Spif Barwunkel

We sailed on Reflection in May '22, Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. Our fourth time on the lady, previous three pre-Covid. She is looking like a spa treatment and makeover would be rewarding, but she still serves as a good hostess. Captain Nikolas is tremendous, one of the best in the fleet and the itinerary was fantastic. You will not experience it, but the MDR food was not worth mentioning and our wait staff was aloof and indifferent. We love Sushi on 5 but our local Publix pre-packaged sushi would have blown this lunch out of the water. Murano presented its typical delicious cuisine. So, a hiccup or two but too much good Reflection stuff happening to spoil the party. !700 nice folks onboard and a good time was had by all. The veteran sea-lady continues to take care of her guests.

DW and I tagged along with our daughter, son-in-law and 2 grand kids on Harmony for a seven-night Caribbean cruise. The passenger count was north of 6000 and even though all must present a negative Covid test taken two days prior to embarkation, you realize that this mischievous viral variant is lurking somewhere just waiting to pounce. Sure enough, three days into the cruise we began hearing, through word of mouth, that some passengers were being quarantined due to the virus. No official announcements were ever made but it seemed that more folks were succumbing each day. On Sunday, debarkation day, mild symptoms presented to me, my daughter and son-in-law. Fortunately, it is only a thirty-minute drive home for all of us and upon arrival we all took a self-test. DW and the grandkids were negative while we three were positive. It seems that daughter and son-in law are having it a bit tougher than me even though they are 33 years younger. Might have something to do with the second booster which I took but they cannot yet get. On Monday morning I contacted the Veterans Administration and requested the anti-viral drug, Paxlovid. They jumped through hoops to get me a prescription ready for pick-up so I could start the treatment that day. To be effective, you must start the regimen within a few days of onset. If you are going to fall victim to Covid, you are very fortunate if you are close to home. In May, my wife and I were cruising in Europe and spent three days post-cruise in Rome. With all the testing we had to do before and after the cruise, how nice it was to have only negative results. Although my symptoms are relatively mild, I do not want to experience them again. Not to say that won't happen, but I sure am glad for the vaccinations, and I will definitely get any and all boosters necessary.