Options for Covid test pre=cruise

[cruisingaussies]

3 hours ago, p18750 said:

Let's see how long it stays 2 days this time. 

Quite. 

[si_boy]

Am in the UK and boarding at Southampton next week on first cruise with Celebrity.

I have ordered a 'fit-to-fly' Antigen test kit which is taken at home. 

All being well will have a letter saying negative, will this be acceptable to board or does the letter have to say the test has been supervised.

Has anyone else used a fit-to-fly test to board?

Have used the same test before, just checked the letter and there is no mention of test being supervised, just personal details and result negative.

If it helps, reputable company.

Edited May 20, 2022 by si_boy

[cruise47]

When will the cruise industries stop Covid Testing pre-cruiseing ?

[Honolulu Blue]

4 hours ago, cruise47 said:

When will the cruise industries stop Covid Testing pre-cruiseing ?

The short answer is no one knows.

 

Here's an attempt at a longer guess (not really an answer):

 

The cruise lines will stop testing when the U.S. CDC decides that it's no longer necessary to test pre-cruise.  When will they say that?  When one of these things happens:

 

• The virus and all its variants are so scarce in the population that it's not worth testing for
• The virus becomes less lethal overall than the flu in an average year
• The virus and its variants become much less easy to catch and transmit (ha)
• We finally figure out definitively how the virus is spread and STOP DOING THOSE THINGS until the virus is smothered and we get to point #1 above

 

I'm hopeful but I'm not holding my breath.  There could be a split where vaxxed and boosted passengers might not be required to test as a courtesy to them - not because they won't catch it, but because it won't do much if/when they do catch it.  Of course, there's a world outside the cruise ship when they disembark that's a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated folks for whom the virus might have a much worse effect.

[Arizona Wildcat]

On 5/20/2022 at 4:07 AM, si_boy said:

Am in the UK and boarding at Southampton next week on first cruise with Celebrity.

I have ordered a 'fit-to-fly' Antigen test kit which is taken at home. 

All being well will have a letter saying negative, will this be acceptable to board or does the letter have to say the test has been supervised.

Has anyone else used a fit-to-fly test to board?

Have used the same test before, just checked the letter and there is no mention of test being supervised, just personal details and result negative.

If it helps, reputable company.

Am not aware of anyone boarding with an unsupervised test.  We are going to use the iHealth tests and a telehealth service that costs about $25.

Would be surprised if you could board with an unsupervised test simply because it would be simple to substitute a test result either done by another individual or earlier.

[MrMuscleDude]

On 5/20/2022 at 12:07 PM, si_boy said:

Am in the UK and boarding at Southampton next week on first cruise with Celebrity.

I have ordered a 'fit-to-fly' Antigen test kit which is taken at home. 

All being well will have a letter saying negative, will this be acceptable to board or does the letter have to say the test has been supervised.

Has anyone else used a fit-to-fly test to board?

Have used the same test before, just checked the letter and there is no mention of test being supervised, just personal details and result negative.

If it helps, reputable company.

If it helps, I have been watching Celebrity's testing requirements on a regular basis as we are going from Rome on 4th June.  Until very recently, the guidance stated that 'the test must be supervised by a health professional, pharmacy assistant etc.'.  The guidance has now changed and doesn't mention the test needing to be supervised.  However, I have just looked for you here - Travel Requirements for Southampton Cruises | Celebrity Cruises.  It states that testing for cruises from Southampton must be supervised.

 

In any case, we have booked supervised tests through Boots COVID-19 testing (boots.com).  There are other providers available, including ones where you take the test at home but it is supervised via a video call.

 

I hope you get sorted and enjoy your cruise.  Celebrity is amazing (once you are on board) following all the stress of testing etc.

[si_boy]

7 hours ago, MrMuscleDude said:

If it helps, I have been watching Celebrity's testing requirements on a regular basis as we are going from Rome on 4th June.  Until very recently, the guidance stated that 'the test must be supervised by a health professional, pharmacy assistant etc.'.  The guidance has now changed and doesn't mention the test needing to be supervised.  However, I have just looked for you here - Travel Requirements for Southampton Cruises | Celebrity Cruises.  It states that testing for cruises from Southampton must be supervised.

 

In any case, we have booked supervised tests through Boots COVID-19 testing (boots.com).  There are other providers available, including ones where you take the test at home but it is supervised via a video call.

 

I hope you get sorted and enjoy your cruise.  Celebrity is amazing (once you are on board) following all the stress of testing etc.

@MrMuscleDudeThank you for taking the time to reply, we do not want to risk not taking the incorrect documentation so have booked supervised tests for Wednesday. If I am feeling brave I might ask when we check in, if I do I will report back.

Really looking forward to this cruise, could be the first of many with Celebrity.

[VitaminSea53]

Has anyone used this service?  They say it can be used with any OTC test.  Does Celebrity accept it?

[rosiebee]

We fly to Seattle from UK for 3 nights before boarding C Solstice for an Alaskan cruise to Vancouver. We'll have had a Covid test the day before flying. I presume the ship will also want a test done before boarding. How do we go about arranging this? We'll be staying in a hotel in  central Seattle .

Will we also need to do another before we stop in Victoria, Canada?

Thanks for any help.

[travlr21]

On 5/30/2022 at 8:59 AM, rosiebee said:

We fly to Seattle from UK for 3 nights before boarding C Solstice for an Alaskan cruise to Vancouver. We'll have had a Covid test the day before flying. I presume the ship will also want a test done before boarding. How do we go about arranging this? We'll be staying in a hotel in  central Seattle .

Will we also need to do another before we stop in Victoria, Canada?

Thanks for any help.

You will need a rapid test no more than 2 days before you board, and you can't do it the day you board. Sorry, I can't help with Seattle testing locations, I think if you search these boards you may find some help on that. The test you get to board is all you need, you do not need an additional test to stop in Canada. You do however have to complete the ArriveCan app. Make sure you down load it and complete within 3 days of your sailing.

[travlr21]

A heads up for people sailing out of Vancouver. The CVM Medical testing location at the pier is apparently closing on Wednesday June 1. Hubby and I had tests scheduled for June 4 and we found out about the closure by accident. We have not heard formally. Luckily we have been able to schedule one with another company.

[kids at home cruisers]

On 5/22/2022 at 8:16 PM, si_boy said:

@MrMuscleDudeThank you for taking the time to reply, we do not want to risk not taking the incorrect documentation so have booked supervised tests for Wednesday. If I am feeling brave I might ask when we check in, if I do I will report back.

Really looking forward to this cruise, could be the first of many with Celebrity.

@si_boy We are doing a similar Celebrity cruise to yourself out of Southampton but in August. Who did you you use for your supervised tests and did you experience any issues when boarding ?

[si_boy]

31 minutes ago, kids at home cruisers said:

@si_boy We are doing a similar Celebrity cruise to yourself out of Southampton but in August. Who did you you use for your supervised tests and did you experience any issues when boarding ?

Hi, my wife and I booked COVID tests at a Lloyds Pharmacy the day before we sailed. You can book online and pay at the pharmacy after the test.

You do the test yourself which is supervised and after 20 minutes (or 5 minutes when my wife did it!) to confirm the result the staff print out a certificate which they stamp and sign. You will need to take your passport as they record your passport number on the certificate.

We had no issues at check in at Southampton which was all rather quick to be honest.

Edited June 1, 2022 by si_boy

[TeeRick]

On 5/21/2022 at 12:22 PM, Honolulu Blue said:

The short answer is no one knows.

 

Here's an attempt at a longer guess (not really an answer):

 

The cruise lines will stop testing when the U.S. CDC decides that it's no longer necessary to test pre-cruise.  When will they say that?  When one of these things happens:

 

• The virus and all its variants are so scarce in the population that it's not worth testing for
• The virus becomes less lethal overall than the flu in an average year
• The virus and its variants become much less easy to catch and transmit (ha)
• We finally figure out definitively how the virus is spread and STOP DOING THOSE THINGS until the virus is smothered and we get to point #1 above

 

I'm hopeful but I'm not holding my breath.  There could be a split where vaxxed and boosted passengers might not be required to test as a courtesy to them - not because they won't catch it, but because it won't do much if/when they do catch it.  Of course, there's a world outside the cruise ship when they disembark that's a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated folks for whom the virus might have a much worse effect.

Good list but maybe you missed the most likely and obvious one.  The CDC and WHO and other national and local health authorities finally understand that the virus is here to stay forever and will occasionally surge here and there.  And that will be nothing unusual.  We all just live with that by keeping our vaccines Up To Date.  They monitor variants.

[B x]

4 hours ago, si_boy said:

Hi, my wife and I booked COVID tests at a Lloyds Pharmacy the day before we sailed. You can book online and pay at the pharmacy after the test.

You do the test yourself which is supervised and after 20 minutes (or 5 minutes when my wife did it!) to confirm the result the staff print out a certificate which they stamp and sign. You will need to take your passport as they record your passport number on the certificate.

We had no issues at check in at Southampton which was all rather quick to be honest.

Really helpful, thank you so much for posting. Been pulling my heir out trying to find something close by - the joys of living in the middle of the Fens and best so far was Boots well over an hour away. But we have a Lloyds in the next village and just booked for 11th June, will be a relief to get it done before we go to Heathrow the next day. Bizarrely they never came up on any of my searches.

[B x]

Just now, B x said:

Really helpful, thank you so much for posting. Been pulling my heir out trying to find something close by - the joys of living in the middle of the Fens and best so far was Boots well over an hour away. But we have a Lloyds in the next village and just booked for 11th June, will be a relief to get it done before we go to Heathrow the next day. Bizarrely they never came up on any of my searches.

Hair even!

 

[Nidec]

18 hours ago, travlr21 said:

A heads up for people sailing out of Vancouver. The CVM Medical testing location at the pier is apparently closing on Wednesday June 1. Hubby and I had tests scheduled for June 4 and we found out about the closure by accident. We have not heard formally. Luckily we have been able to schedule one with another company.

We have the same problem. Who have you booked your test with now?

[travlr21]

32 minutes ago, Nidec said:

Who have you booked your test with now?

We are doing it at a clinic in Kelowna before we drive to Vancouver. In the June 5 Eclipse roll call someone mentioned they were able to book at a Shoppers Drug Mart near the port. Someone else mentioned CVM would refund their money and also test them for free at one of their other locations (Vancouver airport or a hotel near the airport). Maybe try to call or email CVM and see what they will do for you?

[Nidec]

11 minutes ago, travlr21 said:

We are doing it at a clinic in Kelowna before we drive to Vancouver. In the June 5 Eclipse roll call someone mentioned they were able to book at a Shoppers Drug Mart near the port. Someone else mentioned CVM would refund their money and also test them for free at one of their other locations (Vancouver airport or a hotel near the airport). Maybe try to call or email CVM and see what they will do for you?

Were going to use CVM but they closed today at Cruise Terminal and airport is miles away

Edited June 1, 2022 by Nidec
typo

[travlr21]

28 minutes ago, Nidec said:

Were going to use CVM

Check out the Testing for Travel section.

 

 http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/testing/where-to-get-a-covid-19-test-in-bc

[C-Dragons]

Some good news…
 

Italy lifts all Covid entry restrictions

Wednesday, Jun 01, 2022 0

Italy has eliminated all remaining Covid entry curbs for international travellers. From June 1 unvaccinated tourists no longer need to take a test before arrival.

Travellers are no longer required to fill in a Passenger Locator Form, even if unvaccinated.

However, masks are still required in certain settings until at least 15 June, including on flights to and from Italy and on all public transport. Masks are still ‘strongly recommended’ in all indoor public places.

[roupa]

Since we will be in Iceland a few days before our cruise departs from Reykjavik, we figure we will need a Covid test prior to boarding. Tests done at home would be too far out from cruise date, I assume.    So I just booked appointments for our tests to be done at the HARPA CONCERT HALL 48 hours before embarkation !  It was an easy process to book and pay by credit card...$109.07 for two of us (odd amount due to US $ conversion today).  I printed out the appointment confirmation as well as received a text on my phone.

One step done in preparation!   In a perfect world none of this will be necessary in August, but just in case....

[TeeRick]

14 hours ago, roupa said:

Since we will be in Iceland a few days before our cruise departs from Reykjavik, we figure we will need a Covid test prior to boarding. Tests done at home would be too far out from cruise date, I assume.    So I just booked appointments for our tests to be done at the HARPA CONCERT HALL 48 hours before embarkation !  It was an easy process to book and pay by credit card...$109.07 for two of us (odd amount due to US $ conversion today).  I printed out the appointment confirmation as well as received a text on my phone.

One step done in preparation!   In a perfect world none of this will be necessary in August, but just in case....

Confused- are you boarding the ship in Iceland for the first time?  Or you cruising RT from the UK?

[roupa]

Embarkation (boarding) in Reykjavik to BEGIN cruise

[PKB]

For those who have purchased the Emed proctored covid tests recently - What is the current expiration date for the most recent purchases?  Is the expiration date still short and the blanket extension still applies?