mbarker10

I downloaded VeriFly for our Magic cruise on Saturday and didn't have any issues. Uploaded everything within minutes. I'm hoping it'll save some time at the port.

On 3/7/2022 at 12:24 PM, jimbo5544 said:

Looks gorgeous. We're headed out on the Magic Saturday and really looking forward to GT.

3 hours ago, archer_310 said:

Yes, I'm both happy and a little pissed that Carnival has changed the documentation needed for recovery.  After spending $60 to get letters from our doctors stating that we have recovered, I find that it's no longer necessary and just need the positive test result.  One less thing to worry about, but money I didn't need to spend.

So did you determine for sure that only the positive test result is needed? The health department refuses to write a specific letter that says "document of recovery." I've called Carnival twice and got different answers both times. I've reached out to John Heald for clarification, but this is stressing me!

2 hours ago, Retiredmedic said:

Trying to avoid 2 beach days in a row. Girlfriend has no interest in seeing Myan ruins.

Ah I see. I don't know anything about the ruins. We just hung out in the chairs, had some yummy food, enjoyed the beer and live music. Some people snorkeled at Goff's Caye to see the reef. Maybe you can find something fun! 🙂

We went to Goffy's Caye in Belize. Absolutely stunning.

26 minutes ago, cheer25mom said:

What day do you sail, and is he boosted? They will likely test him before surgery, and it might still be valid to use. 

He is not boosted, we leave Saturday. He's supposed to be trying to get the document of recovery today. 

5 hours ago, Rudyard said:

 

It is vague. It was worded differently before our cruise and I'm guessing it might have changed on March 1st after I sailed. That paragraph you quoted originally listed everything that had to be in the letter because I remember printing it out and going over the required items with a highlighter and giving it to our doctor. Our letter had to be on letterhead from a hospital or doctor's office. It had to have the doctor's name, address, phone number, and signature on it. It had to show the date we tested positive, and the date (at least 10 days later) when the doctor cleared us to travel. It had to have our name and DOB as well. 

I’ll try to give my PVP a call on Monday and get clearer answers. Maybe they’re just not being strict. 

I don’t understand what the required info is though, besides the positive test results. The website seems vague. 
 

Will I still need a pre-cruise COVID test before embarkation if I have recently recovered from COVID-19? 

Guests who have recovered from COVID-19 within 3 months of their sailing date do not need the required pre-cruise test if they are at least 10 days past their positive test result date, have no symptoms and produce documentation of recovery from COVID-19.

Documentation of Recovery is accepted from both fully vaccinated and unvaccinated guests and consists of the paper or electronic copy of the positive viral test result from a certified laboratory (dated no more than 90 days ago).

Just came here seeking answers about this so this thread was helpful. My husband had COVID about 6 weeks ago and we just found out he’s going to have to have minor surgery Wednesday and we leave for our cruise on Friday 😩🤦🏼‍♀️ I told him to head to the health department Monday and get documentation of recovery so we don’t have to deal with getting him COVID tested while he’s recuperating. What a mess!

It's funny, we did the Conquest for our 2nd cruise and I either must not notice anything or be looking back with rose colored glasses. We enjoyed the Conquest and I don't remember any issues.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. The school nurses, we have their cells so they'd be pretty easy to call. We both run after care programs and we're just trying to figure out simple solutions to not end up at an urgent care on Wed after a 10 hour school day lol. It seems like it might be too much of a gray area to risk.

I don't know what the urgent care will do differently as far as how results how given.

Hello, my husband and I are both teachers, and our schools have rapid antigen tests.

I feel like we could get the school nurse to test us and then type up a letter of negative results? I've read the Carnival website and don't see any specifics about where testing has to occur. 

Yes, luckily I checked in for our cruise this morning before it went down. I didn't get all the way through but at least got our check in time set.

14 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

I'll stop going on and on since it's not the original topic 🙂  But I will say that driving in Argentina is easy and safe, and there are also good car services to get you around. Keep in mind that, should to decide to transfer via Buenos Aires, there are two airports (Ezeiza and Newberry; Ezeiza is the big international one) so I would urge you to make sure you're coming and going through the same one unless you're spending some time in Buenos Aires in between (which is a lovely city). It's a solid hour between the two airports, or more during rush hours. 

I really appreciate your advice!

1 minute ago, Zach1213 said:

I am not sure where you're coming from or where you're going to, but I do certainly urge you to make your umbrella of options as wide as possible to have the most options of fares, in-flight quality, and (if important) airline/alliance points and perks. 

Absolutely. We've done plenty of international flights; I've just never done Argentina or surrounding so I'm working on improving my knowledge of the area and the best way to get there. We've got a while, luckily, and research is my favorite part!

8 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Perhaps I missed something earlier, and I'm sorry if I did, but is there a reason you're limited to LATAM? I would argue that unless you have a very good reason to be limited to one airline or one route, you're only limiting the number of possibilities that could decrease your fare. 

Where we're traveling is basically only serviced by LATAM, but I'm still researching. There's other options to fly into Buenos Aires and drive or do a connecting flight.

3 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Only if you insist on vacationing in those small windows.  There's a whole three months in the summer when you can flexible.

Unfortunately not, but I do appreciate the advice. I run a summer camp program for parents who need childcare.  We also only get 8 weeks because we're a year round school.

11 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

Not to this extent....  been flying for 40+ years and this is a whole new ball game...

I agree. We've been flying locally and internationally for the last 15 years, and I've never seen prices to Orlando range from $1000-$1600. It's a 90 min flight, for goodness sake.

49 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

While I definitely think it's a good idea to keep an eye on flights straight from the start (be it 330 days out or whatever), it's rarely a great idea to book the moment they come out. Fares often are higher then as airlines work to feel out market demand, and there's also a near 100% chance of (sometimes significant) flight time/equipment/route changes that far out. So while I don't think last minute is your best bet, nor is 330 days out. But, it's always good to start looking later this year if you absolutely know when you'll be going. 

For sure. Argentina we're fairly limited to LATAM Airlines, so I don't know they look like in terms of making changes. What I'm currently doing is watching prices as far out as I can get (Feb 2023) and seeing what the average is, so when Oct opens up, I hope to have a better idea of what's normal and what's not.

Instead of wasting time on CC I’d be calling every CVS, Walgreens, target and Walmart pharmacy, and urgent care in a 50 mile radius. Any place that you’d normally test. 

3 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And there you have it.  A cruise in March - spring break time, yet the search for air was on the sidelines for 6 months - started looking in September.

 

Here's the ugly hard truth.  People don't just book cruises for spring break, they also book air 9 to 11 months out.  Why?  Because there is high demand and they know that prices will go up as it gets closer to travel date.  Burned once, they now buy in advance.  Far in advance.

 

 

 

And I've made an observation for all the readers who plan to cruise during spring break.  Or any holiday period.  There are low cost air tickets available - but they sell out early.

 

For example, if I was going to a family gathering for Thanksgiving, I'd be looking at air right now.  And given the liberalized policies for changes, I'd likely consider buying as well.

 

My advice posted above in post 26 still stands.  If not for you, then for the other folks that read this thread.

I’m a teacher so unfortunately there’s no flexibility in booking. We’re gonna drive; it is what it is. Part of the problem with being a teacher and having to work with school holidays. Well, with isn’t a good adjective. Against! Ha ha. 
 

We’re going to Argentina in Oct 2023 and I’ll definitely be looking at plane tickets as soon as they’re available. 

On 2/20/2022 at 5:28 PM, FlyerTalker said:

 

What was the price when you booked your cruise?

 

What were the prices in the interim between then and today?

 

Did you not buy air because you felt that the price would go down?

 

I'll say it again, as I have for over 15 years on CC:  People see a price for air and think it is too high.  So they don't buy, hoping it will drop.  And the price doesn't drop, but instead increases.  And they again hope that it will drop.  And it doesn't.  And at some point, we see a post saying something along the lines of "air tickets are outrageous" and "what can we do".  The answer is simple and two-fold.  First, if you see a price you can live with, buy it.  Not that you like it, but that you can live with.  Now that change fees have pretty much gone away, except for basic economy tickets, you can change if the prices drop and get the difference as a credit to use for another trip.  And second -- know that hope is never a viable strategy.  Look for the reasons for your beliefs, and hoping that prices will drop is not viable.

We booked a year ago and and have been watching prices the last 5 months. We didn't book because prices have *been* high, and we can drive, although it sucks, so I decided it wasn't worth $1K in plane tickets, and it's obviously now not worth $1600. I didn't ask what to do, just an observation. We anticipated higher plane tickets now that travel demand is back up. 

We booked our march cruise last year and been watching airfare prices off and on. Prices are outrageous. Memphis to MCO is literally $1600 for two tickets. The drive is 13 hrs but we cannot pay that for airfare. 

4 hours ago, Dippy Dawg said:

Is this just for Grand Suite guests, or all suite guests.  We have an Ocean View Suite book for March 3rd.

All suites. We have the OV Suite as well and got this information.

32 minutes ago, spartydog14 said:

Yeah he mentioned all of these to me except for the stateroom access right away. Was surprised to get this email but really hoping it's true

He did to me, he mentioned that since FTTF isn't an option right now, stateroom access was being granted to suite cruisers.

I just got an upgrade from the  upgrade fairy to a suite, and he mentioned these exact perks.