cattywompus

My family just used rapidtestandtrace.com (https://rapidtestandtrace.com/) with freebie iHealth tests we obtained locally. It was $20/person for the proctored tests. I purchased all 4, which was fine except that it meant that all communication including pdfs of results were sent to me. So, I had to be available to receive (and double-check) the results certificates. It was really simple: they send you a link to Microsoft Teams to access at your appointment time (no need to be early). I didn't have to download MT or anything - I accessed it thru my browser. The proctor walked me thru the steps, watching me swab my nose (so fun!), and looked at the "cartridge" thing when the wait time expired. We received pdf documents with our name, passport number, date of birth, and date and time of the test. It's in English, French, and Spanish and includes a signature from the proctor. We seemed certain that our health insurance would not pay for a non-medically mandated covid test and Walgreens here in AZ wants $139/test. It's possible our FSA will reimburse us for the testing, but we may have exhausted that already.

We were sometimes able to leave notes for our steward, too. Simple requests only like "can we please have 2 more bath towels?" Left in an obvious place - like on the pillow. I don't know how the stewards felt about it, but that seemed simpler than having to make calls - at least for things that we wanted, but didn't care when we got them. Since you're new, we've found that many cruise staff called us by our first names, but with Mr or Mrs in front of it (Mr. John and Mrs Jane), which seemed odd, but so many people did it that I just rolled with it. I also really enjoy seeing where the crew members are from - the cruises we've been on have had that on the name tags for the staff. Something like: Minna Finland

Thanks for this. We do have the drinks package. Tea, though, is easy enough to pack (especially decaf black tea, which places rarely have but it's what I have to drink in the evenings). I'll mention this to my mom, too, since she's sailing with us and would rather not settle for Lipton if at all possible.

Hi all, I'm a dedicated tea drinker and I'll cope without good loose-leaf tea and my kettle on our trip next month (I can't assume I will be able to snag one of the mythical "in storage" kettles that might exist). If you know what brand the teabags were in the buffet/other locations, would you please share it? I need to decide if I'll pack my own. Thanks!