Covid Testing

[Cruzin with BQ & CQ]

My wife and I are thinking about dipping our toes back in the cruise waters and we are wondering about the requirements regarding Covid testing two days prior to our cruise. We are both three times vaccinated, but we are wondering how folks got the Covid test prior to departure. Is it easy to get the test so close to departure? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. We are just concerned with the narrow window before sailing, that we may have some unanticipated problems! As always, thanks for your time and input. We live in Florida so no flights required.

[Sea Hag]

It's being a problem for us to find testing that will guarantee results in time. We have the BinaxNow monitored tests as a backup in case we can't get an appointment. These are accepted by Princess. If you go this route, you need to make sure you get the monitored tests, where you're observed by a technician over the internet. Optum.com and Emed.com have these tests. As far as I know, neither of these locations has tests that don't expire at the end of this year (or some time thereabouts). 

 

You can check drugstore websites for availability in your area. If CVS near you is doing rapid tests and has available appointments, then that's a good bet. Other drugstores might have if not CVS. Urgent care locations are doing testing in our area, so that's a possibility. Our county health website says going through them will get results in four to six days. Beats me who that even helps. Your county may be better. 

 

Hopefully, we're sailing this coming Sunday. If we can get tested at some location or another or if our Binax kits work.

 

Good luck. 😃

[Cruzin with BQ & CQ]

Thanks

[Mark+Anne]

2 hours ago, Cruzin with BQ & CQ said:

My wife and I are thinking about dipping our toes back in the cruise waters and we are wondering about the requirements regarding Covid testing two days prior to our cruise. We are both three times vaccinated, but we are wondering how folks got the Covid test prior to departure. Is it easy to get the test so close to departure? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. We are just concerned with the narrow window before sailing, that we may have some unanticipated problems! As always, thanks for your time and input. We live in Florida so no flights required.

 

I am going on a cruise at the end of November and just made an appointment to get tested at a local Urgent Care Clinic the day before the cruise leaves. They are using the rapid antigen test which is one of the authorized tests listed on the Princess website.  It takes about 30 minutes to get the result, I can wait for it at the clinic and the cost is $90. Just in case that doesn't work out, there's always the testing station at the pier!  Anne

[SargassoPirate]

I've got a cruise from Tampa coming up and scheduled a covid test at a CVS near my pre-cruise hotel.  It's worth arriving a couple of days early since the test must be done two days before sailing. 

[Bgwest]

BinaxNow or CVS or Walgreens. 
Each have advantages and disadvantages. 
In our case, we’ve chosen CVS for what is now 3 cruises and 2 Mexico/Central America land resort vacations. Couldn’t be happier with our choice. 
Out of pocket thus far? $0

[Marelaine]

I was able to schedule rapid covid antigen tests 2 weeks ahead of time at a CVS near us. My backup plan is a nearby urgent care center in my town. They would have been first choice, but they only take walk-ins. It's nerve-wracking, for sure, but we need a cruise.

You should call ahead though. Our local Walgreens doesn't do Covid testing. The Quest lab nearby does testing but the turnaround time is 2 -4 days. 

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Marelaine

[claudia814]

I booked a PCR test with Quest on the Princess website. I gave my zip code and took the first appointments at Walmart drive through close to home at 9:15 am and 9:30 am yesterday. That went smoothly. I was tracking progress on Quest website and test was ordered and then progressing. So at 1:00 pm today, I called the number I was given just to check the progression. I nearly fell off the chair when the representative said it wasn’t clocked in till 2:00 am!!! What??? I said I took first appointments and booked it through Princess assuming it would get high priority of which a high priority blue card was included in our packet. I said I’m leaving tomorrow at noon, will it be ready? She said she’d better expedite it, and at 4:00 this afternoon, the emails arrived that our results were ready for printing as well as to be on our phone and/or iPad. Whew! Next time I’ll do the 15 minute test. Sorry I was so wordy but I felt you needed to know the whole story. Happy cruising folks. 

[caribill]

7 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I've got a cruise from Tampa coming up and scheduled a covid test at a CVS near my pre-cruise hotel.  It's worth arriving a couple of days early since the test must be done two days before sailing. 

 

The test does not have to be done two days before sailing.

 

It must be done within two days before sailing.

 

So it can be done two days before, one day before, or even on the day of sailing, as long as results are available by check-in time.

[Ice Queen]

I admit to being anxious about it. 2 days before my 12/28 Sky cruise is the day after Christmas and a Sunday! Not too many Walgreens/CVS in my area are offering rapid test and not sure if any will even be available 12/26. Would prefer not to have to wait til the day before or day of if possible. Considering the at-home proctored test but hearing that others are having difficulty finding them or that tests are expiring too soon. Too early to do anything about it now but will really start aggressively looking at options around 12/1.

[cltnccruisers]

17 hours ago, Mark+Anne said:

 

I am going on a cruise at the end of November and just made an appointment to get tested at a local Urgent Care Clinic the day before the cruise leaves. They are using the rapid antigen test which is one of the authorized tests listed on the Princess website.  It takes about 30 minutes to get the result, I can wait for it at the clinic and the cost is $90. Just in case that doesn't work out, there's always the testing station at the pier!  Anne

 

We sail 11/27 so our test days are Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.  We're driving to Melbourne Thanksgiving Day then to Ft Lauderdale on Friday.  We'll be checking for appointments along the way with the pier testing being a final option.  Do you know if Princess has that testing set up and if so where?

[Mark+Anne]

1 minute ago, cltnccruisers said:

 

We sail 11/27 so our test days are Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.  We're driving to Melbourne Thanksgiving Day then to Ft Lauderdale on Friday.  We'll be checking for appointments along the way with the pier testing being a final option.  Do you know if Princess has that testing set up and if so where?

 

 This is what their website says: 

 

We understand that it may be difficult for some of our guests to find testing that can provide results within a 2-day turnaround. Accordingly, for guests who did not receive their test results within 2 days prior to their embarkation, we have mobile testing sites near our embarkation ports to conduct COVID-19 testing the day before, or day of, your cruise departure.

The company providing the testing will charge a per-person fee of $150. Providers will not accept insurance, but you will be provided a receipt should you wish to submit the cost to your insurance carrier. Please consider this as a back-up alternative should you not be able to make arrangements prior to leaving home.

 

But if you are in the Melbourne area, check out the Urgent Care Clinic in Indialantic (right across from the 192 causeway past the trafic light on your right hand side). They might be able to fit you in on Friday before you leave for Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Hope this helps! Anne

[AVCruzers]

We have appointments tomorrow morning as our cruise departs on Sat.  Know I will be nervously checking phone/computer.  Our friends used the same place last month--tested on a Thursday morning and did not get results until 9 pm on Friday.  We only have one Princess recommended test site in our area so no other choice.  Do have the at home test as a back-up.  

[fairie1960]

17 hours ago, Mark+Anne said:

 

I am going on a cruise at the end of November and just made an appointment to get tested at a local Urgent Care Clinic the day before the cruise leaves. They are using the rapid antigen test which is one of the authorized tests listed on the Princess website.  It takes about 30 minutes to get the result, I can wait for it at the clinic and the cost is $90. Just in case that doesn't work out, there's always the testing station at the pier!  Anne

I checked into the testing at the pier via the website, it says it only open on Wednesdays?!?!  This is the site, https://mdc.nomihealth.com/easy_registration/12/onsite  

 

Our cruise leaves on a Monday, we're arriving from Ecuador on Saturday.  We will have had to show proof of negative test within 72 hours of arriving in the US (we're also fully vaccinated), but even if we got the test the day before we left Ecuador (we don't have the same testing availability as we do in the US), it would still be too late for the cruise requirements.  We'll arrive late Saturday and are booking appointments for Sunday to get the rapid antigen test so we can sail Monday...

[cltnccruisers]

3 minutes ago, AVCruzers said:

We have appointments tomorrow morning as our cruise departs on Sat.  Know I will be nervously checking phone/computer.  Our friends used the same place last month--tested on a Thursday morning and did not get results until 9 pm on Friday.  We only have one Princess recommended test site in our area so no other choice.  Do have the at home test as a back-up.  

I bought 3 of the Abbott BinaxNOW tests last month.  I used one for familiarization and after a few burps it worked pretty well.  We got the results within an hour of test completion.  Our cruise is Nov 27 so our test days are Thanksgiving and Black Friday.  So we'll try to do our home tests in the wee hours of Thanksgiving.  We'll also try to schedule tests with UrgentCare and CVS along the way with the Princess port testing as a final option.  Several ways to test - surely one of them will work.  😀

[Mark+Anne]

5 minutes ago, fairie1960 said:

I checked into the testing at the pier via the website, it says it only open on Wednesdays?!?!  This is the site, https://mdc.nomihealth.com/easy_registration/12/onsite  

 

Our cruise leaves on a Monday, we're arriving from Ecuador on Saturday.  We will have had to show proof of negative test within 72 hours of arriving in the US (we're also fully vaccinated), but even if we got the test the day before we left Ecuador (we don't have the same testing availability as we do in the US), it would still be too late for the cruise requirements.  We'll arrive late Saturday and are booking appointments for Sunday to get the rapid antigen test so we can sail Monday...

 

 When you go to the Princess website and look under CruiseHealth FAQ: Will you offer Covid-19 testing near the terminal? they don't mention anyhing about being open only on specific days, at least I didn't find anything. As posted above, here is what Princess say on their website:

 

We understand that it may be difficult for some of our guests to find testing that can provide results within a 2-day turnaround. Accordingly, for guests who did not receive their test results within 2 days prior to their embarkation, we have mobile testing sites near our embarkation ports to conduct COVID-19 testing the day before, or day of, your cruise departure.

The company providing the testing will charge a per-person fee of $150. Providers will not accept insurance, but you will be provided a receipt should you wish to submit the cost to your insurance carrier. Please consider this as a back-up alternative should you not be able to make arrangements prior to leaving home.

 

Anne

[paradiselivin1]

36 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

We'll also try to schedule tests with UrgentCare and CVS along the way with the Princess port testing as a final option

 

We're using our local CVS here in west central FL. I expect that most CVS stores in major cities will offer the test and you'll be passing many of them on your way to the port. JAX may be a good place to look and is along the way... expect you're heading down a day early so it shouldn't be a problem.

[PHOENIXfire]

Thank you. That is exactly what we are counting on, as we will be in Florida 4 days before our cruise.

[cltnccruisers]

4 hours ago, paradiselivin1 said:

 

We're using our local CVS here in west central FL. I expect that most CVS stores in major cities will offer the test and you'll be passing many of them on your way to the port. JAX may be a good place to look and is along the way... expect you're heading down a day early so it shouldn't be a problem.

I've checked a lot of CVS along 95 (God, I hate that road) and very few offer the rapid antigen.  I'll be on the CVS site in the wee hours of 11/12 to see what I can snag.  

[paradiselivin1]

On 10/27/2021 at 6:01 PM, cltnccruisers said:

I've checked a lot of CVS along 95 (God, I hate that road) and very few offer the rapid antigen.  I'll be on the CVS site in the wee hours of 11/12 to see what I can snag.  

Me too ~ glad we can take #75 most of the way to the port. So much better! I thought I'd see what there is to offer on the east coast and found a 5* rated CVS on Flagler Beach that does the rapid test and is just off #95S.

 

https://www.cvs.com/store-locator/flagler-beach-fl-pharmacies/2301-moody-blvd-flagler-beach-fl-32136/storeid=7964?WT.mc_id=LS_GOOGLE_RX_7964

 

Just a thought. Anyhow, good luck. We'll be ships passing in the night so enjoy your cruise!

[cltnccruisers]

4 minutes ago, paradiselivin1 said:

Me too ~ glad we can take #75 most of the way to the port. So much better! I thought I'd see what there is to offer on the east coast and found a 5* rated CVS on Flagler Beach that does the rapid test and is just off #95S.

 

https://www.cvs.com/store-locator/flagler-beach-fl-pharmacies/2301-moody-blvd-flagler-beach-fl-32136/storeid=7964?WT.mc_id=LS_GOOGLE_RX_7964

 

Just a thought. Anyhow, good luck. We'll be ships passing in the night so enjoy your cruise!

I'll check it out.  Enjoy your cruise as well - great to be back out even with the restrictions.

 

Thanks.