treehugr

Good morning all,

Inquiring for my wife...curious if Silhouette stores sell Lily Pulitzer merchandise currently? We were on the Equinox back in October and my wife found a few nice Lily outfits. We don't have a store within 75 miles, so she really enjoyed seeing an area dedicated for Lily on the ship. I'm not sure if Lily has a dedicated area fleetwide...can anyone who has been on the Silhouette recently confirm?

2 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

We were on Silhouette just a few weeks ago with basic wifi and my sister was able to make calls using WhatsApp. 

Did you see any additional charge on either end phone bill? Not familiar with all these apps. Does whatsapp work with iphone?

We have the basic internet package with our cruise. Can anyone recently on a cruise (preferably Silhouette) answer as to whether they were able to make wi-fi calls on board using the basic internet package. Thank you. 

15 hours ago, jlbaker said:

Thanks! I found the fix in a previous post and it worked for me:

 

 

1. Log in to your account

2. Go to "Settings"

3. Click "My loyalty". This will show you the loyality numbers for Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and RCI

4. Delete the Celebrity number and click "Save"

5. Re-enter your number and click "Save" again.

 

Fixed!

Thank you for the tip...worked perfect!

Are there USB ports in which movies can be played from a external hard drive or flash drive?

16 minutes ago, Mdta said:

The authorization comes from the Bermuda government not the cruise line. 

Yep, understand that part. Probably poorly worded on my part, I wanted to know how far out from the cruise would I receive from Bermuda. 

For those who have been through the application process...how far out did you get your approval email from the cruise?

14 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Hasn’t it been changed from 2 to 3 days.  My sail on Allure of September indicates a 3 day period, therefore, a Sunday sail the period covered would be Thursday-Saturday. 

For whatever the reason, Bermuda has to be different with a 2 day requirement. 

On 7/26/2022 at 4:23 PM, topnole said:

That is one good looking fridge!!   Your posts are gonna make me get some soon.  Does Total Wine sell the real stuff?  How about Publix or any other Florida retailer?   
 

If you ever go to Total Wine, try a Fullers.  They usually carry a small number of their varieties.  Their Vintage Ales

are amazing.  All of their beers are made at their sole Brewery.  Great stuff.  

Newcastle is the best! Can't get it here in Vero Beach, but I have a friend north of here that routinely gets it for me at Total Wine.

3 minutes ago, rrraydon said:

My thought on this is if Carnival is not having a problem updating their policy for their East Coast departures then RCI shouldn’t have any problems doing the same. They can leave their Bermuda policies as they stand or drop them…whichever. Bermuda shouldn’t be holding up the process. 

Couldn't agree more with you. This latest change from Bermuda adds an additional layer / requirement for unvaccinated travelers, requiring them to produce travel insurance with covid coverage for all. This is for all sailings after 8/22/22. First, this is just another additional expense one has to incur, and second, how would one obtain such insurance if they find themselves with a sailing in the near future?

2 minutes ago, rrraydon said:

It’s looking like I’m going to need to order more test kits also. 
 

I lost the link. Do you have the link by chance?

Free Gov test

If your looking for the free test.

25 minutes ago, rrraydon said:

That’s so true!! 😆 

But then I’d have to scroll around. I have RCI policy update on a speed search on my phone. 😝 

Although I prefer sailing RCI I got tired of waiting for them to update their unvaxxed policy and booked Carnival for me and my granddaughter. I’m wanting to book more and was hoping RCI would have updated by now. 😔 

Sadly, you have to monitor the island policies as they change as well. I got the email below from Bermuda this morning. As someone from another thread mentioned, sounds like the change is in response to recent cruise line policies for unvaccinated guest. 

Cruise Passenger Travel Authorisation

37 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

From the FAQ on the Bermuda Government website. 
 

12. How do I count the days for my pre-arrival test? Do I count the hours?
If travelling by air, your arrival day in Bermuda is Day
0. If travelling by sea, your departure day is Day 0. The hours are not counted. This means if your flight arrives in Bermuda on a Friday or your ship departs on a Friday, a Supervised Antigen test done no more than 2 days before would be done on the Wednesday.
 

Thanks for your reply Charles. So going by your example...my cruise departs Sunday, so testing can take place Fri / Sat at any time?

We've cruised a lot over the years, but this will be our first since the pandemic. The rules keep changing by the day and it's extremely frustrating when the cruise lines put the onus on their customer to  navigate through them. 

Looking to set up our online proctored test with RTT and was wondering if the two days prior testing requirement for Bermuda was specific to calendar days or hours? Another words, we leave on Sunday and test say 8:00 AM Friday, putting our testing window at roughly 52 hours when we finally check in at the port. Does this matter? 

28 minutes ago, cured said:

Seems to be a quick response to NCL and Carnival dropping vaccination requirements, That is going to add cost to sailing to Bermuda for the unvaccinated.  It will be interesting to see if the Bahamas or other islands follow and adopts the same policy.

40 minutes ago, villager70 said:

Got this email the last hour showing changes   for travel

 

 

 

 

.

BERMUDA GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CHANGES

 

 

Inbox

 

 

 

 

TAApprovals TAApprovals@gov.bm via gov.bm	10:43 AM (53 minutes ago)
to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear traveler,

 

Thank you for purchasing a Travel Authorization to travel to Bermuda. We look forward to welcoming you! Because your arrival date to Bermuda is on or after August 22, 2022, we wanted to notify you of some upcoming changes to our traveler policies.

 

If you are vaccinated, you may disregard this email. The rules for vaccinated travellers have not changed. Travel Authorizations are reviewed daily between 8.00am and 8.00pm and prioritized by arrival date, and we will process yours in due time.

 

Starting August 22, 2022, all unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated visitors will be required to provide proof of travel insurance to be allowed to enter Bermuda. Valid proof of travel health insurance includes a certificate of insurance, letter from insurer or medical declaration of insurance or travel insurance that states:

Insurer name and address
Insured traveler's name
Confirmation medical expenses are covered, including COVID-19 coverage (or "all medical expenses")
Period of coverage: insurance coverage start date and end date

 

Working crew and unvaccinated children 11 years and under travelling with fully vaccinated guardians are exempt from having to provide proof of travel insurance.

 

Furthermore, the testing requirements for unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated visitors are being relaxed: if you have a valid pre-travel test, you will only have to take a test 4 days after your arrival. 

 

You can refer to our traveler guidance webpages to confirm this change:

If you are a visitor travelling by air: https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-travellers-visitors

If you are a visitor arriving by cruise ship: https://www.gov.bm/cruise-travel-authorisation

If you are a visitor arriving on a yacht or pleasure craft: https://www.gov.bm/mariners-travel-authorisation

 

We realize these rules were not in place when you applied for your travel authorization, but they will be in place when you arrive. If you are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated and you are not a resident of Bermuda, please reply to us at TAapprovals@gov.bm and provide proof of travel health insurance, and we will upload it to your travel authorization.

 

 

Please contact us if you have any questions.

 

The Government of Bermuda Traveler Authorization team

 

 

COVID-19 Response Team Government of Bermuda | Department of Health Continental Building | 25 Church Street | Hamilton, Bermuda HM 12 P.O. Box HM 1195 l Hamilton, Bermuda HM EX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just got this email as well. What I can no longer find on their website is what they deem fully vaccinated. Prior to this change it was clearly written any combination 1 - JJ, or 2 - Phizer / Moderna was acceptable, with boosters being a recommendation. Anyone else find?

23 minutes ago, SilkySal said:

If you're going on the cruise fairly soon, the menu will be displayed in your cruise planner on the app. We're going on Mariner in October for 8 nights to Bermuda and I can view the menu on my app.

 

Oops, you beat me!

Thank you Sal...I'll look. 

Anyone have these to share? Can't seem to find anywhere. 

On 8/6/2022 at 1:22 PM, AlohaLivin said:

They have extended the expiration date on most all brands, but I have never had a telehealth rep ever ask about the expiration date (not Optum emed or Raid test and trace).
 

Here is a list of common tests and a link for all test extension dates below those:

 

• BinaxNOW Covid-19 Ag Card Home Test (Abbott Diagnostics Scarborough, Inc.): Extended to 15 months from 12 months
• BinaxNOW Covid-19 Antigen Self Test (Abbott Diagnostics Scarborough, Inc.): Extended to 15 months from 12 months
• CareStart Covid-19 Antigen Home Test (Access Bio, Inc.): Extended to 12 months from 9 months
• Flowflex Covid-19 Antigen Home Test (ACON Laboratories Inc.): Extended to 16 months from 12 months
• Celltrion DiaTrust Covid-19 Ag Home Test (Celltrion USA, Inc.): Extended to 18 months from 12 months
• Detect Covid-19 Test (Detect, Inc.): Extended to 8 months from 6 months
• iHealth Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test (iHealth Labs, Inc.): Extended to 9 months from 6 months
• SCoV-2 Ag Detect Rapid Self-Test (InBios International Inc.): Extended to 10 months from 6 months

 

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests?utm_source=CDRHTwitterD

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for posting. That is far more extensive than the list I got from RTT. Our second batch of Gov free test were SD Biosensor, Inc, also expiring prior to our cruise. RTT rep stated they had no extension for them though. Your list clearly shows they are. 

7 hours ago, brillohead said:

A friend is cruising with family soon, and he was ecstatic when I told him about RT&T.  I also advised him to not try to save the $5/test.... his personality does not go well with "poor customer service" issued!

Same here. I'm severely hearing impaired and I always seem to find myself with someone who speaks poor english and has a strong accent I have trouble understanding. Read many post about no communication problems to speak of, which is worth the extra $5 in my book. 

3 hours ago, joetop2467 said:

We just did ours Thursday with them using Binax Now that I got free from Walgreens with my Medicare plan.  When signing up for the test, we had to put in brand we were using but no one ever asked lot number or expiration date of the kit itself. Nor did they look at the box.  I guess as long as the controls work, it doesn’t matter.

Seem to recall others posting something similar. At this point I think some of these proctors are just going through the motions and don't get caught up with anything other than pass or fail. Nice lady (Rochelle) at RTT went as far as to find the extension list for iHealth kits approved by the FDA, which put our minds at ease about using expired kits. 

1 minute ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Glad it worked out. Their customer support coupled with a couple other factors is what made me spend the extra $5 to use them over OnPoint, and I'm as frugal as it gets.

Funny thing, we were considering OnPoint as well, up until reading quite a few reviews here on CC and a recent debacle a YouTuber talked extensively about the problems they had with them. Frugal as well, but this is one of those times I'd rather pay extra for piece of mind. 

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

Yep, we used iHealth kits with RT&T in July that expired a month prior based on the box date, no issues whatsoever.

 

Not sure how you messaged them but their live chat answered my questions very quickly.

Managed to finally get a reply a little later. Rep actually provided me with a list from the FDA reflecting a long batch of iHealth kits that have expired (on box), or about to, with 6-9 month extensions. Ours were on the list. Thank you for replying.

Our current freebie IHealth kits expire a month prior to our cruise. Found an FDA page showing the kits with considerable extensions of the expirations, including ours. Does anyone have any experience with Rapid Test and Trace, while also using expired kits (date on box)? Messaged Rapid Test and Trace, but not getting an answer. Thank you in advance for your reply. 

On 7/14/2022 at 3:14 PM, Charles4515 said:

If RC or NCL gave up their contracts and spots Carnival and MSC would be lining up to get their spots.

Agree. But as I stated, cruise lines will find other options when push comes to shove. A typical family of four, arriving via air or sea, has to shell out $160 additional funds (tax) under the guise of covid safety. What happens if come March 2023 Bermuda decides to keep this scheme going to pad the coffers? Do you not think this won't impact the Bermuda tourism industry...won't affect the bottom line? My wife and I are going in Sept and will pay the begrudgingly pay the fee. But should we look to return at a later date and this tax is still being imposed, we will look elsewhere. Something tells me I wouldn't be alone in my position. 

Anyway, I'll jump down from my soap box now. Wishing you and yours safe travels. 

On 7/14/2022 at 10:16 PM, KATHYMAC68 said:

Did you tell them it was for travel? I’m hearing that people have to pay if the test is for travel.

Same here in Vero Beach. Hearing folks going to CVS / Walgreens are now being charged. I wonder if anyone recently has paid and got reimbursed by their insurance companies. 

On 7/14/2022 at 6:45 PM, Silverspringcruiser said:

My sister did because she hadn't heard back even though she submitted before me. They immediately emailed her the approval form for her to initial.  I went to a Medstar clinic and it was free with my insurance.

We're in central Florida and options seem to be drying up for free testing. Don't think we have MedStar clinics here. Thinking about pairing up one of the proctored sites mentioned here with the iHealth test we've been getting. Then again, we don't cruise until Sept, so I'm really keeping my fingers crossed the testing requirement finally goes away.