Live From Lisbon

[Lois R]

****Correction I just spoke with the F&B Manager and the bar restriction is not from the EU but from SS Hq and they have a call into Monaco about it as multiple guests have asked about it. He took my cabin # and hope to have an answer within another day.

[Silver Spectre]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

****Correction I just spoke with the F&B Manager and the bar restriction is not from the EU but from SS Hq and they have a call into Monaco about it as multiple guests have asked about it. He took my cabin # and hope to have an answer within another day.

It wasn’t applied on the Shadow. Maybe the size of the ship has something to do with it.

[bitob]

On 10/7/2021 at 9:54 AM, fdnycruiser said:

Lois, is the 72 hour PCT COVID test still required to enter Portugal?  Some of the information gets confusing, but I don’t believe they will accept our vaccinations because we’re not reciprocal. Please correct me if I’m wrong. 
Enjoy your cruise !!!

Bob

I believe a rapid test is also permissible within 48 hours.

 

Entry and Exit Requirements: PORTUGAL

• A EU Digital Vaccination Certificate.
• A negative SARSCoV-2 lab result of a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), for example a PCR test, performed in the last 72 hours or.
• A negative rapid antigen test (TRAg) performed within 48 hours of boarding.

Sep 21, 2021

 

COVID-19 Information - U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Portugal

https://pt.usembassy.gov › News & Events

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fdnycruiser]

Thanks bitob!  We’ll be taking the PCR test, since we’re on a roundabout way with layover to get there to use my credit on Turkish Air. I want my test results while still in the US. 

[Lois R]

I got the rapid Antigen test. That was fully accepted by United Airlines. That EU certificate is not for us in the states and no need for a PCR if you are getting the rapid.

[ronrick1943]

9 hours ago, Lois R said:

****Correction I just spoke with the F&B Manager and the bar restriction is not from the EU but from SS Hq and they have a call into Monaco about it as multiple guests have asked about it. He took my cabin # and hope to have an answer within another day.

I don’t get it!  You can sit at a dining table with 3 people you don’t know-but you can’t sit at the bar?

[RachelG]

Sounds like you are off to a great trip.  I agree with JP about time zone changes.  Don’t let yourself stop moving at all.,  stay awake until normal bedtime in the new time zone.  George inevitably will lay down for “just a quick nap”, and then be messed up for days.

[TrulyBlonde]

13 minutes ago, RachelG said:

Sounds like you are off to a great trip.  I agree with JP about time zone changes.  Don’t let yourself stop moving at all.,  stay awake until normal bedtime in the new time zone.  George inevitably will lay down for “just a quick nap”, and then be messed up for days.

We do the same. Once in Amsterdam DH actually fell asleep sitting at a table while waiting to check into our hotel. Just keep on moving until it is bedtime and you will feel more normal the next morning.

 

[Gourmet Gal]

Hi Lois, just wondering how many sea days on this cruise?

[Lois R]

15 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Hi Lois, just wondering how many sea days on this cruise?

Hi, there are 4 sea days.

[Lois R]

It is Sunday and the seas are choppy. I spoke with the Hotel Director and he is not happy with the protocols that HQ put in place either. He can't "make the call" to relax them. BUT he did send all the complaints/comments to HQ and hopefully tomorrow (Monday) he will get get an answer. I told him the restrictions are really defeating the purpose......

Everyone on the ship has been vaxxed and tested. He agrees with me 100%.

 

Anyway, went to the show last night and it was terrific😀One of the singers had his own show and he is excellent. His name is Carlo and he is from Rome. He did a lot of popular music and commanded the stage as well.

 

Tonight I am going to Silver Note with 2 other gals. Should be fun😀

[Lois R]

17 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

I don’t get it!  You can sit at a dining table with 3 people you don’t know-but you can’t sit at the bar?

See my new post. I don't get it either and quite a few other guests feel the same way.

[WesW]

Lois, glad to hear you're having a wonderful time despite the Covid protocols.

 

If you have time and see this couple on board (Peter and Wendy from the UK) pass my warm regards--we were on the last Silver Cloud voyage last year when Covid struck.

[cruiseej]

5 hours ago, Lois R said:

I spoke with the Hotel Director and he is not happy with the protocols that HQ put in place either. He can't "make the call" to relax them. BUT he did send all the complaints/comments to HQ and hopefully tomorrow (Monday) he will get get an answer. I told him the restrictions are really defeating the purpose....

 

I wonder if they were influenced at all by the Covid outbreak last week on the Seabourn Ovation in Greece. It appears to have been well-contained; the protocols they had in place prevented further spread on the ship. Nonetheless, 5 people tested positive and they and traveling companions were offloaded and are in quarantine in a hotel. While the wife of one passenger who is posting about it is asymptomatic, apparently another person has no been hospitalized. And this is on a ship which, like the Moon, has fully vaccinated passengers and crew -- but breakthrough cases like this are not unexpected. 

 

I don't know if SS is revising protocols based on experiences on other cruise lines, but they may have just decided that any extra preventative measures they can employ are worth it to try to avoid Covid cases on the ship.

[Silver Spectre]

11 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

I wonder if they were influenced at all by the Covid outbreak last week on the Seabourn Ovation in Greece. It appears to have been well-contained; the protocols they had in place prevented further spread on the ship. Nonetheless, 5 people tested positive and they and traveling companions were offloaded and are in quarantine in a hotel. While the wife of one passenger who is posting about it is asymptomatic, apparently another person has no been hospitalized. And this is on a ship which, like the Moon, has fully vaccinated passengers and crew -- but breakthrough cases like this are not unexpected. 

 

I don't know if SS is revising protocols based on experiences on other cruise lines, but they may have just decided that any extra preventative measures they can employ are worth it to try to avoid Covid cases on the ship.

SS appear to have relaxed protocols on the current Shadow cruise and are allowing crew off individually instead off on strictly controlled beach visits.

[ronrick1943]

It seems to me SS and others are doing a great job with current issues of Covid.  The only difference between a cruise and an air plane is—when someone test positive on a ship everyone knows about it, on a plane everyone goes home and no one knows about it.

[Catlover54]

On 10/9/2021 at 10:47 AM, ronrick1943 said:

I don’t get it!  You can sit at a dining table with 3 people you don’t know-but you can’t sit at the bar?

There is certainly not a 1:1 correlation between what follows "The Science" and what is done when it comes to Covid rules.  Masks are off both at bar and tables.
 

The best argument you can make ( not saying  that they made it) is that at bars, people tend to get drunker and laugh louder with more droplet 'spray' , and they are more likely to nuzzle up closer to each other even if newly met strangers, and thus shorten their distancing.  At a dining table, people tend to stay more sober so they don't fall in their food, and in their little area.

 

Or maybe there are just giant tables so people can sit 6 feet apart (maybe with  ipads provided so you can text each other instead of talking loudly)  😉

 

[travelnap]

Lois, Glad to see you made it safely and that you are on board and enjoying your cruise.  Thank you for letting the rest of us follow along with you with your live from thread.  Have they said anything yet about the volcano that is even more active in La Palma, Canary Islands, and if you will still be able to port there?  Have a great cruise.

[ronrick1943]

16 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi, there are 4 sea days.

Wow, seas to us are the best days of a cruise.

[Tothesunset]

3 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

Wow, seas to us are the best days of a cruise.

On the other hand, when everyone leaves the ship at a port stop for excursions, the ship becomes, almost, one's private yacht for a few hours. 

 

Sea days are just the best. 

[jollyjones]

4 hours ago, Tothesunset said:

On the other hand, when everyone leaves the ship at a port stop for excursions, the ship becomes, almost, one's private yacht for a few hours. 

 

Sea days are just the best. 

 

But, for warm weather cruising, there is no sea breeze and there may be a lot of noise if it's a commercial port. 

That's why sea days are definitely the best (altho' I am with you, I often don't get off if it's a port that doesn't appeal much and I enjoy my 'private yacht'.)

 

[lincslady]

For me, it is a port I don't want to visit again, and we are at anchor.  Best of all worlds.

 

Lola

[lincslady]

Lois - so sorry, we have gone off piste again as happens so often.

 

Looking forward to your next reports on your voyage.

 

Lola

[lincslady]

No news from Lois since Sunday,  I hope all is well with you, Lois, and you are enjoying yourself too much to have time to post here!

 

We are looking forward to reading your news.

 

Lola

[Lois R]

Hi folks

The internet has been horribly slow and that is the main reason I have not posted.

Still having a great time😀 

Restrictions still in place.

 

Deck party last night was a lot of fun😀