Trip report: flights, UK, and the Atlantic Ocean

I flew from Boston to London last week, explored England and Dublin for a bit, then took a ship from Dublin to Boston. Here's how the trip went:<br><br>**Flights:**<br><br>* Boston to London:<br> * Lines at Logan Airport's terminal E were pretty long. The first security checkpoint line was long, then all of the first group got funneled into another line for a second security checkpoint.<br> * But every employee was super friendly, so that helped.<br> * Everyone maintains their masks. There's a cucumber water fountain in Boston airport's terminal E.<br> * My British Airways flight was full, but they made sure everyone wore their mask. They ran out of chicken meals but gave us more snacks. Flights were on time and the service was otherwise very good.<br>* When I landed at Heathrow, there was more security screening and a line for international arrivals. Everyone is masked, the security agents keep you 6 feet away. I got a PCR test at the Randox desk in the airport and they texted my test results the next day.<br>* London to Dublin:<br> * There were some unmasked employees at Heathrow, but everyone was masked on the flight. Some people drank and ate on the plane. The flight was pretty empty.<br> * All employees masked at Dublin Airport, but the security checkpoint line was very short. Cucumber water fountain here too. <br><br>**UK:**<br><br>* It's very difficult to rent a car with an American license right now. I tried several companies, including Enterprise and Hertz, but none of them had any automatic transmission cars. Many have dropped manual transmission requirements for their insurance policies due to COVID, but they still haven't gotten new cars in stock.<br>* Many businesses are closed in the UK, especially small ones. All of the restaurants, cafes, and shops on my street were closed, but Tesco and Sainsbury's and Boots were open. One of my friends ordered food from Deliveroo and the delivery driver didn't wear a mask. Another friend said that their Deliveroo driver did wear a mask.<br>* I explored Windsor and Bath and Stonehenge and they were pretty empty. eveyone is masked and there are timed tickets for the indoor attractions at Stonehenge and Windsor and Roman Baths. Climb Bath Abbey's tower for good views of the city.<br>* London was busier than I thought it would be. All the main attractions are open and people were lined up to get in. All of the museums were closed though, so I spent a lot of time walking along the south bank of the Thames.<br><br>**The ship:**<br><br>* This should be the safest place to be, right? I was so wrong<br>* All employees are masked. <br>* They asked for my negative COVID test, but I noticed that no one else had to show it. They took my temperature when I got on the ship and each day at breakfast. But lots of people weren't wearing their masks, especially at dinner. Some servers and bartenders didn't wear masks and some didn't follow the "one server per table" rule. <br>* I got sick on the last day of my cruise, which is when the ship goes through the roughest seas. A few other people got sick too. But after I approached the crew about all of the mask issues, they really started enforcing the rules. Masks were worn during every meal, the entertainment was cancelled for the last two nights, and they stopped seating people next to each other in the dining room. Many people were angry about this, but many were also grateful.<br><br>**Ireland:**<br><br>* Since I was sick as I disembarked, I didn't get to explore Dublin. But the taxi driver that took me to the airport was masked, and so were the airport employees and the flight employees. Many of the businesses were closed though.<br><br>Overall, the flights were the safest and most fun part of my trip. The UK was pretty good about following mask and distance rules. But the cruise was a disaster and I had to push the crew to make it safer. And the Irish businesses were closed, but at least the main attractions were open. The Atlantic Ocean was fun and rough but it was sickening.