DakotaDisneyLover

We have done this several times, and no problem with traffic, etc.  Husband drops us and luggage off at the ship, returns the rental car, takes shuttle back to the ship - usually within 30-40 min. tops.

12 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Most people catch covid during air travel. And not from the cruise. 

If testing positive the last day or two of a 7 night or longer cruise, or within a couple days of departure, it's caught while on the cruise (the ship, ports etc.).  We mandatory tested on Aug. 4th for an 8 night cruise which began Aug. 6th.  Departed ship Aug. 14, one in our party started not feeling great that day, tested positive on the 15th.  I tested positive on the 16th.  Several reports of this on our cruise FB page.  Note:  We (5 of us) spent a whole day flying to FL on Aug. 5th due to flight issues, were perfectly healthy until the dates mentioned.  So the people always trying to blame the flights instead of the cruise should just stop.  Truth is, no one knows where exactly they catch it.  We have flown both domestic (3 trips) and internationally (1 trip) in the last year and a half and remained healthy.

On 9/5/2022 at 12:50 PM, bucfan2 said:

That’s an outstanding %. Wish it was that low everywhere away from cruising. 

How many cases do you suppose went unreported?  Several I bet. 

On 7/31/2022 at 11:32 AM, PSU_Redhead said:

Did you check your spam folder? Perhaps it found its way into there?

Sure did.  Nothing.☹️

1 hour ago, Tlbecker1 said:

I would make an appt. with Rapid test and trace as a backup. https://rapidtestandtrace.com/

Thanks so much for the link!

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

This is why I chose RT&T over OnPoint. I have read a few reports of poor/non-existent customer service although everyone seemed to eventually get it sorted out.

 

Hope you are able to get through to them. On the plus side, you have some time.

Yes, thankfully we have time.  I didn't know about RT&T, I will need to look into them.

We cruise on Allure Aug. 6th.  Yesterday I purchased 3 tests and reserved a time with On-Point Testing.  I did not receive the link they were supposed to email us.  Their chat feature is currently unavailable, and when I called the phone number listed, that was unavailable also!  Weird!  I emailed them and am waiting for a reply.  Has anyone else had this happen?  Two other families that are sailing with us booked their appointments yesterday and received a link.

On 6/7/2022 at 8:48 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Thank you!

 

we wore masks in the taxis (drivers didn't cough) and stayed away from the other people on the islands, so chances are - it was on the ship. Plus, the last port day was on Thursday, and with the current variant people usually become symptomatic in a couple of days, or so I've read. I am thinking - most likely the Mamma Mia performance, because it was 2.5 hours long and a lot of people were coughing around us. We sat in the last row during all of the theater and ice shows. Who knows... However, I was a bit shocked that the OceanAria captain called for the crowd to yell loudly and repeatedly. Not the brightest idea, even though it was outside. If I had known he was going to do that, we would have sat in the last row as well.

 

Basically, we took all of the possible precautions, but they weren't enough, because nobody else was taking the same precautions. And with the current variant being very contagious - it was pretty much a given. May have as well not taken any precautions and ended up with covid much sooner - during the cruise instead of becoming symptomatic the day after disembarkation.

 

Yes, we usually figure at least an hour in MDR - in our experience one hour is super speedy, but we are fine with 1.5 hours or more, especially for a larger party.

First of all, I wish you a speedy recovery. 

Just saying, there is absolutely no way you can pinpoint where you contracted Covid.  My husband recently got Covid for the very first time.  We, along with our adult son, took a 5.5 hour road trip overnight.  We stayed in a hotel room, etc.  Two days after getting home hubby started feeling crappy, and tested positive the next morning.  Son and I never got it, even after 11 hours in the car together and hanging out up until hubby tested.  It's a crazy thing.

I would imagine your previous cruise sailed at much less capacity.

13 of us will be on the Allure in August, and the ship appears near capacity.  Fingers crossed we will all remain healthy!

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Very likely.

 

No, wait till just before final payment to see if things change.

Cocoa Cay is a Bahamas territory, correct? So will this requirement be in effect at Cocoa Cay?

We did this cruise in May 2019.  Definitely get to Rome a couple of days early to see Rome.  I did lots of research on my own.  Our Roll Call was active, and we shared transportation and excursions with people in the group.  The cruise was wonderful!  All of our transportation on excursions at ports was in vans - I do not recommend the big tour buses.

Another point: If a ship has to return to their departure port due to a C19 outbreak, how long will it take to sanitize the ship and how long will the next cruise be delayed? This may be handled a little differently than Noro for example. 13 of us are on the Jan. 2, 2022 Odyssey sailing. We’re going to evaluate the situation long and hard before we pay our cruise off on Oct. 

I just received an email with a $58/day drink package offer. Is this a decent deal? Sailing Odyssey Jan 2nd 2022. Thanks!

New to RCL. Booked for Jan. 2022 on Odyssey.  How does one get a reduced rate on the adult beverage package? Do we watch our account for specials? Thanks!

I sailed the Epic on a 7 night Mediterranean this past May with my husband and son.  Absolutely no problems whatsoever.  Embarkation and disembarkation was always efficient, timely, and easy.  It was a wonderful cruise!  Food, drinks, entertainment, and service was all very good.  We had an aft verandah, and the aft elevators were less busy than the forward elevators.  We also like to take the stairs for exercise.  My only complaint was there was long black hair on the shower wall - all week - yuck,  (I left it there to see if it would get cleaned off, and nope, it didn't), and the carpet in our cabin was stained and worn.  Also sailed the Epic on a Christmas cruise a couple years ago. It seemed busier/more full, probably due to families of 3 or 4 in many of the cabins instead of 2 people.  That also was a great  cruise!  There were 13 of us in 4 cabins, and we all had a lovely time, and everyone stated afterwards they would definitely sail the Epic again.  You can't blame "the ship" for all of these problems endured on this sailing.  Many of the issues were out of the ship's control.  NCL should have communicated the issues to the passengers that were on the ship, and to the passengers waiting to board the ship-there are alot of things they could have done instead of leaving everyone in dark.

4 hours ago, GA Dave said:

Can I ask how much it was for the car to the airport?  We do not cruise until next year, but it would be helpful to get an idea of cost.  We plan to stay overnight at the Marriott Park Hotel Rome the first night back, then fly out the next day.

4 hours ago, GA Dave said:

Can I ask how much it was for the car to the airport?  We do not cruise until next year, but it would be helpful to get an idea of cost.  We plan to stay overnight at the Marriott Park Hotel Rome the first night back, then fly out the next day.

We used Civitavecchia Cab Service, and it was 129 euros in cash to the driver. You can google them for their website. They picked us up right beside the ship and dropped us off at our terminal in Rome. In a Mercedes Benz sedan 😊. 

We got off the Epic on May 29th. We had an 11:15 am flight out of Rome. I hired a car to pick us up from the port and take us to the airport, it worked great! We walked our luggage off the ship and the driver was waiting at 7:30 am as arranged. We had plenty of time for our flight. Yes, more expensive than taking the train, but hassle free and so worth it. There were 3 of us. 

We order a quick breakfast and coffee via room service for port days, which speeds up getting off the ship.  You fill out the form the night before and hang it on your door knob.  Free - just tip the delivery person.  Very prompt also.

The aft elevators are much less crowded, I recommend them.  Getting on and off the ship was quick, but allow some extra time so you don't keep your tour group waiting.

No worries.  We just got off the Epic on Wednesday.  I went to the desk and explained the situation (we too had an early excursion in Cannes).  There was a specific person handling this and we were able to get the first tender time slot, no problem.  They were extremely accommodating.

We just did Civitavecchia Cab Service on May 29th, you can google it for their website.  Great to work with; we were very satisfied with them. 

We just did this cruise out of Rome.  Our ship sailed the first day at 7:00 p.m.  We got to the ship at 4:15 p.m. and there was no waiting and no lines.  I think that with some boarding in Rome, and some boarding in Barcelona, it has cut the lines to board at the beginning of your cruise considerably.  Same with disembarking at the end of your cruise - no lines.  That said, I personally would recommend getting to the ship no less than 2.5 hours before disembarking.  Leave a little extra time for traffic, etc.  If you don't make the muster drill, there is a make up one the next day.  Enjoy - we had a fabulous time!

“No smoking in cabins”  On our last cruise our next door neighbors smoked nonstop on their balcony - cigarettes AND WEED!  If we opened our balcony door it sucked the smoke right into our room. I asked them once not to do it, then complained to our cabin steward and called about it, but nothing to our knowledge was done, as it continued. We had an extra large balcony and couldn’t enjoy it!

Ohhhhh, thanks!

Anyone with recent trip reports sailing the Mediterranean on the Epic from Rome (Civittecia) or Barcelona?  We board May 22nd, and are so excited!  Any tips or suggestions?

Thank you everyone!  KeithJenner:  I hadn't thought about the fact that the entire ship is not disembarking in Rome!  Whew, that makes me feel better.  I have arranged a private transfer directly to the airport, so we should be good.  I have it booked for an 8:00 am pick up, but it sounds like we could disembark sooner so may tweak the pickup time.  We are planning on walking off with our bags, so that should speed things up also.