mac_tlc

Hi Frank, Great to hear from you, Terri and fondly remember our 2018 Allure sailing ! We are looonnnggg time DVCers, taking the tour in November 1991, when there were only three building of what is now OKW, and a Hospitality House. Bought in February 1992. Those free passes were fabulous, although they were not useable at the Animal Kingdom when it opened in 1998. Our grandkids are quite spoiled, with this being their third Star Class experience. We also hope our cruise, or WDW, or DL paths cross again !!! Your home state is still on our bucket list, with the requisite trip to Aulani!! mac_tlc

I think the kids did a lot more of the wine part than the food part! mac_tlc

One last morning cup of coffee on the patio at OKW. That mound in the picture leads to the 4th hole of the Lake Buena Vista golf course, one of the original courses at Disney— that hosted a PGA event for a bunch of years. The villas at OKW are built around holes 3 through 8 and many have a course view. Haven’t found any golf balls yet but I’m still looking. mac_tlc

Whew, it was a hot one today ! Five of us spent the morning getting our Covid tests via Rapid Test and Trace. WooHoo !!! All negative. That plus the other three folks with COR's means we all board on Sunday. Rapid Test and Trace process was easy peasy, about 15 minutes total per person, negative certificate e-mailed and checked before the session was ended. Spent a sweaty five or six hours in Animal Kingdom and Epcot, with a little Skyliner excursion in between. Lots of crowds, long lines, and sporadic attraction unavailability. The kids and spouses are at Epcot tonight. Hmmmm -- I wonder if the Food and Wine Festival had anything to do with it???? We have the grandkids in the well air conditioned villa at Old Key West --- a fair trade. Our set sail passes for Sunday have an 11am arrival time but in speaking with the genie that may be a bit early for the suite to be ready for us -- we may arrive a few minutes later and head to the Suite Lounge for a spell. Tomorrow is check-out day at Old Key West and a heavy packing day. The kids have another Disney park day scheduled for tomorrow, the wife and I are "blacked-out" of weekends with the annual pass we have. No worries for us, we will probably be back down in November. mac_tlc

So a little about our Covid testing scenario. 7 of the 8 of us are fully vaccinated and the youngest is half way there. Four of the eight had Covid about three weeks ago. So after so hemming and hawing we decided to go the Certificate of Recovery route for them. Three of those four have a positive PCR test result taken at least 11 days before departure and have received their COR. The youngest is in that group and had to go in person to get it, the other two did it online with MDanywhere.com. Easy peasy. The forth’s PCR test came back negative so he will have to test two days prior. We have out tests scheduled with RapidTestamdTrace for tomorrow staggered thought the morning. Using the freebie government tests. Hope it all works out. Things are changing quickly now and the youngest could now get by with an antigen test but we will forego that since he has that positive PCR and the COR. I had checked with Royal to make sure this will work and was told it is OK. Also double checked with our genie, who triple checked with guest services and we should be OK. All fingers and toes are crossed. mac_tlc

It is certainly comfortable for a few days. Old Key West was the first resort Disney built for its timeshare business back in 1991. I guess they really didn’t know how popular it was going to be. OKW rooms are some of the largest in the “vacation club” portfolio and requires the lowest points per night to book. Really a great value compared to some of the others, IMHO. We have been members since 1992 and OKW is one of our home resorts. It really is a special place for us and the kids…. and now the grandkids… mac_tlc

Finally got into our room about 6pm. It’s a Grand Villa, 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, dining area, living area, laundry room, two stories. It’s a few more square feet than our house in CT. Here are some pictures. Entry and living room: Master bedroom and bath Other bedrooms and view from second story:

We might! Depends on how long we end up at the parks. It is very hot, we did HS today from 8:10 to 3:00. Kids are doing extra magic hours at MK tonight. mac_tlc

We had 8, so we had two on the master bedroom, four in the second bedroom and two on the sofa in the living area. The bedrooms are not big. The second one is quite crowded with four, the vanity/table is close to the beds. The master bed is very close to the drawers, really need to shuffle sideways past the bed. The bathrooms are nothing special, considering it’s an expensive suite. The second one is no bigger than a regular cabin’s bathroom. Master bath is not big and the headroom in the shower/tub is an issue if you are 6 ft or taller. Livimg area is awesome, balcony stupendous. Oasis/Allure A1’s are a little bigger than Harmony/Symphony. mac_tlc

Awaiting check in at Old Key West. They recently renovated the entire lobby area. It’s airy and bright.

It was one hot night, but thankfully it’s running well right now. mac_tlc

The wife + son + daughter-in-law area at Epcot today as I had to deal with the AC. They got boarding group 5 for Guardians of the Galaxy this morning. In fact, it broke down as soon as they boarded but started up about 10 minutes later. They gave all of them a free Lightning Lane pass so they will use that on Remy later today. Check in to OKW tomorrow, going to Hollywood Studios. Daughter, son-in-law, grandkids arrive tomorrow. MK Thursday, AK Friday. My wife and I have Pixie annual passes so we are blacked out on weekends. I think the kids will go to Epcot on Saturday. We have resisted doing Genie+. If we were to do it, it would only be at HS and MK. We visit often enough (in fact this is my wife's 100th trip) that I don't think my wife and I need them. The kids will "commando" tour the parks from rope drop to closing. I'm more interested in Food & Wine this trip. mac_tlc

Good news!! It was either 1) a loose connection in the 24V system, or 2) A stuck overflow valve. In any event, its working now. Let's see how long it takes to cool down 12 degrees ........ mac_tlc

It was there when I checked in for my 9/18 Oasis sailing last Friday. I uploaded the cards. Checked today, its gone. Edited to ADD: In the interest of research, I checked our Harmony sailing this Sunday (8/14). It doesn't show up there either. But the first screen still says vaccinations are required. mac_tlc

The Suite Concierges seem to run the gamut, as with most folks I guess. We have had very engaged ones and some who never seem to get up off the chair. They always seem to be very busy. I will let you know what I experience. We do spend a fair amount of time in the SL, especially when it's not crowded. mac_tlc

Just catching up on the last few days as we are getting ready for Harmony OTS this Sunday, I have such fond memories of our last few X cruises when I see that Luminae menu. Bourbon and Peaches is my dinner time Go-to. Great food pix from Tuscan. As we wait to board the Harmony to go to the Caribbean, I got a chuckle out of wanting to make sure the thermostat will turn on the heat. 🤣🤣 mac_tlc

I thought I would start this LIVE thread a little before cruise day. We are spending a few Disney Days beforehand, and we have a Grand Villa at Old Key West reserved for the eight of us, ages 63 to 4. We drove down from CT (our 28TH time driving), leaving Sunday and arriving yesterday. Of course, no journey can be without drama. I noticed last Thursday that the AC at our house in Orlando stopped working – big problem in Florida in August. Right now, I have two fans to blow the humidity around. Never fear – the AC folks are coming this morning (Tuesday) and hopefully we will be cooled off by this afternoon. Heading to Old Key West tomorrow to sweat like crazy for a few days. I’ll include some pix of the Grand Villa for those who may be interested. Ok, about the cruise. We will be sailing the Harmony of the Seas, our second time on this lady. This is our (wife and I) 8th cruise since the restart. It is our annual August bring-everybody-onboard cruise. Our two kids, their spouses and the two grandsons. We will be staying in the 4-bedroom Villa Suite and look forward to everyone having their own bedroom. Previously we have done the 2BDR Aquatheatre Suite, which has a great view, great balcony, great living area, but not great bedrooms and bathrooms. Our genie is Raj, for those who keep track of those things. There was some pre-cruise Covid drama as four of the eight got Covid about a month ago. I will spare you the day-by-day trials and tribulations, but as it ended up, three of the eight will board using a positive PCR test and a Certificate of Recovery, the other five will go the conventional route (hopefully), with a negative (fingers crossed) antigen test two days prior. We will be using RapidTestandTrace for the first time this Friday --- wish us luck. The COR will mean that those folks cannot get off in Jamaica or Labadee, but given the cabin and genie – it's not a huge sacrifice !!! I will be happy to answer any questions about any piece of the voyage – the drive, the testing, the AC, Disney, Harmony – whatever you got, I’ll give it a shot. OK, time to get ready for the AC repair folks !!!!!!! More later. mac_tlc

Thanks! We did the Aquatheatre suite on deck 8 on Allure last summer. Such a great balcony with great views! I plan on doing a LIVE thread , probably starting next week . mac_tlc

So do we .

You need a positive PCR test, taken at least 11 but less than 90 days before departure. You can get a Certificate of Recovery from your doctor, or CVS minute clinic does it. My daughter got hers online using MDamywhere.com. They will not do it for anyone under 18. The COR states the date the positive test was taken, date of onset of symptoms, and date of COR issuance. That plus the positive test result should do the trick ——— I’ll let you know in 10 days. mac_tlc

Harmony of the Seas departing 8/14, our genie is Rajesh (Raj) Jogi. Could also be that the COR process has been refined as time has gone on. mac_tlc

I have verified it with Royal, checked with our genie for the cruise , who double checked with the guest administration manager on board. They all confirmed. Honestly, it makes perfect sense that the COR applies to unvaccinated kids. Those are the only ones who need a PCR test to board (3 days prior). It’s exactly that test that can show positive for months after infection. A vaccinated person can get an antigen test 2 days prior, which is much more likely to be negative weeks after infection. They don’t even need to go the COR route, just do the antigen test that is less likely to continue showing positive. Of course the COR in that position is good insurance.

Unvaccinated kids need to have a PCR test, not an antigen test. The government provided ones are antigen tests.

We were going to have our 4 year old tested at CVS, they still do PCR tests. However, it turns out he tested positive a little over a week ago and will use a positive PCR test and a Certificate of Recovery to board. With that there is no need for him to have the PCR test three days prior, which would most likely come back positive anyway. mac_tlc

Great to have you back, Jim!!! We will be on the Harmony of the Seas 8/14, so it will be a challenge to stay current! Hopefully you experience all 3 voyages this time ! mac_tlc