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Celebrity Changed Their Mask Policy Yesterday...


Gears

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We sail on Celebrity Silhouette on February 25th. Of course we are watching the changes in protocols and requirements. Sailings embarking February 12th and after...masks only required in the Theatre or Casino. YYYYEAAAAHHHH!!!

This was published yesterday for US embarkations:

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Effective for all sailings departing February 12, 2022 forward, masks will not be required onboard for vaccinated guests unless attending activities in the Theatre or Casino.  Masks will continue to be required for unvaccinated guests, under 12 years old, at all times indoors except while eating or drinking.

Masks are not required in ports of call unless required by local governments.

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Link: https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/celebrity-healthy-at-sea-protocols.pdf

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Aboard Celebrity Reflection now departing Port Everglades on a 7n W. Caribbean itinerary today. Grand Cayman port call was eliminated and a sea day added in place of it.  I can confirm the no mask policy is in effect aboard reflection. We did a B2B. On Friday of the preceding cruise, a 7n E. Caribbean, there were rumors of the no masks required indoors on this cruise policy but not officially confirmed by any staff that we asked about it. 

When B2B'ers gathered at 9am in the Tuscan Grill to be processed off and then back aboard, still no announcements or official confirmation despite that the change was published on February 11th at the Celebrity web site (see link above). Ample opportunity to do that was present and I had the web page with the change in protocol on my cell phone. Not my place to say anything and I didn't. 

As we walked off the ship around 9:40am, I heard the cruise director make an announcement to crew that guests would not be required to mask except in the theater and casino. Not sure why in the theater - there were rarely more than 50 guests at either the 7 or 9pm performances. Plenty of room to distance. May have been a production cast protective measure but this one is a bit strange.

I'd say 80% of newly arriving guests were wearing masks indoors as they boarded. An indication that the policy change was not widely disseminated by email or text to booked guests before the cruise. At 12:30pm the cruise director made an announcement regarding the new policy. That dropped the masks for a few but still a lot of folks were still wearing them. Hard to tell if by choice or that they didn't know about the change. We also heard a server in the Ocean View Cafe tell a guest who had approached a serving area to put on their mask. The guest turned to my wife who was unmasked and asked her if the mask policy had, indeed, changed. She affirmed that it had and noted the word may not be out yet among crew. Probably should have been but there is always the 10% We left it for supervisors to deal with that. Not my place to say anything and we didn't.   

Celebrity's change in masking policy was included in the notices placed in our cabin. It is carefully worded: "required in the theater or casino, optional and encouraged elsewhere for the protection of everyone's health." Placards are conspicuously displayed outside the theater and the casino stating masks required to enter.  TBC, there is both medical and scientific research support for and against masking as an effective means of preventing the spread of SARS2. It is however, highly situational with varying degrees of protection provided depending on multiple factors. I think the community of biomedical engineers and virologists that look at this stuff have concluded that in indoor congregate settings like cruise ships where social distancing and limited contact between persons cannot be maintained, AND, there is circulating virus, viral spread is diminished with masking.

Reflection had a documented COVID positive guest on our preceding cruise. That was announced. Contract tracing results were not released. Is there circulating virus on board this ship? Unknown. I would assume that ship's medical staff found that (1) the exposure took place in the casino or theater where close contact > 15 min existed.  (2) casino and/or theater staff were exposed by the guest. That is what probably precipitated the masking requirement in the casino and theater but no where else. JMO.  

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