Testing at Port Canaveral, Where Does It Take Place?

[CruisingWalter]

We are sailing next Saturday, Nov 20th. For those who have been through Port Canaveral these past few weeks, can you give some insight on the Port Covid Testing procedures? Was it done in the NCL Terminal or do we have to go somewhere else first, and then to the terminal? Thanks so much! - Walter

[twinsandanother]

The first NCL cruise out of Canaveral is tomorrow 11/13.  

[behan]

There are tents set up in the parking lot across from the terminal.  Lots of signs and staff directing you.  Getting checked in to testing and the actual test process

was very smooth.  Waiting for results is pretty stressful.  Heard some people have been waiting for an hour.

[behan]

We received results in 20 minutes and walked right on board.  Very smooth, well organized process.  On second cocktail, all my stress is gone.

[ElizaSTN]

Was there somewhere to sit while waiting for results?  Standing for 20 minutes (or more) will be difficult for my mother.

[behan]

Yes, seemed to be plenty of seats.  There was one tent for test check-in, one tent for testing, and a third full of chairs to wait for results.  My check in time was 10:30, so not sure what is happening out there right now.  I was expecting it to be bad, but it was really a smooth process.

[ElizaSTN]

Glad to hear it went smoothly!  We’ll be on in February.  Gotta be honest though, those 20 minutes seem like they’ll be absolute torture.  Especially because we’ve got a group of 10 that all need to “pass”!

[hr29579]

Did you drop luggage off before or after your test

 

[behan]

Drop off bags before testing.

[hr29579]

Thanks for the updates very helpful for those on the upcoming sailings

 

[CruisingWalter]

22 hours ago, behan said:

There are tents set up in the parking lot across from the terminal.  Lots of signs and staff directing you.  Getting checked in to testing and the actual test process

was very smooth.  Waiting for results is pretty stressful.  Heard some people have been waiting for an hour.

Thanks so much! We saw that Parodeejay are onboard as well and they gave some good information too. Have an amazing cruise and thanks again for sharing the info!

[hernando52]

A question on this thread because now I am scratching my head and feeling completely uninformed on NCL policy....I don't cruise until 9/2022 so I admit I have not read every sentence of the policy lately.  My next cruise is to Hawaii, and their rules are hard enough to decipher!   If you are vaccinated, as NCL mandates, does everyone still have to undergo a test prior to boarding a NCL ship?  Does NCL pay for this?  My party is fully vaccinated, including boosters...we're CDC card carrying travelers.  I thought we would only have to produce these cards and board.  Thanks for your patience on my ignorance......

[quillwercruisers]

36 minutes ago, hernando52 said:

A question on this thread because now I am scratching my head and feeling completely uninformed on NCL policy....I don't cruise until 9/2022 so I admit I have not read every sentence of the policy lately.  My next cruise is to Hawaii, and their rules are hard enough to decipher!   If you are vaccinated, as NCL mandates, does everyone still have to undergo a test prior to boarding a NCL ship?  Does NCL pay for this?  My party is fully vaccinated, including boosters...we're CDC card carrying travelers.  I thought we would only have to produce these cards and board.  Thanks for your patience on my ignorance......

Yes, everyone tests prior to boarding.  NCL pays for testing at the port.

[hernando52]

3 minutes ago, quillwercruisers said:

Yes, everyone tests prior to boarding.  NCL pays for testing at the port.

Thanks for the information......I guess I have studying to do before September!  That has got to be very nerve wracking, even if you are vaccinated!

[CruisingWalter]

6 hours ago, behan said:

Drop off bags before testing.

As you are onboard, how does the ship feel capacity wise? We've sailed on the Getaway for Thanksgiving in the past and it was definitely pushing 100% capacity. Curious your experience on board this week, how full you think it is?

[www3traveler]

3 hours ago, hernando52 said:

A question on this thread because now I am scratching my head and feeling completely uninformed on NCL policy....I don't cruise until 9/2022 so I admit I have not read every sentence of the policy lately.  My next cruise is to Hawaii, and their rules are hard enough to decipher!   If you are vaccinated, as NCL mandates, does everyone still have to undergo a test prior to boarding a NCL ship?  Does NCL pay for this?  My party is fully vaccinated, including boosters...we're CDC card carrying travelers.  I thought we would only have to produce these cards and board.  Thanks for your patience on my ignorance......

Very hard to say what the rules will be for a September cruise.  According to the rules now, it is reccomended to be test prior to the cruise and then you are tested again at the port.  NCL pays for the testing at the port.  As iunderstand it, the pre-cruise test is more of a safety factor-- if your pretest is negative and you test positive at the port, you may have your cruise fare returned, I think.  You are right it is confusing.  May be totally different by September.

[CruisingWalter]

4 hours ago, hernando52 said:

A question on this thread because now I am scratching my head and feeling completely uninformed on NCL policy....I don't cruise until 9/2022 so I admit I have not read every sentence of the policy lately.  My next cruise is to Hawaii, and their rules are hard enough to decipher!   If you are vaccinated, as NCL mandates, does everyone still have to undergo a test prior to boarding a NCL ship?  Does NCL pay for this?  My party is fully vaccinated, including boosters...we're CDC card carrying travelers.  I thought we would only have to produce these cards and board.  Thanks for your patience on my ignorance......

Honestly between now and September 2022 the rules and procedures will probably change 10 times. This extended pandemic is causing rolling changes on the fly. If people would just get vaccinated and do the right thing for their communities we would be on the serious backside of this thing by now. But with the entire vaccine policy politicized here in the U.S., Covid won't be going anywhere for quite some time and we'll just have to adjust to whatever procedures the cruise lines have in place when you're ready to cruise.

 

We have 5 cruises between next week and September. It would not surprise me if we have to follow 5 completely different procedures for each of them. The best thing to do is simply stay up to date on what's happening and when it gets to be August 2022, that's when you'll start to get a sense of what it might be like when you sail. That's why I posted the original question here. We sail next week and NCL hasn't told us what to expect. Fortunately some kind folks have responded and now we're prepared. 

[vicnsue]

Once you drop off your bags then you walk across the street to the tent area and then walk back to the terminal? 
My wife cannot walk long distances. Do they have wheelchairs available and crew members to assist?