After a great seafood dinner last night at Anthony’s Fish House, we called it an early evening in order to rest up for what we knew would be a long day today.
Speaking of ‘we’, I should introduce our group. In one way or another, we’ve been hanging with this crowd since we all worked together at Disneyland beginning in the early 1970’s. Carla and Jim are experienced travelers, with a particular talent for initiating, planning and organizing trips and activities. Jenny and Ted have also traveled extensively and know the ropes when it comes to navigating the ins and outs of ocean cruising. Eileen and Gary add to the depth of knowledge with their background of having been on many previous cruises. We’re glad to have them as our shipmates.
The original plan today was for us to go across the street to the boarding dock and begin the process of checking in for our cruise at around 11:30am. This included getting tested for COVID-19 before being allowed to board the ship.
At around 11:00am, word got out that maybe we should get into the large line that was forming in front of our hotel. So, we left our baggage in the hotel lobby and walked a few blocks down the street to take our places at the end of what was becoming a fast-growing line of anxious vacationers.
Instead of heading toward the ship, the line went back down the street to our hotel, and then snaked down into a set of downstairs conference rooms beneath the hotel. This is where the Covid testing was taking place. By the time we had presented our identification and proof of vaccination, it was 12:20pm and we still had not been tested.
After a short wait, we got tested. Then, the real wait began. There were hundreds of us seated in a large room watching a large projection screen with numbers popping up every few seconds. These numbers corresponded with our test samples, and when our numbers were displayed on the screen it meant our tests results were available for review (and, presumably, we could go get in line to board the ship). The estimated wait time for test results was 25 to 30 minutes.
The problem for us was that this single testing site had to administer more than 4000 tests (3000 passengers, and 1000+ crew) before the ship could sail. After nearly another 90 minutes, none of us had seen our numbers come up. Then, those of us who had been waiting the longest were called to the front of the room, where we were summarily given our pink wristbands, signifying that we’d tested negative for Covid. How this was verified was a mystery to us, since the staff consulted no listing before handing us our wristbands. Nevertheless, we quickly retrieved our baggage and headed for the ship. As we passed by the testing line outside the hotel, we noted that it had grown to an even larger size than when we joined it earlier that morning.
It was getting close to 3:00pm when we all gathered at a lunch buffet on the boat. Just as we sat down to eat, we started getting texts and emails telling us our Covid test results were ready for review. After a quick check on the testing website, we verified that we had all, indeed, tested negative for the virus.
After our late lunch, we went our separate ways to either tour the ship or return to our respective cabins to tidy up and prepare for dinner. We met up again for a game of Broadway musicals trivia, had some cocktails, ate a late dinner, and turned in for the evening (at least some of us did - we’ll know more about that tomorrow, did Jenny go dancing?).
NEXT: At sea all day on Sunday
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