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

[acook620]

10 hours ago, micokao said:

Hi all,

I have read through everything and think I have good understanding on the testing requirement but just want to have a peace of mind by confirming it again. based on the information below, the entire family can all get the test on 5/25,Wednesday for the cruise leave on 5/28, Saturday.  We are based in TX and plan to get Rapid NAAT from Walgreen. Thx

 

4 year old daughter - unvaccinated ( also understand that she will need to be tested again on the embarkation day)

8 year old son - vaccinated with second dose on April 2022

me and hubby - J&J March 2021, booster shot last month on April 2022

One thing to make sure of is that the 4 year old has a PCR test, not a NAAT test. Unvaccinated have to do a PCR as their initial test and will then do a rapid before boarding the boat

[micokao]

14 minutes ago, acook620 said:

One thing to make sure of is that the 4 year old has a PCR test, not a NAAT test. Unvaccinated have to do a PCR as their initial test and will then do a rapid before boarding the boat

Big thank you!! I only noticed the days and for some reason totally missed the PCR part. 

 

Since PCR usually takes 1-2 days to get the report, do you know if I have to do PCR within 72-24 window or just need to make sure the report is ready within that time frame? 

Edited May 19, 2022 by micokao

[micokao]

Just read through Carnival site carefully again and now I'm really confused. On their COVID protocol , it says " unvaccinated guests age 2 and older must present a negative PCR COVID-19 test " .then under COVID FAQ, they listed PCR as a sub category of NAAT

 

NAAT include (acceptable for vaccinated and unvaccinated guests):

• PCR – Polymerase chain reaction

It also noted that "A rapid antigen or rapid PCR test is acceptable (of the test types listed above)."

 

Guess the safest way is to schedule both but really hope to find someone had prior experience  that can share .

 

 

[Moonarino]

16 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

...  I would appreciate any feedback regarding the Rapid NAAT for us. ...

Same here, also expecting the Rapid NAAT to get us through the gate.

 

Terminology from one sentence and paragraph to the next is confusing . It's like "fully vaccinated" versus "up to date" regarding vax. Actual word definitions don't seem to mean a lot.

 

[1kaper]

17 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

That is exactly what I and my two DDs (19 & 21) are doing for our May 28 cruise.  Rapid NAAT from Walgreen on Wednesday, May 25.  We have all been boosted.  I would appreciate any feedback regarding the Rapid NAAT for us.  I'm pretty sure Carnival is good with it but if someone has already done this test and taken a cruise, I'd feel more at ease.  Thanks!!

My family and I did the Rapid NAAT at Walgreens in Houston for our sailing out of Galveston. No issues. 

[1kaper]

56 minutes ago, Moonarino said:

Same here, also expecting the Rapid NAAT to get us through the gate.

 

Terminology from one sentence and paragraph to the next is confusing . It's like "fully vaccinated" versus "up to date" regarding vax. Actual word definitions don't seem to mean a lot.

 

 

If you go to the COVID FAQ it outlines what fully vaccinated vs "up to date"

 

What is considered fully vaccinated?

An individual is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after the administration of the last dose in their primary vaccine series. On embarkation day, a minimum of 15 days must have passed since receiving the final dose in a vaccine series. Some countries and regions have a time limit on when the last dose was given to be considered fully vaccinated. Some destinations define a fully vaccinated guests as someone who has received their booster dose, if eligible.

What is considered "up to date" relative to COVID vaccines?

Up to date means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccinations, including any booster dose, when eligible. If a guest is fully vaccinated and not yet eligible for a booster, the guest is also considered up to date and may take their pre-cruise COVID test as early as three days before the cruise. Fully vaccinated guests are encouraged to visit the CDC's website  to determine when they are eligible for a booster.

 

https://www.carnival.com/legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-guest-protocols

Edited May 19, 2022 by 1kaper

[acook620]

1 hour ago, Moonarino said:

Same here, also expecting the Rapid NAAT to get us through the gate.

 

Terminology from one sentence and paragraph to the next is confusing . It's like "fully vaccinated" versus "up to date" regarding vax. Actual word definitions don't seem to mean a lot.

 

I called carnival and she said the rapid NAAT would work for the 4 year old. We did a pcr yesterday before we knew this. We are going to do a rapid NAAT today since the pcr May take too long to come in. I’ll update if we have any issue getting on board this Saturday with a rapid NAAT result for the 4 year old

[Moonarino]

13 hours ago, 1kaper said:

 

If you go to the COVID FAQ it outlines what fully vaccinated vs "up to date"...

I know what the terms mean for Carnival's purposes, thanks.

[acook620]

23 hours ago, micokao said:

Just read through Carnival site carefully again and now I'm really confused. On their COVID protocol , it says " unvaccinated guests age 2 and older must present a negative PCR COVID-19 test " .then under COVID FAQ, they listed PCR as a sub category of NAAT

 

NAAT include (acceptable for vaccinated and unvaccinated guests):

• PCR – Polymerase chain reaction

It also noted that "A rapid antigen or rapid PCR test is acceptable (of the test types listed above)."

 

Guess the safest way is to schedule both but really hope to find someone had prior experience  that can share .

 

 

So we got our pcr results back at just over the 24 hour mark -negative. However, the rapid NAAT we tried today came back invalid, we repeated this evening before the Pcr results came in and the 2nd try was invalid as well. So we are going to use the pcr results to get on the ship. 

[Moonarino]

13 hours ago, acook620 said:

I called carnival and she said the rapid NAAT would work for the 4 year old. We did a pcr yesterday before we knew this. We are going to do a rapid NAAT today since the pcr May take too long to come in. I’ll update if we have any issue getting on board this Saturday with a rapid NAAT result for the 4 year old

I'm sailing out Saturday with a negative NAAT test in hand, so if I can remember to do it I'll confirm sometime this weekend. CCL's FAQs page includes the following:

 

"Guests must be tested with a COVID-19 viral test that is either an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT)."

...

"NAAT include (acceptable for vaccinated and unvaccinated guests):

• PCR – Polymerase chain reaction"

      ... etc, etc (long list of very clinical terms).

 

I think Carnival just uses way too many words, seriously overcomplicates what should be a lot more concise and clear.

 

https://www.carnival.com/Legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-faqs

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Moonarino

[micokao]

45 minutes ago, acook620 said:

So we got our pcr results back at just over the 24 hour mark -negative. However, the rapid NAAT we tried today came back invalid, we repeated this evening before the Pcr results came in and the 2nd try was invalid as well. So we are going to use the pcr results to get on the ship. 

Thank you for the update. This is interesting. I think I will get both PCR and rapid NAAT  as well just in case. 

[micokao]

1 hour ago, acook620 said:

So we got our pcr results back at just over the 24 hour mark -negative. However, the rapid NAAT we tried today came back invalid, we repeated this evening before the Pcr results came in and the 2nd try was invalid as well. So we are going to use the pcr results to get on the ship. 

Also if you don't mind, can you help double check at port if NAAT is acceptable for unvax ones and share the procedure on how they test unvax passengers on the embarkation day. Thank you in advance!

[Srw1969]

First time poster, long time lurker….

 

I was all ready to book my Walgreen’s test for my cruise on 5/30 and Walgreens must have changed the scheduling time allowed. They had been allowing users to book appointments 1 week out. I checked this morning and now appointments only go out to Monday, 5/23. 

 

I do have the Emed tests coming but was planning to use those only as a backup. 
 

Needless to say, my anxiety is at a peak this morning. 

[ninjacat123]

23 minutes ago, Srw1969 said:

First time poster, long time lurker….

 

I was all ready to book my Walgreen’s test for my cruise on 5/30 and Walgreens must have changed the scheduling time allowed. They had been allowing users to book appointments 1 week out. I checked this morning and now appointments only go out to Monday, 5/23. 

 

I do have the Emed tests coming but was planning to use those only as a backup. 
 

Needless to say, my anxiety is at a peak this morning. 

I was able to book our Walgreen's tests for 5/25.  Now I check their schedule and it's only allowing booking to 5/23.  I'm concerned as well.....

[acook620]

2 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

I was able to book our Walgreen's tests for 5/25.  Now I check their schedule and it's only allowing booking to 5/23.  I'm concerned as well.....

Someone looked yesterday and it was out to 5/22. Seems they have moved back to a 3 day scheduling window

[nighthawk632]

Sure would be nice to get confirmation of that.... come on Walgreens.

[5Elephants]

Now that boosters are available for ages 5-11, suddenly my kids went from fully vaccinated to partially vaccinated.

We board next week. Even if they get boosted today they won't be considered fully vaccinated for 2 weeks.

Does this mean I have to change the kids' testing appointments to be within 48 hours instead of 72?

This has been so stressful. I've worked so hard to do everything right but this last-minute change is putting me over the edge.

This is our first cruise and my first post. Thanks for all the help this board has given me already. 

Edited May 20, 2022 by 5Elephants
Spelling

[acook620]

43 minutes ago, 5Elephants said:

Now that boosters are available for ages 5-11, suddenly my kids went from fully vaccinated to partially vaccinated.

We board next week. Even if they get boosted today they won't be considered fully vaccinated for 2 weeks.

Does this mean I have to change the kids' testing appointments to be within 48 hours instead of 72?

This has been so stressful. I've worked so hard to do everything right but this last-minute change is putting me over the edge.

This is our first cruise and my first post. Thanks for all the help this board has given me already. 

We ended up doing 48hours out because VeriFLY wouldn’t accept results done at 72 hours because we were more than 150 days past their last dose

[5Elephants]

2 minutes ago, acook620 said:

We ended up doing 48hours out because VeriFLY wouldn’t accept results done at 72 hours because we were more than 150 days past their last dose

Thanks. Ok I'll move their testing appointments to within 48 hours. Stinks to lose the 72 hour cushion for results coming back. Hopefully a few appointments are still available. 

[Moonarino]

At least Walgreens is fast. They advertise "within two hours" for the rapid tests. My NAAT result hit my email no more than an hour after I did the swab.

[topaz123]

Boy...this dreadful rapid test is a real crusher....Way too much for those vaccinated and with a Booster on top of that.

[travelhound]

15 hours ago, topaz123 said:

Boy...this dreadful rapid test is a real crusher....Way too much for those vaccinated and with a Booster on top of that.

Yup, passengers that are fully vaccinated should not also be required to take a test.

[M&A]

21 hours ago, topaz123 said:

Boy...this dreadful rapid test is a real crusher....Way too much for those vaccinated and with a Booster on top of that.

Yes it's too much and with the Booster too. 

We are sailing out of Dover UK on the Pride, the requirement is for everyone over 12 to be boosted.   

There are British passengers that have already booked the cruise with kids,  but in Britain kids under 16 have not been approved for the booster.

 

[topaz123]

7 hours ago, travelhound said:

Yup, passengers that are fully vaccinated should not also be required to take a test.

Yes sir......

[topaz123]

43 minutes ago, M&A said:

Yes it's too much and with the Booster too. 

We are sailing out of Dover UK on the Pride, the requirement is for everyone over 12 to be boosted.   

There are British passengers that have already booked the cruise with kids,  but in Britain kids under 16 have not been approved for the booster.

 

Already talk of a Booster #3 coming....the endless wheel.