Just back

[petuniaflower]

Hi cruise friends, just off the Carnival Magic!  It was so nice to be back at sea!  We did antigen tests at Shoppers to leave for the US (went to Disney for a few days pre cruise).  We are vaxxed so we booked our pre cruise antigen at a CVS near Disney for last Monday, we were not charged and the adult results were delivered my email with a link to create a my chart account to view/dl results.  we were not told that the under 18yo's would not be getting the same email, I figured they would just be posted under my account and that was why they didnt get a separate email, but that is not the case.  It was a Monday evening when I realized/ did some research and found a note that minors results will not be sent..so I panicked and called the location that night, there was a message saying they were closed Tuesdays. The next morning I called a help line and the lady was very helpful and said she could indeed email them to me but it would take 24-48 hrs, and that they just dont automatically send minors' results?? So bizarre, anyhow I explained that wouldnt work as we needed them sooner, so she said she would gladly fax them right away, I explained I was at a hotel and that was not possible...she then walked me through the process of downloading a fax app onto my phone, to which she sent the results. She was very helpful and it all worked out but I cant imagine that makes any sense compared to just emailing the results the same way they do with adults results??  Upon checking in at the port they quickly checked vax records (we printed out the forms from Ontario site), negative tests and ID.  We were on the ship in no time!  Food and drinks were the same and good as always.  Shows were ok, we did a bit more of the comedy and game/marriage shows and enjoyed those vs the stage shows.  It had been so long since we had travelled due to covid we got off the ship for this first time in Nassau, did the blue lagoon beach day and loved it, was a very chill atmosphere, water park inflatables/beautiful scenery/hammocks galore.  We then did HMC which we had only done one other time in bad weather..and wow what a beautiful little area, the most turquoise clean water and sand ever!  Sea day for our last day and boy was it hot, you could not sit out for longer than 10 mins without a dip in the pool!  One thing to mention, the floor on the lido is sooo slippery, my son and I almost wiped out several times and we witnessed 2 grown men wipe out pretty hard..not sure how they can fix this, but the floor was just too hot to walk on without flip flops but so slippery with them.  Masks were to be worn in elevators and walking thru the dining room to your table.  They were kind of worn in the shows, but you were allowed to drink, so people were 50/50 in wearing them in those areas.  Ropes course was fun, water slides also fun but hurt the back as you passed each "connecting" piece.  We knew Carnival did not offer PCR for purchase, but if we cruise during covid again we will likely choose a line that offers testing.  It was just too much anxiety knowing we had to test same day before our flight.  We booked at Advent in MCO.  We ended up getting our results, but did allow a bit more than 4 hours before our flight and had to be a bit assertive while there..as in remind people you were there, explain you were told to be in this line that were now being sent to another etc. The poor girl that organizes the line was in tears at one point after having to tell many walk ins that they would not be seen today. Apparently they had to close down for 30 mins earlier as someone refused to leave the premises after not being happy with the info on their result. There was mass confusion and I would only recommend as a last result, but happy it ended up working out for ushttp://www.wdwinfo.com/images/smilies/smile.gif While we waited for our results we checked in for our flight and entered our info on the ArriveCan app, pretty straightforward. After we got our printed results we went to WJ counter where they looked at our vax records (they put a yellow sticker on pp to indicate), test results and gave our bag tags, the off thru security we went. When we landed they announced there was a back up at customs so they were letting 50 people off at a time, but only 5 min intervals, so didnt take long at all. They also said the kiosks were down so we have to fill out the old forms which they gave out off the plane, many people stopped thru the hallways to fill them out, we just planned to fill them out in line. Turns out when we got to the area the kiosks we back up and running, so we just used them. Border agent asked for ArriveCan app code, test results and put a green sticker on pp saying we wouldnt need to quarantine or take a test at day 8.  We were up in the air about going ahead with this but so glad we did!

[canadianbear]

Nice to hear you had a great time!  I’m craving cruising but being senior and the advisory is still not to cruise, we aren’t brave enough yet.  
 

How does a fax work on a phone?  Is it an iPhone?  That would be handy.  
 

What capacity was the ship at?  We’ve done HMC on HAL and it’s beautiful.  
 

Thanks for the report.  Appreciate the info and jealous, lol! 

[petuniaflower]

8 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

Nice to hear you had a great time!  I’m craving cruising but being senior and the advisory is still not to cruise, we aren’t brave enough yet.  
 

How does a fax work on a phone?  Is it an iPhone?  That would be handy.  
 

What capacity was the ship at?  We’ve done HMC on HAL and it’s beautiful.  
 

Thanks for the report.  Appreciate the info and jealous, lol! 

It was an iphone..I had never even heard of it until she suggested to download the exact app and walked me through the whole process of setting up an account (email etc), once downloaded I was given a burner number, valid for 24 hours for free I believe, to which I gave her.  She then faxed the results to that number, which also sent to my email.  It was pretty cool.

 

Im unsure what the capacity was but you could tell it was not a full ship for sure.  Got front row loungers by the pool around 10 on sea day..

[canadianbear]

6 minutes ago, petuniaflower said:

It was an iphone..I had never even heard of it until she suggested to download the exact app and walked me through the whole process of setting up an account (email etc), once downloaded I was given a burner number, valid for 24 hours for free I believe, to which I gave her.  She then faxed the results to that number, which also sent to my email.  It was pretty cool.

 

Im unsure what the capacity was but you could tell it was not a full ship for sure.  Got front row loungers by the pool around 10 on sea day..

Amazing technology now.  
 

Such a great time to cruise with ships not full.  We had one cruise where ship was 60% full on a Pacific Coastal & it was great!  

[ALD18]

I admire your courage and tenacity to go on the cruise.  You deserved it after all the red tape and stress to get all the bureaucracy taken care to travel in these times.  Sounds like it was worth it.  Cut some of the deadlines close, but you got away with it:)  Glad you had a good time regardless. 

[sunnydelyght]

Hello.  Thank you for all the information you provided cruising in January and a little anxious about all the requirements.  When getting tested at CVS when they asked for Insurance info you just entered your private insurance and no questions asked?

 

 Thanks again in advance.

[petuniaflower]

On 9/5/2021 at 10:50 AM, sunnydelyght said:

Hello.  Thank you for all the information you provided cruising in January and a little anxious about all the requirements.  When getting tested at CVS when they asked for Insurance info you just entered your private insurance and no questions asked?

 

 Thanks again in advance.

We didnt have insurance, so said no and we were not charged/asked for any payment.

[Diane67B]

Thanks for your review! I am on Norwegian in January. I’m fully vaccinated. If I come back into Canada with a negative covid test, does that mean I won’t have to quarantine for 2 weeks?

[broberts]

2 hours ago, Diane67B said:

Thanks for your review! I am on Norwegian in January. I’m fully vaccinated. If I come back into Canada with a negative covid test, does that mean I won’t have to quarantine for 2 weeks?

 

I believe so, but use the entry wizard at https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/wizard-start for details of entry.

[Diane67B]

Broberts,

Thank you! That is huge news. I can’t afford the extra two weeks off work. 

[AlbertaCruisers]

10 minutes ago, Diane67B said:

Broberts,

Thank you! That is huge news. I can’t afford the extra two weeks off work. 

 

I think the risk now is, what happens if you test positive in the US?  I believe you cannot fly back into Canada and you have to quarantine in the US for 14 days.  The good news is you can then use your positive PCR test to enter Canada after that for up to 180 days.  To enter Canada you either need a negative test result or be symptom free and have proof of a positive test conducted at least 14 days and no more than 180 days before.

 

When we checked in for our flights to come home on Monday from Fort Lauderdale, there were Covid questions about symptoms, etc.  I don't think they let you board if you have a positive test. 

[Diane67B]

Broberts,

Yes, the waiting for a negative covid test will be pretty scary, that’s for sure. I am just so relieved that I won’t have to quarantine. That was a game changer for me. I had no idea that the the PCR test was valid for so many days either. You have been very helpful! 

[petuniaflower]

9 hours ago, Diane67B said:

Thanks for your review! I am on Norwegian in January. I’m fully vaccinated. If I come back into Canada with a negative covid test, does that mean I won’t have to quarantine for 2 weeks?

Correct, as of now for fully vaxxed with a negative PCR you dont have to quarantine..it does say somewhere on the Canadian gov site (I believe) that you may be subject to random selection testing upon return, but we had no mention of that to us.

 

But yes, the concern now is the "what if" you test positive before returning home..

[Diane67B]

I know. Talk about nerve wracking…waiting for results. 😱

[aragorn764]

We are also in the same situation, booked an early February cruise in 2022, we are fully vaxxed, we have put a deposit on the cruise but have paid the flights in full (non-refundable). The ship docks early in the morning and we fly out at 2pm on the same day, does anyone have an idea how we are going to be able to pull this off? does Celebrity offer testing onboard??

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, aragorn764 said:

We are also in the same situation, booked an early February cruise in 2022, we are fully vaxxed, we have put a deposit on the cruise but have paid the flights in full (non-refundable). The ship docks early in the morning and we fly out at 2pm on the same day, does anyone have an idea how we are going to be able to pull this off? does Celebrity offer testing onboard??

Yes, Celebrity will provide a free PCR test for Canadians or others requiring one to take an international flight home. 

 

If you haven't already, I suggest that you read this post:

 

 

Edited September 9, 2021 by Fouremco