This should have been a fun and easy day, but it sure wasn't for either of us. Of course, I knew that I was banned from going onshore, but Bill was also denied. The Bahamian government decided that anyone close to a positive-tested Covid person, was also not allowed off the ship. You can bet that did not sit well with him. Truthfully, all he would have done is walk the beach, then come back and eat lunch on the ship.
Now in our way of thinking, 236 in transit guests were tested yesterday. Not all passed as we found out. Now that leaves the 800 or so guests that did not have to be tested. As these folks will be going home tomorrow, so no one cares if they are positive or not. And believe this, we have seen many passengers coughing and sneezing, some with masks, some not. By the way, Barb got a call from the staff asking when she was vaccinated and boosted. Why? We think it is because we are tablemates. Nothing came of this inquiry. Both of us were also asked when our Moderna vaccines were given as well as the booster shot. They never asked to see our cards.
Here is some more info we got about the hotel stay. It will be at Coral Springs Marriott Hotel, about a 40 minute drive from the pier. All of the charges will be put on our Am Ex card, then we collect from both our travel insurance and HAL insurance. We do have an option of going home after a 5 day quarantine at this point, but we really do not want to have so much future cruise credit on our Mariner account. We decided to do the 10 days at the hotel, where at least we can get out and take walks. We promise to keep the masks on. In fact, we have never stopped.
Except for what we will need for the 10 day stay, the rest of our things can remain in our room on the ship. After all, it' s paid for until April 6th. So that was good news.
I woke up at 7:45am, with the sun peeking through the curtains. I had the sunrise this morning. The ship would be at anchor while in Half Moon Cay, but also held by the side thrusters to keep it from swaying. Probably not the exact terminology, but close.
Breakfast for me was in room service - continental. It was yogurt, fresh fruit, a few pastries, juice and coffee. Janine called and asked what I needed, which I asked for bottled water, meaning the aluminum bottles of water. Turned out they delivered six liter bottles of water. Later they returned with six of those bottles and another blue tote bag. Bill also called and we caught up on shared news.
Many of the guests had tendered over to the island, where there would be a skeleton crew. There would be the boat drivers, lifeguards, and perhaps one wrangler to tend the horses. The shops manned by the nearby Bahamians would be closed again. We learned that all of this purchased merchandise on the island would be charged to our shipboard account. Not included in this, were the hair braiders and massage ladies. Those would be cash only. All aboard was 2:30pm. The Captain pulled out around 3pm or sooner.
Lunch for me was a cobb salad, chicken noodle soup (Greg calls it Grandma's chicken noodle soup) and a slice of NY cheesecake. So far, all of my meals have arrived on regular plates, cutlery, and glasses of water. Looking out in the hallway, I saw multiple trays with disposable plates and cups. I am not complaining.
The rest of the afternoon was used watching a movie, Dog Days. Mildly funny, but amusingly predictable. It was then that we were presented with a dilemma. If we decided to share one room at the hotel, we would both be quarantined for 3 nights. Neither of us would be allowed to leave the room. Or, we could have rented two rooms with me locked up, and Bill free to come and go. If we chose that route, we would have been charged for the use of two rooms. Not sure HAL would have sanctioned that.
Bill had a 4pm meeting with the IT fellow to restore his computer back to normal. Took him 15 minutes to get it right. Then he had a meeting with Janine, whom he informed we would share a room in Ft. Lauderdale. He has been following a blog about a similar situation on another ship. If we are not restricted so much, we prefer to do the 10 days.
Dinner for me was chicken noodle soup again, along with a serving of prime rib. There was supposed to be a baked potato, but it never came. I had all of the toppings, so used them on the small potato finger. The meat was as tender and tasty as the last time I ordered it. A green apple finished the meal along with a glass of ice tea. As for Bill, he had fallen asleep, missed the 8pm dinner, and slept until midnight. All of this has finally caught up with both of us. Hope Barb understands.
Janine called again to check on me. She has been very thoughtful, and has followed through with all of her promises. Heaven knows, she has her hands full with other infected guests as well.
Tonight's movie was "Judy", all about Judy Garland and her life in show business. Wasn't so glamorous as they made it appear. Renee Z did a marvelous job playing Judy's part.
The clocks finally went back one hour last night. That's good, we will get more sleep that we both need.
Bill & Mary Ann
Monday, January 24, 2022
Report #36 Half Moon Cay, Bahamas Saturday January 22, 2022
