It looks like Celebrity is now requiring negative COVID test before boarding

[markeb]

5 minutes ago, verizon said:

What I don’t understand is why everyone takes PCR test and not antigen test?

as far as I know antigen test is cheaper with faster result.

Can someone helps me please.

A lot of the US testing is pharmacy based and ideally performed onsite. PCR is generally sent out. Many pharmacies aren’t performing the onsite antigen tests. That may be state to state legal requirements. Don’t know. 
 

If you go on Walgreens, for instance, and search for antigen tests centered on Miami, the first locations I saw were in Virginia. Haven’t tried CVS. 

Edited August 3, 2021 by markeb

[TexSea]

I just found this document linked from the Healthy at Sea page. It's a little more specific regarding the 72 hour time frame: 

 

Must present a negative RT-PCR or Antigent test taken 72 hrs. prior to arrival at the terminal for sailings departing August 6, 2021 through September 6, 2021. [sic]

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/celebrity-healthy-at-sea-protocols.pdf

Edited August 3, 2021 by TexSea

[Oceansaway17]

Add one more thing to the discussion in that some CVS and Walgreens ALSO SAY ya need a doctors note too.

 

READ THE RULES for each store and make a list of stores to choose from. 

Toodles all

[happy cruzer]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Saw the lines they were broadcasting.  It was from a local MIA TV station, too.  Pretty hard to disengage from what I saw.

 

Plus, it's been reported in the newspapers I've been reading, too.  So, pretty hard to miss what's going on down there.

Good that you are getting multiple sources.  We tend to stop watching the news or even reading this site close to travel.  Seems that most share sensational or bad news, JMHO.  The sources you mentioned might have been able to show short lines or areas with no cases but that would not sell :).

[hcat]

15 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

Good that you are getting multiple sources.  We tend to stop watching the news or even reading this site close to travel.  Seems that most share sensational or bad news, JMHO.  The sources you mentioned might have been able to show short lines or areas with no cases but that would not sell :).

Local  news for west coast Fla  says private test sites ( walk ins etc) are overwhelmed and  there are now calls for re-opening or keeping open mass test sites.  Anyone have an East Coast update?

Edited August 3, 2021 by hcat

[verizon]

35 minutes ago, markeb said:

A lot of the US testing is pharmacy based and ideally performed onsite. PCR is generally sent out. Many pharmacies aren’t performing the onsite antigen tests. That may be state to state legal requirements. Don’t know. 
 

If you go on Walgreens, for instance, and search for antigen tests centered on Miami, the first locations I saw were in Virginia. Haven’t tried CVS. 

Thank.

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by verizon

[Oxo]

In any event, it's all rather moot as Celebrity is very clear on the issue.

 

What confusion? This is from the Celebrity FAG on their website and seems pretty clear:

 

 

Over 4 hours later and 30+ posting since, it is CLEAR?

411 POSTINGS and people are still confused. 

Clarity is in the mind of the beholder.

This is very serious and Celebrity should try to clarify it immediately. 

Like they say 'Clear as Mud!'

Edited August 3, 2021 by Oxo

[CalTexCruiser]

I feel for all of you on the early Aug sailings who are scrambling to schedule tests in the middle of a huge surge in COVID cases, when demand has shot through the roof.

 

Good luck.

 

And I was finally able to obtain security camera footage of a meeting of Celebrity's Healthy at Seas Protocol Department, moments before they decided to implement the testing requirement late last week:

 

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Add one more thing to the discussion in that some CVS and Walgreens ALSO SAY ya need a doctors note too.

 

READ THE RULES for each store and make a list of stores to choose from. 

Toodles all

I do not know where you get your information about a doctors note for CVS.  

 

Here is the link to CVS and covers information that is valid for all locations. Nothing about a doctors note or referral. Just answer a few validating qualification questions, locate a location and then schedule, it can't be any easier. PCR tests are at most locations but results will be emailed to you in 24 to 48 hours. My sister got PCR tested at a Local CVS and had the result the next morning in her email this was for going to Hawaii. Fewer locations do the rapid tests.

 

COVID-19 Testing and Locations | MinuteClinic (cvs.com)

Edited August 3, 2021 by terrydtx

[Smmessineo]

Here are more reasons that getting tested is not easy. 

I have looked at multiple CVS and Walgreens sites, none offer testing after 5 pm. So, if the 72 hour rule is from cruise sailaway , as others ( and I ) would use for safety sake, here's the problem. 

Ship sails 6 pm Saturday. Test must be after 6 pm Wednesday. But no testing offered after 5 pm.

So earliest PCR test available is 8-9 am Thursday. 24-48 hours for results..could bring it to Saturday. That is cutting it close.

Choose antigen? Much quicker results, but in my area at least there are no Walgreens

( maybe in the whole state!) and 1 out of 40 CVS that do antigen testing.

This is the same for local urgent care businesses here. 

This may not be simple, and i can't imagine how tough it would be if i had to fly in.

[BDevilCruiser]

I talked to Celebrity about another issue for my Saturday Edge trip yesterday, and the person on the phone confirmed for me that it’s 72 hours from boarding, not from departure.  So I have a PCT test scheduled for 4:50 tomorrow (Wednesday.)

[Oxo]

Why do some people contridic others even when they may not get info from the same source? You can have 10 people eat the same meal at the same time and by the same cook. Then have many different opinions.

Apparently, many people have read the letter, visited CVS, Walgreens, etc., sites and are provided different interpretations. This is normal as we all are humans and are all different. Regardless of where we are from. 

 

[jgmorgan]

19 minutes ago, BDevilCruiser said:

72 hours from boarding, not from departure

I got the same information on a call with Celebrity yesterday.  We are in CDT zone leaving on an early flight for Seattle two days in advance of our Millennium cruise.   Our tests are scheduled for 3:15 CDT, the latest available, the day before we leave.  If I have calculated correctly, our boarding time (12-12:30 pm) is about 71 hours after the test. 😬

 

 

[Jazzbo]

21 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Curious about CVS -   When you say your local CVS is this through their Minute Clinic or by clicking setting up an appointment

 

In my area when I search It returns only drive through locations and the closest for the Rapid Test is San Francisco about 40 miles away. 

 

We could only get the rapid antigen test at a Minute Clinic.  Regular CVS stores only offered PCR in our area (Orlando).

[mgmigs]

1 hour ago, Smmessineo said:

Here are more reasons that getting tested is not easy. 

I have looked at multiple CVS and Walgreens sites, none offer testing after 5 pm. So, if the 72 hour rule is from cruise sailaway , as others ( and I ) would use for safety sake, here's the problem. 

Ship sails 6 pm Saturday. Test must be after 6 pm Wednesday. But no testing offered after 5 pm.

So earliest PCR test available is 8-9 am Thursday. 24-48 hours for results..could bring it to Saturday. That is cutting it close.

Choose antigen? Much quicker results, but in my area at least there are no Walgreens

( maybe in the whole state!) and 1 out of 40 CVS that do antigen testing.

This is the same for local urgent care businesses here. 

This may not be simple, and i can't imagine how tough it would be if i had to fly in.

Are they seriously going to count the hours like this? Or is 3 days before embarkation ok?

[jgmorgan]

1 minute ago, mgmigs said:

Are they seriously going to count the hours like this? Or is 3 days before embarkation ok?

I was told by Celebrity on the phone that it was 72 hours from boarding the ship.  The customer rep was very specific about that.  When push comes to shove they may well give folks some leeway, but I wouldn't risk it.

 

If the testing requirement continues beyond the September 6 date, hopefully Celebrity will conform to the CDC international travel requirement of three days rather than 72 hours.

[kirtihk]

1 hour ago, jgmorgan said:

I got the same information on a call with Celebrity yesterday.  We are in CDT zone leaving on an early flight for Seattle two days in advance of our Millennium cruise.   Our tests are scheduled for 3:15 CDT, the latest available, the day before we leave.  If I have calculated correctly, our boarding time (12-12:30 pm) is about 71 hours after the test. 😬

 

 

And what happens if a person actually starts boarding process 1 minute (or more) after cut off time because of boarding delay for people ahead of that person.  Is that it?  Go home?  It's so ridiculously funny!!!

[jgmorgan]

3 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

It's so ridiculously funny!!!

Ridiculous...yeah.  Funny...not so much.🙂

[mgmigs]

In case anyone wants an antigen test to make sure you have your test within 72 hrs and results by embarkation  try a walk-in clinic.  I just called 2 separate ones in my state that have the antigen.  However, there are no cvs or Walgreens in my state that do antigen.  

[kirtihk]

47 minutes ago, jgmorgan said:

Ridiculous...yeah.  Funny...not so much.🙂

It was laugh through the tears, of course. What else left except laugh?! I cannot suffer non-stop stress; so, I decided to laugh to reduce a risk of severe illness (unlike putting a piece of cloth on my face that has nothing good to me “except” I faint easily with it, and that’s exactly what occurred to me 2 months ago due to a lack of oxygen when I was forced to do it during my first flight since March 24, 2020; I have no idea how one could really actually do it for many hours non-stop without touching cloth which defeats the purpose).

Edited August 3, 2021 by kirtihk

[atexsix]

For those of you that are vax'd and sailing on Millie, have you considered switching to Holland America?  They don't require a covid test presumably because they are sailing at 100% vax'd. 

 

I just looked, plenty of staterooms available for all sailings in all categories.  

 

That's what I'd do if it were me, as opposed to this nonsense your all going through. 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by atexsix

[NMTraveller]

I wonder if Celebrity is really going to enforce this next week.  There is so much confusion.

 

Here is what I would expect to happen:

 

1.  There will be a certain percentage of people who come to the pier and did not get the e-mail and the test.

2.  There will be a certain percentage of people who got the e-mail but did not get an approved test.

3.  There will be a certain percentage of people who got the e-mail but got the test outside of the 72 hours due to time zone differences and other lack of specificity.

 

What could go wrong?

[RichardRahl]

22 minutes ago, atexsix said:

For those of you that are vax'd and sailing on Millie, have you considered switching to Holland America?  They don't require a covid test presumably because they are sailing at 100% vax'd. 

 

I just looked, plenty of staterooms available for all sailings in all categories.  

 

That's what I'd do if it were me, as opposed to this nonsense your all going through. 

 

 

Give it a week or two. Every cruise line is going to start doing this. The ones that don’t will have a Delta variant outbreak and will have to cancel cruises. I’d rather be on a Celebrity cruise that sails than a Holland America one that gets cancelled.

[atexsix]

6 minutes ago, RichardRahl said:

Give it a week or two. Every cruise line is going to start doing this. The ones that don’t will have a Delta variant outbreak and will have to cancel cruises. I’d rather be on a Celebrity cruise that sails than a Holland America one that gets cancelled.

Well I wouldn't be surprised and have wondered about it, which is why we're going to schedule them now so we're not blindsided later, but so far nobody else in the HAL community seems worried about it.

[atexsix]

11 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I wonder if Celebrity is really going to enforce this next week.  There is so much confusion.

 

Here is what I would expect to happen:

 

1.  There will be a certain percentage of people who come to the pier and did not get the e-mail and the test.

2.  There will be a certain percentage of people who got the e-mail but did not get an approved test.

3.  There will be a certain percentage of people who got the e-mail but got the test outside of the 72 hours due to time zone differences and other lack of specificity.

 

What could go wrong?

I think your prescience will prove correct.  Rushed last minute implementation of anything doesn't usually end well.