Wow ! This is getting serious

This is the third email from Celebrity about this crisis.

Dear Guest,

We look forward to welcoming you aboard for your upcoming Celebrity Cruises vacation.  Before you embark on this exciting journey, we would like to provide some important information regarding your upcoming travel plans.

As you may be aware, China is currently experiencing an outbreak of coronavirus. Due to the potential spread of coronavirus, the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern – this allows governments to proactively dedicate resources intended to ensure the safety of citizens and travelers around the world.

After further consultation with public health authorities and medical experts, we have decided that any guest, or crewmember, who has traveled to, from, or through China or Hong Kong within 15 days of departure will be unable to board our ships – this includes guests who had connecting flights in China or Hong Kong.

As a result, it is imperative that you check your air travel itinerary closely to ensure you do not transit through any gateway in China or Hong Kong. Guests who have air travel booked through Flights by Celebrity will be re-accommodated on alternate routes and receive new flight information automatically. Guests with independent air travel arrangements need to contact their air carriers directly to make all required adjustments and changes to their air travel.

We have elected to take this precautionary step due to the recent increase in coronavirus cases around the world, to help avoid the spread of the virus and to ensure the continued safety of our guests and crew. While vacations are our passion, our primary responsibility is to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit.

We have also increased secondary health screening requirements. The following guests will need to undergo extra screenings at the cruise terminal:

• Guests or crewmembers who have been in contact with individuals who have traveled to, from, or through mainland China or Hong Kong in the last 15 days.
• Anyone that holds a Chinese or Hong Kong passport – regardless of when they were there last.
• Anyone that feels unwell or demonstrates flu-like symptoms.

 We’ve also taken numerous proactive steps to maintain high health standards onboard our ships:

• Thoroughly sanitizing the cruise ship terminal before and after every sailing.
• Special sanitizing of high traffic areas onboard multiple times a day.
• Adding extra medical staff on each sailing.
• Providing complimentary consultations with medical experts for all guests and crew. 
• Plus, the Captain will make two daily announcements during your cruise reminding everyone of how to stay healthy onboard.

Finally, you can contribute to a healthy onboard environment by taking a few simple steps that will help prevent colds, flus and stomach viruses – both onboard and on land. 

• Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds after using the restroom and before any meal or snack.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue (or with your upper sleeve) if you happen to sneeze. Avoid sneezing or coughing into your hands or without covering your nose and mouth.
• Use hand sanitizer as often as possible. Rub the gel thoroughly, and in-between your fingers, until your hands are dry.

If you don’t feel well while onboard, it’s imperative that you visit our onboard medical facility immediately for a complimentary checkup. Our onboard doctors and nurses are always available and ready to assist.

If you or someone in your stateroom has traveled to, from, or through, mainland China or Hong Kong, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately, or contact us at 1-844-418-6824 in North America or (316) 554-5961 worldwide. You can also visit www.celebritycruises.com/contact-us  for a complete list of global contact information.

We look forward to welcoming you aboard for a truly incredible vacation.

Sincerely,

Celebrity Cruises