TJ_Shopper

I have a similar situation.  We will be getting off the Adventure of the Seas on Saturday, January 28th.  Our flight at Hobby Airport is at 4:55 p.m.  We were thinking of dropping off our bags at The Cruise Stop and explore the Strand area which is Old Galveston.  I was told that The Cruise Stop will hold our luggage for $5 a bag.  It is across the street from the port.  Obviously, you have more time to kill, but this is probably what we will do.  We'll walk around the shops and then grab lunch before heading to the airport.

Does anyone know if the Strand area is okay to walk around?  Is there enough to do to kill a few hours?

Thanks and sorry, I did not mean to hijack this thread but thought it might be helpful for others.

We will be on Enchantment of the Seas on Monday, May 15, 2023.  Does anyone know what the earliest check-in time for our cruise will be? Is it 10:30 a.m. like the U.S. cruise ports?

Also, we will be hiring a private car service to take us from Rome Center to the cruise port. I believe the drive will take around 1 hour and 15 minutes. It's on a Monday morning. Anyone know if there will be traffic and if we should plan on an earlier time to leave. We were initially thinking of pick up at 9:00 a.m.

Thank you.

Thank you Twangster.

11 minutes ago, twangster said:

Looks like Brilliance is being redeployed to Alaska and subsequently Australia for the summer of 2023.

Did you get a letter?  How did you find this out?  Thanks.

32 minutes ago, Michael Sword said:

Hopefully we will hear what’s up with Brilliance soon. 

Same here.  We are on Brilliance May 15, 2023.  There are a group of 40 of us - family and friends.  Took a while to get this together and we've been planning excursions and everything.  I really hope they don't cancel this cruise.  Ugh.

On 3/1/2022 at 11:26 AM, SPS said:

My company has a pretty generous PTO policy, but I don't have THAT MUCH vacation time!

But also, I just found the option to return from/to another city/airport feature on some other travel sites. This changes the mock booking prices that I'm finding by a great deal.

I just might have to pull the trigger on booking this Italy heavy itinerary and surprise my wife. She wants to see Italy so much!

We will be on Brilliance of the Seas May 15, 2023 leaving from Rome and arriving in Athens.  We are having the same problem with airfare; however, I've been checking and it looks like it will open up next week for booking.  Currently doing one way tickets are crazy expensive.  I'm hoping that booking Multi-City will be cheaper.  Crossing my fingers but it looks like it will be at least $1,300 round trip, probably more.  This is Chicago to Rome, Athens to Chicago.

In 2019, we flew multi-city (Chicago to Milan, Barcelona to Chicago) and our airfare was about $800.  So, yea, prices have definitely gone up.

10 minutes ago, willowberry88 said:

What we did find was that iMessage on our iPhones seemed to work for free when connected to the ship’s free wifi - we were able to communicate with folks back home. It also worked on our Disney cruise … but I’m thinking they may catch on and disable this feature at any time - so maybe not reliable!

That would be fantastic if it worked - my group all have iPhones.  We will have to try that.  Thanks for the heads up.

3 hours ago, 10-42 said:

Thanks!  I was hoping for more of that.

I also got a response from Rapid Test and Trace regarding the approved test kits we can use.  Here is her response.  I clicked the link and the ones I got from the government for free is on this list.  So, we're all good!

13 minutes ago, 10-42 said:

Check back here on May 13th.  I'll be using the iHealth tests.  Actually, I'll post a redacted copy of my negative report on the 11th and then I'll post a picture of me in the Terminal or ship in Seattle on the 13th.  Just as a back up, I'm also doing the eMed test simultaneously with the iHealth.  I purchased the eMed/Abbott long before I found out about the iHealth on the government issued tests.  So, I might as well use them as a back up. 

 

I just checked and the person I am talking to on the Royal Caribbean Information Facebook page confirmed that she used the Rapid Test & Trace proctoring service and it was fine.  This is what she said:

I did- it was quick and easy, used my phone, got the report while still on the phone (to verify the info was correct) and no question at all at the Port- glanced at it and waved through!

She did use the iHealth test that she received from the government.  I am now waiting on a chat with Rapid Test and Trace to make sure that the test I received from the government can also be used.  It's not the iHealth one.  I received the ones from SD Biosensor in a blue and white box.  I'm pretty sure this should be accepted since it's from the government just like the iHealth one.

20 hours ago, shof515 said:

You can use any covid test you get from government and get it proctored using this service: https://rapidtestandtrace.com/product/observed-test-for-travel/

I've been on Cruise Critic and Facebook groups trying to find out if anyone actually used this service.  So far, not yet.  I believe there was one person that said he was using this proctoring service for his upcoming cruise.  I'm waiting for him to come back on to say whether it was a go or not.

I did chat with Rapid Test and Trace and asked what they provided in their email after you've completed your testing.  This was their reply:

My cruise is June 5th on Oasis of the Seas.  I did book proctoring sessions with this company for June 3rd at 7:00 a.m. for my husband, daughter and myself.  I am using the government issued tests (not iHealth).  I have a flight on June 3rd at 1:20 p.m., but I'm also going to schedule backup appointments at my nearby Walgreens.  Unfortunately, their earliest time for testing is 9:30 a.m. and you can only book 7 days out.  Hopefully, this goes well and I can cancel my Walgreens appointment.

In the meantime, I will continue to check Cruise Critic and Facebook groups to see if anyone had any success using Rapid Test and Trace.