I had intentions of finishing up this blog yesterday, but Bill turned 85 and we spent the day with very special friends, Harry and Carlena, celebrating his birthday.

Our final days of the cruise continue. In order to return to the USA we needed another Covid test.  The ship supplied the antigen test on the last day without charge.  Most every one used the QR Code on their phones.  Like I said most did.  I had a paper with the code, because I wasn't sure I could find the code in my phone and didn't want to hold up the line.  Our appointment was in the morning and I actually was able to bring up both of the codes for our test on the phone.  It was extremely well organized.  In the evening they knocked on your door and handed you a copy of the test.  

The following morning we just walked off the ship without any long waiting for your group to be called.  

The transfer bus was waiting and once it was about half full it left for the airport.  

When we arrived at the airport, we were again temperature checked.  Once inside we went to the United counter to check our bags.  In the past, we've never paid to check bags for an international flight.  It was $35 a bag from the US and it costs $30 to return to the United States--same airline.  At the counter, the agent looked bewildered.  He checked our luggage and gave us our boarding passes for Dulles.  Wait, we're suppose to go Newark.  It seems that all the major airports had terrible storms come through the day before and all the flights were cancelled.  The agent said he could get us to Phoenix via Dulles or we could wait another day in Saint Maarten and fly out the next day for Newark.  Knowing our Covid test would expire 48 hours from the time we took it, I said Dulles would be fine.  I didn't mention that this agent was so confused that he didn't even ask for our negative covid test.

Our original flight was scheduled to leave at 12:20 and this one was to leave at 1:50.  I mentioned when we arrived that the airport was very small with 10 gates.  The gates are where you got on the bus and the bus took you to your plane.  I was glad our carry on was light.  You were given the option of checking your carry on for free so we only had one to haul up the steps to the plane.  

We had a tasteless ice cream while we waited for our flight there wasn't much else but a pizza counter.  

Bill and I didn't have seats together but the flight attendant asked if we wanted to sit together so she asked a fellow if he would change seats with Bill.  

It was around a 5 hour flight and there were some rough areas, but not a bad flight.  The same water, cookie and pretzel that we had on the other flights. was served.  

We were sitting in the back of the plane, so were the last ones off.  Knowing that our connecting flight to Houston wasn't until the next morning we weren't in a big hurry.  I couldn't get all of my finger prints to show enough in the Global Entry Machine to make it work. We then went over to the regular lines at the passport control which were empty.  

We then went down the stairs to retrieve our luggage and then put it back on the transfer conveyor.  By now everyone from our flight was already gone.  Not seeing anything for Saint Maarten I went up to the customer service desk to ask which carousel it was on.  The women asked her superior and he said it was all gone.  They made a few phone calls and asked us what our luggage looked like.  Thank goodness for my dayglow green luggage.  I've never seen a piece of luggage like mine.  After about an hour, she told us they had located it and it would be coming out the conveyor belt soon.  While we were standing around in that big room without anyone else but the two in the customer service, I asked if the following morning was the earliest we could leave.  She said we could go to customer service in another concourse but the lines were huge and our best bet was to take the flight out the next morning.  

I knew the answer to my next question, but asked anyway.  I asked if they were supplying a hotel for those whose flights were cancelled.  She said they wouldn't do anything because it was weather related.  

Her supervisor started making calls and then came over and said they would supply a hotel for us.  They had a hard time finding one that had a 24 hour shuttle.  The lady gave me a voucher for the hotel and a $40 meal voucher.  She hand wrote out directions how to leave the airport via the train and where to pick up the shuttle to the hotel.

Her supervisor got our luggage off the carousel and said he'd take us down to the transfer carousel.  He wouldn't let either of us handle the luggage.  We got down to the place where you put your luggage back in and he asked if we needed anything out of the bags for the hotel.  Kudos to those United Airline employees who took sure good care of us.

When we arrived at the Best Western, the clerk told us that we could go across the street to O'Malley's Pub and redeem our meal vouchers.  We dropped our bag in the room and headed over to the Holiday Inn across the street.  

When we walked in the door, we were immediately bombarded with noise.  Everywhere we looked pre teens were running up and down the halls.  Some were playing ball and you could hardly get past them.  It looked like the parents were all in the lobby completely ignoring them.  

O'Malley's was no different.  We ended up sitting at the bar and the bartender gave us a menu and never came back.  We waited about an hour and decided to leave.  When we went by the registration desk, there was an area for snacks.  Bill got a beer, and we found two sandwiches in the cooler.  We used one of our $20 vouchers.  

When we got back to the room and unwrapped the sandwich it was so soggy wet.  I think the red thing might have been a slice of tomato.  I peeled off the cheese and ate it.  The rest went in the trash.

The room wasn't much.  It had one of those low toilets if that gives you an idea of the room.  They had shampoo and conditioner but no soap.  We were too tired, so just used shampoo to shower with.

We took the 4 am shuttle back to the airport. When  we got back to the airport we found people sleeping on the floor and across all the seats.  

The line for customer service stretched across 4 gates.  People were sitting on the floor in line for customer service.  Some were sleeping against their carry on bags.  There wasn't anyplace open where we could get something to eat.

Our flight to Houston was smooth but we knew we only had a short window to make the next flight.  Of course, it wasn't in the same concourse.  Luckily we made the flight with a few minutes to spare.

When we neared Phoenix, the captain announced that the flight attendants were to get in their jump seats.  They never came back through the plane to make sure every one had their seat backs up and tray tables secured.  It was a rough landing, and looking out the window we could hardly see the gates as they were experiencing a dust storm.

Once we had our luggage we walked out and the shuttle was there to take us back to the parking lot.

When we parked the car, before the trip, we made sure we wrote the spot down so we wouldn't have any trouble finding the car.  We even left the paper with the location of the parking spot right between the front seats.  Lucky for us, we didn't have any problem finding the car.  I was very nervous about the dust storm, but by the time we arrived on I 10 it looked like we were just at the tail end of the storm.  

As we were driving home, we were discussing our next adventure.  Yes, we had some stressful moments, but nothing we couldn't handle.  The trip was a chance to get away. Now that we did that, we're ready for a real adventure trip.  We're always thankful of how things turned out.  It could have been much worse.

Turtle Safely..........

 

Cruising During the Pandemic--Curacao

 

Bill and I had on previous visits to Curacao, taken some of the tours, so we decided to just do our own thing.  

If we would have been paying attention we would have realized that we didn't need to bring a mask.

This was suppose to be Tortola but due to changes in the Covid status the captain changed to Curacao instead.  I can't imagine all the logistics that had to be changed quickly.  One passenger complained about the change of plans and said they were changing ports because it was probably cheaper for them.  The captain during his announcements said that it costs the company an additional $200,000 in fuel to sail to Curacao but that he was happy to work for a company that allowed him to make changes.

There was a very nice walking tour which we enjoyed.  The wind was blowing in case you couldn't tell by my hair.

We walked around Rif Fort established in 1828, which I don't remember seeing on our previous visits. It's been changed to a shopping area.

Here's a view of the port from the our balcony.

On our previous visit to the island the ship had to go through a swinging bridge.  Our ship is docked at the pier before the bridge.

I made the photo larger so you can see that the Queen Emma Bridge was originally built in 1888.

We walked across the Queen Emma Bridge to the major part of town.  Willemstad is divided between the Punda and Otrobanda neighborhoods. The Dutch influence was scattered around.  You would go into one store and there would be a lot of Dutch things and another wouldn't have anything Dutch.

These love locks look better than the other ones we've seen in Europe where they were covering fences or bridge structures.  How nice they are in the shape of a heart.

As we were walking back across the Queen Emma Bridge I heard something ring but didn't pay any attention.  All of a sudden a guy came up and told us to hurry.  It seems the bridge started to open up.  It does not open in the air it swings out on one side.  As we got to the other end, the fellow put his hand out and told me to jump.  He then held out his hand to Bill.  It was amazing to watch the bridge in action but I would have preferred to have been completely off it.  

Willemstad is the capital of Curacao.  It was established in 1634.  The populations is around 150,000 people.  It's probably one of the prettier islands in the Caribbean.  The houses are painted bright colors and I love the architecture. 

It turned out to be another beautiful and relaxing day.  I think this is exactly what we wanted for our first trip since the pandemic.  

I neglected to mention that the corn hole was very popular on the ship.  One time they had a bunch of passengers line up and throw the corn pads (not sure that's what they are called) while the crew members were lined up against them.  It was a timed event and the passengers won.  I have to say Bill is pretty good at the game, even though he only plays a couple of times a year.  He beat me 21 zip!

Turtle Safely........

Cruising During the Pandemic--Saint Lucia

 One glimpse of the port in Saint Lucia and I knew this was going to be a beautiful island.  

It was very clean and neat.  

No more history and culture, we decided to do something fun today.  Even better Ron and Rebecca decided to also do the catamaran island tour.

I did have a hat on but no way would it stay on with the breezes as we sailed around the island.  Note to self, buy a hat with a strap before our next trip. 

We had a much better tour guide this time.  I always say they can make or break a tour.  This girl was nervous because it was the first group she'd had since the pandemic began.  She gave a little information like the island was 27 miles long by 14 miles at the widest point, population was 181,000 and the island gained its independence in 1979 and then the music would play. The catamaran would stop at a noteworthy place and she would say some more of which I quickly forgot followed by more music.

Here's a photo of Bill with Ron and Rebecca.  We were the first ones on the boat so we picked a seat up on the front of the boat--where we also got a lot more sun.

Here's a picture of Bill and I with the Gros and Petit Pitons in the background.  We sailed up much closer, but I failed to get a photo.

The catamaran anchored at a beautiful beach.  You could either go down a slide to get in the water or there were some steps that dropped down at the front of the boat.  I was the only one in yellow and Bill is waving.

As soon as everyone was back on the boat, the rum was brought out.  The music was turned up and you could tell everyone was having a wonderful time.  There were no limits on the rum.  I have a great video of everyone dancing but can't seem to get it to load into blogger.

It was great fun and we were so happy we chose to do this tour.  I didn't mention that Saint Lucia was considered a free flow island.  You could go anywhere you wanted and didn't need a mask.

I believe this tour lasted 4 or 5 hours.  Everyone was very happy by the time the catamaran returned to the pier.  

There were the usual shops as we approached the pier.  I wanted to get a Christmas ornament for our travel tree.  Bill said he was going to the rest room.  

After I found an ornament, I looked around for Bill.  He wasn't anywhere and neither were Rebecca and Ron.  I walked over to the security people that let you pass out of the shopping area and he wasn't there.  

About this time, I realized I had Bill's ship pass instead of mine.  I did have a copy of his passport and I showed his photo to the local police.  They went into the men's room and Bill wasn't there.  There was no one else in any of the little shops.  By now I have two police officers looking for him.  

Not knowing what to do at this point, I decided to go through the first shops security which did not ask for a ship pass and go ask for help from the ships crew that have the water station by the gangway.

When I walked over to the area to board the ship, there was Ron, Rebecca and Bill.  I was so relieved to see Bill.  I guess maybe Bill wasn't lost, I was.

It was a wonderful day and we really enjoyed spending time with Ron and Rebecca.

The captain announced that we were going to have a change of plans as we couldn't go to Tortola because of more cases of Covid 19 instead we were going to Curacao.

I had another one of my calendar challenges that evening.  I thought the dinner for this night was chic.  Would you believe we were the only ones dressed up?  I had the wrong night.  It could have been worse, Bill always has me triple check the dates of any flights at least I had the right days for them.

Turtle Safely........

Cruising During the Pandemic--July 12

 The ship docked in Barbados and I must say it was interesting to watch how the tugs put those big ships in to the docks.  They literally turned one around in the harbor to get it docked in front of another ship.

I had forgotten why we never like room service, but since we had a tour leaving at 8:30, I ordered breakfast.  It's not anyone's fault but it is impossible to have eggs that are not cold by the time it gets to your room.

We did enjoy our juice on the balcony.

Bill needed another cup of coffee before he finished getting dressed.

You were not allowed to leave the ship unless you were on a curated ship tour.  We had to wear masks and be temperature checked.  The ships crew handed everyone an aluminum bottle of water before we departed the ship.

We decided on a panoramic tour of Barbados.  Bill always enjoys learning about the history and culture of a country.  Unfortunately, this wasn't the tour for that.  Our tour guide hadn't been doing tours since the start of the pandemic.  The bus rode very fast over the roads and when the guide mentioned something on the right or left he never slowed down.  Some of the things the guide pointed out, you couldn't see at all because the brush and trees were overgrown.  One thing we laughed about with Rebecca and Ron, who we met while on the tour, was the guide pointed out that the black bird on the left was called a blackbird.

We weren't impressed with the area.  They did have a hurricane come through the week earlier, but it didn't appear to have done much damage other than blow the roof of a shack. 

Our first stop was Gun Hill Signal Station.  In 1883 the telephone replaced the signal station.  The Barbados National Trust restored the station in 1981.  

Bill is always drawn to any kind of weapons.  

The views were great, and we were grateful for another beautiful day.  

It wasn't much to see but I did see some interesting flowers that I didn't get a picture of.  I forgot to mention that the camera I brought along on the trip decided not to open the lens cover completely and I took these with my phone.  I should have had some of the rum they were passing out.

Our next stop was suppose to be the Farley House.  As the bus got up to the gate to enter there was a lot of discussion between the gate guard and the tour guide.

The bus pulled through and turned around in the parking lot.  We were told that it was closed because they hadn't finished the hurricane clean up.  All we saw were workers sitting on the picnic tables and a few limbs on the grass.  We were only going to view the outside.

Our tour guide had pointed out a windmill before so she had the bus driver drive past it.

As we left the windmill the "road" turned into a bicycle path.  A car would come from the opposite direction and have to back up until there was room for us to pass.  

Now remember that no one knew we  had been diverted off our original itinerary.  This "road" was not for a bus.   All of a sudden the bus tries to make this steep grade and it just stalls.  The driver kept trying and finally made it.  All I could think of was no one would ever find us.  There were big sighs of relief when he finally got the bus going again.  I'm sure there were no cell phone signals there.  

Our next stop was the beach.  Do you see all the brown stuff near the waters edge?  That's seaweed! The local workers rack it up and use it for fertilizer. 

How do you like this photo of Bill and I?  Well, it was taken by a professional.  Remember I said we met a nice couple, Ron and Rebecca Turner from Beaufort South Carolina?

Sorry I can't figure out to turn the photo, but check it out if you're interested.

It turns out that they are president and vice president of The Beaufort Film Society.  They have filmed the graduating classes of the Marines for many years.  Next February will be the 16th annual international film festival.  I'm sure they filmed some Marines that we know.

The rest of the day was spent lounging by the pool.

Turtle Safely.........

 
 

Cruising the Pandemic--Part 3

One thing that amazed me with only 400 passengers on the ship is that every night when we went to the dining room all the tables were set with linens and dinnerware.  I would have removed some tables and saved myself some work.

The pools and hot tubs were the same way.  Each lounger had a fresh towel and way more loungers than people.  

Did I mention that the weather was perfect for the entire trip?

Our second day at sea was uneventful.  Bill and I just used the pool and whirlpool.  Now this is what we booked the cruise for.  Gentle waves as we have a drink and a book to read.  

I forgot about humidity.  The list of what to bring said to bring three swimsuits.  I brought 4 and wished I would have packed more.  In Arizona your suit would have been dry by the time you walked back to your cabin.  I had them hanging on the clothes line in the bathroom and it took a couple of days to dry. I brought 3 suits for Bill and as he rotated them they were still a little damp.

We had good news from the captain today.  Originally, we were suppose to sail to Saint Lucia but a couple of weeks before we left they changed the ship and said we'd go to St. Kitts and Nevi in place of Saint Lucia.  It didn't matter to us one way or the other.  The Captain announced that we were going to be able to go to Saint Lucia.  

Bill and I were talking by the pool and we both agreed that neither one of us had any jet lag from the overnight flight.  Of course, the time change wasn't anything like when we fly to Europe and we gained hours but still we'd been up for over 24 hours with no problem.  I failed to mention that the seats were very big and the leg room was almost too much.  I like to put my airplane bag under the seat to use as a foot stool.  I had to move it out as there was too much leg room for me legs to reach.  I know some flights were on the new 737's and I really noticed a big difference in the room.  The bathroom door is a full size door instead of the bifold ones.  

I'll try and explain how I pack for the plane.  I pack my purse in the carry on.  Bill's wallet and watch go in the front of the carry on bag until we go through TSA.  Bill wears a money belt with a plastic buckle.  Inside my carry on I pack another bag that has reading material, our pillows, blankets, aspirin, brush, headphones, snacks, medication during the flight and anything we might need once we're on the plane.  I hate it when people get up and try getting stuff out of the overhead bins.  This makes going through the TSA pre check much easier.  Because of Bill's pacemaker, he goes through a different machine.  Right before we're ready to board, I take this bag out and then use it for my footstool.

Every day we had a gift in our room.  On this day it was a silk face mask which we'll use for tomorrow's adventure.

Tonight was chic night.  It was fun to wear something besides shorts.

We went to the theater and I'm sorry to say I can't remember what it was but we weren't disappointed.

The next day will be in Barbados.

Turtle Safely.........

Cruising During Pandemic--Part 2

Thinking back about the plane ride, I forgot to mention that when our Phoenix flight arrived in Newark we had to wait about 20-25 minutes for a gate. 

 The following flight, once we boarded, had to wait for a mechanical problem to be repaired.  Then when we pushed away we were number 23 in line for take off.  It seems Newark is improving (?) a run way and they only had one open.  Despite that we ended up landing about an hour late.

Now back to when we boarded the ship.  You know how you can always feel every ones excitement that the voyage is ready to begin?  There's always a lot of people around the ship, well this wasn't the case.  

It turns out that there were only 400 passengers and 700 crew on a ship which holds more than 2,000 passengers.

I booked the cruise a little over a month before it sailed.  Since Bill and I were cruising without our trusty traveler friends, George and Linda, I didn't pick a cabin.  I let Celebrity find one for us.  We never book the more expensive cabins as we find we only sleep and change clothes in the cabin.  I did get a window cabin. When I received our cabin number, 6000, before we sailed I knew we had one of four cabins across the bow of the ship looking straight out.  It looked like on the deck plans that those four rooms were much larger than the others.  You could have put two king size beds in that room.  There was a nice fruit, cheese, and meat platter for us in the room.

I had packed our swimsuits in the carry on so we wouldn't have to wait for our luggage to come to the room.  I didn't need to do that as the luggage arrived before we even had time to change.

While the room was perfect, it was a very long walk to most places.  We decided to go get something to eat. We hadn't had anything but the hard cookies and a soda since Friday.

When we came back to change into our swimsuits, there was a message on the phone.  It was from guest relations, so we just walked down to see what the message was.

They wanted to know if we wanted to change rooms up one deck to 7 and have a cabin with a balcony.  Well knowing the cost of the balcony compared to the window room, I said yes.  They said I could go look at the room and let them know.  Knowing how far we had to walk, I just said it would be fine.  Our cabin attendant would move everything for us.  

I have to say we were torn after moving to the balcony room.  It was about half the size of the window one, but much more convenient to mid ship.

We drank our champagne on the balcony and that was the only time we used it.  You couldn't see near as much with the panels between each balcony.  Of course, we never thought anything about the humidity and that the loungers were always wet.  I've learned now I would never pay the additional fee for a balcony.

The always dreaded safety drill is entirely different.  Now you just acknowledge that you watched the video  on your tv or phone.  Then you go to the muster station sometime during the day and click your phone and you're done.  Of course no one else was at the muster station but a crew member.

All of the crew members call you by your name.  I'm not talking about your cabin attendant or dining room attendant--everyone.  Bill finally asked them how they knew everyone's name and one bartender said they studied our names and photos before the ship embarked.  Of course at full capacity I'm sure that will change.

The major change we noticed right off was there were only a handful of people at the oceanview cafe.  Normally, there are two sides both with the same food.  Now there are little pods--Indian, Latin, Asian, which change daily into other areas of the world.  You still have the salad pods, meat and cheese pods, sandwich pods, pasta, pizza, breads, desserts, ice cream and etc.  When you enter the cafe instead of the machines for sanitizer they now have an area with sinks to wash your hands.  There's always someone standing at the entrance to show you where to wash your hands.

It looks like the same amount of seating and the drink machines haven't changed.  It seemed like there was no one there.  Of course, they fill your plates for you which is much better.  

Bill and I went to the Whirlpool pool after lunch.  There were loungers everywhere but they weren't occupied.  They were grouped in groups of two.  Only two other people in that giant pool.

We decided we didn't want to be tied down to a certain time for dinner so we did the selective dining.  Same meal as the other dining.  The lower section was for selective and the upper was for the regular dining.

I have to say it was nice not worrying about what time we needed to go to dinner, but we ended up going about the same time anyhow.  Our waiter said we could request him for the entire cruise if we liked.  We did that and sat at the same window table every night.

Now you cruisers know what it was like to go to the theater.  If you wanted to sit with someone you had to go early.  Can you imagine only 400 passengers and not all of them go to the theater in that huge theater.  There were no people in the row in front of us or behind us.  

Well that is pretty much all I can remember for our first day at sea.  We've been cruising since the early 90's and there have been a lot of changes, but this was the most relaxing cruise we've ever been on.

Turtle Safely........

Cruising During the Pandemic--pre flight

We had our land tour to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam cancelled twice and our small ship cruise of the English Channel & Celtic Sea Crossing: England, Normandy, Ireland, Derry & Belfast scheduled for July cancelled.  

So far, our Sicily and Malta trip and the Suez Canal Crossing: Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Red Sea are still going before the end of the year.

When I saw that Celebrity Cruises had begun their cruises to the Caribbean, Bill said to book it.  We've seen a lot in the Caribbean and this was only a 7 day cruise, but at least it was something.  The brochure said that all the crew were vaccinated and you had to be vaccinated to take the cruise.  

From the time I booked the cruise until we left on the 10th I had numerous emails on what was required to fly to Saint Maarten.  I knew we had to have a covid test 72 hours before.  That seemed really simple until I found out that the country required an electronic health form before you could get on the plane in the USA.  Now anyone that knows me knows I am calendar challenged.  Try figuring out when you need the test.

Our flight left on Friday at 11:15 pm and our appointment to check in at the cruise terminal was 2 pm Saturday.  Everyone had to have an appointment.  Now is when I started to get nervous.  We received an email about the health forms saying you had to have a copy of your negative covid test before you could fill out the forms.  Ok, we can do that.....but wait it will take up to 12 hours to get your health form returned.  You had to have hard copies of the forms before getting on the airplane.  We had planned to leave for the airport about 7 pm and get dinner at the airport.  

I called our local lab where we get our blood work done and they said results for a covid test could take as long as 72 hours.  I then contacted other agencies in town and no one would guarantee we'd have it back any sooner.  It wouldn't have been a problem if we didn't have to fill out the EHAS forms for Saint Maarten.  Bill and I decided to bite the bullet and go up to the airport on Thursday morning for our test.  We had the first two appointments at 8 and 8:15.  We waited about an hour for the hard copies of the test.  We then high tailed it back home and started working on the health forms.  There were some glitches in filling it out.  This is where Sherry, my sister, has always helped me with these, but they aren't in town.  It seems some of the dates are put in the USA way with the month, date and year and in some places the day, month and year were needed.  You had to include a scanned copy of your vaccine card and the test.  I filled mine out and then the form asked if there was another person to add.  I said "yes" and entered Bill's information.

It took about 15 minutes and I had a reply that said approved.  I noticed their were two pdf attachments.  I opened the first one and was so relieved that it turned out that simple.  

I added some last minute items to the luggage.  Later on in the day I decided that I better print the forms and make sure there were no problems with the printer.  I went in and printed mine and then opened up the second PDF attachment.  This can't be.....there were two for me and none for Bill.  Now what do we do?  There is a no reply email and no phone number to call.  I sat down and re-entered Bill's information and about an hour later his came back. 

Friday morning we went to Yoga class and did laundry and before you knew it, it was time to leave for the airport.

Our flight last month was out of terminal 4 but United was flying out of the newly remodeled terminal 3.  When we went to get something to eat, we were surprised that nothing was open.

Just as they started boarding everyone's cell phones started going off.  I had already stowed my phone in the carry on.  Once we were on the plane the captain announced that we'd be delayed due to a bad dust and electrical storm.  We ended up leaving almost and hour late.  Our snack for the 4 hour flight was a clear bag with an 8 ounce bottle of water and hard cookie.  Later they came by an gave us a can of Dr. Pepper.

When we arrived in Newark we had to run to the next concourse to catch our flight.  We were the last in line and then they called us out of line because they didn't see our covid test and the health forms.  They literally shut the plane door as we got on the plane.  Exact same "meal" and this was an international flight.

I wouldn't say a lot about the Saint Maarten airport.  There are no gates, you land on the tarmac and climb down the narrow staircase to the bus which takes you back to the 10 gate terminal.

As we got off the bus we had to show our covid test and passport.  We then walked down a hall and showed our passport and covid test and had to put our hand in a temperature machine.  Passport control also wanted to see our passports and tests.  Our luggage came out as we walked into the baggage claim.  Our Celebrity Rep was waiting for us and took us to the bus where three other people were waiting.  There were no crowds whatsoever.  The five of us arrived at the terminal about 20 minutes later.

As we got off the bus, we had to show our passport,  covid test and electronic health form (EHAS) and be temperature checked.  Now we entered that big tent where you usually see lots of passengers waiting to get on the ship.  It was only the five of us.  We went to one end, they went to another side.  They now have an app on your phone that has your passport and a photo that you take on it.  It checks you in.  We had to have someone give us our "Tracelet".  It a silicone watch like thing.  I had a pink dot on the back of mine to tell mine from Bill's blue dot.  We were instructed that we needed to wear it the entire week.  I started thinking this would be great if anyone went overboard.  One more time showing our passport and we went outdoors to a waiting golf cart.  At this point, we finally got to take our face mask off.  

As we walked up on the gang plank, there must have been 50 crew members cheering as we entered the ship.  They actually took our carry on and showed us to our cabin.

I'll let you know more tomorrow.

Turtle Safely.......