Pre cruise covid test expiry worry

[Lollyk]

Help.
I'm getting really confused.
We board sky Princess at say 2pm US time (7pm GMT) and we need a pcr test within 48 hours of boarding the ship. The problem is we fly from the UK the day before and due to the 48 hour time restriction we can't find a pcr test to fit. We can take one the day before we fly but if we take it before 7pm it will expire before we board. If we take one at the airport pre-flight the results may not arrive (via email) by the time we board the ship. The test centres all say "results within 24 hours of us receiving your test at our laboratory" but that would be at any time. Aaarrrghhh. Anyone have a solution?
Thank you.

[chrysalis]

it's not "48 hours", it's 2 days before boarding, so that could/should  make a difference.

[chrysalis]

We board the Sky in November for 28 days, and we have a similar issue of timing flying from Canada to FLL...had to delay our flights because of the timing.

[MarcusRex]

Folks, you'll need to double check what I am about to say, but we have a cruise early next year.

 

To fly INTO the US, you only need a RAPID test:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

 

What types of SARS-CoV-2 test are acceptable under the Order?

Passengers must be tested with a viral test that could be either an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). Examples of available NAATs for SARS-CoV-2 include but are not restricted to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), transcription-mediated amplification (TMA), nicking enzyme amplification reaction (NEAR), and helicase-dependent amplification (HDA).

 

 

To get on the ship as well you only need a RAPID test:

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/covid-19-guest-protocols/

 

Guests must be tested with a SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) viral test that could be either an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT).

• Antigen tests include:
  • Rapid antigen test
  • Viral antigen test
  • Antigen Chromatographic Digital Immunoassay,
  • Antigen Chemiluminescence Immunoassay, or
  • Antigen Lateral Flow Fluorescence
• NAAT include:
  • PCR - Polymerase chain reaction
  • RT-PCR – reverse transcription real time PCR
  • Quantitative PCR (qPCR)
  • Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) test
  • Transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) test
  • Molecular test or molecular diagnostic test
  • Isothermal amplification
  • Droplet Digital PCR or digital droplet PCR (ddPCR)
  • Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)

 

 

Check again to be sure that this matches your situation.

[Markanddonna]

Make sure you order more than one test. The liquid vial in my husband's test kit was empty. Good thing we had another.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, MarcusRex said:

Folks, you'll need to double check what I am about to say, but we have a cruise early next year.

 

To fly INTO the US, you only need a RAPID test:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

You are correct - no need for a double-check.

 

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Lollyk said:

Help.
I'm getting really confused.
We board sky Princess at say 2pm US time (7pm GMT) and we need a pcr test within 48 hours of boarding the ship. The problem is we fly from the UK the day before and due to the 48 hour time restriction we can't find a pcr test to fit. We can take one the day before we fly but if we take it before 7pm it will expire before we board. If we take one at the airport pre-flight the results may not arrive (via email) by the time we board the ship. The test centres all say "results within 24 hours of us receiving your test at our laboratory" but that would be at any time. Aaarrrghhh. Anyone have a solution?
Thank you.

As stated above, you can the test anytime on the 2nd prior day - or later as long as results are back by the time you are checking in. 

 

Also, Princess does not require a PCR test.  You can read it from the proverbial horse's mouth on Princess.com as to what tests are accepted.  @MarcusRex has posted the list above as well.

 

[CruisinCouple2010]

Can anyone tell me that has used the Abbott Binax now At home test with the AG card to get on the cruise ship, can we set up a separate account for both husband and wife on Navica with the same mobile phone number and using two different email addresses?

 

Any information is appreciated. Thank you.

[PRNole47]

3 hours ago, Lollyk said:

Help.
I'm getting really confused.
We board sky Princess at say 2pm US time (7pm GMT) and we need a pcr test within 48 hours of boarding the ship. The problem is we fly from the UK the day before and due to the 48 hour time restriction we can't find a pcr test to fit. 

Don't know about your specific situation or where you saw the testing requirement info, but I have found that the timing of the test prior to departure (or arrival) has been changing from one based on "hours" (i.e., 48- or 72-hrs) to one based on "days" (2- or 3-days), so as to allow more flexibility and not hamstring people to a specific time of the day when everything has to jell.  If a flight is delayed, any timing based on "hours" can be blown out of the water by some tight-ass border control agent who might refuse entry even by an hour's delay (49 hrs), through no fault of your own. Airlines and cruise lines have realized the "hourly" requirement, relative to one based on "days," is too stringent and even arbitrary. Double check your source and seek other sources as well to make sure the requirement is actually tied to "days" and not "hours." Just returned from 2 river cruises and a week stay in Europe and found all this out by repeated probes and searches into this matter.  And don't forget, the day you take the test is day 0, so that a Saturday departure (or arrival) means a "2 day" requirement allows testing to be done the Thurs or Fri before.

Edited September 29, 2021 by PRNole47

[starboardcruiser]

2 hours ago, CruisinCouple2010 said:

Can anyone tell me that has used the Abbott Binax now At home test with the AG card to get on the cruise ship, can we set up a separate account for both husband and wife on Navica with the same mobile phone number and using two different email addresses?

 

Any information is appreciated. Thank you.

Yes, you'll have to set up individual accounts. When you're ready to do the test, you can do the tests one after the other, but you'll have to log in with each account separately. You scan the QR code on the box with the app and everything else is done through the eMed website.

 

I printed out the results that I received via email and boarded with that. I had a screenshot of the app screen also (in case I didn't have signal), but the check-in agent did not ask about the app.

[CruisinCouple2010]

42 minutes ago, starboardcruiser said:

Yes, you'll have to set up individual accounts. When you're ready to do the test, you can do the tests one after the other, but you'll have to log in with each account separately. You scan the QR code on the box with the app and everything else is done through the eMed website.

 

I printed out the results that I received via email and boarded with that. I had a screenshot of the app screen also (in case I didn't have signal), but the check-in agent did not ask about the app.

Thank you starboardcruiser appreciate the information I knew we had to make two separate accounts I just didn't know if we needed two separate mobile numbers. I had planned on printing results after tests were completed because of your same feelings that what if I can't get a proper signal.

[Daniel A]

3 hours ago, PRNole47 said:

Don't know about your specific situation or where you saw the testing requirement info, but I have found that the timing of the test prior to departure (or arrival) has been changing from one based on "hours" (i.e., 48- or 72-hrs) to one based on "days" (2- or 3-days), so as to allow more flexibility and not hamstring people to a specific time of the day when everything has to jell. 

 

Double check your source and seek other sources as well to make sure the requirement is actually tied to "days" and not "hours."

Since this is a Princess board, this is straight from Princess' website:

"The 2-day period is 2 days before your cruise’s departure. The 2-day timeframe provides you with more flexibility than a 48-hour timeframe. By using the 2-day window, your test validity does not depend on the time of your embarkation or the time of the day that your test was administered. For example, if sailing on Sunday, the test may be taken on Friday and Saturday, and as late as Sunday, if you are guaranteed to receive your results in time for check-in."

 

CruiseHealth™ FAQ: Sailings from the United States - Princess Cruises

 

 

[el zorro]

I read this on the Princess website in Q&As updated September 24, 2021

 

CruiseHealth™ FAQ: Autumn UK Cruises

 

Q. Will I need to have a pre-travel viral COVID-19 test performed prior to boarding the ship?

A. To board the ship, fully vaccinated guests will require a negative viral COVID-19 test, which will be administered at the terminal and provided on a complimentary basis.

This vaccination and testing policy will be reviewed on a regular basis as the global situation continues to evolve.
Guests who travel internationally should always ensure they understand all entry and airlines requirements to travel from their home country and the destinations they plan to visit, including where health authorities may require pre-travel PCR COVID-19 testing to enter a country. Details continue to be updated regularly; official websites and apps developed by government agencies and tourism ministries are the recommended resources.

[Daniel A]

3 hours ago, el zorro said:

I read this on the Princess website in Q&As updated September 24, 2021

 

CruiseHealth™ FAQ: Autumn UK Cruises

 

Q. Will I need to have a pre-travel viral COVID-19 test performed prior to boarding the ship?

A. To board the ship, fully vaccinated guests will require a negative viral COVID-19 test, which will be administered at the terminal and provided on a complimentary basis.

This vaccination and testing policy will be reviewed on a regular basis as the global situation continues to evolve.
Guests who travel internationally should always ensure they understand all entry and airlines requirements to travel from their home country and the destinations they plan to visit, including where health authorities may require pre-travel PCR COVID-19 testing to enter a country. Details continue to be updated regularly; official websites and apps developed by government agencies and tourism ministries are the recommended resources.

Princess has different protocols for UK and USA.  The OP is sailing from the US, so the protocol I posted was for the US departures..

[calval]

8 hours ago, CruisinCouple2010 said:

Thank you starboardcruiser appreciate the information I knew we had to make two separate accounts I just didn't know if we needed two separate mobile numbers. I had planned on printing results after tests were completed because of your same feelings that what if I can't get a proper signal.

The Princess link to Optum site to buy test. $69 for2 and $99 for 3. Is this per person or can my wife and I share like the three test snd have a back up if something was wrong with one.(I've read people have found things missing and we won't have time for that....)

Thanks

[2 cruises a year]

12 hours ago, CruisinCouple2010 said:

Can anyone tell me that has used the Abbott Binax now At home test with the AG card to get on the cruise ship, can we set up a separate account for both husband and wife on Navica with the same mobile phone number and using two different email addresses?

 

Any information is appreciated. Thank you.

Be sure that it does NOT say OTC in the lower left hand corner.  That is the WRONG test, not the supervised one.

Edited September 30, 2021 by 2 cruises a year

[2 cruises a year]

14 hours ago, chrysalis said:

it's not "48 hours", it's 2 days before boarding, so that could/should  make a difference.

Yes, per the Princess web site, when counting days (not hours), the first day does not count.  If you take the test in the morning of a Monday, you count Tuesday, Wednesday, you are good to midnight Wednesday.

[starboardcruiser]

1 hour ago, calval said:

The Princess link to Optum site to buy test. $69 for2 and $99 for 3. Is this per person or can my wife and I share like the three test snd have a back up if something was wrong with one.(I've read people have found things missing and we won't have time for that....)

Thanks

You can share one order from Optum. You will each create your own Navica account and attach one of the tests to your account at the time you take it. You are smart to make sure you have an extra test on hand.

[Lollyk]

18 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

As stated above, you can the test anytime on the 2nd prior day - or later as long as results are back by the time you are checking in. 

 

Also, Princess does not require a PCR test.  You can read it from the proverbial horse's mouth on Princess.com as to what tests are accepted.  @MarcusRex has posted the list above as well.

 

Thanks for the info. On the UK Princess website it states we need to be double vaccinated and have proof of a negative covid test. It just says 48 hours and no specifity of which test is required. 

It also says that if we fail to take a test we will be charged $150pp for a shoreside test, and have to wait for results before boarding. The $150 doesn't bother me but the fact that I will have to wait longer for a cocktail does 🍸😁

Edited September 30, 2021 by Lollyk

[CruisinCouple2010]

8 hours ago, 2 cruises a year said:

Be sure that it does NOT say OTC in the lower left hand corner.  That is the WRONG test, not the supervised one.

No we purchased the six pack directly from emed with the supervision. 
we have cruises in October and November of 2021 so needed at least four test kits and have the two extra in case of a problem.