Questions related to all things Covid testing relating to Princess Cruises

[Honolulu Blue]

4 hours ago, Mistuk72 said:

Sailing from Southampton UK in July, I don’t find the wording very clear on the FAQ of the Princess website - does the test HAVE to be medically observed? It talks about “we recommend a medically observed…”

 

My daughter who is travelling with us is disabled and gets extremely anxious if she has to do a test in front of someone or with someone on a video call. 
 

Anyone know the answer? I’ve tried calling Princess but can’t get through. 

This isn't an official answer, but I think you guys have a big problem.  I can't imagine Princess or whomever they contract with accepting a LFT/antigen stick from a self-test that they didn't observe.  They certainly don't anywhere in the US.

 

You've talked around the three choices - proctored at-home test, self-test at terminal while being watched, or test taken by medical personnel.  I don't think your daughter is going to like any of them.  Maybe a call to the special needs department is in order?  Good luck with whatever you decide to do. 🙏

[d9704011]

4 hours ago, Mistuk72 said:

Sailing from Southampton UK in July, I don’t find the wording very clear on the FAQ of the Princess website - does the test HAVE to be medically observed? It talks about “we recommend a medically observed…”

 

My daughter who is travelling with us is disabled and gets extremely anxious if she has to do a test in front of someone or with someone on a video call. 
 

Anyone know the answer? I’ve tried calling Princess but can’t get through. 
 

 

I find the wording abundantly clear.  The recommendation has more to do with avoiding last minute hiccups and delays, not the need for a test to be performed under medical supervision.

 

Based on current European Union Healthy Gateways (EUHG) guidelines, to board the ship, all guests ages five years and above will require a medically observed, negative viral COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) result taken within three days of embarkation. These protocols are subject to change and we’ll communicate any updates as they become available.

[kamelia]

4 hours ago, Mistuk72 said:

Sailing from Southampton UK in July, I don’t find the wording very clear on the FAQ of the Princess website - does the test HAVE to be medically observed? It talks about “we recommend a medically observed…”

 

My daughter who is travelling with us is disabled and gets extremely anxious if she has to do a test in front of someone or with someone on a video call. 
 

Anyone know the answer? I’ve tried calling Princess but can’t get through. 
 

 

With the current rules and regulations, I don't think there is any way around having a medically observed test.  Could you get some self-tests ahead of time and rehearse with her to help relieve some of the anxiety with not knowing what to expect?  Or maybe find an in-person testing site that would be willing to set up a screen so that she could be medically observed at an acceptable distance or angle without the person being directly across the table?  Ask if it's possible for you to be the one to hand her the materials and walk her through the process as the authorized medical person observed to preserve the integrity of the test results.  Just a couple of thoughts I had when reading your query.

[sha1955]

2 hours ago, sha1955 said:

On the Sky in April it was 2 days for Antigen 3 for PCR.

On Regal in July and it states 3 days. Can anybody confirm if I am ok with medically observed antigen within 3 days?

 

Found the answer to my own question! 3 days for both

Fully Vaccinated (ages 18 years old and above)	At least 14 days past completion of a primary vaccine series and no more than 270 days (9 months) from the date of disembarkation since receiving the last dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine. A booster dose is required for guests 18 and older if the last COVID-19 vaccine dose in series is older than 9 months (270 days) from the date of disembarkation.	Antigen or PCR	Within 3 days

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thinking of booking a last minute sailing (just a little over a week away) on Caribbean Princess out of Ft Lauderdale.  Have had medical issues but hoping I can finally cruise again. 

 

Question, is there an option to get Covid tested at the pier before sailing?  I do not think I will have time to get the test sent to my home before we leave.  Open to any other suggestions.  We are both fully vaccinated and had boosters (total 4 shots). 
 

thanks! 
 

 

[Buckeye10640]

54 minutes ago, sunsetbeachgal said:

Thinking of booking a last minute sailing (just a little over a week away) on Caribbean Princess out of Ft Lauderdale.  Have had medical issues but hoping I can finally cruise again. 

 

Question, is there an option to get Covid tested at the pier before sailing?  I do not think I will have time to get the test sent to my home before we leave.  Open to any other suggestions.  We are both fully vaccinated and had boosters (total 4 shots). 
 

thanks! 
 

 

Can you schedule  a Rapid NAAT test at a local Walgreens before traveling? Or I have read of many using Lab Doctor in Ft. Lauderdale. Its a few miles from the cruise port. We walked by it when in town for cruises but have not used them. 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Buckeye10640

[Userclown]

5 hours ago, sha1955 said:

On the Sky in April it was 2 days for Antigen 3 for PCR.

On Regal in July and it states 3 days. Can anybody confirm if I am ok with medically observed antigen within 3 days?

 

Vaccine with booster, 3 days. Vaccine without booster 3 days PCR and 2 days antigen. US and Canada departures. All of this is very clear on the website.

[Userclown]

44 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Can you schedule  a Rapid NAAT test at a local Walgreens before traveling? Or I have read of many using Lab Doctor in Ft. Lauderdale. Its a few miles from the cruise port. We walked by it when in town for cruises but have not used them. 

Walgreens NAAT is good and for you can be done up to 3 days before departure. Yes, go on their website to make an appointment. If you don’t have a car you will need to call them for special arrangements. There is no fee for this test.

[Tedferg]

14 hours ago, nini said:

Actually sail day is counted . There used to be an example on the Princess website and they stated: If yo sail on a Monday, then 3 days ahead would be on Friday.

As an example, for a fully vaccinated guest sailing on Sunday, the two-day antigen test may be taken on Friday or Saturday, and as late as Sunday, if you are guaranteed to receive your results in time for check-in.

 

Sorry to be picky but in your example of Monday sail, Sunday, Saturday, Friday are 3 days, so not counting Monday. I argued that Sail Day was counted before this was pointed out to me.

[inside out]

I'm getting confused with the testing days, we fly into the US on a Thursday and board the ship on the Sunday, if we can test upto 3 days before boarding which day is the earliest the Thursday or Friday? Has anyone used Rocketmed in San Francisco for their preboarding lft?

[jc foster]

Need Clarification. I am boosted my wife is not. We are sailing from then back to Fort Lauderdale on a Caribbean cruise. If we sail on Wednesday  I can receive the fast Antigen any time on a Sunday and she can receive it anytime on a Monday? Is this correct ? thanks Clark

[LT Hambone]

My apologies if this has already been asked!

 

 

We are on the Emerald in August, reading through the requirements, we need a negative test to board (got that covered!), and we need a negative test to fly back to the US. Looking at the Princess FAQ it says,

 

"If a negative COVID-19 test is required for re-entry into your home country, Princess will cover the costs of tests, provided guests can show proof that their flight arrangements are the same day as they disembark the ship."

 

Questions!

 

• Assuming the testing is being done on-board?
• A previous post from someone who was on the Emerald last month said the on-board testing was a mess - did I read that correctly?
• We are flying out same day as disembarkation - if we don't get tested on the ship, does Heathrow offer testing?

 

I do agree with multiple posters - this is incredibly stressful to have to figure out and execute. And if you miss one step, one test, one piece of documentation, the trip could be a ruined mess!

 

Thanks!

[kiwimum]

43 minutes ago, LT Hambone said:

My apologies if this has already been asked!

 

 

We are on the Emerald in August, reading through the requirements, we need a negative test to board (got that covered!), and we need a negative test to fly back to the US. Looking at the Princess FAQ it says,

 

"If a negative COVID-19 test is required for re-entry into your home country, Princess will cover the costs of tests, provided guests can show proof that their flight arrangements are the same day as they disembark the ship."

 

Questions!

 

• Assuming the testing is being done on-board?
• A previous post from someone who was on the Emerald last month said the on-board testing was a mess - did I read that correctly?
• We are flying out same day as disembarkation - if we don't get tested on the ship, does Heathrow offer testing?

 

I do agree with multiple posters - this is incredibly stressful to have to figure out and execute. And if you miss one step, one test, one piece of documentation, the trip could be a ruined mess!

 

Thanks!

We were on the Emerald for a couple of weeks and disembarked May 9.  Passengers with same day flights were tested May 8.   It was very organized and quick.   Everyone was asked to return to their stateroom to wait for results.   If you did not receive a call within 30-45 minutes you were free to continue daily routine.  Copies of the test results were delivered that evening.

As of May 16 testing was available at the terminal in Heathrow.   

[LT Hambone]

@kiwimum - Thank you for the quick, put a smile on my face! How early was the testing? We have a 9 AM tour, hoping there will be enough time to test and make the tour.

 

Woot!

[kiwimum]

40 minutes ago, LT Hambone said:

@kiwimum - Thank you for the quick, put a smile on my face! How early was the testing? We have a 9 AM tour, hoping there will be enough time to test and make the tour.

 

Woot!

Testing started at 8:00am, I think.   If you are on a Princess excursion, they will accommodate you with an appt later in the day.   They did this on our January and March cruises.  
Enjoy your trip.  Take over the counter tests with you and test  yourself if you have any issues.   Cuts down on isolation time.

[Userclown]

8 hours ago, LT Hambone said:

My apologies if this has already been asked!

 

 

We are on the Emerald in August, reading through the requirements, we need a negative test to board (got that covered!), and we need a negative test to fly back to the US. Looking at the Princess FAQ it says,

 

"If a negative COVID-19 test is required for re-entry into your home country, Princess will cover the costs of tests, provided guests can show proof that their flight arrangements are the same day as they disembark the ship."

 

Questions!

 

• Assuming the testing is being done on-board?
• A previous post from someone who was on the Emerald last month said the on-board testing was a mess - did I read that correctly?
• We are flying out same day as disembarkation - if we don't get tested on the ship, does Heathrow offer testing?

 

I do agree with multiple posters - this is incredibly stressful to have to figure out and execute. And if you miss one step, one test, one piece of documentation, the trip could be a ruined mess!

 

Thanks!

I have been on a couple of cruises that Princess conducted testing and it was extremely well organized. 

[Earthworm Jim]

On 6/1/2022 at 10:24 PM, stevenr597 said:

Molecular Test

 

Yeah, but that doesn't clear up anything because Princess' guidance says PCR and antigen for Canada departures, not molecular test like the Canadian requirement says.

 

Everyone, most recently Buckeye10640, says NAAT is accepted as PCR. But it would clarify things much better if Princess just said "molecular test" as Canada does.

[Earthworm Jim]

23 hours ago, Userclown said:

Vaccine with booster, 3 days. Vaccine without booster 3 days PCR and 2 days antigen. US and Canada departures. All of this is very clear on the website.

 

Not clear at all, because a Rapid NAAT technically is neither a PCR nor an antigen test. Assumption seems to be it is treated as a PCR though.

Edited June 3, 2022 by Earthworm Jim

[Tedferg]

6 hours ago, Userclown said:

I have been on a couple of cruises that Princess conducted testing and it was extremely well organized. 

I thought Princess had stopped ding tests. We fly home from Quebec on disembark day in Sept. Would be so much nicer if we did not have to find a place to test.

[Martha1974]

On 6/1/2022 at 8:35 PM, devonuk said:

Is that correct?

When we tested at Southampton in March it was just a case of dropping the luggage off and then walking across the road to the test centre and joining the queue (we were lucky that when we arrived there wasn’t a queue and we walked straight in). Once tested we joined the (very long) queue to get into the terminal and we got the test results while we were waiting (approx 15 mins). But that was back in March, so anything could have changed since then! 

[Princess Chatterer]

The Inspire on-line witnessed rapid Covid test was easy.  The Walgreens witnessed rapid test was also easy.  Princess was calling passengers with direct bookings to tell them that they could take their rapid test kit to the dock for witnessing.  When we checked in for our Island Princess cruise in LA the podium girl appeared to only be looking for the word "negative" and not the date of the test.  Even with everybody having testing papers when boarding 120 (or more) ended up with Covid on our LA to FLL cruise.  The Island Princess had already set aside 29 do-no-enter this area cabins for Covid people, complete with a "donning" cabin just outside the restricted Emerald Covid deck area.  Horizon Court had a staff monitored hand washing basin at the Horizon Court entrances and NO food was allowed to be scooped by passengers.

Edited June 3, 2022 by Princess Chatterer

[Userclown]

2 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Not clear at all, because a Rapid NAAT technically is neither a PCR nor an antigen test. Assumption seems to be it is treated as a PCR though.

We are doing NAAT 2 days. Should be acceptable 

[JF - retired RRT]

18 hours ago, jc foster said:

Need Clarification. I am boosted my wife is not. We are sailing from then back to Fort Lauderdale on a Caribbean cruise. If we sail on Wednesday  I can receive the fast Antigen any time on a Sunday and she can receive it anytime on a Monday? Is this correct ? thanks Clark

Or both on Monday?

[Buckeye10640]

3 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Yeah, but that doesn't clear up anything because Princess' guidance says PCR and antigen for Canada departures, not molecular test like the Canadian requirement says.

 

Everyone, most recently Buckeye10640, says NAAT is accepted as PCR. But it would clarify things much better if Princess just said "molecular test" as Canada does.

I got NAAT/PCR info from the Princess site (plus my own independent research via googling..lol)

 

[mya603]

Princess, please just stop all this testing!