LIVE - Mariner of the Seas - May 28, 2022 Covid testing on-board for Bermuda!

[Rewind]

Hi All!  We just did our drive-through Covid testing at 11:30 this morning and had our results by noon.  Both of us are negative so we are clear to sail!

 

We board Mariner this Saturday for an 8 night cruise to Nassau, CocoCay, and Bermuda.   I think this is the only itinerary where Bermuda comes after the Bahamas so we will need to get a Covid test on the ship before getting into Bermuda.

 

We got lucky and will have Voom Surf and Stream on this trip and will be able to answer questions and post things as we see them.

 

Now just to make sure we have all our paperwork in order.

[MississippiMom]

Drive-thru testing?  

Walgreens or elsewhere?

[Rewind]

Walgreens.  I reserved my test 7 days in advance the day before they dropped the window to 3 days.  I just pulled up to the pharmacy drive through window, showed my drivers license, they put the test in the little drawer thing, and a pharmacy tech watched me stick a swab in my nose.  Very easy and we got results really fast.

[Rewind]

Got packed up, dropped off the dog, and our flight got delayed.  We ran around a bit, did a couple errands, and our flight got delayed again.  

Grabbed lunch and after eating a bit, flight got moved up.  Headed to the airport, checked in, and our flight moved up again.

Now just waiting for what we think is about an hour past our original boarding time.

[Rewind]

Flight still left a bit late (pilots were stuck in traffic).  Made it to Orlando about 8pm, then with getting off the plane, getting our checked bag,  then to the rental counter, to the car, we got out of the airport right about 9pm.  Drive over to Canaveral with a stop at Sonic for a quick dinner, we got into our hotel room at 10pm.

 

Time for bed.  Tomorrow I think we will swing by Manatee park, Ron Jon Surf Shop, and then head to the ship.

[sandebeach]

Have a great cruise!

[Rewind]

Morning all,

 

Should be three ships in PC today.  It was going to be 4 with Carnival Freedom but I really don't expect them to be here.

 

Nassau is tomorrow's port stop.  It was going to be 5 ships including Carnival Freedom and Conquest, but with Conquest going to pick up Freedom's passengers, it will only be 3 ships in port.

[Rewind]

Good morning Port Canaveral!

 

[molly361]

Have fun  I'm supposed to be there with you but COVID positive is not letting me.  This really stinks??  I should be getting ready to take my dog to the sitter  BUMMER!!!  Guess I will follow along here

[jimbri]

Have a great time!

[Rewind]

At Manatee Park now.  No signs of Manatees but there are a few pelicans flying around.

 

[Rewind]

We tried to kill some more time at Ron Jon Surf Shop but then we just returned the car and headed to the port.

Dropped off car and got to the Terminal just after 10am and just slightly after they started checking people in.  We were scheduled for 11am but got through by 10:20.

However we are now just sitting waiting to board for the next little while.

 

 

[Rewind]

Check-in was smooth but boarding fell apart.  The wifi network at Terminal 5 is shoddy and the boarding staff can't get their tablets to check the health requirements.

After 10 minutes they decided to recheck health paperwork and let us on board.

 

And now for everyone's favorite buffet:

[Rewind]

Some random walking around pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rewind]

And saw this nice drone ship docked to our Port side:

 

 

[Rewind]

Staterooms are ready at 1pm.

[Rewind]

Slight confusion - we had signed up for My Time Dining but it turned out that was only a request.  We have been scheduled for early dining but probably won't be using it.  

Over the past few cruises, we have been going to the Windjammer more often for dinner so we are thinking of skipping the MDR entirely this trip.

 

Also, when checking in at your muster station, make sure you hear the beep when they scan you in.  DW got scanned but mine didn't register.  I found this out early but still had to go back to check in a second time.

[Rewind]

Another slight technical glitch; DW's account was listed as Cash even though I registered with a CC.  Went to Guest Services and they confirmed she had a CC listed.

 

Internet has been spotty today but I think that is due to some rain storms and not being able to get a stable connection to the satellites.

 

We did do dinner in the MDR tonight as it was prime rib.  The prime rib was pretty good and the key lime pie we had for dessert was also good.  I wouldn't say either stood out as amazing, but it was a tasty meal.

 

There is a comedian tonight but we are tired so are going to pass out in bed.

[Rewind]

Also thought I would add network speeds - we are on the surf & stream package:

[Biker19]

9 hours ago, Rewind said:

Also thought I would add network speeds

Pretty typical Stream speeds, with just a slightly higher than avg ping (usually closer to 600).

[Trixie21]

On 5/28/2022 at 11:59 AM, molly361 said:

Have fun  I'm supposed to be there with you but COVID positive is not letting me.  This really stinks??  I should be getting ready to take my dog to the sitter  BUMMER!!!  Guess I will follow along here

Same thing happened me this week - should have been on Jewel out of Amsterdam to Iceland. 

Rebooked for Arctic circle 20th June.

Covid is a right pain in the posterior. 

Hope your symptoms are not too bad.

[molly361]

2 minutes ago, Trixie21 said:

Same thing happened me this week - should have been on Jewel out of Amsterdam to Iceland. 

Rebooked for Arctic circle 20th June.

Covid is a right pain in the posterior. 

Hope your symptoms are not too bad.

Thanks  Hope yours are not bad either   I basically just have a cough now

Edited May 29, 2022 by molly361

[Rewind]

Was not expecting to see both Freedom and Indy today:

 

[BecciBoo]

 DW got scanned but mine didn't register. 

 

That happened in port once whilst we were standing at the rail watching for late runners and they called my name to come to guest services!  Ha, I had come back early and already showered and dressed for dinner but the machine had mis-scanned and they thought I was missing.  So embarrassing!  But funny.  Make sure you hear that ding!

[Rewind]

We did Fromer's walking tour this morning.  As we were walking past the straw market, we heard one of the 4 ships evacuation tones go off.  Then after a bit of wandering, we reboarded to rest a bit and grab lunch.

Just before 11am as we are sitting in our stateroom, there was a Charlie Charlie Charlie call over the PA.

 

More to come - time for lunch.