COVID Testing confusion

[jasardeax]

Finally back to cruising. 
We are booked on an Alaska cruise that is departing from Vancouver, BC on Tuesday 5/3. 

My confusion comes from a Viking document entitled 

“Important Pre-Departure Information - Travel Requirements. 
We are fully vaccinated and boosted US citizens 

 

The aforementioned document states “For US guests;

If up-to-date Covid-19 immunization (includesbooster dose when eligible)

PCR test taken within 3 days prior to boarding first flight OR joining first Viking activity.”

 

In this case what does OR mean? Is it either/or?

 

Our situation is we are flying and arriving in Vancouver on Sunday 5/1, staying at a hotel 

2 nights, and boarding on 

Tuesday 5/4.

Our first flight on Sunday 5/1 is at 7:00 AM. 
Our first Viking activity, I would guess, would be checking in at sometime close to 11AM on Tuesday 5/3. 

When do we time the PCR test from,

     our initial flight on 5/1?

     embarking the ship on 5/3?

 

Never having sailed during these times of COVID, I am just confused and hoping someone can help out. 
 

BTW, I have called Viking twice about this, and got two totally different responses. 
 

Thank you. 

[Let Me Travel!]

As I understand… get the test 72 hours from your first flight… it will cover you…

[lkear]

Just check test trun around time before you go.  When checking places near us turn around time ranged between 2 hours to 3 days.

[jasardeax]

Viking customer service has given me two different answers on two inquiries.

The first answer was within 72 hours of my first flight at 7AM in the morning of Sunday 5/1. 
That would mean the test could be as early 7 AM on

Thursday 4/28

 

The second answer was within 72 hours of my first Viking activity, which would be boarding sometime around

11 AM on Tuesday 5/4. 

That would mean that the earliest the PCR test could be done would be 11AM on

Saturday, 

[jasardeax]

7 minutes ago, jrkear said:

Just check test trun around time before you go.  When checking places near us turn around time ranged between 2 hours to 3 days.

I can get PCR test turn around  time in one day. I just need to know what day to get tested. 

[TayanaLorna]

We had the same confusing situation for our TA last Fall.  Many people were flying into Barcelona on their own and staying 2-5 days before boarding the ship.  Others were doing a Viking pre extension in Madrid or Barcelona.  Most were flying in and boarding day of arrival.

 

Spain did not require a negative test upon arrival if you were vaccinated.  So no one had to worry about a test to fly.  All we had to do is be sure our Covid test was performed within 72 hours of either:

 

Boarding the Viking ship

OR

Joining a Viking pre excursion in Madrid or Barcelona

 

So for you it should be within 72 hours of 11 am on May 3 - which means after 11 am on April 30.  Keep i mind that you do not need to have the results before you leave home.  You just have to receive them by the time you board.  Just be sure you know how they come electronically and where to find it on your phone.  The downside is if you test positive (as has happened) you will have traveled for nothing.  Many of us did a pre travel test a week before and then isolated until the test before travel day.  It's crazy but worth it to travel.

 

The people who flew in early just had to be sure the date and time on their Covid test was within 72 hours of boarding the ship.  The people who spent many nights in town before boarding had to get their test in Spain.

Edited April 6, 2022 by TayanaLorna
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[lkear]

We found a place that will give us same day results for a PCR so we are doing it the day before we fly.  As we would rather wait as late as possible.  But that is just us!

[duquephart]

We leave here late afternoon on the 19th of the month and embark our ship on the 22nd of the month around noon after a pre-cruise extension. Am I hearing that a test within 72 hours of our departure from here will suffice? Sorry to add to the confusion.

[jtwind]

These rules are consistently terribly written, such that they are up for interpretation.  People on this thread and people at Viking will give you what they believe is a definitive answer.  But talk to someone else, and they will interpret these requirements differently.

 

So, unless Viking clarifies these requirements, the only way to figure out the right way to fulfill them is to find cases where people were told at the dock, that they had not fulfilled their obligation.  Does anyone know of such an instance?

 

We will use email, so that we have our requirements in writing.  But if those requirements are inconvenient, we'll email Viking again (and again), until we get an interpretation that is convenient.

[jtwind]

I will add that I am FOR all covid precautions, since we still have to be tested before we come back to the US.  But as long as they continue with testing at embarkation, the only need for a requirement to test prior to that would be for folks who are going to be around lots of fellow Viking cruisers before boarding (folks with Viking sponsored  pre-trip or folks with Viking transport from airport to ship).

[jtwind]

Oooops, one more.  I agree with the idea of testing yourself before leaving home, no matter what Viking requires.  If you have the plague, best to find out at home.

Edited April 7, 2022 by jtwind

[BigBee51]

I take it that the 72 hours timeline means the PCR test must be taken within the 72 hour window prior to your first encounter with Viking (a Viking pre-cruise extension or boarding the ship). If it was my cruise, I would take the test late in the date on the 30th to be safe.

[jasardeax]

45 minutes ago, BigBee51 said:

I take it that the 72 hours timeline means the PCR test must be taken within the 72 hour window prior to your first encounter with Viking (a Viking pre-cruise extension or boarding the ship). If it was my cruise, I would take the test late in the date on the 30th to be safe.

Thank you BigBee. 
Taking the test late in the afternoon of the 30th is the way we are leaning. 
Alternately, Anti-Gen test in

Vancouver the afternoon of

Monday 5/2. 

[jtwind]

Again, anything posted here is just an opinion/interpretation.  Jasardeax, are you Canadian?

[jasardeax]

4 hours ago, jtwind said:

Again, anything posted here is just an opinion/interpretation.  Jasardeax, are you Canadian?

Jt

 

Thanks for your response. 
I am a U.S. citizen flying into Vancouver from the U.S. 

 

The problem is, after getting two differing responses from Viking customer service, I feel like I’m only getting 

opinion/interpretation from them also. 

[Mich3554]

The problem here with regards to testing for Canada is that Canada just lifted testing restrictions this past weekend.  Every time there is a change in rules, it trickles down.  
We crossed into Canada last Sat and did not need a test to go across the border if we were fully vaccinated.  This was the first day that requirement was lifted, so there is still some confusion. 
 

However, Viking has their own rules so you need to consider both.  

[WestW]

We have similar concerns.  We leave for VIking Homelands on the 17th May, arriving Stockholm on the 18th and embarking on 20th May. Our original plan was to get a PCR test on the 15th of May which satisfies the 72 hours prior to boarding our departing flight requirement. However, to satisfy the 2nd requirement (72 hours prior to 1st VIking activity), we would have to test the day we leave and obviously don't want to board a flight only to get positive results once we arrive across the ocean.

 

Since Sweden does not currently require negative tests to enter, I suppose we could take an at-home antigen test a day before our flight and then take the PCR test before we leave or find one in Sweden before we embark.  But we are trying to avoid multiple testing - especially since VIking does pre-embarkation PCR testing anyway.

 

We have written tellus@vikingcruises.com and asked for a detailed clarification in writing (versus a phone call which is how they often respond).  As soon as we hear anything, I will post their reply in this thread.

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2022 by WestW

[duquephart]

13 minutes ago, WestW said:

We have similar concerns.  We leave for VIking Homelands on the 17th May, arriving Stockholm on the 18th and embarking on 20th May. Our original plan was to get a PCR test on the 15th of May which satisfies the 72 hours prior to boarding our departing flight requirement. However, to satisfy the 2nd requirement (72 hours prior to 1st VIking activity), we would have to test the day we leave and obviously don't want to board a flight only to get positive results once we arrive across the ocean.

 

Since Sweden does not currently require negative tests to enter, I suppose we could take an at-home antigen test a day before our flight and then take the PCR test before we leave or find one in Sweden before we embark.  But we are trying to avoid multiple testing - especially since VIking does pre-embarkation PCR testing anyway.

 

We have written tellus@vikingcruises.com and asked for a detailed clarification in writing (versus a phone call which is how they often respond).  As soon as we hear anything, I will post their reply in this thread.

 

 

 

 

If you have the Stockholm pre-cruise extension then that is your first Viking activity so you are good. Or so I was told. Please let us know what you hear from tellus.

[WestW]

19 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

If you have the Stockholm pre-cruise extension then that is your first Viking activity so you are good. Or so I was told. Please let us know what you hear from tellus.

We do not have a pre-cruise extension thus our concern.  If only Viking had qualified their OR requirements with "whichever occurs later", there would be no confusion.  Technically, as it's written right now, satisfying either condition satisfies the requirement.  I'll post an update as soon as we hear. 

[Twitchly]

On 4/7/2022 at 6:18 AM, jtwind said:

So, unless Viking clarifies these requirements, the only way to figure out the right way to fulfill them is to find cases where people were told at the dock, that they had not fulfilled their obligation.  Does anyone know of such an instance?

I have asked this question on several Viking forums. So far, the answer is that no one has been refused boarding because of an incorrect interpretation of Viking’s pre-cruise test requirements. 
 

Until I hear otherwise, I’m not going to sweat this one. We’ll be good hoop-jumpers and get our tests before we fly. Then we’ll enjoy our 5 days in London, without additional testing, before boarding. 

[Louise257]

We are making our own travel arrangements to Iceland from the UK a couple of days before our cruise.  We have been told by Viking that they will accept an antigen test taken 24 hours before embarkation. 

[jtwind]

3 hours ago, Louise257 said:

We are making our own travel arrangements to Iceland from the UK a couple of days before our cruise.  We have been told by Viking that they will accept an antigen test taken 24 hours before embarkation. 

Get it in writing. 

[Let Me Travel!]

6 hours ago, Twitchly said:

I have asked this question on several Viking forums. So far, the answer is that no one has been refused boarding because of an incorrect interpretation of Viking’s pre-cruise test requirements. 
 

Until I hear otherwise, I’m not going to sweat this one. We’ll be good hoop-jumpers and get our tests before we fly. Then we’ll enjoy our 5 days in London, without additional testing, before boarding. 

Oh I know what you are thinking….I’m going to do the best I can do based on what I understand… I can only hope it is enough

[SJD117]

On 4/8/2022 at 5:39 AM, Twitchly said:

I have asked this question on several Viking forums. So far, the answer is that no one has been refused boarding because of an incorrect interpretation of Viking’s pre-cruise test requirements. 
 

Until I hear otherwise, I’m not going to sweat this one. We’ll be good hoop-jumpers and get our tests before we fly. Then we’ll enjoy our 5 days in London, without additional testing, before boarding. 

We spent 2 days in Barcelona and 3 days in London, on our own, before flying home yesterday after our TA. Unlike Barcelona, London was almost entirely mask-free. That was great for Londoners but not so great for us, because — unlike them — we needed a 24-hour negative test before Virgin Atlantic would allow us to return home. Thankfully the test did come back negative. But it was still nervewracking trying to keep our distance from the Easter holiday hordes, any one of whom could have infected us. It would have been a major bummer if we had contracted Covid right at the end of our 20-day trip. 

[jasardeax]

We sent the exact details of our cruise, noting flight, departures, connecting departures, and independent 

2 night pre-cruise hotel stay, to

tellus@vikingcruises.com. 
Asking them to clarify the 

pre cruise Covid testing requirements, as they would be applied to our particular situation. 
 

We received a phone call from Viking yesterday to try to clarify this. We were told by the gentleman who called and reviewed our situation, that all we would need was a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of our first international flight. 
I told him that I didn’t think that was correct. According to what he was saying I could get a test as early as Thursday 

(4/28) for a cruise embarking Vancouver on Tuesday (5/3)

I also told him that this appeared to be in conflict with the information on the Canada website, which follows.
 

From canada.ca website 

Dated 4/1/2023

Testing Framework

All passengers 5 years of age and over will be required to provide a pre-embarkation test prior to being on board the following vessels:

• A large cruise ship that is a Canadian vessel operating anywhere
• A large or small cruise ship that is a foreign vessel operating in Canadian waters; and
• A small cruise ship that is a Canadian vessel docking at ports outside of Canadian waters.

Pre-Embarkation Testing Requirements for Passengers

To fulfill the above requirements, passengers requiring a pre-embarkation test will need to provide one of the following:

• Evidence of a negative COVID-19 molecular test (e.g. PCR test) – performed on a specimen collected from the person no more than 72 hours prior to their initial boarding of the cruise ship.
• Evidence of a negative COVID-19 antigen test (e.g. RAT) – performed on a specimen collected from the person no more than 2 days before initially boarding the cruise ship.
• Evidence of a positive result for a COVID-19 molecular test that was performed on a specimen collected from the person at least 10 days and no more than 180 days before the person initially boards the cruise ship

https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/ship-safety-bulletins/measures-support-safe-cruise-travel-canada-ssb-no-18-2021-modified-april-1-2022