Anyone been denied boarding NCL because of this

[Yesimapirate]

Interesting aside about testing. 

 

Had a routine physical last week.   Asked my doctor about testing pre-cruise as we leave in less than a month and want to be covered.   He flat out told me to make an appointment that day for 2 days before we leave.   He would then give me the old, slow PCR test.  However,  if I arrived and told him I may be exposed or had Covid-19 symptoms, they'd give the rapid PCR test at no charge.   And yes, he threw in a wink. 

 

It's a relief to have this worked out with someone I trust and not have the headache and expense of finding a test site. 

[Diane67B]

7 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I agree. I am much more concerned about being quarantined simply because I wanted to enjoy the spa or head to a comedy club. 

 

I keep reading that cruising is the safest form of travel right now. While this maybe true in terms of actually catching covid, I think cruising offers the greatest risk to disruption due to covid protocols. 

 

The social media pages dedicated to the Breakaway sailing indicated over 60 were quarantined for the entire duration of their cruise simply because they were a close contact. No amount of negative testing got them released from quarantine because of the incubation period after exposure. These fine folks spent 5 days locked in a cabin.

This is exactly what I am worried about. I love all the shows. How do I know that I’m not going to sit next to someone who turns up positive. I can’t understand if I test negative and I’m completely asymptotic, why I have to be quarantined for sitting next to the wrong person.

[Turtles06]

On 11/8/2021 at 3:35 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

Unfortunately, Antigen tests have a high rate of false positive..  This is directly from the FDA:

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/letters-health-care-providers/potential-false-positive-results-antigen-tests-rapid-detection-sars-cov-2-letter-clinical-laboratory

The bottom of the page to which you have linked says the “content is current as of 11/3/20.”   It would be good to have more recent data. 

[Joanne G.]

8 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I agree. I am much more concerned about being quarantined simply because I wanted to enjoy the spa or head to a comedy club. 

 

I keep reading that cruising is the safest form of travel right now. While this maybe true in terms of actually catching covid, I think cruising offers the greatest risk to disruption due to covid protocols. 

 

The social media pages dedicated to the Breakaway sailing indicated over 60 were quarantined for the entire duration of their cruise simply because they were a close contact. No amount of negative testing got them released from quarantine because of the incubation period after exposure. These fine folks spent 5 days locked in a cabin.

 

My thoughts exactly.   Since I trust the vaccine and would take precautions that I am comfortable with (as I do going about my everyday life), a land vacation is more appealing at this time.  

[hawkeyetlse]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

The bottom of the page to which you have linked says the “content is current as of 11/3/20.”   It would be good to have more recent data. 

??? BermudaBound2014 quoted some purely academic examples to illustrate how the prevalence of a disease (any disease, not just Covid) affects the precision of a test. There was not any actual Covid data in what they posted.

[Turtles06]

10 hours ago, hawkeyetlse said:

??? BermudaBound2014 quoted some purely academic examples to illustrate how the prevalence of a disease (any disease, not just Covid) affects the precision of a test. There was not any actual Covid data in what they posted.

My point was that, from what I have read, the rapid antigen tests are more reliable now than they were initially. 

[BermudaBound2014]

4 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

My point was that, from what I have read, the rapid antigen tests are more reliable now than they were initially. 

 

My point was that antigen testing is much less reliable than most realize.  It is used because it is quick and cheap. If it was the same price as NAAT testing, antigen would likely be off the market.

 

In fairness to your query, I did a bit more digging this morning. I can not find any evidence that the initial FDA report I referenced is inaccurate and I would 'think' that the FDA would update their site if contradictory information was discovered (although that may be a reach).

 

With that said, I learned much more about antigen testing. My takeaway is that antigen testing is most reliable if the person is symptomatic and ironically, produces enough false negative reports that the CDC recommends immediate follow up with a NAAT test if symptomatic. The viral load and sensitivity of the test is key. This is probably way more information than is wanted on this forum, so if interested this is the CDC guidance (updated Sept 2021):

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/resources/antigen-tests-guidelines.html#anchor_1631295313910

[BermudaBound2014]

17 hours ago, Diane67B said:

This is exactly what I am worried about. I love all the shows. How do I know that I’m not going to sit next to someone who turns up positive. I can’t understand if I test negative and I’m completely asymptotic, why I have to be quarantined for sitting next to the wrong person.

 

I hear you. I LOVE cruising, and with current last minute pricing being EXTREMELY attractive I'm finding it difficult not to pull the trigger, but the current testing requirements pre cruise (don't even get me started on Bermuda testing requirements lol) and the recent testimony from those quarantined on the breakaway have given me pause. 

 

16 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

 

My thoughts exactly.   Since I trust the vaccine and would take precautions that I am comfortable with (as I do going about my everyday life), a land vacation is more appealing at this time.  

 

Don't get me wrong, I love cruising! If cruising was the only type of travel I enjoyed, then I would likely feel differently; but since I'm quite diverse when it comes to the type of travel I participate in, at this time, I'm choosing differently.

[sanger727]

55 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

My point was that antigen testing is much less reliable than most realize.  It is used because it is quick and cheap. If it was the same price as NAAT testing, antigen would likely be off the market.

 

In fairness to your query, I did a bit more digging this morning. I can not find any evidence that the initial FDA report I referenced is inaccurate and I would 'think' that the FDA would update their site if contradictory information was discovered (although that may be a reach).

 

With that said, I learned much more about antigen testing. My takeaway is that antigen testing is most reliable if the person is symptomatic and ironically, produces enough false negative reports that the CDC recommends immediate follow up with a NAAT test if symptomatic. The viral load and sensitivity of the test is key. This is probably way more information than is wanted on this forum, so if interested this is the CDC guidance (updated Sept 2021):

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/resources/antigen-tests-guidelines.html#anchor_1631295313910

 

It is used because it is quick and cheap. And yes, it has many false negatives. I don't think it produces many false positives however. Everyone considers PCR the "gold" standard for testing. Which is great if you have time to get one. But with a 1-3 day return, it's much less practical for cruising purposes that only give you 2 days to get a test. I agree that's it's not ideal, but it's a reality.