NCL updated testing at embarkation

[JIMESOPUS]

Testing will resume at the pier

[Turtles06]

I think this is a smart move by NCL.

 

Also, from our Breakaway cruise in October, I think it's clear that NCL takes its covid protocols very seriously and is doing everything it can to keep people safe.   We just returned from a cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette, and it was distressing that the ship was not following a number of the Healthy at Sea protocols expressly stated on Celebrity's own web site.  

[Turtles06]

According to NCL's web site, the return to testing at the pier is only for cruises departing through January 31, 2022, then it's back to testing no earlier than two or three days prior (for U.S. and non-U.S. departures, respectively).

 

https://www.ncl.com/sail-safe?intcmp=pdt_sl_SAILSAFEVAC

 

[CruiseMH]

I`m flying in from Europe via the US, so i need a test one day prior the flight to the US anyway.So for me nothing changes except that i will be tested negative twice once i am on board.

 

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

That policy is good if cruise passengers are going directly from their home to the pier, but how are people going to handle the test requirement if they are already on a land vacation before their cruise?

(For example....flying in to go to Disney World for a couple days, and then crusing out of Fort Lauderdale or Miami.)

 

How easy it is to find and use one of the "preferred vendors" for a test 2 days before you head for the pier, per NCLs letter?  On the map there doesn't look to be any very close to anywhere we will be traveling before our February cruise.....

 

This has been the hardest cruise I ever had to plan...and I always enjoyed that part of it as munch as the actual cruise!  And this is the 2nd time I've had to "re-plan" it! 

Oh well....I'll defintiely appreciate the cruise more after working through this one!  HAHA!

 

Always something.... 😕

[debnjoe1438]

1 hour ago, NEW 2 CRUISIN said:

That policy is good if cruise passengers are going directly from their home to the pier, but how are people going to handle the test requirement if they are already on a land vacation before their cruise?

(For example....flying in to go to Disney World for a couple days, and then crusing out of Fort Lauderdale or Miami.)

 

How easy it is to find and use one of the "preferred vendors" for a test 2 days before you head for the pier, per NCLs letter?  On the map there doesn't look to be any very close to anywhere we will be traveling before our February cruise.....

 

This has been the hardest cruise I ever had to plan...and I always enjoyed that part of it as munch as the actual cruise!  And this is the 2nd time I've had to "re-plan" it! 

Oh well....I'll defintiely appreciate the cruise more after working through this one!  HAHA!

 

Always something.... 😕

Try looking up Walgreens and/or CVS minute clinic closer to cruise time. They do test, however you have to wait two weeks prior for CVS and 1 week prior for Walgreens appointment.

 

[Andrew_R]

1 hour ago, NEW 2 CRUISIN said:

How easy it is to find and use one of the "preferred vendors" for a test 2 days before you head for the pier, per NCLs letter?  On the map there doesn't look to be any very close to anywhere we will be traveling before our February cruise.....

You also have the opportunity to use a "medically supervised home test".  The NCL Sail Safe page (see link in post #3 of this thread) gives you a link to eMed.  There, you can order the supervised BinaxNOW tests.  If you are not familiar with those, they a home test that you do on a video chat with a test supervisor.  These are acceptable by NCL (as of today, who knows about tomorrow) and can be done from your hotel.  That process takes about 30 minutes (or less) and you get a verified result to show NCL.  Very convenient.  Order to arrive at your home and bring them with you.

 

DW and I bought a 6-pack of tests prior to our 9/26 Epic cruise.  We used 2 prior to leaving home, 2 more in the hotel in Barcelona before heading to the Pier and we've got 2 left.  All for $150 - it was well worth the piece of mind.

[Summerstravel]

49 minutes ago, Andrew_R said:

You also have the opportunity to use a "medically supervised home test".  The NCL Sail Safe page (see link in post #3 of this thread) gives you a link to eMed.  There, you can order the supervised BinaxNOW tests.  If you are not familiar with those, they a home test that you do on a video chat with a test supervisor.  These are acceptable by NCL (as of today, who knows about tomorrow) and can be done from your hotel.  That process takes about 30 minutes (or less) and you get a verified result to show NCL.  Very convenient.  Order to arrive at your home and bring them with you.

 

DW and I bought a 6-pack of tests prior to our 9/26 Epic cruise.  We used 2 prior to leaving home, 2 more in the hotel in Barcelona before heading to the Pier and we've got 2 left.  All for $150 - it was well worth the piece of mind.

Do you make an appointment like a regular doctor?  

[Turtles06]

10 minutes ago, Summerstravel said:

Do you make an appointment like a regular doctor?  

 

No appointments.  You just log on and wait for a proctor.  

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, NEW 2 CRUISIN said:

That policy is good if cruise passengers are going directly from their home to the pier, but how are people going to handle the test requirement if they are already on a land vacation before their cruise?

 

Earlier this month, we cruised on the Celebrity Silhouette out of Port Everglades.  We don't live in Florida, and our travel schedule required us to arrive in Florida three days before our cruise, which meant we had to get tested in Florida to be within Celebrity's requirement of testing no earlier than two days before the cruise.  There is a great deal of information here on CC about testing locations in a number of the popular ports, and you can always ask about one over in the relevant port of call forum.  That's how we found the testing place we used in Fort Lauderdale -- Fast Test Now.

 

Well before leaving home, we made an appointment for a rapid antigen test at Fast Test Now in Fort Lauderdale, with a backup appt at CVS for that afternoon, just in case.  And our final backup was the BinaxNow proctored self-test; we brought several with us and would have done the test from our hotel if needed.    Fast Test Now worked out just fine, and we cancelled our CVS appointment.

 

The other thing we did was to have a test at home before we left for Florida; had the results been positive for either of us, of course we would not have left home.  And while our negative results were not an assurance that we'd still test negative a couple of days later in Florida, they did give us some peace of mind about the future tests.