Posted By: gomer36
First Full Day - 12/02/2020 12:58 PM
Good morning all,
Our experience thus far is very much like what Pat has posted. Postcard perfect conditions..without the people. Went to Carrefour to stock up, and the to Croissant Royal in Marigot for breakfast. Never get tired of the nice view, the croissants of course, or the French coffee. Another observation..I don't think we've ever been thanked so much for making the effort to come to the island. The sentiments are truly genuine and heartfelt, and just reinforces all the reasons we've come for 32 years. Went to Ace and got a nice beach umbrella for an excellent price. It's got the sand screw on the bottom, and was a snap to put up in the soft sand in from of Beachside. A beautiful day for the beach! A few rollers surf-wise, but as I look out the window right now, it's a good bit flatter today so surely in for several swims. Tried the new Sublime in Maho last night..Tasha had a caprese and the lamb chops, and I had the scallops app and the ribeye. Both delicious! The staff is very attentive, and also very welcoming. When the manager asked about our experience, I asked him to add us to the reservations for Friday. Nuff said. Made the trip over to Red Piano for a nightcap, excellent music as per usual, and always glad to see bartender Nick, and have one of his "little Guiness" shots, which is Patron coffee liquor topped with Bailey's.
Headed next door to El Zafiro when it opens at 9 for eggs benedict, and then headed into town to check out the Boardwalk. Juggie's is having a Christmas toy drive, so we picked up a soccer ball to donate, and then maybe to Holland House for lunch, bit of shopping etc.
One more thing..the extra step in the immigration process to scrutinize your COVID test report and pre-admission form was a snap. Added very little time to the process. The funny thing is, they must have gone back and retroactively approved all our denials, because we're getting 3 or 4 emails for temperature checks each morning. It takes about 5 seconds, so no bid deal. I was speaking to an EHAS employee while in line, and she said they are struggling with the approval process software. She says it's automated and scans the lab test looking for keywords it needs to see. If the report has a signature or any handwriting, it's usually booted..apparently it also doesn't like things like check boxes, or where both potential results are listed, with the actual result circled or checked. She said it clearly was not working as intended, and required a great deal of manual intervention. When you send an email, they will pull up your info and the scan you submit, and if it checks you then get an pre-approval. There was a lady ahead of us that managed to get on the plane without a test or paperwork, and they were taking her to get a test.
The test report we got for our rapid test looked like a fax cover sheet, with Negative circled and some brief info about the test used and the supervising physician. I knew that wouldn't fly, so I asked if there was anything else they could provide. The doctor completed the form they use to submit results to the county and printed those for us. Much better format, and listed the Becton-Dickinson Veritor device as the testing medium. The device just has an LCD screen that shows the type of test cartridge that was just loaded, and then a plus or minus sign for the result after about 15 minutes. Doesn't connect to a printer or generate a formal lab report like a full PCR test does when sent to Quest, etc.
Well, I've kept myself occupied with this while waiting for El Zafiro's restaurant to open, so off we go. Enjoy your day wherever you are, and we'll do the same.
Our experience thus far is very much like what Pat has posted. Postcard perfect conditions..without the people. Went to Carrefour to stock up, and the to Croissant Royal in Marigot for breakfast. Never get tired of the nice view, the croissants of course, or the French coffee. Another observation..I don't think we've ever been thanked so much for making the effort to come to the island. The sentiments are truly genuine and heartfelt, and just reinforces all the reasons we've come for 32 years. Went to Ace and got a nice beach umbrella for an excellent price. It's got the sand screw on the bottom, and was a snap to put up in the soft sand in from of Beachside. A beautiful day for the beach! A few rollers surf-wise, but as I look out the window right now, it's a good bit flatter today so surely in for several swims. Tried the new Sublime in Maho last night..Tasha had a caprese and the lamb chops, and I had the scallops app and the ribeye. Both delicious! The staff is very attentive, and also very welcoming. When the manager asked about our experience, I asked him to add us to the reservations for Friday. Nuff said. Made the trip over to Red Piano for a nightcap, excellent music as per usual, and always glad to see bartender Nick, and have one of his "little Guiness" shots, which is Patron coffee liquor topped with Bailey's.
Headed next door to El Zafiro when it opens at 9 for eggs benedict, and then headed into town to check out the Boardwalk. Juggie's is having a Christmas toy drive, so we picked up a soccer ball to donate, and then maybe to Holland House for lunch, bit of shopping etc.
One more thing..the extra step in the immigration process to scrutinize your COVID test report and pre-admission form was a snap. Added very little time to the process. The funny thing is, they must have gone back and retroactively approved all our denials, because we're getting 3 or 4 emails for temperature checks each morning. It takes about 5 seconds, so no bid deal. I was speaking to an EHAS employee while in line, and she said they are struggling with the approval process software. She says it's automated and scans the lab test looking for keywords it needs to see. If the report has a signature or any handwriting, it's usually booted..apparently it also doesn't like things like check boxes, or where both potential results are listed, with the actual result circled or checked. She said it clearly was not working as intended, and required a great deal of manual intervention. When you send an email, they will pull up your info and the scan you submit, and if it checks you then get an pre-approval. There was a lady ahead of us that managed to get on the plane without a test or paperwork, and they were taking her to get a test.
The test report we got for our rapid test looked like a fax cover sheet, with Negative circled and some brief info about the test used and the supervising physician. I knew that wouldn't fly, so I asked if there was anything else they could provide. The doctor completed the form they use to submit results to the county and printed those for us. Much better format, and listed the Becton-Dickinson Veritor device as the testing medium. The device just has an LCD screen that shows the type of test cartridge that was just loaded, and then a plus or minus sign for the result after about 15 minutes. Doesn't connect to a printer or generate a formal lab report like a full PCR test does when sent to Quest, etc.
Well, I've kept myself occupied with this while waiting for El Zafiro's restaurant to open, so off we go. Enjoy your day wherever you are, and we'll do the same.
