There should never have been the amount of stress pre cruise that we (English) and especially the Americans were put through. The lack of communication from Celebrity was a common theme. We all jumped through hoops to get on this cruise.

Pre- embarkation we had to arrange for PCR tests within 3 days of leaving. The choice was use Eurofins, recommended and linked to Celebrity who then forward results to both yourself and Celebrity directly, or book a test independently and claim the cost back up to a max. For simplicities sake and no comebacks we chose Eurofins. Now the Eurofins testing sites are scattered thinly across UK. Our nearest was a 45 minute drive away. It was a tiny cabin behind Asda. There a bored looking young guy handed us a swab and told us to stick it up our noses (only) and move it around for 10 seconds. This we did and handed back our swabs in the plastic tubes provided. That was it. Half a day off each and a couple of gallons of petrol to stick a swab up our noses for 10 seconds.

Travel Tip - We got the all clear email the next day and proceeded to Southampton the morning of the cruise having finally tracked down some petrol. Now even though it is less than a 3 hour drive the stress I felt in case of breakdown, an accident or even protesters gluing themselves to the road has already made me book a B&B the night before our next sailing in June. We left super early and sure enough there was a 4 car crash behind us on the M25. Point proved. Read more