terry&mike

PCR tests back - we are Negative!

DH and I drove to Tampa this morning for our PCR tests with same day results. The office was just a bit over an hours drive from our house. We arrived at 8:10am for our 8:30am appointments - the office opens at 8:00am, and schedule appointments beginning at 8:20am.  We were the first clients in and the tech was just getting set up for the day, nurse arrived about 8:20am

We had our tests which involved a long swap for what seemed like a very long time rubbed up each nostril. We could have chosen testing back in 2-4 hours at $179 pp, but went with testing back by end of day at $159 pp. We were out the door by 8:30am, and there were quite a few people waiting and arriving for tests by then. 

We received our test results via email with a link to follow by 9:29am, just as we were about to arrive back home. Very relieved to test Negative. 

Now to wait on the EU announcement.....

13 hours ago, Daisi said:

 

Guess better the day before than the day of.  Wishing you luck.  Do you have a TA handling the arrangements?  

Yes, me.

Fingers crossed, since we are trying to fly out Tuesday - the EU is expected to make an announcement on Monday on travel in regards to visitors from the US, and changes are expected due to our high rate of infection.  Uggg.

8 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

What information do they give you or do you have regarding doing that monitored test from outside the U.S.?  In other words, if you are in Europe, how are you connecting to their test observer?  And are the observers only available during specific times of the day? Thanks and safe travels! 

You are connecting to their test observer through the app, so will need wifi. They are available 24 hours a day, but sometimes there are longer wait times to connect to an observer. If you follow The Points Guy he has an article on his boots on the ground experience with the testing while overseas.

Some things we have done to try to be prepared -

We purchased 6 Abbott BinaxNOW Covid-19 Home Tests to bring with us, by mail $150/6. They were overnighted to us, and will serve if we need a test along the way and are struggling to find a local provider.  You log in to an app for a zoom type appt, and open the box when instructed by the observer, they walk you through the steps, and results should be ready within 30 minutes, which are then provided to you through the app.  

On August 18 I applied for the French Pass Sanitaire, using a different email address for each of us, as of this morning (August 27) I have not heard anything on either application. 

3 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

Thank you for taking the time to post your adventures.

 

How did you find the place for your COVID test in Tampa (google or TA)?

Through Google search. Took a bit of searching, had to look at some different places and find out their details of what type of test, cost, when results back, etc.  Then called to make sure they can meet what they say, and then made an appointment for the date we needed. 

14 hours ago, F19810 said:

That's why I'm getting a quick PCR test( 4 hr turn around time).  I need a neg test 72 hrs before boarding my flight to Jordan and 72 hrs is cutting it close if it is late.

Judy

We are doing the same type of test, PCR with results in 2-4 hours.  Costs a little bit, but safer option, we think. 

2 hours ago, travlr21 said:

Try it early! We spent about a month in Portugal, split between Sintra and Albufeira, Oct 2019. I think I had one almost everyday. Delicious. It was a daily ritual when wandering about, finding lovely cafes for coffee and a treat.

 

Yours sounds like a wonderful trip, enjoy.

Will do!

28 minutes ago, tsklag said:

Terry&Mike,

That sounds like a wonderful trip! Thanks for offering to post about your experiences! My wife and I are leaving September 30 for a 14 night trip on the Saone and Rhone rivers in France. Since we are touring entirely within France, I expect to have fewer problems.  We are mid-seventies and live in Venice, Florida (possibly neighbors of yours 😉.)

Sounds like a great trip - we always love France! Yes, you are not far from us, we are in Bradenton. We often bike between Sarasota and Venice on the Legacy Trail. 

23 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Would be interested to know where you’re staying in Lisbon, how are you planning to transfer to Porto and any other observations and activities in Lisbon especially.  We also have 3 nights planned in Lisbon and we’ll probably hire a guide to drive us Porto with a few scenic detours along the way.

 

Hello GG, 

We are staying at the Be Poet Baixa hotel in Lisbon.  (I also have a booking at an Airbnb named Tram 28 Chiado Apartment, but because we had to change our dates the apartment was already booked for the new dates I needed - now I'm waiting to see if that person cancels their booking so I can move my dates, if they do not cancel, I'll need to cancel my booking by next weekend.)

While in Lisbon, we will start with the Lisbon Chill Out free walking tour to get oriented, and then spend the rest of the time DIY, probably to some of these places: markets, National Azulejo Museum (tile), tram or funicular, lunch at Time Out Market, Sao Pedro de Alcantera viewpoint, Bairro Alto neighborhood, Carmo Church, Santa Justa lift, try Pastel de nata, Alfama neighborhood, fado music, Comercio Square.

We are taking the train from Lisbon to Porto, 3.5 hours, 27 euros each, first class.  As there are random strikes happening through September 16 on the train network, we also purchased bus tickets, 3.5 hours, 5 euros each, as a back up plan. Transfers from Lisbon to Porto with some stops along the way via car and driver were running about 475-500 euros when I checked them for our planned trip in 2020, so should be similar for your trip. 

We will use the metro while in Lisbon from airport to hotel, from hotel to train, and around town. We will Uber or taxi from train station in Porto to ship.  

As foreign travel is a bit of a wild card still, I will try to post my experiences as I go along on this journey, to provide some insight to others. 

To start, a bit about us - my husband and I will be traveling on this trip, and it is our first "big" international trip since Covid; we are 61 and 56. While we have traveled to both Cancun and to Cabo in the past year, all of our other trips have been in the U.S. during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, we were frequent travelers taking a trip every few months, and have been to more than 90 countries on all 7 continents.  We actually debarked the Diamond Princess in Tokyo on January 20, 2020 after a 2 week Southeast Asia cruise - the sailing just before the quarantined sailing. 

Our current plan for this trip has us flying out of the U.S. on August 31, transiting through London, and arriving in Lisbon, Portugal in the early evening of September 1.  We will spend 3 nights in Lisbon, and then head up to Porto where we will be board the AmaDouro for a 7 night river cruise.  We then plan to fly on to Bordeaux, France from Porto, and have a brief stay in an Airbnb and then board the Scenic Diamond for a 10 night Beautiful Bordeaux itinerary.  Afterwards, we will fly on to Paris for a night at an airport hotel, and then fly home to the U.S. Of course, this is if all goes to plan.....

These sailings are a combination of rebookings and reworkings of trips cancelled due to Covid.  We are using United miles for our flights, which I purchased as 2 one-way tickets - Sarasota to Lisbon in Premium Economy, and Paris to Tampa in Business, with an Easyjet flight from Porto to Bordeaux in the middle.  

We have been monitoring the different country requirements, and referencing United's Travel Ready Center, to make notes for entry requirements of testing and documents, and have a sheet of different dates and items needing completion.  We have a PCR test scheduled for the day before we fly out at a facility in Tampa that provides same day results; it is about an hour drive from our home and the cost is $179 per person.

We depart for Portugal on August 31. We scheduled PCR tests with same day results for the day before we leave. The facility is just over an hour from our home, and it is a bit pricey at $179 pp, but will get us through our international flight, including our transit and layover in London.

 We will be boarding Ama Douro on Sept 4 for a week cruise, then fly from Portugal to France on Sept 11, and board Scenic Diamond on Sept 12. Then return to U.S. 

We hope to find local test providers along the way, or use testing facilitated by Ama and Scenic to move forward.  We purchased the Abbott BinaxNOW that we will be bringing along with us, in case local testing is difficult to acquire, as a backup plan; 6 tests for $150.  

The gold suitcase number and the +1 mean checked bag + carry on; such as 1 Checked Bag + 1 Carry On, or 2 Checked Bags + 1 Carry On.

The On-demand refers to the fact that you have seat back entertainment that is available for your own selection at the times and shows of your choice; such as a long list of movies that you select to begin as you want to watch them, pause when you want, and so on.

18 hours ago, jim80134 said:

We will be flying business class to meet our cruise in Budapest.  Our home airport is Denver which currently shows no nonstops. There are flights with one layover at a higher price than the two layover flights. Will Viking make the one layover flights available to us?   At an additional cost? 

Thanks, 

Yes, you can work with Viking to customize your air to what you like. You pay a small fee to work with their air department directly, and then if the route you select goes over their contracted limit you can pay the difference and have them book it. I've done this many times for my own air, and for clients. It's a very good program. 

Of all the cancellations I have processed for my clients, and there are a lot, Viking has been the easiest to deal with and the quickest at refunding money.

Although you are not pleased with Viking currently, I have to disagree with the statement they are not customer oriented. Of all the travel vendors I have dealt with since March for my clients and myself, they have performed better than all the others.

I know it’s frustrating that you cancelled before they did, but you cannot blame them for this. And paying with a new voucher for a new cruise and getting 100% value sounds fair. 

38 minutes ago, antsp said:

I think you will find it’s being changed to the Regal

My understanding is that the Regal will end in Sydney on April 9, and then will make it's way to Europe with a To Be Announced itinerary, and then sail from Southampton on April 30; and that the Grand will end in Southampton on April 30, and then make it's way back towards the U.S. on a To Be Announced itinerary. 

Either ship is fine by us though, so not a consideration.

I am also booked on that sailing, and the ship has not been changed. My understanding is the change will occur shortly after that sailing.

21 hours ago, TEOB said:

Thanks, all. I asked because we don't normally take cruises but have heard from some who do that cruisers just in port for the day sometimes don't need a visa. 

In some ports this is true, but in Sri Lanka you'll need the visa. Good news is that it is a simple and inexpensive visa to obtain. 

17 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

@Daisi I think there are fewer complaints about Viking because they are offering 100% refunds, or 125% credit good for 2 years, which reverts to a 100% refund if the credit is not used to book a trip.

 

For all the beatings Viking has taken on CC over the years, in this case they should be commended.  As you said, few Viking complaints, given the number of cancelled cruises due to COVID.  And as I have repeated in several threads, their demand for instant payment can be delayed simply by being firm about wanting it to be later.

I agree with this statement. I have had 4 cancelled Viking bookings due to COVID for clients. In all cases, the clients received their money due back to their credit cards in less than a week. They are easy to reach on the phone, their supporting paperwork is being emailed quickly. There is no other cruise line I have dealt with since March that comes even close to offering this type of service during the pandemic.  Yes, I agree their early payment request is a tough one, and sometimes they will move the date for final payment and sometimes they will not, but in a crisis situation they are truly delivering. 

Similar to one of the posters above, we use Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, and also purchase an annual GeoBlue travel insurance policy. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card sounds expensive when you first consider it, at over $500 a year, but we find that we receive at least that much value in return from it. 

19 hours ago, travlr21 said:

As an FYI, the information shown with the Scenic link  applies only to Australia and New Zealand.  The Scenic site for Canadians has not been updated since May 13.  It announces cancellation only up to Aug 31 for their river cruises, so far.

 

Reference https://www.scenic.ca/coronavirus-update

 

After getting our final payment delayed for a month, we have since moved our September Scenic river cruise to August 2021.

Good call on your part. Last night I received emails from Scenic/Emerald cancelling all of their sailings for September and October 2020. I am in the U.S. market. 

Very enjoyable read, thank you! I'm scheduled to sail with Emerald Waterways on the same itinerary in mid-October. Hopefully, the ship will sail, and I can get there from the U.S. We'll see.....

Following. Thank you.

51 minutes ago, steamboats said:

Back home again... and yes, we had a wonderful cruise with lots of great food! Only 31 passengers with 36 crew (and the following cruise had only 17 pax).

 

There will be a review with lots of photos but the text will be in German (usually google translate works pretty well). But you have to wait for the first part until the weekend.

 

steamboats

So great to hear of someone setting sail!