Stress has won out..

[Lalory777]

After having major stress over finding a place to be tested for Covid we have decided to cancel our booking and spend our vacation at another destination. I’m sure some of you will see this as a stupid move but the anxiety and stress was very real. After seeing the CVS’s and Walgreens in my area constantly canceling appts and closing their test sites down with absolutely no notice at all I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. When Carnival decides to drop the testing requirement we will book again. Until then we will enjoy our vacation stress free elsewhere 🙂 

[Badfinger]

That is unfortunate.  We we just returned from the Breeze and were able to schedule a rapid COVID test two weeks in advance at a CVS about 18 minutes away.  Arrived about 20 minutes before our scheduled test time and were called right in.  The negative result PDF was in my email inbox before we arrived home.  No charge.  

 

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by Badfinger

[Lalory777]

7 minutes ago, Badfinger said:

That is unfortunate.  We we just returned from the Breeze and were able to schedule a rapid COVID test two weeks in advance at a CVS about 18 minutes away.  Arrived about 20 minutes before our scheduled test time and were called right in.  The negative result PDF was in my email inbox before we arrived home.  No charge.  

 

 

I’m so glad it worked out for you! Unfortunately the ones by me are very unreliable. The one on my corner has closed 4 times in the past 10 days 🙄

[OkieRican]

So sorry to hear that. We will be going to our Dr. for the test. Hope you enjoy your new plans!

[groundloop]

1 minute ago, Lalory777 said:

....... The one on my corner has closed 4 times in the past 10 days 🙄

 

I'm seeing the same for the CVS locations 'near' me.  I've been following the test availability and it's very sporadic, not exactly what you want when your ability to vacation depends on getting the test.

[cruiseracer]

12 minutes ago, Lalory777 said:

After having major stress over finding a place to be tested for Covid we have decided to cancel our booking and spend our vacation at another destination. I’m sure some of you will see this as a stupid move but the anxiety and stress was very real. After seeing the CVS’s and Walgreens in my area constantly canceling appts and closing their test sites down with absolutely no notice at all I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. When Carnival decides to drop the testing requirement we will book again. Until then we will enjoy our vacation stress free elsewhere 🙂 

Don't blame you a bit. Sailing in a few weeks and definitely not looking forward to the unnecessary stress for a vacation. Living an hour from Canaveral and GF's desire to sail weigh into decision to go, but cancelling would be fine with me. Enjoy your alternative vacation...

[Lalory777]

1 minute ago, cruiseracer said:

Don't blame you a bit. Sailing in a few weeks and definitely not looking forward to the unnecessary stress for a vacation. Living an hour from Canaveral and GF's desire to sail weigh into decision to go, but cancelling would be fine with me. Enjoy your alternative vacation...

I would have probably taken the chance also if we were as close to the port as you are. Unfortunately we don’t like to fly and we are a good 10-12 hour drive to the port. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

I hope your revised vacation winds up so good you finish it saying "This was waaayyy better than a cruise!"... that's how we feel when we return from Italy and France.

[Lalory777]

Just now, IntrepidFromDC said:

I hope your revised vacation winds up so good you finish it saying "This was waaayyy better than a cruise!"... that's how we feel when we return from Italy and France.

Thank you! I hope so! 🙂 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

Vacations shouldn’t begin with stress but instead excitement. I hope you find that perfect replacement. 
 

For our first cruise in September it was a little stressful but we were fortunate to find a local clinic with a no charge rapid test.  It was super easy.  For our next cruise a week later there was no stress after going through it once before.  Looking forward to the day this isn’t a requirement though. 

[overeasy]

OP, I get it. I could not really enjoy the usual anticipation and buildup to our cruise earlier this month until getting the darned test done.

[firefly333]

Got my covid test this morning and I must have had the first appointment. She was a few minutes late arriving, but test results back before I got home.

 

Glad I have a good location near me and dont have your stress op. 

[firefly333]

Got my covid test this morning and I must have had the first appointment. She was a few minutes late arriving, but test results back before I got home.

 

Glad I have a good location near me and dont have your stress op. 

[Rudyard]

I don't blame you. After our cruise last week we've decided that we won't cruise again until the testing requirement is gone. The build up to the test, not knowing if it might be cancelled, then waiting on results was very stressful. We decided prior to the cruise that we didn't want to tie up any more money just in case we didn't get to go, so once we got the all clear we spent the next day and a half running around like maniacs buying things we needed for the cruise. Then to top it off there was an issue with my vacc card that took about half an hour to sort out at the terminal. It felt like we spent most of the cruise trying to unwind but never fully succeeding. We felt drained the first couple of days. I'm glad we got to cruise after waiting so long, but I won't do it like that again.

[RWolver672]

I see that as a smart move.  We were suppose to cruise on the Mardi Gras in February.  After all of the cancellations, it would have been her second or third cruise.  With Covid going hot and heavy right then, we wanted to cancel it.  Fortunately for us, it was cancelled.

 

We too fly in a day ahead of time.  We cruise with my brother and sister in law.  All we could think of was what would happen if we all got to the port and then one of us tested positive.  All four of us would be denied boarding and we'd be stuck at the port for two weeks of being guaranteed before we could fly back home.

 

It's disappointing not to be able to go on a cruise but until this mess is behind us, we won't be cruising again for a while.  Makes us mad because we turned Platinum on our last cruise.   

[BoozinCroozin]

All I have to say is wow! Not sure how this is a stressor for anyone. The BinaxNow test is so simple a caveman can do it. But, to each their own. Good luck and enjoy your other vacation. 

[bury me at sea]

12 hours ago, Lalory777 said:

After having major stress over finding a place to be tested for Covid we have decided to cancel our booking and spend our vacation at another destination. I’m sure some of you will see this as a stupid move but the anxiety and stress was very real. After seeing the CVS’s and Walgreens in my area constantly canceling appts and closing their test sites down with absolutely no notice at all I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. When Carnival decides to drop the testing requirement we will book again. Until then we will enjoy our vacation stress free elsewhere 🙂 

I totally get it.  Enjoy!

[jimbo5544]

There is enough stress in this world in which we live, sorry you had to cancel.  

[Pyrate13]

As much as we want to cruise, we're with you (op). Our Dr said there are a fair amount of false positives happening and I'm not going to book now and then stress over that possibility. We too will wait until this testing requirement is gone, if it ever is. We have one cruise that we booked a long time ago but it's not until 12/22. If they are still testing, then that one will be cancelled. In the meantime we are enjoying land vacations in the US.

[monykalyn]

Understand completely. We went to Cancun earlier this year (January cruise obviously was cancelled) as we just needed to do something (and cheap vacation!). While the resorts were offering free testing the free sight was at a sister resort. No appointments you just go and wait until they get you in. Opted to pay for testing at our actual resort (wasn’t much-$15 or $20 USD) to keep end of our vacation stress free, plus I could actually pick up a printout as well . Funny thing-no one actually looked at our results! We just signed a paper saying we had our negative covid tests! 
At some point this ridiculous over testing (especially of vax) will end. Maybe…

Enjoy your vacation stress free!

[vswan]

I so understand this. I keep thinking that all of the cruise lines will need to set up a testing area at the embarkation ports to make things easier for cruisers. Getting an appointment 2 days out is iffy, especially if covid is spiking in your area at the time you need a test. I understand getting the test before the time and expense of getting on a flight, but it does add more stress. The home tests are a great idea in theory and may be the way we go for our cruise Thanksgiving week with the added number of people trying to get a test before spending the holiday with friends and relatives, but I consider myself computer challenged and do not look forward to figuring it out - and paying extra for it.

[BohJang]

We broke down and booked the Vista for Thanksgiving week, BUT I'm a nervous wreck about the testing also.  I'm having a very special birthday that week and my daughter and son-in-law are joining us.  I really want to go but having to worry about covid test timing, results, etc. is really putting a damper on it for me.  At least we are just a two hour drive from Galveston.  I, too, hope this ridiculous over testing will be gone soon.

[Sugar67]

100% understand where you are coming from.  We had our 15th anniversary cruise booked for 2 years and were set to leave October 28th for the Mardi Gras.  We are in Canada and there were just too many hoops to jump threw to make it happen.  

 

I know myself too well and realized that even if we made it to the cruise, I would be constantly worried about testing positive before we were allowed to board a flight back to Canada.  

 

After a lot of thought weighing out the pros and cons, we pushed our cruise to The Celebration in November 2022.  Sad to have done it but relieved at the same time.

 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, monykalyn said:

At some point this ridiculous over testing (especially of vax) will end. Maybe…

Enjoy your vacation stress free!

From your keyboard to the CDC or the cruise line bean counters or whoever has to end this. If you want everyone to get vaccinated, do not treat the vaccinated as if they were not vaccinated.

[Lalory777]

24 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

From your keyboard to the CDC or the cruise line bean counters or whoever has to end this. If you want everyone to get vaccinated, do not treat the vaccinated as if they were not vaccinated.

We only got vaccinated to begin with to be able to go on the cruise. Then to find out a month down the road we also need to be tested. So annoying lol