Questions related to all things Covid testing relating to Princess Cruises

[PacnGoNow]

3 hours ago, WEGL81 said:

Question regarding uploaded vax card photo to Medallion app.  I have been checked in to my upcoming in July Majestic Princess ship for more than a month now.  I uploaded a photo of my vax card at the time.  It still shows as "Pending Approval" more than a month later.  Is this something I should be concerned about?  Or is it just a quirk of the system?  I realize it probably doesn't make a difference since I will have to produce the card at boarding anyway, but I am always on the lookout for "gotchas" that could cause a holdup.  As a comparison, I uploaded the same picture to the Delta FlyReady system and it was verified in less than an hour.  TIA.

It doesn’t change until you show your docs at the port.  Maybe eventually it will be implemented. Now, just take all you docs with you to show.

[covidcruiser987654321]

Has anyone had any experience with having testing done at a doctors office? Our covid test results has all of the information necessary as shown on the princess website, and it is signed at rhe bottom by the physician who did the rapid test. Just worried that we arnt having it done at a pharmacy like everyone else! Has anyone else had any issues with providing paper covid rapid test results? We are coming from Canada! Thanks

[coo359a2]

1 hour ago, covidcruiser987654321 said:

Has anyone had any experience with having testing done at a doctors office? Our covid test results has all of the information necessary as shown on the princess website, and it is signed at rhe bottom by the physician who did the rapid test. Just worried that we arnt having it done at a pharmacy like everyone else! Has anyone else had any issues with providing paper covid rapid test results? We are coming from Canada! Thanks

Besides  Walgreens, we have had our testing done in  walk in medical clinics. The clinics have always given us written  test results documentation and no problem getting to board the ship

[travelhound]

On 6/28/2022 at 5:49 AM, SargassoPirate said:

Some good news on the horizon.  From the article:

 

"It's possible, maybe even likely, that the CDC eventually treats cruise lines like every other place in the U.S. that draws a crowd. That would mean sort of accepting that covid infections will happen but that they can be manage."

 

As Covid Rages, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Could Drop Testing Rules - TheStreet

Yup, it's about time 👍 

[Tedferg]

How do you make sure proctored test is in view for the complete test? I would not have enough room in front of my PC for this. Also iPad on stand would not be easy to make sure test card is always in view. Maybe you need to have someone act as camera man. WE have done several home test recently and it seems it would take a lot of care not to interrupt the Proctor's view.

[Honolulu Blue]

5 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

How do you make sure proctored test is in view for the complete test? I would not have enough room in front of my PC for this. Also iPad on stand would not be easy to make sure test card is always in view. Maybe you need to have someone act as camera man. WE have done several home test recently and it seems it would take a lot of care not to interrupt the Proctor's view.

I've used a laptop for my tests, which I think makes things easier. I put it on a small folding desk which has enough room for the test itself. The rest of the stuff you don't need and I set aside. I have also heard of others using helpers, which should also work.

[sjde]

Woo-hoo- we just got our negative test results! And  so have three more of the nine we’re going with.

 

I have never heard of the NAAT test -it must be something used in Europe or Canada?

And we did not get a QR code -just a sheet of paper and an email stating we were negative.

[nini]

1 hour ago, Tedferg said:

How do you make sure proctored test is in view for the complete test? I would not have enough room in front of my PC for this. Also iPad on stand would not be easy to make sure test card is always in view. Maybe you need to have someone act as camera man. WE have done several home test recently and it seems it would take a lot of care not to interrupt the Proctor's view.

We used our IPhones at our London hotel. We just propped the IPhone up against some books next to the wall behind the desk. The test was on the desk in front of the phone (Facetime)

[voljeep]

40 minutes ago, sjde said:

Woo-hoo- we just got our negative test results! And  so have three more of the nine we’re going with.

 

I have never heard of the NAAT test -it must be something used in Europe or Canada?

And we did not get a QR code -just a sheet of paper and an email stating we were negative.

as I am posting this - my wife is taking this test - my day 5 after testing positive ... she has been negative the whole time

 

Is RT PCR Naat?

This is the gold standard of COVID-19 tests, with the most accurate results available. A RT-PCR test (or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) uses Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAAT) to detect genetic material. NAAT's can be performed with a nose swab — with something that looks like a long Q-tip — or with saliva.

[travelhound]

3 hours ago, Tedferg said:

How do you make sure proctored test is in view for the complete test? I would not have enough room in front of my PC for this. Also iPad on stand would not be easy to make sure test card is always in view. Maybe you need to have someone act as camera man. WE have done several home test recently and it seems it would take a lot of care not to interrupt the Proctor's view.

We have used a laptop, but make sure you have adequate bandwidth.  We had connectivity problems when taking the test in our hotel room.  If you lose the connection you have to start over with a new test.

[voljeep]

55 minutes ago, voljeep said:

as I am posting this - my wife is taking this test - my day 5 after testing positive ... she has been negative the whole time

Negative again ...

[SargassoPirate]

7 hours ago, travelhound said:

Yup, it's about time 👍 

The virus is here to stay and testing/quarantining people who are not sick no longer makes sense. I just checked the CDC website and the daily death rate from covid is 307. We will never get to the threshold of zero cases or zero deaths with covid any more than we will with the annual flu. ICU beds are going begging in our area.

 

 

[Tedferg]

6 hours ago, nini said:

We used our IPhones at our London hotel. We just propped the IPhone up against some books next to the wall behind the desk. The test was on the desk in front of the phone (Facetime)

It would seem the proctor has a limited view of the test card etc. How does he/she see you swipe your nostril? I had thought to use our desktop PC, as we have done for Zoom meetings with our Dr. but there is not enough room on desktop to see test kit, the down angle would be too sharp. Perhaps viewing the nostril swab, applying Q tip to solution and dripping solution onto test strip are three separate events for viewing, i.e. all three steps are not seen in one image.

[nini]

20 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

It would seem the proctor has a limited view of the test card etc. How does he/she see you swipe your nostril? I had thought to use our desktop PC, as we have done for Zoom meetings with our Dr. but there is not enough room on desktop to see test kit, the down angle would be too sharp. Perhaps viewing the nostril swab, applying Q tip to solution and dripping solution onto test strip are three separate events for viewing, i.e. all three steps are not seen in one image.

Our IPhone on FaceTime showed everything. She watched us open the box, prepare the items, swab our nose and place the QTip where it needed to be. Of course she was able to coach us to make sure she saw all of our actions. I researched this on CC and was encouraged by others that this would work and it did. We very relieved. Of course we did not want to haul our laptop to the British Isles and brought our I Phones.

You can do this! 

[Tedferg]

23 minutes ago, nini said:

Our IPhone on FaceTime showed everything. She watched us open the box, prepare the items, swab our nose and place the QTip where it needed to be. Of course she was able to coach us to make sure she saw all of our actions. I researched this on CC and was encouraged by others that this would work and it did. We very relieved. Of course we did not want to haul our laptop to the British Isles and brought our I Phones.

You can do this! 

Thanks for the confirmation. 

[Expo67]

As the CDC only controls ships sailing in US waters does anyone wonder who governs control of ships in Europe? Does it mainly fall on the jurisdiction of countries where the ship is porting? 

[insidecabin]

7 hours ago, Expo67 said:

As the CDC only controls ships sailing in US waters does anyone wonder who governs control of ships in Europe? Does it mainly fall on the jurisdiction of countries where the ship is porting? 

Each country can make it own rules there are EU heathy gateway guidelines that cover most but the cruise lines are not following all the recommendations

https://www.healthygateways.eu/Portals/0/plcdocs/EUHG_Operational_guidelines_CoV_June2022.pdf?ver=2022-06-10-140149-413

 

Might explain why some are sticking with upto 5% unvaccinated as the testing requirement if they go over(7.5) are much more stringent.

[trvlwrld]

When we cruise in November, our 4th booster will be more than 270 days old, can we even get a 5th shot or are we not able to cruise?

[travelhound]

17 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

The virus is here to stay and testing/quarantining people who are not sick no longer makes sense. I just checked the CDC website and the daily death rate from covid is 307. We will never get to the threshold of zero cases or zero deaths with covid any more than we will with the annual flu. ICU beds are going begging in our area.

 

 

👍

[wowzz]

38 minutes ago, trvlwrld said:

When we cruise in November, our 4th booster will be more than 270 days old, can we even get a 5th shot or are we not able to cruise?

The 270 rule refers to the two initial covid vaccinations, not the booster.  As it stands at present, as long as you have had a booster, there is no time restriction.

[vanreg]

My Princess email says we need a PCR or antigen test.  Walgreens doesn't have antigen tests available, they have a Rapid NAAT test.  Will Princess accept that?

[capriccio]

16 minutes ago, vanreg said:

My Princess email says we need a PCR or antigen test.  Walgreens doesn't have antigen tests available, they have a Rapid NAAT test.  Will Princess accept that?

Yes.  We've used that test twice in the last 6 months.

[Willwils]

We were planning to get a rapid NAAT test on 7/3/22 at Walgreens for our cruisetour that starts 7/5/22. But many reports, remarks at the store & store phone recording that there are significant delays in reporting(2-3 days instead of listed hours). This even without a holiday. But  now they are no longer free starting 7/1/22 & they can't  tell us how much . I think  we will try using  the emed tests.

[stevenr597]

1 hour ago, vanreg said:

My Princess email says we need a PCR or antigen test.  Walgreens doesn't have antigen tests available, they have a Rapid NAAT test.  Will Princess accept that?

The PCR is a Molecular test.  The NAAT is also a Molecular Test and may be utilized.  It is actually more sensitive then the antigen test. 

[SargassoPirate]

2 hours ago, vanreg said:

My Princess email says we need a PCR or antigen test.  Walgreens doesn't have antigen tests available, they have a Rapid NAAT test.  Will Princess accept that?

My most recent cruise on Princess was in January out of Fort Lauderdale.  Because of the hassle of trying to fly in a day ahead and the testing requirements, I opted for the testing at the pier. Worked like a champ.

 

I think testing will slowly disappear as the CDC and the cruise lines figure out that covid is here to stay and with the vaccines and therapeutics available it makes no sense to test and quarantine people who are not sick.