**** CARNIVAL COVID TESTING THREAD #2 **** JANUARY 6, 2002

[G&J cruisers]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I searched and found a CVS further away and driving to get the rapid test. Not the ones closest to me. I'm willing to drive to get the rapid test.

I am going to check other CVS that are on our way to Florida. We are drining from Ohio

[G&J cruisers]

1 hour ago, DramaQueen22 said:

I highly recommend the E Med Telemed tests.  I order mine from the Optum store, and usually have them in 3-4 days.  The process to do the testing is fairly simple and you get your results in 15 minutes.  Download the Navica app to your phone before you log in for the test.  I would also have more than one kit per person...just in case something goes wrong.

 

I've used these for 2 separate cruises this year and it's so much easier than worrying your results won't be back in time for your sailing.

If I cant find a CVS that offers the Rapid Antagen testing I will definatly order the Telemed test. Thanks so much 

[nwcruiselover]

I’m planning on using the eMed proctored test for my upcoming cruise.  For those who have used them, how long have you had to wait on-line for a representative to connect and start your test?

[CheckersMidwest]

I have an appointment next week at our local Health Department for a rapid antigen. Results while I wait and will print an official result letter to take with me.

[pengu1n]

Nobody has mentioned Walgreens, but in our area, they offer the rapid antigen tests.

 

[CheckersMidwest]

We are 90 miles from the closest Walgreens or CVS, etc. Wish we had something like that closer. Our daughter used Walgreens for her test before going to Aruba and worked nicely.

[cellfree]

7 minutes ago, pengu1n said:

Nobody has mentioned Walgreens, but in our area, they offer the rapid antigen tests.

 

Right, we have done Walgreens several times now, used to call it “rapid ID NOW 24 hours” but now has a new name “rapid NAAT test” and we have always received results within a couple hours, sometimes before we get home. 

[mondello]

1 hour ago, G&J cruisers said:

We havnt had a booster....we are 13 days out from our cruise now. I think you have to have the booster more than 14 days out. I may order the proctered test like you suggested. Thanks so much!

Carnival site protocols say booster must be 7 days out.

[nwcruiselover]

Walgreen’s and Rite-Aid in our area are only testing symptomatic people and people who reside in the same residence with a covid patient.

[Rudyard]

I agree with firefly. Find another CVS even if you have to drive a bit farther. There were four CVS locations within a five to ten minute drive of me and none did the rapid test. Found one about 20 minutes from me and went there instead. 

[Newbieflorida]

2 hours ago, DramaQueen22 said:

I highly recommend the E Med Telemed tests.  I order mine from the Optum store, and usually have them in 3-4 days.  The process to do the testing is fairly simple and you get your results in 15 minutes.  Download the Navica app to your phone before you log in for the test.  I would also have more than one kit per person...just in case something goes wrong.

 

I've used these for 2 separate cruises this year and it's so much easier than worrying your results won't be back in time for your sailing.

I'm taking the emed test this Wednesday. Since you've done them already, do you know what hours I can log in and do the test? Is it 24 hours a day? I can't find this info anywhere on their website. Thanks!

[Saint Greg]

If your Walgreens offers ID NOW it’s supposed to produce results in 24 hours. I have used 3 different Walgreens and gotten them in 20-40 minutes each time.

[Itried4498]

There’s little demand for Covid testing at the moment, so as long as you take your test M-Th, you should have the results back within 48 hours.

[jetsfan58]

Wishing you all good fortune with the testing. Carnival needs to rethink this process as many locations are out of the Rapid Tests. There needs to be a solid Plan B in place because the other tests can take more than 2 days for results. 

[CruisingAgain]

3 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

I’m planning on using the eMed proctored test for my upcoming cruise.  For those who have used them, how long have you had to wait on-line for a representative to connect and start your test?

We have used the eMed proctored for 3 different cruises. Each time it was less than a minute to get the proctor.  We did them at 2:00pm, 2:00am and 7:00 pm and no difference in wait time

[csm5986142]

3 hours ago, DramaQueen22 said:

I highly recommend the E Med Telemed tests.  I order mine from the Optum store, and usually have them in 3-4 days.  The process to do the testing is fairly simple and you get your results in 15 minutes. 

 

In my option this is the way to go.  We have been on 6 cruises since July, and we have experienced it all (including test results not coming back before we supposed to board the ship) and it's just not worth it to rely on other people.  With the proctored home tests, you can test when and where you want (even in the middle of the night).

[CruisingAgain]

41 minutes ago, Newbieflorida said:

I'm taking the emed test this Wednesday. Since you've done them already, do you know what hours I can log in and do the test? Is it 24 hours a day? I can't find this info anywhere on their website. Thanks!

The proctors are available 24 hours a day.  My last one I did at 2:00am because I had a 6:00am flight and needed it that day. I wanted to do it at home instead of in the port city.

[G&J cruisers]

1 hour ago, Itried4498 said:

There’s little demand for Covid testing at the moment, so as long as you take your test M-Th, you should have the results back within 48 hours.

We take our covid test on a Thursday morning for a Saturday sailing...fingers crossed

[nwcruiselover]

15 minutes ago, CruisingAgain said:

We have used the eMed proctored for 3 different cruises. Each time it was less than a minute to get the proctor.  We did them at 2:00pm, 2:00am and 7:00 pm and no difference in wait time

Thank you so much for the information.  It’s good to know there’s not a huge wait time for the test to begin.  I think that’s the way to go.

[G&J cruisers]

5 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I searched and found a CVS further away and driving to get the rapid test. Not the ones closest to me. I'm willing to drive to get the rapid test.

That is a good idea. Thank you for your information.

[G&J cruisers]

4 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Stop at the closest airport to port or on your way?  Orlando (MCO) had both Rapid tests for both appointments and walk in...20 minutes, $65.  Airports with international flights seem to have raid testing.

I hadnt thought of airports since we are driving! thats a great idea. Thanks

[MalleyCat]

4 hours ago, G&J cruisers said:

We are driving from Ohio

I’m not sure where you are in Ohio, but I got telemed kits for free from the Cuyahoga County Library. 

[Itried4498]

55 minutes ago, G&J cruisers said:

We take our covid test on a Thursday morning for a Saturday sailing...fingers crossed

Last month, we took ours on a Thursday morning at Walgreens and got the results back Friday evening.  Our test was done in Orange County, CA and the results were processed in a lab in Virginia,.  The information packet indicates the tests are sent via overnight delivery, so presumably they went out in the evening and traveled across the county.  Keep in mind it takes something like 6-8 hours to process the results, so the turnaround is pretty incredible.

We scheduled a backup rapid test on Saturday morning.  In SoCal, there are still a few places that do the test for free (without billing insurance… generally done for research) and many others that charge a fee (less than $75).  Since you’re driving, you may wish to rewatch such sites around Atlanta and Orlando.  Airport is a good idea, but testing is generally behind security, ao you’ll need a ticket.

 

FWIW, right before the Christmas COVID outbreak, we tested Friday morning at Rite Aid and got our results back in the middle of the night early Saturday.  Two of us tested positive, despite having no symptoms.  Carnival was generous enough to let us apply the funds from that cruise to the one last month for no fee… but only gave us an hour to make a decision.   Christmas at home was still fun and we enjoyed the rescheduled V-day cruise.

[clginal]

5 hours ago, nwcruiselover said:

I’m planning on using the eMed proctored test for my upcoming cruise.  For those who have used them, how long have you had to wait on-line for a representative to connect and start your test?

We did the proctored eMed for our cruise a couple weeks ago.  It was so easy & nice to do at home.  

We only waited a couple of minutes to be connected to start our test. 

[G&J cruisers]

6 hours ago, ginabab said:

We were not sure what was best so we began the quest for C19 tests a month ago We ordered telemed kits, booked early morning tests at our healthcare provider, and checked on what’s available at the port 

That sounds like a good plan. At least if I have the Telemed kits I know I can use them as a back up plan.