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If anyone likes snorkeling from shore, yesterday we took Maui bus #28, to Kapalua Beach Bay park. The fare is $2, $1 for seniors.  We got off at the Napili Kai resort exit, then walked to tje Kapalua coast trail down to the beach.  Snorkeling was like swimming in an aquarium! The bus trip takes about 45 minutes, with stops also at Whalers Village in Kaanapali.

Rainbow over the harbor this morning, Eclipse seen right lower corner behind building and crane.  Will be boarding this afternoon!

2 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

Omicron is reason for cancellations on Journey?  Doesn’t make sense to me……there have been more cases of Covid on Quest than Journey.  Could it be low booking numbers on Journey due to Omicron?  That sounds more realistic to me.  

Maybe the Canaries have too much Omicron?

I ordered the 6 pack from Emed on Friday, recieved today (Tues.).  Not bad over a holiday weekend.  The expiration is Nov. 2022.  

We sailed Dec 4-11 on Reflection.   In the past, we had parked at the garage and walked across the street to the terminal.  This time, I believe we were at Pier 29.  We drove up to drop off luggage, then back and around to the parking garage, where there was a shuttle back to the ship.  This was ok, but upon docking at end of cruise, we now had to take all of our luggage to the shuttle, then be driven back to the parking garage.  I felt sorry for the driver having to load and unload everyone’s luggage in the shuttle.  The garage was $15 per day, and you pay by inserting your ticket into a machine near the elevators before going up to your car.  I had expected $20 per day, so that was a surprise. Looks like Nieuw Statendam and Edge are walking distance from Mid Port Garage.

19 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

 

And currently takes more than a week ahead to schedule your test with Walgreens, CVS is 13 to 14 days out for new appointments.  Friday afternoon I ordered test kits from Optum for our Jan. cruise and received them early afternoon yesterday.     They are good up thru 10/2022. 

 

Are your tests good to Oct 2022, for real?  Just checked the Optum online site, the furthest out expiration is Feb 3, 2022……I need a test for mid March, wouldn’t want one that expires too soon.  They say no returns, also.

Hello ChicagoPaul, thank you for your review and amazing photos!  We are sailing Reflection the day you return, Dec. 4.  Getting more excited now, after reading this thread….so nice to hear of how happy everyone is to be on board!
Just a quick question….. have you noticed if they are offering discounts for the specialty restaurants?  I have Lawn Club booked with the “first night “ discount, and am thinking about booking Murano midweek.  In the past sometimes they offered a last minute discount onboard to fill the restaurants.

Thank you for any info you may have, enjoy the rest of your cruise!

You will see the discount as you continue a mock booking.  Choose a room, and in the upper right corner is a drop down menu with the price breakdown showing the discounted fare.  Just be aware that the extra taxes and fees are not in that breakdown, you must look for that in the fine print way down at the bottom of the page. Then you have the option to add the upgraded drink packages and/or trip insurance, before you pay your deposit.

On 10/12/2021 at 9:50 AM, RichYak said:

My faith in humanity just took another hit. This is so disturbing.

If I recall correctly, the day VP Harris was to be interviewed on The View, 2 of the 4 hosts suddenly were pulled off the air because of “positive” CV 19 tests……later it was determined that the tests were “ false positives”.  
It does seem that a false positive test CAN happen.

Following the link to the CDC recommendation on post 473, the previous page entitled COVID 19 Notices.....it seems that we should avoid travel to any level 4 country, and be sure we are fully vaccinated in order to travel to a level 3, 2, or 1 country.  Anotherwords, according to the CDC the entire world is a danger for travelers right now.  
Looking at the worlometers.info website, St. Maarten has had 2518 cases and 31 deaths since counting began.....they are number 182 on the list of 222 countries....doesn’t seem that big of a threat in my opinion.

4 minutes ago, Stevanb said:

How are they planing to get passengers a SARS-CoV-2 test  before you fly home  and If you test positive are you on your own

Exactly what I was wondering.  Far as I know, US is still going to require that negative test within 72 hours of arrival......

A few years ago we took a Transatlantic that ended in Barcelona.  From there we flew to Venice, took the train from airport to town.  Stayed 3 days, then train to Florence for 2 days, then train to Rome for 3 days.  Flew to Florida from Rome.  Best vacation so far!  We booked excursions to see the Duomo in Florence, and an underground tour of the Coliseum in Rome. So many good memories...it was also our first trip to Europe.  Can’t wait till things normalize so we can do it again!

A couple years ago we took an Azamara Transatlantic that ended in Barcelona.  It was our first time to Europe.  From Barcelona, we flew to Venice, stayed 3 nights to explore.  Took the train to Florence for 2 nights, then train again to Rome for 3 nights.  Flew from Rome back to Florida using the Celebrity air program which enabled us to get very reasonable fares.  I made ALL of the reservations myself....air, hotels, trains....everything went just as planned.  Went on some very interesting excursions including an underground tour of the Coliseum in Rome, and climbing to the top of the Duomo in Florence.  Looking forward to another such adventure when Covid is over!

20 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

The Cayman Islands don't expect cruising to return this year.

 

https://caymannewsservice.com/2021/01/cruise-tourism-wont-be-back-before-2022/

I read that article and the comment section, then another linked article and comments.  It appears that many locals do not want the cruiseships to return, much like Key West.  There were suggestions that overnight guests bring more money, so an increase in condominiums and all inclusive resorts would be better.  Many were also concerned about the ecology of the waters, and especially disliked Carnival cruises.  The media seems to be perpetuating the petri dish idea about cruise ships.  Also, the cruise lines are saying the Caymans will be in the iteneraries, but Cayman authorities have not said when or if they will allow ships back.

What happens to the spouse/ travel mate if a person is quarantined ashore?  Are they left to saail onwards alone, worrying about their mate....or do they go ashore as well?  What about packing up the luggage before being removed from the ship if both are removed?  Is the entire cruise held up while the packing  and removing of the “sick” passenger occurs?

I had a 12 day Alaska cruise scheduled with Princess for May 2021.  Had suspected it would be canceled, so appreciate knowing well before final payment date.  Hopefully the vaccine works as expected and I will take my Celebrity Hawaii cruise in May of 2022.

Two healthy  non medication folks in their 60’s, that can drive to the port as we live in Florida....sign us up!

The sound on the individual movies being shown is great!

I agree, this webinar is painful.  Hopefully it will get better....

Cuba?

I tried to call Captain’s Club last Friday, waited 2.5 hours and gave up.

Called again Sunday (Mother’s Day) midday and got through with no wait at all!   I wondered if I had selected the wrong thing on the automated list the first day, or there were just more free agents because of the holiday.

3 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Just wanted to make a quick post about the copyright guidelines on here as so many are posting from articles.  I know I always have to refresh myself on the guidelines, if it's not in front of me, I forget.  As I just turned 58 this month, things are getting worse, old age LOL!!

 

The guideline is copy paste with a link.  No full cut and paste please .   A Press release from Princess is an exception.

 

There is a link to the guidelines at the top of the page if anyone has any questions or is interested in reading about any other guidelines. 

 

Thanks everyone and Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The problem with this is that in a short number of articles we reach a paywall, and need to subscribe to see the latest news.  Inconvenient to subscribe to multiple news sites.
 

I agree with previously posted thoughts on recent improvements on Celebrity.  However, we started cruising in 2008.....only early and late seating times.  I kind of miss that you had one waiter that knew what drink you wanted,  tablemates for the entire week that you might become good friends with......and even the silly Baked Alaska last evening dessert.., with the parade of waitstaff and swirling of our napkins overhead.    I miss fancy brunches with carved ice statues.  I miss the midnight dessert buffet.

Our last cruise on Azamara actually DID have the brunch, the desert buffet, and also White Night with a fantastic dinner served outside, with captain and staff manning the bbq.......whole fresh fish sourced locally.....all inclusive drinks.....smaller ships so you would actually recognize people as you saw them later in the cruise.....

Azamara is a bit more expensive so not our first choice.  We are looking forward to our upcoming cruise on the Edge in November.

Is it possible for you to share which underwriter you used that was so difficult?

Old car taxis will be roaming in the port area, not sure how much they are but I think you can bargain. A person we met had taken a CocoTaxi, the 3 wheeled cycle, for $10 from the hotel to Old Havana.