Thorswife59

We are sailing tomorrow on QM2 Southampton to New York. Are we tested on the ship before arriving in New York, as I know we are required to have a test before reentering the United States?  Thanks!

We sailed over on the Queen Mary 2 on May 1 and spent the last three weeks in Europe. We sail home tomorrow Southampton to New York. We flew into London Gatwick this morning from Milan and had arranged to take a test at ExpressTest right in the north terminal where we got our luggage.  I had to reserve them before our trip. We had an appointment and we’re in and out in about 10 minutes. Got the results about 35 minutes later on my cell phone. It was an antigen lateral flow test and I now have a ‘fit to fly’ certificate to turn in at the terminal tomorrow. 
 

we had a wonderful vacation in Amsterdam, Scotland and Italy but we are ready to get some rest now as we sail home!! 😂

Also on May 1 and no letter yet.  We got second booster 2 weeks ago. Hoping and praying we can get through unscathed. 

16 hours ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Thorswife5

You can get a lot of options in the thread "Private Covid Testing" here on the Cunard board. I've attached a link below.

Jack

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2845171-private-covid-testing/page/3/#comment-63100949

16 hours ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Thorswife5

You can get a lot of options in the thread "Private Covid Testing" here on the Cunard board. I've attached a link below.

Jack

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2845171-private-covid-testing/page/3/#comment-63100949

Thank you!  I believe I have found the answer. We can do a drive through test at Gatwick airport on our way to Southampton. 

18 minutes ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Thank you BigMac1953.

Yes bluemarble, that is correct. We are on that May 8th Crossing where self testing will begin.

 

Jack

We were sailing May 1 on the QM2 New York to Southampton and then back on May 29 Southampton to New York. If we need to provide self test for that one what’s the best way to go about getting that?  Can anyone recommend a place for a travel test in Southampton? Thanks! 

4 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

Give it a couple more days. You'll notice @Sweetpea711423 received the notification three days before their departure date. I thought I read somewhere those embarking on the previous Fort Lauderdale and New York departures may have received their notifications even closer to those departure dates.

 

Please do keep us informed as to whether you receive that notification. I'm sure a fair number of others on this forum will be interested to hear about that one way or another.

Will do!

On 4/21/2022 at 8:04 AM, Sweetpea711423 said:

 

Hello.  I received an email notification this morning from Cunard regarding my April 24 transatlantic crossing on Queen Mary 2 from Southampton.  It states that they are currently managing a number of Covid-19 cases onboard the Queen Mary 2, and talks about need to wear masks, etc.

 

It goes on to state that, “[h]aving read this notification, we encourage you to assess your individual risk factors for developing severe COVID-19 disease. If you have concerns about joining the ship and you wish to transfer, postpone or cancel your voyage on Queen Mary 2, you will be given a 100% refund on all monies paid, including on any company-booked shore experiences.”

 

The fact that they are offering refunds, and not just Future Cruise Credits, made me concerned about the actual situation onboard.  Does anyone know how many Covid cases there are, are they passengers and/or crew, etc.?  Any information about the status of things on the ship would be greatly appreciated, as we are scheduled to fly to England from the US tonight, and I am immunocompromised so have a bit higher level of concern than others might.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

 

We are set to sail this Sunday, May 1 on QM2 from NY and have not any communication from Cunard like this.  I wonder if that means cases are down?  I would have liked to option of a full refund if there are a lot of cases on board. 

I seem to recall reading somewhere on Cunard site that their medical centers were fully supplied and stocked to take care of any Covid needs. I would assume that would be in the antivirals as well. 

59 minutes ago, Sweetpea711423 said:

Hi.  Wondering where in the US you could travel on a land vacation where "we have packed up Covid and put it on the back shelf".  I'm not sure I understand the statement.  Are you saying that there are places in the US where one needn't have any concerns about the possibility of getting Covid, and if so, would you mind sharing what those places are?  I might consider visiting as well.  The most recent data shows that Covid cases are currently on the increase in the US.

I would think she meant that we no longer have any mask mandates here and even the airlines or airports no longer require them.  

Sunshine!?! On the last day of September in the rain forest of Ketchikan?!? We can’t believe it but it’s been amazing!! Did the cheesy but fun Lumberjack show and walked around a bit.  So thankful and grateful for the good weather. 🥰

On 9/27/2021 at 7:00 PM, san diego spartan said:

Thank you for posting the menus!

Tonight is the last gala night! The menu:

We had a great day yesterday in Glacier Bay! The forecast was wrong again and we enjoyed a day free of rain and with some peeks of the sun! The split pea soup was great, the scenery glorious and saw lots of sea otters, a mountain goat high on the slopes and of course lots of birds. All in all a wonderful day! 

Our day in Skagway was awesome! The forecast was rain off and on but it ended up not raining all day!
 

We left the ship about 11 am with no excursions planned because the weather had seemed uncertain.. But the sun came out and we decided to try to get on the White Pass and Yukon railway. They had seats available on the 1 o’clock train so we went for it. So glad we did! It was a beautiful trip, so much amazing scenery. I highly recommend it!  

When we got off the train an icy wind had come up and by the time we got back to the ship I was chilled to the bone! So I grabbed some hot chocolate and we went straight to the hot tub! 
 

Another fabulous dinner tonight in the Lido. We looked at the MDR menu and it just wasn’t that appealing and they had the same herb crusted prime rib in the Lido so here we are. We have really been enjoying the food!  
 

Glacier Bay tomorrow and we’re really looking forward to that and the split pea soup!
 

23 hours ago, san diego spartan said:

Thank you for posting the menus!

You’re welcome! Here’s tonight’s. We opted for the Lido  again. They had a lot of the same things including the prime rib.

40 minutes ago, san diego spartan said:

Hi - glad you are enjoying your cruise and I'm jealous you are back on board! Anyway you can post photos of the menus in the MDR for dinner?  Would love to get an idea of what the offerings are.   I've been looking at my Navigator App but it keeps showing the same sample menu for our upcoming cruise (and I have logged in and out of the app). 

 

Thanks and enjoy. 

Sure! 
 

It’s been a smooth sailing so far, folks! We got into Stevens passage this morning and it was foggy and a bit drizzly so unfortunately not much to see. We’ve been in Juneau since 1:00 and it’s been raining steadily all day. We talked to a couple who ventured out and they said not much was open. No surprise but it’s fine, we really enjoying just being on a ship again!  We had breakfast in the main dining room this morning and it was very good as well as lunch in the Lido. So many great options.
 

We’ve been hanging out a lot in the Crow’s Nest or Ocean Bar, playing games and reading and just now enjoying the hot tub a bit before dinner. 
 

Skagway tomorrow, more rain expected but it’s raining at home too! 😂

5 hours ago, GHCruiser7 said:

Is there any ballroom dancing?

 

Not sure.  I know there were some classes yesterday. We haven’t been out too much for the night life. 

We’re on our way! Embarkation was very smooth. Lunch at the Lido was outstanding.  We haven’t sailed HAL in about six years and weren’t quite sure what to expect based on mixed reviews. But the food was fabulous. Very fresh, lots of selections and great service. Dinner in the main dining room last night was also superb. Beautiful presentation, great food and service. 

Shortly after boarding the captain announced  that due to a storm we would be skipping Sitka and go to Skagway instead. We were pleasantly surprised to wake to fairly calm seas this morning. Just gentle motion. After hearing about all the storms and rough seas out in the open ocean the last few weeks, we were a bit nervous.  But it’s been great!

We’ve heard that ships are being kept around 60% capacity and that’s about what it feels like. It doesn’t feel too crowded at all and lots of places to find a secluded nook to read and people watch. Most people remove masks when seated away from others in these areas so that’s been nice not to be masked up constantly. 

So great to be sailing again! 

We have done 4 TA’s and love it. I don’t do well with long distance flights due to health issues and we’re retired with nothing but time so ... it’s the perfect way to travel to Europe. We get there rested, no jet lag and ready to hit the ground running.  After a month of exploring, mostly by train, we do another TA back, arriving home rested and again no jet leg. 
 

We enjoy the sea days and just relaxing with books by a big window, playing cards, people watching.  We can’t wait to do it again!

5 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Glad you had a great experience. Perhaps telling everyone where you had this experience would help people...

We took our test in Portland, Oregon. But as I stated they have locations nationwide so a simple Google search should tell you if there is a location close by. Covidclinic dot org

Finding a test was so stressful and I wasn’t sure what we were going to end up doing. I couldn’t get one through my doctor, there weren’t any places locally that would get it back in time. Walgreens had no appointments for weeks. I finally found Covid Clinic through a Google search and they had drive up appointments available. We went up yesterday and took the rapid antigen test and had results back in an hour. They had recommended an appointment but there were literally only two people ahead of us in the line and there was a ‘no appointment’ drive up line next to us.  The look to have locations all over the country so if you’re having trouble finding testing I would check them out.

We sail tomorrow! Can’t wait!!

We tested yesterday through Covid Clinic in Portland, Oregon. I know they have locations all over the country.  We sail on Saturday. I couldn’t find any test availability at any Walgreens near us but this turned out to be a great option. It was a drive-through, and we had results from the rapid antigen test in one hour. They recommended an appointment but there were literally only two people in line when we got there and they did have a no appt line as well. I would Google Covid Clinic and see what you come up with in that area. 

18 minutes ago, luvteaching said:

The dining room won't be open but the Lido will (at least one side)as well as the Dive-In. The Dive-In has wonderful fries and good burgers. 

 

Karen

Thank you! I remember the amazing hot dogs at the Dive In! 

Can someone tell me how late lunch is served on embarkation day? Our boarding time is 2:00 pm. When we arrived on our last Cunard cruise we were starving and stunned to find there was no food available at all until dinner. I haven’t sailed HAL in about 6 years and don’t remember what they offered or for how long.  Thanks! 

I am so sorry this happened to you.  I am curious though when you say you were told you only needed a drivers license, who told you that?