Switch health question

[tottenhamfc]

44 minutes ago, NWT Cruiser said:

 

I have a Switch Health kit that I plan on using in my hotel room the day before heading to the cruise port. 

 

Question:  Do I need to contact Switch Health to make an appointment beforehand i.e. 

a date and time that would be suitable for me, or do I just call in and have it proctored by anyone that answers?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

First come first serve on the phone. 24 hr service though. So do it after  12:01 am for the next day

[tottenhamfc]

46 minutes ago, NWT Cruiser said:

 

I have a Switch Health kit that I plan on using in my hotel room the day before heading to the cruise port. 

 

Question:  Do I need to contact Switch Health to make an appointment beforehand i.e. 

a date and time that would be suitable for me, or do I just call in and have it proctored by anyone that answers?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

First come first serve on call. I would suggest 12:01 am or after the night before. That is what I plan to do for flight and cruise the next day.

[broberts]

1 hour ago, tottenhamfc said:

First come first serve on call. I would suggest 12:01 am or after the night before. That is what I plan to do for flight and cruise the next day.

 

I wonder if times zones make a difference?

[tottenhamfc]

58 minutes ago, broberts said:

 

I wonder if times zones make a difference?

So if it was 9:05 Vancouver time it may qualify as 12:05? I will call and ask or if anyone knows if it adjusted to local time on their confirmation. Good question!

Edited April 4, 2022 by tottenhamfc

[Ramjet99]

22 hours ago, dsj22 said:

Yes, this is what we are doing as well. 

 

I checked with Azova they confirmed as well that the FlowFlex (ACON white box version, blue box is recalled) is  FDA EUA approved and will be accepted.

 

Azova can proctor the test if you are in Canada or the US and have many appointments with competitive pricing. Each person requires an account and minors can be added to one account.

 

The caveat is being able to find them in stock (the stores I contacted in the US have many), and if needing them prior to leaving Canada, having a convenient drive or way to ship them. Our parcel service across the border will forward them to me however I will probably drive to purchase them in person. 

 

I also prefer this scenario (vs Switch) as our family requires 4 tests and , due to the low but possible failure rate of the test kits, we can purchase 1 extra instead of the 6 kits we would need to purchase for Switch.

 

 

Yes, having the tests in stock may or may not be a problem depending on Target's supply levels and also stock levels at the store you are close to.

 

Costco.com had them but they won't ship to a receiving service (can you believe that?)..but regardless Target's pricing is basically the same as costco's..for now.

 

Thanks

 

[Ramjet99]

22 hours ago, cmich068 said:

A family member did the Azova proctoring with the Flowflex kit from Target for a flight to the US this week and it worked very well. Didn't make an appointment in advance, just signed up and did the session immediately - like Switch they are open 24/7.

 

The results PDF does mention both that it was performed under video observation and that the test has EUA from the FDA, which might be of particular interest to some on the board. 

 

Based on this experience I wouldn't hesitate to use Azova again in the future.

 

I had bought the Flowflex tests on an earlier trip to Buffalo before Ontario started giving rapid tests out for free and before all these Canadian proctoring services popped up, and since they expire earlier than the BTNX tests we decided to use it. I presume had I used one of those it would have said Health Canada authorized instead of FDA, etc.

Good to know that Azova has good availability for Proctoring appointments.   Wonder what will be like during holiday weekends though..as some (like me) will be either pre- transit, or in the middle of transiting from our home location to our destinations.  Most likely I'm guessing is reduced availability, but we'll see.

 

Thanks

 

 

[cmich068]

1 hour ago, Ramjet99 said:

Good to know that Azova has good availability for Proctoring appointments.   Wonder what will be like during holiday weekends though..as some (like me) will be either pre- transit, or in the middle of transiting from our home location to our destinations.  Most likely I'm guessing is reduced availability, but we'll see.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Azova does allow you to book appointment times in advance too if you are worried about it. 

[cmich068]

1 hour ago, Ramjet99 said:

 

Yes, having the tests in stock may or may not be a problem depending on Target's supply levels and also stock levels at the store you are close to.

 

Costco.com had them but they won't ship to a receiving service (can you believe that?)..but regardless Target's pricing is basically the same as costco's..for now.

 

Thanks

 

 

I've personally seen the Flowflex kits in stock at various Target, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Wegmans stores in the last month or so in Buffalo and Western New York. 

 

Not every store, not all the time, but I'm fairly confident you could find them on a typical cross border shopping trip if one so desired. 

Edited April 4, 2022 by cmich068

[dukev]

Another question - if the cruise is leaving from Italy, is an EU approve test ok for that cruise.  BTNX Rapid Response and Abbott Panbio are both approved in the EU, so I would assume they would be acceptable for pre boarding in Italy.    As far as proctoring, I'm thinking of Acculab or Azova.  Appreciate any input.  Thankyou.  I do find it totally bizarre that this has become the biggest issue in our cruise planning and that both Celebrity and our travel agent have been less than helpful.  Every person we talk to at Celebrity has a different story of what is required.  I love Celebrity cruise line, but on this issue, it seems like there is much confusion.

[Fouremco]

10 hours ago, dukev said:

Another question - if the cruise is leaving from Italy, is an EU approve test ok for that cruise.  BTNX Rapid Response and Abbott Panbio are both approved in the EU, so I would assume they would be acceptable for pre boarding in Italy.    As far as proctoring, I'm thinking of Acculab or Azova.  Appreciate any input.  Thankyou.  I do find it totally bizarre that this has become the biggest issue in our cruise planning and that both Celebrity and our travel agent have been less than helpful.  Every person we talk to at Celebrity has a different story of what is required.  I love Celebrity cruise line, but on this issue, it seems like there is much confusion.

See my response to this question that you posed in another thread:

 

 

[WorkerBee74]

Further update now that we are home - the four of us Canadians simply showed our Verifly "ready to sail" green checkmarks and passports for Carnival out of Port Canaveral with Switch Health tests, and that's it.  OF COURSE keep your paper docs handy in case there are technical issues with Verifly, but no one should be freaking out travelling on a cruise from Port Canaveral - it's super easy.

 

And remember... using Verifly may not save 'you' time, but it sure saves the poor people having to verify all this stuff time after looking after 5000+ passengers.  My advice is to absolutely take the time to get yourself 'Veriflied' with your Canadian vax records and tests BEFORE you leave, and avoid a bunch of stress in doing so.

Edited April 19, 2022 by WorkerBee74

[3JCruiser]

Has anyone had issues using a switch test to board Princess ?

 

We are sailing from Vancouver next month and were planning to book a test at their Richmond clinic unless anyone knows of any issues with Switch and Princess ?

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, 3JCruiser said:

Has anyone had issues using a switch test to board Princess ?

 

We are sailing from Vancouver next month and were planning to book a test at their Richmond clinic unless anyone knows of any issues with Switch and Princess ?

To the best of my knowledge, there have never been any issues with tests conducted at any of the Switch Health clinics, including those at airports and others like the one in Richmond.

[tottenhamfc]

Just returned from RCL in LA using Switch and absolutely no issues. They are looking for ID confirmation, vaccination record and of course NEGATIVE test confirmation. A tip though, if you print in black and white the word negative does not show up as it is in green. Learned the hard way by missing the info when I reviewed it before printing. I was looking for all pertinent info and then printed it. Didnt even observe the missing word. Brilliant me!

 Take a screen shot before you leave.

[3JCruiser]

Thank you Fouremco and tottenhamfc !

[Ex-Airbalancer]

On 4/19/2022 at 6:14 PM, WorkerBee74 said:

Further update now that we are home - the four of us Canadians simply showed our Verifly "ready to sail" green checkmarks and passports for Carnival out of Port Canaveral with Switch Health tests, and that's it.  OF COURSE keep your paper docs handy in case there are technical issues with Verifly, but no one should be freaking out travelling on a cruise from Port Canaveral - it's super easy.

 

And remember... using Verifly may not save 'you' time, but it sure saves the poor people having to verify all this stuff time after looking after 5000+ passengers.  My advice is to absolutely take the time to get yourself 'Veriflied' with your Canadian vax records and tests BEFORE you leave, and avoid a bunch of stress in doing so.

What is “Verified”?   
I have used Verified.Me, with service Canada and banks 

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Airbalancer

[quebecnorthern cruisers]

used switch health took 20 minutes from start to results emailed 

had to take screen shot of results to upload manually to verifly 

wouldn't upload qr code waited 4 hours for ready to sail check mark on app

I'll use verifly at miami port tomorrow I will update 

[cmich068]

On 4/23/2022 at 8:07 AM, Airbalancer said:

What is “Verified”?   
I have used Verified.Me, with service Canada and banks 

 

 

Verifly is an app that some airlines and cruise lines are using to verify COVID related documentation like proof of vaccination and test results in advance. 

 

I know first hand that American Airlines and Carnival Cruise Lines are using it, and I'm sure some others are as well. Check with your airline/cruise line to find out if they use it. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, cmich068 said:

 

Verifly is an app that some airlines and cruise lines are using to verify COVID related documentation like proof of vaccination and test results in advance. 

 

I know first hand that American Airlines and Carnival Cruise Lines are using it, and I'm sure some others are as well. Check with your airline/cruise line to find out if they use it. 

Celebrity does not use it 

have not seen anything from Delta about it 

[YVRteacher]

I tried to use my Switch Health rapid antigen tests this morning and it was a total nightmare. The QR code came up “this code has already been used!”  Did anyone else experience this? (I have booked rapid antigen tests at an in person site this evening but the Switch tests were a waste of money for us.)

[bc_redhead]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

I tried to use my Switch Health rapid antigen tests this morning and it was a total nightmare. The QR code came up “this code has already been used!”  Did anyone else experience this? (I have booked rapid antigen tests at an in person site this evening but the Switch tests were a waste of money for us.)

So sorry to hear that. The 4 of us did our tests last night with no issues at all.

[bc_redhead]

Thanks everyone for the info. We did Switch Health on Friday night for the 4 of us and boarded Serenade of the Seas a few hours ago. Paperwork was all good and now to cruise...first one since 2019!

[CTP]

16 hours ago, bc_redhead said:

Thanks everyone for the info. We did Switch Health on Friday night for the 4 of us and boarded Serenade of the Seas a few hours ago. Paperwork was all good and now to cruise...first one since 2019!

Was this test accepted at boarding?  We just got back from Radiance of the seas cruise but will have another cruise soon with RCCL.
 

I called RCCL they said for the online tests they have to be fda approved , when I called switch health they said they are not fda approved. I opted to just go to a clinic for this cruise  … cost me $60 more for the 3 of us to be tested. 

[Fouremco]

20 minutes ago, CTP said:

Was this test accepted at boarding?  We just got back from Radiance of the seas cruise but will have another cruise soon with RCCL.
 

I called RCCL they said for the online tests they have to be fda approved , when I called switch health they said they are not fda approved. I opted to just go to a clinic for this cruise  … cost me $60 more for the 3 of us to be tested. 

While most cruiselines state that a telehealth test kit must be FDA approved, I've yet to read a post where a test result from a Switch Health or other kit approved in Canada has been rejected at embarkation. On the other hand, there have been many posts from Canadian cruisers stating that they have successfully boarded with such a test result. The general consensus on this board is that the cruiselines' focus is on the date and result of a test, not the manufacturer of the test kit.

[tottenhamfc]

I have responded twice with this answer. YES it was accepted at the port. NO issues. They are looking for NAME, BIRTHDATE and the word NEGATIVE. It was accepted on April 15 2022.