Questions related to all things Covid testing relating to Princess Cruises

[Host CJSKIDS]

I thought I would start a thread where everyone can place their questions and get answers as it relates to Princess Cruises as so many threads are popping up.  Whether it’s in person testing, what’s accepted, proctored testing, etc.s  

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

I thought I would start a thread where everyone can place their questions and get answers as it relates to Princess Cruises as so many threads are popping up.  Whether it’s in person testing, what’s accepted, proctored testing, etc.s  

This might answer questions about the PCR test requirements that were supposed to go into effect on Jan 7th.

 

Good news on the Bahamas:

Just got this email from US Embassy

in the Bahamas 

Location:  The Bahamas

Event:   Updated Entry and Travel Protocols – On January 4, the Bahamian government announced changes to its mandatory entry requirements.

Due to the nature of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, entry, travel and health requirements for The Bahamas are subject to modification at any time. 
 

The Bahamas has suspended the mandatory RT-PCR testing requirement for vaccinated travelers, which was expected to take effect on January 7, 2022. Vaccinated travelers, as well as children ages 2-11, may continue to present either a negative Rapid Antigen Test or negative RT-PCR Test.  
 

Thank goodness!

 

[cr8tiv1]

Found my answer on another thread.

 

@Host CJSKIDS  thanks for starting this thread.  

Edited January 7, 2022 by cr8tiv1

[mturvey]

We are from the UK and finding it difficult to find somewhere in San Francisco to get a Covid test for the cruise.  We are fully vaccinated and have boosters.  Princess recommended the DocGo site but it only allows US addresses when trying to book, although it did allow us to put in a UK phone number.

Therefore, does anyone know if we can bring UK antigen tests with us and video to the health centre in the UK via our phones and submit that result?  Is that acceptable or will they only accept US results?  
We also read something about requiring a 3-5 day test if arriving internationally in California and we are hoping the one for the cruise will be sufficient as we are three days in Vegas followed by three days in SF? We have to have a test 1day before we leave UK already.  
I do hope our cruise on the Ruby in March will be worth it as it has been postponed for a couple of years now!

[Radio007]

We just finished our COVID testing for a 1/8 cruise. It was easy and fast. You can book a COVID test 10 days in advance at a CVS Minute Clinic. All appointments are filled within a week out but you can still book for later days. I suspect that if you are sailing in March all COVID fast tests will be available by then at Walgreens, CVS or any Urgent Care center here in the US. Cheers!

 

[mturvey]

Thank you but when checking the CVS site it says only available for U S citizens which seems to be the case for all of the other sites we have checked.  
 

[JF - retired RRT]

35 minutes ago, mturvey said:

Thank you but when checking the CVS site it says only available for U S citizens which seems to be the case for all of the other sites we have checked.  
 

Maybe let Princess test you at the port. I know there's a charge for US residents, but it might be free to non-res. You do have to make an advance appt.

Of course, March is a long way off. Who knows what will be required/offered by then.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, mturvey said:

We are from the UK and finding it difficult to find somewhere in San Francisco to get a Covid test for the cruise.  We are fully vaccinated and have boosters.  Princess recommended the DocGo site but it only allows US addresses when trying to book, although it did allow us to put in a UK phone number.

Therefore, does anyone know if we can bring UK antigen tests with us and video to the health centre in the UK via our phones and submit that result?  Is that acceptable or will they only accept US results?  
We also read something about requiring a 3-5 day test if arriving internationally in California and we are hoping the one for the cruise will be sufficient as we are three days in Vegas followed by three days in SF? We have to have a test 1day before we leave UK already.  
I do hope our cruise on the Ruby in March will be worth it as it has been postponed for a couple of years now!

As far as the UK proctored test, I would call Princess and ask.  From what I read, it said for US based guests.  Good question.

 

Are you flying from Las Vegas to Sfo?  If so, you could check airport testing on arrival.

 

As far as testing 3-5 days after arrival in SFO, that is recommended by the Dept if health, not required.  You do need to be tested already to come into the US 1 day before.  AND within 2 days before your cruise.

 

I have a link below that lists walk ups or drive ups and also clinics in SFO.  You would need to email them or call.  i checked in Florida and a lot of clinics said International customers were welcome. Their prices varied at the clinics.

 

Also reach out to those on the UK CC site.  Canadians also have some of these issues.  Wish PCL would just test before departure like in the UK.  They have not said about pier testing beyond Jan 9th, so far.

 

Anyone out there find a SFO that takes

International guests?
 

 

https://sf.gov/get-tested-appointment

 

Let us know on here if you find a place and if I can help you further?

Tonna

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, mturvey said:

We are from the UK and finding it difficult to find somewhere in San Francisco to get a Covid test for the cruise.  We are fully vaccinated and have boosters.  Princess recommended the DocGo site but it only allows US addresses when trying to book, although it did allow us to put in a UK phone number.

Therefore, does anyone know if we can bring UK antigen tests with us and video to the health centre in the UK via our phones and submit that result?  Is that acceptable or will they only accept US results?  
We also read something about requiring a 3-5 day test if arriving internationally in California and we are hoping the one for the cruise will be sufficient as we are three days in Vegas followed by three days in SF? We have to have a test 1day before we leave UK already.  
I do hope our cruise on the Ruby in March will be worth it as it has been postponed for a couple of years now!

Here’s the SFO airport link for testing, if you are flying into SFO.

https://www.flysfo.com/travel-well/covid-19-testing
 

[redrocks07]

We have just cancelled 2 Celebrity cruises and booked a 1/19 Grand Princess cruise out of LA. In preparation for the X cruises we ordered 2 test kits from X that came from the Optum Store. The kits are Abbot Ag Card Home Test kits and it looks like eMed is the proctor. Do you think these kits would satisfy Princess's pre-arival test requirement? 

 

Also, there is a topic on another thread indicating a problem with iPhone ios problems with emed. Does anyone know if that has been fixed?

Edited January 7, 2022 by redrocks07

[sarahbpate]

32 minutes ago, redrocks07 said:

We have just cancelled 2 Celebrity cruises and booked a 1/19 Grand Princess cruise out of LA. In preparation for the X cruises we ordered 2 test kits from X that came from the Optum Store. The kits are Abbot Ag Card Home Test kits and it looks like eMed is the proctor. Do you think these kits would satisfy Princess's pre-arival test requirement? 

 

Also, there is a topic on another thread indicating a problem with iPhone ios problems with emed. Does anyone know if that has been fixed?

We had no issues with eMed with our iPhones. I would suggest placing your iPhone on "Do Not Disturb" when getting ready to complete your test. I did get disconnected when someone tried calling me. I was able to get reconnected with another rep and we picked up right where I left off!

[redrocks07]

6 minutes ago, sarahbpate said:

We had no issues with eMed with our iPhones. I would suggest placing your iPhone on "Do Not Disturb" when getting ready to complete your test. I did get disconnected when someone tried calling me. I was able to get reconnected with another rep and we picked up right where I left off!

Thanks for the reply. I did a search on Princess website and it looks like the Abbot kit that we have is acceptable and with the two day window we may actually be able to use our home PC. When you set up your test session did you have to wait very long for a proctor?

[sarahbpate]

21 minutes ago, redrocks07 said:

Thanks for the reply. I did a search on Princess website and it looks like the Abbot kit that we have is acceptable and with the two day window we may actually be able to use our home PC. When you set up your test session did you have to wait very long for a proctor?

Not at all! I think I waited maybe three minutes in the queue. My husband only waited one minute. We sail tomorrow (Saturday). We took our tests around 9am on Thursday.

[mturvey]

8 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

As far as the UK proctored test, I would call Princess and ask.  From what I read, it said for US based guests.  Good question.

 

Are you flying from Las Vegas to Sfo?  If so, you could check airport testing on arrival.

 

As far as testing 3-5 days after arrival in SFO, that is recommended by the Dept if health, not required.  You do need to be tested already to come into the US 1 day before.  AND within 2 days before your cruise.

 

I have a link below that lists walk ups or drive ups and also clinics in SFO.  You would need to email them or call.  i checked in Florida and a lot of clinics said International customers were welcome. Their prices varied at the clinics.

 

Also reach out to those on the UK CC site.  Canadians also have some of these issues.  Wish PCL would just test before departure like in the UK.  They have not said about pier testing beyond Jan 9th, so far.

 

Anyone out there find a SFO that takes

International guests?
 

 

https://sf.gov/get-tested-appointment

 

Let us know on here if you find a place and if I can help you further?

Tonna

Thank you for your help Tonna.  We called Princess last week who recommended DocGo at the port but without us realising that we could not enter a UK address.  If things don’t change nearer to the time then we will call them again.  To be honest I can’t see the tests before cruising being scrapped anytime soon.

We are travelling to the airport but it is 3 days beforehand, so too early for the cruise test.  
We have found a couple of places for international tourists in SFO but they seem to be extremely expensive at over $250 each.  The UK is only about $25 for the same test in a clinic!

I will check out your link and keep researching.

I appreciate any advice provided.
 

[PacnGoNow]

9 minutes ago, mturvey said:

Thank you for your help Tonna.  We called Princess last week who recommended DocGo at the port but without us realising that we could not enter a UK address.  If things don’t change nearer to the time then we will call them again.  To be honest I can’t see the tests before cruising being scrapped anytime soon.

We are travelling to the airport but it is 3 days beforehand, so too early for the cruise test.  
We have found a couple of places for international tourists in SFO but they seem to be extremely expensive at over $250 each.  The UK is only about $25 for the same test in a clinic!

I will check out your link and keep researching.

I appreciate any advice provided.
 

You’re welcome.  I’ll see what I can find out.  
 

[PacnGoNow]

11 minutes ago, mturvey said:

Thank you for your help Tonna.  We called Princess last week who recommended DocGo at the port but without us realising that we could not enter a UK address.  If things don’t change nearer to the time then we will call them again.  To be honest I can’t see the tests before cruising being scrapped anytime soon.

We are travelling to the airport but it is 3 days beforehand, so too early for the cruise test.  
We have found a couple of places for international tourists in SFO but they seem to be extremely expensive at over $250 each.  The UK is only about $25 for the same test in a clinic!

I will check out your link and keep researching.

I appreciate any advice provided.
 

What is the address of your hotel in SFO?

Also, send an email to your hotel snd ask if they know of a clinic nearby that will test international guests?  They usually are aware.  Are you staying near the airport Sfo or in the city?

 

 

[mturvey]

We are staying at the Mark Hopkins.  Nob Hill.  
 

[PacnGoNow]

2 minutes ago, mturvey said:

We are staying at the Mark Hopkins.  Nob Hill.  
 

Love that hotel!  I bet if you message them, they can help!  

[mturvey]

Thank you.  I will definitely try that route.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, mturvey said:

Thank you.  I will definitely try that route.

Also, find out the closest CVS, if they ate testing, you can just put in the hotel zip code when it asks for a zipcode to book. I don’t see why they wouldn’t take a self pay?  For US citizens its free, but they list

they list the price for the tests.  When you find out from the Hotel the best place to go, we can check the cvs nearest them.

I’m sure a lit of changes will happen before March.  But I am a planner too.

 

We have a shortage of tests now, but in a month things will improve.  So, this will meed to be rechecked in about a month.

 

Also, hoping Princess will do pier testing.

Watch the website for any updates.

 

stay safe… Tonna

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PacnGoNow]

Just now, PacnGoNow said:

Also, find out the closest CVS, if they ate testing, you can just put in the hotel zip code when it asks for a zipcode to book. I don’t see why they wouldn’t take a self pay?  For US citizens its free, but they list

they list the price for the tests.  When you find out from the Hotel the best place to go, we can check the cvs nearest them.

I’m sure a lot of changes will happen before March.  But I am a planner too.

 

We have a shortage of tests now, but in a month things will improve.  So, this will meed to be rechecked in about a month.

 

Also, hoping Princess will do pier testing.

Watch the website for any updates.

 

stay safe… Tonna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[trbarton]

17 hours ago, mturvey said:

We are from the UK and finding it difficult to find somewhere in San Francisco to get a Covid test for the cruise.  We are fully vaccinated and have boosters.  Princess recommended the DocGo site but it only allows US addresses when trying to book, although it did allow us to put in a UK phone number.

Therefore, does anyone know if we can bring UK antigen tests with us and video to the health centre in the UK via our phones and submit that result?  Is that acceptable or will they only accept US results?  
We also read something about requiring a 3-5 day test if arriving internationally in California and we are hoping the one for the cruise will be sufficient as we are three days in Vegas followed by three days in SF? We have to have a test 1day before we leave UK already.  
I do hope our cruise on the Ruby in March will be worth it as it has been postponed for a couple of years now!

I’ve read that they do testing at the port, pier 27, in San Francisco. Check with Princess to confirm. 
 

Tom😀

[mturvey]

The CVS sites come up with an error if not based in the US.  The message says this is for US residents only.  
I will wait until next month and contact the hotel and Princess again.
We no longer need PCR tests to get back into the UK so one less test to worry about.

[kamelia]

11 hours ago, mturvey said:

We are staying at the Mark Hopkins.  Nob Hill.  
 

You might also consider checking with the hotel to see if you can have something sent to you in care of the hotel.  If so, order the test kits from links on the Princess website and have them sent to the hotel. 

 

It would probably be prudent to ask the person at the hotel you're speaking with if they would be amenable to having the delivery sent to their attention to help minimize any confusion if the package arrives before you do.

 

Hope this helps!

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, mturvey said:

The CVS sites come up with an error if not based in the US.  The message says this is for US residents only.  
I will wait until next month and contact the hotel and Princess again.
We no longer need PCR tests to get back into the UK so one less test to worry about.

Prob due to computer security.  Yes, I would wait also, because of all the changes going on.  Best of luck to you.

IF you do need a test to return to the UK, PCL will do that for free when you disembark, if you need it.  
Take care and stay safe across the pond,

my friend!

Tonna