AF-1

This link provides online testing and has the best price.  You can use one of the government kits that were sent to you and for $14.95 they will telehealth the test for you. Results within an hour.  

https://onpoint-testing.com/

I have used Cocoa Beach shuttle for roundtrip.  They were nice and even stopped at a walgreens for last minute shopping

I am booked at Hapmton/Brickell for two nights in Jan 2023.  I will take taxi from airport to hotel; and Uber to port

22 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Anyone who chooses a cruise line based on pizzas might be happier staying ashore and hanging out in New Haven, CT (for classic apizza), Brooklyn, NY )for good, fairly thin crust pies), or Chicago, IL (if you prefer pies better eaten with a spoon).

 

Regardless of the above ---NCL is less expensive up front, but requires a lot of spending if you want good food; Royal Caribbean is great if you are happy to get lost in a crowd.

Great answer.  Cheers

6 hours ago, WisRiver said:

In October, 2022 we took the Viking River cruise from Basel to Amsterdam.  We chose to fly into Paris, spend a week in an AirBNB, and then took a nonstop train from Paris to Basel.  We took a 25 Euro taxi from the train station to the Hotel Basel (which we highly recommend).    We spent three nights in Basel before boarding the ship.  Basel is a great city.  Interesting museums, good food and great walking.   The week in Paris allowed us to recover from jet lag.  

John, you had a great plan

nini thats great;  thank you for sharing.  I can still take the antigen online test at home; then fly to NYC the next day and still be within the 3 day window.  Cheers

thank you everyone for your feedback.  Since I will already be in New York City prior to my cruise; I will buy the proctored test kit and have someone proctor the test from our hotel room.  I think Binax sells the proctored online tests.  Again thanks for your feedback.

Thanks to TMLAalum and hossier2017 for your tips.  I appreciate you help.

Hi my cruise starts in Basel and ends in Amsterdam.  So I will be making a multi stop air reservation. If we fly into Zurich does anyone know how long the drive from Zurich to Basel is?  also do you have any recommendations for ground transportation?  Thanks.  I am also looking into flying into Basel; which would require an extra stop on way over.  Pricing for Zurich and Basel are not that much different.

On 5/18/2022 at 4:57 PM, MyTMo777 said:

Before our first cruise in 2013, we were also deciding between two different cruise lines, one with a large, new ship and one (NCL) on an older, smaller ship. Our travel agent gave us great advice: "On your first cruise you will be so in awe of the luxury and wonder of the ship, you won't know the difference whether you're on the biggest, newest, fanciest one or not. Save your money, go on the smaller ship, and save some wonder and awe for your next cruise." She was absolutely right. We had no idea what we were missing anyway, and we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. We've been on bigger, newer and fancier ships since then, but we didn't necessarily love them more. There were good and bad about both of them

 

Also, although almost all of us base our cruises on itineraries, don't base your decision solely on that. Ports change, ports get closed, weather prevents the ship from reaching port - lots of things can happen that change your itinerary and stop you from getting to that one special place you planned your whole trip for. Just keep that in mind.

Great Advice.  Hope the OP reads this

On 5/8/2022 at 5:12 PM, lenquixote66 said:

I like Royal better.I am a pizzaholic and Royal has the best pizza on the seas.

Have you tried Pizza on Princess ships?

Thank you for posting this info.  If I do use this company in the future; I have the correct link.  Cheers

12 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I don't know anything about your situation, but for me, it was very simple to take a proctored at-home test three days before the cruise.  it is a do-it-yourself test that you do using face-time or a similar video conferencing application.  You are monitored by a medical technician who certifies the test and the results.

 

I had a Saturday departure.  Around 2 a.m. on Wednesday night/ Thursday morning, I did the test.  That gave me time to cancel my pre-cruise travel plans if necessary.  It was "easy-peasy".   By testing in advance, I wasn't worrying about testing at the pier and about unexpected test results.

 

Good luck!

 

Hi,  doesn't Princess require a 48 hour rule for testing; or 72 hours is you get a PCR test.  What type of test did you take three days prior?  Thanks.  Trying to figure out when I have to take my test prior to a Oct cruise

I thought Princess testing requirements were as follows:

Antigen test: 48 hours prior

PCR test: 72 hours prior

Is this correct?

Thank you for your report.  I loved the detailed report in London.  Your pics are clear and they tell stories.  Glad to see you enjoyed Trader Vic's.  I have stayed at the Park Lane Hilton many times for work and have eaten in Trader Vic's.  Cheers and thanks for posting

On 7/8/2022 at 2:52 PM, MarkBearSF said:

An interesting article on the Brooklyn ferries including some things to see in Red Hook.
A great article on the Brooklyn ferries (including some tips on things to see in Red Hook) https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/travel/brooklyn-ferry.html

sorry I can not access this article.  Website says I have to subscribe to read the article.  

3 hours ago, GTJ said:

An easy half-mile walk to the ferry . . . virtually no risk of traffic delay on any portion of the journey from hotel to vessel on embarkation day.

Thank you for your feedback.  I like your response;  I see you live in NY; so you are well versed in ferries.  Have a great weekend

4 hours ago, njhorseman said:

You can't really put Blacklane in the same category as Dial 7 or Carmel, and the price of their service reflects that. Dial 7 or Carmel can be more appropriately compared to Uber, Lyft or a taxi.

Yes you are correct in comparing Blacklane with others I was mentioning two car services that I am going to use for my trip in Oct

23 minutes ago, WKUTopperFan said:

I'm trying to pick a car service for my airport to hotel the day before my cruise (August 14) and  from port to airport on debarkation day. I actually downloaded the Carmel App folowing advice found here. After Googling them I found nothing but horror story reviews. Is Carmel actually reliable and the reviews were "one offs?" Taxis are gross and getting an Uber at the airport in NYC is stressful to find pick up.  

take a look at dial 7 or Blacklane car services

I plan on using the ferry in Oct.  I am staying at Hampton Inn near the Pier 11 terminal.  

I am doing a cruise in Oct;  am looking at Dial 7 or Blacklane for transportation to and from LGA

On 7/9/2022 at 10:47 AM, Notalotofinfo said:

You will love it!

Thank you for your feedback

The town of Lucca looks very nice

Avignon, is a nice city in the south of France.  I spent three days there touring.  Ken your pictures of Avignon and the Popes are excellent

Wonderful review.  I know you and your family are having a ball.  All the best and keep the pictures coming.  Cheers