TravelinGert

I am absolutely gleeful to announce i am currently aboard the American Countess. Two weeks ago I swear I was still holding my breath wondering would it happen. Cell service is spotty so I may not get everything posted until I get home, but I wanted to give everyone a chance to as questions. I will check back and try to get them answered.

8 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Yes, I did read those, plus on the ACL forum there is a post on Dress for Dinner.  I imagine the two lines are similar.

You are close to sailing!  Have a wonderful time!

Ok thank you! I hadn't looked at that yet, but I did go back to the AQSC forum after seeing your remark. Thank goodness I did! You may very well have saved our cruise.

I had forgotten we were supposed to get an email about a SafeCruise health survey we needed to fill out prior to the cruise. I saw something about it in the CC story linked in the AQSC forum which reminded me I hadn't seen it.

After searching my inbox and spam folder and coming up empty I texted my TA. She's usually available at that time but wasn't replying, so I called the cruise line. Come to find out they're handled by a covid safety team which the CS said she didn't have any phone number for and could not even contact herself other than via email but did tell me the email is sent to your TA if you have one.

The CS did give me the email address for the covid safety team to try to ask to have it resent, but just as I was about to send that email my TA replied she was searching for it. Apparently I caught her temporarily out of pocket. It ended up she finally found the email in her spam folder and forwarded it to me.

Also thanks to the AQSC forum I did find out for sure country club casual is what is required for dinner on their ships. No jeans, shorts, tank tops, or flip flops, but kahki's and a polo for men or slacks and a nice top for women is sufficient.

I'm very excited for not having to take heels or a dress just now as I am a might fluffy compared to my pre-pandemic size making most of my favorite cruise dress up clothing ill advised.

Whew! Disaster averted and all thanks to you, u/shipgeeks!

On 4/20/2021 at 2:59 PM, Cruzinram said:

Is the pre-boarding test free.

Floriduh who replied it is free was on the Sampler cruise in early April.

I'll be boarding this weekend and just wanted to mention while the pre-boarding test is no extra charge / included in your fare, you must book your test in advance. They provide the link in the letter they send you in your cruise packet about the safety measures they're doing to make your cruise safe.

The link to schedule your pre-boarding test is also provided at the end of filling out the SafeCruise health survey everyone must fill out beforehand. American Queen Steamboat Company sends an email with a link to the survey five days prior to their cruise. 

Be Aware: If you booked with a travel agent, the email goes to them to forward to you. The emails come from an address for their covid safety team and this somehow caused ours to go to the TA's spam folder. I have talked to two other people who said theirs also went to spam folder. 

When I did not receive my email I called American Queen only to be told you can't call the people who send the emails out, and they don't even have access to them. They give you an email address to inquire. Luckily my TA eventually located her email in her spam folder so I was able to fill out my SafeCruise health survey finally last night.

On 4/21/2021 at 5:42 PM, Floriduh said:

This ⬆️

Hi, Floriduh! Thanks again for all the great info you posted about your cruise!

On 4/18/2021 at 8:30 AM, Lois R said:

I hope you have a AWESOME trip!😃🙂....I am sailing in 81 days.....you are going next week?

Simply awesome!

Wow! 81 days will go fast!

Are you also sailing on the Countess or are you on the Duchess?

On 4/13/2021 at 4:56 PM, NavyCruiser said:

Awesome. 

Great someone gets it started again...

Here's hoping it goes well so they let more ships start cruising. Someone has to be first, right?

On 9/15/2020 at 10:34 AM, 3eaglesfam said:

I recently bought one of those hair dryer blow out brushes.  Has anyone used one of these on their last cruise?  Dries and straightens my hair quick and will eliminate the need for a straightener and a curling iron.  the hair dryers in the cabins on Royal Caribbean are horrid.  

I took one on 2 cruises on Royal and one on MSC. No issues.

On 3/18/2021 at 3:02 PM, BoozinCroozin said:

This may get a little long winded so I will try to limit it. For those of us that have never cruised, some of the things that need to be done onboard are unknown or with only the information we gather from sites like these. I am going to ask by cruise line because we have two different booked.

 

NCL: We got the "free" things which include 2 specialty dining options. So those can't be reserved before boarding to my knowledge.

1. Can entertainment/shows be reserve ahead of time in the app or online pre-cruise? If not, where can this be done on the ship?
2. The free specialty dining has to be booked once onboard. Where do you go to make those reservations (preferably where 1,000 other passengers aren't doing the same thing)?

CCL: No addon specialty dining, but if you buy it before the cruise you can reserve your spot.

1. Can you make entertainment reservations before boarding through the app or site?
2. If not, where can this be done onboard where there are not tons of people doing the same thing?

 

I know once I get onboard I will want to start with a cocktail. That will make waiting in a small line a bit more enjoyable. After that, it is taking in all the information overload, trying to learn how to navigate the ship, and take everything in that we can.

If you can book your specialty dining and any entertainment that needs booked in advance. I can't speak to NCL myself but I'd check whether it can be done by phone, online, or via an app.

If these can't be done in advance divide and conquer. Talk over option before you board with your spouse or whomever you cruise with beforehand so that each of you can handle one of these. There is no reason you cannot grab a cocktail first and sip while you are waiting, and you may be surprised. Sometimes I've walked on and to my surprise found there wasn't even a line to book. Remember you'll likely have the ability to text or call each other while the boat is at the dock using land resources, too, so coordinating shouldn't be too hard.

Mind you, this is just how I'd handle things. I like to get everything booked then head to the top deck to grab a cocktail and meet up with folks from my CC Roll Call. I've never been on a cruise I wasn't able to do all that plus have a snack and a look around the ship before Muster Drill, but maybe I've just been lucky.

The best part is even if you don't get your dream reservations, you'll still get to do something awesome on a wonderful cruise ship, so just enjoy!

On 4/15/2021 at 11:16 PM, denamo said:

Update:  We are now re-booked on the Countess in July.  Can hardly wait!  Do wonder if masks by this time will still be required since vaccinations.  We do appreciate the American Queen Steamboat Company upgrading us. 

 

Flights have been re-booked.  Need to book a hotel in Memphis prior to the one provided with our cruise.  It says we're booked into the Sheraton.  Unfortunately, the reviews are not very favorable, so unsure whether to book an extra night there or find a hotel with better reviews and then have to move.

Anyone have any thoughts.

Congrats on rebooking! 

As far as hotels go, the Garden Hilton Inn Downtown is nice. I was there for work a few weeks ago and had a great stay. Looks like the reviews are pretty positive, too. Not as good access to the trolley, though. Hotel Indego Downtown is another good choice with some fun design. Better access to the trolley and the rooms have always been clean and comfortable when I've stayed there. I haven't been there since December 2020 but I see it is still well rated.

16 hours ago, Floriduh said:

This

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer questions! 

On 4/12/2021 at 4:29 PM, Floriduh said:

Well, I am finally home and ready to write some more. Long details are hard on the phone.

 

I will start out by saying we had a great time. The boat is beautiful, the food delicious, the entertainment fabulous and the staff very friendly.

 

But, I do need to point out some very major issues. 

 

Dining:

Due to a combination of staffing issues and Covid there are two major problems. One, the River Grille is NOT open for dinner and only has limited offerings for breakfast and lunch. This is NOT what was stated on web site and advertising materials. And, two, there is NO ROOM SERVICE. Room service is advertised as 24 hour.

What this means, in reality, is that unless you go to dinner and sit in your assigned seat at your assigned time, you are not getting dinner. I never knew what a blessing it was to have 24 hour pizza available on Carnival ships.

 

Wheelchair access:

Once on the ship there are no issues with my wife's scooter. Getting on and off the ship for boarding, excursions and debarkation was nearly impossible. The staff was always there and willing to help, but it was bigger than that. Four inch thick water hoses in front of the debarkation ramp meant my wife's scooter had to be lifted over the hose. And they are not light. 

The ramps often had angles that were hard to get over without getting "beached".

Once off the boat, most of the docks were covered with gravel. And, in one case, about 8 inch high railroad tracks. Most of the elderly crowd had to be helped over the tracks. Walkers, wheelchairs and scooters didn't stand a chance.

 

Internet:

Guess what? There is no phone/Internet coverage while floating down the Mississippi. The ship has free wifi, but it is slow and unreliable.

 

Booking Excursions:

The new app doesn't work. We made our reservations and the next day they were gone. I added them back, printed my tickets and they were gone again. But I then had my tickets in hand and they worked with us to get our tours.

 

Again, I don't want to "bad mouth" the company or the cruise. We had a blast. The dining issues will be fixed with staffing and the app will be fixed soon, I'm sure. But, the wheelchair access was something that may be a deal breaker for some.

 

Hope you enjoyed my updates. I did what I could with the limited internet. It was great meeting Cindi and everyone else.

 

So good to be cruising again.

Thank you for the information about the WiFi. Wondering do you know what is the earliest time we could be off the ship at the end of the cruise? I saw something that implied it is now 9AM but back when we were originally supposed to cruise with American Queen Steamboat Company it was 8 AM if you walked your luggage off yourself.

On 4/13/2021 at 10:59 PM, denamo said:

Well....we are extremely disappointed.  We were to have started our cruise on April 17 with a night's stay prior to the one the company provides in New Orleans.  Unfortunately, we've been informed today the boat was overbooked, and our reservation has been cancelled. We were a guarantee. ? So much for a guarantee.  They will honor our reservation at a later date and even up grade our cabin or fully refund our fare. 

 

Sadly this evening, I've been cancelling hotel arrangements and flights.  😞 We don't live in a very robust market with many flights, so it becomes necessary for us to typically go a day ahead and stay a day after the cruise ends. 

 

So, thanks Tim for letting us live vicariously.  We're not sure at this point if we'll reschedule or request a refund.

I'm so sorry you were disappointed! We were originally supposed to do this cruise in March 2020. Our cruise was originally the first week cruises were canceled and they did not notify us it was canceled. We found out when we checked their website the Wednesday before we were supposed to sail. We never did get any notification of the cancellation, but they may have not bothered since we called to ask about rescheduling the same day we saw it was canceled on their website. At this point I'm just terrifically excited it looks like we'll get to go after all the waiting. We had booked our original cruise in 2018 so it has been a 3 year wait for this cruise when we board April 25th.

On 4/14/2021 at 4:16 PM, clo said:

IIRC they told us it was the largest building in the world! Imagine multiple 787s all under one roof.

I can't even picture that. Those are huge!

On 4/14/2021 at 5:59 PM, Ashland said:

Not since Oct 2019 on a port excursion made during our Snowbird itinerary...but I have to say it was just amazing. Will do it again pre-cruise April 2022 with the extended family....the grandkids are excited about this KSC tour.

It does sound like something kids would be thrilled to do.

13 hours ago, Noodles84 said:

 When you return, I'd love to hear a review of the ship and how you enjoyed the trip. Nicole

Thank you! I'm planning to do some reports on the cruise. I've read there isn't much phone or data service while on the Mississippi but I'm hopeful if I prep everything in advance at some point I'll get a chance to upload it to CC while I am on shore. If not I'll post up after the cruise.

5 hours ago, clo said:

Ah gotcha. Did something similar when we toured the Boeing plant north of Seattle.

Oh that sounds terribly interesting. I wonder if they'll do that again eventually once people are vaccinated? I've added it to my list to check into when we go out there for a cruise just in case.

8 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Great stuff, hope you have a wonderful  time

Thank you! I hope everyone in this thread gets to go on the cruises they're so anticipating. We had 3 cancel during all of this so we're triple-excited for this one.

8 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

You missed the point of the thread -- the self-centeredness and selfishness referred to was that of an individual who felt he/she did not have to get the vaccine -- rather just wait until "herd immunity" was achieved.

Thank you and many apologies. I can't imagine not getting vaccinated. But then I am old enough some of my older cousins had Polio.

2 hours ago, slidergirl said:

I was NOT referring to you.  I was referring to the group of people who are refusing to get vaccinated.

 

I had COVID-19 a year ago before testing was available also,.  I spent all Spring, Summer and Fall dealing with long haul issues.  I still have some.  I have had my vaccinations.  But, I have nothing for anyone who refuses to get a vaccination, preferring to have everyone else provide their protection via herd immunity.  If you medically are prohibited, that's OK.  I'll protect you.  But the others, no way.  

Many apologies. I agree the people just refusing vaccination are quite vexing. I'm so sorry you had such long haul issues. Husband and I were exceedingly lucky. We had mild cases and the worst of it was I was unable to take the stairs as usual at work for several weeks. I went to a respiration therapist who worked with me and it got better luckily. 

On 3/30/2021 at 12:00 PM, gooscar said:

I’m confused:?  Being vaccinated does not prevent one from getting the virus, so how is that comforting?  

Don't know about all of them but in a study on the Pfizer vaccine it was found to stop even 2/3 of asymptomatic cases after 1 dose in actual use in Israel and both Moderna and Pfizer were found to those who have had both dose of either had a rate of infection of 0.04/1000 (99% effective) while those who had only received one dose had only .19/1000 in actual use in the US in early vaccinations on medical professionals. By comparison the MMR vaccine is only 88% effective at two doses.

23 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Please tell us more, which cruise line, ship and where from?

American Queen Steamboat Company Countess from Memphis to New Orleans boarding on the 25th. I swear I've been afraid to book anything for fear it might still not happen but we got our packet with our luggage tags now. So excited!

Anyone done a tour of NASA at Port Canaveral recently? I'm curious what all is open now. It seems like some of their tours could easily be made very safe with social distancing.

8 hours ago, slidergirl said:

How about self-centeredness?  Selfishness?  Uneducated on what it actually takes for so-called "herd immunity?"    So many that we won't get there, so they can get sick and die...

Thanks for making assumptions.

Spouse and I had covid just prior to lockdown. Of course there was no testing for it then but we had classic symptoms starting with loss of all taste and smell, and our doctor was pretty certain. Still had us antibody test which was positive, but we did have mild cases. Therefore doctor recommended we go ahead and get the vaccine which we did. The vaccine we received has been recently reported to cut asymptomatic cases which is the ones they're afraid of vaccinated people getting causing spread of covid by 2/3 from the first dose in a study of people who got it very early. We received both doses. My doctor assures us it is highly unlikely we could spread it, but we will of course still be tested prior to boarding the ship. 

I see nothing self-centered or selfish about taking all reasonable precautions then going ahead.

I was on a cruise where a couple brought their bears and seated them at their own table which they had sat on the table. All of them were coordinated. The girl bear wore a slightly more fanciful dress than the woman. They were clearly sewn from the same fabric and very well made, too. The man and the bear fellow wore matching suits, shirts, and ties. The couple was a lot of fun with interesting stories but I admit we weren't sure what to expect when they showed up just after us with their entourage.

I personally don't think I could feel comfortable booking an ocean cruise yet. Too much is still up in the air.

What if I pay all that money and due to a new raise in cases or a ship that has a bunch of cases all the ports we were going to visit close up?

False positives have happened in a few instances on the rapid tests, too. What if someone tests positive on a rapid test? By the time they figure out their PCR test comes up negative we might find we're on a ship getting turned away from all the ports in that case as well.

What if the port we're supposed to sail out of doesn't open up as expected, or closes back down due to a rise in cases? 

Just too many entirely plausible what ifs that will likely be resolved when more people are vaccinated which is likely to happen in the next few months. As much as I feel eager to book a new cruise, I can wait six more months.

DeSantis lawsuit looks like nothing more than political posturing to me. He has to know it won't go anywhere for months. He feels comfortable suing at this time because he feels confident well before the suit can go much of anywhere it will all resolve. His suit will be completely irrelevant but he'll claim the victory.