tonyfsu21 Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 The kids tested + this morning on the last day before departure tomorrow. Can anyone with experience run me through the process regarding logistics for getting off the ship & to our car located in the terminal parking garage? I will answer any questions re: Isolation once we are home safe (appx 20 minute drive from port of Miami to house in Fort Lauderdale). So far what I have read they escort you off the ship and directly to a bus waiting on the pier. Obviously I am not getting on a bus and being forced into isolation at a hotel for 10 days. How do they deal with customs & getting us to our vehicle so that we can go home to isolate there? Thanks in advance. This was an amazing cruise until about 5pm when they moved us to another floor for isolation. RWDW1204, Baked Alaska, ellcee and 3 others 1 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveling Mike Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 I have read a few accounts of people that have tested positive on their RCL cruise and have posted what they did. They have been different but common. Check with the cruise people and they should give you the entire process. In the ones that I have read they will leave you in the room until the other passengers are cleared. Then they will escort you off the ship with people sanitizing as you leave the ship. You will exit the ship by the second floor like excursions and not through the port. There will be a customs person there that will clear you without getting too close. Then they will put you on transportation that takes you to your house and stays with you until you get in your door. With that said... this is only based on what other people have posted and some had medical transportation, and some had medical flights home. The last one I read was flown home to Canada. A couple months ago someone was transported home and they had to arrange someone to get their car at the port. The one common thing everyone said about RCL is they worked with them to make the best of a bad experience. I will pray for your family and wish you the best. Mike rjac and tonyfsu21 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 Other accounts I have read is they will take you off the ship and to your car. You will go through a different exit and they will have customs handled there.. You are responsible for driving home and following the isolation suggestions of the CDC. You just need to make sure they know you have your vehicle there at the port. tonyfsu21 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattycruise Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 I read your detailed post but now I cannot find it. I'm glad you were able to drive home. I have a cruise coming up-big assumption we will pass our Covid test to be able to fly down. Do you know if anyone was able to fly home? My college age kids would need to pack laptops if they can't-assuming they can even go remote when school starts back. It would be way more convenient to be home-order text books etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted January 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 9 hours ago, Pattycruise said: I read your detailed post but now I cannot find it. I'm glad you were able to drive home. I have a cruise coming up-big assumption we will pass our Covid test to be able to fly down. Do you know if anyone was able to fly home? My college age kids would need to pack laptops if they can't-assuming they can even go remote when school starts back. It would be way more convenient to be home-order text books etc. I am not well versed in the protocol for flying w/ Covid but I assumed you had the choice of: 1. Quarantine at a hotel for 10 days paid for by RC and then fly home based on the paperwork I received. Unknown if it’s 5 or 10 days at this point. 2. Rent a car and drive home at RC expense. Unknown what the cap is on miles and how they would deal with potential hotel stays for long distance travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 1 hour ago, tonyfsu21 said: I am not well versed in the protocol for flying w/ Covid but I assumed you had the choice of: 1. Quarantine at a hotel for 10 days paid for by RC and then fly home based on the paperwork I received. Unknown if it’s 5 or 10 days at this point. 2. Rent a car and drive home at RC expense. Unknown what the cap is on miles and how they would deal with potential hotel stays for long distance travel. Tony, somehow I missed the post where you described how you got to your car. The last post I read was where they kept trying to get you to give them a flight number. I missed the ending !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted January 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 59 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Tony, somehow I missed the post where you described how you got to your car. The last post I read was where they kept trying to get you to give them a flight number. I missed the ending !! Haha it was a mission. Not so much logistically but in regards to communication it was tough. I couldn’t seem to get them to understand the fact that we were not getting on an airplane. So basically to set the scene there’s the haz mat squad fogging everything (including exterior of nearby vehicles), 2 customs agents, 3-4 security guards and a woman with a clip board asking for flight information. After re-explaining the fact that we were driving (showed the woman my car keys) she passed us off to the customs agents. The customs screening took less then 30 seconds because the agents were probably scared of the COVID. Moments later a gentlemen in a black suburban pulls up (post fogging as he was part of the line of SUVs on the pier) says nothing and puts our bags in his trunk. The security guard tells us he will drive us directly to our vehicle in the terminal garage. We drove from the pier to our vehicle and hauled a$$ of of there! WAAAYTOOO, twangster, whitsmom and 4 others 5 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 Thanks. Glad to hear that it went smoothly once you got them to let you out of the "airplane" line. Any word on what happened with those who DID go to the airport ? Were they allowed to fly ?...did they get a private flight ?...did they have to go to a hotel and quarantine ? tonyfsu21 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 19 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said: Haha it was a mission. Not so much logistically but in regards to communication it was tough. I couldn’t seem to get them to understand the fact that we were not getting on an airplane. So basically to set the scene there’s the haz mat squad fogging everything (including exterior of nearby vehicles), 2 customs agents, 3-4 security guards and a woman with a clip board asking for flight information. After re-explaining the fact that we were driving (showed the woman my car keys) she passed us off to the customs agents. The customs screening took less then 30 seconds because the agents were probably scared of the COVID. Moments later a gentlemen in a black suburban pulls up (post fogging as he was part of the line of SUVs on the pier) says nothing and puts our bags in his trunk. The security guard tells us he will drive us directly to our vehicle in the terminal garage. We drove from the pier to our vehicle and hauled a$$ of of there! That's how I imagined it going. Did you have to use the pay station to pay for parking? Still it's amazing how they seem to get locked into a scenario like "everyone flies". Funny on the part of the CBP agents. They likely already had your details from the manifest, so it was a head count more than anything. "Yep, that's them" WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted January 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 40 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Thanks. Glad to hear that it went smoothly once you got them to let you out of the "airplane" line. Any word on what happened with those who DID go to the airport ? Were they allowed to fly ?...did they get a private flight ?...did they have to go to a hotel and quarantine ? We didn’t really interact with any of the other groups that were sitting in the chairs so I don’t know much other then the fact that the majority of them appeared upset and anxious to leave the ship. There was no telling if they had a 12 hour extravaganza like we did or multiple days in isolation. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted January 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 41 minutes ago, twangster said: That's how I imagined it going. Did you have to use the pay station to pay for parking? Still it's amazing how they seem to get locked into a scenario like "everyone flies". Funny on the part of the CBP agents. They likely already had your details from the manifest, so it was a head count more than anything. "Yep, that's them" That’s how I felt, they should know this information w/o me constantly having to repeat myself. My only gripe was communication. So funny you mention the parking payment. There was the usual attendant next to the machine at the auto exit gate that takes your ticket & card and pays for you. Unfortunately he clearly was not been briefed on the fact that the Covid crew was rolling through the garage. He came to my closed window to take my ticket and I had to tell him through the window to stand back. It was a strange exchange. twangster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted January 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 Also as follow up: Not a single symptom from all four of us to this day. If the kids didn’t get a PCR to confirm then it would not be obvious even to us that we had Covid or had been exposed to Covid. Zurc and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 24 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said: Also as follow up: Not a single symptom from all four of us to this day. If the kids didn’t get a PCR to confirm then it would not be obvious even to us that we had Covid or had been exposed to Covid. Well...you have to look at this as a good thing....even though it's a bit annoying, I'm sure. cruisellama, Zurc and tonyfsu21 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 2 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said: Also as follow up: Not a single symptom from all four of us to this day. If the kids didn’t get a PCR to confirm then it would not be obvious even to us that we had Covid or had been exposed to Covid. You are a case study in why I can't wait until they get rid of post-cruise testing just because you're unvaccinated. WAAAYTOOO and tonyfsu21 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SummerRose Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 On 1/1/2022 at 8:05 PM, tonyfsu21 said: The kids tested + this morning on the last day before departure tomorrow. Can anyone with experience run me through the process regarding logistics for getting off the ship & to our car located in the terminal parking garage? I will answer any questions re: Isolation once we are home safe (appx 20 minute drive from port of Miami to house in Fort Lauderdale). So far what I have read they escort you off the ship and directly to a bus waiting on the pier. Obviously I am not getting on a bus and being forced into isolation at a hotel for 10 days. How do they deal with customs & getting us to our vehicle so that we can go home to isolate there? Thanks in advance. This was an amazing cruise until about 5pm when they moved us to another floor for isolation. We got off Harmony yesterday covid positive. We were last to leave and then a van picked us and another positive couple up and took us to our hotel. I don't know what the protocol is if you are local but I would say run to your car as fast as you can and get out of there. Luckily, after you disembark they kind of wash their hands of you so you may be able to escape to your home. The process was a bit of a mess for us so maybe use the chaos to your advantage to go home and quarantine. Unfortunately there was no private jet service...that doesn't seem to exist anymore. I had to book my own hotel (although RCCL booked for others) and I had to find my own transportation home (by air). We were given letter on the way out with info but it was a paper that was clearly drafted to be given to us while in quarantine, not off of the ship. Good luck! tonyfsu21 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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