PCR test from Barbados pier after a cruise, quarantine rules?

[gam888]

We are considering a Royal Caribbean cruise that starts and ends in Barbados. Royal said the passengers will have the opportunity to get their PCR test at the Barbados cruise terminal once they get off the ship. We have to pay for the test ourselves. Has anyone recently returned from Barbados and know how much a rapid PCR test cost? Like a lot of other folks who has posted here previously, we worry about what if we test positive when we get off the ship. There is no option of driving home so we must fly from Barbados back to Toronto. From what I have read so far, we cannot fly back to Canada without a fine until 11 days after we test positive. Does anyone knows how many days we have to isolate in Barbados? Are we allowed to leave our hotel and walk around and do some sightseeing after 5 days? Would the hotel be notified that we are positive and in quarantine? 

We are still confused about what if we go do another test and we test negative before the 10 days. Are we allowed to fly back to Canada in that case without having to wait out the whole 10 days period? There is also the cost of the tests, for the 2 of us, to do a rapid PCR test, it would cost us a few hundred dollars each time. Then there is the planning of when to rebook our flight to fly back, ( I think Air Canada only allow one free flight change without penalty). So there is a lot of unanswered questions and we are still deciding if the hassles are worth the cruise. 

Thanks in advance for any response.

 

[karebare22]

1 hour ago, gam888 said:

We are still confused about what if we go do another test and we test negative before the 10 days. Are we allowed to fly back to Canada in that case without having to wait out the whole 10 days period?

 

You can re-enter Canada with either a) a negative result or b) positive result if more than 10 days. I tested positive on Jan 1 (PCR and antigen). Isolated 5 days as per CDC guidelines. Repeat tests on Jan 5 and Jan 8 and I tested negative, flew home to Canada on Jan 10 (at the time, it was a minimum 14 days after a positive result). If you test negative before the 10 days, you are fine to fly back to Canada. No issues. 

[karebare22]

1 hour ago, gam888 said:

Royal said the passengers will have the opportunity to get their PCR test at the Barbados cruise terminal once they get off the ship.

When are you cruising? I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the testing requirements change in the next month or so, so this might not be a concern depending on when you are travelling. We are cruising from San Juan in a couple of weeks, and planning to bring  the Switch Health proctored NAAT tests so we can just do our re-entry testing onboard the last day of the cruise (using ship internet). If we test positive, this would give us time to change flights and make any other arrangements. I still haven’t ordered the tests though, it’s going to cost $600 for our family of 4, so I’m REALLY hoping the government updates/changes this requirement. That Barbados sailing has such a unique Caribbean itinerary, we have a cruise planned from there on Rhapsody in December 😁

[gam888]

Hi Karebare22, thanks for replying my post. We are thinking of going on the Grandeur of the Seas on March 6. We haven't booked yet because we are still undecided. So after you tested positive in January, did you need to change your flight home? If so, how did you plan to reschedule it in terms of what new date to pick? I think we are allowed to make one free change with Air Canada. So I don't know when we  call them to postpone the returning portion if we test positive, are we supposed to pick a new date right the way, if so, should we pick to fly back on the 11th day after the first positive test. But if we should test negative after a few days, and want to fly home earlier, we might have to pay for the change fee. It makes me think if there is only a few more quarantine days left, would it be more economical just to not bother taking a second test, pay for the extra Air Canada change fee...etc, and just use the money towards part of the payment for the remining days of hotel and stay for the whole 10 days. We are retired and don't need to rush back to Canada. But there is also the situation what if only one of us is positive, it would be very lonely to isolate alone in a hotel room.

[karebare22]

14 hours ago, gam888 said:

So after you tested positive in January, did you need to change your flight home? If so, how did you plan to reschedule it in terms of what new date to pick? I think we are allowed to make one free change with Air Canada. So I don't know when we  call them to postpone the returning portion if we test positive, are we supposed to pick a new date right the way, if so, should we pick to fly back on the 11th day after the first positive test. But if we should test negative after a few days, and want to fly home earlier, we might have to pay for the change fee. It makes me think if there is only a few more quarantine days left, would it be more economical just to not bother taking a second test, pay for the extra Air Canada change fee...etc, and just use the money towards part of the payment for the remining days of hotel and stay for the whole 10 days. We are retired and don't need to rush back to Canada. But there is also the situation what if only one of us is positive, it would be very lonely to isolate alone in a hotel room.

Everyone’s situation is different. I agree, in your case it might be better (easier and cheaper) to just enjoy those days in Barbados and wait out the 11 days. We were somewhat “lucky” in that we didn’t have to change or cancel our flight since we were actually supposed to be on a back to back cruise and missed the 2nd week, and so we had a week to decide what to do while we quarantined & while out of quarantine. Luckily cases have really come down, and now that it’s less rampant hopefully there’s a lower chance of catching covid. I was amazed how I tested negative only 4 days after being positive (I’ve had 3 doses of vaccine), but everyone is different so you can’t count on that. It’s good to have a plan, but important to be flexible these days.