Customers of Celebrity Cruises, including those with upcoming sailings, have received notifications from the cruise line that the company is changing the legal language of the cruise contract.
Some modifications include what will happen to guests onboard if they contract Covid during the Voyage or prior to the sailing, which is something most people might be interested in.
Cruise lines have engaged in different approaches over the past three years to combat Covid cases onboard their ships, most having applied generous refund policies to make passenger cancel voluntarily once somebody gets ill.
Here are the emails Celebrity sent to customers (myself included) today.
First a general email but the same is sent as a duplicate with an actual reservation number pertaining to my upcoming cruise a week from now:
Dear Guest,
We’ve made some important changes to our legal terms applicable to your cruise purchase and other activities, services, and products related to your cruise.
Since you are currently booked on a voyage that departs on or after April 12, 2023, the new legal terms will apply to your cruise. No action is required on your part, but if you wish to view the changes that are now applicable to all guests booked on or after April 12, 2023, they’re available to you, here:
https://www.celebritycruises.com/guest-terms
Here’s a highlight of the most important changes:
• The Cruise Ticket Contract or Booking Conditions applicable to your cruise purchase are now determined by your Primary Country of Residence. *• The forum selection, exclusive jurisdiction and choice of law provisions have been modified to and now correlate to your Primary Country of Residence*or the location of your cruise itinerary.
• We have updated our cancellation and COVID-19 policies.
We invite you to visit our newly created Guest Terms website to review, download, or print the terms and conditions that apply to you. Thank you again for choosing Celebrity Cruises. We can’t wait to welcome you onboard soon! Sincerely, Celebrity Cruises*Primary Country of Residence means the country where you primarily reside at the time of booking the cruise as indicated by you, your agent, or other representative at the time of booking the cruise or at online check-in. This applies to each guest on a booking on an individual basis.
There are usually nuances of what a company is allowed to do as far as customers in certain markets are concerned. For example, customers in the E.U. typically have more protections than in the U.S. though that’s not the major issue in this case,
To identify what Celebrity did you have to dive into the actual text of the cruise contract.
What did actually change?
PASSENGER IS FURTHER DIRECTED TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO SECTION 4 AND THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT WWW.CELEBRITYCRUISES.COM WHICH CONTAIN IMPORTANT TERMS, CONDITIONS, POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO COVID-19.
e. Passenger Testing Positive for COVID-19 Pre-Cruise. Passenger agrees that if at any time within five (5) days prior to embarkation, Passenger tests positive for COVID-19, exhibits signs or symptoms of COVID-19 or has had close contact with a person confirmed or suspected as having COVID-19, or Carrier otherwise determines in its sole discretion that Passenger is unfit to board because of any communicable illness, Carrier may deny boarding to such Passenger. Unless Carrier determines that Passenger has failed to comply with Carrier’s COVID-19 Policies and Procedures or this Ticket Contract, any Passenger denied boarding under these circumstances will be entitled to either a refund or a future cruise credit equal in value to the Cruise Fare Passenger paid to Carrier, as provided in Carrier’s COVID-19 refund and cancellation policy. Carrier, in its sole discretion, may require Passenger to provide verification satisfactory to Carrier of Passenger’s positive test result if the test was administered by a provider other than those retained by Carrier. If Passenger seeks to cancel their cruise booking due to testing positive for COVID-19, please refer to Carrier’s COVID-19 refund and cancellation policy at www.celebritycruises.com. Under no circumstances shall Carrier have any other liability for any compensation or other damages whatsoever, including but not limited to compensation for lodging or travel.
f. Passenger Testing Positive for COVID-19 During Cruise. Passenger understands and agrees that if, after boarding, and even if Passenger has fully complied with all COVID-19 Policies and Procedures, Passenger tests positive for COVID-19 or exhibits signs or symptoms of COVID-19, Carrier may disembark, refuse re-boarding after a shore excursion, or quarantine Passenger as well as members of Passenger’s travelling party, or take other steps which Carrier determines, in its sole discretion, are necessary under the circumstances to protect the health and well-being of others. Under these circumstances, any such Passenger with a known or suspected case of infection with COVID-19 who is disembarked, refused re-boarding, or quarantined shall be entitled to either a prorated refund, or a future cruise credit for the unused portion of the Cruise Fare, as provided in Carrier’s COVID-19 refund and cancellation policy. For further details, refer to Carrier’s COVID-19 refund and cancellation policy at www.celebritycruises.com. Each such Passenger is responsible for all other related costs and fines, including without limitation travel expenses. Under no circumstances shall Carrier be liable to any such Passenger for any costs, damages or expenses whatsoever incurred by any Passenger.
On the one hand, the refund policy is further manifested. Still, there is also a danger that now, the cruise line reserved the right to basically kick a sick or even just Covid-positive passenger off the ship in any foreign port, simply hand out a prorated refund and from there on you’re on your own.
This presents a problem from a risk perspective as far as I’m concerned. Before cruise lines would simply isolate you in your cabin (also not a very encouraging thought) but now they seem to prefer kicking you off. The expenses incurred can be quite high if you suddenly need flights and accommodation from a foreign port.
All this, of course, depends on a positive test result on board. I always said when this quarantining craziness started that I would never get myself tested onboard a cruise ship no matter if sick or not to avoid just that.
Cruising has been extremely comfortable since it restarted in the summer of 2021 with occupancies often low but protocols rather strict (mandatory vaccination at first, masks when the number of positive cases exceeded a threshold).
Conclusion
Celebrity Cruises has modified its cruise contract in a way that passengers can now be booted off the ship if testing positive for Covid and the cruise line will not have to pay for how the passenger gets home or is situated otherwise. all they would offer is a prorated refund or Future Cruise Credit.
Celebrity still offers a Future Cruise Credit is canceling within five (5) days prior to embarkation of the cruise and presenting evidence such as a positive test for Covid.
Passengers who feel unwell on board should be careful and try to lay low if possible rather than reporting for a Covid test and risk being abandoned in a foreign port. I’d probably stay in my cabin and decline housekeeping, just ordering room service.