MikeMSD

On 11/23/2022 at 7:17 AM, def0715 said:

Very long line out the door. Approached several people to ask about a possible Diamond line. Was told there was a Diamond area once inside the terminal, and that I needed to go to the back of the line.

That seems to be the standard for everything out of PC at least in my experience. I've taken Carnival out of PC several times, and it's the same line to get into the building, then once you're in, they have a separate section for suites and status. Going out of New Orleans on Carnival, they had a separate line for status and first to the fun. Not sure why they don't do that at PC.

On 1/3/2023 at 9:13 AM, PurpleShamrock317 said:

I’m wondering how late at night you can stay on the beach just walking around and relaxing. I’m serious considering booking the stargazing.

Me too! Just booked for mid-May with an overnight as well. I really want to do the stargazing. I was wondering if we're allowed free access to the island all night, or if there is a cutoff time. My friend I'm going with said he's planning on just sleeping on the beach that night if they let him. Mimosas on the island sound like a great way to start a day.

Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean don't really need to do a status match since they are already well established cruise companies. MSC is doing it to break into the market and hopefully siphon off some of the travelers with status on other lines. That's interesting though about Virgin Voyages offering a status match program. It looks like they are doing that from their website. It makes sense since they are trying to break into the market. I may have to schedule a Virgin Voyages cruise now and see if I can get a status match from MSC.

Thanks! Hopefully no issues. I'm flying into Venice Marco Polo from Atlanta. I definitely have travel insurance just in case. I'm nervous with all the cancellations abound.

3 hours ago, Cowboy296 said:

We have terrible flights to Venice and back. Staying one night ahead of cruise in Venice. None coming back. 3 flights each way booked thru NCL. Transfers via NCL too.

Oof, that's rough. I originally had booked my flights with NCL but my travel partner got a new job in Germany, and NCL wouldn't do flights from there.The flights were a great deal booked through NCL at the 2 for 1 promotion, not so much individually. I ended up cancelling the NCL air and doing my own through Delta. I'm flying in day of which is making me nervous. My original arrival time was 9am, but that's been pushed back to 11am now. I'm hoping they don't try to push it any further. Realities of work unfortunately made it impossible to fly in a day early. I am going to stay for a bit on the back end though to sight see.

On 6/9/2022 at 3:06 AM, insidecabin said:

IMO just be prepared as things can change, 

 

Carry at least 1 FFP2 or US/china/Korean equivalent at all times just in case you get asked.

 

if it looks like a FFP2 then even the strictest  compliance situation(italy public transport) you are likely to be ok.

...

Thanks! All of my KF94's that I'm bringing have FFP2 written on them, so as long as the requirement is just FFP2, I should be fine. That'll save me ordering KN95 masks, which I don't particularly trust buying because there are so many fakes now. If I'm going to have to wear a mask, I'd like it to do something lol.

I'm on that cruise too! The anxiety is killing me for my embarkation test. Are you testing for re-entry into the United States? If so, the CDC is dropping that mandate as of tomorrow, so we won't have to test on our way back. Of course, I've already purchased my eMed proctored tests which I guess I'll bring just in case.

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/rescission-global-testing-order-p.pdf.pdf

It looks like it's still required of cruise passengers in both Italy and Greece, at least per the last e-mail from NCL. I know once I'm back in Italy, it isn't required for my stay there. But it sounds like I need one on the ship when we're in port or going ashore from what I'm reading. Hopefully it's an or and they don't have a problem with these KF94s.

I'm about to board the Gem in a couple of weeks. Does anyone know if the mask requirement for Italy and Greece is KN95 AND FFP2 rating or KN95 OR FFP2 rating? I'm not sure how to read the "/" between the two. I've got a bunch of KF94 masks that are rated FFP2. I prefer how they fit over the KN95 style masks and find them more comfortable. So, I'd like to save money and wear my more comfy masks if I'm going to have to. When I look at Italy's travel website, I only see FFP2 listed, so I'm wondering if NCL is just listing KN95 for us US travelers who may not be familiar with the European FFP2 standard.

6 hours ago, mauraoel said:

I have to get a test for the first time on Wednesday for my cruise on Saturday... My husband hated all the tests he had to get I am not looking forward to it.

The antigen test is way easier. You don’t have to do the all the way to the brain q-tip for that one. Most drug stores pass you the q-tip and you just swirl it in each nostril for 15 seconds about an inch in. If they do need to do the deep one, one trick is to hum while they’re doing it. It helps dull the weird sensation a bit.

I decided not to chance it and registered for an antigen test at CVS even though Walgreens that does the ID-NOW test is way closer to me. Good thing with CVS too is that they let me book two weeks in advance so I’m set for my August 15th cruise. Had the pick of appointment times that far out.

if anyone is doing the Walgreens Antigen, make sure it’s available near you. They won’t let you book until 3 days out and it looks like they’re only offering it in SC. I know people are saying they boarded with the ID-NOW test, but I’d rather not chance it since they don’t specifically list it.

1 minute ago, ace2542 said:

If you are willing to have blood drawn. Some people are not.

You’re thinking of Antibody test. Antigen test is a nose swab just like a PCR test. It just uses a different technology to test the sample. 

Does anyone know if the Walgreens Rapid Diagnostic ID NOW tests count as PCR? The RT-PCR has a warning saying that results may not be available before travel. ID NOW lists a 24 hour turnaround time. I can’t find any local pharmacies offering Antigen testing.

22 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

 

Aware of that...just pointing out it isn't anything new 'in general' terms and shouldn't be earth shattering to anyone that US based cruises would require testing.  It seems a natural progression from "can't ask vacc status" to "ok, well, everyone needs to get tested to get on board then"  😉 😉

 

Testing is free and everywhere.....so doesn't seem like a big deal in my mind......then again....I am on a Nassau sailing in 8 days.....

Testing is free if your symptomatic. The days of free community testing are over. Insurance will cover a COVID-19 test now if you've got symptoms. If you're voluntarily testing because you're traveling, it costs money. From what I've been finding, looks like $139 around here for a PCR or $89 for an Antigen

2 hours ago, lazydayz said:

 

Still nothing for us???  Allure 8/15

Nothing for us either on 8/15 Allure. Got all excited and went to check. Still shows pending.

4 hours ago, davekathy said:

Same here. And it seems more times than not, we are behind that person, couple or family that doesn't have everything in order they need to board the plane or ship or check in at the hotel or car rental. 🤬

I was just talking to a friend of mine saying that there needs to be a special "have your crap together" line at all places. If you get to the front and you don't, they send you to the back of the other line.

13 minutes ago, Hogbay said:

I don't do any self service just turn up with luggage porters have manifest with cabin number and tag .and staff check me in .😇

That's all fine and good, but not having these luggage tags stresses me out. By this point I like to have my travel packet all put together with my boarding passes, luggage tags, insurance documents, etc. Usually the only thing left I have to do is print out my airline boarding pass at the 24 hour mark. I don't like leaving things till the last minute and then just trusting the porters to have tags for me and attach them in a way that they don't get ripped off. If I put them on, I can use my plastic holders that attach with metal loops.

I know of one person who is a TA who was selected for Allure's test sailing. They posted in another group asking for advice on parking and if the port parking was open yet.

On August 15th Allure of the Seas and we still don't have luggage tags. I thought it was because my friend hadn't checked in yet, but she checked in last night and it's still not showing. I'm not normally a type a personality, but when it comes to travel, I am. I really want to get them printed and get my travel packet put together.

This is my first time on Royal Caribbean, and waiting to check in for my August 15th Allure of the Seas. I'm going with my friend on this sailing and she has limited time at work to do stuff. I want to be ready to check in right away when I can so we can select an earlier boarding time. With them pushing the departure time to 7pm, I don't want to get stuck having to wait super late to get onboard. Does anyone know if I can check myself in on the app, and select our check-in time, and then when she gets off work, she can go ahead and get herself checked in to take her photo and scan her passport?

I just got notification that my Allure sailing had it's departure pushed back due to extended check-in procedures being required by new CDC requirements. Maybe your time got pushed back by those new requirements so they could space people out more?

52 minutes ago, Russ Lomas said:

I was going to mention the same thing.  We have an awesome travel agent who is a regular on these boards and he emailed me the document posted here as the original post immediately when he received it.  If you are booked through a travel agent now and did not get it, you may want to talk to your travel agent and let them know that part of their job is to relay this information on to you since we do not get it automatically from RCCL and it goes to the TA.

Sometimes sailing specific e-mails can go to the host agencies, which take a day or so to filter them down to the agent who then has to send them to the client. Though really a good agent who specializes in cruising, should be all over these boards and subscribed to other groups looking for news to pass on as soon as it arrives.

2 hours ago, harkinmr said:

Your name is not protected under HIPAA.  Your medical information is.  They can have you sign in or "shout" your name in the waiting room, as long as they don't add a notation or "shout" that you have a communicable disease. 😉

Actually, your full name is considered PII. The key there is full name. If they come in the waiting room and shout "Mr. Smith" or "John" then there is usually no issue. However if you have a very unique last name it could be. Even if they shout your full name, it's a bit of a gray area and they could be dinged.

Thanks for posting this, as a new Royal Caribbean cruiser, I was curious what this process looked like. However just FYI there is a lot of sensitive information available in this video. If you pause the video you can clearly see your date of birth and passport number when you scroll down. You will want to go back and edit this data out if this is your video.

1 hour ago, ace2542 said:

How will they know who is who in terms of vaccination once onboard, they don't really say? 

 

And what is to stop an unvaccinated person from bribing a crew member to get one of the wrist bands lets say? Or how do they know that crew members might not even try and sell the wristbands to unvaccinated passengers onboard the ship?  For what 100 bucks a pop? I can see that happening.

I really doubt that a crew member is going to risk being fired and barred from working again for $100. But also, they're punching a hole in their SeaPass card and probably notating it on their file. It says that cards must be scanned before entering a venue. I'm sure if someone shows up with a wristband and they scan their card with a hole in it showing they are unvaccinated, there are going to be some pointed questions as to how they came upon that wristband.