The Odyssey, on-the-sea - Dec 18, 2021

[shark b8]

On 12/21/2021 at 12:25 PM, Saffron05 said:

Are you now allowed to venture ashore unaccompanied?

 

And now the same advisories for Curaçao tomorrow, as there were for Aruba today.  Saffron, any news about your ability to travel?

 

[shark b8]

She’s beautiful by night, too.

[Saffron05]

16 hours ago, shark b8 said:

<< Are you tested daily? >>

 

No testing, there was the mandatory PCR to enter Barbados, and then there was antigen test to board the ship, but that has been it.

 

[Saffron05]

10 hours ago, shark b8 said:

 

And now the same advisories for Curaçao tomorrow, as there were for Aruba today.  Saffron, any news about your ability to travel?

 

 

[Saffron05]

We have a tough decision to make, whether or not to travel.  Our worst nightmare would be if we caught the virus and had to isolate in a Barbados hotel for 10 days.  If we cancel, we forfeit the whole cost, including BC flights.  Do you have a view Shark b8?  We are, of course, fully vaccinated but my husband is the cautious type.

Anyway, thanks for the nice photos - its dark, cold and miserable here, near London!  

[shark b8]

2 hours ago, Saffron05 said:

If we cancel, we forfeit the whole cost, including BC flights.  Do you have a view Shark b8?

 

I’m a little hesitant to express an opinion, considering how combustible the issue has become these days, with many people thinking any view dissenting from their own must be either looney or downright evil. The last thing this forum needs or wants is yet another Covid yelling match, I think.  I’m looking around for a “direct message” feature, just one forum member to another, but I don’t see it……?

[shark b8]

From our veranda - haven’t even gotten off the ship, and Curacao looks wonderful.  

 

 

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, shark b8 said:

 I’m looking around for a “direct message” feature, just one forum member to another, but I don’t see it……?

 

Doesn't exist.  I understand it once did, but not now for whatever reason.  

[Catlover54]

On 12/18/2021 at 7:29 AM, shark b8 said:

well, ok, point taken, but……as a matter of casual observation: far more similarities than differences.

 

In any case, back to the arrival-logistics discussion: for anyone who is flying on American Airlines, as we did: there is an app called VeriFLY which the airlines suggested. I downloaded the app and then uploaded appropriate info before we left, and it really paid off for us at MIA.  There was a heart-sinkingly long line to just be able to check bags - when the young lady standing guard at the line entrance asked about our destination, I said “Barbados, and I have VeriFLY”.  She immediately unhooked the rope on a stanchion, directing us to a different path. We walked forward, with no one in front of us, directly up to the counter, and our bag drop was done. Link below.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/verifly-fast-digital-identity/id1522957424

 

Was the "heart-sinkingly long line to just be able to check bags" in MIA for coach, or for business pax, or both?

 

 

[Catlover54]

"Posted Tuesday at 01:57 PM

Hi, I’ve gone sorta radio-silent, as I’m fighting a mild cold which came up suddenly, and I hope will depart the same way, so far it feels like just that.  Spent the day just lounging (fortunately a sea day, so no real itinerary damage), I also feel like I should keep a respectful distance from fellow cruisers, if for no other reason than preventing folks from freaking out that a little coughing is something more sinister than it actually is.  Fortunately everyone aboard is multi-tested and multi-vaxxed, but current conditions make it understandable for people to be extra-wary."

 

People are "extra-wary" because the typical clinical presentation of breakthrough Covid in the multi-vaxxed  (or most young and unvaxxed) these days is symptoms of a "mild cold", e.g., a little fatigue, a little coughing, a little sniffles, a little headache, which came up suddenly  (with or without loss of taste and smell).  

Edited December 24, 2021 by Catlover54
Typo

[shark b8]

Cat lover, I cant honestly remember which specific service levels were or weren’t included in the bag check-in line I described.  My memory was more geared toward the ease of using VeriFLY, which sailed us past it all, whomever the line might have included.

[shark b8]

Around Curacao…

 

 

[shark b8]

Might be Christmastime on the ship

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

And….indulge me here, ok?……one of my favorite dinners.  At the Keller grill, the crabcake to start, and the medium-rare rib-eye.  To repeat what I said when we walked through the door of the suite……”we’re home”.

 

 

[Saffron05]

19 hours ago, shark b8 said:

 

I’m a little hesitant to express an opinion, considering how combustible the issue has become these days, with many people thinking any view dissenting from their own must be either looney or downright evil. The last thing this forum needs or wants is yet another Covid yelling match, I think.  I’m looking around for a “direct message” feature, just one forum member to another, but I don’t see it……?

 

6 hours ago, shark b8 said:

And….indulge me here, ok?……one of my favorite dinners.  At the Keller grill, the crabcake to start, and the medium-rare rib-eye.  To repeat what I said when we walked through the door of the suite……”we’re home”.

 

 

Thanks for your diplomatic reply.  Now get back to enjoying your cruise …..   Jan

 

[shark b8]

Christmas & fois gras - unbeatable combination!  Merry Christmas, everybody!

Edited December 25, 2021 by shark b8

[shark b8]

Bonaire:  Flamingos, wild donkeys, and sadly, 19th century slave huts.

 

 

[shark b8]

[shark b8]

Antigua was a British naval stronghold in the 19th century.

 

 

[shark b8]

We’re in St. Kitts, with a return to Barbados a couple of days away, so Seabourn is required to do the Q-tip-in-the-snoot thing, yet again.  It was all organized and relatively painless, they did it in the Salon, you just give your suite number and they take it from there.

 

 

[shark b8]

And St. Kitts is quite beautiful.  

[Navis]

9 minutes ago, shark b8 said:

We’re in St. Kitts, with a return to Barbados a couple of days away, so Seabourn is required to do the Q-tip-in-the-snoot thing, yet again.  It was all organized and relatively painless, they did it in the Salon, you just give your suite number and they take it from there.

 

 

Many thanks for taking time out of your vacation to post for all of us to enjoy! This is interesting … it seems Barbados wants a 48hr test, but to re-enter the US don’t we need neg PCR within 24hrs? Has Seabourn explained at all how they are handling disembarkation testing for passengers heading back to the US? Are they going to have to test you again on the 28th? Or are you staying on island for a post-cruise holiday? 
 

I tried to find information on this everywhere on Seabourn’s site but so far I can find no details for  those of us that will disembark and head directly to the airport. Our cruise is not until March and I know things are likely to change before then, but I am getting nervous about the pre-disembarkation testing.

[shark b8]

I was going to wait until there was an eventual resolution, but I may as well mention now the elephant in the room, or more accurately the elephant that’s *not* in our room - our luggage.  We opted to use Seabourn’s Luggage Forward partner, so that I could finally experience the joy of airport travel without going near baggage claim.  Or so I thought.  Within 24 hours of picking up our 2 suitcases (about two weeks prior to embarkation) I was notified that there were two “disallowed items” inside - one was a thing of shave cream that may or may not have been closer to a tube of toothpaste than an aerosol can, and what they described as a “power bank”.  I don’t own a power bank.  Turned out to be my phone/tablet charger, which has several USB slots for charging multiple devices at once.  Both items were confiscated from our luggage and I have no option of getting them back.

 

But those two things didn’t explain the next ~two weeks.  The suitcases sat in Honolulu for about 5 days, then they sat at LAX for about 5 days, and it was obvious there would be a horse race to get them to Barbados in time for sailing.  We hurriedly bought a cheap third suitcase, dragged it along (via baggage claim, of course), with some hastily chosen clothes, additionally with some ill-fitting and relatively inappropriate clothing we bought in a panic at a Miami department store along the way.  The Luggage Forward people kept apologizing, day after day, but nothing ever *happened*.  I asked if the suitcases could be forwarded on to the next port if they didn’t make it to the ship on time, I received carefully crafted answers which didn’t actually commit to anything.  I guess at this point I cant really say “long story short” any more - suffice it to say, we’re nine days into the cruise, with no luggage.   It arrived in Barbados about 5 days after we sailed out of there, and there it sits for another few days, until we’re back to that port.  I am considering starting a thread about just this experience, if for no other reason than to warn people about this possibility, but I’d choose to put it somewhere with more visibility than just the Seabourn forum.  

[ejincali]

3 minutes ago, shark b8 said:

I was going to wait until there was an eventual resolution, but I may as well mention now the elephant in the room, or more accurately the elephant that’s *not* in our room - our luggage.  We opted to use Seabourn’s Luggage Forward partner, so that I could finally experience the joy of airport travel without going near baggage claim.  Or so I thought.  Within 24 hours of picking up our 2 suitcases (about two weeks prior to embarkation) I was notified that there were two “disallowed items” inside - one was a thing of shave cream that may or may not have been closer to a tube of toothpaste than an aerosol can, and what they described as a “power bank”.  I don’t own a power bank.  Turned out to be my phone/tablet charger, which has several USB slots for charging multiple devices at once.  Both items were confiscated from our luggage and I have no option of getting them back.

 

But those two things didn’t explain the next ~two weeks.  The suitcases sat in Honolulu for about 5 days, then they sat at LAX for about 5 days, and it was obvious there would be a horse race to get them to Barbados in time for sailing.  We hurriedly bought a cheap third suitcase, dragged it along (via baggage claim, of course), with some hastily chosen clothes, additionally with some ill-fitting and relatively inappropriate clothing we bought in a panic at a Miami department store along the way.  The Luggage Forward people kept apologizing, day after day, but nothing ever *happened*.  I asked if the suitcases could be forwarded on to the next port if they didn’t make it to the ship on time, I received carefully crafted answers which didn’t actually commit to anything.  I guess at this point I cant really say “long story short” any more - suffice it to say, we’re nine days into the cruise, with no luggage.   It arrived in Barbados about 5 days after we sailed out of there, and there it sits for another few days, until we’re back to that port.  I am considering starting a thread about just this experience, if for no other reason than to warn people about this possibility, but I’d choose to put it somewhere with more visibility than just the Seabourn forum.  

Did Seabourn offer any compensation for their mishap?  I would say the items you bought should have been on their dime...

[shark b8]

Aloha Navis - The CDC has this on their website…

 

”Travel requirements have changed. Starting December 6, all air passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must show a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 1 day before travel to the United States.

 

I don’t know if it’s PCR only or if antigen is ok, I figured I’d wait until we’re a little closer to disembarkation to look closer, to allow for any changes which might occur with the whole Omicron business. We’re actually onboard for another 9 days after this Barbados stop, and at that point we are doing the ship-to-airport “shore excursion” they always offer, so as it happens (or as I find out) I’ll try to remember to post it here (jog my memory if nec!).  Seabourn has been on top of things really impressively it seems to me, so I’m confident they will have figured out the best way to handle all this.