If you've been waiting to book a cruise because you want to see what the experience is like these days, we're going to make it easy to find out. During June and early July we'll be sailing on two of the first ships to sail the Caribbean in over 14 months: Celebrity Edge & Celebrity Millennium. You'll get to come along virtually, with our blogs, live videos, and more, as we sail and answer your questions.
Among the most common questions recently asked are those about restrictions. While they're changing quickly, we're tracking mask, food service, testing, and other rules for you here. Below, however, we'll discuss some of the specifics of our upcoming cruises.
Celebrity Millennium - June 5th 2021
This is the first cruise back in the Caribbean waters for any major line. The ship departs St Maarten on June 5th, but we'll be heading into town a couple of days early. You should always plan to arrive at least a day early for any cruise you fly in for, and when it's a spot as pretty as St Maarten, why not get there extra early and enjoy the stay?
Since this is truly the first sailing for anyone, while we're hoping for things to go smoothly, and we know that Celebrity and other lines have learned from their experiences sailing safely in Europe and Asia for almost a year, we're bringing our patience along for the embarkation process.
Restrictions on This Sailing
- Guest capacity is limited to 50-60%, though 100% of the crew will be onboard.
- All persons 16+ must be fully vaccinated.
- Per emails sent to guests traveling on the June 5th Millennium cruise, masks are not required while on board the ship.
- For entry into St Maarten, guests have to provide proof of a negative COVID test, for some sailings, is also requiring proof of a negative test result.
Itinerary
This is a seven-night cruise, round-trip from St Maarten, and the itinerary would be appealing even if this wasn't the first sailing. Why? Ordinarily, to visit the Southern Caribbean (such as Aruba, Barbados, and Curacao), you'd need a longer cruise out of South Florida, or a week-long cruise out of San Juan. St Maarten, being even further SE than San Juan, allows for this great itinerary without being rushed.
- Philipsburg, St. Maarten - June 5
- Sea - June 6
- Willemstad, Curacao - June 7
- Oranjestad, Aruba - June 8
- Sea - June 9
- Bridgetown, Barbados - June 10
- Sea - June 11
- Philipsburg, St. Maarten - June 12
Celebrity Edge - July 3rd 2021
Celebrity Edge will be the very first cruise ship to sail out of the US since cruising was paused in March 2020, and this will be her second sailing. Frequent readers and viewers already know that we're head over heels for Celebrity Edge - having sailed her several times in her first year of service. In fact, we're so excited about her new sister ship, Celebrity Apex, that we're offering you the opportunity to sail with us in January of 2022, with exclusive events, special rates, and more. You get more info on this special sailing here.
Restrictions on This Sailing
- Guest capacity is limited to 50-60%, though 100% of the crew will be onboard.
- All persons 16+ must be fully vaccinated.
- While we've not yet seen specific mask guidance for this sailing, based on recent CDC updates (which you can track here) and the video put out by parent company Royal Caribbean Group CEO Richard Fain last week, we expect that masks won't be required onboard for most spaces and events.
- COVID testing of all guests may be performed prior to embarkation. COVID testing of non-vaccinated guests will be performed prior to embarkation per CDC requirements.
Itinerary
This is a seven-night cruise, round-trip from Port Everglades in Ft Lauderdale - near our home, so no need to fly. The itinerary is similar to the Edge sailing we took in January of 2019, which was our first seven-night cruise on Edge, but instead of visiting Tortola (BVI) we're visiting St Thomas (USVI).
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida - July 3
- Sea - July 4
- San Juan, Puerto Rico - July 5
- St Thomas, US Virgin Islands - July 6
- Philipsburg, St. Maarten - July 7
- Sea - July 8
- Sea - July 9
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida - July 10
What Do You Want to Know?
Make no mistake, we're cruising to relax, but we also want to answer your questions. Maybe it's about what cruising is like this summer, or maybe it's about specific destinations, other cruise lines, or anything else related to travel. Let us know what YOU want to learn from our trip to St Maarten and both of our cruises. What cruise line would you like us to check out next? While we've got Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady to look forward to in September, we bet we can squeeze another short sailing in before then - and maybe you'll help us decide which cruise to take.
You can put your questions and suggestions in the comments below, or reach out on social media. Either way, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
PS - If you want to sail Edge with us, there is still space available!