Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Vacation, Vaccination, Vista-nation- Before the Cruise

Welcome to the World of Anxiety
Weeks Leading Up to the Cruise 

Congratulations... You have booked a cruise! 

Time to get excited...Not really! It's time to worry until you're blue in the face about all of the rules and protocols. Times have really changed since the pandemic and the free feeling of "I'm just going to get on the ship and forget about all my worries" does not happen immediately. You have to EARN that feeling with a negative Covid test and of course the Covid 19 Vaccination. 

The cruising industry is the ONLY group left in the travel industry that requires the vaccine and then still requires a NEGATIVE test to board the ship. You need neither to fly on a plane or ride on a train or city busses and subways. You can get into Disney World in the middle of the summer with the entire state of Florida and not have to show any proof of vaccine or a negative test. We're talking shoulder to shoulder crowds and still... no proof needed! Only the cruise industry... This makes for a very anxious lead up to your vacation. 

Prior to March 2020 and the complete shut down of the world we once knew, Chris and I had been on 18 cruises and felt we knew the cruising world "inside and out"... boy were we wrong. Cruising has changed SO MUCH since our last cruise on the Enchantment of the Seas in February 2020 and I hope to be able to share all of these changes here and through this blog on our cruise aboard the Carnival Vista in July 2022. 

My Vaccination Experience 
Chris has been vaccinated since April 2021 due recommendations from his doctor, while I remained unvaccinated due to recommendations from my neurologist. I have had epilepsy my entire life and my neurologist told me to wait just a little while until the vaccines were researched a little more. But while I was waiting, I caught Covid in May 2021. In fact, I got Covid so bad it nearly killed me. I spent 5 nights in the hospital and took about 4 months to truly fully recover from this terrible sickness. Thank you Jesus for healing me as I am so undeserving. 

As I continued to recover, I knew my immune system would be strong as I had such a bad round of Covid. But the cruise industry continued to require the vaccine with no end in sight. As Chris and I traveled to California on 2 separate trips in 2021 and 2022, I realized it was difficult to do certain things when one spouse was jabbed and one was not. I decided in the spring of 2022, it was time to sacrifice and just get the vaccine. I knew this would be helpful to our marriage and beyond. I got the first dose on May 1st and the second on May 29th. This meant, we were now able to take a cruise after over 2 years. 

Check-In Details 
Once we had this last minute cruise booked, we had to complete a vaccination attestation form online and proceed with vaccination records as well as lots of other forms to be completed to actually get on the ship. Passengers were not able to actually check-in for the cruise until 2 weeks prior to sail away date, unlike 75 days in the years past. 

Covid Test- I need some NEGATIVITY in my life 
As of July 2022, the cruise industry is still requiring all passengers to  show proof of a negative Covid test. Since I was not boosted, and since I had just took the final dose of the vaccine, we had to wait until 48 hours prior to the sail away date to get tested for Covid 19. We tried to stay away from large crowds and indoor public spaces for about a week before testing as we really didn't want all of this to go to waste with a positive test. I swear this requirement kept me up at night, worried I would not be able to take the vacation I had hoped to take for so long. On Wednesday, the day before we were allowed to officially test, I took an at-home (non-proctored) test to try and ease my anxiety. IT WAS NEGATIVE. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could relax. 

Nope! The Thursday before we set sail on Saturday, Chris and I had appointments with Walgreens to get a Covid test. This was on June 30, 2022 and on July 1st the government decided to stop paying for this Covid test and instead, the consumer will need to pay. Boy were we lucky... We did not have to pay! TIP- Now Walgreens charges $130 PER TEST although you "can" request reimbursement from your insurance.

We arrived for our appointments and the drive-thru line to take the test was 6-7 cars deep. We got the testing supplies from the nurse and took the quick nasal swab test and then returned it to her. Then we waited... For about 3 hours before Chris got the NEGATIVE result and mine came in NEGATIVE shortly after that. What a HUGE relief it was to get that test result. We were finally going to be able to get back on a cruise ship after 28 LONG months! 

THANK YOU JESUS! LET's GO CRUISING! 

Verifly App 
One of the greatest inventions to come out of this Pandemic is the Verifly App. This is a free app that allows passengers and consumers to enter flight or trip details and sync all paperwork for said trip. This meant we could enter our vaccination paperwork as well as our negative Covid tests into this app and it would "verify" the validity and then we would be "Ready to Sail". Overall this app was very easy to use and fairly quick in getting approval of the vaccines and test results. By 4PM on Thursday before we sailed on Saturday, we were both "READY TO SAIL". Once we actually got to the cruise terminal, this Verifly App was used to validate us and approve us to get onboard the Carnival Vista. TIP- Be sure to download this app and enter your info prior to sailing, as it will save you a LOT of time. And it is FREE! 

It is an interesting feeling to book, pay for and plan an entire vacation and time away from work only to know that at any given moment 48-72 hours before the vacation starts, it can all be taken away from you. I do not like this new part of cruising but I do not necessarily see it going away in the near future. I, personally, am still hopeful that a negative test will no longer be needed by 2023 and I hope and pray the vaccine requirement will be gone shortly after that. These are just hopes and dreams but isn't that what life is all about! 

Be sure to stayed tuned for our day by day experience on the Carnival Vista. Cruising has in fact changed since February 2020, but mainly for the better! I will be sharing tips, tricks and our personal experiences by the day. I hope by sharing our experiences and what we had to do to cruise again will help those who are thinking about cruising. 

Thank you SO MUCH for your continued support. This entire blog has been based around cruising and we have had to take a 2+ year hiatus and you have still stuck with us! THANK YOU fellow readers and supporters! We greatly appreciate you! 

Stay tuned! Up Next... Embarkation Day aboard the Carnival Vista! 

God is GOOD... All the Time! 

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Enchantment of the Seas- February 2020


 



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