Matt Posted October 3, 2021 Report Share Posted October 3, 2021 As you may or may not know, I'm going on Mariner of the Seas October 8th for a 3-night cruise. But I'm not doing a live blog! There will be a live blog on RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com, but Jenna will be writing the live blog from her Ovation of the Seas cruise to Alaska. Let's be honest, a live blog to Alaska is going to be a lot more interesting than yet another short Bahamas cruise live blog (YASBCLB). Originally, I decided not to do a live blog at all, but I figure I can at least share some basic info here of things that truly stand out, especially since this will be my first cruise with my unvaccinated children since the Delta variant became a thing. I know a lot of people are curious what it's like to cruise with unvaccinated kids right now (myself included), so I can share thoughts here before writing something more in-depth later. So I'm not promising the best live blog ever, but there will be photos, anecdotes, and a few @Lovetocruise2002 references. We're sailing on Mariner of the Seas and staying in connecting balcony cabins. Visiting Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay. Cruise departs on Friday, but I've got kids' antigen tests scheduled for Tuesday, and my wife and I will be taking the at home tests on Wednesday or Thursday. Set your expectations low, and get ready for YASBCLB! WAAAYTOOO, Skigoofy, JohnK6404 and 5 others 6 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted October 3, 2021 Report Share Posted October 3, 2021 I guess this gets me out of YASBCLB on Freedom next weekend. Maybe our ships will cross wakes, I think our ports are reversed from yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2021 5 minutes ago, twangster said: I guess this gets me out of YASBCLB on Freedom next weekend. Maybe our ships will cross wakes, I think our ports are reversed from yours. You not live blogging means the standard for photos is extremely lower, so thank you for giving everyone else less reason to say "Nice, but that other live blog is much better looking" CGTLH, SpeedNoodles, WAAAYTOOO and 5 others 1 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 Ok I can’t figure out the acronym. Ooh ooh: Yet Another Something Bahamas Cruise Live Blog???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKMCruising Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 14 minutes ago, Pooch said: Ok I can’t figure out the acronym. Ooh ooh: Yet Another Something Bahamas Cruise Live Blog???? yet another short Bahamas cruise live blog I tried to Google it and looked at the post like 3 times before I saw it. CravingaCruise and Pooch 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 Lol it was literally in the post. For some reason I think @Matt and @twangstergive each other finger guns when they cross paths. JC Pats, Pooch, Matt and 3 others 1 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booscruize Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 Can’t wait to follow!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 10 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: For some reason I think @Matt and @twangstergive each other finger guns when they cross paths. Is that not socially acceptable? WAAAYTOOO, JC Pats, ellcee and 5 others 1 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 1 hour ago, Matt said: Is that not socially acceptable? Oh it is, in fact it is now the preferred method. My finger gun game has become on point this last year. No verbal communication needed. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 There are a number of "finger/hand motions" that are extremely descriptive and do not require any vocals. RWDW1204, PRebecca, teddy and 5 others 1 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 13 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: Lol it was literally in the post. For some reason I think @Matt and @twangstergive each other finger guns when they cross paths. Oooh George Springer from my home town, New Britain CT!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted October 4, 2021 Report Share Posted October 4, 2021 @WAAAYTOOO I like the way you think WAAAYTOOO and SpeedNoodles 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snotarni Posted October 5, 2021 Report Share Posted October 5, 2021 On 10/3/2021 at 5:00 PM, twangster said: I guess this gets me out of YASBCLB on Freedom next weekend. Maybe our ships will cross wakes, I think our ports are reversed from yours. I thought about doing one from Freedom as well (10/8), but now (it seems) that more people are going on the YASBC's than will actually read a live blog, so, I guess it makes no sense to do one. Debsters41 and twangster 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2021 Today we got the girls pre-cruise covid test. Unvaccinated kids cannot do the at home test, so we took them to CVS. I scheduled the tests exactly two weeks ago, and had no problem getting an appointment after school. It was super simple, and both girls tested negative. Tomorrow, my wife and I get to do the at home test. WAAAYTOOO, Rags1, ellcee and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKMCruising Posted October 6, 2021 Report Share Posted October 6, 2021 5 minutes ago, Matt said: Today we got the girls pre-cruise covid test. Unvaccinated kids cannot do the at home test, so we took them to CVS. I scheduled the tests exactly two weeks ago, and had no problem getting an appointment after school. It was super simple, and both girls tested negative. Tomorrow, my wife and I get to do the at home test. I really and truly feel bad for everyone who is having so much trouble getting tests scheduled. There's an urgent care about 10 minutes away from me that does same day scheduling - we dropped in midday two days prior to our trip to put our names down and then came back that evening after I got off work to take the tests. In and out in under 30 minutes. I knew we were lucky, but until reading some of the horror stories with testing availability and scheduling on here and CC, I didn't realize just *how* lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snotarni Posted October 6, 2021 Report Share Posted October 6, 2021 9 hours ago, GKMCruising said: I really and truly feel bad for everyone who is having so much trouble getting tests scheduled. There's an urgent care about 10 minutes away from me that does same day scheduling - we dropped in midday two days prior to our trip to put our names down and then came back that evening after I got off work to take the tests. In and out in under 30 minutes. I knew we were lucky, but until reading some of the horror stories with testing availability and scheduling on here and CC, I didn't realize just *how* lucky. We have the same thing, we're headed up for our tests in about 15 minutes... and I wholeheartedly agree... we are very lucky... hopefully the rapid test availability will spread more OR, better yet, we won't need to do them anymore... soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2021 10 hours ago, GKMCruising said: I really and truly feel bad for everyone who is having so much trouble getting tests scheduled I do as well. In truth, there are many more options than just CVS or Walgreens. And of course where you live plays a major role in how many other choices you may or may not have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted October 6, 2021 Report Share Posted October 6, 2021 7 minutes ago, Matt said: I do as well. In truth, there are many more options than just CVS or Walgreens. And of course where you live plays a major role in how many other choices you may or may not have. One of the biggest issues is how many people are needing tests in your area. If Covid is high, there are many needing tests and it can get hard to get on the schedule. If its low to medium, then its easy to get in. Unfortunately, its hard to know in advance which is why I ordered the home tests for my November cruise.. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted October 6, 2021 Report Share Posted October 6, 2021 Florida hasn't be low in the case count so demand for testing is high but I've always be able to get tested for free. Maybe it's because demand is high that it's easy to get tested here. Off for my 10am free test here in a few minutes. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2021 5 hours ago, wordell1 said: One of the biggest issues is how many people are needing tests in your area. If Covid is high, there are many needing tests and it can get hard to get on the schedule. If its low to medium, then its easy to get in. Florida is/has been hard hit this summer. Every single time I book a reservation at CVS exactly 2 weeks in advance, I've had no issue at all getting an appointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2021 My wife and I both took the at-home test this afternoon. Important takeaways: We're both negative No wait time at all for the test Ideally, use a phone/tablet that has a stand. It would be easier if you can easily and quickly prop your device up. JohnK6404, PPPJJ-GCVAB and Skigoofy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2021 Perhaps the most unnerving thing leading up to the cruise are the constant stream of emails asking for vaccination status, even though I've filled it out at least two times. My wife and I get the same emails, and it is astounding to me that there are this many emails after having filled out the forms. I get why they send so many, but one would hope/think/assume/pray after filling it out, the system would be smart enough to stop sending me reminder emails. I know, I know.... pcvchristine and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted October 7, 2021 Report Share Posted October 7, 2021 Interesting. I get two copies of all marketing emails but have not received duplicate vaccination request emails yet, for any cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2021 Completed the health questionnaire and at some point they added the option to upload a photo of my vaccine card. Perhaps the vaccine card info is what all the emails were for. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 PRebecca, JohnK6404, teddy and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted October 8, 2021 Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 6 minutes ago, Matt said: And here I thought YASBCLB rules were in play. Ampurp85 and Snotarni 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 First time doing check-in with unvaccinated kids. After doing usual check-in at the terminal, prior to going upstairs to the”real check-in” (but after going through security), you get escorted to luggage collection area for the test. Kids get processed in the computer system and then covid test administered. No “brain tickler”, just shallow nose swab. Then you sit in a waiting area and wait for test results to come through via email. They told us 40-45 minutes. PPPJJ-GCVAB, WAAAYTOOO, JohnK6404 and 4 others 5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKMCruising Posted October 8, 2021 Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 15 minutes ago, Matt said: First time doing check-in with unvaccinated kids. After doing usual check-in at the terminal, prior to going upstairs to the”real check-in” (but after going through security), you get escorted to luggage collection area for the test. Kids get processed in the computer system and then covid test administered. No “brain tickler”, just shallow nose swab. Then you sit in a waiting area and wait for test results to come through via email. They told us 40-45 minutes. From our experience, that was about right for how long it took for them to get the results out to us. Glad your girls are a bit older and therefore more patient - we had one poor couple on our Alaska sailing with a very squirmy toddler who was *not* happy about the swab. They came out 45 minutes later to tell them that because he was moving so much they didn't get a good sample and were going to have to reswab and run the test again. Big Tule, WAAAYTOOO and PPPJJ-GCVAB 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 A RoyalCaribbeanBlog Insider on Freedom reported over 3300 passengers on their sailing beginning today. Wonder how many on ours. SpeedNoodles, Snotarni, WAAAYTOOO and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 One kid’s result came back almost exactly 40 minutes after we took it. The other hasn’t come, and woman here said it was invalid and have to run the test again. ellcee, PPPJJ-GCVAB, Big Tule and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 Eventually the second test result came in. About 90 minutes in total waiting. Not what I wanted, but far from end of the world. Embarkation was same as usual. We had lunch in Windjammer and then it was up to register the kids for Adventure Ocean. Voyagers (9-11 years old) were limited to one session sign up, whereas Explorers (6-8) were able to register two sessions. They will open up more sessions to book tomorrow at 2pm (yes, I set my alarm to know the moment I can sign up for more). JohnK6404, WAAAYTOOO, ellcee and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 In our stateroom was a special adventure ocean cloth mask for the kids, along with their wristband Dlove707, SpeedNoodles, Skigoofy and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 It’s pool time! Kids hit the water slides and I enjoyed a beverage. JohnK6404, SpeedNoodles, Skigoofy and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2021 Hotel director said there are 1500 guests onboard. He also indicated by end of November, Mariner’s capacity should be hitting 2500 and by December around 3500. Debsters41 and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 Had a great dinner at Jamie’s Italian. There was a thunderstorm on our way out of Port Canaveral with a lot of lightning, so we enjoyed our meal with a light show. Wifi on Mariner is downright awful. When it’s functional, it’s extremely slow. Walked by Shore Excursions and saw this great price for a CocoCay cabana. Got this letter about kids and excursions in Nassau. PPPJJ-GCVAB, SpeedNoodles and JohnK6404 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 Today we are in Nassau. Opted not to get off the ship and instead took it easy. Eat, nap, repeat. SpeedNoodles, teddy and JohnK6404 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 After getting ready for dinner, I wanted to check out the Top Tier Party for Diamond Plus and Pinnacle guests. I think @twangster said it best when he said it’s important to go to these events so they keep them going. Skigoofy, JohnK6404, Dlove707 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snotarni Posted October 9, 2021 Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 On 10/8/2021 at 12:54 PM, Matt said: A RoyalCaribbeanBlog Insider on Freedom reported over 3300 passengers on their sailing beginning today. Wonder how many on ours. Concur with that report. 3300 and apparently only 1000 “veteran” cruisers. Lots of “first-timers”. Which is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snotarni Posted October 9, 2021 Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 Oh, and the Windjammer is open for dinner! barbeyg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 44 minutes ago, Snotarni said: Oh, and the Windjammer is open for dinner! That’s a big deal! Snotarni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.