PCR turnaround

[amybiff]

I feel like I’m beating my head against the wall. According to the health policy, my 4 year old son will have to have a negative PCR test no more than three days prior to sailing and then get tested again at the port. HOWEVER, the PCR results can take several days. I called RCCL because we’re sailing on Oct 4 and I wanted to confirm he can’t use a rapid test. The rep said my son will be tested at the port, but didn’t seem to know that he’ll also need to bring a negative test really with him as well. I’m waiting on hold now for someone to clear this up (after a 26 minute call that ended up with them transferring me to a supervisor and hanging up in the process). 

What happens if his results don’t come in on time? We don’t sail, right? It’s such a tight turnaround, and at this point I’m just wishing I hadn’t even booked because it’s too stressful not knowing if we’ll have what we need in time to board. 

[arlodog]

All you can do at this point is call around to your local labs and ask their turnaround time on the PCR test.  You are correct that you can't sail without a negative PCR for your child.   RCCL will repeat a rapid test at the pier before boarding.  But you still must show your negative PCR test. They are just trying to make sure that they aren't letting anyone on board with COVID.   I would be stressed too--the timeframe is very tight! 

[emory2001]

A lot of people are starting to do the home test that Royal Caribbean accepts, which gives results in 15 minutes. It’s the Abbott BinaxNOW AG Card test (it MUST be the one that says AG Card), and it’s available from Optum or emed.com. Optum has a 2 or 3-pack and emed.com has a 6-pack. 

 

You have to set up an account on the NAVICA app to actually perform the test under health care provider supervision in order for it to be valid. A parent can set up “managed accounts” for children in your own account settings. People are reporting it’s super easy (I’ve bought mine but my cruises aren’t until Oct and Nov). There are videos on YouTube demonstrating the testing too. It’s unfortunate it costs out of pocket to do it this way, but there’s no way I’m missing these cruises because of a test delay.  

Edited September 12, 2021 by emory2001

[emory2001]

I’ve also read a tip that suggests buying more of the test than you actually need, in case something goes wrong, if you spill something or knock it off the counter - if anything happens outside the sight of the supervisor, it’s not a valid test.

[emory2001]

Actually I just saw on the purchase site it says for vaccinated guests only, which I guess would exclude kids. I would call Royal Caribbean to find out firsthand what your options are.

[Namelocg]

The test for kids 2 to 11 must be a PCR test taken within 3 days of sailing. No rapid antigen test will be accepted.

[JasperCruiser]

This is the most stressful part of our whole cruise… we are traveling with a 7 year old that needs a per test and we will be flying into Orlando the day before the cruise so the travel day is basically a day wasted when it comes to testing. To top that off we live in an area that doesn’t have easy access to rapid pcr testing. I have my fingers crossed that a vaccine will be available for his age group prior to our cruise in January. Then maybe an antigen test will suffice.

[AustinCruise]

The home kit is NOT a PCR test. 
 

call around. If your in a reasonably sized city you can usually find a place that does it in house. 

[KimA75]

Some Walgreens have a rapid PCR. You get results within 24 hours. You can look for those or another provider with the rapid form.  Walgreens are the locations with the red dots (if you are looking at their test site map).

[forgotmyCCname]

14 hours ago, emory2001 said:

A lot of people are starting to do the home test that Royal Caribbean accepts, which gives results in 15 minutes. It’s the Abbott BinaxNOW AG Card test (it MUST be the one that says AG Card), and it’s available from Optum or emed.com. Optum has a 2 or 3-pack and emed.com has a 6-pack. 

 

You have to set up an account on the NAVICA app to actually perform the test under health care provider supervision in order for it to be valid. A parent can set up “managed accounts” for children in your own account settings. People are reporting it’s super easy (I’ve bought mine but my cruises aren’t until Oct and Nov). There are videos on YouTube demonstrating the testing too. It’s unfortunate it costs out of pocket to do it this way, but there’s no way I’m missing these cruises because of a test delay.  

That is an antigen test, not PCR. Cannot use on children under 14 .

it is super duper easy and we have used it to gain re-entry to US as well as for work

[wendyinvt]

All of the free PCR testing options in my area are a 1-3(+) day turnaround. However, there is a private lab near the airport that offer same day PCR testing (2-4 hour turnaround) for $250 to address travelers needs, maybe you have a private lab option in your area?

[Iamcruzin]

What a mess. You can't get a straight answer from a CSR which is par for the course on a good day and from what I have been following from other threads the PCR test at chain drug stores stand a chance of being delayed.  Maybe NCL had some foresight into this situation with children and decided to sail 100% vaccinated.  Royal is going to lose more business due to their lack of clear, concise, communication than by passengers canceling due to fear of restrictions, itinerary changes or covid itself. 

[GateGuardian]

A little data point. I fly back and forth between Canada and the US every month (even during the pandemic) for work. When I fly back to Canada, I have to take a PCR test within 72hr (not 3 days so less time). I can also take the ID NAT tests, but PCR is easier to find in the US. Back in April to June 2020, it would take almost 3 days to get my results back, but nowadays, the longest I waited for a PCR test is 48hr. So I think you'll be ok. The chances of you getting the results longer than 3 days is very slim unless they messed up the tests. 

 

My only recommendation is have a backup plan, such as finding a place that does rapid PCR test i.e. airports.

 

Also, I don't have children, but I don't think they provide online results or any email documents for children (at least for CVS). You have to call in to get the results. That was my co-workers experience getting his family tested prior to flying back to Canada so YMMV.

Edited September 13, 2021 by GateGuardian

[dominicr]

I’d suggest calling the kids pediatrician and getting guidance from them on where to get a rapid pcr test.  I did that and was told they would call a prescription over to the hospital and the turn around on that would be 24 hrs.  

[BNBR]

If traveling out of South Florida and you are unable to get a PCR test from your home area in time, there is a concierge practice with the equipment on site and can do the PCR test with varying turnaround times.  24 hours is the cheapest, but they can do them in as little as 30 minutes if you want to pay more.  They'll even come to your hotel.  It's a rock solid option as a last resort, though obviously if you can get it done cheaper or free, that's the best way.  The peace of mind knowing you can at least get your test done immediately in a pinch is nice to have in your back pocket.

 

https://labmastersmd.com/

[pdawson30]

We are in the same boat, the RC reps have no idea and you will 10 different answers.

[amybiff]

Thanks for the advice and commiseration, everyone!  At this point I'm leaning towards rescheduling for some future time; I have to call RCCL again (Lord help me!) because this trip was using a previous FCC that was set to expire next March, and I don't know when we'll be able to go before then (we're doing Hawaii on Disney in May).  On my two previous calls to them, I had to correct the reps as to what the current policy is, so I'm not feeling too confident that this will be any easy call, lol. My son has an intellectual disability (Angelman Syndrome) and I don't know if I want to put him through the multiple tests. I'm so sad because he loves cruising and being on, near, or in any kind of water, and has always enjoyed the whole experience. (Well, at least he did the last time we cruised which was two years ago this month).  I'd be 100% comfortable cruising right now, and am so glad they're taking so many precautions, but I don't think it's a good fit for us at the moment.  Sigh.  

[rockmom]

22 hours ago, JasperCruiser said:

This is the most stressful part of our whole cruise… we are traveling with a 7 year old that needs a per test and we will be flying into Orlando the day before the cruise so the travel day is basically a day wasted when it comes to testing. To top that off we live in an area that doesn’t have easy access to rapid pcr testing. I have my fingers crossed that a vaccine will be available for his age group prior to our cruise in January. Then maybe an antigen test will suffice.

And this is exactly why I'm canceling and going to take the hit for 7 deposits because I'm not sure we'll be able to use the FCCs. I can probably use mine, but for the others it is not likely. We are supposed to be on Harmony on January 2nd.  We have a young child as part of our group.  We are flying from the west coast which takes literally all day with the length of the flights and Connections.  We have a buffer of one day, but that's New Year's Day, so a holiday, not to mention staying in Cocoa Beach that didn't appear to have many options.  I have the telehealth Binax AG Card tests for the others, but we decided this last weekend that it is all just too risky due to timing and then the potential to be stuck there and not be able to sail.  This is a family cruise that had been booked in March of 2019 for a January 2021 sailing.  That original sailing was chartered so we moved to a different ship.  Then as Covid raged on, we used the lift and shift to move it to January of '22 since we felt that things would be much better.  And now here we are.........    We'll take the FCC, do a land vacation this time around.  Hopefully my other sailings with friends for later in '22 will finally be a 'go'.  

[luckyinpa]

9 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

What a mess. You can't get a straight answer from a CSR which is par for the course on a good day and from what I have been following from other threads the PCR test at chain drug stores stand a chance of being delayed.  Maybe NCL had some foresight into this situation with children and decided to sail 100% vaccinated.  Royal is going to lose more business due to their lack of clear, concise, communication than by passengers canceling due to fear of restrictions, itinerary changes or covid itself. 

 

is ncl requiring pre cruise testing. if not, gotta admit thats a plus! i had thought all cruise lines had to test. 

[ONECRUISER]

On 9/12/2021 at 1:25 PM, arlodog said:

All you can do at this point is call around to your local labs and ask their turnaround time on the PCR test.  You are correct that you can't sail without a negative PCR for your child.   RCCL will repeat a rapid test at the pier before boarding.  But you still must show your negative PCR test. They are just trying to make sure that they aren't letting anyone on board with COVID.   I would be stressed too--the timeframe is very tight! 

Agree, OP need's to check around. Driving an hr away to get a Test but they have about 1hr for PCR results.

[Iamcruzin]

5 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

 

is ncl requiring pre cruise testing. if not, gotta admit thats a plus! i had thought all cruise lines had to test. 

They all are requiring it but since they aren't allowing unvaccinated passenger it eliminates the extra testing for kids who aren't vaccinated.

[BirdTravels]

15 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

What a mess. You can't get a straight answer from a CSR which is par for the course on a good day and from what I have been following from other threads the PCR test at chain drug stores stand a chance of being delayed.  Maybe NCL had some foresight into this situation with children and decided to sail 100% vaccinated.  Royal is going to lose more business due to their lack of clear, concise, communication than by passengers canceling due to fear of restrictions, itinerary changes or covid itself. 

I have no idea what the basis of your comment is. RCCL is very clear and concise on travel requirements. It's on their web site. It is the first banner every time you pull up your sea pass on the app. And you're bombarded with daily emails on what you need to do to get on the ship. We have been on two RCCL cruises since restart and there is never a question on what the requirements are. 

 

Calling RCCL to see if you get a different answer is not what you want to do.

 

The delta variant is causing backlogs in testing results and RCCL just changed their pretest requirements for vaccinated guests to 2-day prior to cruise, making things tighter (in accordance with older CDC recommendations and numerous onboard COVID cases). Norwegian Cruise Line has the right approach and just does the testing themselves (at a hefty cost) at check-in. We have also done an NCL cruise since restart. 

 

We had a PCR test done with 24 hour results for our RCCL cruise last week. We had also scheduled a antigen test as a back up.

 

Our COVID Test Results were reviewed once at check-in. But,,, our vaccine card was inspected and reviewed by three different people including at the security checkpoint to board the ship. This was in addition to uploading a copy of the vaccine card to complete check-in 24 hours prior to cruise for pre-screening (so I guess that was 4 checks of our vaccine card). 

Edited September 14, 2021 by BirdTravels

[Iamcruzin]

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I have no idea what the basis of your comment is. RCCL is very clear and concise on travel requirements. It's on their web site. It is the first banner every time you pull up your sea pass on the app. And you're bombarded with daily emails on what you need to do to get on the ship. We have been on two RCCL cruises since restart and there is never a question on what the requirements are. 

 

Calling RCCL to see if you get a different answer is not what you want to do.

 

The delta variant is causing backlogs in testing results and RCCL just changed their pretest requirements for vaccinated guests to 2-day prior to cruise, making things tighter (in accordance with older CDC recommendations and numerous onboard COVID cases). Norwegian Cruise Line has the right approach and just does the testing themselves (at a hefty cost) at check-in. We have also done an NCL cruise since restart. 

I was referring to post #1. The OP seems to be having an issue with a 4yr old who needs to get a PCR test. Since NCL isn't allowing any unvaccinated children it isn't an issue on that line.