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vp1

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  1. Just our experience after 50+ cruises: If you want to be one of the first people on the ship, check in on-line just after midnight the first day that check in is available - you can probably get the "10:30 AM" slot. You'll arrive with hundreds of other people (SOME of whom have the earliest check in times, some of whom are trying to beat the system...). Probably wait outside the terminal for a while, then wait in the X-ray line, then wait in the line to check in at the counter, then wait in the "holding area" until your group is called, then you can walk onto the ship (and wait another hour or two on the ship until your cabin is ready). I'm not criticizing this system, just sharing our observations having done it many times. These days, unless you are a suite guest, you'll simply wait with everyone else who has the same boarding time. You get a few hours of "ship time" ahead of the the people with the later check in times. (Of course some things like the stores, the casino, etc. aren't open until the ship sets sail in the early evening...) For various reasons, we have also had the "1:30" (or later) check in time. No lines - no waiting. Walked right into the terminal, walked right through X-ray, walked up to the (empty) counter and walked right onto the ship (and right to our cabin). There is something to be said for waiting a couple of hours for the crowds to clear - particularly if the cruise is longer than just a few days and a few hours of added "ship time" really doesn't make much of a difference. I'd say that if you're not a fan of crowds (and waiting), just arrive in the early afternoon - even if you have an earlier check in time. ~Bob
  2. Typing this from a hotel room in Barcelona where I'm unexpectedly adding days (number to be determined....) to my vacation. Was on the Pride for 26 days (from Tampa, 16 day transatlantic cruise, then back-to-back in Barcelona for 10 more days in Europe...). About 8 hours before our final docking in Barcelona I started to feel a little warm... 😞 We docked Thursday (5/19) stayed one night in Barcelona, flight home was Friday evening. We had scheduled our COVID tests at the airport a few hours before the flight as Spain requires a negative test to be with 24 hours of flying to leave the country. I had taken a home test (we brought several with us) on Friday morning at the hotel in Barcelona as I was pretty sure that I'd be positive and wanted to plan for that. Sure enough, tested positive on the home test and again at the airport; my wife tested negative and she flew back alone. I had mostly cold-like symptoms and an occasional low-grade fever. Absolutely ZERO support or assistance with a positive test result from either the test center or the airline check-in desk; you're simply denied boarding and you're on your own until you can test negative and then book a new flight...[FYI - a last-minute hotel room in Barcelona for an open-ended number of days is not cheap; our choice not to buy COVID insurance and I fully accept that risk, but the uncertainty of the stay and the lack of info is frustrating. I booked 5 nights that morning, but that may be optimistic...] Curiously, there were crew members from the Pride that had been quite visible during the start of our vacation that "disappeared" for a number of days and then showed up again (entertainers, etc.) - no mention / explanation of this at all by the ship staff... One of the musical "trios" became a "duet" for most of one week... Anyway it's still a risk of traveling - even for people with 3 shots and a negative test when they get on the ship (for this trip they even tested everyone for COVID at the pier in Tampa immediately before the initial boarding...) More of an adventure than I was looking for; long answer to your short question, but I doubt that this experience is unique to the Pride...
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