yerdsyerds

Nice!  Congratulations.

We are on a 6 day sailing on 1/3 and got an offer to upgrade from inside to balcony for $180 for two of us.  BTW, had to call, when I tried to do it online it would not go through.  My PVP told me she had a number of calls from people with the same issue.

Bill

We boarded Mardi Gras on 8/14. Parking at terminal 3 could not be more convenient, there is a covered walkway from the garage to the terminal. We had our COVID tests Wednesday at cvs and just pulled up the online document at check in. It was no more difficult than precovid check in. Luggage drop off is on the way to parking, very well laid out. 

I am also cruising on 8/14 and have never had the Health Assessment show up in my To Do List.

6 hours ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

Virus can't live in the vapor because it's caused from a hot coil. I use a 2 battery setup at 70 watts and no virus can survive that heat. 

You're kidding, right?  Once you inhale that vapor, it's not hot any more.  The virus can and certainly will still thrive in you, regardless of the vapor...  When you exhale, if you have the virus, so will the air/vape mixture you're exhaling...

5 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Probably because the other one can take days to get results.

Exactly.  I live in Florida, and would not bet my cruise that I'll get a PCR test turned around in that three day window.  On the Mardi Gras on the 14th, and have our Rapid tests scheduled for 8/11.

Well, poop.  I am on the Sunrise on 8/19, and was really pleased to see the press release earlier today.  I just checked my email and they've updated the itinerary.  Instead of stops in Key West and Cozumel, now it's a Bahama's cruise.  Definitely not what I signed up for...

Carnival just released news on August sailings, and they WILL be requiring guests to be vaccinated.  At least as of 15 minutes ago...

Just posted on FB by Carnival.  Enjoy.

I have FTTF on my August 19 2021 sailing on the Sunrise out of Miami.  Not sure if it's still available, but I grabbed it when I booked a few months ago.

4 minutes ago, jpurdy said:

 

Thanks for clarifying. I think the 'nothing burger' comment rubbed me the wrong way. My daughter is an ER nurse and is following this closely as well. My concern is that we aren't taking it seriously enough, just like the flu that kills so many. This could blow up if a series of mistakes are made. That is an assumption and I own it. I hope I am wrong.

No problem!  My son is also an ER nurse in NNJ.  And you are right, I should have phrased my thoughts on the issue being overblown more carefully.

1 minute ago, jpurdy said:

 

'likely the tests came back negative'. You don't know this.

'local hospitals likely have it' (test kits). You don't know this.

'Since it was a 12 day cruise, if any one passenger had it, it would VERY likely have been detected by the test since they'd be near the end of the incubation period.' You don't know this. 

None of this is a 'nothing burger'.  Everyone should be on alert and make the best decision for themselves.  

Fair enough on the first one.  It's an educated guess based on my 30+ years in Pathology and having worked on other outbreaks in conjunction with the CDC.  Local hospitals do have the kits, I just called a friend who runs the lab that does PCR testing at a major NNJ hospital and they do indeed have it.  On the incubation period, and knowing how PCR testing works, I'd say educated opinion, not assumption.

1 minute ago, jpurdy said:

 

Wow, you are assuming alot. 

What exactly do you think I'm assuming?  

10 minutes ago, flagger said:

It is unfathomable that authorities did not quarantine the ship until the tests came back negative.

Likely the tests have already come back negative.  The test takes 20-30 minutes to run, and since the CDC started distributing test kits 3 days ago, local hospitals likely already have it.  Since it was a 12 day cruise, if any one passenger had it, it would VERY likely have been detected by the test since they'd be near the end of the incubation period.  So, a nothing burger.  

The PCR test that the CDC developed for the coronavirus can be run in 20-30 minutes.  Likely one or more hospitals in either north NJ or NYC has the testing kit available and ran the test on the quarantined people this morning, or possibly even last night.  They'd been on the cruise for 12 days, at at the extreme end of the incubation period for at least one of them if any actually have the virus.  So, I'd say its highly likely that they know with a great degree of certainty if in fact they were dealing with coronavirus.  Don't panic....

You can see live on CNN that they are letting people off the ship.  Right now, at 8:01am eastern time.

I noticed the same on the 12/9 sailing, I also bought the spa pass and noticed it did not start on day 1 of the cruise.

Bill

8 hours ago, heelfan94 said:

I'm getting off the Pearl the day you set sail.  We also successfully bid to upgrade from GTY inside to balcony.  Enjoy your cruise and safe travels. 

Same to you!

Just got our upgrade email!  We're on the Pearl on 12/9 and got upgraded from an inside IC to a BC balcony for $160pp.  The cost we would have paid to just switch was a little over $500pp.  I'm pretty pleased with my first upgrade bid.

What an interesting and contentious discussion. On the room service issue - I must point out that Carnival asks you to put your room service tray out in the hall. My question is what does NCL ask you to do? THAT is the only "right" answer. And, if they don't specify, then leaving it in the room and leaving in the hall are both right. Easy peasy.

I was quite disappointed to read John Healds post today about this. I will most miss the debarkation morning room service breakfast. It has been a ritual with us as we prepare to debark. I also wish that Carnival would give us more options for late night no fee food if they're going to restrict room service. Unlike at home, where I can either go to my refrigerator and grab a snack, or run out if I want to, we're a captive audience on the ship. The all night pizza place generally has a ridiculously long line, which will probably get worse with this change. Carnival is clearly not a luxury cruise line. I recognize that. Still, it's just disappointing.

I highly recommend Galveston Express. Two weeks ago on 9/9 we used them. We had a very difficult time getting from Tampa to Houston due to Irma, and they were very accommodating to our changing travel plans. To keep this brief, our flight from Tampa to Houston Intercontinental was canceled. We ended up driving from Tampa to Houston in a rental car and dropping off at Houston Hobby. So, even though the airport, and time of pickup changed they still worked with us to make it happen. I will definitely use them again if we cruise out of Galveston.

These are many of the same Texas lawmakers that let Sandy victims languish for 2 months before offering help. They wanted budget cuts to match the amount of the assistance, made outright false claims that Sandy aid was 2/3 pork, offered to shut down the federal government if their demands weren't met, etc.

 

Now some of these hypocrites want immediate help for their flood prone area, even for some neighborhoods like Meyerland that have flooded for the last 3 years and rebuilt with federal dollars twice. Unlike Andrew victims, they have resisted or had repealed building codes to make houses safer and better able to withstand both hurricanes and floods.

 

We should have a national policy or a set of guidelines on disaster aid, rather than one forged by whoever has the power at the time. I realize that all storms/tornadoes/earthquakes have different effects, but let's not make one suffer while assisting others. Let's help all the people, not the politicians.

Living in northern NJ when Sandy hit, I remember that political bickering very well (and yes, I'm very bitter about it). I also remember that FEMA and the state of NJ made many homeowners who wanted to rebuild do it to much stricter flood zone standards - raise the homes, etc. I certainly hope they will take the same common sense precautions in TX and rather than willy nilly rebuilding, do it to minimize the impacts should another storm of near this magnitude hit them again...

Uber is up and running again. Personal thought: some drivers may have been impacted and this may cause delays or longer wait times. But this is just an consideration.

 

I'd call your hotel directly, the roads in and out of IAH flooded. Just to make sure.

thanks for the feedback. I'll definitely be calling the hotels, I just wanted to give them a few days to allow things to calm down before I do. I booked the Galveston Express Shuttle from IAH to Galveston for saturday, as plan "a" and if they cancel/no show then I'll shoot for Uber/Lyft.

Call your hotel direct, same with Uber. The routes needed to get here are open on traffic maps. The south side of Houston has much to fix, but the freeways are wide open. Today things will improve in big leaps with the airports being closer to normal operations, and with that so goes transportation.

 

.

Thanks again!