drarill

20 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Do you actually have to wear a mask everywhere?

you don't need to wear them outside. But if you go to a store, mall, medical office, etc.  you are required to use them.  Same with a restaurant, must wear a mask, just for entering or if you leave your table to go to the restroom.  

12 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Got it printed out on paper as well as on our phones. Not sure exactly where we present it when we land but we will soon find out.

you need to show this before leaving the airport.  Someone will scan the code and you will get texts or emails for the next 10 days checking that you don't have COVID symptoms. 

Keep your Vaccination card handy; we have strict mask mandates and proof of vaccination is required in most restaurants. Happy Cruising!!!

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I will say that the Royal app is really good too as a scheduler. It has all my reservations, excursions and times. Very handy.

 

Where my schedule really helps is in scheduling our specialty restaurants. We have the 3 night dining package, as well as a complimentary dinner and lunch from my TA. Once I get on board I'll make my reservations using my schedule and I can pencil in any changes.

Safe travels tomorrow!! don't forget to get your QRCode before entering  Puerto Rico. Enjoy your cruise! I'll be following you! https://www.travelsafe.pr.gov

https://1link.travelsafe.pr.gov

On 10/30/2021 at 10:08 AM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

it would all depend on a state and location within the state and the city/town. We've had very high covid numbers and low immunization numbers.

Even with the mask mandate, we've had several school and class quarantines because of the positive cases. Our school fared a bit better than middle or high schools in the vicinity, because little kids are more compliant (surprisingly) and still listen to staff and teachers, plus they offered online schooling for 2020-2021 school year, which resulted in 40% of our school learning remotely. I believe this fact (many schools were able to offer a remote option to at least a portion of their student population) and the fact that most office workers were also able to switch to telecommuting helped curb the spread. Other countries are not so fortunate.

 

Even if you are not worried about the kids getting infected, remember that they take it home and infect others in their family who then infect others. I've seen numerous examples. It's called a pandemic for a reason. 

 

4 kids in my extended family no longer have a mom due to covid. Think about how that effects them.

I agree with you 100%   BTW, Puerto Rico is the US Territory/State with the highest vaccination rate, and one of the lowest transmission rates right now.  We have accomplished this with strict mask mandates and proof of vaccination to enter restaurants and many venues.  For those Explorer cruisers coming to our island, hope they understand that we didn't politicized the pandemic and we have made many sacrifices to save lives.  You are welcome, but there are rules here that must be followed.  

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view

34 minutes ago, Rangers1982 said:

 

you don’t get a menu, you just get a bag left outside your door, every bag has a tiny bottle of water, a pear, some kind of coconut yogurt and in a box just some kind of slop mainly it’s some kind of cold fish, and a small bread roll. Everything is plastic including the knife and forks. If this food was served in prison it would start a riot. 

I mean for the uber eats.

1 hour ago, Rangers1982 said:

Hotel is out of the hands of RC and is the Spanish authorities that organised but it is bleak. We are confined to room 24/7 maybe for 9 more days. The room has nothing apart from 2 beds and a small tv 📺 (all in Spanish)

 

RC have been trying to help and have added funds to an Uber eats account, hopefully we can try and order something but it’s all in Spanish. Hopefully the staff will bring food to the door as they haven’t been very helpful so far. 

let us help you!! post the menu.   Food in Spain is really good.  

3 hours ago, Stu UK said:

Day two was Mykonos.  We stayed onboard and used The Retreat to its full.  Breakfast was amazing.  We were seated in the same area as the previous evening so Sony and his colleagues are already starting to get to know us.  We then headed to the Retreat deck to enjoy the sun.

 

Easily managed to get loungers in the shade and even as the sun moved - so did we.  Drinks service was super attentive but i resisted alcohol until we ate lunch there.  Cesar Salad for me and Turkey Wrap for Karl, both gorgeous - and the food too.  Naturally it got busier as some excursions returned but still lots of space.  Started to meet several lovely couples.  Being in the pool was very social as people tried to cool down.  

 

If you want outdoor shade then the small seating area outside The Retreat Lounge is a lovely alternative, again with excellent bar and food service, plus an easy escape into the air conditioning of the lounge.

 

After cooking in the sun we decided it was time for the Thermal Suite.  Transpires that we get free access as RS guests (as well as an extra special purple key card).  The Thermal Suite is being limited to 10 guests at a time but there were only 5 in between 3pm and 5pm.  It was spotless and unusually for a cruise ship spa it all worked correctly - well it is a new ship. Bought the $27 scrubs - 3 varieties for that price to use in the Hammam. Views from the heated loungers were amazing albeit the sun is slightly bright as there are no window blinds.

 

Dinner we attended the Chefs Table.  Picture of the menu and some of the dishes below.  Sorry I forgot to snap the soup.  We were joined by 6 others and had an excellent evening.  Also got to see the $100,000 bottle of wine onboard.  The dinner was hosted in Fine Cut starting at 6:30pm and took about 3 hours.  We received a glass of Champagne on arrival.  Each course was explained by Executive Chef.  We opted for the additional $60 wine pairing and enjoyed them all.  Due to Covid there is no longer a galley tour.  We would recommend it - not included in any dining packages or RS unlimited dining. It was all stunning.

 

Day ended with a drink at the Sunset Bar.  All in all a 10 out of 10 day with an extra surprise - monographed pyjamas when we arrived back to the suite. 

Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us.  Tari and Sony took care of us back in June, and both were wonderful.  Enjoy your cruise 

On 8/29/2021 at 10:37 AM, wendyam76 said:

@Stu UKhave a fantastic cruise! Tari is a treasure - we knew her from serving us in Constellation- she makes great espresso! - so when she spotted us on Apex she made sure to tell our Retreat Host she was asking for us. One of our highlights was seeing her in person. 
If you get a chance please tell her Wendy and Doreen are asking for her.

Wendy

Tari is a doll!! she also took excellent care of us back in June!!

1 hour ago, mozartwon said:

I’m not trying to appear insensitive to the other passengers onboard,  I just what to be prepared for all contingencies.  

 

I understand.  We were on the Apex first cruise back in June with a group of 13.  Only four of us needed PCRs to travel because we were transiting through Heathrow, but still, we all had PCR's done the day before our flights. Though, it was not required for the whole group, it was the right thing to do.  BTW, only the four transiting through Heathrow were also tested upon arrival in Athens,  and then the next day we were all tested again by Celebrity. Did I mind? not at all.  IMHO everyone should be tested before any type of travel vaccinated or not.

8 hours ago, KKB said:

$200 OBC for every cabin for today’s debacle.

Mom said it was worth it😂

Too bad 2 excursions, Eden & my premium package are already paid for🙄

love your mom's attitude!!!  she should go to the spa to use the OBC!!!

24 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

We sail tomorrow as well. Right now we are sitting poolside at our hotel fortifying ourselves with alcohol. Our plan in the morning is to bring water and wear sunscreen and hats. We will carefully monitor email, as much as I want that Luminae lunch,  also don’t want an ER visit for heat stroke! We were fortunate enough to be able to get PCR tested yesterday afternoon, and I have fingers crossed that things will be organized well enough tomorrow that they will accept our test. Right now it does not meet the letter of the last email we got, but is consistent with requirements for the later sailings.

 

I am APPALLED by the people standing in line unmasked. I know staying masked for that length of time would be nearly impossible, but they may as well just go out past the shipping lane and sail to Nassau and back, it will be a super spreader event on board. It just made me nauseous. As I do at home right now with our fast rising rate, I will assess each place and mask up when I feel uncomfortable. Depending on what I see tomorrow I ma feel uncomfortable!

Also if the reports of persons fainting or having to be taken to an ambulance are true, my heart goes out to them.

 

As a physician who doesn’t want to see anyone sick or thrown off the ship - follow the emails, bring water and a hat and wear your mask or stay 6 feet away from those not in your party!

 

hope everything  runs smoothly tomorrow and you have a great cruise.  

10 minutes ago, cdcummings said:

Will do. I had some appointments booked *just in case* they did this… we are obviously fully vaccinated, but I had a premonition they would do this at this last minute and figured it wouldn’t hurt to have tests at the ready. Lo and behold…

We get PCR's before traveling even if is not required, to me,  is the right thing to do.  We traveled with a group of friends on the Apex and only four of us needed to be tested because we transited through London, but still, we all had our PCR's done before our cruise.  BTW, when we arrived in Athens they did antigen's tests on everyone on our flight, add the one given to us before boarding, meant that we had one PCR and 2 nasopharyngeal antigen tests in three days. But I won't complain, had a great time and felt really safe. 

3 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

So X should have been able to use the Apex testing to give them some sort of estimate of what 2000 would take.

exactly! this is already working there, why can't they do it in the US?  This is about going back to our favorite type of vacation in a safe way.  We keep criticizing the CDC but the truth is that  protocols everywhere else are stricter. Florida reported over 100,000 new COVID cases this week and we now know that vaccinated people can transmit the virus if infected, which makes this is a recipe for disaster. We know what it works; lots of testing and contact tracing. This virus is not going to disappear soon enough, but with the appropriate protocols we should be able to controller avoid  the outbreaks, IMHO 

5 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

How many had to be tested on that cruise compared to today?

Almost 700. We all had our TrustOne app, where we received our tests results and made the appointments for the testing at the end of the cruise.  This is Celebrity's model for the Apex, don't know why they don't use it with the Edge too.  

3 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

But it is their first time trying to test 2,000 (?) people like this.  At one point this process was on the table to do on a regular basis.

Agreed! we were on the first Apex cruise back in June and everybody was given an antigen test before boarding.  We had to wait on the terminal for the results and had water while we waited.  At the end of the cruise, the day before debarking, had another antigen test done to use on our way back home.  The truth is that I like the Apex protocol better than the Edge's. 

5 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Ian,

Thanks for the report...It makes me look forward to this thing even more...

We leave tonight and fly out VERY early tomorrow morning for Athens...and will join you Saturday for the first leg of our B2B!!

I think our sky suite is laid out a little different than yours as we are on the port side right at the bump-out (#10191)...

Can't wait to find out about surprise suite perks...

See you next week!

Safe travels Steve!! looking forward to your reports!

26 minutes ago, 39august said:

Yes, I know. I was afraid this was two new cases. Glad it was not.

Two more cases on the Apex too... posts #41 and #45

22 hours ago, mahdnc said:

We got this PUP this afternoon:

 

Love your new puppy!! 

On 7/23/2021 at 10:29 AM, kearney said:

Back to the topic of sailing with unvaccinated vs total vaccinated sailings...it looks like Disney is following the RCL model ... which makes sense... since if ever there was a family cruise line..it is Disney. It will be interesting to see how people react to that.. Like Royal they are requiring travel insurance, testing masking etc.   I don't recall if they did simulated cruises or not..but I assume they have.    https://disneycruiselineblog.com/2021/07/disney-cruise-line-announces-august-9-2021-u-s-restart-and-publishes-safety-protocols/

This is from a Facebook group.  Yesterday a member questioned Celebrity's bubble tours for families with children, then another member told us about two positives on the Apex.  Hope this family remains asymptomatic. 

On 7/16/2021 at 7:27 PM, suzyluvs2cruise said:

NOTE: Guests who have used mixed vaccination protocols will not be considered fully vaccinated (i.e. 1 dose Pfizer + 1 dose Moderna, or 1 dose AstraZeneca + 1 dose Pfizer, etc.). To be considered fully vaccinated, a guest must have received all doses of one accepted vaccine. Otherwise, a guest will be considered unvaccinated. This is now on the RCI website 

 

What Vaccines are Accepted

 

 

Recent MedPage article about Mixing vaccines.  You might need to register with them to read it 

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/93706?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2021-07-23&eun=g1923202d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily Headlines Engagement PassiveNew 2021-07-23&utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_passiveNew

7 hours ago, kiwimum said:

Still sounds different than usual trials as they are a year or two in duration and there is no mixing of actual and placebo.    I see Novavax may apply for approval in September/October.

Good luck

Hope they do.  My 23 y/o son is on this trial and I feel awful for him right now, he can't travel or do some things all of us can.  Looking at the volunteers posts in Twitter I fear many will leave the trial if they don't apply for approval soon, some are really angry.  

56 minutes ago, Preziosa said:

I Will do my Very Best to report How life is on board Harmony the 15. Th august

Will be following you.  We were on the Apex first voyage back in June 19 and it was a great experience.  Still, keep an eye on Barcelona's numbers, right now I'm watching the Spanish news and is not looking good. Hope they get it under control soon https://www.euronews.com/2021/07/16/spain-curfew-restored-in-catalonia-as-covid-19-cases-soar

https://english.elpais.com/society/2021-07-16/hospital-admissions-of-covid-19-patients-double-in-two-weeks-in-spain.html

2 hours ago, camella said:

Wow didn't know that everyone has to be off the ship by 9:00 but it makes sense they need the extra time to clean, etc.  We have a 12:45 pm flight so that's good to know.

Looks like I was mistaken; off the ship by 9:30 am and had to leave our room by 8:00 am. Hope the picture helps

3 hours ago, Olga Largo said:

Who does guaratee you that the coach driver on your tour is vaccinated?? and if he is so would they make an antigen test before boarding the bus?? and what about the people on the street? I am european and maybe this is my 9TH cruise with same detinations,places that we have visited on our own so many times(not only cruising),in fact we only disimbark La Spezia and Rome and usually hire a private taxi and visit the city on our own,the problem is tours and prices as someone said which are ridicously pricy...what is going to happen with for example USA visitors from estates in which vaccines are not mandatory? and if you have a look at the tours some of them like Rome ones are 6/8 hours.... I don´t want to be around Rome 8 ours with a 6 six year old kid!!!

Of course the very easy thing to sayis.............wait till the corona is over or do not travel with kids or cruise in two years time!!

We were on Celebrity's Apex maiden voyage a month ago, all our tour guides and drivers were vaccinated. Ninety-five percent of the passengers were also vaccinated and the only moment I didn't feel "safe" was having dinner in  Luminae (suite guests dining room) because there were a couple of unvaccinated children screaming and yelling.

Olga, I'm a mom and we cruised with our kids a couple of times a year since they were two and three years old, believe me, I understand the need of taking a vacation.  Any cruise in normal times has rules, but especially now, cruises need to have very specific rules. I decided to cruise on the Apex not only knowing the rules,  I also knew that they could changed in a matter of minutes.   I watch RTVE news every day and the raise in cases in Spain is worrisome,  and BTW I didn't need to wait until corona is over to travel, I waited until we were vaccinated to do it.  

1 hour ago, kayguz said:

I'm hoping someone can give me some direction--- we are flying out of Athens following the cruise.  How early is the recommended time to arrive at the Athens airport for international flight?  Any ideas of the disembarkation times?  Trying to give the driver a pick up time.  

 

Also, when we arrive into Athens, how long after our arrival should we have the driver scheduled for the pick up?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Everyone must leave the ship before 9:00 am. and the drive from the port to the airport is over 45 min.  If you are planning to get your VAT refund,  plan for an extra hour.  Bring everything printed on paper and if you are flying American or British Airways download the Verifly app.  Hope this helps