jerseygirl3

Oh, ok. That does make sense. A PCR herr in New Jersey usually has a 48 hour turnaround, but not guaranteed. When we go to Europe in October, we'll prob bring a few government issued tests with us and use that Rapid Test company, assuming we have decent wifi.

I didn't realize testing for unvaccinated was always 3 days prior to embarkation. That doesn't even make sense. It would be more prudent to have the unvaccinated test closer to embarkation, not later than those vaccinated, as the unvaccinated have a higher risk of contracting the virus and getting sicker (that statement is not up for debate; I'm a nurse and I get the daily totals of hospitalizations and deaths broken down by vaccinated vs unvaccinated). I don't get that rationale; as a vaccinated passenger I can't be tested any sooner than 48 hours, which makes things more complicated when traveling overseas.

Use one if the at home tests the government sent and log onto Rapidtestandtrace.com. It is proctored, costs $20/pp, and you have the results in 30 min.

So now they will be allowing more unvaccinated to sail "typically with 80% vaccinated " and changing the timeframe for testing from 48 to 72 hours?

I thought the same thing. Sounds like they will be doing away with vaccine mandates before they do away with testing for vaccinated passengers. Not happy about this.

When my husband got this new variant (we assume it was the new variant as it was so recent), it took 6 days before I tested positive, although I was symptomatic within 2 days of him testing positive. The testing needs to go, it does nothing.

I tested negative at day 11 with an antigen test.

But Biden didn't require hospitalization, as did the previous occupant of the WH. So vaccines are effective. Not everyone can take Paxlovid, due to other interactions with other medications (blood thinners, to be one).

When you were symptomatic, did you quarantine for 5 days?

Not only did it find my husband (thankfully, the Medical Center put me on Tamiflu prophylactically and I didn't catch it), but it also found 80 other passengers. That's the count that was given to the CDC. I'm sure there were loads of others, but they weren't counted or quarantined if they didn't visit the Medical Center.

Yes. He was running almost 103 temp fever and was very lethargic, sore throat, body aches.

My husbsnd was quarantined when he contracted Influenza A onboard Feb 2020. We received no compensation for the days he was quarantined (the rest of our 12 day sailing). It didnt even occur to us that he would be refunded. There were 80 confirmed cases on our sailing. Prob more that didnt report to the Medical Center.

Im all for ending the testing. I just wonder how many will still board even if they know they are positive for Covid.

I sent him an email a frw weeks ago. Crickets...

I'm assuming if you're spending 3 days in Rome, you will want to make a visit to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc. If you are going to be in that location, I would highly suggest Armando Al Pantheon restaurant (about 50 yards away from the Pantheon, but tucked in a small street.) It is very small, you must make a reservation for dinner at least a month in advance. Lunch may be easier, but still need a reservation. It's very small and family owned (they are closed on Sundays). It's a little more difficult to get in since Stanley Tucci featured it on his CNN special "Searching for Italy", but it's not a touristy place. The cacio e pepe is to die for, as is the carbonara.

Can this service be used outside the country? We will need a test done in Italy.

Can you explain how emed works? And which tests are acceptable. We have QuickVue, Flowflex, and Clinitest

Do you order 2 separate test proctors for husband and wife. Also, how soon before you want to test do you order? thanks!

Im sure there was. Or he could have picked up in one of the ports.

My husband contracted Influenza A on our last cruise before the pandemic started (Feb 2020). As did 80 other passengers. All were quarantined. He was allowed to stay in our cabin and irder room service. No cabin attendant seevice. The medical center did not quarantine me, but they did put me on Tamiflu prophylactically. I stayed in the cabin fir the most part anyway because i didnt want to leave my husband alone I know for sure my husband didnt board the ship with flu, as we were already 9 days into a 12 day cruise when he first felt ill and stayed in our cabin that evening and in the morning went to the Medical Center, where they tested him for flu.

I was a big proponent of precruise testing, but I've since changed my mind. My husband got Covid 5 days into a Florida vacation last month. I immediately isolated. I became symptomatic 2 days later. I tested every day for 5 days and was consistently negative. I didn't test positive until 6 days later. I'm sure I had it during those 5 days I was testing negative. If my husband hadn't tested positive, I probably would have stopped testing after the first negative test and thought I had a cold/flu.

Thnx!

Can someone enlighten me as to the daily gratuity amount? It seems like so long since we’ve cruised that I’ve forgotten.

We got a one way from Philly to Bologna (with a changeover in Heathrow) Premium Economy for $735/pp. Booked direct with American Airlines. I think we did pretty well. Last 2 times we booked with cruiseline, they dropped the ball. The first time they cancelled our reservation completely (they wouldn't take any responsibility and had no idea who or why we were cancelled, as the flight was still a go). The second time we found out days before we were due to fly to Rome that they bumped my husband off the flight. Both times they were First Class/Business class tickets. And neither time did they notify us. We happened to check our reservations and found out.

It says "they will do everything possible to get you to your cruise." It doesn't say it guarantees getting you to your cruise. Did you have travel insurance? If not, I think you're out of luck. We never travel without insurance.