babysteps

Thanks @Aloha 1 for all the details & insights and for taking us along with you! Hope you prevailed in your journey through airports and on flights on the way home. Question 1 - what were the onboard masking requirements as enforced? Did the onboard public space masking rules change depending on what country you were in? I realize this can change daily, just curious for recent experience as we pack and prepare 🙂 I'm assuming the rules may have changed since last fall - certainly have on land (ask me about dinner with a few hundred other folks at a chateau in Burgundy in April), but we haven't been back onboard since November 2021. Question 2 - any tips for beating the heat? And was AC a bit too chilly, about right, or struggling to keep up (understanding that everyone has their own opinion and comfort level!)?

And if on boarding you discover the bed not separated into twins, just ask you cabin steward to make it so.

Used ArriveCAN last week for the first time. We did a land crossing. You can register people in the app at any time. Can only complete an entry form within 72 hours of your expected arrival. We changed port of entry at the last moment due to posted wait times and it was super easy to cancel existing and do new one (did not have to re-enter lodging address in Canada). You can use the app on your phone or the website from your computer. At the border we handed Canada Immigration officer the cell phone with a code - nope, they just needed our passports and their system automatically links to the record in seconds. Actually easier than all the PIFs needed fall 2021 for UK and Italy, but more of a hassle than the nothing needed for many (most?) countries today. Travel hassles are still a bit higher than pre-Covid, I respect anyone's decision as to whether to travel now/yet (and how or where to) or not.

Some folks are are indeed hostage to their fears. Not my place to judge - just to avoid being drawn in to the fears

@Rosrozit isn't always about saving money. Some of us are bringing on spendy stuff :) And I am certain some of us are (also? ) aiming to save money - so we can have more days cruising!

Not so silly at all. If it's a process issue that leads to a negative comment, I leave the name of the person off of my survey comments (changes in training or policy could help). If it's an important issue where I want to name someone, I prefer to bring it up with management during the cruise. Anything in between you could always send a note to Miami naming the person - a note that is separate from/after the survey. It's also an issue (or was in November 2021) to fill out 2 different surveys on a single device - we ended up getting a second login assigned (no charge, a whopping 30 hours or so of use lol) to make the survey process work

I was just searching yesterday to make arrangements for our arrival in Barcelona, and consensus was "don't book a car service in Barcelona, just get a taxi" - which looks like exactly the advice on this thread 🙂

Disclaimer: post-COVID things may be *very* different. We were successful in 2019 - we went through our TA w-a-a-a-y ahead of time, she connected us to special services and helped make sure the request and process didn't fail. O had us register our guest's passport and other info several months ahead of time iirc (or told us we'd need to and then didn't do so until a few weeks out?). Our guest 'checked in' on the dock with O staff before being able to board (we went out to meet him so he didn't get lost or told "no"). I think O held his ID until he debarked. Our guest came on the afternoon of our last night onboard, which was an overnight in NYC and we were able to pay a small upcharge vs. the basic guest/dinner fee to dine in Toscana with our guest. To state the obvious, he left after dinner (did not stay on overnight).

No explanation, it was boilerplate text in the email and this was probably toward the beginning of April. Hopefully that's been updated, I'm sure someone on Cruise Critic or the Tubes that You or Flyer Talk has specific info. OnPoint called me to tell me to 'refresh' my browser because we were showing an unending 'waiting' on our end - but by the time they called we'd already headed out for the pharmacy 🙂

Word to the wise regarding Onpoint - you must reserve a test time beforehand. I assumed it was 'on demand' like eMed. Not so much, but they did refund when our connection failed. Onpoint has great customer support, and is definitely helpful- just pre-reserve your test slot! Also (unlike eMed) you [may] need a laptop or desktop. They say phones won't work. If you are using Onpoint do answer any calls from the Philippines - that is customer support and they really can help you!