San Francisco Covid testing

[Drews_Cruise]

I’ve search quite a bit but not really finding any other peoples advice about where to test pre cruise in San Francisco.  Any really good suggestions as we will be there for three days pre cruise and will need to get the two day test before boarding.  Testing at the pier is crazy expensive IMHO from Princess so 6 of us are looking  for another reliable option.  We’re coming from Canada for the first time so we’re not sure of what is available to us.  Drew

[nocl]

1 minute ago, Drews_Cruise said:

I’ve search quite a bit but not really finding any other peoples advice about where to test pre cruise in San Francisco.  Any really good suggestions as we will be there for three days pre cruise and will need to get the two day test before boarding.  Testing at the pier is crazy expensive IMHO from Princess so 6 of us are looking  for another reliable option.  We’re coming from Canada for the first time so we’re not sure of what is available to us.  Drew

There is always at the air port, but that is not cheap either.

[Drews_Cruise]

We are staying at the Rui near the port so I’m not sure how far that would be to go back to the airport.

[baz48]

You can check to see if there's a Walgreens in the area that will test.  I don't think there are CVS stores in San Francisco.  The cost at CVS was $139 for the test that had results in 24-48 hours, which might be comparable at Walgreens.  Alternatively, you could get the home test, just make sure you follow the link from Princess so you get the correct test - the one with the medical monitoring.  It costs $69 for two tests.

[AZjohn]

I got a test done for flight to Maui at Work Site Labs:

https://worksitelabs.com/scheduling-general/?_ga=2.125040138.1455064403.1639623259-1271099278.1639623259

 

Looks like they are down to $90. Got my results like in 4 hours.

 

There seemed other operations set up in SF and anyone can goggle “fast PCR Covid test in San Francisco”. Will show a map where they are located downtown.

 

cheers

[mturvey]

Drew, did you find somewhere as we are coming from the UK and need to find the same thing.  We have no car.

[Drews_Cruise]

Not yet as I thought we would wait to see if any new testing sites start up closer to sail time. Things are changing so quickly.  
 

[mturvey]

Thanks for the reply.  We are sailing 27 March on The Ruby.

We phoned Princess today and they suggested trying their link to a third party website and they charge to our stateroom but it isn’t working at the moment.  It’s minimum 110 dollars per person so seems expensive.

[Drews_Cruise]

21 hours ago, mturvey said:

Thanks for the reply.  We are sailing 27 March on The Ruby.

We phoned Princess today and they suggested trying their link to a third party website and they charge to our stateroom but it isn’t working at the moment.  It’s minimum 110 dollars per person so seems expensive.

We are on the same sailing, so we will keep our eyes and ears open and let you know what we find.  Cheers

[Drews_Cruise]

We’re also concerned about getting off the ship as we need a PCR test to get back into Canada and this would have to be done on the ship

[mturvey]

So do we for UK but hoping the rules will change by then.

Mike

 

[debnrick]

On 12/15/2021 at 8:38 PM, Drews_Cruise said:

We are staying at the Rui near the port so I’m not sure how far that would be to go back to the airport.

 

[debnrick]

Just now, debnrick said:

 

We are staying at the San Francisco Riu hotel in May 22. Any thoughts and comments on hotel? Is hotel close enough to walk to the pier to board the ship?

[Drews_Cruise]

1 hour ago, debnrick said:

We are staying at the San Francisco Riu hotel in May 22. Any thoughts and comments on hotel? Is hotel close enough to walk to the pier to board the ship?

No,  I believe its 14 minutes with the shuttle, so the walk would be quite long. 

[Ombud]

@Drews_CruiseWhy not Minute Clinic on Sutter?? Google CVS Minute Clinic

 

@debnrickit's only a 1/2 mile per Google and that area is very easy to walk around in.  So the real question is: can you handle your luggage for a 1/2 mile?? 

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Ombud

[frankp01]

On 12/28/2021 at 2:35 PM, Drews_Cruise said:

I thought we would wait to see if any new testing sites start up

There's some current discussion on the Cunard board about testing in SF, especially for non-US citizens. I found a Cvs site offering rapid tests, but I'm not sure if it's for residents only. Did you find any suitable locations?

[Drews_Cruise]

4 hours ago, frankp01 said:

There's some current discussion on the Cunard board about testing in SF, especially for non-US citizens. I found a Cvs site offering rapid tests, but I'm not sure if it's for residents only. Did you find any suitable locations?

We used On Point for $69.00  It worked out well in the end but nobody showed up for work and there wire abut 20 people or more in line an hour later when someone showed up.    They said it was rare for that to happen but we were freezing in the cold weather while waiting.  844 Folsom St, San Francisco

[frankp01]

Thanks so much, I'll pass that info along.

[lissie]

Just following on from the discussion on Cunard - probably more useful here - I contacted City Health and got this back from them: 

 

We offer COVID tests for international travelers.

(Effective March 22, 2022)

Here is a list of our fees for each test along with the turnaround time.

$149 for 24–36 hours PCR (next day)
$99 for rapid antigen 1-3 hours
$129 for rapid molecular abbot 1-6 hours

Please proceed to the website to book an appointment.
https://covidtesting.cityhealth.com/

 

I tried to do a test booking with them - they show good availability within the next few days - but the first step was to enter my US phone number! I haven't got one of those  so emailed again (they are very responsive) and they said I could book via email just needed to upload an image of my ID (I assume passport) . 

 

Eye-watering expensive compared to the US$4 pp we will pay in NZ in a few weeks to test to go to Fiji but at least it seems reasonably available. 

[frankp01]

5 minutes ago, lissie said:

Eye-watering expensive

Indeed. Even compared to a private lab in NYC. My London-based friend paid $75 for a 30 minute Antigen test in Manhattan. I would not expect a public-health site to be so pricey. 

 

Ah, but having gone to their website, I see that they're not really a 'Public Health' agency. They're a for-profit clinic (much like the one in Southampton where we had our tests, and the one in NYC where my friend had his done.)

[lissie]

40 minutes ago, frankp01 said:

Indeed. Even compared to a private lab in NYC. My London-based friend paid $75 for a 30 minute Antigen test in Manhattan. I would not expect a public-health site to be so pricey. 

 

Ah, but having gone to their website, I see that they're not really a 'Public Health' agency. They're a for-profit clinic (much like the one in Southampton where we had our tests, and the one in NYC where my friend had his done.)

The joke is that the NZ options are all private  pharmacies which are definitely for profit!  A pharmacist is a medical professional so they can sign the bit of paper - so its up to the individual pharmacy (actually they are mainly franchises) and local prices range from $6 to $!50, plus $222 for after hours emergency. Plus the cheapest pharmacies are the ones open 7 days!  Also its done while you wait -the test takes 15 minutes so I don't know why you have to wait hours in the US!  Its all very weird. 

[lissie]

just updating this for anyone needing a walk in clinic - I think this is the cheapest I've found and open every day 8-1 at $40 is the cheapest I've found San Francisco Travel Opens COVID-19 Testing Center at Moscone Center for Visitors and Residents | San Francisco Travel (sftravel.com) - the location looks good so this is what we'll probably use