in another thread about "The New Travel Realty" precipitated by the pandemic. Some dismissed the idea that travel had become more difficult, especially within the US for US Citizens. When I suggested the US should adopt the EU's approach (Vaccine Passports and Track and Trace protocols), that idea received howls of disapproval. The facts support significant barriers to global travel that did not exit prior to the beginning of the pandemic almost 2y ago. I read an article today that globally the airline industry alone is losing nearly $2 million dollars A DAY year on year. The reason is the mess of COVID related travel regulations and restrictions imposed by different countries. My sense is that there is significant pressure coming from travel and leisure industry organizations for international cooperation between countries to arrive at coordinated and consistent COVID related travel regulations between countries. Right now, these are non-existent. Some of this is political and what is going on with regard to travel between and within the US, Canada and Europe is definitely being influenced by politics with travelers as collateral damage. Many may say this isn't going to happen. I still think it will and there are plenty of signs that the unvaxed are going to be in a class by themselves as travelers at some point in the not to distant future. Follow the money. The vax requirement to dine indoors, go to shows, enter gyms and sporting events and a whole lot more are already present in most of Europe despite protests against them. Studies I'm reading suggest when it comes to a financial cost to not get vaxed (losing your job for instance) people get vaccinated. I believe that when your travel life gets complicated and you want to travel globally but can't do that easily without getting vaxed, people will get vaxed or stay home. YMMV. The most disruptive recent change is a move by the EUC or EU member states to not accept any record of vaccinations other than the EU authorized and issued COVID Certificate. That's because forgery was rampant and there were plenty of documented leakers - infected with forged proof of vaccination (not breakthrough infections). Not just US passport holders. These EUC directives are recommendations and Spain, for example, among others still accept the CDC vax card. If you are un-vaccinated, you can travel to Europe and within it but you have to get tested at regular intervals varying by country from every 2d to 7d depending on the test (AG or PCR) to participate in most of anything resembling travel life. Your test has to be administered by testing units authorized in Europe to do so. Exceptions are common (e.g. recovery with proof of it). There is also this circumstance involving variance in enforcement of the travel restrictions by gate agents and even by immigration control agents. It's incredibly hard to keep up with it all. Best advice I've heard is know the travel restrictions for the country you are going to and comply with them. If agents don't check your docs good for you. If they do, you're prepared to not get detained and delayed. See travel restrictions by departure and destination points here here: https://www.iata.org/en/publications/timatic/ We traveled by air between Miami and Lisbon on September 27th, spent 2n there and left again by air from Lisbon to Geneva Switzerland and are, as I write this, in Lausanne. Next stop Barcelona Spain. Portugal is adhering to the EU Guidelines but are in a grace period (that might be indefinite but don't count on it) allowing acceptance of the CDC Vaccination card as proof of vaccination. To enter Portugal you have to complete two on-line entry forms: One, the report of your vaccination status; two a track and trace document - on this form you list your flight, arrival date and seat number. Once you submit the application, you'll get an email with a QR code on it. The information is held securely for 14d then destroyed. You can still travel to Portugal if un-vaccinated but have to conform to specific COVID testing intervals while in country (unless only transiting). When you are tested under these testing protocols, you get an email with result and QR code. On entry to venues, including restaurants, you may be asked to show your vax or testing status. The best proof of vaccination or negative testing is the EU COVID Certificate (QR code kept in a phone app). While I had to show proof of vaccination (my CDC card) and the QR code on paper that I had completed the arrival document as well as my Passport to the airline gate agent on check in, that's the last time I showed the entry form or results of COVID testing. Boarder agent at the entering Lisbon airport asked for passport and proof of vaccination (the CDC card, again). He noted he could not scan the CDC card into a central registry. Apparently that didn't affect our travels in Portugal but could have and suggest health authorities will get stricter as time pases While in Portugal, we dined in multiple restaurants and stayed at a hotel in Lisbon both stating they required proof of vaccine to be inside or negative COVID test. I never had these documents checked although it is required to mask indoors and we were reminded by proprietors or staff if we forgot. People following masking rules indoors was particularly noticeable. IOW, compliance rates inside venues appeared to be high. The mandated indoor masking rule will be dropped on November 1st in Portugal. That is because the vax rate in Portugal for those eligible 12y and up - same as everywhere else - approaches 90%. 99% for over 65s. The 2d we were there, I was told that the entire country had just over 300 new cases reported in the past week, no deaths in several weeks and a percent positivity rate under 1%. When I told that person FL was cheering a drop to 4500 new cases per week and a positivity rate of 11.5%, with around 200 deaths in the state, he was stunned. On to Switzerland. Entry screening for the Swiss is strict as you'd expect. Boarder agents will not accept the CDC card as proof of vaccination. You have two options: One, apply for a Swiss COVID certificate in advance on-line (hard and I'll get to that) or two, follow the prescribed testing protocol. Either way, there is a Swiss COVID app to record your vaccine or testing status. You must submit an entry document on line. Same as Portugal. Switzerland is not an EU member state. You can apply for a Swiss COVID certificate unlike the EU COVID certificate - only EU citizens can apply for one. Its not hard to submit the application on line. The problem is that the typical French to English translation presents circumstances that do not mean the same thing. For example do you need to have your vaccinations certified by stamp or seal? By an MD or by anyone responsible for administering the vaccine. With multiple emails flowing back and forth between the Swiss Health authorities and me indicating I was being denied even though I thought I submitted all the required documents. My daughter, a Swiss resident, told me to call. One phone call with an English speaking health agent solved everything and I now have a Swiss COVID Certificate in my Swiss COVID Phone App certifying my vaccine status (Pfizer). Some pointers to applying for the Swiss COVID certificate if you want to go that route to make European travel easier. You have to provide proof you are traveling to Switzerland and spending some time there (how much time I don't know). I sent copies of my flight tickets and said I was visiting my daughter and gave her address in Luasanne. No dates certain just that I was arriving on September 30th. The Pfizer vaccine administration has to be exactly 21d apart. Moderna is at least 4w (28d). Not all vaccines are approved. I think the AZ and J&J vaccines are. Get your vaccination record from a certified registry - forget the CDC card. Certified registries exist in your state and within digital heath records in large health care systems. Mine was from the U of Miami Health Care System. I had my vax record signed and stamped by an Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner (no raised seal required). My two Pfizer shots were 19d apart, not the required 21d. The life saver was my booster that I received on September 15th. That cinched it for my English speaking agent from the Swiss Health Department. She remarked I was the first US passport applicant for the Swiss COVID certificate to have a booster. Hooray. That I have the Swiss COVID Certificate is a big deal - it's good for a year and works throughout the EU Economic Region (that's everywhere in Europe) as proof of vaccination. That certificate means no quarantines, no testing to enter any European country and no problems entering any venue by showing my Swiss COVID Certificate. Enforcement of the requirement to be vaccinated to enter most venues in Switzerland is legally enforceable on the proprietor by Swiss Public Health authorities. Fines for failure to do that are steep. I was fully prepared to show my newly obtained Swiss COVID Certificate to boarder agents upon arrival in Geneva. Instead, we walked off the plane, into the main terminal, got our baggage and went to the train station! No Checks for documents at all! I learned that once you are in the Schengen region and have cleared your first entry point, in our case Portugal, you're done. You can move freely - as far as boarder crossings are concerned - within the Schengen region. Next stop is Barcelona Spain where we'll board Apex for a 14n translant back to Fort Lauderdale. The easiest and least stressful part of this month long trip ..... as it should be. Readers can scoff at these Vaccination Certificates and requirements to be vaccinated to participate in near normal life but health authorities, at least in Europe, don't care about the myriad reasons people give about why they can't get vaccinated either in Europe or travelers from the US. They are tolerant when there are legitimate reasons present but just because you don't want one in the presence of no legitimate reason doesn't fly. Proof of the value of this approach is found in comparing COVID deaths/100,000 population, new COVID cases and any other metric you might wish to use to measure the impact of COVID between the EU nations with high vax rates, Eastern European nations with low vax rates and the US, somewhere in between explains why Europeans are safely returning to a semblance of normal and places with low vax rates may be returning to "normal" but not without continued viral spread that is hard to control with so many hosts still left to infect who may also develop COVID.

Self tests are worth talking about. First, there are several approved by the FDA for use in the US only. The question of timing the execution of these self tests has been answered above. Even though personnel checking you in to a cruise may not know the difference between a self test and a proctored and certified self test, I would recommend not using any self tests unless they are proctored and certified. The BinaxNow self tests both pair with the NAVICA App - easy to use and reliable as long as you have an internet connection and battery power on your phone. Carry paper copies of the result and QR code. Things are different in Europe. The EUC Health Committee "recommends" only one self test - Abbott PanBio and THIS TEST MUST BE ADMINISTERED BY A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL. I am assuming that this test is similar to the on-line proctor monitored, Abbott BinaxNow test kit and is an acceptable self test within the EU. The PanBio and BinaxNow proctor monitored self test are identical except for packaging - same reagents, same process. Still, the BinaxNow is by the letter of the rules an unacceptable self test even when it is proctored and certified. You can only obtain a PanBio test within Europe so, if you want to use these, plan your arrival and testing timing accordingly. They do cost around $30 per test kit (only one test per box on the proctored and certified self-tests). Better yet, get a PCR test - in the US you can find a rapid one (under 24h) for around $120-150. 24-72 for less some may be covered by your insurance (another topic altogether). As far as I know any molecular (PCR) test will be sufficient to prove you don't have COVID. Test either before leaving the US or once in Europe. There are readily available testing sites in Europe but few of them speak English. Keep in mind, the EUC "recommends" that member states follow their COVID related health guidance. They don't mandate it. The problem with that is that COVID testing entry requirements may vary by country or even airport and change frequently. Talking to EU citizens, enforcement of the strictest rules is mixed - best advice they give is go with the strictest rules. Here's the most frequently updated travel site. The in country US embassy sites are also pretty good. https://www.iata.org/en/publications/timatic/ If you plan on visiting Europe for a cruise. I'm about to post my travel experience getting there and within three nations; Portugal, Switzerland and Spain in the Celebrity/Silver Sea Thread.

I'm not confident that US airlines won't impose a requirement to show you've either been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID to board. The cruise industry has taken the lead here, doing just that. Others will follow if they are following the science and the facts on this. Other venues, some already doing it, will require proof of vaccination to enter. Here's the problem for the US. As a nation, we are woefully unprepared to leverage technology to insure people moving about aren't spreading SARS2. This isn't rocket science. The EU has been doing it since July. EU citizens can't get around and experience unrestricted mobility and/or behaviors without an EU COVID Certificate. It's digital, has a QR code and can't be forged. A system like this should be in use in North America to better control the spread of the virus. I'm also an advocate for track and trace apps. The EU has implemented both measures and despite the usual suspects complaining about privacy and big brother, the system is almost universally used. Stupidly, the US can't get it's act together here and make this technology widely used. There is going to be resistance; there's the politics at play ..... again. The legality of this approach here isn't entirely clear (that's already been tested in Europe and it's legal).

You cannot obtain the EU COVD Certificate unless you are an EU citizen. You cannot travel within most of the EU countries without an EU COVID certificate. Each country, though, has separate COVID protocols for entering and traveling within it. Spain, for example, will accept the CDC card as proof of vaccination for entry. Throughout Europe countries have different protocols for both entering the country and entry into venues, e.g. restaurants, bars, shows, etc. Enforcement at the entrance to a venue may be good, e.g., Switzerland that is very strict about this or Greece which may be less so. What is required is thorough preparation on your part to travel in the foreign countries you plan to travel to and within. That includes looking at the US State department's Embassy web site for the countries you plan on traveling. Tourist web sites can also be good resources. Your airline usually has up to date entry info. I've found this site to be reliable with respect to current information. It changes frequently. https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm