idkanything

26 minutes ago, exm said:

Awaiting kids’ test results, almost time to board!

 

So, as expected, no issues with your Abbott home test? Just want to hear it first hand 🙂 Have a LOVELY week! 

Royal has updated their testing FAQ page to specifically say the Abbott test done at home and supervised is acceptable! I can rest easy. 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go

1 minute ago, exm said:

 

 

All 6 of us are negative, yay!

This is the best thing to hear! YAY! Have a lovely time!!! 

55 minutes ago, exm said:

 

This is from Royal- it says supervised, not administered:

Antibody tests will not be accepted. Additionally, home/self-tests will not be accepted unless documentation from a medical professional that they were supervised can be provided.

 

Link: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go

You may need to clear your cache. That wording is form the old version. When I click that link, it says :
 

• Home test kits that are self-administered at home by the guest are also not accepted.
• The Abbot BinaxNow Rapid Antigen test, if self-administered at home, is not accepted – it is only acceptable if administered by a medical provider with proper documentation provided.
  
  I don't know what to believe anymore. The old version of the website, that you pasted above, totally says we can use this test since its supervised but the new version of the website clearly says we can't unless 'administered by a medical provider.' I"m so tired of stressing about this, which is why I just want someone who actually uses it, to report back and tell me YES! IT'S FINE! .. hoping I'll get that this Saturday. 🙂 It certainly seems that @exm is going to use it so #fingerscrossed. 
  
  I'm not trying to start anything. I just want to know for sure. 

31 minutes ago, exm said:

Doing our Antigen “at home” test now in The Bahamas. Here’s the process:

- Buy the official Abbot kid with eMed supervision

- Don’t open the box

- Login using Safari, connect to an eMed adviser

- They will have you open the box, put 3 drops in the tester, test each nostril (rotate 5 times), close the test kit, wait 15 minutes

- After 15 minutes an adviser comes back, reviews the results and it will be uploaded to the Navica App.

I will send a screenshot of my results later… We need to do 6, for the kids the process is the same but we, the adults, need to swab the nostrils for them.

 

Please please please let us know if Royal accepts this test done yourself and being watched by the person. I can't get past the royal site that says (bolding mine):

"The Abbot BinaxNow Rapid Antigen test, if self-administered at home, is not accepted – it is only acceptable if administered by a medical provider with proper documentation provided." 

To me, that is much different than "watched by someone doing it" 

I have a friend that has to use this test and we are just so concerned about it. 

Following since I'm on the Sept 4th sailing! I'm especially interested in how the process at the Hilton goes for showing test results etc. Royal changed their website to now say they don't accept tests done at home where they did say they accepted them a week ago (or so). Once boarding starts, I'm sure we'll see some updates. Thank you and have a lovely cruise!! 

Has anyone heard any updates directly from Royal? My cruise is still showing as active and ready to check in for June 12th on Radiance from Vancouver. I know the port is closed and we won't be going, but I would have expected some type of notice from Royal or an update on their website or something "official". I know we don't know, and they'll tell us eventually, but I have so much to cancel around this trip and I don't want to start doing all that till the word comes directly from Royal. 

On 3/14/2020 at 10:00 PM, publicpersona said:

 

Ah, OK. So that part unrelated to PVSA. Yeah, I would be will to be that PVSA gets suspended to allow cruise lines to get revenue from repositioning, etc. that will be needed as cruising gradually resumes.

Hmm, I have Radiance in Mid-June. I wonder if I should proactively change to Seattle, in hopes that the PVSA does get suspended. If nothing else, they can cancel one out of Seattle just as easy as the one out of Vancouver. 

Thanks for the replies! We are looking forward to our Hana excursion, so we only have day 2 free. We have decided to just rent the car day 2 and drive ourselves up to the top of Haleakala. From everything i’ve been able to gather, we should have enough time, and the tours to the top won’t allow us to just wander for a bit. 

1 hour ago, alliecat44 said:

Okay, probably final update: 

 

No upgrade email or card activity this morning. 

I was excited to see someone on my cruise posted on social media that they received an upgrade to a balcony TODAY--it really got my hopes up! Maybe they were just processing things, etc?

 

So, I couldn't stand it anymore and called NCL to find out IF any owner's suites were still available "and if so, how much would it cost to upgrade outright." 

 

Well, sad news but she said the cruise is almost completely full with only a handful of inside and balcony cabins left. All of the suites are gone. She doesn't have access to find out whether the suites were upgraded people or booked outright. I am guessing they are upgraded people since there were sooo many still available up until this Saturday. The CSR confirmed that PofA is NCL's most popular cruise and almost always sails full.

 

So, while I haven't gotten the official confirmation email, looks like I am out of the running. 

For people's knowledge in the future--

I booked a large balcony room. Bid 750 per person for a deluxe penthouse with large balcony and bid $1100 per person for Owner's Suite with large balcony. Unsuccessful. 

 

Ah, well. Good news is that my immune system seems to have beaten what was almost a cold, so that's good....Thanks everyone and good luck to you all!!! 

I’m glad you are at least feeling better and you are sure to have a lovely time on your trip! I’m hoping you do a mini(or any size) trip report when you get back, its so fun to read others experiences! Be safe and thanks for the updates. My family is sick of me talking about our cruise, so its been fun following along with you! (And of course, if anything changes, let us know!) ❤️

5 hours ago, alliecat44 said:

Update Monday morning: Sooo, NCL officially took our sailing off of the website yesterday after listing the entire cruise as "sold out." I was REALLY hoping to get an upgrade email this morning....but nothing. No activity on the card and bids still listed as "pending" on the website. 

 

It's looking less and less likely. I was hoping that since the minimum bid for OS was $1,000 not many people would be up for bidding that much, AND the fact that there were still five available a week out from sailing was working in my favor....but so far I guess not. 😞 Really curious if anyone else has been upgraded to any level of suite, though! 

 

idkanything and Firepath, I'm sure we will all have a great time regardless!! Thanks for cheering for me--I will continue to keep all updated! 

 

PS I am starting to get sick, right in time for leaving. 😞 Le sigh. 

It ain’t over till the email arrives! I’m still firmly in your camp. That bid sounds like they should take it for goodness sake, if they  don’t, I don’t understand how much higher we’d need to go. I hope you feel better really quick. When are you flying out? 

2 hours ago, alliecat44 said:

idkanything, thanks!!! 🙂 

 

yes, I have been checking the card—no activity. When we won our upgrade to the Haven last year on the Getaway, it definitely had “processing” as a status on the bid and a credit card debit about four to six hours prior to the email confirmation. 

 

Congrats on being able to get the OS outright!! 13500 is HUGE—but no hot tub on the balcony? 

 

And yes, this morning they are back to being available. This is crazy. Lol I have been thinking that this Monday or Tuesday is the most likely time for any bids to be won. Thanks for all of the good thoughts!!! I know you will have a fabulous time on the 14th!!!!!

I figured you were already on top of the card-checking 🙂

We got that room specifically for the balcony. A bane o’ the gods on YouTube for having that video. I was very happy in our balcony at the back of the ship.. and then I just had to be bored one night and OMG I fell in love with that balcony. We hate hot tubs, so that’s why I never even looked, I just assumed all the OS’s had them. I “justified” it by using the old trick of “it’s a special reunion occasion” and we’ll just do just one cruise next year. Our family hates hot tubs, so we were totally okay (and happy even!) that they had this type of room. It’s just what we wanted!

thank you for keeping us updated on your findings and progress - you have all of us rooting for you! NCL would be silly not to take your bid since its just about what it would cost outright (if the airfare thing wasn’t a factor!) 

9 hours ago, alliecat44 said:

Yup. And 36 hours ago there were about fifteen available across those categories! 

 

Strange to me that they would take them out of the available pool just prior to the weekend, when they tend not to do anything. Or maybe it’s just that I didn’t get an upgrade. We’ll see! (Am not bidding on penthouse—just owner’s suite, which went from five yesterday to sold out today). 

 

Have a great weekend!!! 🙂 

Have you also been checking the card you used for the upgrade? Some threads mention that they see the pending charge on their card before they get the email. I'm sure you are, just throwing it out there. Gosh, I hope you got one. I've been waiting on pins and needles for your updates, and I'm not even going until 9/14. good luck!! 

Just peeked and it looks like there are 5 OS left on the 31st sailing. Wasn't that the one you are on? It even still has 13500 available. (that's the one we pulled our bid and just bought  for 9/14, only because we didn't have the problem of airfare you're facing)

12 hours ago, K_e_short said:

 

So just to confirm that if you buy the package you are not charged anything extra while on the cruise and you're drinking?

 

I ask because I bought a drink package (and paid the tax) on Carnival and ended up being charged port tax every time I got a drink while in port.

 

Anyone recently back from POA that can answer this question? Thank you!!

15 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

 

Hawaii charges GET tax on everything purchased (goods and services) within the state.  GET is 4% throughout the state, and 4.5% in Oahu.

And that 4% or 4.5% is on top of every single drink, all cruise long? Or was that part of the taxes we paid when we originally purchased the perk? 50 cents per drink isn’t much,  but they already hit us for taxes, didn’t they? Perhaps I’m just confused. 

Keep updating Alliecat! I’m along for the ride and I hope you get your upgrade! 

We are on the POA (so docked at the other port from you), but we are doing the exact same thing - Road to Hana the first day, and renting a car the second. We plan to also be there when they open at 7 am, since its in walking distance of the ship. We are going to drive up to Haleakala, and then be back to drop the car off at 4:30. I took the advice of a lot of people here who said we could make it, and we also downloaded the Shaka app and bought the tour up to the top of Haleakala. It was 9.99 for the app and 60 for the car, so a lot less than the excursion and we should have enough time. I know you were looking for people who have done this so I’m truly no help, but looking forward to any responses. 

I’m also wondering about these things. We’ll be on the Pride Sept 14th and also in a suite. Bumping in case anyone knows the answers to these questions. 

8 hours ago, pink845 said:

Remember the drive  up there is long.  I mean 2 hours long with many many switchbacks.  By the time we got up there, the last thing we wanted to do was go on a hike!!!    We did take a gazillion pictures and it was truly breathtaking and very very bright. 

 

The air up there is thinner.  And depending on your age, hiking can be taking on one's system after driving two hours up in increasing altitude to 10,000 or so feet.  For the young ones, fine.  But anyone middle aged or older has to watch themselves.    Then it was another 2 hours down the hill, round and round and round we went.         Also, when Enterprise says they close at 5, they mean it.     So have your car back way before and for us, we just went with their little gas deal where you bring the car back to them and for a small fee they fill it up.  

Thank you for the response. I'm firmly in the "middle aged" category with my 30 year old daughter, so the hiking part is just walking around the tiny walking areas up top. If it's a good 2 hours up, maybe an hour or so up top and then 2 hours back, I think we should have enough time to manage. She has her heart set on going to the top, so I think we'll try it and keep a good eye on the time. 

If you were to do it again, would you do the drive yourself or take a tour bus up? 

18 minutes ago, Beachiekeen said:

I think you can easily do that.  There are some nice places to eat lunch upcountry on the way back down the crater like Kula Bistro or Hali'imaile General Store.  You could also have breakfast at Kula Lodge on the way to Haleakala and then stop in Paia for lunch after.

With eating both breakfast and lunch in a restaurant and the drive up and back and time walking around, I was afraid I’d not have enough time. But perhaps the time actually at the park doesn’t have to be quite as long as I’m thinking and then we’d have time for both breakfast and lunch. Great idea! Thanks!

I’ve been searching and reading about these questions for at least a week and I’m looking for some other minds to check me. 

My (adult) daughter and I will be on the Pride of America and in Maui 9/15 & 9/16. We already have our Hana trip booked for the 15th. For the 16th, my daughter really wants to go to the top of Haleakala. We don’t want to go for sunrise, just to spend some casual time walking around on the trails.

I have a rental car that I’m picking up from the Enterprise office outside the port in Kahului. It opens at 7am, so we will be there when it opens. I believe we have to be back on the ship no later than 5:30pm. The rental office closes at 5, so that’s my outside limit for time. 

Here’s what I’m planning:

1) Leave the rental place at 7:30 

2) Drive to Paia for breakfast some place

3) Drive the rest of the way to the summit of Haleakala, walk on a couple of the easy trails, visit the visitors center, take a bazillion pictures

4) Drive back to the port (via Costco for gas fill-up)

5) Return the car and back on the ship in time for sail away.

My questions are:

1) Time-wise, do I have time to do all this? It seems like I should, especially since we aren’t hardcore hikers, we just want to walk around a bit

2) I know there is no food in the park. I’m not going to buy a cooler to take food, and I want more than snacks during the day. What do other people do for lunch?

3) Since there is no gas in the park, is one tank of gas enough to get up there and back down? I believe it is, but figured I’d try and get confirmation.

Any one have any insight/suggestions/criticism? 

17 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

Google the video "Walking Back To The Pride Of America (Maui Port)".  The first part shows walking on the sidewalk in front of the Maui Mall (and Enterprise would be about where the video started).  There seems to be a new entry place for passengers since for the past few weeks we have seen them now entering the harbor area at Wharf Street, which dead-ends into the Maui Mall and is only a few hundred feet from where you used to enter.  Don't know if they have changed the route to the ship once you get in the port area.  At least this will give you an idea of what is where.

That was incredibly helpful! Thank you very much for posting this. We will be only renting on Monday, so this is perfect. 

8 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

People on the FB groups talk about it all the time, I know people use it. I just know we will be back late/after dark the first day and it would also mean having to park at the Beach hotel which I know IS a far walk for my ILs in the dark—maybe that is what I was thinking of actually, not Enterprise itself. I’m not sure you can park at Enterprise. I will have to look at it more closely I guess.

 

That makes sense. We are only renting the car the second day, so we didn't have to worry about parking or about walking in the dark. Enjoy your cruise! 

8 minutes ago, Beachiekeen said:

Oh just because we have some on our group that won’t want to walk that far in the dark, that’s all. I know many use it with no problems. I was under the impression it was like a 10 minute walk, no sidewalks, etc maybe I’m mistaken?

It look okay on google maps street view. I don’t really know. Maybe someone here has experience renting from there? Here’s hoping! 

On 5/21/2019 at 7:59 PM, Beachiekeen said:

....  They also say you can rent from the Enterprise close to the port on Maui (but I don't want to do that, I want to rent at the airport).  ....

Is there a specific reason why you decided not to rent at the Enterprise right outside the port? I’ve reserved one there because it seemed like it would be easier to just walk over there instead of the airport/shuttle/etc.? I’m asking because I’m wondering if I didn’t think of a reason why I wouldn’t want to rent from there.