alc13

April 17. And you're right, I just checked - this is really specific to Japan and QE. I'll wait to hear back from Cunard.

I don't see a roll call. Wondering if anyone who sailed recently under this requirement could say. I have a call into Cunard, too.

Adding to my own post - we do have time in Yokohama the day before boarding to find a test station if needed.

We are booked on a QE cruise in Japan next month that is on the enhanced requirements list. Specifically, "All guests regardless of age are required to take a self-administered Lateral Flow Test within 24 hours OR a PCR test within 48 hours of embarkation..." plus vaccination. We travel with our own tests and we planned to use them the day before we embark to satisfy the requirement. But a thread on another forum indicated that Japan could restrict port entries if covid cases exceed some threshold. So it seems that Cunard would reduce the risk of being turned away by requiring certified test results. Can anyone confirm that a self-administered home test result is acceptable?

We uploaded vaccination records, though, per instructions on the quarantine page. Was that unnecessary? I am also preparing for the many-times rebooked 2020 cruise. Mr ALC calls it my white whale.

Daylight savings time here AND officially spring, and snow forecast for Saturday night. Oof. It won't last long, though.

What a great model! I love watching the pilot boats escort us in and out of a harbor. One boat I remember had a dog on board, who was clearly enjoying the breeze.

I enjoy your garden updates. I imagine a verdant Utopia outside your windows. Good luck with the new trees and you are right to ditch the nursery.

I guessed they could get to Heathrow around 9-10 am. Is the train in and out of London reliable? Making notes for the future....

Oh, and we used Twelve Transfers (?) in October for Heathrow to Southampton and it worked very well.

What about going to Heathrow early, leaving your luggage in a locker, and heading into London for a few hours?

We bought our years ago but a google search for rolling suit bag turns up several that look similar. If you can find reviews it could help identify those that are more durable and roomier than others. On the subject of shipping a bag, we haven't done it because we can manage the 3 bags we take easily. I'd look into it if we were moving around a lot after a cruise, though.

I admire your willingness to dress up! I think you might be able to pare your list slightly, though. Keep in mind that not one will notice if you wear the same outfit 3 times, so maybe you could leave the fluffiest dress at home. Lightweight wraps in different colors can make different outfits from the same dress. Your husband could get by with just one suit, I think. Mr ALC usually presses his shirts after unpacking them. But his suits and sports coats and my long gowns seem to survive packing if we are careful about it. We use a rolling suit bag that opens up long enough to accommodate his pants; and I double my gowns over some filler item to avoid wrinkles at the fold. All the evening wear goes in that bag - one tux, one suit, 1-2 sport coats, 2 long gowns and 3+ casual attire dresses, plus as many shoes as we can fit. Day wear goes in our regular suitcases, one checked bag each. We do make use of laundromats for day wear, both on board and when we're on our own before or after the cruise. Hope that helps!

I got it today. I didn’t complete it. It asked, for example, how likely we were to take a Caribbean cruise, to which answered highly unlikely; but then it proceeded to ask about specific Caribbean itineraries. I waded through 2 or 3 scenarios before I gave up and closed the page.

The possibility of 8-night crossings was explored in a Cunard questionnaire I received a few months ago. I mostly responded in favor of them. Maybe they received a lot of positive feedback.

What a shame. Even the parts you didn’t highlight are ominous - where can “no pressure to dress up if you don’t want to” lead?

Color is right; how about the taste?

Sanity restored!

I've realized why I prefer anti-clockwise on a ship promenade. It's because I gravitate to the railing, and have a lifelong habit of keeping to the right in two-way traffic. Given that there are always people present who are walking in the opposite direction, of course I end up going anti-clockwise! There is something kind of sad in the thought of everyone walking in the same direction. I'll take @exlondoner's image of age-stratified steeplechase races over that.

Well, Olympic track sports go anti-clockwise, and those aren't US-centric.

Excuse me for being dogmatic, and apologies to @roscoe39, but the correct direction is anti-clockwise! First the relaxing of the dress code, now this.

If you don't mind paying somewhat expensive cab fares you can catch one from the terminal into Manhattan, store your luggage, have the better part of a day for sightseeing, and then take another cab to JFK.

Lovely story! Lucky Charlie Cat -

In 3 months we'll board QE for a many-times, pandemic-related rescheduled cruise ( Japan, Spain, Japan, Japan, Japan). I won't be entirely surprised if we're disappointed again, but I'm optimistic! And so I'm into planning. Do I need another dress, or do I mean frock? No. Do we have transportation arranged from the airport to Yokohama? Yes. Et cetera. I love trip planning so this part is fun. In other news, I'm getting over a mild case of covid. I mention it because I never met the criteria for exposure, but picked up the little rascal anyway. Multiple vaccinations and paxlovid meant it has been an easy course and I'm very grateful for both. Mr Alc is fine, no symptoms, and he tested negative yesterday along with me. Add at-home tests to things I'm grateful for.

"Frock" recalls my grandmother, but also Nancy Drew. She wore frocks while driving in her roadster with her chums, Bess and George....