Updated FAQ - Covid Test Required eff 8/15

[Italy52]

1 minute ago, P.A. said:

 

That's good news. Where you have it at? Cost?

 

For the Rapid Antigen test the cost was $129 per person.  I had it done through the company listed below -- link provided.  They have various locations available.

https://www.covidclinic.org/

 

[suekel]

36 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

My strategy is to take a test 2 weeks before cruise, then semi-quarantine.Take another test 2 days before the flight, hopefully that will cover all bases when I get to the ship

We have a trip to Mexico planned, getting home 15 days before the cruise.  Will cancel if things don't calm down dramatically.  I am not missing my December cruise.  I'm retiring at the end of October and if we don't go to Mexico, I'm going to semi-quarantine also.  

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

Just got back from taking Rapid Antigen test.  Got there at 9 AM and got results back for my husband and myself by 11 AM -- both negative. 

 

 

Who, what, when.

 

Which pharmacy did you take this Rapid Antigen Test?

What is the name of the test?  (ID NOW?)

Please let us know that it was accepted by Princess when you get onboard.

 

Thanks.

[Astro Flyer]

7 hours ago, KLM3164 said:

In California most testing options are free. We have 2 tests set up for the Thursday before we sail and we won’t pay for either test. We test with our health plan (Kaiser) and then pick another test location just to ensure we get our results in time. 

I know that KP SoCal provides free tests for members to meet Hawaii’s arrival requirements which we’ve done many times. Good to know that KP will provide other free testing…did they know it was because of a pre-travel requirement?

 

For Maui we’ve had a PCR test done on Saturday morning to meet their 72-hour requirement & with their lab in the LA area have received results in just over 24 hours. 👍

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by Astro Flyer

[Shelly97060]

3 hours ago, tuputts said:

I am booked for October 31 and am wondering if Kaiser in Northern California will give me an appointment that far out and if Walgreens will give me one also.

I sail on Oct 30 and I was able to book an appointment with Kaiser for my pre-travel test.  You may want to secure the appointment now and cancel later if you don’t need it just to be safe. 

[Kay S]

1 minute ago, Shelly97060 said:

I sail on Oct 30 and I was able to book an appointment with Kaiser for my pre-travel test.  You may want to secure the appointment now and cancel later if you don’t need it just to be safe. 

Good to know!  I'm calling now.

[Italy52]

42 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Who, what, when.

 

Which pharmacy did you take this Rapid Antigen Test?

What is the name of the test?  (ID NOW?)

Please let us know that it was accepted by Princess when you get onboard.

 

Thanks.

Our test was not done through a pharmacy it was through Covid Clinic, a mobile facility in Folsom, CA which is near where we live.  Our test is the 30 Minute COVID-19 Antigen Test (Rapid Antigen Test),  Here is the link:

https://www.covidclinic.org/.  The test should be acceptable to Princess since it is listed on the website as one of the acceptable tests.  The test I just did is for our Royal Caribbean cruise on Monday.  When we return from our Royal cruise we have another appointment for a Rapid Covid test with the same facility for our Princess cruise.

 

 

[wallyj]

4 hours ago, tuputts said:

I am booked for October 31 and am wondering if Kaiser in Northern California will give me an appointment that far out and if Walgreens will give me one also.

Hi @tuputts, check if Kaiser North California is like Southern California where you can do an eVisit to have the Covid test ordered, no need to ask your doctor or advice nurse. I believe in Southern CA, lab orders are good for 2 months. Here in SoCal Kaiser they are also offering saliva Covid but I talked to the appointment center and was told for travel they recommend you select ‘swab’ which will be PCR. Fortunately, last time I tested in May the turnaround was less than 24 hours. Who knows what the demand or turnaround time will be when you need to test but you can call a few days before and get an estimate. In SoCal Kaiser, Covid testing for swab is mostly ‘drive thru’ so you do not really make an appointment for a specific ‘time’.

[mellon1]

What about back to back to back to back cruises?  Do you just need the one test at the beginning of first voyage or for each voyage????  

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, Shelly97060 said:

I sail on Oct 30 and I was able to book an appointment with Kaiser for my pre-travel test.  You may want to secure the appointment now and cancel later if you don’t need it just to be safe. 

They’re doing it for free for KP SoCal members to get a pre-cruise test? We sail a week before you & appreciate your information.

[KLM3164]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

did they know it was because of a pre-travel requirement?

Yes, Kaiser knew if was for a pre-travel requirement. We opt for the 2nd test because Kaiser does not guarantee the results back within the 72 hour window required for Hawaii travel. However both times they have returned results within about 36 hours here in NorCal. 

[Astro Flyer]

25 minutes ago, mellon1 said:

What about back to back to back to back cruises?  Do you just need the one test at the beginning of first voyage or for each voyage????  

From the 8/6 Cruise Health update.

 

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/

 

Will I be able to book multiple cruises, back-to-back?

Yes, back-to-back bookings will be available for vaccinated guests on voyages sailing from the United States. If your cruise itinerary visits international ports outside the United States and Canada, you will be required to have a COVID-19 test performed near the end of any voyage where you will be continuing on the following voyage; Princess will cover the costs of the COVID-19 test administered onboard the ship. Guests who test positive for COVID-19 will be isolated and denied boarding on the next voyage, together with their family members and close contacts who are not fully vaccinated. If you, your family members, travelling companions or other close contacts are suspected of having COVID-19, you are entitled to a 100% Future Cruise Credit.

Edited August 7, 2021 by Astro Flyer

[geoherb]

8 hours ago, KLM3164 said:

From my experience I have scheduled 2 tests on the same day and my insurance has not billed me. I did this on 2 occasions for trips to Hawaii. I test with Kaiser (my health insurance) and do a test at an urgent care site at SMF. I’m doing this same thing again for my upcoming cruise and I don’t believe I will be billed by Kaiser for the second test. But even if I was billed I feel better having a backup option which would be minimal in cost compared to the cost of a vacation.

 

I wasn't trying to schedule two tests for one day. But the first test I scheduled was the one that takes 24-48 hours for results. I saw that another CVS a little bit farther away offered the rapid antigen test. When I tried to sign up for it, the CVS website said I could not until I canceled my previous appointment for the same day.

 

The good news is that DH's test yesterday came back negative. 

[AF-1]

I had vacation to Hawaii in June.  I had 9 in my traveling party.  We all took covid test at Walgreens.  No one was charged; nor was their insurance company.  You can schedule three days out on their website.  Results came back in 20 minutes.  They send an email with the results. 

[cr8tiv1]

15 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

I had vacation to Hawaii in June.  I had 9 in my traveling party.  We all took covid test at Walgreens.  No one was charged; nor was their insurance company.  You can schedule three days out on their website.  Results came back in 20 minutes.  They send an email with the results. 

 

Was this the rapid antigen test (ID NOW)?  Mine (PCR) never returned sooner than 40 hours plus.

Edited August 8, 2021 by cr8tiv1

[dchip]

7 hours ago, tuputts said:

I am booked for October 31 and am wondering if Kaiser in Northern California will give me an appointment that far out and if Walgreens will give me one also.

I booked a month out for our PCR test at Kaiser in the San Francisco Bay Area. My husbands came back in 24 hours. Mine didn’t arrive until 2 hours before our limo picked us up.  I was stressed to the max. We couldn’t take the test earlier because Kaiser only tests on weekdays. We were flying out Wednesday morning, took the test first appointment Monday morning. 
 

We are cruising on October 31 also
Cheers, Denise

Edited August 8, 2021 by dchip

[Astro Flyer]

19 minutes ago, dchip said:

We couldn’t take the test earlier because Kaiser only tests on weekdays.

Since we usually fly to Maui on a Tuesday we get a KP PCR test done on Saturday morning which thankfully has been available at our closest SoCal KP hospital in their parking structure. We return to Maui soon & hopefully they won’t revert to requiring testing.🤞

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by Astro Flyer

[Tedferg]

2 hours ago, KLM3164 said:

Yes, Kaiser knew if was for a pre-travel requirement. We opt for the 2nd test because Kaiser does not guarantee the results back within the 72 hour window required for Hawaii travel. However both times they have returned results within about 36 hours here in NorCal. 

Good to have a back up plan. We were flying to Hawaii Tuesday morning. DW and I were side by side 9:30 Sat morning at Kaiser   My negative  result came through Sunday afternoon. Nothing for DW. At 5:00 pm Monday we paid $130 for a rapid test. Kaiser result came 9:00 Monday night. 

[MamaFej]

This may or may not put some minds at ease:

 

My family in SoCal has tested with Kaiser Permanente multiple times. Our son, who is a teacher in Montana, has tested multiple times there.

 

We had a family trip to Hawaii to celebrate our 30th anniversary, our youngest's HS graduation, and our middle's college graduation in June-July of this year. 

 

Oldest drove home to SoCal, and we all tested three days before flying to Hawaii. Four of us got our test results in 16-20 hours. Oldest's results took about 38 hours. He was a bit nervous. I explained to him that "they" test multiple samples at a time. He probably got put into a group with a positive test. At that point, they restest the samples in that group. Then, they divide that group into smaller groups for further testing. They keep reducing the size of the group until they can isolate the positive test(s). Eventually, his result was negative, and we all had a wonderful trip. 

 

So... the 72 hours/3 days allows for time to eliminate positive test(s) that might be within your group. 

 

We are taking a bit of a gamble, as we can test before our first Alaska cruise at home; then we have a second cruise, two days after the first disembarks, and have to test with about 50-ish hours before the second embarkation. We sincerely hope that our negative results will be available in plenty of time. I spent several hours on the phone, getting us KP Medical Record Numbers and setting testing appointments. I might try to get tests/appointments at a drugstore appointment for a rapid test in Seattle, just in case. 

[cr8tiv1]

Doing lots of research (an on going process).  So far, this has been the clearest of all explanation of the ABBOT IDNOW Covid Test:

 

Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 Rapid Molecular PCR test (This is a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test – NAAT) with results in under 15 minutes. We prefer this test due to its high accuracy (less than a 0.5% chance that a negative result is inaccurate) and speed of results. Results are available in less than 15 minutes, making it the fastest rapid point of care molecular COVID-19 test. Fast, accurate results help us follow up immediately and provide the best possible care for our patients.

 

https://physiciansimmediatecare.com/clearing-up-the-confusion-on-types-of-covid-testing/

 

This should satisfy Princess' requirement for pre-cruise testing.  Finding a vendor may be a different story.  

[cr8tiv1]

BINAX NOW is a home testing kit, but will not be valid for Princess since is an unobserved test by a medical professional.

 

Edited August 8, 2021 by cr8tiv1

[cr8tiv1]

CVS has a rapid test acceptable for (NCL) cruising.  I would guess that Princess will accept the same test.  I've including this CVS website since it has some information regarding cruising/travel.

 

https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/clinic-locator/ca/buenapark/specialty/covid-19-testing-8861.html

 

How do I schedule testing for my (NCL) cruise?

Testing is included at no extra charge with certain cruise line bookings. You may be required to take as many as three tests for cruise. If a preliminary test is required, you can schedule at select CVS locations. For a departure or return test, you need to register through CVS but do not need to make a specific appointment. To see what tests are required for your cruise and to register if necessary, use your passenger reference ID.

[johnasmith99]

On 8/5/2021 at 8:23 PM, mthomp5 said:

 

Is this the post you were looking for from yesterday?

Yes, thank you. 

[caribill]

9 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Who, what, when.

 

Which pharmacy did you take this Rapid Antigen Test?

What is the name of the test?  (ID NOW?)

Please let us know that it was accepted by Princess when you get onboard.

 

Thanks.

That test would not have been taken for Princess.

 

First Princess cruise that requires the test is 8/15/21 and the test was taken way too early for that cruise.

[johnasmith99]

On 8/4/2021 at 8:23 PM, johnasmith99 said:

We chose this because it was to be an all vaccinated cruise. Now we have to get the Covid test, on our own, even though we are vaccinated!  Masks will also be required in many indoor areas!  Can we say no, we no longer want to cruise, please give us a refund?  I know they are in a difficult position but that is not how we want to celebrate our 51st anniversary.  We completely missed our 50th because of the lockdown.  This is our first Princess cruise since 1972.  We normally cruise Royal Caribbean where we are Diamond.  We were looking forward to a different experience but not like this. 

I called Costco Travel this morning and cancelled our cruise.  We were just barely outside of 45 days to cruise day so max penalty should be the deposit amount, and even that should be saved as a future cruise credit. We'll see how Princess actually processes it soon.